RESUMO
Chronic pain is a major health issue, and the search for new analgesics has become increasingly important because of the addictive properties and unwanted side effects of opioids. To explore potentially new drug targets, we investigated mutations in the NTRK1 gene found in individuals with congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA). NTRK1 encodes tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA), the receptor for nerve growth factor (NGF) and that contributes to nociception. Molecular modeling and biochemical analysis identified mutations that decreased the interaction between TrkA and one of its substrates and signaling effectors, phospholipase Cγ (PLCγ). We developed a cell-permeable phosphopeptide derived from TrkA (TAT-pQYP) that bound the Src homology domain 2 (SH2) of PLCγ. In HEK-293T cells, TAT-pQYP inhibited the binding of heterologously expressed TrkA to PLCγ and decreased NGF-induced, TrkA-mediated PLCγ activation and signaling. In mice, intraplantar administration of TAT-pQYP decreased mechanical sensitivity in an inflammatory pain model, suggesting that targeting this interaction may be analgesic. The findings demonstrate a strategy to identify new targets for pain relief by analyzing the signaling pathways that are perturbed in CIPA.
Assuntos
Hipo-Hidrose , Mutação , Insensibilidade Congênita à Dor , Fosfolipase C gama , Receptor trkA , Analgésicos/farmacologia , Animais , Canalopatias/genética , Canalopatias/metabolismo , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Hipo-Hidrose/genética , Hipo-Hidrose/metabolismo , Camundongos , Fator de Crescimento Neural/genética , Fator de Crescimento Neural/farmacologia , Dor/genética , Dor/metabolismo , Insensibilidade Congênita à Dor/genética , Insensibilidade Congênita à Dor/metabolismo , Fosfolipase C gama/genética , Fosfolipase C gama/metabolismo , Receptor trkA/genética , Receptor trkA/metabolismoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The organization of the canonical code has intrigued researches since it was first described. If we consider all codes mapping the 64 codes into 20 amino acids and one stop codon, there are more than 1.51×10(84) possible genetic codes. The main question related to the organization of the genetic code is why exactly the canonical code was selected among this huge number of possible genetic codes. Many researchers argue that the organization of the canonical code is a product of natural selection and that the code's robustness against mutations would support this hypothesis. In order to investigate the natural selection hypothesis, some researches employ optimization algorithms to identify regions of the genetic code space where best codes, according to a given evaluation function, can be found (engineering approach). The optimization process uses only one objective to evaluate the codes, generally based on the robustness for an amino acid property. Only one objective is also employed in the statistical approach for the comparison of the canonical code with random codes. We propose a multiobjective approach where two or more objectives are considered simultaneously to evaluate the genetic codes. RESULTS: In order to test our hypothesis that the multiobjective approach is useful for the analysis of the genetic code adaptability, we implemented a multiobjective optimization algorithm where two objectives are simultaneously optimized. Using as objectives the robustness against mutation with the amino acids properties polar requirement (objective 1) and robustness with respect to hydropathy index or molecular volume (objective 2), we found solutions closer to the canonical genetic code in terms of robustness, when compared with the results using only one objective reported by other authors. CONCLUSIONS: Using more objectives, more optimal solutions are obtained and, as a consequence, more information can be used to investigate the adaptability of the genetic code. The multiobjective approach is also more natural, because more than one objective was adapted during the evolutionary process of the canonical genetic code. Our results suggest that the evaluation function employed to compare genetic codes should consider simultaneously more than one objective, in contrast to what has been done in the literature.
Assuntos
Algoritmos , Aminoácidos/genética , Evolução Molecular , Código Genético , Modelos Genéticos , Biossíntese de Proteínas , Seleção Genética/genética , Humanos , Mutação/genéticaRESUMO
Myosin V (MyoV) motors have been implicated in the intracellular transport of diverse cargoes including vesicles, organelles, RNA-protein complexes, and regulatory proteins. Here, we have solved the cargo-binding domain (CBD) structures of the three human MyoV paralogs (Va, Vb, and Vc), revealing subtle structural changes that drive functional differentiation and a novel redox mechanism controlling the CBD dimerization process, which is unique for the MyoVc subclass. Moreover, the cargo- and motor-binding sites were structurally assigned, indicating the conservation of residues involved in the recognition of adaptors for peroxisome transport and providing high resolution insights into motor domain inhibition by CBD. These results contribute to understanding the structural requirements for cargo transport, autoinhibition, and regulatory mechanisms in myosin V motors.
