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Qi YB, Xu Z, Shen S, Wang Z, Wang Z. MYRF: A unique transmembrane transcription factor- from proteolytic self-processing to its multifaceted roles in animal development. Bioessays 2024; 46:e2300209. [PMID: 38488284 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202300209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
The Myelin Regulator Factor (MYRF) is a master regulator governing myelin formation and maintenance in the central nervous system. The conservation of MYRF across metazoans and its broad tissue expression suggest it has functions extending beyond the well-established role in myelination. Loss of MYRF results in developmental lethality in both invertebrates and vertebrates, and MYRF haploinsufficiency in humans causes MYRF-related Cardiac Urogenital Syndrome, underscoring its importance in animal development; however, these mechanisms are largely unexplored. MYRF, an unconventional transcription factor, begins embedded in the membrane and undergoes intramolecular chaperone mediated trimerization, which triggers self-cleavage, allowing its N-terminal segment with an Ig-fold DNA-binding domain to enter the nucleus for transcriptional regulation. Recent research suggests developmental regulation of cleavage, yet the mechanisms remain enigmatic. While some parts of MYRF's structure have been elucidated, others remain obscure, leaving questions about how these motifs are linked to its intricate processing and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingchuan B Qi
- School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhimin Xu
- School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shiqian Shen
- School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhao Wang
- School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhizhi Wang
- School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
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2
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Datta S, Cao W, Skillman M, Wu M. Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: Signaling & Molecular Perspectives, and the Road Ahead. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15249. [PMID: 37894928 PMCID: PMC10607600 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242015249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a lethal congenital heart disease (CHD) affecting 8-25 per 100,000 neonates globally. Clinical interventions, primarily surgical, have improved the life expectancy of the affected subjects substantially over the years. However, the etiological basis of HLHS remains fundamentally unclear to this day. Based upon the existing paradigm of studies, HLHS exhibits a multifactorial mode of etiology mediated by a complicated course of genetic and signaling cascade. This review presents a detailed outline of the HLHS phenotype, the prenatal and postnatal risks, and the signaling and molecular mechanisms driving HLHS pathogenesis. The review discusses the potential limitations and future perspectives of studies that can be undertaken to address the existing scientific gap. Mechanistic studies to explain HLHS etiology will potentially elucidate novel druggable targets and empower the development of therapeutic regimens against HLHS in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Mingfu Wu
- Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA; (S.D.); (W.C.); (M.S.)
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3
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Doering L, Cornean A, Thumberger T, Benjaminsen J, Wittbrodt B, Kellner T, Hammouda OT, Gorenflo M, Wittbrodt J, Gierten J. CRISPR-based knockout and base editing confirm the role of MYRF in heart development and congenital heart disease. Dis Model Mech 2023; 16:dmm049811. [PMID: 37584388 PMCID: PMC10445736 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.049811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023] Open
Abstract
High-throughput DNA sequencing studies increasingly associate DNA variants with congenital heart disease (CHD). However, functional modeling is a crucial prerequisite for translating genomic data into clinical care. We used CRISPR-Cas9-mediated targeting of 12 candidate genes in the vertebrate model medaka (Oryzias latipes), five of which displayed a novel cardiovascular phenotype spectrum in F0 (crispants): mapre2, smg7, cdc42bpab, ankrd11 and myrf, encoding a transcription factor recently linked to cardiac-urogenital syndrome. Our myrf mutant line showed particularly prominent embryonic cardiac defects recapitulating phenotypes of pediatric patients, including hypoplastic ventricle. Mimicking human mutations, we edited three sites to generate specific myrf single-nucleotide variants via cytosine and adenine base editors. The Glu749Lys missense mutation in the conserved intramolecular chaperon autocleavage domain fully recapitulated the characteristic myrf mutant phenotype with high penetrance, underlining the crucial function of this protein domain. The efficiency and scalability of base editing to model specific point mutations accelerate gene validation studies and the generation of human-relevant disease models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lino Doering
- Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Pediatric Cardiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Alex Cornean
- Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Heidelberg Biosciences International Graduate School, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Thumberger
- Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Joergen Benjaminsen
- Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Beate Wittbrodt
- Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Tanja Kellner
- Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Omar T. Hammouda
- Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Matthias Gorenflo
- Department of Pediatric Cardiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Heidelberg/Mannheim, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Joachim Wittbrodt
- Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Heidelberg/Mannheim, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jakob Gierten
- Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Pediatric Cardiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Heidelberg/Mannheim, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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4
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Diagnostic potential of the amniotic fluid cells transcriptome in deciphering mendelian disease: a proof-of-concept. NPJ Genom Med 2022; 7:74. [PMID: 36577754 PMCID: PMC9797484 DOI: 10.1038/s41525-022-00347-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) is emerging in genetic diagnoses as it provides functional support for the interpretation of variants of uncertain significance. However, the use of amniotic fluid (AF) cells for RNA-seq has not yet been explored. Here, we examined the expression of clinically relevant genes in AF cells (n = 48) compared with whole blood and fibroblasts. The number of well-expressed genes in AF cells was comparable to that in fibroblasts and much higher than that in blood across different disease categories. We found AF cells RNA-seq feasible and beneficial in prenatal diagnosis (n = 4) as transcriptomic data elucidated the molecular consequence leading to the pathogenicity upgrade of variants in CHD7 and COL1A2 and revising the in silico prediction of a variant in MYRF. AF cells RNA-seq could become a reasonable choice for postnatal patients with advantages over fibroblasts and blood as it prevents invasive procedures.
