Use of the Novel Site-Directed Enzyme Enhancement Therapy (SEE-Tx) Drug Discovery Platform to Identify Pharmacological Chaperones for Glutaric Acidemia Type 1.

Allosteric regulators acting as pharmacological chaperones hold promise for innovative therapeutics since they target noncatalytic sites and stabilize the folded protein without competing with the natural substrate, resulting in a net gain of function. Exogenous allosteric regulators are typically more selective than active site inhibitors and can be more potent than competitive inhibitors when the natural substrate levels are high. To identify novel structure-targeted allosteric regulators (STARs) that bind to and stabilize the mitochondrial enzyme glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH), the computational site-directed enzyme enhancement therapy (SEE-Tx) technology was applied.

Impact of Heated Tobacco Products, E-Cigarettes, and Combustible Cigarettes on Small Airways and Arterial Stiffness.

Smoking cessation is difficult but maintaining smoke-free without nicotine replacement therapy is even harder. During the last few years, several different alternative products, including heated tobacco products (HTP), have been introduced to the market. In this study, we investigated the acute effects of IQOS and glo (two HTP) consumption on small airway function and arterial stiffness in a head-to-head design, comparing them to combustible cigarettes, nicotine-free e-cigarettes and a sham smoking group.

smORFer: a modular algorithm to detect small ORFs in prokaryotes.

Emerging evidence places small proteins (≤50 amino acids) more centrally in physiological processes. Yet, their functional identification and the systematic genome annotation of their cognate small open-reading frames (smORFs) remains challenging both experimentally and computationally. Ribosome profiling or Ribo-Seq (that is a deep sequencing of ribosome-protected fragments) enables detecting of actively translated open-reading frames (ORFs) and empirical annotation of coding sequences (CDSs) using the in-register translation pattern that is characteristic for genuinely translating ribosomes.

Author Correction: Octa-repeat domain of the mammalian prion protein mRNA forms stable A-helical hairpin structure rather than G-quadruplexes.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Octa-repeat domain of the mammalian prion protein mRNA forms stable A-helical hairpin structure rather than G-quadruplexes.

Misfolding and aggregation of prion protein (PrP) causes neurodegenerative diseases like Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and scrapie. Besides the consensus that spontaneous conversion of normal cellular PrP into misfolded and aggregating PrP is the central event in prion disease, an alternative hypothesis suggests the generation of pathological PrP by rare translational frameshifting events in the octa-repeat domain of the PrP mRNA. Ribosomal frameshifting most commonly relies on a slippery site and an adjacent stable RNA structure to stall translating ribosome.

Dynamic mA methylation facilitates mRNA triaging to stress granules.

Reversible post-transcriptional modifications on messenger RNA emerge as prevalent phenomena in RNA metabolism. The most abundant among them is N-methyladenosine (mA) which is pivotal for RNA metabolism and function; its role in stress response remains elusive. We have discovered that in response to oxidative stress, transcripts are additionally mA modified in their 5' vicinity.

Dysfunction of the MDM2/p53 axis is linked to premature aging.

The tumor suppressor p53, a master regulator of the cellular response to stress, is tightly regulated by the E3 ubiquitin ligase MDM2 via an autoregulatory feedback loop. In addition to its well-established role in tumorigenesis, p53 has also been associated with aging in mice. Several mouse models with aberrantly increased p53 activity display signs of premature aging.

AUNA2: A Novel Type of Non-Syndromic Slowly Progressive Auditory Synaptopathy/Auditory Neuropathy with Autosomal-Dominant Inheritance.

Background: Auditory synaptopathy/neuropathy (AS/AN) is a heterogeneous disorder, which may be caused by environmental factors like postnatal hyperbilirubinemia or by genetic factors. The genetic forms are subdivided into syndromic and non-syndromic types, and show different inheritance patterns with a strong preponderance of autosomal-recessive forms. To date, only a single locus for non-syndromic autosomal-dominant AS/AN (AUNA1) has been reported in a single family, in which a non-coding DIAPH3 mutation was subsequently described as causative.

Identification of two novel ALS2 mutations in infantile-onset ascending hereditary spastic paraplegia.

Biallelic mutations of ALS2 cause a clinical spectrum of overlapping autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorders: infantile-onset ascending hereditary spastic paralysis (IAHSP), juvenile primary lateral sclerosis (JPLS), and juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS2). We report on eleven individuals affected with IAHSP from two consanguineous Pakistani families. A combination of linkage analysis with homozygosity mapping and targeted sequencing identified two novel ALS2 mutations, a c.

De novo FUS mutations are the most frequent genetic cause in early-onset German ALS patients.

In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with known genetic cause, mutations in chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72) and superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) account for most familial and late-onset sporadic cases, whereas mutations in fused in sarcoma (FUS) can be identified in just around 5% of familial and 1% of overall sporadic cases. There are only few reports on de novo FUS mutations in juvenile ALS patients. To date, no systematic evaluation on the frequency of de novo FUS mutations in early-onset ALS patients has been conducted.

Interactive effects of citalopram and serotonin transporter genotype on neural correlates of response inhibition and attentional orienting.

The brain's serotonergic (5-HT) system has been implicated in controlling impulsive behavior and attentional orienting and linked to impulse control and anxiety related disorders. However, interactions between genotypical variation and responses to serotonergic drugs impede both treatment efficacy and neuroscientific research. We examine behavioral and electrophysiological responses to acute intravenous administration of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) while controlling for major genetic differences regarding 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) genotypes.

