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Biomedical subjects

A Jalanko

Publications and source records attributed to A Jalanko.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Biosynthesis and intracellular targeting of the CLN3 protein defective in Batten disease.

Batten disease (juvenile-onset neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, JNCL), the most common neurodegenerative disorder of childhood, is caused by mutations in a recently identified gene ( CLN3 ) localized to chromosome 16p11.2-12.1. To elucidate the biosynthesis and localization of the CLN3 protein, we expressed CLN3 cDNA in COS-1 and HeLa cell lines. In vitro translation, immunoprecipitation and Western blotting analyses detected an approximately 43 kDa polypeptide. Pulse-chase experiments indicated that the CLN3 protein is synthesized as an N -glycosylated single-chain polypeptide, which was not detected in growth medium. Confocal immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that the CLN3 protein is localized to the lysosomal compartment. These results provide evidence that Batten disease can be classified as a member of lysosomal diseases.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed1998

Mice with an aspartylglucosaminuria mutation similar to humans replicate the pathophysiology in patients.

Aspartyglucosaminuria (AGU) is a lysosomal storage disease with autosomal recessive inheritance that is caused by deficient activity of aspartylglucosaminidase (AGA), a lysosomal enzyme belonging to the newly described enzyme family of N-terminal hydrolases. An AGU mouse model was generated by targeted disruption of the AGA gene designed to mimic closely one human disease mutation. These homozygous mutant mice have no detectable AGA activity and excrete aspartylglucosamine in their urine. Analogously to the human disease, the affected homozygous animals showed storage in lysosomes in all analyzed tissues, including the brain, liver, kidney and skin, and lysosomal storage was already detected in fetuses at 19 days gestation. Electron microscopic studies of brain tissue samples demonstrated lysosomal storage vacuoles in the neurons and glia of the neocortical and cortical regions. Magnetic resonance images (MRI) facilitating monitoring of the brains of living animals indicated cerebral atrophy and hypointensity of the deep gray matter structures of brain-findings similar to those observed in human patients. AGU mice are fertile, and up to 11 months of age their movement and behavior do not differ from their age-matched littermates. However, in the Morris water maze test, a slow worsening of performance could be seen with age. The phenotype mimics well AGU in humans, the patients characteristically showing only slowly progressive mental retardation and relatively mild skeletal abnormalities.

Acetylglucosamine↗
PubMed1998

Monitoring the CNS pathology in aspartylglucosaminuria mice.

Aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU) is a recessively inherited lysosomal storage disorder caused by the deficiency of the aspartylglucosaminidase (AGA) enzyme. The hallmark of AGU is slowly progressing mental retardation but the progression of brain pathology has remained uncharacterized in humans. Here we describe the long-term follow-up of mice carrying a targeted AGU-mutation in both alleles. Immunohistochemistry, histology, electron microscopy, quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and behavioral studies were carried out to evaluate the CNS affection of the disease during development. The lysosomal storage vacuoles of the AGA -/- mice were most evident in central brain regions where MRI also revealed signs of brain atrophy similar to that seen in the older human patients. By immunohistochemistry and MRI examinations, a subtle delay of myelination was observed in AGA -/- mice. The life span of the AGA -/- mice was not shortened. Similar to the slow clinical course observed in human patients, the AGA -/- mice have behavioral symptoms that emerge at older age. Thus, the AGU knock-out mice represent an accurate model for AGU, both histopathologically and phenotypically.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Mouse palmitoyl protein thioesterase: gene structure and expression of cDNA.

Palmitoyl protein thioesterase (PPT) is the defective enzyme in infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (INCL), which is a recessively inherited, progressive neurodegenerative disorder. We present here the cloning, chromosomal mapping, genomic structure, and the expression of the cDNA of mouse PPT. The mouse PPT gene spans >21 kb of genomic DNA and contains nine exons with a coding sequence of 918 bp. Fluorescence in situ hybridization to metaphase chromosomes localized the mouse PPT gene to the chromosome 4 conserved syntenic region with human chromosome 1p32 where the human PPT is located. PPT is expressed widely in a variety of mouse tissues. The mouse PPT cDNA is conserved highly with the human and rat PPT both at the nucleotide and amino acid sequence level. Transient expression of mouse PPT in COS-1 cells yielded a 38/36-kD differentially glycosylated polypeptide that was also secreted into culture media. Immunofluorescence analysis of transiently transfected HeLa cells indicated lysosomal localization of mouse PPT. Based on the high conservation of the gene and polypeptide structure as well as similar processing and intracellular localization, the function of PPT in mouse and human are likely to be very similar.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Expression and regulation of the human and mouse aspartylglucosaminidase gene.

