GM1-gangliosidosis. Defective recognition site on beta-galactosidase precursor

Cultured fibroblasts from different variants of GM1-gangliosidosis synthesize normal amounts of 88-kDa beta-galactosidase precursor. Yet the amount of the mature 64-kDa form is reduced to 5-15% of normal values. In this communication it is shown that the mutation in the infantile and adult form of GM1-gangliosidosis interferes with the phosphorylation of precursor beta-galactosidase. As a result the precursor is secreted instead of being compartmentalized into the lysosomes and further processed. The impaired phosphorylation might be due to conformational changes of the precursor molecule.     

Mutations in the lysosomal beta-galactosidase gene that cause the adult form of GM1 gangliosidosis.

Three adult patients with acid beta-galactosidase deficiency/GM1 gangliosidosis who were from two unrelated families of Scandinavian descent were found to share a common point mutation in the coding region of the corresponding gene. The patients share common clinical features, including early dysarthria, mild ataxia, and bone abnormalities. When cDNA from the two patients in family 1 was PCR amplified and sequenced, most (39/41) of the clones showed a C-to-T transition (C-->T) at nucleotide 245 (counting from the initiation codon). This mutation changes the codon for Thr(ACG) to Met(ATG). Mutant and normal sequences were also found in that position in genomic DNA, indicating the presence of another mutant allele. Genomic DNA from the patient in family 2 revealed the same point mutation in one allele. It was determined that in each family only the father carried the C-->T mutation. Expression studies showed that this mutation produced 3%-4% of beta-galactosidase activity, confirming its deleterious effects. The cDNA clones from the patients in family 1 that did not contain the C-->T revealed a 20-bp insertion of intronic sequence between nucleotides 75 and 76, the location of the first intron. Further analysis showed the insertion of a T near the 5' splice donor site which led to the use of a cryptic splice site. It appears that the C-->T mutation results in enough functional enzyme to produce a mild adult form of the disease, even in the presence of a second mutation that likely produces nonfunctional enzyme.     

Processing of human beta-galactosidase in GM1-gangliosidosis and Morquio B syndrome

The nature of the molecular defect resulting in the beta-galactosidase deficiency in different forms of GM1-gangliosidosis and mucopolysaccharidosis IV B (Morquio B syndrome) was investigated. Normal and mutant cultured skin fibroblasts were labeled in vivo with [3H]leucine and immunoprecipitation studies with human anti-beta-galactosidase antiserum were performed, followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography. In Morquio B syndrome, the mutation does not interfere with the normal processing and intralysosomal aggregation of beta-galactosidase. In cells from infantile and adult GM1-gangliosidosis, 85-kDa precursor beta-galactosidase was found to be synthesized normally but more than 90% of the enzyme was subsequently degraded at one of the early steps in posttranslational processing. The residual 5-10% beta-galactosidase activity in adult GM1-gangliosidosis is 64-kDa mature lysosomal enzyme with normal catalytic properties but with a reduced ability of the monomeric form to aggregate into high molecular weight multimers. Knowledge of the exact nature of the molecular defect underlying beta-galactosidase deficiency in man may lead to a better understanding of the clinical and pathological heterogeneity among patients with different types of GM1-gangliosidosis and Morquio B syndrome.     

GM1-gangliosidosis (genetic beta-galactosidase deficiency): identification of four mutations in different clinical phenotypes among Japanese patients

GM1-gangliosidosis is a genetic neurological disorder caused by mutations in the lysosomal acid beta-galactosidase gene. While its phenotypic expression is complex, it is usually classified as being of infantile, juvenile, or adult form, on the basis of age at onset, the rate of symptomatic progression, and severity of central nervous system involvement. We have analyzed the acid beta-galactosidase gene in 12 Japanese patients from nine families. The aim was to identify mutations in individual patients and then to examine possible correlation between the mutations and the clinical phenotypes. Northern blotting studies with a full-length human beta-galactosidase cDNA showed that the mRNA ranged from undetectable to substantially decreased in the infantile patients but was normal in quantity and size in all juvenile and adult patients. Four distinct missense mutations have been identified, each limited to the respective clinical forms within our small-size samples. In the infantile patient with decreased but detectable mRNA, a point mutation was found resulting in Arg49----Cys. In the infantile patient with nearly undetectable mRNA, mutation Arg457----Ter was identified. The mutation Arg201----Cys was found in all four of the juvenile patients, while all six adult patients were homozygous for the point mutation Ile51----Thr. The mutations found in the juvenile and adult patients alter restriction sites in the normal gene and thus are amendable to quick screening. The prediction that these mutations are responsible for the clinical disease was confirmed by no expression of the catalytic activity of the mutant proteins in the COS-I cell expression system.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Human beta-galactosidase gene mutations in GM1-gangliosidosis: a common mutation among Japanese adult/chronic cases.

