Disruption of PTPRO causes childhood-onset nephrotic syndrome

Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) is a genetically heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and edema. Because it typically results in end-stage kidney disease, the steroid-resistant subtype (SRNS) of INS is especially important when it occurs in children. The present study included 29 affected and 22 normal individuals from 17 SRNS families; genome-wide analysis was performed with Affymetrix 250K SNP arrays followed by homozygosity mapping. A large homozygous stretch on chromosomal region 12p12 was identified in one consanguineous family with two affected siblings. Direct sequencing of protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type O (PTPRO; also known as glomerular epithelial protein-1 [GLEPP1]) showed homozygous c.2627+1G>T donor splice-site mutation. This mutation causes skipping of the evolutionarily conserved exon 16 (p.Glu854_Trp876del) at the RNA level. Immunohistochemistry with GLEPP1 antibody showed a similar staining pattern in the podocytes of the diseased and control kidney tissues. We used a highly polymorphic intragenic DNA marker-D12S1303-to search for homozygosity in 120 Turkish and 13 non-Turkish individuals in the PodoNet registry. This analysis yielded 17 candidate families, and a distinct homozygous c.2745+1G>A donor splice-site mutation in PTPRO was further identified via DNA sequencing in a second Turkish family. This mutation causes skipping of exon 19, and this introduces a premature stop codon at the very beginning of exon 20 (p.Asn888Lysfs*3) and causes degradation of mRNA via nonsense-mediated decay. Immunohistochemical analysis showed complete absence of immunoreactive PTPRO. Ultrastructural alterations, such as diffuse foot process fusion and extensive microvillus transformation of podocytes, were observed via electron microscopy in both families. The present study introduces mutations in PTPRO as another cause of autosomal-recessive nephrotic syndrome.     

Characteristics of batch culture of a recombinant bacillus brevis excreting a foreign esterase

The productivity of extracellular enzyme was evaluated in batch culture using a protein hyperexcreting host, Bacillus brevis HPD31(5) harboring pHSC131, which carried a gene (est) encoding esterase activity from Bacillus stearother mophilus. Optimum temperature and pH for the bacterial growth and the production of extracellular esterase were found to be 35 degrees C and pH 6.5, by using the standard medium (GPY) containing neomycin as a selective pressure, Under the cultivation condition employed, cell growth reached 5 g dry cell weight/L, while the extracellular esterase activity amounted to 4.5 U/mL. Most (79%-92%) of the esterase produced was excreted into the medium. pHSC131 was stably retained in the host cell during cultivation in the presence of neomycin. However, in the absence of neomycin, the plasmid was completely lost from the host after 12-h cultivation accompanied by decreases in both esterase activity and production of total extracellular protein. The copy number of the plasmid was estimated to be approximately 7 throughout the cultivation. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the excreted proteins showed the presence of a protein having an apparent molecular weight of 32,000, which equals to the value predicted from the DNA sequence of the est gene.     

Disulfide cross-linking reveals a site of stable interaction between C-terminal regulatory domains of the two MalK subunits in the maltose transport complex

Understanding the structure and function of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters is very important because defects in ABC transporters lie at the root of several serious diseases including cystic fibrosis. MalK, the ATP-binding cassette of the maltose transporter of Escherichia coli, is distinct from most other ATP-binding cassettes in that it contains an additional C-terminal regulatory domain. The published structure of a MalK dimer is elongated with C-terminal domains at opposite poles (Diederichs, K., Diez, J., Greller, G., Muller, C., Breed, J., Schnell, C., Vonrhein, C., Boos, W., and Welte, W. (2000) EMBO J. 19, 5951-5961). Some uncertainty exists as to whether the orientation of MalK in the dimer structure is correct. Superpositioning of the N-terminal domains of MalK onto the ATP-binding domains of an alternate ABC dimer, in which ATP is bound along the dimer interface between Walker A and LSGGQ motifs, places both N- and C-terminal domains of MalK along the dimer interface. Consistent with this model, a cysteine substitution at position 313 in the C-terminal domain of an otherwise cysteine-free MalK triggered disulfide bond formation between two MalK subunits in an intact maltose transporter. Disulfide bond formation did not inhibit the function of the transporter, suggesting that the C-terminal domains of MalK remain in close proximity throughout the transport cycle. Enzyme IIAglc still inhibited the ATPase activity of the disulfide-linked transporter indicating that the mechanism of inducer exclusion was unaffected. These data support a model for ATP hydrolysis in which the C-terminal domains of MalK remain in contact whereas the N-terminal domains of MalK open and close to allow nucleotide binding and dissociation.     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic"> GATE </Emphasis>retrotransposon in<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Drosophila melanogaster</Emphasis>: mobility in heterochromatin and aspects of its expression in germline tissues

