Project description:Using GGCX gene-specific real-time PCR, exon 2 deletion splice variant of vitamin K-dependent gamma-glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX) mRNA was identified in HCC cell lines. Expressions of wild type and exon 2 deletion variant of GGCX were analyzed with relevance to DCP production in HCC cell lines. Hep3B, HepG2, HuH1, HuH7, and PLC/PRF/5 produced DCP, while SK-Hep-1, HLE, HLF, and JHH1 produced no detectable level of DCP. DCP-producing cells expressed exon 2 deletion variant of GGCX mRNA and protein, while DCP-negative cells expressed no detectable level of exon 2 deletion variant of GGCX. These results suggest that exon 2 deletion splice variant of GGCX causes dysfunction of GGCX enzyme activity resulting in DCP production in HCC cell lines.
Project description:Via generation of vitamin K-dependent proteins, gamma-glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX) plays a critical role in the vitamin K cycle. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in GGCX, therefore, may affect dosing of the vitamin K antagonist, warfarin. In a multi-centered, cross-sectional study of 985 patients prescribed warfarin therapy, we genotyped for two GGCX SNPs (rs11676382 and rs12714145) and quantified their relationship to therapeutic dose. GGCX rs11676382 was a significant (p=0.03) predictor of residual dosing error and was associated with a 6.1% reduction in warfarin dose (95% CI: 0.6%-11.4%) per G allele. The prevalence was 14.1% in our predominantly (78%) Caucasian cohort, but the overall contribution to dosing accuracy was modest (partial R2 = 0.2%). GGCX rs12714145 was not a significant predictor of therapeutic dose (p = 0.26). GGCX rs11676382 is a statistically significant predictor of warfarin dose, but the clinical relevance is modest. Given the potentially low marginal cost of adding this SNP to existing genotyping platforms, we have modified our non-profit website (www.WarfarinDosing.org) to accommodate knowledge of this variant.
Project description:Essentials A carboxylase mutation that impairs splicing to delete exon 2 sequences was previously reported. We found that the mutant was inactive for vitamin K-dependent (VKD) protein carboxylation. An incomplete splicing defect likely accounts for VKD clotting activity observed in the patient. The results indicate the importance of proper carboxylase embedment in the membrane for function.BackgroundMutations in the γ-glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX), which is required for vitamin K-dependent (VKD) protein activation, can result in vitamin K clotting factor deficiency (VKCFD1). A recent report described a VKCFD1 patient with a homozygous carboxylase mutation that altered splicing and deleted exon 2 (Δ2GGCX). Only Δ2GGCX RNA was observed in the patient.ObjectivesLoss of exon 2 results in the deletion of carboxylase sequences thought to be important for membrane topology and consequent function. Carboxylase activity is required for life, and we therefore tested whether the Δ2GGCX mutant is active.MethodsHEK 293 cells were edited by the use of CRISPR-Cas9 to eliminate endogenous carboxylase. Recombinant wild-type GGCX and recombinant Δ2GGCX were then expressed and tested for carboxylation of the VKD protein factor IX. A second approach was used to monitor carboxylation biochemically, using recombinant carboxylases expressed in insect cells that lack endogenous carboxylase.Results and conclusionsΔ2GGCX activity was undetectable in both assays, which is strikingly different from the low levels of carboxylase activity observed with other VKCFD1 mutants. The similarity in clotting function between patients with Δ2GGCX and these mutations must therefore arise from a novel mechanism. Low levels of properly spliced carboxylase RNA that produce full-length protein would not have been observed in the previous study. The results suggest that the splicing defect is incomplete. Δ2GGCX RNA has been detected in normal human liver, and has been designated carboxylase isoform 2; however, Δ2GGCX protein was not observed in normal human liver. The lack of activity and protein expression suggest that isoform 2 is not physiologically relevant to normal VKD protein carboxylation.
