REVIEW OF THE FUNCTION OF SEMA3A IN LYMPHATIC VESSEL MATURATION AND ITS POTENTIAL AS A CANDIDATE GENE FOR LYMPHEDEMA: ANALYSIS OF THREE FAMILIES WITH RARE CAUSATIVE VARIANTS

SEMA3A is a semaphorin involved in cell signaling with PlexinA1 and Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) receptors and it is responsible for recruiting dendritic cells into lymphatics. Mutations in the SEMA3A gene result in abnormalities in lymphatic vessel development and maturation. We investigated the association of SEMA3A variants detected in lymphedema patients with lymphatic maturation and lymphatic system malfunction. First, we used NGS technology to sequence the SEMA3A gene in 235 lymphedema patients who carry wild type alleles for known lymphedema genes. We detected three different missense variants in three families. Bioinformatic results showed that some protein interactions could be altered by these variants. Other unaffected family members of the probands also reported different episodes of subclinical edema. We then evaluated the importance of the SEMA3A gene in the formation and maturation of lymphatic vessels. Our results determined that SEMA3A variants segregate in families with lymphatic system malformations and recommend the inclusion of SEMA3A in the gene panel for testing of patients with lymphedema.