Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “frameshifting”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 577 records · Page 32Linked to original sources

Catastrophe and what to do about it if you are a bacterium: the importance of frameshift mutants.

Key problems that bacteria have historically faced are the challenges of the lack of essential nutrients and the presence of antibiotics produced naturally, but there are many other challenges. It appears that for many of these challenges the bacteria have mechanisms encoded in their genomes that are not usually functioning, but may be "turned on" when needed, even if the need only occurs once in hundreds of thousands of generations. Such mechanisms at other times somehow need to be "turned off" because they may cause a slight disadvantage, or even a grave disadvantage to the cell compared with wild-type cells during the time the population is not being challenged. On the other hand, a gene cannot simply be discarded because it might be needed again. How do microorganisms solve the problem of responding to challenges that only occur rarely? I suggest that in most cases, the mutation must occur by the existence of a readily reversible mutation. The mutation in likely the result of a frameshift mutation that caused the response and later another frameshift occurs to return the genome to its original state.

Bacteria↗

Frameshift, nonsense and non amino acid altering mutations in SOD1 in familial ALS: report of a Japanese pedigree and literature review.

We demonstrated the clinical characteristics of each member of a family from Oki Island in western Japan, whose members have familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS) with a 2-base pair (bp) deletion at codon 126 of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) gene. Mean disease duration among the Oki family members was about 2 years. Long-term survivors with respiratory support presented disturbances in eye movement and urination toward the end stages of the disease. In addition, we focused on in-vitro instabilities in the frameshift and nonsense mutations, including the 2-bp deletion, as well as some deletional, insertional and intronic mutations. These mutations were all found within exon 4, exon 5 and intron 4. As for the durations of illness, there were no significant differences between FALS patients with these SOD1 mutations and those with point mutations, although the former cases were likely to have shorter disease durations. In cell culture experiments, SOD1 proteins with frameshift and nonsense mutations were extremely unstable and showed very short half-lives. We postulated that the in-vitro instability of the mutant SOD1 might be related to the pathogenesis of FALS, e.g. through the mechanism of copper release.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗

Differential stability of the mRNA secondary structures in the frameshift site of various HIV type 1 viruses.

For many retroviruses, one or more ribosomal frameshift events are required for translation of the Gag-Pol precursor protein, which is subsequently processed into the structural and enzymatic proteins found in mature virions. A specific nucleotide motif, the slippery sequence, as well as a downstream mRNA secondary structure are generally believed to have roles in the frameshift event. In HIV-1, a particular stem-loop mRNA secondary structure has been proposed for subtype B. On the basis of this model, HIV-1 subtypes A, E, and F were found in this study to share a similar stem-loop structure predicted to have a lower thermodynamic stability as compared with HIV-1 subtypes B, C, and D. The potential impact of this differential thermodynamic stability on HIV-1 replication remains to be determined.

Base Sequence↗

Identification of nine human-specific frameshift mutations by comparative analysis of the human and the chimpanzee genome sequences.

MOTIVATION: The recent release of the draft sequence of the chimpanzee genome is an invaluable resource for finding genome-wide genetic differences that might explain phenotypic differences between humans and chimpanzees. AVAILABILITY: In this paper, we describe a simple procedure to identify potential human-specific frameshift mutations that occurred after the divergence of human and chimpanzee. The procedure involves collecting human coding exons bearing insertions or deletions compared with the chimpanzee genome and identification of homologs from other species, in support of the mutations being human-specific. Using this procedure, we identified nine genes, BASE, DNAJB3, FLJ33674, HEJ1, NTSR2, RPL13AP, SCGB1D4, WBSCR27 and ZCCHC13, that show human-specific alterations including truncations of the C-terminus. In some cases, the frameshift mutation results in gene inactivation or decay. In other cases, the altered protein seems to be functional. This study demonstrates that even the unfinished chimpanzee genome sequence can be useful in identifying modification of genes that are specific to the human lineage and, therefore, could potentially be relevant to the study of the acquisition of human-specific traits.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A novel frameshift mutation of the mtDNA COIII gene leads to impaired assembly of cytochrome c oxidase in a patient affected by Leigh-like syndrome.

