Correlation of mitochondrial tRNA variants with coronary heart disease in a Chinese pedigree / 中华医学遗传学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the correlation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants and coronary heart disease (CHD) in a Chinese pedigree and the possible molecular mechanisms.@*METHODS@#A Chinese pedigree featuring matrilineal inheritance of CHD who visited Hangzhou First People's Hospital in May 2022 was selected as the study subject. Clinical data of the proband and her affected relatives was collected. By sequencing the mtDNA of the proband and her pedigree members, candidate variants were identified through comparison with wild type mitochondrial genes. Conservative analysis among various species was conducted, and bioinformatics software was used to predict the impact of variants on the secondary structure of tRNA. Real-time PCR was carried out to determine the copy number of mtDNA, and a transmitochondrial cell line was established for analyzing the mitochondrial functions, including membrane potential and ATP level.@*RESULTS@#This pedigree had contained thirty-two members from four generations. Among ten maternal members, four had CHD, which yielded a penetrance rate of 40%. Sequence analysis of proband and her matrilineal relatives revealed the presence of a novel m.4420A>T variant and a m.10463T>C variant, both of which were highly conserved among various species. Structurally, the m.4420A>T variant had occurred at position 22 in the D-arm of tRNAMet, which disrupted the 13T-22A base-pairing, while the m.10463T>C variant was located at position 67 in the acceptor arm of tRNAArg, a position critical for steady-state level of the tRNA. Functional analysis revealed that patients with the m.4420A>T and m.10463T>C variants exhibited much fewer copy number of mtDNA and lower mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and ATP contents (P < 0.05), which were decreased by approximately 50.47%, 39.6% and 47.4%, respectively.@*CONCLUSION@#Mitochondrial tRNAMet 4420A>T and tRNAArg 10463T>C variants may underlay the maternally transmitted CHD in this pedigree, which had shown variation in mtDNA homogeneity, age of onset, clinical phenotype and other differences, suggesting that nuclear genes, environmental factors and mitochondrial genetic background have certain influence on the pathogenesis of CHD.

Examining the Gm18 and m1G Modification Positions in tRNA Sequences

The tRNA structure contains conserved modifications that are responsible for its stability and are involved in the initiation and accuracy of the translation process. tRNA modification enzymes are prevalent in bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes. tRNA Gm18 methyltransferase (TrmH) and tRNA m1G37 methyltransferase (TrmD) are prevalent and essential enzymes in bacterial populations. TrmH involves itself in methylation process at the 2'-OH group of ribose at the 18th position of guanosine (G) in tRNAs. TrmD methylates the G residue next to the anticodon in selected tRNA subsets. Initially, m1G37 modification was reported to take place on three conserved tRNA subsets (tRNA(Arg), tRNA(Leu), tRNA(Pro)); later on, few archaea and eukaryotes organisms revealed that other tRNAs also have the m1G37 modification. The present study reveals Gm18, m1G37 modification, and positions of m1G that take place next to the anticodon in tRNA sequences. We selected extremophile organisms and attempted to retrieve the m1G and Gm18 modification bases in tRNA sequences. Results showed that the Gm18 modification G residue occurs in all tRNA subsets except three tRNAs (tRNA(Met), tRNA(Pro), tRNA(Val)). Whereas the m1G37 modification base G is formed only on tRNA(Arg), tRNA(Leu), tRNA(Pro), and tRNA(His), the rest of the tRNAs contain adenine (A) next to the anticodon. Thus, we hypothesize that Gm18 modification and m1G modification occur irrespective of a G residue in tRNAs.