Molecular analysis of the human beta-galactosidase gene revealed six different mutations in 10 of 11 Japanese GM1-gangliosidosis patients. They were the only abnormalities in each allele examined in this study. A 165-nucleotide duplication (positions 1103-1267) was found in two infantile patients, producing an abnormally large mRNA; one patient was probably a homozygote, and the other was a heterozygote of this mutation. The other two infantile patients had different mutations; a 123 Gly(GGG)----Arg(AGG) mutation in one patient and a 316 Tyr(TAT)----Cys(TGT) mutation in the other. A 201 Arg(CGC)----Cys(TGC) mutation, eliminating a BspMI site, was detected in a late-infantile/juvenile patient; the restriction-site analysis of amplified genomic DNA confirmed his heterozygosity for this mutation. A 51 Ile(ATC)----Thr(ACC) mutation was found in all five adult/chronic patients examined in this study. It created a SauI site, and restriction-site analysis confirmed that four patients were homozygous mutants. The other was a compound heterozygote for this mutation and another 457 Arg(CGA)----Gln(CAA) mutation. These mutant genes expressed markedly decreased or completely deficient enzyme activities in beta-galactosidase-deficient human fibroblasts transformed by adenovirus-SV40 recombinants. We conclude that gene mutations are heterogeneous in GM1-gangliosidosis but that the 51 Ile(ATC)----Thr(ACC) mutation is common among the Japanese adult/chronic cases. Genotype-phenotype correlations in GM1-gangliosidosis are briefly discussed.     

Feline GM1 gangliosidosis: characterization of the residual liver acid beta-galactosidase.

The residual liver acid beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) activity from a case of feline GM1 gangliosidosis was partially purified and characterized with respect to its pH optimum, kinetic properties, thermostability, isoelectric point, molecular weight, and antigenicity. In comparison to the normal enzyme, the mutant enzyme had the same pH optima for the three substrates tested, a reduced Km for 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-gal, elevated Km's for GM1 and asialofetuin (ASF), and increased thermolability. In addition, the mutant beta-gal had a higher isoelectric point, a reduced molecular weight, and appeared to be antigenically different from normal. The results suggest that the mutation in the Birmingham GM1 cat is structural and that the residual enzyme activity is a structurally altered acid beta-gal. The apparent lack of antigenic identity between the mutant and normal enzymes, in contrast to the situation in many human GM1 patients, is most unusual.     

Dog GM1 gangliosidosis: characterization of the residual liver acid beta-galactosidase.

The residual liver acid beta-galactosidase activity from the first documented case of GM1 gangliosidosis in dogs was partially purified and characterized with respect to kinetic properties, thermostability, isoelectric point, molecular weight, and antigenicity. The GM1 dog liver beta-galactosidase appears to be identical with the normal dog liver enzyme in all properties examined. The canine disease is strikingly different from the human disease in the amount of enzyme that is present in the tissue. Unlike the human disease, in which normal amounts of catalytically defective beta-galactosidase are present, in dog GM1 gangliosidosis, only 1% of normal beta-galactosidase protein is detectable.     

Hepatic glycosphingolipid abnormalities in a patient with GM1-gangliosidosis

Glycosphingolipids from the liver, kidney, and spleen of a patient with type 1 II3-N-acetylneuraminosylgangliotetraosylceramide (GM1)-gangliosidosis were quantitatively analyzed. It was noted that large amounts of unusual glycosphingolipids other than GM1 ganglioside or gangliotetrasylceramide accumulated in the liver of the patient. Particularly, the prominent accumulation of III3-alpha-fucosylneolactotetraosylceramide, galactosylceramide I3-sulfate and cholesterol sulfate was observed in addition to a small but significant increase of galabiosylceramide and neolacto-or lactotetraosylceramide. None of these lipids except cholesterol sulfate can be detected in normal liver. None of the lipids accumulated in the liver can be the direct substrates for acid beta-galactosidase which is deficient in the patient. Thus, it was suggested that secondary effects due to the defect in acid beta-galactosidase might cause the abnormal accumulation of various lipids in the liver.     

Rapid prenatal diagnosis of GM1-gangliosidosis using microchemical methods

Summary Prenatal diagnoses were established in 3 pregnancies at risk for GM₁-gangliosidosis at 9, 10, and 12 days after amniocentesis. -galactosidase activities in cultured amniotic fluid cells were determined by microchemical assays in cell homogenates and in isolated groups of 10–30 freeze-dried cells. The latter method requires only a few hundred cells growing in one or more clones and will usually allow a diagnosis within 9–12 days after amniocentesis.     