We report on a novel frameshift mutation in the mtDNA gene encoding cytochrome c oxidase (COX) subunit III. The proband is an 11-year-old girl with a negative family history and an apparently healthy younger brother. Since 4 years of age, she has developed a progressive spastic paraparesis associated with ophthalmoparesis and moderate mental retardation. The presence of severe lactic acidosis and Leigh-like lesions of putamina prompted us to perform muscle and skin biopsies. In both, a profound, isolated defect of COX was found by histochemical and biochemical assays. Sequence analysis of muscle mtDNA resulted in the identification of a virtually homoplasmic frameshift mutation in the COIII gene, due to the insertion of an extra C at nucleotide position 9537 of mtDNA. Although the 9537C(ins) does not impair transcription of COIII, no full-length COX III protein was detected in mtDNA translation assays in vivo. Western blot analysis of two-dimensional blue-native electrophoresis showed a reduction of specific crossreacting material and the accumulation of early-assembly intermediates of COX, whereas the fully assembled complex was absent. One of these intermediates had an electrophoretic mobility different from those seen in controls, suggesting the presence of a qualitative abnormality of COX assembly. Immunostaining with specific antibodies failed to detect the presence of several smaller subunits in the complex lacking COX III, in spite of the demonstration that these subunits were present in the crude mitochondrial fraction of patient's cultured fibroblasts. Taken together, the data indicate a role for COX III in the incorporation and maintenance of smaller COX subunits within the complex.

Base Sequence↗

Molecular consequences of PHOX2B missense, frameshift and alanine expansion mutations leading to autonomic dysfunction.

Heterozygous mutations of the PHOX2B gene account for a broad variety of disorders of the autonomic nervous system, either isolated or combined, including congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS), tumours of the sympathetic nervous system and Hirschsprung disease. In CCHS, the prevalent mutation is an expansion of a 20-alanine stretch ranging from +5 to +13 alanines, whereas frameshift and missense mutations are found occasionally. To determine the molecular basis of impaired PHOX2B function, we assayed the transactivation and DNA binding properties of wild-type and mutant PHOX2B proteins. Furthermore, we investigated aggregate formation by proteins with polyalanine tract expansions ranging from +5 to +13 alanines using immunofluorescence of transfected cells and gel filtration of in vitro translated proteins. We found that transactivation of the dopamine beta-hydroxylase promoter by PHOX2B proteins with frameshift and missense mutations was abolished or severely curtailed, as was in vitro DNA binding although the proteins localized to the nucleus. The transactivation potential of proteins with polyalanine tract expansions declined with increasing length of the polyalanine stretch, and DNA binding was affected for an expansion of +9 alanines and above. Cytoplasmic aggregation in transfected cells was only observed for the longest expansions, whereas even the short expansion mutants were prone to form multimers in vitro. Such a tendency to protein misfolding could explain loss of transactivation for alanine expansion mutations. However, additional mechanisms such as toxic gain-of-function may play a role in the pathogenic process.

Animals↗

An 'elaborated' pseudoknot is required for high frequency frameshifting during translation of HCV 229E polymerase mRNA.

The RNA polymerase gene (gene 1) of the human coronavirus 229E is approximately 20 kb in length and is located at the 5' end of the positive-strand genomic RNA. The coding sequence of gene 1 is divided into two large open reading frames, ORF1a and ORF1b, that overlap by 43 nucleotides. In the region of the ORF1a/ORF1b overlap, the genomic RNA displays two elements that are known to mediate (-1) ribosomal frameshifting. These are the slippery sequence, UUUAAAC, and a 3' pseudoknot structure. By introducing site-specific mutations into synthetic mRNAs, we have analysed the predicted structure of the HCV 229E pseudoknot and shown that besides the well-known stem structures, S1 and S2, a third stem structure, S3, is required for a high frequency of frameshifting. The requirement for an S3 stem is independent of the length of loop 2.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A frameshift error detection algorithm for DNA sequencing projects.

