Superactivity of phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase (PRS) is an X chromosome-linked disorder of purine metabolism, characterized by gout with uric acid overproduction and, in some families, neurodevelopmental impairment. Two highly homologous isoforms of PRS (PRS1 and PRS2), each encoded by a distinct X chromosome-linked locus, have been identified, and PRS1 and 2 cDNAs have been cloned. The entire 954-base pair translated regions of PRS1 and 2 cDNAs derived from cultured lymphoblasts and fibroblasts from two patients in whom purine nucleotide feedback resistance of PRS is associated with enzyme superactivity and neurodevelopmental defects were examined by direct sequencing after polymerase chain reaction amplification of PRS transcripts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNaturally occurring mutations in hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) have been identified by amino acid sequencing, cDNA cloning, and direct nucleotide sequencing of PCR-amplified transcripts. To determine the effect these mutations have on the catalytic properties of the molecule, knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of HPRT is required. A prerequisite for this, however, is the availability of a large amount of purified product for crystallization and x-ray diffraction analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypoxanthine--guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) is a purine salvage enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of hypoxanthine to inosine monophosphate and guanine to guanosine monophosphate. Previous studies of mutant HPRT proteins analyzed at the molecular level have shown a significant heterogeneity. This investigation further verifies this heterogeneity and identifies insertions, deletions, and point mutations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComplete hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) deficiency causes the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, an X-linked, purine metabolism disorder manifested by hyperuricemia, hyperuricaciduria, and neurologic dysfunction. Partial HPRT deficiency causes hyperuricemia and gout. One requirement for understanding the molecular basis of HPRT deficiency is the determination of which amino acids in this salvage enzyme are necessary for structural or catalytic competence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF1. ECPR is a rapid and effective means for generating recombinant human HPRT. 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) deficiency causing 2,8-dihydroxyadenine urolithiasis and renal failure is present at a high frequency among the Japanese but not other ethnic groups. A special type of mutant allele, designated APRT*J, with a nucleotide substitution at codon 136 from ATG (Met) to ACG (Thr) is carried by approximately 79% of all Japanese 2,8-dihydroxyadenine urolithiasis patients. We analyzed mutant alleles of 39 APRT deficient patients using a specific oligonucleotide hybridization method after in vitro amplification of a part of the genomic APRT sequence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic perturbations of intracellular deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) pools have been associated with a mutator phenotype and increased mutation rates at several genetic loci. We have examined the specific effects of transient pharmacological purine dNTP pool perturbations on mutations induced at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) locus in a cultured human T-lymphoblast cell line. Incubation of CEM cells with 50 microM 2'-deoxyguanosine for 6 h increased intracellular dGTP levels 43-fold and induced a 40-fold increase in mutation frequency at the HPRT locus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDNA methylation is one of the mechanisms involved in the regulation of developmentally relevant genes. Previous experiments demonstrated that T cells treated with DNA methylation inhibitors reacquire some of the phenotypic and functional characteristics of thymocytes, suggesting that DNA methylation may be involved in regulating some of the changes in gene expression during thymic maturation. To further examine whether changes in DNA methylation occur during T cell differentiation, total DNA deoxymethylcytosine content was compared in human thymocyte subsets and mature T cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo evaluate the frequency and the pathogenesis of hyperuricemia and gout during cyclosporine therapy, we studied renal-transplant recipients who were treated with either cyclosporine and prednisone (n = 129) or azathioprine and prednisone (n = 168). Among the patients with stable allograft function and serum creatinine concentrations below 265 mumol per liter, hyperuricemia was more common in the cyclosporine group than in the azathioprine group (84 percent vs. 30 percent; P = 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComplete deficiency of the purine salvage enzyme hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) results in a devastating neurological disease, the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. This disorder has been identified as a candidate for initial attempts at somatic cell gene therapy. We have previously reported the construction of a recombinant herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) vector containing human hprt cDNA sequences under the regulatory control of the viral thymidine kinase gene (tk) [Palella et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenerally, if mutant and normal proteins have similar molecular weights and electric charges, they cannot easily be distinguished from one another. We have developed a unique method by which a mutant enzyme of adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) can easily be distinguished from normal enzyme with nearly identical molecular weight and electric charge. DNA sequencing data have suggested that in this special type of disease (Japanese-type APRT deficiency) there is an amino acid substitution from Met to Thr at position 136 of APRT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) deficiency is an inborn error of purine metabolism. Mutant HPRT gene sequences from patients deficient in enzyme activity have previously been characterized by cDNA cloning or amino acid sequencing techniques. The presence of HPRT-specific mRNA in nearly all deficient subjects, as well as the small size of the HPRT mRNA (1,400 bp), make the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) an alternative for the identification of mutations at this locus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe genetic basis of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) deficiency has been identified by nucleotide sequence analysis of HPRT cDNAs cloned from a patient with gout. A single nucleotide change was identified in two independent clones: an A to G transition at nucleotide 602. Confirmation of a mutation at this site was provided by RNase mapping analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComplete deficiency of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) causes the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. Previous characterization of a mutant form of HPRT, HPRTYale, from a subject with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome revealed normal mRNA and protein concentrations, no residual catalytic activity, and cathodal migration upon PAGE. We have cloned and sequenced HPRTYale cDNA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have cloned and sequenced a full length cDNA for HPRT cDNA for HPRTYale isolated from Lesch-Nyhan subject and identified a single nucleotide substitution which results in amino acid substitution of glycine to arginine. Since most HPRT mutants have normal levels of specific HPRT messenger RNA, mutant cDNA analysis is the method of choice to define the mutation in HPRT deficient subjects.
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