Additional data on the population distribution of human serum albumin genes; three new variants

Mutations and polymorphism in bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) albumin gene: First identification of mutations responsible for inherited bisalbuminemia

Hereditary bisalbuminemia is an asymptomatic and heterozygous condition in a range of species characterized by the presence of two serum albumin fractions with different electrophoretic mobility resulting in a bicuspid pattern on serum electrophoresis. Bisalbuminemia has been diagnosed by electrophoresis in two bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) families, but causative mutations and the inheritance pattern have not been identified. The aims of this work are: to investigate polymorphisms of the bottlenose dolphin albumin gene and to identify mutations causative of bisalbuminemia; to identify the inheritance pattern in two bottlenose dolphin families. Coding regions of the albumin gene were screened for mutations in 15 bottlenose dolphins kept under human care from two distinct families. Eighteen albumin mutations (three synonymous and 15 non-synonymous) were identified. Two non-synonymous variations co-segregated with bisalbuminemic phenotype: p.Phe146Leu in exon 4 and p.Tyr163His in exon 5. The amino acid change in exon 5 was associated with the secondary and/or tertiary structure variation of the protein and has been reported as causative of bisalbuminemia in humans. Pedigree analysis of the dolphin families showed an autosomal codominant inheritance pattern. In this work, the mutations potentially responsible for bisalbuminemia were identified and confirmed the autosomal codominant trait in bottlenose dolphins.

Human serum albumin: from bench to bedside

Human serum albumin (HSA), the most abundant protein in plasma, is a monomeric multi-domain macromolecule, representing the main determinant of plasma oncotic pressure and the main modulator of fluid distribution between body compartments. HSA displays an extraordinary ligand binding capacity, providing a depot and carrier for many endogenous and exogenous compounds. Indeed, HSA represents the main carrier for fatty acids, affects pharmacokinetics of many drugs, provides the metabolic modification of some ligands, renders potential toxins harmless, accounts for most of the anti-oxidant capacity of human plasma, and displays (pseudo-)enzymatic properties. HSA is a valuable biomarker of many diseases, including cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, ischemia, post-menopausal obesity, severe acute graft-versus-host disease, and diseases that need monitoring of the glycemic control. Moreover, HSA is widely used clinically to treat several diseases, including hypovolemia, shock, burns, surgical blood loss, trauma, hemorrhage, cardiopulmonary bypass, acute respiratory distress syndrome, hemodialysis, acute liver failure, chronic liver disease, nutrition support, resuscitation, and hypoalbuminemia. Recently, biotechnological applications of HSA, including implantable biomaterials, surgical adhesives and sealants, biochromatography, ligand trapping, and fusion proteins, have been reported. Here, genetic, biochemical, biomedical, and biotechnological aspects of HSA are reviewed.

[Expression of human serum albumin in metylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris and its structural and functional analysis]

The stable strain of methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris secreting human serum albumin into cultural medium was obtained. Optimal conditions for expression of the protein were determined. We characterized the recombinant protein by mass spectrometry and circular dichroism and analyzed its catalytic activity.

Mitochondrial DNA andAlu insertions in a genetically peculiar population: The Ayoreo Indians of Bolivia and Paraguay

A total of 91 Ayoreo individuals previously studied for blood groups and protein markers, living in two Bolivian and one Paraguayan communities, were extensively investigated in relation to the hypervariable 1 segment of the control and eight coding regions of their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). They show an extremely reduced mtDNA variability, the observed haplotypes being classifiable in just two haplogroups (C and D). They were also variously studied in relation to six Alu insertions; in this case, however, the prevalences found did not depart markedly from those obtained in other populations of this ethnic group. To assess the Ayoreo position in relation to these populations, 11 other groups that had also been studied for these systems and for blood groups and proteins were selected. The dendrograms obtained with two of the three sets of markers showed distinct patterns, but the Ayoreo were placed in a central position in both the blood group + proteins and Alu insertions trees. Therefore, they are clearly distinct in relation to their mtDNA only, suggesting a strong founder effect and/or random loss of variability in this system.

Albumin genetic variability in South America: Population distribution and molecular studies

A total of 5,020 individuals living in two southern Brazilian states were screened in relation to albumin types; two variants were found, in Passo Fundo (Nagasaki 2) and Vera Cruz (Tradate 2). Another variant, detected in the northeast, was identified as Porto Alegre 2, which also occurs in other places in Brazil, as well as in India, Pakistan, and Turkey. The results were integrated with those obtained in other studies in South America, yielding a total of 16,941 Amerindians and 23,839 non-Indian subjects. Molecular and physiological studies performed in some of the variants suggested clues to explain the restricted distribution of albumin Yanomama 2 and the widespread occurrence of albumin Maku. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 11:359-366, 1999. Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Genetic variants of serum albumin in Americans and Japanese