During the determination of DNA sequences, frameshift errors are not the most frequent but they are the most bothersome as they corrupt the amino acid sequence over several residues. Detection of such errors by sequence alignment is only possible when related sequences are found in the databases. To avoid this limitation, we have developed a new tool based on the distribution of non-overlapping 3-tuples or 6-tuples in the three frames of an ORF. The method relies upon the result of a correspondence analysis. It has been extensively tested on Bacillus subtilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae sequences and has also been examined with human sequences. The results indicate that it can detect frameshift errors affecting as few as 20 bp with a low rate of false positives (no more than 1.0/1000 bp scanned). The proposed algorithm can be used to scan a large collection of data, but it is mainly intended for laboratory practice as a tool for checking the quality of the sequences produced during a sequencing project.

Algorithms↗

Identification and characterisation of a developmentally regulated mammalian gene that utilises -1 programmed ribosomal frameshifting.

Translational recoding of mRNA through a -1 ribosomal slippage mechanism has been observed in RNA viruses and retrotransposons of both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Whilst this provides a potentially powerful mechanism of gene regulation, the utilization of -1 translational frameshifting in regulating mammalian gene expression has remained obscure. Here we report a mammalian gene, Edr, which provides the first example of -1 translational recoding in a eukaryotic cellular gene. In addition to bearing functional frameshift elements that mediate expression of distinct polypeptides, Edr bears both CCHC zinc-finger and putative aspartyl protease catalytic site retroviral-like motifs, indicative of a relic retroviral-like origin for Edr. These features, coupled with conservation of Edr as a single copy gene in mouse and man and striking spatio-temporal regulation of expression during embryogenesis, suggest that Edr plays a functionally important role in mammalian development.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

Torsional restraint: a new twist on frameshifting pseudoknots.

mRNA pseudoknots have a stimulatory function in programmed -1 ribosomal frameshifting (-1 PRF). Though we previously presented a model for how mRNA pseudoknots might activate the mechanism for -1 PRF, it did not address the question of the role that they may play in positioning the mRNA relative to the ribosome in this process [E. P. Plant, K. L. M. Jacobs, J. W. Harger, A. Meskauskas, J. L. Jacobs, J. L. Baxter, A. N. Petrov and J. D. Dinman (2003) RNA, 9, 168-174]. A separate 'torsional restraint' model suggests that mRNA pseudoknots act to increase the fraction of ribosomes directed to pause with the upstream heptameric slippery site positioned at the ribosome's A- and P-decoding sites [J. D. Dinman (1995) Yeast, 11, 1115-1127]. Here, experiments using a series of 'pseudo-pseudoknots' having different degrees of rotational freedom were used to test this model. The results of this study support the mechanistic hypothesis that -1 ribosomal frameshifting is enhanced by torsional resistance of the mRNA pseudoknot.

Base Sequence↗

Identification of functional, endogenous programmed -1 ribosomal frameshift signals in the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In viruses, programmed -1 ribosomal frameshifting (-1 PRF) signals direct the translation of alternative proteins from a single mRNA. Given that many basic regulatory mechanisms were first discovered in viral systems, the current study endeavored to: (i) identify -1 PRF signals in genomic databases, (ii) apply the protocol to the yeast genome and (iii) test selected candidates at the bench. Computational analyses revealed the presence of 10 340 consensus -1 PRF signals in the yeast genome. Of the 6353 yeast ORFs, 1275 contain at least one strong and statistically significant -1 PRF signal. Eight out of nine selected sequences promoted efficient levels of PRF in vivo. These findings provide a robust platform for high throughput computational and laboratory studies and demonstrate that functional -1 PRF signals are widespread in the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The data generated by this study have been deposited into a publicly available database called the PRFdb. The presence of stable mRNA pseudoknot structures in these -1 PRF signals, and the observation that the predicted outcomes of nearly all of these genomic frameshift signals would direct ribosomes to premature termination codons, suggest two possible mRNA destabilization pathways through which -1 PRF signals could post-transcriptionally regulate mRNA abundance.

Base Sequence↗

Fluorescent T7 display phages obtained by translational frameshift.