Aspartylglucosaminidase (AGA) is a lysosomal enzyme that catalyzes one of the final steps in the degradation of N-linked glycoproteins. Here we have analyzed the tissue-specific expression and regulation of the human and mouse AGA genes. We isolated and characterized human and mouse AGA 5'-flanking sequences including the promoter regions. Primer extension assay revealed multiple transcription start sites in both genes, characteristic of a housekeeping gene. The cross-species comparison studies pinpointed an approximately 450-base pair (bp) homologous region in the distal promoter. In the functional analysis of human AGA 5' sequence, the critical promoter region was defined, and an additional upstream region of 181 bp exhibiting an inhibitory effect on transcription was identified. Footprinting and gel shift assays indicated protein binding to the core promoter region consisting of two Sp1 binding sites, which were sufficient to produce basal promoter activity in the functional studies. The results also suggested the binding of a previously uncharacterized transcription factor to a 23-bp stretch in the inhibitory region.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

From locus to cellular disturbances: positional cloning of the infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis gene.

Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL) represent a group of common progressive encephalopathies of children with a global incidence of 1 in 12,500. NCL are divided into three autosomal recessive subtypes, all assigned to different chromosomal loci. The infantile subtype of NCL (INCL) is characterized by early visual loss and mental deterioration, and leads to a vegetative state of the patients by 3 years of age. We pursued the identification of the gene defective in INCL, enriched in the Finnish population by a positional cloning approach and identified mutations in the palmitoyl-protein thioesterase (PPT) gene in INCL patients. We have further shown that PPT represents a novel lysosomal enzyme and is routed to the lysosomes via the mannose 6-phosphate receptor-mediated pathway. The worldwide most common mutation in the PPT gene, INCLFin, results in the deficient routing of the mutant PPT to lysosomes and undetectable enzyme activity in the brain tissue of patients. Our results suggest that INCL can be classified as a new member of lysosomal enzyme deficiencies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Molecular mechanisms of mutations in factor XIII A-subunit deficiency: in vitro expression in COS-cells demonstrates intracellular degradation of the mutant proteins.

Factor XIII deficiency is an autosomal recessive bleeding disorder that is largely caused by various mutations in FXIII A-subunit gene. Characteristically, the patients lack both A-subunit activity and antigen in the circulation. Here we have analysed the consequences of four missense mutations (Met242-->Thr, Arg252-->Ile, Arg326-->Gln, Leu498 to Pro) and one stop mutation (Arg661-->Stop) in the FXIII A-subunit gene by expression in COS-cells. After transient transfection each mutant cDNA expressed mRNA at an equal level to the wild type FXIII. However, the mutant polypeptides accumulated in the cells in significantly reduced quantities and demonstrated only very low enzymatic activity. Analysis of immunoprecipitated metabolically labelled polypeptides demonstrated remarkable instability and intracellular degradation of all mutant FXIII proteins. These results verify the deleterious nature of the individual amino acid changes and confirm that protein instability and susceptibility to proteolysis are consequences of the mutations, as predicted from the three-dimensional model of crystallised FXIII A-subunit.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Human palmitoyl protein thioesterase: evidence for lysosomal targeting of the enzyme and disturbed cellular routing in infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis.

Palmitoyl protein thioesterase (PPT) is an enzyme that removes palmitate residues from various S-acylated proteins in vitro. We recently identified mutations in the human PPT gene in patients suffering from a neurodegenerative disease in childhood, infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (INCL), with dramatic manifestations limited to the neurons of neocortical origin. Here we have expressed the human PPT cDNA in COS-1 cells and demonstrate the lysosomal targeting of the enzyme via the mannose 6-phosphate receptor-mediated pathway. The enzyme was also secreted into the growth medium and could be endocytosed by recipient cells. We further demonstrate the disturbed intracellular routing of PPT carrying the worldwide most common INCL mutation, Arg122Trp, to lysosomes. The results provide evidence that INCL represents a novel lysosomal enzyme deficiency. Further, the defect in the PPT gene causing a neurodegenerative disorder suggests that depalmitoylation of the still uncharacterized substrate(s) for PPT is critical for postnatal development or maintenance of cortical neurons.

