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High incidence of loss of heterozygosity at chromosome 17p13 in breast tumours from BRCA2 mutation carriers.

Breast tumours from BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers are genetically instable and display specific patterns of chromosomal aberrations, suggestive of distinct genetic pathways in tumour progression. The frequency of abnormalities affecting chromosome 17p and the TP53 gene was determined in 27 breast tumours from 26 female patients carrying the Icelandic BRCA2 founder mutation (999del5). Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) was detected in 23 of the 27 tumours (85%). The majority of tumours manifesting LOH had lost a large region on 17p, although a more restricted loss, including the TP53 locus was seen in a few tumours. Positive p53 immunostaining was observed in 18 of 26 tumours (69%). However, mutations in the TP53 gene were detected in only three tumours (11%), including a missense (codon 139) and a nonsense mutation (codon 306) in two tumours with moderate p53 expression and a frameshift deletion (codon 182) in a tumour with no detectable p53 expression. Positive p53 immunostaining, mainly weak, was observed in 16 of the 24 tumours (66%) without TP53 mutation. The high frequency of LOH at chromosome 17p13 suggests that one or more genes from this region are involved in the development of BRCA2-induced breast cancer. The frequent finding of weak overexpression of, presumably wild type p53 protein, suggests an alternative mechanism of TP53 involvement specific to these tumours.

BRCA2 Protein↗

Mutations in the COL4A4 gene in thin basement membrane disease.

BACKGROUND: Patients with thin basement membrane disease (TBMD) are often from families where hematuria segregates with the COL4A3 and COL4A4 genes. These genes also are affected in autosomal recessive Alport syndrome. The aim of this study was to demonstrate COL4A4 mutations in TBMD. METHODS: Forty-eight unrelated individuals with TBMD who had no family members with autosomal recessive Alport syndrome were examined for COL4A4 mutations. The diagnosis of TBMD had been confirmed by renal biopsy (43/48, 90%) or by a family history of hematuria but without a renal biopsy (5/48, 10%). The 47 coding exons of COL4A4 were screened for mutations with the methods of enzyme mismatch cleavage or single stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, and exons that demonstrated electrophoretic abnormalities were sequenced. RESULTS: Nine variants that altered the coding sequences were identified. These were nonsense and frameshift mutations that resulted in stop codons (N = 3), and glycine (N = 3) and non-glycine missense variants (N = 3). Four intronic variants and three neutral polymorphisms were also detected. In total, four variants were considered 'pathogenic' principally because they resulted in stop codons or were not present in non-hematuric normal subjects. Three variants were considered 'possibly pathogenic' but two of these were each present in one of 46 non-hematuric normal subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Pathogenic COL4A4 mutations were demonstrated in three of the nine (33%) families in whom hematuria segregated with the COL4A3/COL4A4 locus. Two stop codons (R1377X and 2788/91delG) and a glycine substitution (G960R) resulted in hematuria in all 16 members who were tested from these three families. The S969X mutation described here in TBMD for the first time, as well as the R1377X mutation, also occur in autosomal recessive Alport syndrome.

Adolescent↗

Essential hydrophilic carboxyl-terminal regions including cysteine residues of the yeast stretch-activated calcium-permeable channel Mid1.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae MID1 gene encodes a stretch-activated Ca(2+)-permeable nonselective cation channel composed of 548 amino acid residues. A physiological role of the Mid1 channel is known to maintain the viability of yeast cells exposed to mating pheromone, but its structural basis remains to be clarified. To solve this problem, we identified the mutation sites of mid1 mutant alleles generated by in vivo ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis and found that two mid1 alleles have nonsense mutations at the codon for Trp(441), generating a truncated Mid1 protein lacking two-thirds of the intracellular carboxyl-terminal region from Asn(389) to Thr(548). In vitro random mutagenesis with hydroxylamine also showed that the carboxyl-terminal region is essential. To identify the functional portion of the carboxyl-terminal region in detail, we performed a progressive carboxyl-terminal truncation followed by functional analyses and found that the truncated protein produced from the mid1 allele bearing the amber mutation at the codon for Phe(522) (F522Am) complemented the mating pheromone-induced death phenotype of the mid1 mutant and increased its Ca(2+) uptake activity to a wild-type level, whereas N521Am did not. This result indicates that the carboxyl-terminal domain spanning from Asn(389) to Asn(521) is required for Mid1 function. Interestingly, this domain is cysteine-rich, and alanine-scanning mutagenesis revealed that seven out of 10 cysteine residues are unexchangeable. These results clearly indicate that the carboxyl-terminal domain including the cysteine residues is important for Mid1 function.