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Calonga-Solís V, Fabbri-Scallet H, Ott F, Al-Sharkawi M, Künstner A, Wünsch L, Hiort O, Busch H, Werner R. MYRF: A New Regulator of Cardiac and Early Gonadal Development—Insights from Single Cell RNA Sequencing Analysis. J Clin Med 2022; 11:jcm11164858. [PMID: 36013096 PMCID: PMC9409872 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11164858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
De novo variants in the myelin regulatory factor (MYRF), a transcription factor involved in the differentiation of oligodendrocytes, have been linked recently to the cardiac and urogenital syndrome, while familiar variants are associated with nanophthalmos. Here, we report for the first time on a patient with a de novo stop-gain variant in MYRF (p.Q838*) associated with Scimitar syndrome, 46,XY partial gonadal dysgenesis (GD) and severe hyperopia. Since variants in MYRF have been described in both 46,XX and 46,XY GD, we assumed a role of MYRF in the early development of the bipotential gonad. We used publicly available single cell sequencing data of human testis and ovary from different developmental stages and analysed them for MYRF expression. We identified MYRF expression in the subset of coelomic epithelial cells at stages of gonadal ridge development in 46,XX and 46,XY individuals. Differential gene expression analysis revealed significantly upregulated genes. Within these, we identified CITED2 as a gene containing a MYRF binding site. It has been shown that Cited2−/− mice have gonadal defects in both testis and ovary differentiation, as well as defects in heart development and establishment of the left–right axis. This makes MYRF a potential candidate as an early regulator of gonadal and heart development via upregulation of the transcriptional cofactor CITED2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verónica Calonga-Solís
- Division of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Medical Systems Biology Division, Lübeck Institute of Experimental Dermatology, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Helena Fabbri-Scallet
- Division of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Center for Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering—CBMEG, State University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-875, Brazil
| | - Fabian Ott
- Medical Systems Biology Division, Lübeck Institute of Experimental Dermatology, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Mostafa Al-Sharkawi
- Division of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Biochemical Genetics Department, Human Genetics and Genome Research Institute, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt
| | - Axel Künstner
- Medical Systems Biology Division, Lübeck Institute of Experimental Dermatology, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Lutz Wünsch
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Olaf Hiort
- Division of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Hauke Busch
- Medical Systems Biology Division, Lübeck Institute of Experimental Dermatology, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Ralf Werner
- Division of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
- Correspondence:
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6
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Gutierrez J, Davis BA, Nevonen KA, Ward S, Carbone L, Maslen CL. DNA Methylation Analysis of Turner Syndrome BAV. Front Genet 2022; 13:872750. [PMID: 35711915 PMCID: PMC9194862 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.872750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Turner Syndrome (TS) is a rare cytogenetic disorder caused by the complete loss or structural variation of the second sex chromosome. The most common cause of early mortality in TS results from a high incidence of left-sided congenital heart defects, including bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), which occurs in about 30% of individuals with TS. BAV is also the most common congenital heart defect in the general population with a prevalence of 0.5–2%, with males being three-times more likely to have a BAV than females. TS is associated with genome-wide hypomethylation when compared to karyotypically normal males and females. Alterations in DNA methylation in primary aortic tissue are associated with BAV in euploid individuals. Here we show significant differences in DNA methylation patterns associated with BAV in TS found in peripheral blood by comparing TS BAV (n = 12), TS TAV (n = 13), and non-syndromic BAV (n = 6). When comparing TS with BAV to TS with no heart defects we identified a differentially methylated region encompassing the BAV-associated gene MYRF, and enrichment for binding sites of two known transcription factor contributors to BAV. When comparing TS with BAV to euploid women with BAV, we found significant overlapping enrichment for ChIP-seq transcription factor targets including genes in the NOTCH1 pathway, known for involvement in the etiology of non-syndromic BAV, and other genes that are essential regulators of heart valve development. Overall, these findings suggest that altered DNA methylation affecting key aortic valve development genes contributes to the greatly increased risk for BAV in TS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Gutierrez
- Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Brett A Davis
- Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Kimberly A Nevonen
- Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Samantha Ward
- Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
| | - Lucia Carbone
- Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States.,Department of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States.,Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States.,Division of Genetics, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR, United States
| | - Cheryl L Maslen
- Knight Cardiovascular Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, United States
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Temprano-Sagrera G, Sitlani CM, Bone WP, Martin-Bornez M, Voight BF, Morrison AC, Damrauer SM, de Vries PS, Smith NL, Sabater-Lleal M. Multi-phenotype analyses of hemostatic traits with cardiovascular events reveal novel genetic associations. J Thromb Haemost 2022; 20:1331-1349. [PMID: 35285134 PMCID: PMC9314075 DOI: 10.1111/jth.15698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Multi-phenotype analysis of genetically correlated phenotypes can increase the statistical power to detect loci associated with multiple traits, leading to the discovery of novel loci. This is the first study to date to comprehensively analyze the shared genetic effects within different hemostatic traits, and between these and their associated disease outcomes. OBJECTIVES To discover novel genetic associations by combining summary data of correlated hemostatic traits and disease events. METHODS Summary statistics from genome wide-association studies (GWAS) from seven hemostatic traits (factor VII [FVII], factor VIII [FVIII], von Willebrand factor [VWF] factor XI [FXI], fibrinogen, tissue plasminogen activator [tPA], plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 [PAI-1]) and three major cardiovascular (CV) events (venous thromboembolism [VTE], coronary artery disease [CAD], ischemic stroke [IS]), were combined in 27 multi-trait combinations using metaUSAT. Genetic correlations between phenotypes were calculated using Linkage Disequilibrium Score Regression (LDSC). Newly associated loci were investigated for colocalization. We considered a significance threshold of 1.85 × 10-9 obtained after applying Bonferroni correction for the number of multi-trait combinations performed (n = 27). RESULTS Across the 27 multi-trait analyses, we found 4 novel pleiotropic loci (XXYLT1, KNG1, SUGP1/MAU2, TBL2/MLXIPL) that were not significant in the original individual datasets, were not described in previous GWAS for the individual traits, and that presented a common associated variant between the studied phenotypes. CONCLUSIONS The discovery of four novel loci contributes to the understanding of the relationship between hemostasis and CV events and elucidate common genetic factors between these traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerard Temprano-Sagrera
- Genomics of Complex Disease Unit, Sant Pau Biomedical Research Institute. IIB-Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Colleen M Sitlani
- Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - William P Bone
- Genomics and Computational Biology Graduate Group, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Miguel Martin-Bornez
- Genomics of Complex Disease Unit, Sant Pau Biomedical Research Institute. IIB-Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Benjamin F Voight
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics and Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Alanna C Morrison
- Human Genetics Center, Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Scott M Damrauer
- Department of Surgery and Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Corporal Michael Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Paul S de Vries
- Human Genetics Center, Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Nicholas L Smith
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Kaiser Permanente, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Seattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Maria Sabater-Lleal
- Genomics of Complex Disease Unit, Sant Pau Biomedical Research Institute. IIB-Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
- Cardiovascular Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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8