Amidohydrolases↗
PubMed1996

Primary folding of aspartylglucosaminidase. Significance of disulfide bridges and evidence of early multimerization.

Aspartylglucosaminidase (AGA) is a lysosomal enzyme involved in the degradation of N-linked glycoproteins in lysosomes. AGA is synthesized as an inactive precursor molecule, which is rapidly activated in the endoplasmic reticulum by a proteolytic cleavage into alpha- and beta-subunits. We have recently determined the three-dimensional structure of AGA and shown that it is a globular molecule with a heterotetrameric (alphabeta)2 structure. On the basis of structural and functional analyses, AGA seems to be the first mammalian protein belonging to a newly described protein family, the N-terminal nucleophile hydrolases. Because the activation of the prokaryotic members of the N-terminal nucleophile hydrolase family seems to be triggered by the assembly of the subunits, we have studied the initial folding and oligomerization of AGA and provide evidence that dimerization of two precursor molecules in the endoplasmic reticulum is a prerequisite for the activation of AGA. To gain further information on the structural determinants influencing the early folding of AGA, we used site-specific mutagenesis of cysteine residues to define the role of intrachain disulfide bridges in the folding and activation of the enzyme. The N-terminal disulfide bridges in both the alpha- and beta-subunits seem to have only a stabilizing role, whereas the C-terminal disulfide bridge in both subunits evidently plays an important role in the early folding and activation of AGA.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Ser72Pro active-site disease mutation in human lysosomal aspartylglucosaminidase: abnormal intracellular processing and evidence for extracellular activation.

Aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU) is a lysosomal storage disease caused by deficient activity of aspartylglucosaminidase (AGA). We report here a T214C mutation leading to a Ser72Pro substitution in four Arab families. This is the first naturally occurring AGU mutation involving an active-site amino acid of this recently crystallized hydrolase and it seems to represent the second most common AGU mutation worldwide. The intracellular consequences of the Ser72Pro mutation were analyzed by transient expression in COS-1 cells and we were able to demonstrate that this active-site mutation most probably does not destroy the enzyme activity per se, but specifically prevents the proteolytic activation cleavage of AGA in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The mutant enzyme is, however, folded correctly enough to allow mannose-6-phosphorylation and targeting to lysosomes. The overexpressed mutant enzyme remained inactive intracellularly, but the secreted mutant precursor was proteolytically activated extracellularly, resulting in a similar subunit composition to that in the wild-type AGA in the ER. The partially activated mutant enzyme was endocytosed further by the recipient cells. These data demonstrate that the proteolytic activation of AGA can also occur extracellularly and suggest that the driving mechanism of AGA precursor cleavage is autocatalytic.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

In vitro expression analysis shows that the secretory form of gelsolin is the sole source of amyloid in gelsolin-related amyloidosis.

Amyloidoses are a group of diseases where abnormal fibrillar protein deposits accumulate in patients' tissues. In familial amyloidosis of the Finnish type (FAF), or gelsolin-related amyloidosis, the amyloid subunit protein consists of gelsolin peptides of amino acids 173-243 with the disease causing substitution at Asp187. Gelsolin is an actin-modulating protein and exists in both secretory and intracellular forms both encoded by a single gene in chromosome 9. We have previously shown that the FAF-associated forms of secretory gelsolin carrying the Asp187Asn or Asp187Tyr mutations are abnormally processed in cells, resulting in the secretion of an aberrant 68 kDa carboxyterminal fragment. Here we demonstrate by N-terminal sequencing that the amino terminus of this abnormal fragment is the amino acid 173 and thus represents the N-terminus of the FAF amyloid. We also provide evidence that the same truncated gelsolin can be found among the aberrant gelsolin fragments detected in patients' CSF. Finally, we also expressed the FAF-associated forms of intracellular gelsolin in COS-1 cells, and found no abnormality in their processing opposite to secretory form. Our results provide strong evidence that the secretory gelsolin is solely responsible for the amyloid formation in FAF.