A full-length copy of the retrotransposon GATE was identified as an insertion in the tandemly repeated, heterochromatic, Stellate genes, which are expressed in the testis of Drosophila melanogaster. Sequencing of this heterochromatic GATE copy revealed that it is closely related to the BEL retrotransposon, a representative of the recently defined BEL-like group of LTR retrotransposons. This copy contains identical LTRs, indicating that the insertion is a recent event. By contrast, the euchromatic part of the D. melanogaster genome contains only profoundly damaged GATE copies or fragments of the transposon. The preferential localization of GATE sequences in heterochromatin was confirmed for the other species in the melanogaster subgroup. The level of GATE expression is dramatically increased in ovaries, but not in testes, of spn-E(1) homozygous flies. We speculate that spn-E is involved in the silencing of GATE via an RNA interference mechanism.     

Genetic approach and phenotype-based complementation screening for identification of stroma cell-derived proteins involved in cell proliferation.

The functional capacities of stromal cell lines to support stem cell activity are heterogeneous and the mechanism of how they support bone marrow cultures remains unclear. Recently, we reported a strategy of functional analysis in which a genetic approach is combined with phenotype-based complementation screening to search for a novel secreted growth factor from mouse bone marrow stroma called ShIF that supported proliferation of bone marrow cells. To investigate the role of stromal cells in hemopoiesis, we extended this strategy to search for stroma-derived proteins that induce cell proliferation by establishing stroma-dependent Ba/F3 mutants of three stroma cell lines from two mouse tissues. Seven stroma-dependent Ba/F3 mutants were used as responder cells to identify cDNAs from stroma cell lines whose products supported proliferation not only to the mutant cells but also to hemopoietic progenitor cells in vitro.     

Cobblestone-Area Forming Cells Derived from Patients with Mantle Cell Lymphoma Are Enriched for CD133+ Tumor-Initiating Cells

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is associated with a significant risk of therapeutic failure and disease relapse, but the biological origin of relapse is poorly understood. Here, we prospectively identify subpopulations of primary MCL cells with different biologic and immunophenotypic features. Using a simple culture system, we demonstrate that a subset of primary MCL cells co-cultured with either primary human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSC) or murine MS-5 cells form in cobblestone-areas consisting of cells with a primitive immunophenotype (CD19−CD133+) containing the chromosomal translocation t (11;14)(q13;q32) characteristic of MCL. Limiting dilution serial transplantation experiments utilizing immunodeficient mice revealed that primary MCL engraftment was only observed when either unsorted or CD19−CD133+ cells were utilized. No engraftment was seen using the CD19+CD133− subpopulation. Our results establish that primary CD19−CD133+ MCL cells are a functionally distinct subpopulation of primary MCL cells enriched for MCL-initiating activity in immunodeficient mice. This rare subpopulation of MCL-initiating cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of MCL.     

Glutathione S-transferase M1 and T1 genotypes and myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction (MI), which is the most important manifestation of coronary artery disease, is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Glutathione S transferases (GSTs) are enzymes responsible for the metabolism of numerous xenobiotics and are known to be polymorphic in humans. We investigated the association between the GSTM1 and GSTT1 gene polymorphisms and MI. The study consists of 296 healthy controls and 324 consecutive patients who had undergone coronary angiography for suspicion of coronary artery disease and with a past history of myocardial infarction. DNA was extracted from whole blood of patient and control. GSTM1 and GSTT1 gene polymorphisms were examined using multiplex PCR. We found that the null GSTM1 was associated with protective effect on MI, although this increase was not significant for GSTM1 (p < 0.054). However, GSTT1 genotype was associated with an increase in the risk of developing MI. In addition to after adjusting other all coronary risk factors, the interactive effect of GSTT1 null genotype remained statistically significant (p < 0.001) for MI disease but GSTM1 null genotype was not statistically significant. Patients, who smoke having the null genotypes of GSTM1, were at a higher risk for developing MI (p < 0.001, OR = 0.41, 95 % CI = 0.240–0.207). There was an effect of interaction of GSTM1 null genotype and smoking on MI development between patient and control groups (p < 0.001). Our results showed that individuals with the null genotypes for GSTM1 had protective effect, while GSTT1 was at a higher risk for MI disease. In addition, there was additional effects of smoking when smoking and non-smoking groups were compared.