The involvement of iASPP in protecting the reproductive system from deleterious inflammatory process

In our previous work, Arab-Christian-infants from four families were diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) associated with mild skin, teeth, and hair abnormalities. All passed away before the age of 3 years. Our results demonstrated PPP1R13L, which encoded iASPP, as the gene underlying this novel autosomal recessive cardio cutaneous syndrome in humans, and strongly suggest that the fatal DCM during infancy is a consequence of failure to regulate transcriptional pathways necessary for tuning cardiac threshold response to inflammatory stressors. Our current results suggest that iASPP functions as a safeguard protecting another inflammation-sensitive organ the male and female reproductive organs from extended inflammatory response. We hope that understanding the mechanism protecting the reproductive system from harmful inflammatory processes may lead to the development of new therapeutic approaches for inflammation-associated fertility failure.