Amyloid↗
PubMed1995

Molecular cloning, chromosomal assignment, and expression of the mouse aspartylglucosaminidase gene.

Aspartylglucosaminidase (AGA) is a lysosomal enzyme, the deficiency of which leads to human lysosomal storage disease aspartylglucosaminuria. Here, we describe isolation, chromosomal location, genomic structure, and tissue-specific expression of the mouse Aga gene as well as the intracellular processing of the mouse Aga polypeptide and compare these characteristics to human AGA. The mouse Aga gene was localized to the central area of the B region of chromosome 8, which represents the synteny group in the human chromosome 4q telomeric region where the human AGA gene is located. The mouse gene spans an 11-kb genomic region and contains nine exons and eight introns, which is analogous to the human gene. Furthermore, the exon-intron boundaries of the mouse and human genes are identically positioned. The nucleotide sequence identity of the cDNA and deduced amino acid sequence identity of the protein are 84.4 and 82.4%, respectively. However, the mouse Aga cDNA contains untranslated regions that are shorter than those in the human cDNA, and only one 1.2-kb mRNA transcript is produced in mouse versus two transcripts in human. Expression of the mouse Aga cDNA in COS-1 cells showed that the mouse Aga polypeptide was processed similarly to the human counterpart.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Immediate interaction between the nascent subunits and two conserved amino acids Trp34 and Thr206 are needed for the catalytic activity of aspartylglucosaminidase.

Aspartylglucosaminidase (AGA, EC 3.5.1.26) is a dimeric lysosomal hydrolase involved in the degradation of glycoproteins. The synthesized precursor polypeptide of AGA is rapidly activated in the endoplasmic reticulum by proteolysis into two subunits. Expression of the alpha- and beta-subunits of AGA in separate cDNA constructs showed that independently folded subunits totally lack enzyme activity, and even when co-expressed in vitro they fail to produce an active heterodimer of the enzyme. Both of the subunits are required for the enzyme activity, and the immediate interaction of the subunits in the endoplasmic reticulum is necessary for the correct folding of the dimeric enzyme molecule. The specific amino acid residues essential for the active site of the AGA enzyme were further analyzed by site-directed mutagenesis and in vitro expression of mutagenized constructs. Replacement of Thr206, the most amino-terminal residue of the beta-subunit, with Ser resulted in a complete loss of enzyme activity without influencing intracellular processing or transport of the mutant polypeptide to the lysosomes. Analogously, replacement of the most amino-terminal tryptophan, Trp34 with Phe or Ser in the alpha-subunit, resulted in a totally inactive enzyme without influencing the intracellular processing or stability of the polypeptide. These results suggest that the catalytic center of this amidase is formed by the interaction of the amino-terminal parts of two subunits and requires both Trp34 in the alpha-subunit and Thr206 in the beta-subunit.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Identification of a novel mutation causing aspartylglucosaminuria reveals a mutation hotspot region in the aspartylglucosaminidase gene.

Aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU) is a recessively inherited metabolic disorder caused by the deficiency of a lysosomal enzyme, aspartylglucosaminidase. The worldwide most common mutation causing the disease is the AGUFin, enriched in Finland; all the other known AGU mutations are family-specific. We developed exon-specific primers to facilitate mutation search directly from the genomic DNA and identified a novel mutation, designated AGUFin minor, in seven Finnish AGUFin compound heterozygote patients. This deletion/frameshift mutation creates a premature translational termination codon and was shown to result in severely reduced transcript levels as quantified by the solid-phase minisequenching method. Genealogical data on this novel mutation suggest its relatively recent introduction into the population. The AGU mutations identified so far have been reported to be evenly distributed throughout the 1 kb coding region of the AGA cDNA. We identified a mutation hotspot region of 40 bp within the 12.5 kb AGA gene containing two previously identified mutations and the novel AGUFin minor mutation characterized in this study.

Acetylglucosamine↗
PubMed1995

Correction of deficient enzyme activity in a lysosomal storage disease, aspartylglucosaminuria, by enzyme replacement and retroviral gene transfer.

