Emile Van Schaftingen

Vitamin C. Biosynthesis, recycling and degradation in mammals.

Vitamin C, a reducing agent and antioxidant, is a cofactor in reactions catalyzed by Cu+‐dependent monooxygenases and Fe2+‐dependent dioxygenases. It is synthesized, in vertebrates having this capacity, from d‐glucuronate. The latter is formed through direct hydrolysis of uridine diphosphate (UDP)‐glucuronate by enzyme(s) bound to the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, sharing many properties with, and most likely identical to, UDP‐glucuronosyltransferases. Non‐glucuronidable xenobiotics (aminopyrine, metyrapone, chloretone and others) stimulate the enzymatic hydrolysis of UDP‐glucuronate, accounting for their effect to increase vitamin C formation in vivo. Glucuronate is converted to l‐gulonate by aldehyde reductase, an enzyme of the aldo‐keto reductase superfamily. l‐Gulonate is converted to l‐gulonolactone by a lactonase identified as SMP30 or regucalcin, whose absence in mice leads to vitamin C deficiency. The last step in the pathway of vitamin C synthesis is the oxidation of l‐gulonolactone to l‐ascorbic acid by l‐gulonolactone oxidase, an enzyme associated with the endoplasmic reticulum membrane and deficient in man, guinea pig and other species due to mutations in its gene. Another fate of glucuronate is its conversion to d‐xylulose in a five‐step pathway, the pentose pathway, involving identified oxidoreductases and an unknown decarboxylase. Semidehydroascorbate, a major oxidation product of vitamin C, is reconverted to ascorbate in the cytosol by cytochrome b5 reductase and thioredoxin reductase in reactions involving NADH and NADPH, respectively. Transmembrane electron transfer systems using ascorbate or NADH as electron donors serve to reduce semidehydroascorbate present in neuroendocrine secretory vesicles and in the extracellular medium. Dehydroascorbate, the fully oxidized form of vitamin C, is reduced spontaneously by glutathione, as well as enzymatically in reactions using glutathione or NADPH. The degradation of vitamin C in mammals is initiated by the hydrolysis of dehydroascorbate to 2,3‐diketo‐l‐gulonate, which is spontaneously degraded to oxalate, CO2 and l‐erythrulose. This is at variance with bacteria such as Escherichia coli, which have enzymatic degradation pathways for ascorbate and probably also dehydroascorbate.

Phosphomannomutase deficiency is a cause of carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome type I

Carbohydrate‐deficient glycoprotein (CDG) syndromes are genetic multisystemic disorders characterized by defective N‐glycosylation of serum and cellular proteins. The activity of phosphomannomutase was markedly deficient (⩽ 10% of the control activity) in fibroblasts, liver and/or leucocytes of 6 patients with CDG syndrome type I. Other enzymes involved in the conversion of glucose to mannose 1‐phosphate, as well as phosphoglucomutase, had normal activities. Phosphomannomutase activity was normal in fibroblasts of 2 patients with CDG syndrome type II. Since this enzyme provides the mannose 1‐phosphate required for the initial steps of protein glycosylation, it is concluded that phosphomannomutase deficiency, which is first reported here for higher organisms, is a cause, and most likely the major one, of CDG syndrome type I.

The glucose-6-phosphatase system.

Glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase), an enzyme found mainly in the liver and the kidneys, plays the important role of providing glucose during starvation. Unlike most phosphatases acting on water-soluble compounds, it is a membrane-bound enzyme, being associated with the endoplasmic reticulum. In 1975, W. Arion and co-workers proposed a model according to which G6Pase was thought to be a rather unspecific phosphatase, with its catalytic site oriented towards the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum [Arion, Wallin, Lange and Ballas (1975) Mol. Cell. Biochem. 6, 75--83]. Substrate would be provided to this enzyme by a translocase that is specific for glucose 6-phosphate, thereby accounting for the specificity of the phosphatase for glucose 6-phosphate in intact microsomes. Distinct transporters would allow inorganic phosphate and glucose to leave the vesicles. At variance with this substrate-transport model, other models propose that conformational changes play an important role in the properties of G6Pase. The last 10 years have witnessed important progress in our knowledge of the glucose 6-phosphate hydrolysis system. The genes encoding G6Pase and the glucose 6-phosphate translocase have been cloned and shown to be mutated in glycogen storage disease type Ia and type Ib respectively. The gene encoding a G6Pase-related protein, expressed specifically in pancreatic islets, has also been cloned. Specific potent inhibitors of G6Pase and of the glucose 6-phosphate translocase have been synthesized or isolated from micro-organisms. These as well as other findings support the model initially proposed by Arion. Much progress has also been made with regard to the regulation of the expression of G6Pase by insulin, glucocorticoids, cAMP and glucose.

