SUMMARY During the humoral immune response B-cells undergo a dramatic change in phenotype to enable antibody affinity maturation in germinal centers (GCs). Using genome-wide chromosomal conformation capture (Hi-C), we found that GCB-cells undergo massive reorganization of the genomic architecture that encodes the GCB-cell transcriptome. Coordinate expression of genes that specify the GCB-cell phenotype – most prominently, BCL6 – was achieved through a multilayered chromatin reorganization process involving i) increased promoter connectivity, ii) formation of enhancer networks, iii) 5’ to 3’ gene looping, and iv) merging of gene neighborhoods that share active epigenetic marks. BCL6, was an anchor point for the formation of GC-specific gene and enhancer loops on chromosome 3. Deletion of a GC specific, highly interactive locus control region, upstream of Bcl6 abrogated GC formation in mice. Thus, large-scale and multi-tiered genomic three-dimensional reorganization is required for coordinate expression of phenotype-driving gene sets that determine the unique characteristics of GCB-cells.
To study the role of the diphthamide modification on eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2), we generated an eEF2 Gly 717 Arg mutant mouse, in which the first step of diphthamide biosynthesis is prevented. Interestingly, the Gly 717 -to-Arg mutation partially compensates the eEF2 functional loss resulting from diphthamide deficiency, possibly because the added +1 charge compensates for the loss of the +1 charge on diphthamide. Therefore, in contrast to mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) from OVCA1 −/− mice, eEF2 G717R/G717R MEFs retain full activity in polypeptide elongation and have normal growth rates. Furthermore, eEF2 G717R/G717R mice showed milder phenotypes than OVCA1 −/− mice (which are 100% embryonic lethal) and a small fraction survived to adulthood without obvious abnormalities. Moreover, eEF2 G717R/G717R /OVCA1 −/− double mutant mice displayed the milder phenotypes of the eEF2 G717R/G717R mice, suggesting that the embryonic lethality of OVCA1 −/− mice is due to diphthamide deficiency. We confirmed that the diphthamide modification is essential for eEF2 to prevent −1 frameshifting during translation and show that the Gly 717 -to-Arg mutation cannot rescue this defect. E ukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) is a member of the GTPbinding translation elongation factor family, and an essential factor for protein synthesis and cell survival. eEF2 drives the GTP-dependent translocation of the nascent polypeptide chain from the A site to the P site of the ribosome and advances mRNA by three bases during the elongation cycle of protein synthesis (1). eEF2 is highly homologous in all eukaryotes. In fact, eEF2 of humans, rats, mice, hamsters, and other mammals have exactly the same amino acid sequence. Intriguingly, all eukaryotic eEF2 proteins contain a unique posttranslationally modified histidine residue termed diphthamide (2, 3). Diphthamide modification occurs after eEF2 is translated and is irreversible, marking the completion of the biosynthesis of eEF2.Although the physiological role of the diphthamide modification on eEF2 remains elusive, diphthamide is the well-known target for the adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribosylating toxins from bacterial pathogens, such as diphtheria toxin (DT) from Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Pseudomonas exotoxin A (ETA) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the recently identified cholix toxin (CT) from Vibrio cholerae (4). As virulence factors, these ADP-ribosylating toxins catalyze transfer of the ADP ribose from nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD + ) to diphthamide on eEF2 (Fig. S1), thus inactivating eEF2, halting cellular protein synthesis, and causing cell death.Because the diphthamide modification is required for the action of the ADP-ribosylating toxins, the complex diphthamide biosynthesis pathway is amenable to genetic analysis, and mutants defective in diphthamide biosynthesis have been isolated in both Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) by selection for resistance to DT or an engineered ADP-ribosylating toxin − anthrax protective a...
ObjectiveHereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are among the most genetically diverse inherited neurological disorders, with over 70 disease loci identified (SPG1-71) to date. SPG15 and SPG11 are clinically similar, autosomal recessive disorders characterized by progressive spastic paraplegia along with thin corpus callosum, white matter abnormalities, cognitive impairment, and ophthalmologic abnormalities. Furthermore, both have been linked to early-onset parkinsonism.MethodsWe describe two new cases of SPG15 and investigate cellular changes in SPG15 and SPG11 patient-derived fibroblasts, seeking to identify shared pathogenic themes. Cells were evaluated for any abnormalities in cell division, DNA repair, endoplasmic reticulum, endosomes, and lysosomes.ResultsFibroblasts prepared from patients with SPG15 have selective enlargement of LAMP1-positive structures, and they consistently exhibited abnormal lysosomal storage by electron microscopy. A similar enlargement of LAMP1-positive structures was also observed in cells from multiple SPG11 patients, though prominent abnormal lysosomal storage was not evident. The stabilities of the SPG15 protein spastizin/ZFYVE26 and the SPG11 protein spatacsin were interdependent.InterpretationEmerging studies implicating these two proteins in interactions with the late endosomal/lysosomal adaptor protein complex AP-5 are consistent with shared abnormalities in lysosomes, supporting a converging mechanism for these two disorders. Recent work with Zfyve26−/− mice revealed a similar phenotype to human SPG15, and cells in these mice had endolysosomal abnormalities. SPG15 and SPG11 are particularly notable among HSPs because they can also present with juvenile parkinsonism, and this lysosomal trafficking or storage defect may be relevant for other forms of parkinsonism associated with lysosomal dysfunction.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.