The ability of lysosomal enzymes to be secreted and subsequently captured by adjacent cells provides an excellent basis for investigating different therapy strategies in lysosomal storage disorders. Aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU) is caused by deficiency of aspartylglucosaminidase (AGA) leading to interruption of the ordered breakdown of glycoproteins in lysosomes. As a consequence of the disturbed glycoprotein catabolism, patients with AGU exhibit severe cell dysfunction especially in the central nervous system (CNS). The uniform phenotype observed in these patients will make effective evaluation of treatment trials feasible in future. Here we have used fibroblasts and lymphoblasts from AGU patients and murine neural cell lines as targets to evaluate in vitro the feasibility of enzyme replacement and gene therapy in the treatment of this disorder. Complete correction of the enzyme deficiency was obtained both with recombinant AGA enzyme purified from CHO-K1 cells and with retrovirus-mediated transfer of the AGA gene. Furthermore, we were able to demonstrate enzyme correction by cell-to-cell interaction of transduced and nontransduced cells.

Acetylglucosamine↗
PubMed1995

Deletion of the C-terminal end of aspartylglucosaminidase resulting in a lysosomal accumulation disease: evidence for a unique genomic rearrangement.

Aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU) is an inborn error of glycoprotein catabolism and represents the only known human deficiency of an amidase, aspartylglucosaminidase (AGA, EC 3.5.1.26). We report here a detailed characterization of a unique 2 kb deletion of the AGA gene in a North American AGU patient. To facilitate the characterization of the deletion, genomic lamda clones spanning the 3' flanking region of human AGA were isolated and sequenced. The breakpoint of the deletion was determined from the patient's DNA by sequencing the genomic region containing the novel junction. The rearrangement involved a nonhomologous recombination with only 2 bp of homology at the deletion breakpoint. The deletion's 5' breakpoint was located in the last intron of AGA, thus abolishing the normal C-terminal exon. This is in contrast to our previous findings indicating that the deletion in the AGA gene would contain only the complete 3' untranslated region and leave the coding region intact (1). The unique feature of this deletion is a triplication of 19 thymidine nucleotides of an inverted Alu repeat, which is located at the deletion 3' breakpoint. The analysis of the patient's AGA cDNA revealed an open reading frame containing a novel C-terminal exon, coding for a 64 amino acid sequence, which has no homology to the normal exon 9 of AGA. This new exon has a functional splice acceptor site at its 5' end, a stop codon, and a polyadenylation signal at the 3' end. Expression of the mutant AGA cDNA in COS cells showed that mutant mRNA is synthesized in equal amounts compared with normal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Quantitative analysis of wild-type and HBeAg minus hepatitis B viruses by a sequence-dependent primer extension assay.

The ratio between wild-type hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HBV mutant, unable to secrete "e" antigen (HBeAg minus HBV) appears to be an important determinant of the outcome of chronic hepatitis B. Quantitative analysis of wild-type and HBeAg minus HBVs in the blood could be useful to monitor chronic hepatitis B patients. We developed a solid-phase minisequencing assay for both viruses using a primer-guided incorporation of a single labeled nucleotide on an affinity captured biotinylated amplified HBV-DNA template. A standard curve was constructed by mixing increasing quantities of wild type and mutant virus DNAs. The detection of wild-type and HBeAg minus sequences, ranging from 10% to 90% of overall viremia, was linear and reproducible till 0.1 pg/microliter of serum HBV-DNA. The assay yields numerical values and the ratio of incorporated nucleotides defines the relative proportions (%) of the two viral sequences with accuracy. We tested the sensitivity and accuracy of the minisequencing on mixed end point dilutions of wild-type and HBeAg minus reference sera and amplified products. The feasibility and reproducibility of the assay were tested in 35 sera from 21 HBsAg positive patients with chronic hepatitis B using both minisequencing and oligo-hybridization assays. A high correlation was found between the two assays (r = 0.957 P < 0.0001). In conclusion, the minisequencing assay provides a precise and reproducible quantitative analysis of wild-type and HBeAg minus HBVs in clinical specimens. It is proposed to study the relations between HBV heterogeneity and the course of hepatitis B and its response to therapy.

Base Sequence↗