Alanine↗

A case of complete adenylate kinase deficiency due to a nonsense mutation in AK-1 gene (Arg 107 --> Stop, CGA --> TGA) associated with chronic haemolytic anaemia.

Two siblings of Italian origin with mild chronic haemolytic anaemia, psychomotor impairment and undetectable adenylate kinase (AK) activity are reported. The other red cell enzyme activities were normal except for a slight decrease of PFK. 2,3-DPG levels were increased in both siblings, and AMP decreased in one only. The parents were not consanguineous and displayed intermediate AK activity. The sequence of complete erythrocyte AK-1 cDNA showed the presence of a nonsense homozygous mutation at codon 107 (CGA --> TGA, Arg --> Stop) in the siblings. The mutation results in a truncated protein of 107 amino acids in comparison with the 194 of the normal one. Moreover a 37 bp deletion in the first part of exon 6 (from nt 326 to nt 362 of the cDNA sequence) was detected in one allele; this deletion is not likely to further affect the enzyme structure, being localized after the stop codon. The new variant was named AK Fidenza, from the origin of the patients.

Adenylate Kinase↗

An archaebacteria-derived glutamyl-tRNA synthetase and tRNA pair for unnatural amino acid mutagenesis of proteins in Escherichia coli.

The addition of novel amino acids to the genetic code of Escherichia coli involves the generation of an aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase and tRNA pair that is 'orthogonal', meaning that it functions independently of the synthetases and tRNAs endogenous to E.coli. The amino acid specificity of the orthogonal synthetase is then modified to charge the corresponding orthogonal tRNA with an unnatural amino acid that is subsequently incorporated into a polypeptide in response to a nonsense or missense codon. Here we report the development of an orthogonal glutamic acid synthetase and tRNA pair. The tRNA is derived from the consensus sequence obtained from a multiple sequence alignment of archaeal tRNA(Glu) sequences. The glutamyl-tRNA synthetase is from the achaebacterium Pyrococcus horikoshii. The new orthogonal pair suppresses amber nonsense codons with an efficiency roughly comparable to that of the orthogonal tyrosine pair derived from Methanococcus jannaschii, which has been used to selectively incorporate a variety of unnatural amino acids into proteins in E.coli. Development of the glutamic acid orthogonal pair increases the potential diversity of unnatural amino acid structures that may be incorporated into proteins in E.coli.

Acylation↗

A homozygous nonsense mutation in the PLEC1 gene in patients with epidermolysis bullosa simplex with muscular dystrophy.

Plectin is a widely expressed cytomatrix component involved in the attachment of the cytoskeleton to the plasma membrane. We have recently reported that the skin and muscles of three patients affected by epidermolysis bullosa simplex with muscular dystrophy (MD-EBS), a genetic disorder characterized by skin blistering associated with muscle involvement, are not reactive with antibodies specific to plectin. We demonstrated that in the skin, lack of plectin leads to failure of keratin filaments to connect to the plasma membrane via the hemidesmosomes, whereas in the muscle the deficient expression of the molecule correlates with an aberrant localization of desmin in the muscle fibers. In this study we demonstrate that in a MD-EBS kindred with two affected members, the disease results from a homozygous nonsense mutation in the plectin (PLEC1) gene leading to a premature stop codon (CGA to TGA) and decay of the aberrant plectin messenger RNA. The segregation of the mutated allele implicates the mutation in the pathology of the disorder. These results confirm the critical role of plectin in providing cell resistance to mechanical stresses both in the skin and the muscle.

Alleles↗

Mutation analysis of two Japanese patients with Fanconi-Bickel syndrome.

