Tryptophan to Glycine mutation in the position 116 leads to protein aggregation and decreases the stability of the LITAF protein

Impact of LITAF on Mitophagy and Neuronal Damage in Epilepsy via MCL-1 Ubiquitination

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to investigate how the E3 ubiquitin ligase LITAF influences mitochondrial autophagy by modulating MCL-1 ubiquitination, and its role in the development of epilepsy.

METHODS

Employing single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to analyze brain tissue from epilepsy patients, along with high-throughput transcriptomics, we identified changes in gene expression. This was complemented by in vivo and in vitro experiments, including protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, western blotting, and behavioral assessments in mouse models.

RESULTS

Neuronal cells in epilepsy patients exhibited significant gene expression alterations, with increased activity in apoptosis-related pathways and decreased activity in neurotransmitter-related pathways. LITAF was identified as a key upregulated factor, inhibiting mitochondrial autophagy by promoting MCL-1 ubiquitination, leading to increased neuronal damage. Knockdown experiments in mouse models further confirmed that LITAF facilitates MCL-1 ubiquitination, aggravating neuronal injury.

CONCLUSION

Our findings demonstrate that LITAF regulates MCL-1 ubiquitination, significantly impacting mitochondrial autophagy and contributing to neuronal damage in epilepsy. Targeting LITAF and its downstream mechanisms may offer a promising therapeutic strategy for managing epilepsy.

Prenatal Chromosomal Microarray Analysis: Does Increased Resolution Equal Increased Yield?

Chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) is considered a first-tier test for patients with developmental disabilities and congenital anomalies and is also routinely applied in prenatal diagnosis. The current consensus size cut-off for reporting copy number variants (CNVs) in the prenatal setting ranges from 200 Kb to 400 Kb, with the intention of minimizing the impact of variants of uncertain significance (VUS). Very limited data are currently available on the application of higher resolution platforms prenatally. The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility and impact of applying high-resolution CMA in the prenatal setting. To that end, we report on the outcomes of applying CMA with a size cut-off of 20 Kb in 250 prenatal samples and discuss the findings and diagnostic yield and also provide follow-up for cases with variants of uncertain significance. Overall, 19.6% (49) showed one or more chromosomal abnormalities, with the findings classified as Pathogenic (P) or Likely Pathogenic (LP) in 15.6% and as VUS in 4%. When excluding the cases with known familial aberrations, the diagnostic yield was 12%. The smallest aberration detected was a 32 Kb duplication of the 16p11.2 region. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that prenatal diagnosis with a high-resolution aCGH platform can reliably detect smaller CNVs that are often associated with neurodevelopmental phenotypes while providing an increased diagnostic yield, regardless of the indication for testing, with only a marginal increase in the VUS incidence. Thus, it can be an important tool in the prenatal setting.

A computational study of structural analysis of Class I human glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) variants: Elaborating the correlation to chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia (CNSHA)

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most common human enzyme defect that affects more than 500 million people worldwide. Individuals affected with G6PD deficiency may occasionally suffer mild-to-severe chronic hemolytic anemia. Chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia (CNSHA) is a potential result of the Class I G6PD variants. This comparative computational study attempted to correct the defect in variants structure by docking the AG1 molecule to selected Class I G6PD variants [G6PD^Nashville (Arg393His), G6PD^Alhambra (Val394Leu), and G6PD^Durham (Lys238Arg)] at the dimer interface and structural NADP⁺ binding site. It was followed by an analysis of the enzyme conformations before and after binding to the AG1 molecule using the molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) approach, while the severity of CNSHA was determined via root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF), hydrogen bonds, salt bridges, radius of gyration (Rg), solvent accessible surface area analysis (SASA), and principal component analysis (PCA). The results revealed that G6PD^Nashville (Arg393His) and G6PD^Durham (Lys238Arg) had lost the direct contact with structural NADP⁺ and salt bridges at Glu419 - Arg427 and Glu206 - Lys407 were disrupted in all selected variants. Furthermore, the AG1 molecule re-stabilized the enzyme structure by restoring the missing interactions. Bioinformatics approaches were also used to conduct a detailed structural analysis of the G6PD enzyme at a molecular level to understand the implications of these variants toward enzyme function. Our findings suggest that despite the lack of treatment for G6PDD to date, AG1 remains a novel molecule that promotes activation in a variety of G6PD variants.

