Molybdopterin synthase mutations in a mild case of molybdenum cofactor deficiency.

Molybdenum cofactor deficiency is a rare inborn error of metabolism with generally severe symptoms, most often including neonatal seizures and severe developmental delay. We describe a patient with an unusually mild form of the disease. Two mutations in MOCS2A (molybdenum cofactor synthesis enzyme 2A) were identified: a single base change, 16C > T, that predicts a Q6X substitution on one allele and a 19G > T transversion that predicts a valine to phenylalanine substitution, V7F, on the second. It is postulated that the milder clinical symptoms result from a low level of residual molybdopterin synthase activity derived from the 19G > T allele.

Isolated sulfite oxidase deficiency: review of two cases in one family.

OBJECTIVE: The authors describe two cases of isolated sulfite oxidase deficiency found in one family. This is a rare autosomal-recessive disorder presenting at birth with seizures, severe neurologic disease, and ectopia lentis. It can be easily missed with metabolic screening; however, the finding of lens subluxation stresses the importance of ophthalmic assessment in making the diagnosis. DESIGN: Two observational case reports. INTERVENTION/METHODS: Ophthalmic assessment, biochemical assay for specific urinary and plasma metabolites, magnetic resonance imaging, and gene sequencing were used to make the diagnosis of the disease in the proband. The diagnosis was subsequently recognized in a previously affected sibling after the postmortem neuropathology was reviewed. Mutation analysis was performed on cultured fibroblasts from the proband to identify and categorize the specific mutation responsible for the disease in the family. From this, future prenatal detection of sulfite oxidase deficiency is possible. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The diagnosis of sulfite oxidase deficiency was established in this family, enabling appropriate genetic counseling and recurrence risk estimation. RESULTS: Point mutations were found in both alleles of the sulfite oxidase gene in the proband. The first is a 623C-->A mutation, which predicts an A208D substitution, and the second is a 1109C-->A, which predicts an S370Y substitution. Both residues A208D and S370Y are critical for sulfite oxidase activity. CONCLUSIONS: Isolated sulfite oxidase deficiency is a rare heritable disease for which mutation analysis can allow accurate prenatal screening. It often is difficult to diagnose by clinical presentation alone, but the critical finding of lens subluxation accompanying seizures and diffuse neurologic disease in an infant should alert the physician to the diagnosis.

Short consensus repeat-3 domain of recombinant decay-accelerating factor is recognized by Escherichia coli recombinant Dr adhesin in a model of a cell-cell interaction.

A bacterial pathogen that is important in both urinary tract and intestinal infections is Escherichia coli which expresses Dr or related adhesins. In this report, we present a model for testing cell-cell interaction, using both molecularly characterized laboratory cells that express recombinant molecules of human decay-accelerating factor (DAF), and recombinant bacterial Dr colonization factors. Dr adhesin ligand was identified as DAF (CD55), a membrane protein that protects autologous tissues from damage due to the complement system. Structure-function studies mapped the adhesin-binding site on the DAF molecule. A single-point substitution in the third short consensus repeat domain, Ser165 to Leu, corresponding to the Dra to Drb allelic polymorphism, caused complete abolition of adhesin binding to DAF.

Molecular cloning of RhD cDNA derived from a gene present in RhD-positive, but not RhD-negative individuals.

The Rh blood group system plays a major role in immune and nonimmune hemolytic states. Although an Rh cDNA has been previously cloned, there is no information on which Rh antigenic protein it encodes. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, we have identified this original Rh clone, here designated Rh21, and an additional Rh cDNA clone, Rh13, that is 96% nucleotide- and 92% amino acid-identical to Rh21, with the substitutions scattered throughout the sequence. A molecular genetic approach was used to match this Rh clone with an Rh specificity. The mRNA transcript for Rh13 was present in reticulocytes from RhD-positive individuals, but was absent from the reticulocytes of RhD-negative individuals. Using conventional screening of genomic libraries, as well as PCR cloning, partial genomic clones for these two Rh cDNAs were obtained. Based on PCR analysis and Southern blots, the Rh21 gene was present in all individuals, but an intact Rh13 gene was only present in RhD-positive and not RhD-negative individuals. Thus, by correlating the presence of Rh mRNA and gene sequences with individual Rh phenotypes, we were able to establish that the new Rh13 cDNA clone represents the RhD protein.

Construction of synthetic signals for glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol anchor attachment. Analysis of amino acid sequence requirements for anchoring.

Many membrane proteins are anchored to the cell surface through covalent attachment to a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) structure. The GPI anchor is added to proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum following recognition of a signal in the COOH terminus of the protein. We show that the GPI anchoring signal can be completely recreated by the synthetic polymer Ser3-Thr8-Leu14, but not Thr11-Leu14, inserted at the COOH terminus of a protein. This is consistent with previous reports that a small amino acid such as Ser, Gly, or Ala, but not Thr, is required at the GPI attachment site. Analysis of synthetic amino acid sequences established a basic three-part signal for GPI anchoring: a cleavage/attachment domain that requires small amino acids at the first (GPI anchor attachment) and third positions but with little specificity at the middle position, a spacer domain of approximately 8-12 amino acids, and a hydrophobic domain of at least 11 amino acids. The ability to design a totally synthetic GPI anchoring signal will allow precise probing of the fine structure of this signal.