Multiplicity of bovine liver GM1 ganglioside beta-galactosidase

The multiplicity of bovine liver acid beta-galactosidase was investigated. Acid beta-galactosidase activity was measured in the presence of glucono-delta-lactone, which inhibited the neutral beta-galactosidase activity but not the acid beta-galactosidase activity in bovine liver. Three forms of acid beta-galactosidase were separated by Sephadex G-200 gel filtration and the elution pattern of the 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-galactosidase activity coincided with that of the GM1-beta-galactosidase activity. These forms were relatively stable under acidic conditions (pH 4.5), but the two high molecular weight forms were inclined to dissociate into the low molecular weight form under neutral conditions (pH 7.0). The three forms of the enzyme showed similar pH-optima and apparent Michaelis constants for GM1 ganglioside.     

GM2-gangliosidosis B1 variant: analysis of beta-hexosaminidase alpha gene abnormalities in seven patients

A single nucleotide transition within exon 5 of the beta-hexosaminidase alpha chain gene was identified in a Puerto Rican patient with GM2-gangliosidosis B1 variant as the mutation responsible for the unusual enzymological characteristics of this variant (G533----A; Arg178----His) (the DN-allele). A total of seven patients with enzymological characteristics of B1 variant have since been studied. They were Puerto Rican (DN), Italian, French, Spanish, two patients of mixed ethnic origin (English/Italian/Hungarian and English/French/Azores), and a Czechoslovakian. In confirmation of our earlier finding based on screening with allele-specific probes, all patients except the one from Czechoslovakia carried the same DN-allele. A new point mutation found in this patient changed the same codon affected in the DN-allele (C532----T; Arg178----Cys). An asymptomatic Japanese individual included as a control also carried one allele with the DN-mutation. Site-directed mutagenesis and expression studies in COS I cells demonstrated that either of the two point mutations abolishes the catalytic activity of the alpha subunit. The Spanish patient was homozygous for the DN-allele, but others were all compound heterozygotes. The Puerto Rican patient was a compound heterozygote with the DN-mutation in one allele and with the four-base insertion in exon 11, one of the two mutations found in the classical Ashkenazi Jewish Tay-Sachs disease, in the other allele. Abnormalities of the other allele were not identified in all other compound heterozygous patients. In these patients, the level of mRNA derived from the other allele was variable, ranging from being undetectable to being much lower than normal. This series of studies uncovered a new B1 variant mutation, confirmed our preliminary finding that the DN-allele has a surprisingly wide geographic and ethnic distribution, and pointed out the highly complex nature of the molecular genetics of this rare disorder. They also support our working hypothesis that mutations responsible for the unique enzymological characteristics of the B1 variant should be located in or near exon 5 of the gene and that this region of the enzyme protein is critical for its catalytic function.     

GM1-gangliosidosis: Accumulation of ganglioside GM1 in cultured skin fibroblasts and correlation with clinical types

Summary Uptake of radioactivity from ¹⁴C-galactose into gangliosides by cultured skin fibroblasts was studied. G_M3 was the major ganglioside in control human fibroblasts. An increase of G_M1 was demonstrated in G_M1-gangliosidosis fibroblasts. The degree of G_M1 accumulation was correlated with the clinical types of this disease. The fibroblasts from an infantile-type patient showed a marked increase of G_M1. In late-onset types the amount of total gangliosides was only slightly increased, but the distribution of individual gangliosides was definitely abnormal; a relative increase of G_M1 was demonstrated in these cases. G_M1 -galactosidase activities were not detectable in either infantile or late-onset cases.     

Expression and characterization of 14 GLB1 mutant alleles found in GM1-gangliosidosis and Morquio B patients

GM1-gangliosidosis and Morquio B disease are lysosomal storage disorders caused by beta-galactosidase deficiency attributable to mutations in the GLB1 gene. On reaching the endosomal-lysosomal compartment, the beta-galactosidase protein associates with the protective protein/cathepsin A (PPCA) and neuraminidase proteins to form the lysosomal multienzyme complex (LMC). The correct interaction of these proteins in the complex is essential for their activity. More than 100 mutations have been described in GM1-gangliosidosis and Morquio B patients, but few have been further characterized. We expressed 12 mutations suspected to be pathogenic, one known polymorphic change (p.S532G), and a variant described as either a pathogenic or a polymorphic change (p.R521C). Ten of them had not been expressed before. The expression analysis confirmed the pathogenicity of the 12 mutations, whereas the relatively high activity of p.S532G is consistent with its definition as a polymorphism. The results for p.R521C suggest that this change is a low-penetrant disease-causing allele. Furthermore, the effect of these beta-galactosidase changes on the LMC was also studied by coimmunoprecipitations and Western blotting. The alteration of neuraminidase and PPCA patterns in several of the Western blotting analyses performed on patient protein extracts indicated that the LMC is affected in at least some GM1-gangliosidosis and Morquio B patients.     