Sequence of a putative glucose 6-phosphate translocase, mutated in glycogen storage disease type Ib.

We report the sequence of a human cDNA that encodes a 46 kDa transmembrane protein homologous to bacterial transporters for phosphate esters. This protein presents at its carboxy terminus the consensus motif for retention in the endoplasmic reticulum. Northern blots of rat tissues indicate that the corresponding mRNA is mostly expressed in liver and kidney. In two patients with glycogen storage disease type Ib, mutations were observed that either replaced a conserved Gly to Cys or introduced a premature stop codon. The encoded protein is therefore most likely the glucose 6‐phosphate translocase that is functionally associated with glucose‐6‐phosphatase.

Mutations in the D-2-Hydroxyglutarate Dehydrogenase Gene Cause D-2-Hydroxyglutaric Aciduria

d-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria is a neurometabolic disorder with both a mild and a severe phenotype and with unknown etiology. Recently, a novel enzyme, d-2-hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase, which converts d-2-hydroxyglutarate into 2-ketoglutarate, and its gene were identified. In the genes of two unrelated patients affected with d-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria, we identified disease-causing mutations. One patient was homozygous for a missense mutation (c.1331T-->C; p.Val444Ala). The other patient was compound heterozygous for a missense mutation (c.440T-->G; p.Ile147Ser) and a splice-site mutation (IVS1-23A-->G) that resulted in a null allele. Overexpression studies in HEK-293 cells of proteins containing the missense mutations showed a marked reduction of d-2-hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase activity, proving that mutations in the d-2-hydroxyglutarate dehydrogenase gene cause d-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria.

IDH2 Mutations in Patients with d-2-Hydroxyglutaric Aciduria

A mutation that changes the specificity of an enzyme in human cancer is also found in an inherited metabolic disorder. Heterozygous somatic mutations in the genes encoding isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 and -2 (IDH1 and IDH2) were recently discovered in human neoplastic disorders. These mutations disable the enzymes’ normal ability to convert isocitrate to 2-ketoglutarate (2-KG) and confer on the enzymes a new function: the ability to convert 2-KG to d-2-hydroxyglutarate (D-2-HG). We have detected heterozygous germline mutations in IDH2 that alter enzyme residue Arg140 in 15 unrelated patients with d-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria (D-2-HGA), a rare neurometabolic disorder characterized by supraphysiological levels of D-2-HG. These findings provide additional impetus for investigating the role of D-2-HG in the pathophysiology of metabolic disease and cancer.

Fructose 2,6‐Bisphosphate

Fructose 2,6-biphosphate present in animal tissues, higher plants and fungi, is a potent stimulator of phosphofructokinase and an inhibitor of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase. It aslo stimulates plant PPi-fructose 6-phosphate phosphotransferase. It is formed from fructose 6-phosphate in the liver by a specific 6-phosphofructo 2-kinase and converted back to fructose 6-phosphate by a specific fructose 2,6-biphosphatase. These two enzymes are controlled by the concentration of various metabolites and also through phosphorylation by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Fructose 2,6-biphosphate is an intracellular signal which signifies that glucose is abundant; in this respect, its action is opposed to that of cyclic AMP.