Mapping of epitopes, glycosylation sites, and complement regulatory domains in human decay accelerating factor.

Decay accelerating factor (DAF, CD55) is a glycophospholipid-anchored membrane protein that protects cells from complement-mediated damage by inhibiting the formation and accelerating the decay of C3/C5 convertases. DAF deletion mutants lacking each of the four short consensus repeats (SCR) or the serine/threonine-rich region (S/T) were created by site-directed mutagenesis. These deletion mutants were expressed by stable transfection in Chinese hamster ovary cells for the purpose of mapping important structural and functional sites in DAF. The epitopes on DAF for 16 murine mAb were mapped by immunoprecipitation studies as follows: SCR1, 6; SCR2, 3; SCR3, 3; SCR4, 3; S/T, 1. Testing of 13 mAb showed complete blocking of DAF function only by 1C6 and 1H4, both directed at SCR3. The single N-linked glycosylation site was confirmed at a location between SCR1 and SCR2, and the multiple O-linked oligosaccharides were localized to the S/T region. Functional activity of DAF mutants was assessed by the ability of these transfected constructs to protect Chinese hamster ovary cells from cytotoxicity induced by rabbit antibody plus human complement. Removal of SCR1 had no effect on DAF function, but individual deletion of SCR2, SCR3, or SCR4 totally abolished DAF function. Surprisingly, deletion of the S/T region totally abrogated DAF function, but this could be restored by a fusion construct placing the four SCR domains of DAF onto the HLA-B44 molecule, implying that the O-glycosylated S/T region serves as an important but nonspecific spacer projecting the DAF functional domains above the plasma membrane. Overall, the creation of DAF deletion mutants has elucidated important structure-function relations in the DAF molecule.

Phospholipid-anchored and transmembrane versions of either decay-accelerating factor or membrane cofactor protein show equal efficiency in protection from complement-mediated cell damage.

Decay-accelerating factor (DAF) is a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored membrane protein that protects cells from complement-mediated damage by regulation of the C3 convertase. To investigate the role of the GPI anchor in the function of DAF, the cDNA encoding human DAF was expressed by transfection in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Testing of these DAF transfectants in an antibody plus human complement-mediated cytotoxicity assay demonstrated that DAF protects these cells from cytotoxicity, and that the level of protection increases with expression of surface DAF. A cDNA construct encoding a transmembrane version of DAF (DAF-TM) protects CHO transfectants from cytotoxicity with equal efficiency to DAF. This DAF-TM construct used the TM and cytoplasmic domains of membrane cofactor protein (MCP); an alternate TM version of DAF constructed with the TM and cytoplasmic domains of HLA-B44 showed equivalent protection. The protection from cytotoxicity involved a decrease in the deposition of C3 on the cell, consistent with the effect of DAF on the C3 convertase. A second pair of anchor variants, MCP and a GPI-anchored construct, MCP-PI, were also equivalent in their complement protection. The equivalent function of GPI-anchored and TM versions of a protein was not expected based on the hypothesized increased lateral mobility of GPI-anchored proteins, which should confer a functional advantage in contacting ligand, in this case, C3b or C4b, on the cell surface. These data suggest either that GPI-anchored and TM versions of a protein have equal lateral mobility in the membrane, or else that increased lateral mobility is not advantageous to DAF or MCP in carrying out their complement inhibitory roles. Furthermore, DAF and MCP demonstrated approximately equal protection of cells from complement-mediated cytotoxicity, suggesting that DAF and MCP provide overlapping levels of protection to cells against damage mediated by the complement system.

N-methyl-D-aspartate treatment increases circulating adrenocorticotropin and luteinizing hormone in the rat.

Excitatory amino acids have been known to increase pituitary secretion of LH in vivo and are probably involved in the neuroendocrine regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. We have found that systemic administration of the excitatory amino acid agonist N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) evokes a transient and profound increase in circulating levels of ACTH as well. Treatment of adult male Long-Evans rats with NMDA (30 mg/kg, sc) maximally increased plasma ACTH and immunoreactive beta-endorphin from 7-15 min after injection, and levels of both remained significantly elevated until 60 min into the time course. Corresponding increases in corticosterone were observed 15 and 30 min after treatment, while LH, similar to other pituitary hormones, was increased from 7-30 min after NMDA. Stimulation of the pituitary-adrenal and pituitary-gonadal neuroendocrine axes by NMDA was monitored in subsequent studies by plasma ACTH and LH, respectively; both were increased in a dose-related manner after the administration of 3-60 mg/kg NMDA, although stimulation of ACTH (800%) was more pronounced than that of LH (200%). The increases in ACTH and LH due to NMDA were inhibited by pretreatment with the competitive NMDA antagonist (+/-)3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4- yl)propyl-1-phosphonic acid, CPP (6 and 10 mg/kg, ip, for 21 min); by contrast, dexamethasone pretreatment (50 micrograms/kg, ip, for 4 h) blocked only the NMDA-evoked increase in circulating ACTH. These findings indicate that an NMDA receptor mechanism might be involved in the acute activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in the rat.