No abstract

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are hematopoietic stem cell disorders with large heterogeneity at the clinical and molecular levels. As diagnostic procedures shift from bone marrow biopsies towards less invasive techniques, circulating small noncoding RNAs (sncRNAs) have become of particular interest as potential novel noninvasive biomarkers of the disease. We aimed to characterize the expression profiles of circulating sncRNAs of MDS patients and to search for specific RNAs applicable as potential biomarkers. We performed small RNA-seq in paired samples of total plasma and plasma-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) obtained from 42 patients and 17 healthy controls and analyzed the data with respect to the stage of the disease, patient survival, response to azacitidine, mutational status, and RNA editing. Significantly higher amounts of RNA material and a striking imbalance in RNA content between plasma and EVs (more than 400 significantly deregulated sncRNAs) were found in MDS patients compared to healthy controls. Moreover, the RNA content of EV cargo was more homogeneous than that of total plasma, and different RNAs were deregulated in these two types of material. Differential expression analyses identified that many hematopoiesis-related miRNAs (e.g., miR-34a, miR-125a, and miR-150) were significantly increased in MDS and that miRNAs clustered on 14q32 were specifically increased in early MDS. Only low numbers of circulating sncRNAs were significantly associated with somatic mutations in the SF3B1 or DNMT3A genes. Survival analysis defined a signature of four sncRNAs (miR-1237-3p, U33, hsa_piR_019420, and miR-548av-5p measured in EVs) as the most significantly associated with overall survival (HR = 5.866, p < 0.001). In total plasma, we identified five circulating miRNAs (miR-423-5p, miR-126-3p, miR-151a-3p, miR-125a-5p, and miR-199a-3p) whose combined expression levels could predict the response to azacitidine treatment. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that circulating sncRNAs show specific patterns in MDS and that their expression changes during disease progression, providing a rationale for the potential clinical usefulness of circulating sncRNAs in MDS prognosis. However, monitoring sncRNA levels in total plasma or in the EV fraction does not reflect one another, instead, they seem to represent distinctive snapshots of the disease and the data should be interpreted circumspectly with respect to the type of material analyzed.

No abstract

We report for the first time an autosomal recessive inborn error of de novo purine synthesis (DNPS)—PAICS deficiency. We investigated two siblings from the Faroe Islands born with multiple malformations resulting in early neonatal death. Genetic analysis of affected individuals revealed a homozygous missense mutation in PAICS (c.158A&gt;G; p.Lys53Arg) that affects the structure of the catalytic site of the bifunctional enzyme phosphoribosylaminoimidazole carboxylase (AIRC, EC 4.1.1.21)/phosphoribosylaminoimidazole succinocarboxamide synthetase (SAICARS, EC 6.3.2.6) (PAICS). The mutation reduced the catalytic activity of PAICS in heterozygous carrier and patient skin fibroblasts to approximately 50 and 10% of control levels, respectively. The catalytic activity of the corresponding recombinant enzyme protein carrying the mutation p.Lys53Arg expressed and purified from E. coli was reduced to approximately 25% of the wild-type enzyme. Similar to other two known DNPS defects—adenylosuccinate lyase deficiency and AICA-ribosiduria—the PAICS mutation prevented purinosome formation in the patient’s skin fibroblasts, and this phenotype was corrected by transfection with the wild-type but not the mutated PAICS. Although aminoimidazole ribotide (AIR) and aminoimidazole riboside (AIr), the enzyme substrates that are predicted to accumulate in PAICS deficiency, were not detected in patient’s fibroblasts, the cytotoxic effect of AIr on various cell lines was demonstrated. PAICS deficiency is a newly described disease that enhances our understanding of the DNPS pathway and should be considered in the diagnosis of families with recurrent spontaneous abortion or early neonatal death.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a malignant hematopoietic disorder distinguished by the presence of a BCR-ABL1 fused oncogene with constitutive kinase activity. Targeted CML therapy by specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) leads to a marked improvement in the survival of the patients and their quality of life. However, the development of resistance to TKIs remains a critical issue for a subset of patients. The most common cause of resistance are numerous point mutations in the BCR-ABL1 gene, followed by less common mutations and multiple mutation-independent mechanisms. Recently, exosomes, which are extracellular vesicles excreted from normal and tumor cells, have been associated with drug resistance and cancer progression. The aim of the present study was to characterize the exosomes released by imatinib-resistant K562 (K562 IR ) cells. The K562 IR -derived exosomes were internalized by imatinib-sensitive K562 cells, which thereby increased their survival in the presence of 2 µM imatinib. The exosomal cargo was subsequently analyzed to identify resistance-associated markers using a deep label-free quantification proteomic analysis. There were >3,000 exosomal proteins identified of which, 35 were found to be differentially expressed. From this, a total of 3, namely the membrane proteins, interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3, CD146 and CD36, were markedly upregulated in the exosomes derived from the K562 IR cells, and exhibited surface localization. The upregulation of these proteins was verified in the K562 IR exosomes, and also in the K562 IR cells. Using flow cytometric analysis, it was possible to further demonstrate the potential of CD146 as a cell surface marker associated with imatinib resistance in K562 cells. Taken together, these results suggested that exosomes and their respective candidate surface proteins could be potential diagnostic markers of TKI drug resistance in CML therapy.

Purines are essential molecules for all forms of life. In addition to constituting a backbone of DNA and RNA, purines play roles in many metabolic pathways, such as energy utilization, regulation of enzyme activity, and cell signaling. The supply of purines is provided by two pathways: the salvage pathway and de novo synthesis. Although purine de novo synthesis (PDNS) activity varies during the cell cycle, this pathway represents an important source of purines, especially for rapidly dividing cells. A method for the detailed study of PDNS is lacking for analytical reasons (sensitivity) and because of the commercial unavailability of the compounds. The aim was to fully describe the mass spectrometric fragmentation behavior of newly synthesized PDNS-related metabolites and develop an analytical method. Except for four initial ribotide PDNS intermediates that preferentially lost water or phosphate or cleaved the forming base of the purine ring, all the other metabolites studied cleaved the glycosidic bond in the first fragmentation stage. Fragmentation was possible in the third to sixth stages. A liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometric method was developed and applied in the analysis of CRISPR-Cas9 genome-edited HeLa cells deficient in the individual enzymatic steps of PDNS and the salvage pathway. The identities of the newly synthesized intermediates of PDNS were confirmed by comparing the fragmentation patterns of the synthesized metabolites with those produced by cells (formed under pathological conditions of known and theoretically possible defects of PDNS). The use of stable isotope incorporation allowed the confirmation of fragmentation mechanisms and provided data for future fluxomic experiments. This method may find uses in the diagnosis of PDNS disorders, the investigation of purinosome formation, cancer research, enzyme inhibition studies, and other applications.

No abstract

We have identified Ostreococcus tauri major iron uptake mediating protein, phytotransferrin (Ot-FEA1), whose expression and binding of iron is copper dependent.