TY - JOUR
T1 - Structural basis for early-onset neurological disorders caused by mutations in human selenocysteine synthase
AU - Puppala, Anupama K.
AU - French, Rachel L.
AU - Matthies, Doreen
AU - Baxa, Ulrich
AU - Subramaniam, Sriram
AU - Simonović, Miljan
PY - 2016/8/31
Y1 - 2016/8/31
N2 - Selenocysteine synthase (SepSecS) catalyzes the terminal reaction of selenocysteine, and is vital for human selenoproteome integrity. Autosomal recessive inheritance of mutations in SepSecS-Ala239Thr, Thr325Ser, Tyr334Cys and Tyr429∗-induced severe, early-onset, neurological disorders in distinct human populations. Although harboring different mutant alleles, patients presented remarkably similar phenotypes typified by cerebellar and cerebral atrophy, seizures, irritability, ataxia, and extreme spasticity. However, it has remained unclear how these genetic alterations affected the structure of SepSecS and subsequently elicited the development of a neurological pathology. Herein, our biophysical and structural characterization demonstrates that, with the exception of Tyr429∗, pathogenic mutations decrease protein stability and trigger protein misfolding. We propose that the reduced stability and increased propensity towards misfolding are the main causes for the loss of SepSecS activity in afflicted patients, and that these factors contribute to disease progression. We also suggest that misfolding of enzymes regulating protein synthesis should be considered in the diagnosis and study of childhood neurological disorders.
AB - Selenocysteine synthase (SepSecS) catalyzes the terminal reaction of selenocysteine, and is vital for human selenoproteome integrity. Autosomal recessive inheritance of mutations in SepSecS-Ala239Thr, Thr325Ser, Tyr334Cys and Tyr429∗-induced severe, early-onset, neurological disorders in distinct human populations. Although harboring different mutant alleles, patients presented remarkably similar phenotypes typified by cerebellar and cerebral atrophy, seizures, irritability, ataxia, and extreme spasticity. However, it has remained unclear how these genetic alterations affected the structure of SepSecS and subsequently elicited the development of a neurological pathology. Herein, our biophysical and structural characterization demonstrates that, with the exception of Tyr429∗, pathogenic mutations decrease protein stability and trigger protein misfolding. We propose that the reduced stability and increased propensity towards misfolding are the main causes for the loss of SepSecS activity in afflicted patients, and that these factors contribute to disease progression. We also suggest that misfolding of enzymes regulating protein synthesis should be considered in the diagnosis and study of childhood neurological disorders.
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U2 - 10.1038/srep32563
DO - 10.1038/srep32563
M3 - Article
C2 - 27576344
AN - SCOPUS:84985032227
VL - 6
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
SN - 2045-2322
M1 - 32563
ER -