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Lateral-flow immunoassay for the frataxin protein in Friedreich's ataxia patients and carriers.

ABSTRACT: Friedreich's Ataxia (FA) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by reduction in levels of the mitochondrial protein frataxin. Currently there are no simple, reliable methods to accurately measure the concentrations of frataxin protein. We designed a lateral-flow immunoassay that quantifies frataxin protein levels in a variety of sample materials. Using recombinant frataxin we evaluated the accuracy and reproducibility of the assay. The assay measured recombinant human frataxin concentrations between 40 and 4000 pg/test or approximately 0.1-10 nM of sample. The intra and inter-assay error was <10% throughout the working range. To evaluate clinical utility of the assay we used genetically defined lymphoblastoid cells derived from FA patients, FA carriers and controls. Mean frataxin concentrations in FA patients and carriers were significantly different from controls and from one another (p=0.0001, p=0.003, p=0.005, respectively) with levels, on average, 29% (patients) and 64% (carriers) of the control group. As predicted, we observed an inverse relationship between GAA repeat number and frataxin protein concentrations within the FA patient cohort. The lateral flow immunoassay provides a simple, accurate and reproducible method to quantify frataxin protein in whole cell and tissue extracts, including primary samples obtained by non-invasive means, such as cheek swabs and whole blood. The assay is a novel tool for FA research that may facilitate improved diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of FA patients and could also be used to evaluate efficacy of therapies designed to cure FA by increasing frataxin protein levels.

SUBMITTER: Willis JH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2692602 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Lateral-flow immunoassay for the frataxin protein in Friedreich's ataxia patients and carriers.

Willis John H JH Isaya Grazia G Gakh Oleksandr O Capaldi Roderick A RA Marusich Michael F MF

Molecular genetics and metabolism 20080515 4

Friedreich's Ataxia (FA) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by reduction in levels of the mitochondrial protein frataxin. Currently there are no simple, reliable methods to accurately measure the concentrations of frataxin protein. We designed a lateral-flow immunoassay that quantifies frataxin protein levels in a variety of sample materials. Using recombinant frataxin we evaluated the accuracy and reproducibility of the assay. The assay measured recombinant human frataxin concentr ...[more]

PMID: 18485778

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Project description:Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by an intronic guanine-adenine-adenine (GAA) triplet expansion in the frataxin (FXN) gene, which leads to reduced expression of full-length frataxin (1-210) also known as isoform 1. Full-length frataxin has a mitochondrial targeting sequence, which facilitates its translocation into mitochondria where it is processed through cleavage at G41-L42 and K80-S81 by mitochondrial processing (MPP) to release mitochondrial mature frataxin (81-210). Alternative splicing of FXN also leads to expression of N-terminally acetylated extra-mitochondrial frataxin (76-210) named isoform E because it was discovered in erythrocytes. Frataxin isoforms are undetectable in serum or plasma, and originally whole blood could not be used as a biomarker in brief therapeutic trials because it is present in erythrocytes, which have a half-life of 115-days and so frataxin levels would remain unaltered. Therefore, an assay was developed for analyzing frataxin in platelets, which have a half-life of only 10-days. However, our discovery that isoform E is only present in erythrocytes, whereas, mature frataxin is present primarily in short-lived peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), granulocytes, and platelets, meant that both proteins could be quantified in whole blood samples. We now report a quantitative assay for frataxin proteoforms in whole blood from healthy controls and FRDA patients. The assay is based on stable isotope dilution coupled with immunoprecipitation (IP) and two-dimensional-nano-ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography/parallel reaction monitoring/high resolution mass spectrometry (2D-nano-UHPLC-PRM/HRMS). The lower limit of quantification was 0.5 ng/mL for each proteoform and the assays had 100% sensitivity and specificity for discriminating between healthy controls (n = 11) and FRDA cases (N = 100 in year-1, N = 22 in year-2,3). The mean levels of mature frataxin in whole blood from healthy controls and homozygous FRDA patients were significantly different (p < 0.0001) at 7.5 ± 1.5 ng/mL and 2.1 ± 1.2 ng/mL, respectively. The mean levels of isoform E in whole blood from healthy controls and homozygous FRDA patients were significantly different (p < 0.0001) at 26.8 ± 4.1 ng/mL and 4.7 ± 3.3 ng/mL, respectively. The mean levels of total frataxin in whole blood from healthy controls and homozygous FRDA patients were significantly different (p < 0.0001) at 34.2 ± 4.3 ng/mL and 6.8 ± 4.0 ng/mL, respectively. The assay will make it possible to rigorously monitor the natural history of the disease and explore the potential role of isoform E in etiology of the disease. It will also facilitate the assessment of therapeutic interventions (including gene therapy approaches) that attempt to increase frataxin protein expression as a treatment for this devastating disease.

Dataset Information

Lateral-flow immunoassay for the frataxin protein in Friedreich's ataxia patients and carriers.

Publications

Lateral-flow immunoassay for the frataxin protein in Friedreich's ataxia patients and carriers.

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