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Biomedical subjects

K M Dipple

Publications and source records attributed to K M Dipple.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

Glycerol kinase deficiency: evidence for complexity in a single gene disorder.

Glycerol kinase deficiency (GKD) occurs as part of an Xp21 contiguous gene syndrome or as isolated GKD. The isolated form can be either symptomatic with episodic metabolic and central nervous system (CNS) decompensation or asymptomatic with hyperglycerolemia and glyceroluria only. To better understand the pathogenesis of isolated GKD, we sought individuals with point mutations in the GK coding region and measured their GK enzyme activities. We identified six individuals with missense mutations: four (N288D, A305V, M428T, and Q438R) among males who were asymptomatic and two (D198G, R405Q) in individuals who were symptomatic. GK activity measured in lymphoblastoid cell lines or fibroblasts was similar for the symptomatic and the asymptomatic individuals. Mapping of the individuals' missense mutations to the three-dimensional structure of Escherichia coli GK revealed that the symptomatic individuals' mutations are in the same region as a subset of the mutations among the asymptomatic individuals, adjacent to the active-site cleft. We conclude that, like many other disorders, GK genotype does not predict GKD phenotype. We hypothesize that the phenotype of an individual with GKD is a complex trait influenced by additional, independently inherited genes.

Catalytic Domain↗

AluY insertion (IVS4-52ins316alu) in the glycerol kinase gene from an individual with benign glycerol kinase deficiency.

Glycerol kinase deficiency has three distinct forms: an isolated form which may be benign or symptomatic, and a complex form which is symptomatic and part of an Xp21 contiguous gene syndrome. Here we report the case of a male with benign isolated glycerol kinase deficiency who was incidentally identified after observation of pseudohypertriglyceridemia. DNA sequencing of this subject's glycerol kinase gene showed the insertion of an AluY sequence in intron 4 of the glycerol kinase gene. Although Alu insertions have been implicated in other diseases, and a closely related AluY element is found as an insert in the C1 inhibitor gene in patients with hereditary angioedema, this is the first case of glycerol kinase deficiency caused by an Alu insertion.

Adult↗

Binding and activation of the human aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 promoter by hepatocyte nuclear factor 4.

Mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) is expressed in a tissue-specific fashion with high levels in liver, heart, kidney, and muscle, and low levels in most other tissues. The ALDH2 promoter was found to bind nuclear proteins at a pair of adjacent sites approximately 300 bp upstream from the translation start site, each of which was contacted at motifs containing the hexamer A/GGGTCA. The 3' site was shown to bind in vitro translated HNF-4. It was also shown by electrophoretic mobility shift assay utilizing antibodies against nuclear factors and rat liver nuclear extracts to be bound by hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 (HNF-4), chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor I and II, and retinoid X receptors. A reporter construct containing four copies of this promoter element was activated by co-transfection of an HNF-4 expression plasmid in COS-1 and hepatoma cell lines. These results suggest that the tissue specificity of ALDH2 expression is in part determined by its activation by HNF-4.

Aldehyde Dehydrogenase↗

The role of nuclear factor NF-Y/CP1 in the transcriptional regulation of the human aldehyde dehydrogenase 2-encoding gene.

Mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) activity is produced at low levels in many tissues, with highest production in liver. Transfection assays using the first 600 bp of upstream DNA provided evidence for both positive and negative regulatory elements in the proximal promoter. A region from -79 to -116 bp was protected in DNase I footprinting assays and bound in electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) by a nuclear factor found in all cell lines and tissues tested. This region, denoted FP160, contained the consensus recognition sites for Sp1 and AP2, and a CCAAT box. The CCAAT box was specifically protected by a nuclear factor in methylation interference assays. Mutagenesis of specific bp within the CCAAT box eliminated protein binding in vitro and decreased transcriptional activity from the ALDH2 promoter approximately 50% in reporter gene assays. Competition experiments showed that the nuclear factor binding to the FP160 oligodeoxyribonucleotide (oligo) was competed by oligos corresponding to an NY-Y/CP1-binding site to a greater extent than by those containing sites for CTF/NF1, C/EPB or CP2. The heat stability, resistance to proteinase K digestion, sensitivity to inhibition of DNA binding by o-phenanthroline, and immunological properties of the liver factor binding to FP160 were very similar to the corresponding properties of NF-Y/CP1. Thus, the proximal ALDH2 promoter was bound by NF-Y/CP1 and this transcription factor may be responsible for the basal expression of the gene observed in most tissues. The NFY-CP1 present in rat liver has similar properties to that previously characterized in M12 B-lymphoma cells and LMTK mouse fibroblasts.

