Caliskaner, Zihni OnurWaheed, Abdullah AbdulOzturk, Merve TuzlakogluOymak, YesimTazebay, Uygar HalisAkar, NejatOzkan, Didem TorunTıbbi Laboratuvar Teknikleri / Medical Laboratory Techniques2024-05-252024-05-25202111300-01441303-616510.3906/sag-2003-2592-s2.0-85105473622https://doi.org/10.3906/sag-2003-259https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14517/1603Çalışkaner, Zihni Onur/0000-0003-1385-1739; akar, nejat/0000-0001-8228-8885; TAZEBAY, UYGAR HALIS/0000-0003-1999-8213; Oymak, Yesim/0000-0002-6908-8309Background/aim: Macrothrombocytopenia is an autosomal-dominant disorder characterized by increased platelet size and a decreased number of circulating platelets. The membrane skeleton and the link between actin filaments of the skeleton and microtubules, which consist of alpha and beta tubulin [including the tubulin beta-1 chain (TUBB1)] heterodimers, are important for normal platelet morphology, and defects in these systems are associated with macrothrombocytopenia. Materials and methods: In this study, we sequenced the exons of the TUBB1 gene using DNA isolated from the peripheral blood samples of healthy controls (n = 47) and patients with macrothrombocytopenia (n = 37) from Turkey. The TUBB1 expression levels in fractioned blood samples from patients and healthy controls were analyzed by RT-qPCR and Western blot. Microtubule organization of the platelets in the peripheral blood smears of patients, and in mutant TUBB1-transfected HeLa cells, were analyzed by immunofluorescence staining. Results: A new TUBB1 c.803G > T (p.T178T) variant was detected in all of the control and patient samples. Importantly, we found 3 new heterozygous TUBB1 variants predicting amino acid substitutions: G146R (in 1 patient), E123Q (in 1 patient), and T274M (in 4 patients); the latter variant was associated with milder thrombocytopenia in cancer patients treated with paclitaxel. Ectopic expression of TUBB1 T274M/R307H variant in HeLa cells resulted in irregular microtubule organization. Conclusion: Further clinical and functional studies of the newly identified TUBB1 variants may offer important insights into their pathogenicity in macrothrombocytopenia.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessTUBB1macrothrombocytopeniaMYH9plateletsArticleQ3Q1512490500WOS:00064628160001432892537483828