The mitochondrial T16189C polymorphism is associated with coronary artery disease in Middle European populations.

BACKGROUND: The pivotal role of mitochondria in energy production and free radical generation suggests that the mitochondrial genome could have an important influence on the expression of multifactorial age related diseases. Substitution of T to C at nucleotide position 16189 in the hypervariable D-loop of the control region (CR) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has attracted research interest because of its suspected association with various multifactorial diseases. The aim of the present study was to compare the frequency of this polymorphism in the CR of mtDNA in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD, n = 482) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM, n = 505) from two study centers, with healthy individuals (n = 1481) of Middle European descent in Austria. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: CR polymorphisms and the nine major European haplogroups were identified by DNA sequencing and primer extension analysis, respectively. Frequencies and Odds Ratios for the association between cases and controls were calculated. Compared to healthy controls, the prevalence of T16189C was significantly higher in patients with CAD (11.8% vs 21.6%), as well as in patients with T2DM (11.8% vs 19.4%). The association of CAD, but not the one of T2DM, with T16189C remained highly significant after correction for age, sex and body mass index (BMI) and was independent of the two study centers. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Our results show for the first time a significant association of T16189C with CAD in a Middle European population. As reported in other studies, in patients with T2DM an association with T16189C in individuals of European decent remains questionable.

Processing of N-linked glycans during endoplasmic-reticulum-associated degradation of a short-lived variant of ribophorin I.

Recently, the role of N-linked glycans in the process of ERAD (endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation) of proteins has been widely recognized. In the present study, we attempted to delineate further the sequence of events leading from a fully glycosylated soluble protein to its deglycosylated form. Degradation intermediates of a truncated form of ribophorin I, namely RI(332), which contains a single N-linked oligosaccharide and is a substrate for the ERAD/ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, were characterized in HeLa cells under conditions blocking proteasomal degradation. The action of a deoxymannojirimycin- and kifunensine-sensitive alpha1,2-mannosidase was shown here to be required for both further glycan processing and progression of RI(332) in the ERAD pathway. In a first step, the Man(8) isomer B, generated by ER mannosidase I, appears to be the major oligomannoside structure associated with RI(332) intermediates. Some other trimmed N-glycan species, in particular Glc(1)Man(7)GlcNAc(2), were also found on the protein, indicating that several mannosidases might be implicated in the initial trimming of the oligomannoside. Secondly, another intermediate of degradation of RI(332) accumulated after proteasome inhibition. We demonstrated that this completely deglycosylated form arose from the action of an N-glycanase closely linked to the ER membrane. Indeed, the deglycosylated form of the protein remained membrane-associated, while being accessible from the cytoplasm to ubiquitinating enzymes and to added protease. Our results indicate that deglycosylation of a soluble ERAD substrate glycoprotein occurs in at least two distinct steps and is coupled with the retro-translocation of the protein preceding its proteasomal degradation.