scholarly journals A tailored LNA clamping design principle: efficient, economized, specific and ultrasensitive for the detection of point mutations

Author(s):  
Hao Yang ◽  
Mengqiu Yan ◽  
Gaolian Xu ◽  
Xiaohua Qian ◽  
Ruiying Zhao ◽  
...  

In the development of personalized medicine, the ultrasensitive detection of point mutations that correlate with diseases is important to improve the efficacy of treatment and guide clinical medication. In this study, locked nucleic acid (LNA) was introduced as an amplification suppressor of a massive number of wild-type alleles in an amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) to achieve the detection of low-abundance mutations with high specificity and sensitivity of at least 0.1%. By integrating the length of clamp, base type, number and position of LNA modifications, we have established a “shortest length with the fewest LNA bases” principle from which each LNA base would play a key role in the affinity and the ability of single base discrimination could be improve. Finally, based on this LNA design guideline, a series of the most important single point mutation sites of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was verified to achieve the optimal amplification state which as low as 0.1% mutation gene amplification was not affected under the wild gene amplification was completely inhibited, demonstrating that the proposed design principle has good applicability and versatility and is of great significance for the detection of circulating tumor DNA.

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hairul Aini Hamzah ◽  
Rahmatullah Sirat ◽  
Mohammed Imad A. Mustafa Mahmud ◽  
Roesnita Baharudin

 Introduction: Co-resistance to quinolones among extended spectrum β[1]lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli commonly occurs in clinical settings. Quinolones act on DNA gyrase and DNA topoisomerase enzymes, which are coded by gyrA and parC genes, thus any mutation to the genes may affect the drug effectiveness. The objective of the study was to characterize gyrA and parC genes in quinolone-resistant E. coli isolates and correlated the mutations with their phenotypic resistance. Materials and Methods: Thirty-two quinolone-resistant (QR) and six quinolone-sensitive (QS) ESBL-E. coli isolates were identified by antibiotic susceptibility and minimum inhibitory concentration tests. Bioinformatics analysis were conducted to study any mutations occurred in the genes and generate their codon compositions. Results: All the QR ESBL-E. coli isolates were identified as multidrug-resistant bacteria. A single point mutation in the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) of gyrA, at codon 83, caused the substitution amino acid Ser83Leu. It is associated with a high level of resistance to nalidixic acid. However, double mutations Ser83Leu and Asp87Asn in the same region were significantly linked to higher levels of resistance to ciprofloxacin. Cumulative point mutations in gyrA and/or in parC were also correlated significantly (p<0.05) to increased resistance to ciprofloxacin. Conclusion: Together, the findings showed that the mutations in gyrA and parC genes handled the institution of intrinsic quinolone resistance in the ESBL-E. coli isolates. Thus, vigilant monitoring for emergence of new mutation in resistance genes may give an insight into dissemination of QR ESBL-E. coli in a particular region.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (8) ◽  
pp. 2551-2556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Bemben ◽  
Quynh-Anh Nguyen ◽  
Tongguang Wang ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Roger A. Nicoll ◽  
...  

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) comprise a highly heritable, multifarious group of neurodevelopmental disorders, which are characterized by repetitive behaviors and impairments in social interactions. Point mutations have been identified in X-linked Neuroligin (NLGN) 3 and 4X genes in patients with ASDs and all of these reside in their extracellular domains except for a single point mutation in the cytoplasmic domain of NLGN4X in which an arginine is mutated to a cysteine (R704C). Here we show that endogenous NLGN4X is robustly phosphorylated by protein kinase C (PKC) at T707, and R704C completely eliminates T707 phosphorylation. Endogenous NLGN4X is intensely phosphorylated on T707 upon PKC stimulation in human neurons. Furthermore, a phospho-mimetic mutation at T707 has a profound effect on NLGN4X-mediated excitatory potentiation. Our results now establish an important interplay between a genetic mutation, a key posttranslational modification, and robust synaptic changes, which can provide insights into the synaptic dysfunction of ASDs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-102
Author(s):  
Susie Cho ◽  
Heung-Chul Kim ◽  
Sung-Tae Chong ◽  
Terry A. Klein ◽  
Deok Ho Kwon ◽  
...  

Two-point mutations (V419L and L925I) on the voltage-sensitive sodium channel of bed bugs (<i>Cimex lectularius</i>) are known to confer pyrethroid resistance. To determine the status of pyrethroid resistance in bed bugs in Korea, resistance allele frequencies of bed bug strains collected from several US military installations in Korea and Mokpo, Jeollanamdo, from 2009-2019 were monitored using a quantitative sequencing. Most bed bugs were determined to have both of the point mutations except a few specimens, collected in 2009, 2012 and 2014, having only a single point mutation (L925I). No susceptible allele was observed in any of the bed bugs examined, suggesting that pyrethroid resistance in bed bug populations in Korea has reached a serious level. Large scale monitoring is required to increase our knowledge on the distribution and prevalence of pyrethroid resistance in bed bug populations in Korea. Based on present study, it is urgent to restrict the use of pyrethroids and to introduce effective alternative insecticides. A nation-wide monitoring program to determine the pyrethroid resistance level in bed bugs and to select alternative insecticides should be implemented.


