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Mehranfar M, Asadi P, Shokohi R, Milev MP, Gamberi C, Sacher M. Lipidomic analysis of human TANGO2-deficient cells suggests a lipid imbalance as a cause of TANGO2 deficiency disease. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2024; 717:150047. [PMID: 38718569 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2024.150047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024]
Abstract
TANGO2 deficiency disease (TDD) is a multisystem disease caused by variants in the TANGO2 gene. Symptoms include neurodevelopmental delays, seizures and potentially lethal metabolic crises and cardiac arrhythmias. While the function of TANGO2 remains elusive, vitamin B5/pantothenic acid supplementation has been shown to alleviate symptoms in a fruit fly model and has also been used with success to treat individuals suffering from TDD. Since vitamin B5 is the precursor to the lipid activator coenzyme A (CoA), we hypothesized that TANGO2-deficient cells would display changes in the lipid profile compared to control and that these changes would be rescued by vitamin B5 supplementation. In addition, the specific changes seen might point to a pathway in which TANGO2 functions. Indeed, we found profound changes in the lipid profile of human TANGO2-deficient cells as well as an increased pool of free fatty acids in both human cells devoid of TANGO2 and Drosophila harboring a previously described TANGO2 loss of function allele. All these changes were reversed upon vitamin B5 supplementation. Pathway analysis showed significant increases in triglyceride as well as in lysophospholipid levels as the top enriched pathways in the absence of TANGO2. Consistent with a defect in triglyceride metabolism, we found changes in lipid droplet numbers and sizes in the absence of TANGO2 compared to control. Our data will allow for comparison between other model systems of TDD and the homing in on critical lipid imbalances that lead to the disease state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahsa Mehranfar
- Concordia University, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Canada
| | - Paria Asadi
- Concordia University, Department of Biology, Canada
| | | | | | - Chiara Gamberi
- Coastal Carolina University, Department of Biology, United States
| | - Michael Sacher
- Concordia University, Department of Biology, Canada; McGill University, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Canada.
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Sacher M, DeLoriea J, Mehranfar M, Casey C, Naaz A, Gamberi C. TANGO2 deficiency disease is predominantly caused by a lipid imbalance. Dis Model Mech 2024; 17:dmm050662. [PMID: 38836374 PMCID: PMC11179719 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.050662] [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] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
TANGO2 deficiency disease (TDD) is a rare genetic disorder estimated to affect ∼8000 individuals worldwide. It causes neurodegeneration often accompanied by potentially lethal metabolic crises that are triggered by diet or illness. Recent work has demonstrated distinct lipid imbalances in multiple model systems either depleted for or devoid of the TANGO2 protein, including human cells, fruit flies and zebrafish. Importantly, vitamin B5 supplementation has been shown to rescue TANGO2 deficiency-associated defects in flies and human cells. The notion that vitamin B5 is needed for synthesis of the lipid precursor coenzyme A (CoA) corroborates the hypothesis that key aspects of TDD pathology may be caused by lipid imbalance. A natural history study of 73 individuals with TDD reported that either multivitamin or vitamin B complex supplementation prevented the metabolic crises, suggesting this as a potentially life-saving treatment. Although recently published work supports this notion, much remains unknown about TANGO2 function, the pathological mechanism of TDD and the possible downsides of sustained vitamin supplementation in children and young adults. In this Perspective, we discuss these recent findings and highlight areas for immediate scientific attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Sacher
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal H4B 1R6, Canada
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montreal H3A 0C7, Canada
| | - Jay DeLoriea
- Department of Biology, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC 29526, USA
| | - Mahsa Mehranfar
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Concordia University, Montreal H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Cody Casey
- Department of Biology, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC 29526, USA
| | - Aaliya Naaz
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montreal H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Chiara Gamberi
- Department of Biology, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC 29526, USA
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Sandkuhler SE, Youngs KS, Owlett L, Bandora MB, Naaz A, Kim ES, Wang L, Wojtovich AP, Gupta VA, Sacher M, Mackenzie SJ. Haem's relevance genuine? Re-visiting the roles of TANGO2 homologues including HRG-9 and HRG-10 in C. elegans. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.29.569072. [PMID: 38106020 PMCID: PMC10723261 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.29.569072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Mutations in the TANGO2 gene cause severe illness in humans, including life-threatening metabolic crises; however, the function of TANGO2 protein remains unknown. In a recent publication in Nature, Sun et al. proposed that TANGO2 helps transport haem within and between cells, from areas with high haem concentrations to those with lower concentrations. Caenorhabditis elegans has two versions of TANGO2 that Sun et al. called HRG-9 and HRG-10. They demonstrated that worms deficient in these proteins show increased survival upon exposure to a toxic haem analog, which Sun et al. interpreted as evidence of decreased haem uptake from intestinal cells into the rest of the organism. We repeated several experiments using the same C. elegans strain as Sun et al. and believe that their findings are better explained by reduced feeding behavior in these worms. We demonstrate that hrg-9 in particular is highly responsive to oxidative stress, independent of haem status. Our group also performed several experiments in yeast and zebrafish models of TANGO2 deficiency and was unable to replicate key findings from these models reported in Sun et al.'s original study. Overall, we believe there is insufficient evidence to support haem transport as the primary function for TANGO2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E. Sandkuhler
- Department of Pathology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
| | - Kayla S. Youngs
- Department of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
| | - Laura Owlett
- Department of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
| | | | - Aaliya Naaz
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Concordia, Montreal, Canada
| | - Euri S. Kim
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Lili Wang
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
| | - Andrew P. Wojtovich
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
| | - Vandana A. Gupta
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Michael Sacher
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Concordia, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Samuel J. Mackenzie
- Department of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
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