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Wu P, Zhen X, Li B, Yu Q, Huang X, Shi N. Crystal structure of the MyRF ICA domain with its upstream β-helical stalk reveals the molecular mechanisms underlying its trimerization and self-cleavage. Int J Biol Sci 2021; 17:2931-2943. [PMID: 34345217 PMCID: PMC8326128 DOI: 10.7150/ijbs.57673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Myelin gene regulatory factor (MyRF), a novel membrane transcription factor expressed on the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, functions as a trimer. The trimerization of MyRF is associated with a fragment between the DNA binding domain and transmembrane domain that shares homology with the triple-β-helix and intramolecular chaperone autocleavage (ICA) domain of phage tailspike proteins. The molecular details of these domains in eukaryotes have not been elucidated. Here, we present the crystal structure of the MyRF ICA domain with its upstream β-helical stalk, determined at 2.4Å resolution. The structure showed that its upstream β-helical stalk is different from the triple β-helix reported before. This is the first structure of the mammalian protein with a triple β-helix. Structure analysis demonstrated that the triple α-helical coiled-coil formed at the MyRF ICA domain C-terminal was the main driving force for the trimerization. Additionally, our findings showed that MyRF was cleaved via a highly conserved serine-lysine catalytic dyad mechanism and that cleavage would be activated only if the ICA domains were organized as trimers. In contrast to the viral ICA domain, almost no interaction was found between the MyRF ICA domain and its upstream neighboring β-helix of the stalk; thus, activation of self-cleavage may not be triggered by the upstream region of the ICA domain, contrary to the observations made in phages. These findings provided an important insight into the molecular mechanisms of MyRF trimerization and self-cleavage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fujian College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 155 Yangqiao Road West, Fuzhou, 350002, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Xiangkai Zhen
- State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fujian College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 155 Yangqiao Road West, Fuzhou, 350002, China
| | - Bowen Li
- State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fujian College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 155 Yangqiao Road West, Fuzhou, 350002, China
| | - Qian Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fujian College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 155 Yangqiao Road West, Fuzhou, 350002, China
| | - Xiaochen Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fujian College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 155 Yangqiao Road West, Fuzhou, 350002, China
| | - Ning Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fujian College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 155 Yangqiao Road West, Fuzhou, 350002, China.,Institute of Vascular Anomalies, Shanghai TCM-Integrated Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 230 Baoding Road, Hongkou, Shanghai, 200082, China
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9
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Fan C, An H, Sharif M, Kim D, Park Y. Functional mechanisms of MYRF DNA-binding domain mutations implicated in birth defects. J Biol Chem 2021; 296:100612. [PMID: 33798553 PMCID: PMC8094900 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Revised: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Myrf is a pleiotropic membrane-bound transcription factor that plays critical roles in diverse organisms, including in oligodendrocyte differentiation, embryonic development, molting, and synaptic plasticity. Upon autolytic cleavage, the Myrf N-terminal fragment enters the nucleus as a homo-trimer and functions as a transcription factor. Homo-trimerization is essential for this function because it imparts DNA-binding specificity and affinity. Recent exome sequencing studies have implicated four de novo MYRF DNA-binding domain (DBD) mutations (F387S, Q403H, G435R, and L479V) in novel syndromic birth defects involving the diaphragm, heart, and the urogenital tract. It remains unknown whether and how these four mutations alter the transcription factor function of MYRF. Here, we studied them by introducing homologous mutations to the mouse Myrf protein. We found that the four DBD mutations abolish the transcriptional activity of the Myrf N-terminal fragment by interfering with its homo-trimerization ability by perturbing the DBD structure. Since the Myrf N-terminal fragment strictly functions as a homo-trimer, any loss-of-function mutation has the potential to act as a dominant negative. We observed that one copy of Myrf-F387S, Myrf-Q403H, or Myrf-L479V, but not Myrf-G435R, was tolerated by the Myrf N-terminal homo-trimer for structural and functional integrity. These data suggest that F387S, Q403H, and L479V cause birth defects by haploinsufficiency, while G435R does so via dominant negative functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuandong Fan
- Hunter James Kelly Research Institute, Department of Biochemistry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Hongjoo An
- Hunter James Kelly Research Institute, Department of Biochemistry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Mohamed Sharif
- Hunter James Kelly Research Institute, Department of Biochemistry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Dongkyeong Kim
- Hunter James Kelly Research Institute, Department of Biochemistry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Yungki Park
- Hunter James Kelly Research Institute, Department of Biochemistry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA.
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