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HEATR3 variants impair nuclear import of uL18 (RPL5) and drive Diamond-Blackfan anemia.

ABSTRACT: The congenital bone marrow failure syndrome Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) is typically associated with variants in ribosomal protein (RP) genes impairing erythroid cell development. Here we report multiple individuals with biallelic HEATR3 variants exhibiting bone marrow failure, short stature, facial and acromelic dysmorphic features, and intellectual disability. These variants destabilize a protein whose yeast homolog is known to synchronize the nuclear import of RPs uL5 (RPL11) and uL18 (RPL5), which are both critical for producing ribosomal subunits and for stabilizing the p53 tumor suppressor when ribosome biogenesis is compromised. Expression of HEATR3 variants or repression of HEATR3 expression in primary cells, cell lines of various origins, and yeast models impairs growth, differentiation, pre-ribosomal RNA processing, and ribosomal subunit formation reminiscent of DBA models of large subunit RP gene variants. Consistent with a role of HEATR3 in RP import, HEATR3-depleted cells or patient-derived fibroblasts display reduced nuclear accumulation of uL18. Hematopoietic progenitor cells expressing HEATR3 variants or small-hairpin RNAs knocking down HEATR3 synthesis reveal abnormal acceleration of erythrocyte maturation coupled to severe proliferation defects that are independent of p53 activation. Our study uncovers a new pathophysiological mechanism leading to DBA driven by biallelic HEATR3 variants and the destabilization of a nuclear import protein important for ribosome biogenesis.

SUBMITTER: O'Donohue MF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9136880 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Diamond Blackfan Anemia (DBA) is a rare, congenital erythrocyte aplasia that is usually caused by haploinsufficiency of ribosomal proteins due to diverse mutations in one of several ribosomal protein genes. A striking feature of this disease is that a range of different mutations in ribosomal proteins results in similar disease phenotypes primarily characterized by erythrocyte abnormalities and macrocytic anemia, while most other cell types are minimally affected. Previously, we analyzed the erythrocyte membrane proteomes of several DBA patients and identified several proteins that are not typically associated with this cell type that suggested inflammatory mechanisms contribute to the pathogenesis of DBA. In this study, we evaluated the erythrocyte cytosolic proteome of DBA patients through in-depth analysis of hemoglobin-depleted erythrocyte cytosol. The simple, reproducible, hemoglobin depletion using nickel columns enabled in-depth analysis of over 1000 cytosolic erythrocyte proteins with minimal subsequent fractionation of the proteome. Label-free quantitation and statistical analysis identified 29 proteins that were significantly changed in DBA patients compared to matched healthy control donors. Some of the proteins that were significantly increased in DBA erythrocyte cytoplasm included three proteasome subunit beta proteins that make up the immunoproteasome and proteins induced by interferon-γ such as n-myc interactor and interferon-induced 25 kDa protein [NMI and IFI35 respectively]. Pathway analysis confirmed the presence of an inflammatory signature with erythrocytes of DBA patients and predicted key upstream regulators including mitogen activated kinase 1, interferon-γ, tumor suppressor p53, and tumor necrosis factor. These results show that erythrocytes in DBA patients are intrinsically different from those in healthy controls which may be due to an inflammatory response resulting from the inherent molecular defect of ribosomal protein haploinsufficiency or changes in the bone marrow microenvironment that leads to red cell aplasia in DBA patients.

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HEATR3 variants impair nuclear import of uL18 (RPL5) and drive Diamond-Blackfan anemia.

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