Project description:Hereditary combined vitamin K-dependent (VKD) coagulation factor deficiency is an autosomal recessive bleeding disorder associated with defects in either the gamma-carboxylase, which carboxylates VKD proteins to render them active, or the vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKORC1), which supplies the reduced vitamin K cofactor required for carboxylation. Such deficiencies are rare, and we report the fourth case resulting from mutations in the carboxylase gene, identified in a Tunisian girl who exhibited impaired function in hemostatic VKD factors that was not restored by vitamin K administration. Sequence analysis of the proposita did not identify any mutations in the VKORC1 gene but, remarkably, revealed 3 heterozygous mutations in the carboxylase gene that caused the substitutions Asp31Asn, Trp157Arg, and Thr591Lys. None of these mutations have previously been reported. Family analysis showed that Asp31Asn and Thr591Lys were coallelic and maternally transmitted while Trp157Arg was transmitted by the father, and a genomic screen of 100 healthy individuals ruled out frequent polymorphisms. Mutational analysis indicated wild-type activity for the Asp31Asn carboxylase. In contrast, the respective Trp157Arg and Thr591Lys activities were 8% and 0% that of wild-type carboxylase, and their compound heterozygosity can therefore account for functional VKD factor deficiency. The implications for carboxylase mechanism are discussed.
Project description:Tissue-specific alternative splicing is an important mechanism for providing spatiotemporal protein diversity. Here we show that an in-frame splice mutation in BBS8, one of the genes involved in pleiotropic Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), is sufficient to cause nonsyndromic retinitis pigmentosa (RP). A genome-wide scan of a consanguineous RP pedigree mapped the trait to a 5.6 Mb region; subsequent systematic sequencing of candidate transcripts identified a homozygous splice-site mutation in a previously unknown BBS8 exon. The allele segregated with the disorder, was absent from controls, was completely invariant across evolution, and was predicted to lead to the elimination of a 10 amino acid sequence from the protein. Subsequent studies showed the exon to be expressed exclusively in the retina and enriched significantly in the photoreceptor layer. Importantly, we found this exon to represent the major BBS8 mRNA species in the mammalian photoreceptor, suggesting that the encoded 10 amino acids play a pivotal role in the function of BBS8 in this organ. Understanding the role of this additional sequence might therefore inform the mechanism of retinal degeneration in patients with syndromic BBS or other related ciliopathies.
Project description:Alternative splicing enables higher eukaryotes to expand mRNA diversity from a finite number of genes through highly combinatorial splice site selection mechanisms that are influenced by the sequence of competing splice sites, cis-regulatory elements binding trans-acting factors, the length of exons and introns harbouring alternative splice sites and RNA secondary structures at putative splice junctions. To test the hypothesis that the intron definition or exon definition modes of splice site recognition direct the selection of alternative splice patterns, we created a database of alternative splice site usage (ALTssDB). When alternative splice sites are embedded within short introns (intron definition), the 5' and 3' splice sites closest to each other across the intron preferentially pair, consistent with previous observations. However, when alternative splice sites are embedded within large flanking introns (exon definition), the 5' and 3' splice sites closest to each other across the exon are preferentially selected. Thus, alternative splicing decisions are influenced by the intron and exon definition modes of splice site recognition. The results demonstrate that the spliceosome pairs splice sites that are closest in proximity within the unit of initial splice site selection.
Project description:3-Methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (MCC) deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder of leucine catabolism. MCC is a heteromeric mitochondrial enzyme composed of biotin-containing alpha (MCCA) and smaller beta (MCCB) subunits encoded by MCCA and MCCB, respectively. We report studies of the c.1054G-->A mutation in exon 11 of MCCB detected in the homozygous state in a patient with MCC deficiency. Sequence analysis of MCCB cDNA revealed two overlapping transcripts, one containing the normal 73 bp of exon 11 including the missense mutation c.1054G-->A (p.G352R), the other with exon 11 replaced by a 64-bp sequence from intron 10 (cryptic exon 10a) that maintains the reading frame and is flanked by acceptable splice consensus sites. In expression studies, we show that both transcripts lack detectable MCC activity. Western blot analysis showed slightly reduced levels of MCCB using the transcript containing the missense mutation, whereas no MCCB was detected with the transcript containing the cryptic exon 10a. Analysis of the region harboring the mutation revealed that the c.1054G-->A mutation is located in an exon splice enhancer sequence. Using MCCB minigene constructs to transfect MCCB-deficient fibroblasts, we demonstrate that the reduction in utilization of exon 11 associated with the c.1054G-->A mutation is due to alteration of this exon splice enhancer. Further, we show that optimization of the weak splice donor site of exon 11 corrects the splicing defect. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a point mutation disrupting an exon splice enhancer that causes exon skipping along with utilization of a cryptic exon.
