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Abstract
Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are small lipid-binding proteins abundantly expressed in tissues that are highly active in fatty acid (FA) metabolism. Ten mammalian FABPs have been identified, with tissue-specific expression patterns and highly conserved tertiary structures. FABPs were initially studied as intracellular FA transport proteins. Further investigation has demonstrated their participation in lipid metabolism, both directly and via regulation of gene expression, and in signaling within their cells of expression. There is also evidence that they may be secreted and have functional impact via the circulation. It has also been shown that the FABP ligand binding repertoire extends beyond long-chain FAs and that their functional properties also involve participation in systemic metabolism. This article reviews the present understanding of FABP functions and their apparent roles in disease, particularly metabolic and inflammation-related disorders and cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Storch
- Department of Nutritional Sciences and Rutgers Center for Lipid Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States;
| | - Betina Corsico
- Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata, CONICET-UNLP, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, La Plata, Argentina;
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Baga M, Rizzi S, Spagnoli C, Frattini D, Pisani F, Fusco C. A Novel Family with Demyelinating Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Caused by a Mutation in the PMP2 Gene: A Case Series of Nine Patients and a Brief Review of the Literature. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 10:children10050901. [PMID: 37238449 DOI: 10.3390/children10050901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) is a group of inherited peripheral neuropathies characterized by wide genotypic and phenotypic variability. The onset is typically in childhood, and the most frequent clinical manifestations are predominantly distal muscle weakness, hypoesthesia, foot deformity (pes cavus) and areflexia. In the long term, complications such as muscle-tendon retractions, extremity deformities, muscle atrophy and pain may occur. Among CMT1, demyelinating and autosomal dominant forms, CMT1G is determined by mutations in the PMP2 myelin protein. RESULTS Starting from the index case, we performed a clinical, electrophysiological, neuroradiological and genetic evaluation of all family members for three generations; we identified p.Ile50del in PMP2 in all the nine affected members. They presented a typical clinical phenotype, with childhood-onset variable severity between generations and a chronic demyelinating sensory-motor polyneuropathy on the electrophysiologic examination; the progression was slow to very slow and predominant in the lower limbs. Our study reports a relatively large sample of patients, members of the same family, with CMT1G by PMP2, which is a rare form of demyelinating CMT, highlighting the genetic variability of the CMT family instead of the overlapping clinical phenotypes within demyelinating forms. To date, only supportive and preventive measures for the most severe complications are available; therefore, we believe that early diagnosis (clinical, electrophysiological and genetic) allows access to specialist follow-up and therapies, thereby improving the quality of life of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margherita Baga
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Department of Pediatrics, AUSL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Susanna Rizzi
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Department of Pediatrics, AUSL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Carlotta Spagnoli
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Department of Pediatrics, AUSL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Daniele Frattini
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Department of Pediatrics, AUSL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Francesco Pisani
- Child Neuropsychiatric Unit, Human Neuroscience Department, Sapienza University of Rome, 00100 Rome, Italy
| | - Carlo Fusco
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Department of Pediatrics, AUSL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, 42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy
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Piras IS, Huentelman MJ, Pinna F, Paribello P, Solmi M, Murru A, Carpiniello B, Manchia M, Zai CC. A review and meta-analysis of gene expression profiles in suicide. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2022; 56:39-49. [PMID: 34923210 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2021.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Suicide claims over 800,000 deaths worldwide, making it a serious public health problem. The etiopathophysiology of suicide remains unclear and is highly complex, and postmortem gene expression studies can offer insights into the molecular biological mechanism underlying suicide. In the current study, we conducted a meta-analysis of postmortem brain gene expression in relation to suicide. We identified five gene expression datasets for postmortem orbitofrontal, prefrontal, or dorsolateral prefrontal cortical brain regions from the Gene Expression Omnibus repository. After quality control, the total sample size was 380 (141 suicide deaths and 239 deaths from other causes). We performed the analyses using two meta-analytic approaches. We further performed pathway and cell-set enrichment analyses. We found reduced expression of the KCNJ2 (Potassium Inwardly Rectifying Channel Subfamily J Member 2), A2M (Alpha-2-Macroglobulin), AGT (Angiotensinogen), PMP2 (Peripheral Myelin Protein 2), and VEZF1 (Vascular Endothelial Zinc Finger 1) genes (FDR p<0.05). Our findings support the involvement of astrocytes, stress response, immune system, and microglia in suicide. These findings will require further validation in additional large datasets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignazio S Piras
- Neurogenomics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Matthew J Huentelman
- Neurogenomics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Federica Pinna
- Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy; Unit of Clinical Psychiatry, University Hospital Agency of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Pasquale Paribello
- Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy; Unit of Clinical Psychiatry, University Hospital Agency of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Marco Solmi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Department of Mental Health, The Ottawa Hospital, Ontario, Canada; Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) Clinical Epidemiology Program University of Ottawa Ottawa Ontario; Early Psychosis: Interventions and Clinical-detection (EPIC) Lab, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Department of Psychosis Studies, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea Murru
- Bipolar and Depression Disorders Unit, Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS CIBERSAM, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Bernardo Carpiniello
- Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy; Unit of Clinical Psychiatry, University Hospital Agency of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Mirko Manchia
- Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy; Unit of Clinical Psychiatry, University Hospital Agency of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy; Department of Pharmacology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
| | - Clement C Zai
- Neurogenetics Section, Molecular Brain Science, Tanenbaum Centre for Pharmacogenetics, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Medical Science, Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, United States
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Uusitalo M, Klenow MB, Laulumaa S, Blakeley MP, Simonsen AC, Ruskamo S, Kursula P. Human myelin protein P2: from crystallography to time-lapse membrane imaging and neuropathy-associated variants. FEBS J 2021; 288:6716-6735. [PMID: 34138518 DOI: 10.1111/febs.16079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Peripheral myelin protein 2 (P2) is a fatty acid-binding protein expressed in vertebrate peripheral nervous system myelin, as well as in human astrocytes. Suggested functions of P2 include membrane stacking and lipid transport. Mutations in the PMP2 gene, encoding P2, are associated with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT). Recent studies have revealed three novel PMP2 mutations in CMT patients. To shed light on the structure and function of these P2 variants, we used X-ray and neutron crystallography, small-angle X-ray scattering, circular dichroism spectroscopy, computer simulations and lipid binding assays. The crystal and solution structures of the I50del, M114T and V115A variants of P2 showed minor differences to the wild-type protein, whereas their thermal stability was reduced. Vesicle aggregation assays revealed no change in membrane stacking characteristics, while the variants showed altered fatty acid binding. Time-lapse imaging of lipid bilayers indicated formation of double-membrane structures induced by P2, which could be related to its function in stacking of two myelin membrane surfaces in vivo. In order to better understand the links between structure, dynamics and function, the crystal structure of perdeuterated P2 was refined from room temperature data using neutrons and X-rays, and the results were compared to simulations and cryocooled crystal structures. Our data indicate similar properties for all known human P2 CMT variants; while crystal structures are nearly identical, thermal stability and function of CMT variants are impaired. Our data provide new insights into the structure-function relationships and dynamics of P2 in health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maiju Uusitalo
- Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine & Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Finland
| | - Martin Berg Klenow
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Saara Laulumaa
- Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine & Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Finland.,European Spallation Source, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Adam Cohen Simonsen
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Salla Ruskamo
- Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine & Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Finland
| | - Petri Kursula
- Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine & Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Finland.,Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Norway
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Raasakka A, Kursula P. How Does Protein Zero Assemble Compact Myelin? Cells 2020; 9:E1832. [PMID: 32759708 PMCID: PMC7465998 DOI: 10.3390/cells9081832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Myelin protein zero (P0), a type I transmembrane protein, is the most abundant protein in peripheral nervous system (PNS) myelin-the lipid-rich, periodic structure of membrane pairs that concentrically encloses long axonal segments. Schwann cells, the myelinating glia of the PNS, express P0 throughout their development until the formation of mature myelin. In the intramyelinic compartment, the immunoglobulin-like domain of P0 bridges apposing membranes via homophilic adhesion, forming, as revealed by electron microscopy, the electron-dense, double "intraperiod line" that is split by a narrow, electron-lucent space corresponding to the extracellular space between membrane pairs. The C-terminal tail of P0 adheres apposing membranes together in the narrow cytoplasmic compartment of compact myelin, much like myelin basic protein (MBP). In mouse models, the absence of P0, unlike that of MBP or P2, severely disturbs myelination. Therefore, P0 is the executive molecule of PNS myelin maturation. How and when P0 is trafficked and modified to enable myelin compaction, and how mutations that give rise to incurable peripheral neuropathies alter the function of P0, are currently open questions. The potential mechanisms of P0 function in myelination are discussed, providing a foundation for the understanding of mature myelin development and how it derails in peripheral neuropathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arne Raasakka
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Jonas Lies vei 91, NO-5009 Bergen, Norway;
| | - Petri Kursula
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen, Jonas Lies vei 91, NO-5009 Bergen, Norway;
- Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine & Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Aapistie 7A, FI-90220 Oulu, Finland
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