Aldehyde Dehydrogenase↗

The novel aldehyde dehydrogenase gene, ALDH5, encodes an active aldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme.

The mRNA for the novel aldehyde dehydrogenase 5 (ALDH5) gene was detected in HuH7 hepatoma cells. The cells also expressed cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH1) mRNA, but no mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) mRNA. Extracts of the hepatoma cells contained an enzymatic activity with an isoelectric point similar to that of ALDH1. This enzyme activity was insensitive to inhibition by disulfiram, a potent inhibitor of ALDH1. The enzyme was active with short chain aldehydes (acetaldehyde and propionaldehyde) and NAD+, but not with NADP+, and the activity was higher in the mitochondrial pellet than other cell fractions. These studies demonstrate the expression of ALDH5 mRNA in a human hepatoma and suggest that the gene product is enzymatically active and probably resides in the mitochondria.

Aldehyde Dehydrogenase↗

The mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase gene resides in an HTF island but is expressed in a tissue-specific manner.

The tissue distribution of mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) in rats was analyzed by activity assays, and by Western and Northern blotting. ALDH2 was expressed at highest levels in liver. The mRNA levels were intermediate in the kidney and lung, while lower levels were found in spleen and heart. The transcript was undetectable in other tissues tested. The human ALDH2 5' flanking region (-200 to +60) contains similar numbers of CpG and GpC dinucleotides and the rat ALDH2 gene was undermethylated in liver, kidney, and spleen. This suggests that the ALDH2 promoter resides in a Hpa II tiny fragment (HTF) island, unlike most genes expressed in a tissue-specific manner.

Aldehyde Dehydrogenase↗

Effects of thyroxine on the expression of alcohol dehydrogenase in rat liver and kidney.

We studied the effect of thyroxine on alcohol dehydrogenase activity, immunoreactive protein levels and messenger RNA levels in the livers of thyroidectomized and sham-operated male rats. Effects on kidney alcohol dehydrogenase activity were also examined. Sham-operated rats injected with 100 micrograms thyroxine/kg/day, which induced hyperthyroidism, showed a 30% decrease in liver and a 40% decrease in kidney alcohol dehydrogenase activity compared with sham-operated rats injected with vehicle. Hypothyroid rats exhibited a 1.5-fold increase in alcohol dehydrogenase activity in liver and kidney compared with thyroidectomized rats injected with a replacement dose of 20 micrograms thyroxine/kg/day. We saw a twofold and a 2.5-fold higher level of alcohol dehydrogenase activity in liver and kidney, respectively, of hypothyroid rats compared with hyperthyroid rats. These effects were not accounted for by nutritional differences; daily food intake did not differ between groups. Immunoreactive protein levels as seen on Western blots varied in the same direction as enzyme activity. Northern-blot analysis showed higher levels of liver alcohol dehydrogenase messenger RNA in hypothyroid rats compared with euthyroid rats. These studies show that liver alcohol dehydrogenase activity and protein levels are modulated by thyroxine at pathophysiologically relevant levels and that this effect is not due to changes in food intake; kidney alcohol dehydrogenase activity is regulated in parallel. The change in alcohol dehydrogenase activity appears to be controlled in part by pretranslational mechanisms in hypothyroid animals and by posttranslational mechanisms in hyperthyroid animals.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗

Structure and expression of the rat class I alcohol dehydrogenase gene.

Clones containing the rat class I alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) gene were isolated from a Charon 4A genomic library. The gene spans approximately 13 kb and comprises nine exons and eight introns. The upstream 436 bp contain canonical TATA and CCAAT sequences, an inverted CACCC box, a TG3 box found in mouse and human ADH promoters, and regions of homology to glucocorticoid response elements. The 5'-untranslated region of the ADH transcript has the potential to form a stable stem-loop structure. The first intron contains an unusual stretch of alternating purines and pyrimidines similar to that found in the same location in the mouse ADH gene. The amino acid insertion found in rat alcohol dehydrogenase results from a shift in the 3' splice junction of the fourth intron which adds an extra three base pairs to the fifth exon. Intron-exon boundaries are otherwise identical to those in mouse and human ADH genes. H4IIE cells stably transfected with plasmids containing the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene fused behind the first 436 bp of the promoter region express CAT, but the CAT activity is not inducible by dexamethasone. The elements responsible for glucocorticoid stimulation of ADH gene transcription appear to reside outside of this region.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