scholarly journals A point-mutation in the C-domain of CMP-sialic acid synthetase leads to lethality of medaka due to protein insolubility

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Di Wu ◽  
Hiromu Arakawa ◽  
Akiko Fujita ◽  
Hisashi Hashimoto ◽  
Masahiko Hibi ◽  
...  

AbstractVertebrate CMP-sialic acid synthetase (CSS), which catalyzes the synthesis of CMP-sialic acid (CMP-Sia), consists of a 28 kDa-N-domain and a 20 kDa-C-domain. The N-domain is known to be a catalytic domain; however, the significance of the C-domain still remains unknown. To elucidate the function of the C-domain at the organism level, we screened the medaka TILLING library and obtained medaka with non-synonymous mutations (t911a), or single amino acid substitutions of CSS, L304Q, in the C-domain. Prominently, most L304Q medaka was lethal within 19 days post-fertilization (dpf). L304Q young fry displayed free Sia accumulation, and impairment of sialylation, up to 8 dpf. At 8 dpf, a marked abnormality in ventricular contraction and skeletal myogenesis was observed. To gain insight into the mechanism of L304Q-induced abnormalities, L304Q was biochemically characterized. Although bacterially expressed soluble L304Q and WT showed the similar Vmax/Km values, very few soluble L304Q was detected when expressed in CHO cells in sharp contrast to the WT. Additionally, the thermostability of various mutations of L304 greatly decreased, except for WT and L304I. These results suggest that L304 is important for the stability of CSS, and that an appropriate level of expression of soluble CSS is significant for animal survival.

Acta Naturae ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 55-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Alekseeva ◽  
I. S. Kargov ◽  
S. Yu. Kleimenov ◽  
S. S. Savin ◽  
V I. Tishkov

Recently, we demonstrated that the amino acid substitutions Ala267Met and Ala267Met/Ile272Val (Alekseeva et al., Biochemistry, 2012), Phe290Asp, Phe290Asn and Phe290Ser (Alekseeva et al., Prot. Eng. Des. Select, 2012) in recombinant formate dehydrogenase from soya Glycine max (SoyFDH) lead to a significant (up to 30-100 times) increase in the thermal stability of the enzyme. The substitutions Phe290Asp, Phe290Asn and Phe290Ser were introduced into double mutant SoyFDH Ala267Met/Ile272Val by site-directed mutagenesis. Combinations of three substitutions did not lead to a noticeable change in the catalytic properties of the mutant enzymes. The stability of the resultant triple mutants was studied through thermal inactivation kinetics and differential scanning calorimetry. The thermal stability of the new mutant SoyFDHs was shown to be much higher than that of their precursors. The stability of the best mutant SoyFDH Ala267Met/Ile272Val/Phe290Asp turned out to be comparable to that of the most stable wild-type formate dehydrogenases from other sources. The results obtained with both methods indicate a great synergistic contribution of individual amino acid substitutions to the common stabilization effect.


1992 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 769-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmut K.W. Kallwass ◽  
Witold K. Surewicz ◽  
Wendy Parris ◽  
Emma L.A. Macfarlane ◽  
Marcel A. Luyten ◽  
...  

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 289
Author(s):  
Kathleen K. M. Glover ◽  
Danica M. Sutherland ◽  
Terence S. Dermody ◽  
Kevin M. Coombs

Studies of conditionally lethal mutants can help delineate the structure-function relationships of biomolecules. Temperature-sensitive (ts) mammalian reovirus (MRV) mutants were isolated and characterized many years ago. Two of the most well-defined MRV ts mutants are tsC447, which contains mutations in the S2 gene encoding viral core protein σ2, and tsG453, which contains mutations in the S4 gene encoding major outer-capsid protein σ3. Because many MRV ts mutants, including both tsC447 and tsG453, encode multiple amino acid substitutions, the specific amino acid substitutions responsible for the ts phenotype are unknown. We used reverse genetics to recover recombinant reoviruses containing the single amino acid polymorphisms present in ts mutants tsC447 and tsG453 and assessed the recombinant viruses for temperature-sensitivity by efficiency-of-plating assays. Of the three amino acid substitutions in the tsG453 S4 gene, Asn16-Lys was solely responsible for the tsG453ts phenotype. Additionally, the mutant tsC447 Ala188-Val mutation did not induce a temperature-sensitive phenotype. This study is the first to employ reverse genetics to identify the dominant amino acid substitutions responsible for the tsC447 and tsG453 mutations and relate these substitutions to respective phenotypes. Further studies of other MRV ts mutants are warranted to define the sequence polymorphisms responsible for temperature sensitivity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suman Pokhrel ◽  
Benjamin R. Kraemer ◽  
Scott Burkholz ◽  
Daria Mochly-Rosen