Blood ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 77 (11) ◽  
pp. 2482-2487 ◽  
Author(s):  
BG Bolscher ◽  
M de Boer ◽  
A de Klein ◽  
RS Weening ◽  
D Roos

The NADPH:O2 oxidoreductase of phagocytic leukocytes is an important enzyme for the bactericidal activity of these cells. Cytochrome b558 is a membrane component of this enzyme. In X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (Xb- CGD) the phagocytes are defective in the beta-subunit (gp91-phox) of this cytochrome. We have studied the genetic defect in a group of six X-linked CGD patients characterized by complete or partial loss of cytochrome b558 with the use of the polymerase chain reaction. All patients had a different single point mutation in the gp91-phox gene, indicating that the genetic defect in Xb- CGD is very heterogeneous. In one patient the mutation leads to a premature termination codon. In the other five cases these mutations predict incorporation of a different amino acid. The mutations were with one exception found in the N-terminal half of the protein, suggesting that this part of cytochrome b558 is important for the binding of the heme or for formation of a stable complex with p22-phox. Two histidyl residues were found that might be ligands of the heme iron.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (W1) ◽  
pp. W125-W131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoochan Myung ◽  
Douglas E V Pires ◽  
David B Ascher

Abstract While antibodies are becoming an increasingly important therapeutic class, especially in personalized medicine, their development and optimization has been largely through experimental exploration. While there have been many efforts to develop computational tools to guide rational antibody engineering, most approaches are of limited accuracy when applied to antibody design, and have largely been limited to analysing a single point mutation at a time. To overcome this gap, we have curated a dataset of 242 experimentally determined changes in binding affinity upon multiple point mutations in antibody-target complexes (89 increasing and 153 decreasing binding affinity). Here, we have shown that by using our graph-based signatures and atomic interaction information, we can accurately analyse the consequence of multi-point mutations on antigen binding affinity. Our approach outperformed other available tools across cross-validation and two independent blind tests, achieving Pearson's correlations of up to 0.95. We have implemented our new approach, mmCSM-AB, as a web-server that can help guide the process of affinity maturation in antibody design. mmCSM-AB is freely available at http://biosig.unimelb.edu.au/mmcsm_ab/.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 577-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Mann ◽  
Raulo M. Parmegiani ◽  
Shui-Qing Wei ◽  
Cara A. Mendrick ◽  
Xin Li ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT To better understand the molecular basis of posaconazole (POS) resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus, resistant laboratory isolates were selected. Spontaneous mutants arose at a frequency of 1 in 108 and fell into two susceptibility groups, moderately resistant and highly resistant. Azole resistance in A. fumigatus was previously associated with decreased drug accumulation. We therefore analyzed the mutants for changes in levels of transcripts of genes encoding efflux pumps (mdr1 and mdr2) and/or alterations in accumulation of [14C]POS. No changes in either pump expression or drug accumulation were detected. Similarly, there was no change in expression of cyp51A or cyp51B, which encode the presumed target site for POS, cytochrome P450 14α-demethylase. DNA sequencing revealed that each resistant isolate carried a single point mutation in residue 54 of cyp51A. Mutations at the same locus were identified in three clinical A. fumigatus isolates exhibiting reduced POS susceptibility but not in susceptible clinical strains. To verify that these mutations were responsible for the resistance phenotype, we introduced them into the chromosome of a POS-susceptible A. fumigatus strain under the control of the glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase promoter. The transformants exhibited reductions in susceptibility to POS comparable to those exhibited by the original mutants, confirming that point mutations in the cyp51A gene in A. fumigatus can confer reduced susceptibility to POS.


10.29007/7gnf ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan Carpenter ◽  
Tess Thackray ◽  
Cecilia Kalthoff ◽  
Filip Jagodzinski

A mutation to the amino acid sequence of a protein can cause a biomolecule to be resistant to the intended effects of a drug. Assessing the changes of a drug’s efficacy in response to mutations via mutagenesis wet-lab experiments is prohibitively time consuming for even a single point mutation, let alone for all possible mutations. Existing approaches for inferring mutation-induced drug resistance are available, but all of them reason about mutations of residues at or very near the protein-drug interface. However, there are examples of mutations far away from the region where the ligand binds, but which nonetheless render a protein resistant to the effects of the drug. We present a proof-of-concept computational pipeline that generates in silico the set of all possible single point mutations in a protein-ligand complex. We assess drug resistance using a graph theoretic rigidity analysis approach. Unlike existing methods, we are able to assess the impact of mutations far away from the protein-drug interface. We introduce several visualizations for exploring how amino acid substitutions both near and far away from where the ligand interacts with a protein target have a stabilizing or destabilizing effect on the protein-drug complex. We discuss our analytical approach in the context of experimental data from the literature about clinically known protein-drug interactions.