Assuntos
Miosina Tipo V/química , Sítios de Ligação , Transporte Biológico Ativo/fisiologia , Humanos , Miosina Tipo V/genética , Miosina Tipo V/metabolismo , Peroxissomos/química , Peroxissomos/genética , Peroxissomos/metabolismo , Estrutura Quaternária de Proteína , Estrutura Terciária de Proteína , Homologia Estrutural de ProteínaRESUMO
Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) catabolize toxic aldehydes and process the vitamin A-derived retinaldehyde into retinoic acid (RA), a small diffusible molecule and a pivotal chordate morphogen. In this study, we combine phylogenetic, structural, genomic, and developmental gene expression analyses to examine the evolutionary origins of ALDH substrate preference. Structural modeling reveals that processing of small aldehydes, such as acetaldehyde, by ALDH2, versus large aldehydes, including retinaldehyde, by ALDH1A is associated with small versus large substrate entry channels (SECs), respectively. Moreover, we show that metazoan ALDH1s and ALDH2s are members of a single ALDH1/2 clade and that during evolution, eukaryote ALDH1/2s often switched between large and small SECs after gene duplication, transforming constricted channels into wide opened ones and vice versa. Ancestral sequence reconstructions suggest that during the evolutionary emergence of RA signaling, the ancestral, narrow-channeled metazoan ALDH1/2 gave rise to large ALDH1 channels capable of accommodating bulky aldehydes, such as retinaldehyde, supporting the view that retinoid-dependent signaling arose from ancestral cellular detoxification mechanisms. Our analyses also indicate that, on a more restricted evolutionary scale, ALDH1 duplicates from invertebrate chordates (amphioxus and ascidian tunicates) underwent switches to smaller and narrower SECs. When combined with alterations in gene expression, these switches led to neofunctionalization from ALDH1-like roles in embryonic patterning to systemic, ALDH2-like roles, suggesting functional shifts from signaling to detoxification.
Assuntos
Aldeído Desidrogenase/genética , Padronização Corporal/fisiologia , Evolução Molecular , Modelos Moleculares , Filogenia , Conformação Proteica , Transdução de Sinais/genética , Tretinoína/metabolismo , Animais , Sequência de Bases , Teorema de Bayes , Análise por Conglomerados , Biologia Computacional , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Genes Duplicados/genética , Hibridização In Situ , Funções Verossimilhança , Modelos Genéticos , Alinhamento de Sequência , Especificidade da EspécieRESUMO
Mutations in the PTPN11 gene are known to cause a large fraction of the cases of Noonan syndrome. The objective of this study was to determine the PTPN11 gene mutation rate in a cohort of clinically well-characterized Brazilian patients with Noonan or Noonan-like syndromes and to study the genotype-phenotype correlation. Fifty probands with Noonan syndrome ascertained according to well-established diagnostic criteria, 3 with LEOPARD syndrome, 5 with Noonan-like/multiple giant cell lesion syndrome, and 3 with neurofibromatosis/ Noonan were enrolled in this study. Mutational analysis was performed using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) followed by sequencing of amplicons with an aberrant elution profile. We detected missense mutations in the PTPN11 gene in 21 probands with Noonan syndrome (42%), in all 3 patients with LEOPARD syndrome, and in 1 case with Noonan-like/multiple giant cell lesion syndrome. One patient with neurofibromatosis-Noonan syndrome had a mutation in both the PTPN11 and NF1 genes. The only anomalies that reached statistical significance when comparing probands with and without mutations were the hematological abnormalities. Our data confirms that Noonan syndrome is a genetically heterogeneous disorder, with mutations in the PTPN11 gene responsible for roughly 50% of the cases. A definitive genotype-phenotype correlation has not been established, but the T73I mutation seems to predispose to a myeloproliferative disorder. Regarding Noonan-like syndromes, mutation of the PTPN11 gene is the main causal factor in LEOPARD syndrome, and it also plays a role in neurofibromatosis-Noonan syndrome. Noonan- like/multiple giant cell lesion syndrome, part of the spectrum of Noonan syndrome, is also heterogeneous.
