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1 From the Program in Cell and Molecular Biology 2 Departments of Molecular and Human Genetics, 4 Pediatrics, 5 Medicine, and 6 Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
| Abstract |
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METHODS. Direct sequencing of all 50 exons and flanking intronic regions of ABCR was performed for the STGD- and RP-affected relatives. RNA hybridization, Western blot analysis, and azido-adenosine triphosphate (ATP) labeling was used to determine the effect of disease-associated ABCR mutations in an in vitro assay system.
RESULTS. Compound heterozygous missense mutations were identified in
patients with STGD and RP. STGD-affected individual AR682-03 was
compound heterozygous for the mutation 2588G
C and a complex allele,
[W1408R; R1640W]. RP-affected individuals AR682-04 and-05 were
compound heterozygous for the complex allele [W1408R; R1640W] and the
missense mutation V767D. Functional analysis of the mutation V767D by
Western blot and ATP binding revealed a severe reduction in protein
expression. In vitro analysis of ABCR protein with the mutations W1408R
and R1640W showed a moderate effect of these individual mutations on
expression and ATP-binding; the complex allele [W1408R; R1640W]
caused a severe reduction in protein expression.
CONCLUSIONS. These data reveal that missense ABCR mutations may be associated with RP. Functional analysis reveals that the RP-associated missense ABCR mutations are likely to be functionally null. These studies of the complex allele W1408R; R1640W suggest a synergistic effect of the individual mutations. These data are congruent with a model in which RP is associated with homozygous null mutations and with the notion that severity of retinal disease is inversely related to residual ABCR activity.
| Introduction |
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We present the clinical analyses of a family that manifests both STGD1 and RP, identify STGD- and RP-associated missense ABCR mutations, and describe functional biochemical studies of the disease associated alleles. These studies support the model relating retinal disease severity to the reduction in ABCR activity.
| Methods |
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Genetic Analysis of ABCR
DNA was extracted from peripheral leukocytes by standard
methods.11
Primers to the intronic regions flanking each
exon of ABCR were tailed at their 5' ends with M13 -21 or
M13 reverse sequences.6
These tailed primers were used to
amplify by PCR the exons and flanking intronic regions of
ABCR in the STGD1 proband and an RP-affected individual. We
performed bidirectional dye primer sequencing (BigDye M13 -21 and
reverse sequencing kits; PE-Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA).
Sequencing products were analyzed on an automated sequencer (ABI 377;
PE-Applied Biosystems).
Nucleotide alterations were verified, and segregation analysis was performed by directly sequencing variant exons in every available family member. Control DNA was amplified and sequenced in the same manner.
In Vitro Analysis of ABCR
Plasmid pRK5-ABCR was provided by Jeremy Nathans (Johns Hopkins
Medical School, Baltimore, MD).12
Plasmid mutagenesis was
performed with a mutagenesis kit (QuickChange XL; Stratagene, La Jolla,
CA). Overlapping oligos were designed to incorporate the desired
mutation into the mutagenized plasmid. Oligos corresponding to each
mutation were: V767D, GTC TGG CAG CAG CCT GTA GTG GTG ACA
TCT ATT TCA C; W1408R, GAC CCT TCA CCC CCG GAT ATA TGG GCA
G; R1640W, CAA CGC CAT CTT ATG GGC CAG CCT GCC (mutant
nucleotide positions are in bold type). Multiple mutant clones were
sequenced to confirm the mutations and ensure no random alteration of
the plasmid.
Mutant and wild type pRK5-ABCR plasmids were transiently transfected into HEK 293T human embryonic kidney cells for expression of recombinant ABCR protein. In a typical experiment, four 10-cm dishes of cells were transfected each with 30 µg plasmid DNA and 1.5 µl lipofection reagent (Lipofectamine 2000; Life Technologies, Rockville, MD) in 3 ml serum-free medium, as described in the manufacturers instructions. Cells were harvested and membranes isolated as described.12 Protein concentration of the 293T membranes was determined with a BCA kit (Pierce, Rockford, IL). For RNA analysis, 2 ml RNA extraction reagent (TRIzol; Life Technologies) was added directly to the cells in the culture dish. RNA and protein were isolated from the reagent homogenates according to the manufacturers instructions.
For Western blot analysis, total membrane proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE on 4% to 15% gradient gels (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA). Proteins were transferred to polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes, and blotted with anti-ABCR monoclonal antibody (Rim3F4; a gift of Robert S. Molday, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada) and anti-calnexin rabbit polyclonal antibody (SPA-860; StressGen, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada).