Prenatal diagnosis of GM1-gangliosidosis: Biochemical manifestations in fetal tissues

Summary A prenatal diagnosis of G_M1-gangliosidosis was made in a pregnancy at risk, on the basis of a deficiency of -galactosidase activity demonstrated in cultured aminiotic fluid cells. Biochemical analyses were performed in the aborted fetus. G_M1-ganglioside -galactosidase activity was reduced to 1% of the control value in both the brain and liver of the affected fetus. Lamellar bodies suggestive of membranous cytoplasmic bodies were found in cells of basal ganglions, while the accumulation of G_M1-ganglioside in the brain was not remarkable.     

Impaired elastic-fiber assembly by fibroblasts from patients with either Morquio B disease or infantile GM1-gangliosidosis is linked to deficiency in the 67-kD spliced variant of beta-galactosidase

We have previously shown that intracellular trafficking and extracellular assembly of tropoelastin into elastic fibers is facilitated by the 67-kD elastin-binding protein identical to an enzymatically inactive, alternatively spliced variant of beta-galactosidase (S-Gal). In the present study, we investigated elastic-fiber assembly in cultures of dermal fibroblasts from patients with either Morquio B disease or GM1-gangliosidosis who bore different mutations of the beta-galactosidase gene. We found that fibroblasts taken from patients with an adult form of GM1-gangliosidosis and from patients with an infantile form, carrying a missense mutations in the beta-galactosidase gene-mutations that caused deficiency in lysosomal beta-galactosidase but not in S-Gal-assembled normal elastic fibers. In contrast, fibroblasts from two cases of infantile GM1-gangliosidosis that bear nonsense mutations of the beta-galactosidase gene, as well as fibroblasts from four patients with Morquio B who had mutations causing deficiency in both forms of beta-galactosidase, did not assemble elastic fibers. We also demonstrated that S-Gal-deficient fibroblasts from patients with either GM1-gangliosidosis or Morquio B can acquire the S-Gal protein, produced by coculturing of Chinese hamster ovary cells permanently transected with S-Gal cDNA, resulting in improved deposition of elastic fibers. The present study provides a novel and natural model validating functional roles of S-Gal in elastogenesis and elucidates an association between impaired elastogenesis and the development of connective-tissue disorders in patients with Morquio B disease and in patients with an infantile form of GM1-gangliosidosis.     

High levels of GM1-ganglioside beta-galactosidase in the salivary glands and GM1-like-ganglioside storage in parotids of deficient mice.

We have previously demonstrated high levels of GM1-ganglioside beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) in the salivary glands of Swiss-Webster mice (Nowroozi et al., J Craniofac Genet Dev Biol 18:51, 1998), and suggested that this activity reflects an important role for the lysosome in catabolism of salivary glycoconjugates. Here, we characterized and compared activities of lysosomal glycosidases among the salivary glands, spleen, and muscle of C57BL/6 mice, beta-gal hexosaminidase, and beta-glucuronidase activities are high in all three glands relative to muscle. Enzyme activities in the sublingual gland were substantially higher than in the submandibular and parotid glands. Spleen displays levels of activity that are comparable or higher (for beta-glucuronidase) than those in the salivary glands, whereas muscle displays substantially lower levels of these lysosomal glycosidases. In order to investigate the role of beta-gal in the salivary glands, we further characterized the salivary phenotype of knock-out mice deficient in this enzyme, mimicking human GM1-gangliosidosis. In contrast with the relative levels of beta-gal specific-activity among the salivary glands, only the parotid developed severe, generalized, degenerative histopathological changes in beta-gal-deficient knock-out mice. GM1-like-ganglioside, typically found at high levels only in the nerve tissue, where its exact function is still not clear, was demonstrated in storage vacuoles of the parotid glands of the deficient mice by binding of cholera toxin subunit B. Thus, beta-gal activity observed in the parotid gland most likely reflects its role in GM1-ganglioside catabolism, and this ganglioside, never previously reported in the salivary glands, may have a role in parotid exocrine secretory functions. beta-gal may also serve in secretory glycoprotein catabolism in other salivary glands, but this function may be non-essential for these glands.