Assuntos
Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular/genética , Síndrome de Noonan/genética , Fenótipo , Proteínas Tirosina Fosfatases/genética , Adolescente , Adulto , Substituição de Aminoácidos/genética , Brasil , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Feminino , Humanos , Lactente , Síndrome LEOPARD/diagnóstico , Síndrome LEOPARD/genética , Masculino , Neurofibromatoses/diagnóstico , Neurofibromatoses/genética , Síndrome de Noonan/diagnóstico , Proteína Tirosina Fosfatase não Receptora Tipo 11RESUMO
Noonan syndrome (NS) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by short stature, facial anomalies, webbed neck, sternal deformity, heart defects, and, in males, cryptorchidism. PTPN11 encodes SHP2, an important component of several signal transduction pathways that acts as a positive regulator of RAS-mitogen activated protein kinase signaling. Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is another autosomal dominant disorder characterized by hamartomas in multiple organs. The NF1 gene encodes a GAP-related protein, which acts as a negative regulator of the Ras-mediated signal transduction pathway. Clinical overlap between both syndromes, neurofibromatosis-Noonan syndrome (NFNS) is well known. We studied a female patient with typical findings of NFNS and found two mutations: a novel PTPN11 transversion, 1909A --> G, resulting in Gln510Arg, and an NF1 transversion, 2531A --> G, resulting in Leu844Arg. She inherited the PTPN11 mutation from her father and had a de novo NF1 mutation. This is the first report of molecular concurrence of both disorders in the same patient.
Assuntos
Anormalidades Múltiplas/genética , Mutação de Sentido Incorreto , Neurofibromatose 1/patologia , Neurofibromina 1/genética , Síndrome de Noonan/patologia , Proteínas Tirosina Fosfatases/genética , Anormalidades Múltiplas/diagnóstico , Adolescente , Análise Mutacional de DNA , Feminino , Humanos , Cariotipagem , Proteína Tirosina Fosfatase não Receptora Tipo 1RESUMO
Noonan syndrome (NS) is an autosomal dominant disorder comprising short stature, facial dysmorphism, short and/or webbed neck, heart defects, and cryptorchidism in males. The gene responsible for the disorder (PTPN11) was recently identified, and explains 30-50% of the cases clinically diagnosed as NS. Cardiofaciocutaneous (CFC) syndrome, a similar but distinct entity, is characterized by relative macrocephaly, characteristic facial appearance, ectodermal abnormalities (sparse and friable hair, sparse eyebrows, hyperkeratotic skin), congenital heart defects, and growth and mental retardation. We describe on a young woman who presents clinical features of NS (short stature, triangular facies, with downslanting palpebral fissures and apparent hypertelorism, webbed neck, pulmonary stenosis, bleeding diathesis, prominent corneal nerves), but with a more prominent ectodermal involvement (sparse and very coarse hair, sparse eyebrows and eyelashes) and developmental delay/mental retardation, which are characteristic of CFC patients. Sequencing of the PTPN11 gene showed a T411M substitution, not previously described in patients with NS. The same mutation was found in her mother and older sister, not initially considered to be affected by NS, but with very subtle clinical findings compatible with this diagnosis. Molecular dynamic studies indicate that this new mutation, similar to other previously described mutations, favors a more active protein conformation. However, the main disruptive effect is not directly in the catalytic domain, suggesting that the location of this mutation could make the protein more susceptible to gene-gene or gene-environment interactions. Atypical cases of NS should be screened for mutations in the PTPN11 gene and in the case of a positive result, first-degree relatives should also be tested for the specific mutation.
Assuntos
Anormalidades Múltiplas/genética , Síndrome de Noonan/genética , Síndrome de Noonan/patologia , Proteínas Tirosina Fosfatases/genética , Adulto , Análise Mutacional de DNA , Feminino , Humanos , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Linhagem , Proteína Tirosina Fosfatase não Receptora Tipo 11 , Proteínas Tirosina Fosfatases Contendo o Domínio SH2 , Domínios de Homologia de srcRESUMO
A significant fraction of the variability found in the human transcriptome is due to alternative splicing, including alternative exon usage (AEU), intron retention and use of cryptic splice sites. We present a comparison of a large-scale analysis of AEU in the human transcriptome through genome mapping of Open Reading Frame ESTs (ORESTES) and conventional ESTs. It is shown here that ORESTES probe low abundant messages more efficiently. In addition, most of the variants detected by ORESTES affect the structure of the corresponding proteins.