Lytic phages form a powerful platform for the display of large cDNA libraries and offer the possibility to screen for interactions with almost any substrate. To visualize these interactions directly by fluorescence microscopy, we constructed fluorescent T7 phages by exploiting the flexibility of phages to incorporate modified versions of its capsid protein. By applying translational frameshift sequences, helper plasmids were constructed that expressed a fixed ratio of both wild-type capsid protein (gp10) and capsid protein fused to enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP). The frameshift sequences were inserted between the 3' end of the capsid gene and the sequence encoding EYFP. Fluorescent fusion proteins are only formed when the ribosome makes a -1 shift in reading frame during translation. Using standard fluorescence microscopy, we could sensitively monitor the enrichment of specific binders in a cDNA library displayed on fluorescent T7 phages. The perspectives of fluorescent display phages in the fast emerging field of single molecule detection and sorting technologies are discussed.

Bacterial Proteins↗

A frameshift mutation of beta subunit of epithelial sodium channel in a case of isolated Liddle syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Liddle syndrome is an autosomal dominant form of salt-sensitive hypertension caused by mutations in the epithelial sodium channel expressed in the distal nephron playing an essential role in Na absorption. All reported mutations in Liddle syndrome are either missense mutations or frameshift mutations destroying the PY motif closer to the C-terminus of the beta or gamma subunits causing the situation that the epithelial sodium channels are not degraded and sodium is pooled and thus hypertension and hypokalemia are caused. METHODS: We sequenced the C-terminus of the beta or gamma subunits of the epithelial sodium channel in a Japanese family of a patient clinically diagnosed as having Liddle syndrome. RESULTS: As a result, we found in the proband, a frameshift mutation of the beta subunit caused by a single cytosine insertion at the codon 595, introducing a new stop codon at 605 and deleting the last 34 amino acids from the normally encoded protein. CONCLUSION: This mutation is carried by neither parent (with paternity proven) and hence confirms this has occurred as a event within this family.

Adolescent↗

Dendritic keratitis caused by an acyclovir-resistant herpes simplex virus with frameshift mutation.

PURPOSE: To report a case of acyclovir-resistant herpes simplex virus (HSV) keratitis after long-term, inconsistent use of topical acyclovir and fluorometholone. METHODS: A 70-year-old man with dendritic keratitis caused by an acyclovir-resistant HSV strain was examined. The 50% inhibitory concentration of different antiviral agents against the isolated virus and the DNA sequence of viral thymidine kinase were determined. RESULTS: The 50% inhibitory concentration of acyclovir and trifluorothymidine for the isolated HSV strain was 13.75 and 0.28 microg/mL, respectively, indicating that the virus was resistant to acyclovir. DNA sequencing of the viral thymidine kinase revealed that this virus had a frameshift mutant with a G insertion in the 7Gs homopolymer. Topical trifluorothymidine was effective, and the epithelial lesion was completely resolved within 2 weeks. CONCLUSION: A typical form of dendritic keratitis was caused by an acyclovir-resistant HSV with frameshift mutation in a 7Gs homopolymer region.

Acyclovir↗

Genetic landscape of pediatric seizures in Southeast China: identification of a novel GLI3 frameshift variant through whole-exome sequencing.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric seizure disorders are clinically and genetically heterogeneous. Whole-exome sequencing has improved the detection of rare genetic variants in childhood epilepsy; however, data from pediatric populations in Southeast China remain limited. This study aimed to characterize the genetic landscape of pediatric seizure disorders in Southeast China and to evaluate the clinical diagnostic yield of whole-exome sequencing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective observational study included 21 pediatric patients with seizure disorders who were recruited at the Fifth Hospital of Xiamen, Fujian, China, between January 2021 and June 2024. Clinical data were extracted from medical records. Whole-exome sequencing was performed on DNA extracted from peripheral blood. Sequence variants were annotated, filtered, and classified according to the guidelines of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Association for Molecular Pathology. Copy-number variants were evaluated using exome-based algorithms. Descriptive statistics were used because of the limited sample size. RESULTS: WES identified three clinically relevant, likely pathogenic findings in 3 of 21 patients, corresponding to a provisional diagnostic yield of 14.3%. The remaining 62 of 65 variants were of uncertain significance (VUS). The three retained variants included a GLI3 frameshift variant (exon 2: c.90_91insCAGATGTGAGC; p.Glu31Glnfs*3) and two copy-number variants (16p13.12-16p13.11 duplication and Xp22.31 deletion) with established clinical significance. Functional analysis of all 65 variants revealed that ion channel genes and neurodevelopmental genes were the most frequently affected categories. CONCLUSION: Whole-exome sequencing identified clinically relevant genetic findings in a subset of Southeast Chinese children with seizure disorders. The novel GLI3 frameshift variant may suggest an expansion of the GLI3-associated phenotypic spectrum, but further segregation, functional validation, and larger cohort studies are needed. The high proportion of variants of uncertain significance highlights the ongoing challenges of genetic interpretation in pediatric seizure disorders.