Molecular identification of aspartate N-acetyltransferase and its mutation in hypoacetylaspartia

The brain-specific compound NAA (N-acetylaspartate) occurs almost exclusively in neurons, where its concentration reaches approx. 20 mM. Its abundance is determined in patients by MRS (magnetic resonance spectroscopy) to assess neuronal density and health. The molecular identity of the NAT (N-acetyltransferase) that catalyses NAA synthesis has remained unknown, because the enzyme is membrane-bound and difficult to purify. Database searches indicated that among putative NATs (i.e. proteins homologous with known NATs, but with uncharacterized catalytic activity) encoded by the human and mouse genomes two were almost exclusively expressed in brain, NAT8L and NAT14. Transfection studies in HEK-293T [human embryonic kidney-293 cells expressing the large T-antigen of SV40 (simian virus 40)] indicated that NAT8L, but not NAT14, catalysed the synthesis of NAA from L-aspartate and acetyl-CoA. The specificity of NAT8L, its Km for aspartate and its sensitivity to detergents are similar to those described for brain Asp-NAT. Confocal microscopy analysis of CHO (Chinese-hamster ovary) cells and neurons expressing recombinant NAT8L indicates that it is associated with the ER (endoplasmic reticulum), but not with mitochondria. A mutation search in the NAT8L gene of the only patient known to be deficient in NAA disclosed the presence of a homozygous 19 bp deletion, resulting in a change in reading frame and the absence of production of a functional protein. We conclude that NAT8L, a neuron-specific protein, is responsible for NAA synthesis and is mutated in primary NAA deficiency (hypoacetylaspartia). The molecular identification of this enzyme will lead to new perspectives in the clarification of the function of this most abundant amino acid derivative in neurons and for the diagnosis of hypoacetylaspartia in other patients.

A gene on chromosome 11q23 coding for a putative glucose- 6-phosphate translocase is mutated in glycogen-storage disease types Ib and Ic.

Glycogen-storage diseases type I (GSD type I) are due to a deficiency in glucose-6-phosphatase, an enzymatic system present in the endoplasmic reticulum that plays a crucial role in blood glucose homeostasis. Unlike GSD type Ia, types Ib and Ic are not due to mutations in the phosphohydrolase gene and are clinically characterized by the presence of associated neutropenia and neutrophil dysfunction. Biochemical evidence indicates the presence of a defect in glucose-6-phosphate (GSD type Ib) or inorganic phosphate (Pi) (GSD type Ic) transport in the microsomes. We have recently cloned a cDNA encoding a putative glucose-6-phosphate translocase. We have now localized the corresponding gene on chromosome 11q23, the region where GSD types Ib and Ic have been mapped. Using SSCP analysis and sequencing, we have screened this gene, for mutations in genomic DNA, from patients from 22 different families who have GSD types Ib and Ic. Of 20 mutations found, 11 result in truncated proteins that are probably nonfunctional. Most other mutations result in substitutions of conserved or semiconserved residues. The two most common mutations (Gly339Cys and 1211-1212 delCT) together constitute approximately 40% of the disease alleles. The fact that the same mutations are found in GSD types Ib and Ic could indicate either that Pi and glucose-6-phosphate are transported in microsomes by the same transporter or that the biochemical assays used to differentiate Pi and glucose-6-phosphate transport defects are not reliable.

Glucokinase regulatory protein is essential for the proper subcellular localisation of liver glucokinase.

Glucokinase (GK), a key enzyme in the glucose homeostatic responses of the liver, changes its intracellular localisation depending on the metabolic status of the cell. Rat liver GK and Xenopus laevis GK, fused to the green fluorescent protein (GFP), concentrated in the nucleus of cultured rat hepatocytes at low glucose and translocated to the cytoplasm at high glucose. Three mutant forms of Xenopus GK with reduced affinity for GK regulatory protein (GKRP) did not concentrate in the hepatocyte nuclei, even at low glucose. In COS‐1 and HeLa cells, a blue fluorescent protein (BFP)‐tagged version of rat liver GK was only able to accumulate in the nucleus when it was co‐expressed with GKRP‐GFP. At low glucose, both proteins concentrated in the nuclear compartment and at high glucose, BFP‐GK translocated to the cytosol while GKRP‐GFP remained in the nucleus. These findings indicate that the presence of and binding to GKRP are necessary and sufficient for the proper intracellular localisation of GK and directly involve GKRP in the control of the GK subcellular distribution.