2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (14) ◽  
pp. 4826-4840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilad Yaakov ◽  
Michal Bell ◽  
Stefan Hohmann ◽  
David Engelberg

ABSTRACT Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play key roles in differentiation, growth, proliferation, and apoptosis. Although MAPKs have been extensively studied, the precise function, specific substrates, and target genes of each MAPK are not known. These issues could be addressed by sole activation of a given MAPK, e.g., through the use of constitutively active MAPK enzymes. We have recently reported the isolation of eight hyperactive mutants of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae MAPK Hog1, each of which bears a distinct single point mutation. These mutants acquired high intrinsic catalytic activity but did not impose the full biological potential of the Hog1 pathway. Here we describe our attempt to obtain a MAPK that is more active than the previous mutants both catalytically and biologically. We combined two different activating point mutations in the same gene and found that two of the resulting double mutants acquired unusual properties. These alleles, HOG1D170A,F318L and HOG1D170A,F318S , induced a severe growth inhibition and had to be studied through an inducible expression system. This growth inhibition correlated with very high spontaneous (in the absence of any stimulation) catalytic activity and strong induction of Hog1 target genes. Furthermore, analysis of the phosphorylation status of these active alleles shows that their acquired intrinsic activity is independent of either phospho-Thr174 or phospho-Tyr176. Through fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis, we show that the effect on cell growth inhibition is not a result of cell death. This study provides the first example of a MAPK that is intrinsically activated by mutations and induces a strong biological effect.


Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (22) ◽  
pp. 1312-1312
Author(s):  
Vincent Jallu ◽  
Alexandre De Brevern ◽  
Simon Panzer ◽  
Marie-Francoise Torchet ◽  
Cecile Kaplan-Gouet

Abstract Abstract 1312 Poster Board I-336 Introduction Glanzmann thrombasthenia (GT) is an autosomal recessive inherited bleeding disorder characterized by an impaired platelet aggregation. GT results from defects of the platelet fibrinogen receptor αIIbβ3. GT mutations provide useful tools for structure-function relationship studies of αIIbβ3. Patient and methods Genomic DNA from 6 patients has been amplified for αIIb and β3 promoters and exons sequences. PCR products were directly sequenced. Potential RNA processing alterations have been studied in silico by using Genscan, NNSPLICE and ESEFinder online tools. When no RNA splicing anomaly was predicted, the effect of single point mutation on αIIbβ3 expression has been studied by using transiently transfected Cos cells. Finally, structural consequences of amino acid substitutions has been studied using the published model of αIIbβ3 (code PDB 2VDL) and structural modelling. Results 7 new mutations have been characterized. 1 deletion / insertion, 2 single point mutations inducing stop codon and 1 resulting in splicing site disruption were identified. The 3 last identified single point mutations were not predicted to affect normal RNA processing but has been shown to prevent normal expression of mutant αIIbβ3 at the surface of Cos cells. The p.Meth118Arg and p.Gly221Asp substitutions that induce both important steric hindrance and charge modifications, are located inside the β-I domain of β3. So they should deeply alter the proper folding of the β-I domain, preventing the complex expression at the platelet surface. On the other hand, the p.Lys253Met protrudes from the β-I domain toward the αIIb β-propeller. A structural model of the Met253 β-I mutant has been done. An estimation of the direct electrostatic and desolvation free energies of interaction between the β-I domain surface and the αIIb β-propeller indicated that rather than the presence of a methionine, it is the lost of the Lys253 which is responsible for the complex expression defect. Conclusion Seven new GT mutations have been identified and the p.Lys253Met substitution helped to define a key role of the Lys253 in the αIIb β-propeller / β3 β-I domains interaction. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (21) ◽  
pp. 6240
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Sierpe ◽  
Marcelo J. Kogan ◽  
Soledad Bollo

Prothrombin-related thrombophilia is a genetic disorder produced by a substitution of a single DNA base pair, replacing guanine with adenine, and is detected mainly by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A suitable alternative that could detect the single point mutation without requiring sample amplification is the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique. SPR biosensors are of great interest: they offer a platform to monitor biomolecular interactions, are highly selective, and enable rapid analysis in real time. Oligonucleotide-based SPR biosensors can be used to differentiate complementary sequences from partially complementary or noncomplementary strands. In this work, a glass chip covered with an ultrathin (50 nm) gold film was modified with oligonucleotide strands complementary to the mutated or normal (nonmutated) DNA responsible for prothrombin-related thrombophilia, forming two detection platforms called mutated thrombophilia (MT) biosensor and normal thrombophilia (NT) biosensor. The results show that the hybridization response is obtained in 30 min, label free and with high reproducibility. The sensitivity obtained in both systems was approximately 4 ΔμRIU/nM. The dissociation constant and limits of detection calculated were 12.2 nM and 20 pM (3 fmol), respectively, for the MT biosensor, and 8.5 nM and 30 pM (4.5 fmol) for the NT biosensor. The two biosensors selectively recognize their complementary strand (mutated or normal) in buffer solution. In addition, each platform can be reused up to 24 times when the surface is regenerated with HCl. This work contributes to the design of the first SPR biosensor for the detection of prothrombin-related thrombophilia based on oligonucleotides with single point mutations, label-free and without the need to apply an amplification method.


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