A homozygous splice site mutation in TRAPPC9 causes intellectual disability and microcephaly.

Autosomal recessive intellectual disability is believed to be particularly prevalent in highly consanguineous populations and genetic isolates and may account for a quarter of all non-syndromic cases. Mutations in more than 50 genes have been reported to be involved in autosomal recessive intellectual disability, including TRAPPC9 (MIM 611966), mutations of which have been identified in six families from different geographical origins. We performed a clinical and molecular genetic study of a consanguineous Pakistani family segregating intellectual disability and microcephaly.

Loss-of-function mutations of ILDR1 cause autosomal-recessive hearing impairment DFNB42.

By using homozygosity mapping in a consanguineous Pakistani family, we detected linkage of nonsyndromic hearing loss to a 7.6 Mb region on chromosome 3q13.31-q21.

Genome-wide association study of migraine implicates a common susceptibility variant on 8q22.1.

Migraine is a common episodic neurological disorder, typically presenting with recurrent attacks of severe headache and autonomic dysfunction. Apart from rare monogenic subtypes, no genetic or molecular markers for migraine have been convincingly established. We identified the minor allele of rs1835740 on chromosome 8q22.

New genetic evidence for involvement of the dopamine system in migraine with aura.

In order to systematically test the hypothesis that genetic variation in the dopamine system contributes to the susceptibility to migraine with aura (MA), we performed a comprehensive genetic association study of altogether ten genes from the dopaminergic system in a large German migraine with aura case-control sample. Based on the genotyping results of 53 variants across the ten genes in 270 MA cases and 272 controls, three genes-DBH, DRD2 and SLC6A3-were chosen to proceed to additional genotyping of 380 MA cases and 378 controls. Four of the 26 genotyped polymorphisms in these three genes displayed nominally significant allelic P-values in the sample of 650 MA patients and 650 controls.

A novel HSF4 gene mutation (p.R405X) causing autosomal recessive congenital cataracts in a large consanguineous family from Pakistan.

Background: Hereditary cataracts are most frequently inherited as autosomal dominant traits, but can also be inherited in an autosomal recessive or X-linked fashion. To date, 12 loci for autosomal recessive cataracts have been mapped including a locus on chromosome 16q22 containing the disease-causing gene HSF4 (Genbank accession number NM_001040667). Here, we describe a family from Pakistan with the first nonsense mutation in HSF4 thus expanding the mutational spectrum of this heat shock transcription factor gene.

Replication study of the insulin receptor gene in migraine with aura.

We performed the first replication study for the reported association of the insulin receptor gene (INSR) with migraine with aura (MA). Two of 35 SNPs (rs1052371 and rs2860174) reached borderline significance (best uncorrected allelic p value of 0.052 for rs2860174) in stage 1 of our study (270 MA patients, 280 controls).

Genetic association studies of the chromosome 15 GABA-A receptor cluster in migraine with aura.

Recently, a novel susceptibility locus for migraine with aura (MA) on chromosome 15q containing three GABA-A receptor subunits has been identified by linkage analysis in several large pedigrees. To further study the role of this locus in MA etiology we genotyped 56 SNPs capturing the known common haplotype variations of these three candidate genes in a sample comprising 270 MA patients and 273 matched controls. In a single marker analysis, four SNPs displayed nominally significant (P < 0.

Variation of the serotonin transporter gene SLC6A4 in the susceptibility to migraine with aura.

To replicate a reported association between migraine with aura (MA) and a promoter polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4), we performed a case-control study in a large German sample comprising 472 patients with MA and 506 controls. Neither this polymorphism nor a systematic analysis with single nucleotide polymorphisms capturing the main haplotype diversity of the SLC6A4 locus provided evidence for a contribution of SLC6A4 to the predisposition of complex inherited MA.

Hereditary parkinsonism with dementia is caused by mutations in ATP13A2, encoding a lysosomal type 5 P-type ATPase.

Neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson and Alzheimer disease cause motor and cognitive dysfunction and belong to a heterogeneous group of common and disabling disorders. Although the complex molecular pathophysiology of neurodegeneration is largely unknown, major advances have been achieved by elucidating the genetic defects underlying mendelian forms of these diseases. This has led to the discovery of common pathophysiological pathways such as enhanced oxidative stress, protein misfolding and aggregation and dysfunction of the ubiquitin-proteasome system.

Haplotype-based systematic association studies of ATP1A2 in migraine with aura.

Mutations in ATP1A2 cause familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) type 2, a rare monogenic form of migraine with aura (MA). Moreover, rare ATP1A2 missense variants are found in familial clustering of common forms of migraine in single pedigrees. To determine whether also common ATP1A2 polymorphisms contribute to MA pathogenesis, we performed systematic case-control association studies in 284 MA cases and 241 control individuals.

Rare missense variants in ATP1A2 in families with clustering of common forms of migraine.

Migraine is a recurrent neurovascular disease. Its two most common forms-migraine without aura (MO) and migraine with aura (MA)-both show familial clustering and a complex pattern of inheritance. Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) is a rare monogenic subform caused by mutations in the calcium channel gene CACNA1A or the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase gene ATP1A2.