[
32P]-8-azido-ATP (ICN, Irvine, CA) was used
to label membrane proteins, as described.12
13
14
Under dim
red light, [
32P]-8-azido-ATP was dried under
an air stream and resuspended to 4 µM in buffer I (25 mM HEPES [pH
7.5], 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM MgCl2). Membrane
proteins of 2, 4, or 8 µg were diluted to 8 µl in buffer I, and an
equal volume of [
-32P]-8-azido-ATP was
added. The reactions were allowed to incubate at room temperature for 5
minutes and then irradiated with a handheld 302-nm UV light for 5
minutes at 10 cm.
[
-32P]-8-azido-ATPlabeled membranes were
separated by SDS-PAGE on 4% to 15% gradient gels, transferred to PVDF
membranes, autoradiographed, and blotted with Rim3F4 and SPA-860
antibodies.
For dot blot analysis, 2 µg total RNA from each transfection was spotted onto a nylon membrane (Oncor, Gaithersburg, MD) with a blot transfer apparatus (Bio-Dot; Bio-Rad). The membranes were hybridized with probes to human ß-actin or a 1649-bp EcoRI restriction fragment from the ABCR cDNA corresponding to exons 7-16, washed, and autoradiographed.
Films of the membranes from Western, RNA, and ATP labeling experiments were scanned and analyzed with blot analysis software (UN-SCAN IT; Silk Scientific Inc., Orem, UT).
| Results |
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C that encodes the missense
substitution W1408R, the transition 4918C
T that results in the
missense substitution R1640W, and the transversion 2588G
C that gives
rise to equal amounts of proteins with either a deletion of glycine at
residue 863 or the missense substitution G863A (Fig. 2
, Table 1
).10
15
16
Sequencing of her RP-affected paternal
grandmother, AR682-04, also revealed three ABCR mutations:
the missense substitutions W1408R and R1640W and a transversion
2300T
A that encodes the missense substitution V767D (Fig. 2
, Table 1
).17
Direct DNA sequencing of all members of pedigree
AR682 for the exons corresponding to these mutations revealed
segregation of the mutation 2588G
C from the maternal lineage and the
complex allele [W1408R; R1640W] from the paternal lineage; the
mutation V767D was identified only in the two RP-affected individuals
(Fig. 2)
. Polymorphisms identified in subjects AR682-03 and -04 are
shown in Table 1
.
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Biochemical Analysis of Recombinant ABCR
Plasmid constructs encoding recombinant ABCR proteins bearing the
missense mutations V767D, W1408R, and R1640W, and the complex allele
[W1408R; R1640W] were transiently transfected into HEK 293T cells. At
36 to 42 hours after transfection, RNA and protein were extracted and
analyzed for effects of these pathogenic mutations on protein
expression and ATP-binding. All constructs were transfected at least
three times, and results were consistent between each iteration of the
experiments.
RNA was analyzed by dot blot and hybridization. Total RNA (2 µg) was spotted in quadruplicate onto a nylon membrane, and the membrane was cut in half and hybridized with either a ß-actin or ABCR probe. The ratio of ABCR to ß-actin signal was used as a measure of transfection efficiency to normalize Western blot analysis. This analysis revealed no significant differences of the disease-associated point mutations on ABCR mRNA expression (Fig. 3) .
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| Discussion |
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Pedigree AR682 manifests both STGD1 and RP. We performed extensive sequence analyses of the ABCR gene in one STGD1 proband and one RP-affected individual from this pedigree. This search yielded three different mutant ABCR alleles (Fig. 2) .
Pedigree AR682 segregated missense ABCR mutations with both
STGD1 and RP. The 2588G
C alteration in STGD1 patient AR682-03 has
been observed previously in 26 unrelated patients with STGD1 and has
been classified as a mild mutant allele based on its association with
later onset disease and its pairing with presumed severe alleles in
patients with STGD1.10
15
19
In addition, we observed the
polymorphism 2828G
A in cis to the 2588G
C alteration,
consistent with linkage disequilibrium between these two alterations,
as reported previously.15
19
The effects of the mutation
2588G
C have been studied by Sun et al.,12
who report a
moderate reduction in expression of the G863A mutant protein and a
modest reduction in ATP-binding for the G863del variant of the
2588G
C mutation.