Fanconi-Bickel syndrome (FBS), or glycogen storage disease type XI, is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by hepatorenal glycogen accumulation, Fanconi nephropathy, and impaired utilization of glucose and galactose. Recently, this disease was elucidated to link mutations in the glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) gene. Only three mutations in three FBS families have been reported. Therefore, it is important to elucidate mutations in the GLUT2 gene in FBS by answering the question of whether the syndrome is a single gene disease. In this report, we describe two patients in two unrelated families clinically diagnosed with FBS. No mutation in the entire protein coding region of the GLUT2 gene was detected in patient 1, which suggested that no mutation existed in the GLUT2 gene, or that some mutations had affected the expression of the GLUT2 gene. In patient 2, a novel homozygous nonsense mutation (W420X, Trp at codon 420 to stop codon) was detected. These results support the correlation between GLUT2 gene mutation and FBS syndrome. However, many patients must be analyzed to determine whether other genes are involved in FBS.

Adult↗

Inactivation of the acrA gene is partially responsible for chloramphenicol sensitivity of Escherichia coli CM2555 strain expressing the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene.

An Escherichia coli CM2555 strain, sensitive to chloramphenicol when expressing the cat gene and producing active chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), was described recently. It was proposed that this sensitivity is due to decreased levels of acetyl coenzyme A (Acetyl CoA) in cat-expressing CM2555 cells in the presence of chloramphenicol. CAT catalyzes transfer of the acetyl moiety from Acetyl CoA to a chloramphenicol molecule. Thus, a very efficient acetylation of chloramphenicol may cause deprivation of Acetyl CoA and cell death. A specific mutation causing the chloramphenicol sensitivity phenotype of CM2555 was not reported to date. Therefore, we aimed to identify a genetic defect causing this phenotype. Here, we found that overexpression of the acrEF genes, encoding a transmembrane pump, or the acrE gene alone, results in restoration of chloramphenicol-resistance of cat-expressing CM2555 strain. Although no mutation exists in the CM2555 acrE locus, a nonsense mutation in the 67th codon of the acrA gene, which encodes a component of another transmembrane pump, has been found. Although introduction of the deltaacrAB allele into CM732, a parental strain of CM2555, and into some other commonly used E. coli strains led to their chloramphenicol sensitivity in the presence of CAT, the same genetic manipulation did not result in such a phenotype in other genetic backgrounds, including "wild-type" E. coli MG1655. These results suggest that the acrA dysfunction is one of more mutations responsible for chloramphenicol sensitivity of cat-expressing CM2555 strain.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Gene and phenotype analysis of congenital generalized lipodystrophy in Japanese: a novel homozygous nonsense mutation in seipin gene.

Congenital generalized lipodystrophy (CGL), Berardinelli-Seip syndrome, is a rare metabolic disorder characterized by a near total lack of adipose tissue from birth or early infancy. Recently, seipin, encoding a 398-amino acid protein of unknown function, and AGPAT2, encoding 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase 2, were identified as causative genes for CGL. Seipin mutations were found in patients from families originating from Europe and the Middle East. AGPAT2 mutations were found predominantly in African ancestry. However, no information is available on these genes in the pathogenesis of CGL in Asian ancestry. We examined the sequences of the entire coding region of seipin and AGPAT2 in four Japanese CGL patients from independent families. Their average body fat content was 4.7 +/- 0.5%, and the plasma leptin level was 1.15 +/- 0.14 ng/ml. We identified a novel nonsense mutation of seipin at codon 275 (R275X). Of four CGL patients, three were homozygous for R275X. No seipin mutation was found in any exon in one patient. We did not find any AGPAT2 mutations in our Japanese patients, suggesting that AGPAT2 is a minor causative gene, if any, for CGL in Japanese. This is the first report on gene and phenotype analysis of CGL in Japanese.

Adolescent↗

A beta-thalassaemia phenotype not linked to the beta-globin cluster in an Italian family.