Project description:γ-Glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX) is an integral membrane protein that catalyzes posttranslational carboxylation of a number of vitamin K-dependent (VKD) proteins involved in a wide variety of physiologic processes, including blood coagulation, vascular calcification, and bone metabolism. Naturally occurring GGCX mutations are associated with multiple distinct clinical phenotypes. However, the genotype-phenotype correlation of GGCX remains elusive. Here, we systematically examined the effect of all naturally occurring GGCX mutations on the carboxylation of 3 structure-function distinct VKD proteins in a cellular environment. GGCX mutations were transiently introduced into GGCX-deficient human embryonic kidney 293 cells stably expressing chimeric coagulation factor, matrix Gla protein (MGP), or osteocalcin as VKD reporter proteins, and then the carboxylation efficiency of these reporter proteins was evaluated. Our results show that GGCX mutations differentially affect the carboxylation of these reporter proteins and the efficiency of using vitamin K as a cofactor. Carboxylation of these reporter proteins by a C-terminal truncation mutation (R704X) implies that GGCX's C terminus plays a critical role in the binding of osteocalcin but not in the binding of coagulation factors and MGP. This has been confirmed by probing the protein-protein interaction between GGCX and its protein substrates in live cells using bimolecular fluorescence complementation and chemical cross-linking assays. Additionally, using a minigene splicing assay, we demonstrated that several GGCX missense mutations affect GGCX's pre-messenger RNA splicing rather than altering the corresponding amino acid residues. Results from this study interpreted the correlation of GGCX's genotype and its clinical phenotypes and clarified why vitamin K administration rectified bleeding disorders but not nonbleeding disorders.
Project description:PurposeTo identify the underlying genetic cause in a two generation German family diagnosed with isolated aniridia.MethodsAll patients underwent full ophthalmic examination. Mutation screening of the paired box gene 6 (PAX6) was performed by bidirectional Sanger sequencing. A minigene assay was applied to analyze transcript processing of mutant and wildtype PAX6 variants in HEK293 cells.ResultsWe identified a PAX6 sequence variant at the splice donor site (+5) of intron 12. This variant has been described before in another family with aniridia but has not been characterized at the transcript level. We could demonstrate that the mutant allele causes the skipping of exon 12 during transcript processing. The mutation is predicted to result in a 'run on' translation past the normal translational stop codon.ConclusionsA splice site mutation resulting in exon skipping was found in a family with autosomal dominant aniridia. The mutation is predicted to result in an enlarged protein with an extra COOH-terminal domain. This very likely affects the transactivation properties of the PAX6 protein.
Project description:Active-site residues in rat kidney gamma-glutamyltransferase (EC 2.3.2.2) were investigated by means of chemical modification. 1. In the presence of maleate, the activity was inhibited by phenylmethanesulphonyl fluoride, and the inhibition was not reversed by beta-mercaptoethanol, suggesting that a serine residue is close to the active site, but is shielded except in the presence of maleate. 2. Treatment of the enzyme with N-acetylimidazole modified an amino group, exposed a previously inaccessible cysteine residue and inhibited hydrolysis of the gamma-glutamyl-enzyme intermediate, but not its formation. 3. After reaction of the enzyme successively with N-acetylimidazole and with non-radioactive iodoacetamide/serine/borate, two active-site residues reacted with iodo[(14)C]acetamide. One of these possessed a carboxy group, which formed a [(14)C]glycollamide ester, and the other was cysteine, shown by isolation of S-[(14)C]carboxymethylcysteine after acid hydrolysis. When N-acetylimidazole treatment was omitted, only the carboxy group reacted with iodo[(14)C]acetamide. 4. Isolation of the gamma-[(14)C]glutamyl-enzyme intermediate was made easier by prior treatment of the enzyme with N-acetylimidazole. The gamma-glutamyl-enzyme bond was stable to performic acid, and to hydroxylamine/urea at pH10, but was hydrolysed slowly at pH12, indicating attachment of the gamma-[(14)C]glutamyl group in amide linkage to an amino group on the enzyme. Proteolysis of the gamma-[(14)C]glutamyl-enzyme after performic acid oxidation gave rise to a small acidic radioactive peptide that was resistant to further proteolysis and was not identical with gamma-glutamyl-epsilon-lysine. 5. A scheme for the catalytic mechanism is proposed.