SUMMARYA key feature in Huntington disease (HD) is the accumulation of mutant Huntingtin (HTT) protein, which may be regulated by posttranslational modifications. Here, we define the primary sites of SUMO modification in the amino-terminal domain of HTT, show modification downstream of this domain, and demonstrate that HTT is modified by the stress-inducible SUMO-2. A systematic study of E3 SUMO ligases demonstrates that PIAS1 is an E3 SUMO ligase for both HTT SUMO-1 and SUMO-2 modification and that reduction of dPIAS in a mutant HTT Drosophila model is protective. SUMO-2 modification regulates accumulation of insoluble HTT in HeLa cells in a manner that mimics proteasome inhibition and can be modulated by overexpression and acute knockdown of PIAS1. Finally, the accumulation of SUMO-2-modified proteins in the insoluble fraction of HD postmortem striata implicates SUMO-2 modification in the age-related pathogenic accumulation of mutant HTT and other cellular proteins that occurs during HD progression.

Mutations in human parkin have been identified in familial Parkinson's disease and in some sporadic cases. Here, we report that expression of mutant but not wild-type human parkin in Drosophila causes age-dependent, selective degeneration of dopaminergic (DA) neurons accompanied by a progressive motor impairment. Overexpression or knockdown of the Drosophila vesicular monoamine transporter, which regulates cytosolic DA homeostasis, partially rescues or exacerbates, respectively, the degenerative phenotypes caused by mutant human parkin. These results support a model in which the vulnerability of DA neurons to parkin-induced neurotoxicity results from the interaction of mutant parkin with cytoplasmic dopamine.

Hydrolethalus syndrome (HLS) is an autosomal recessive lethal malformation syndrome characterized by multiple developmental defects of fetus. We have earlier mapped and restricted the HLS region to a critical 1 cM interval on 11q23-25. The linkage disequilibrium (LD) and haplotype analyses of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers helped to further restrict the HLS locus to 476 kb between genes PKNOX2 and DDX25. An HLS associated mutation was identified in a novel regional transcript (GenBank accession no. FLJ32915), referred to here as the HYLS1 gene. The identified A to G transition results in a D211G change in the 299 amino acid polypeptide with unknown function. The HYLS1 gene shows alternative splicing and the transcript is found in multiple tissues during fetal development. In situ hybridization shows spatial and temporal distributions of transcripts in good agreement with the tissue phenotype of HLS patients. Immunostaining of in vitro expressed polypeptides from wild-type (WT) cDNA revealed cytoplasmic staining, whereas mutant polypeptides became localized in distinct nuclear structures, implying a disturbed cellular localization of the mutant protein. The Drosophila melanogaster model confirmed these findings and provides evidence for the significance of the mutation both in vitro and in vivo.

Mee L, Nabokina SM, Sekar VT, Subramanian VS, Maedler K, Said HM. Pancreatic beta cells and islets take up thiamin by a regulated carriermediated process: studies using mice and human pancreatic preparations.

Said HM, Mee L, Sekar VT, Ashokkumar B, Pandol SJ. Mechanism and regulation of folate uptake by pancreatic acinar cells: effect of chronic alcohol consumption. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 298: G985-G993, 2010. First published April 1, 2010; doi:10.1152/ajpgi.00068.2010.-Folate plays an essential role in onecarbon metabolism, and a relationship exists between methyl group metabolism and pancreatic exocrine function. Little, however, is known about the mechanism(s) and regulation of folate uptake by pancreatic acinar cells and the effect of chronic alcohol use on the process. We addressed these issues using the rat-derived pancreatic acinar cell line AR42J and freshly isolated primary rat pancreatic acinar cells as models. We found [3 H]folic acid uptake to be 1) temperature and pH dependent with a higher uptake at acidic than at neutral/alkaline pH; 2) saturable as a function of substrate concentration at both buffer pH 7.4 and 6.0; 3) inhibited by folate structural analogs and by anion transport inhibitors at both buffer pH 7.4 and 6.0; 4) trans-stimulated by unlabeled folate; 5) adaptively regulated by the prevailing extracellular folate level, and 6) inhibited by modulators of the cAMP/PKA-mediated pathway. Both the reduced folate carrier (RFC) and the proton-coupled folate transporter (PCFT) were found to be expressed in AR42J and in primary pancreatic acinar cells, as well as in native human pancreas with expression of RFC being higher than PCFT. Chronic alcohol feeding of rats (4 wk; 36% of calories from ethanol) led to a significant decrease in folate uptake by freshly isolated primary pancreatic acinar cells compared with cells from pair-fed controls; this effect was associated with a parallel decrease in the level of expression of RFC and PCFT. These studies reveal that folate uptake by pancreatic acinar cells is via a regulated carrier-mediated process which may involve RFC and PCFT. In addition, chronic alcohol feeding leads to a marked inhibition in folate uptake by pancreatic acinar cells, an effect that is associated with reduction in level of expression of RFC and PCFT.RFC; PCFT; transporter; pancreas; chronic alcohol use FOLATE, A WATER-SOLUBLE VITAMIN, is essential for maintaining normal cellular function, growth, and development. The vitamin acts as a cofactor in a number of critical metabolic reactions that include synthesis of precursors of DNA and RNA, metabolism of certain amino acids (e.g., homocysteine), and other methylation reactions. Thus it is not surprising that folate deficiency leads to a variety of clinical abnormalities that range from megaloblastic anemia to neural tube defects.All mammalian cells, including those of the pancreatic acini, are unable to synthesize folate and thus must obtain the vitamin from the extracellular environment via transport across the plasma membrane. The pancreas maintains the second highest level of folate after the liver (3, 30), and folate is essential for its normal exocrine function and health. A reduction in amylase secretion, appeara...