GLI3 frameshift variant↗

A frameshift mutation prevents Kunitz trypsin inhibitor mRNA accumulation in soybean embryos.

We investigated the molecular basis of a soybean Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (KTi) gene mutation that prevents the accumulation of Kunitz trypsin inhibitor protein during seed development. We found that mRNA encoding the major Kunitz trypsin inhibitor protein (KTi3 mRNA) is reduced at least 100-fold in null (KTi-) embryos but that KTi3 gene transcriptional activity is similar in Kunitz trypsin inhibitor producing embryos (KTi+) and in KTi- embryos. We sequenced the Kunitz trypsin inhibitor KTi3 gene from both KTi3+ and KTi3- lines and found that these genes differ by only three nucleotides (+481, +486, and +487) within the KTi3 coding region. Alteration of these nucleotides results in a frameshift within the KTi3- gene that causes premature termination during translation. Our results suggest that the KTi3- frameshift mutation results in KTi3- mRNA destabilization and leads to a drastic reduction in KTi3 mRNA prevalence.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Expression analysis of a pseudogene in transgenic tobacco: a frameshift mutation prevents mRNA accumulation.

Seeds of the Pinto cultivar of the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, are deficient in phytohemagglutinin (PHA), a lectin normally composed of two different polypeptides (PHA-E and PHA-L). In Pinto seeds, there is no PHA-E and only small amounts of PHA-L. The gene coding for the Pinto PHA-E, Pdlec1, is a pseudogene as a result of a single base pair deletion in codon 11, causing a frameshift and premature termination of translation. This mutation explains the absence of the PHA-E polypeptide but not the several-hundredfold reduction of the cytoplasmic Pdlec1 mRNA in developing seeds when compared with a normal PHA-E gene. To find the cause for this reduction in mRNA levels, we swapped gene fragments of Pdlec1 with the homologous parts of a normal PHA gene from the cultivar Greensleeves and introduced these fusions into tobacco. Analysis of the transgenic seeds showed that the Pdlec1 promoter is fully functional. We also repaired the Pdlec1 coding frame in vitro and inserted the repaired and unrepaired versions into a PHA gene expression cassette. In transgenic tobacco, both constructs showed Pdlec1 transcript accumulation in the second half of seed maturation. The single-base frame repair boosted the peak transcript levels by a factor of 40 and resulted in the synthesis of PHA-E at normal levels. We propose that the premature translational stop caused by the frameshift leads to a faster breakdown of the Pdlec1 mRNA, thereby preventing this transcript from accumulating to high levels.

Cloning, Molecular↗

Frameshift mutations of the hMSH6 gene in human leukemia cell lines.

Defects in DNA mismatch repair mechanisms, including frameshift mutations of the hMSH6 and hMSH3 genes at their (C)8 and (A)8 tracks, respectively, have been shown to be associated with human malignancies. To clarify the possible involvement of these mutations in hematopoietic malignancies, we screened a total of forty-four human leukemia and lymphoma cell lines for mutations in the hMSH6 and hMSH3 genes, as well as in other genes required for DNA replication or repair, by polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and sequencing analysis. Frameshift mutations at the (C)8 track of the hMSH6 gene were detected in two cell lines established from lymphoid leukemias. These two cell lines had no wild-type alleles, and both of them showed microsatellite instability. This is the first report that describes mutations and inactivation of the hMSH6 gene in hematological malignancies, suggesting that defects of the hMSH6 gene may be associated with development of hematological malignancies.

Base Sequence↗