Structures of human ADAR2 bound to dsRNA reveal base-flipping mechanism and basis for site selectivity.

Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs) are editing enzymes that convert adenosine to inosine in duplex RNA, a modification reaction with wide-ranging consequences in RNA function. Understanding of the ADAR reaction mechanism, the origin of editing-site selectivity, and the effect of mutations is limited by the lack of high-resolution structural data for complexes of ADARs bound to substrate RNAs. Here we describe four crystal structures of the human ADAR2 deaminase domain bound to RNA duplexes bearing a mimic of the deamination reaction intermediate. These structures, together with structure-guided mutagenesis and RNA-modification experiments, explain the basis of the ADAR deaminase domain's dsRNA specificity, its base-flipping mechanism, and its nearest-neighbor preferences. In addition, we identified an ADAR2-specific RNA-binding loop near the enzyme active site, thus rationalizing differences in selectivity observed between different ADARs. Finally, our results provide a structural framework for understanding the effects of ADAR mutations associated with human disease.

A Phenotypic Screen for Functional Mutants of Human Adenosine Deaminase Acting on RNA 1.

Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs) are RNA-editing enzymes responsible for the conversion of adenosine to inosine at specific locations in cellular RNAs. ADAR1 and ADAR2 are two members of the family that have been shown to be catalytically active. Earlier, we reported a phenotypic screen for the study of human ADAR2 using budding yeast S. cerevisiae as the host system. While this screen has been successfully applied to the study of ADAR2, it failed with ADAR1. Here, we report a new reporter that uses a novel editing substrate and is suitable for the study of ADAR1. We screened plasmid libraries with randomized codons for two important residues in human ADAR1 (G1007 and E1008). The screening results combined with in vitro deamination assays led to the identification of mutants that are more active than the wild type protein. Furthermore, a screen of the ADAR1 E1008X library with a reporter construct bearing an A•G mismatch at the editing site suggests one role for the residue at position 1008 is to sense the identity of the base pairing partner for the editing site adenosine. This work has provided a starting point for future in vitro evolution studies of ADAR1 and led to new insight into ADAR's editing site selectivity.

Abcc6 deficiency causes increased infarct size and apoptosis in a mouse cardiac ischemia-reperfusion model.

OBJECTIVE: ABCC6 genetic deficiency underlies pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) in humans, characterized by ectopic calcification, and early cardiac disease. The spectrum of PXE has been noted in Abcc6-deficient mice, including dystrophic cardiac calcification. We tested the role of Abcc6 in response to cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. METHODS AND RESULTS: To determine the role of Abcc6 in cardioprotection, we induced ischemic injury in mice in vivo by occluding the left anterior descending artery (30 minutes) followed by reperfusion (48 hours). Infarct size was increased in Abcc6-deficient mice compared with wild-type controls. Additionally, an Abcc6 transgene significantly reduced infarct size on the background of a naturally occurring Abcc6 deficiency. There were no differences in cardiac calcification following I/R, but increased cardiac apoptosis was noted in Abcc6-deficient mice. Previous studies have implicated the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway in directing calcification, and here we showed that the BMP responsive transcription factors pSmad1/5/8 were increased in hearts of Abcc6 mice. Consistent with this finding, BMP4 and BMP9 were increased and activin receptor-like kinase-2 and endoglin were downregulated in cardiac extracts from Abcc6-deficient mice versus controls. CONCLUSIONS: These data identify Abcc6 as a novel modulator of cardiac myocyte survival after I/R. This cardioprotective mechanism may involve inhibition of the BMP signaling pathway, which modulates apoptosis.