Computational study to evaluate the potency of phytochemicals in Boerhavia diffusa and the impact of point mutation on cyclin-dependent kinase 2-associated protein 1

A protein's function is closely related to its structural properties. Mutations can affect the functionality of a protein. Different cancer tissues have found disordered expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase 2-associated Protein 1 (CDK2AP1) gene. A protein molecule's conformational flexibility affects its interaction with phytochemicals and their biological partners at various levels. Boerhavia diffusa has been investigated most extensively for its medicinal activities like anticancer properties. It contains many bioactive compounds like Boeravinone A, Boeravinone B, Boeravinone C, Boeravinone D, Boeravinone E, Boeravinone F, Boeravinone G, Boeravinone H, Boeravinone I and Boeravinone J. We have studied to analyse the binding efficacy properties as well as essential dynamic behaviour, free energy landscape of both the native and mutant protein CDK2AP1 with bioactive compounds from Boerhavia diffusa plant extracts through computational approaches by homology modelling, docking and molecular dynamics simulation. From the molecular docking study, we found that. Boeravinone J have best binding affinity (-7.9 kcal/mol) towards the native protein of CDKAP1 compared to others phytochemicals. However, we found the binding energy for H23R and C105R (mutation point) -7.8 and -7.6 kcal/mol, respectively. A single minima energy point (from 100 ns molecular dynamics simulation study) was found in the H23R mutant with Boeravinone J complex suggested that minimum structural changes with less conformational mobility compared C105A mutant model.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Amino Acid Metaclusters: Implications of Growth Trends on Peptide Self-Assembly and Structure

Ion-mobility mass spectrometry is utilized to examine the metacluster formation of serine, asparagine, isoleucine, and tryptophan. These amino acids are representative of different classes of noncharged amino acids. We show that they can form relatively large metaclusters in solution that are difficult or impossible to observe by traditional solution techniques. We further demonstrate, as an example, that the formation of Ser metaclusters is not an ESI artifact because large metaclusters can be detected in negative polarity and low concentration with similar cross sections to those measured in positive polarity and higher concentration. The growth trends of tryptophan and isoleucine metaclusters, along with serine, asparagine, and the previously studied phenylalanine, are balanced among various intrinsic properties of individual amino acids (e.g., hydrophobicity, size, and shape). The metacluster cross sections of hydrophilic residues (Ser, Asn, Trp) tend to stay on or fall below the isotropic model trend lines whereas those of hydrophobic amino acids (Ile, Phe) deviate positively from the isotropic trend lines. The growth trends correlate well to the predicted aggregation propensity of individual amino acids. From the metacluster data, we introduce a novel approach to score and predict aggregation propensity of peptides, which can offer a significant improvement over the existing methods in terms of accuracy. Using a set of hexapeptides, we show that the strong negative deviations of Ser metaclusters from the isotropic model leads a prediction of microcrystalline formation for the SFSFSF peptide, whereas the strong positive deviation of Ile leads to prediction or fibril formation for the NININI peptide. Both predictions are confirmed experimentally using ion mobility and TEM measurements. The peptide SISISI is predicted to only weakly aggregate, a prediction confirmed by TEM.

Computational Analysis Reveals the Association of Threonine 118 Methionine Mutation in PMP22 Resulting in CMT-1A

The T118M mutation in PMP22 gene is associated with Charcot Marie Tooth, type 1A (CMT1A). CMT1A is a form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, the most common inherited disorder of the peripheral nervous system. Mutations in CMT related disorder are seen to increase the stability of the protein resulting in the diseased state. We performed SNP analysis for all the nsSNPs of PMP22 protein and carried out molecular dynamics simulation for T118M mutation to compare the stability difference between the wild type protein structure and the mutant protein structure. The mutation T118M resulted in the overall increase in the stability of the mutant protein. The superimposed structure shows marked structural variation between the wild type and the mutant protein structures.