Leucine 208 in human histamine N-methyltransferase emerges as a hotspot for protein stability rationalizing the role of the L208P variant in intellectual disability.

The degradation of histamine catalyzed by the SAM-dependent histamine N-methyltransferase (HNMT) is critically important for the maintenance of neurological processes. Recently, two mutations in the encoding human gene were reported to give rise to dysfunctional protein variants (G60D and L208P) leading to intellectual disability. In the present study, we have expressed eight L208 variants with either apolar (L208F and L208V), polar (L208N and L208T) or charged (L208D, L208H, L208K and L208R) amino acids to define the impact of side chain variations on protein structure and function.