In individual AR682-03, the combination of the 2588G
C allele with
the complex allele [W1408R; R1640W] resulted in STGD1 with onset of
visual symptoms at age 15 years, consistent with classification of the
[W1408R; R1640W] allele as moderate to severe. RP-affected
individuals AR682-04 and -05 carry the complex allele [W1408R;
R1640W] in trans to the missense allele V767D. Both have
advanced RP at ages 71 and 73 years, each with a diagnosis of RP for
over five decades.
The three previously reported pedigrees with ABCR-associated RP had progressive retinal deterioration with onset of night blindness before age 10, progressive rod and cone dystrophy including loss of central vision, and pigment epithelial and choroidal atrophy.5 20 21 For each of the RP-affected individuals presented in this study, symptomatic nyctalopia occurred in the late first or early second decade and progressed to loss of functional central acuity (e.g., loss of automotive license) by the fifth decade. The retinal examinations in these adult subjects showed advanced RP.
ATP labeling and Western blot analysis of recombinant ABCR bearing the mutations V767D or [W1408R; R1640W] showed that these mutant proteins are not efficiently expressed in our transient transfection system, despite expression of substantial amounts of mRNA (Figs. 3 4) . Based on our new observations, we predict that both RP-associated alleles V767D and [W1408R; R1640W] represent severe mutations that result in little or no ABCR activity. Either these mutations cause misfolding of ABCR, or the nascent protein is unstable and quickly degraded, in that little or no protein could be detected by Western blot analysis and ATP labeling. In support of the misfolding hypothesis, the mutation V767D is predicted to lie within a transmembrane region and may disrupt proper folding of the nascent protein. However, the alterations W1408R and R1640W are each predicted to affect the first intradiscal loop, which has no known function.22 Of interest, the mutation V767D was reported in combination with the mutation 250delCAAA (a frameshift mutation that is a presumed null allele) in a patient with STGD1 with onset at age 8 years.17 That this patient (now 24 years old) has an ABCR genotype predicted to be equal to or more severe than that of our patient with advanced RP suggests a potential role for environmental or modifier gene effects.
The effects of the W1408R mutation on ABCR expression and ATP binding
are consistent with the classification of this as a mild to moderate
mutation. Our results confirm and refine those reported by Sun et
al.,12
and show that this mutation has approximately 75%
of wild-type expression and ATP-binding activity. Analysis of the
R1640W mutation revealed a reduction in both expression (
65%
wild-type) and ATP-binding capacity (
60% wild-type). Furthermore,
our analysis of the mutations W1408R and R1640W alone and in
combination suggest that the null effects of the complex allele
[W1408R; R1640W] are due to a combination of the two alterations, and
are more severe than either mutation alone (Fig. 4)
. This represents an
important finding, because complex alleles have been reported in 7% of
our unselected cohort of 150 STGD-affected families,10
as
well as in a large number of other reported patients with
STGD.15
19
23
Our analysis and identification of missense ABCR mutations in a family that segregates both STGD and RP is novel and interesting. Based solely on the mutation data and model of ABCR activity and its relation to pathogenesis, we hypothesized that the missense mutation identified in patients with RP would have severe functional consequences. Biochemical analysis of recombinant ABCR bearing these mutations confirmed that the RP-associated missense mutations are null, and further demonstrated that the effects of the complex allele W1408R; R1640W are more severe than a simple additive effect of the two constituent mutations. Our findings further support a model in which disease severity is inversely correlated with ABCR activity and extend the model to include missense mutations associated with RP.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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Supported in part by Grant R01 EY11780 from the National Institutes of Health, the Milton and Ruth Steinbach Fund, the Foundation Fighting Blindness, and unrestricted funds from Research to Prevent Blindness to the Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine. NFS is supported by predoctoral training Grant T32 EY07102 from the National Eye Institute. RAL is a Senior Scientific Investigator of Research to Prevent Blindness.
Submitted for publication April 23, 2001; accepted July 10, 2001.
Commercial relationships policy: P.
The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page
charge payment. This article must therefore be marked
"advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C.
1734
solely to indicate this fact.
Corresponding author: James R. Lupski, Baylor College of Medicine, 604B, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030. jlupski{at}bcm.tmc.edu
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C mutation in the ABCR gene is a mild frequent founder mutation in the western European population and allows the classification of ABCR mutations in patients with Stargardt disease Am J Hum Genet 64,1024-1035[Medline][Order article via Infotrieve]
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