This paper describes a family of Central Italian origin in which three patients in two generations had either thalassaemia intermedia or a late presenting form of thalassaemia major. Sequence analysis of the patients' DNA revealed that only one of the beta-globin genes was affected by a beta-thalassaemia mutation (the codon 39 nonsense mutation), the other being completely normal, apart from the complex rearrangement (-T +ATA) at position -530 5' to the CAP site of the beta-globin gene, which has uncertain clinical significance. Haematologically, all these patients were characterized by unusually low HbF levels (1.8-7.3%) for a beta-thalassaemia major or intermedia phenotype. The mother of the two patients with thalassaemia intermedia was heterozygous for beta-thalassaemia (codon 39 nonsense mutation), while the father had thalassaemia-like red cell indices, an increased alpha/non alpha chain synthesis ratio, a slight increase of HbF and a low HbA2 level, but showed entirely normal beta-globin gene sequences, apart from the complex rearrangement (-T +ATA) at position -530 5' to the CAP site. One of the thalassaemia intermedia patients married a normal woman and they had a child with thalassaemia major who inherited only the codon 39 nonsense mutation but not the complex rearrangement at position -530. The clinical phenotype of thalassaemia-intermedia or major in the patients from this family may be explained by postulating the inheritance of the double heterozygous state for beta-thalassaemia and for a mutation in a gene coding for an erythroid-specific DNA binding protein which may impair the function of the normal beta-globin gene. Heterozygosity for this postulated mutation (father of the patients with thalassaemia intermedia) may result in the production of a beta-thalassaemia carrier state with normal HbA2 level.

Adolescent↗

Reversion of trpA nonsense mutations by deletion of the chain-termination codons.

This paper describes a novel mechanism for reversion of nonsense mutations in the trpA gene of Escherichia coli. This mechanism, deletion of the nonsense codon, was discovered in the course of selecting for missense revertants of trpA(UGA211) and for catalytically active tryptophan synthetase alpha chain revertants of trpA(UAA234) and trpA(UAG234). Each type of revertant trpA was cloned and its DNA sequence determined. trpA(UGA211) gave rise to two previously unidentified types of missense revertant. The first type was expected, namely trpA(CGA211), the result of a base substitution event. The other type, representing approximately 1% of the missense revertants, was unexpected on the basis of single base substitutions and an understanding of which amino acids are functional at alpha chain position 211. It was found to be the result of a 21 base-pair deletion of a region containing codon 211. The tryptophan-independent revertants of both position 234 nonsense mutants occurred at a frequency of approximately 2 per 10(9) viable cells. They were identical in that they both resulted from a 3 base-pair deletion, namely deletion of the chain-terminating codon at position 234. One of them, however, also displayed an A instead of the normal G in the third position of codon 235. The revertants were characterized according to growth in different media and tryptophan synthetase assays performed on crude extracts. These types of mutants should prove interesting and important for the elucidation of alpha chain structure-function relationships, for insight into the assembly and interaction of subunits in this model multienzyme complex, and for the study of mechanisms by which deletions can be generated.

Base Sequence↗

The flavin-containing monooxygenase 2 gene (FMO2) of humans, but not of other primates, encodes a truncated, nonfunctional protein.

Flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs) are NADPH-dependent flavoenzymes that catalyze the oxidation of heteroatom centers in numerous drugs and xenobiotics. FMO2, or "pulmonary" FMO, one of five forms of the enzyme identified in mammals, is expressed predominantly in lung and differs from other FMOs in that it can catalyze the N-oxidation of certain primary alkylamines. We describe here the isolation and characterization of cDNAs for human FMO2. Analysis of the sequence of the cDNAs and of a section of the corresponding gene revealed that the major FMO2 allele of humans encodes a polypeptide that, compared with the orthologous protein of other mammals, lacks 64 amino acid residues from its C terminus. Heterologous expression of the cDNA revealed that the truncated polypeptide was catalytically inactive. The nonsense mutation that gave rise to the truncated polypeptide, a C --> T transition in codon 472, is not present in the FMO2 gene of closely related primates, including gorilla and chimpanzee, and must therefore have arisen in the human lineage after the divergence of the Homo and Pan clades. Possible mechanisms for the fixation of the mutation in the human population and the potential significance of the loss of functional FMO2 in humans are discussed.

Alleles↗