AbstractIn December 2019, a novel coronavirus, termed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of pneumonia with severe respiratory distress and outbreaks in Wuhan, China. The rapid and global spread of SARS-CoV-2 resulted in the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Earlier during the pandemic, there were limited genetic viral variations. As millions of people became infected, multiple single amino acid substitutions emerged. Many of these substitutions have no consequences. However, some of the new variants show a greater infection rate, more severe disease, and reduced sensitivity to current prophylaxes and treatments. Of particular importance in SARS-CoV-2 transmission are mutations that occur in the Spike (S) protein, the protein on the viral outer envelope that binds to the human angiotensin-converting enzyme receptor (hACE2). Here, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of 441,168 individual virus sequences isolated from humans throughout the world. From the individual sequences, we identified 3540 unique amino acid substitutions in the S protein. Analysis of these different variants in the S protein pinpointed important functional and structural sites in the protein. This information may guide the development of effective vaccines and therapeutics to help arrest the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Biochemistry ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 37 (33) ◽  
pp. 11629-11636 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Carmen Thomas ◽  
Stuart P. Ballantine ◽  
Susanne S. Bethell ◽  
Satty Bains ◽  
Paul Kellam ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishal Shinde ◽  
Nara Sobreira ◽  
Elizabeth S Wohler ◽  
George Maiti ◽  
Nan Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract Keratoconus is a common corneal defect with a complex genetic basis. By whole exome sequencing of affected members from 11 multiplex families of European ancestry, we identified 23 rare, heterozygous, potentially pathogenic variants in 8 genes. These include nonsynonymous single amino acid substitutions in HSPG2, EML6 and CENPF in two families each, and in NBEAL2, LRP1B, PIK3CG and MRGPRD in three families each; ITGAX had nonsynonymous single amino acid substitutions in two families and an indel with a base substitution producing a nonsense allele in the third family. Only HSPG2, EML6 and CENPF have been associated with ocular phenotypes previously. With the exception of MRGPRD and ITGAX, we detected the transcript and encoded protein of the remaining genes in the cornea and corneal cell cultures. Cultured stromal cells showed cytoplasmic punctate staining of NBEAL2, staining of the fibrillar cytoskeletal network by EML6, while CENPF localized to the basal body of primary cilia. We inhibited the expression of HSPG2, EML6, NBEAL2 and CENPF in stromal cell cultures and assayed for the expression of COL1A1 as a readout of corneal matrix production. An upregulation in COL1A1 after siRNA inhibition indicated their functional link to stromal cell biology. For ITGAX, encoding a leukocyte integrin, we assayed its level in the sera of 3 affected families compared with 10 unrelated controls to detect an increase in all affecteds. Our study identified genes that regulate the cytoskeleton, protein trafficking and secretion, barrier tissue function and response to injury and inflammation, as being relevant to keratoconus.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 3470-3480 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Moran ◽  
B Zerler ◽  
T M Harrison ◽  
M B Mathews

The transformation and early adenovirus gene transactivation functions of the E1A region were analyzed with deletion and point mutations. Deletion of amino acids from position 86 through 120 had little effect on the lytic or transforming functions of the E1A products, while deletion of amino acids from position 121 through 150 significantly impaired both functions. The sensitivity of the transformation function to alterations in the region from amino acid position 121 to 150 was further indicated by the impairment of transforming activity resulting from single amino acid substitutions at positions 124 and 135. Interestingly, conversion of a cysteine residue at position 124 to glycine severely impaired the transformation function without affecting the early adenovirus gene activating functions. Single amino acid substitutions in a different region of the E1A gene had the converse effect. All the mutants produced polypeptides of sufficient stability to be detected by Western immunoblot analysis. The single amino acid substitutions at positions 124 and 135, although impairing the transformation functions, did not detectably alter the formation of the higher-apparent-molecular-weight forms of the E1A products.


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