A collaborative search for albumin genetic variants (alloalbumins) was undertaken by cellulose acetate and agarose electrophoresis at pH 8.6 of the sera of patients at two major medical centers in the United States and of nearly 20,000 blood donors in Japan. Seventeen instances of alloalbuminemia were ascertained, and seven different alloalbumin types were characterized by structural study. Two previously unreported alloalbumin types were identified. In one type, which was present in a Caucasian family and designated Iowa City-1, aspartic acid at position 365 was replaced by valine (365 Asp----Val); this is the second reported mutation at this position. The other type present in a Japanese blood donor had the mutation 128 His----Arg. An unexpected finding was the presence in a single Japanese of a Naskapi-type alloalbumin (372 Lys----Glu), a variant that had previously been described only for certain Amerindian tribes in whom it occurs with a polymorphic frequency (greater than 1%) and in Eti Turks. An arginyl-albumin (-1 Arg, 1 Asp----Val) occurred in an American family. The other alloalbumin types identified were proalbumins Lille and Christchurch and albumin B that have a cumulative frequency of about 1:3500 in Caucasians probably because of the hypermutability of CpG dinucleotides at the mutated sites. All of the variants characterized in this study are point mutants, and the sites are spread throughout the albumin gene. However, about one-fourth of all known albumin mutations are clustered in the sequence segment from position 354 through 382.

Albumin Paris 2: a new genetic variant distinguished by isoelectric focusing

Until recently, the characterization of genetic variants of human serum albumin was performed by electrophoretic typing prior to the determination of their amino acid substitutions. We describe a procedure using isoelectric focusing in the presence of urea for the analysis of the genetic variation of albumin. This procedure allowed a clear distinction of a new variant, previously found to be identical with albumin Sondrio according to its relative electrophoretic mobilities at 3 pHs. This new variant, the third rare albumin allotype identified in the Ile-de-France region, was called albumin Paris 2.

Separation of human alloalbumin variants by isoelectric focusing

A technique for the separation of human alloalbumin variants by means of isoelectric focusing in the presence of 8M urea and 60 mM L-serine is described. The potential usefulness of this technique in the detection and classification of genetic heterogeneity at the albumin locus is demonstrated by the differentiation of three human alloalbumin variants of European origin.

Mutations in genetic variants of human serum albumin found in Italy

A long-term electrophoretic survey of genetic variants of serum albumin has identified an alloalbumin in 589 unrelated individuals in Italy. The alloalbumins were classified electrophoretically into 17 types. The number of unrelated carriers for each type varied from 1 for several variants reported here to 103 for albumin B. The structural change in 8 of these types has previously been determined, and the amino acid substitutions in 3 additional types are reported here. Albumin Varese has a substitution, -2 arginine to histidine (-2 Arg----His), the same as that reported for proalbumin Lille; albumin Torino has the substitution 60 Glu----Lys; and albumin Vibo Valentia has the substitution 82 Glu----Lys. The ability to distinguish so many alloalbumin types by electrophoresis at several pH values indicates that similar substitutions at different sites produce variants with different electrophoretic mobilities. Except for chain terminations in two Italian variants, all the mutations thus far determined for alloalbumins are attributable to a single-base change in the structural gene, and there is a preponderance of transitions and purine mutations. Seven alloalbumins for which the structural change has been established have been ascertained only in Italy. Several of these are clustered in specific geographic regions of Italy, which suggests an origin through a founder individual. Other variants that occur worldwide are nonetheless clustered in geographic regions within Italy. In these cases an independent mutation probably occurred at a hypermutable site such as a CpG dinucleotide.

Separation of fragments from human serum albumin and its charged variants by reversed-phase and cation-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and ion-exchange chromatography on poly(2-sulphoethylaspartamide)-silica (SCX) were compared as alternative approaches in characterizing charged genetic variants of human serum albumin. The chromatographic behaviour of cyanogen bromide (CNBr), tryptic and V8 protease digests from normal and mutant albumins were examined. The results showed that substituted site-containing CNBr fragments are successfully resolved by RP-HPLC; in most instances SCX and RP-HPLC are equally adequate in identifying the modified tryptic peptides from CNBr fragments; although generally useful, SCX chromatography is specifically needed in all instances where amino acid replacement is occurring in a small hydrophilic tryptic fragment and choosing Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease instead of tryptic digestion is advantageous.

The molecular defect of albumin Castel di Sangro: 536 Lys----Glu

Albumin Castel di Sangro is a rare fast-moving variant of human serum albumin which has been discovered in heterozygous form in the serum of an 85-year-old woman living in Castel di Sangro (Abruzzo, Italy). Isoelectric focusing analysis of CNBr fragments from the purified variant allowed us to localize the mutation in fragment CNBr VI (residues 447-548). This fragment was isolated on a preparative scale and subjected to tryptic digestion. Sequential analysis of the abnormal tryptic peptide, purified by reverse-phase and cation-exchange HPLC, revealed that the variant arises from the substitution of lysine 536 by glutamic acid. This amino acid replacement, probably due to a single-base substitution in the structural gene, causes a change in the net charge of -2 units, which is in keeping with both the increased electrophoretic mobility of the native protein and the isoelectric point of the modified CNBr fragment.

Point substitutions in albumin genetic variants from Asia

Despite their rarity and physiologically neutral character, more inherited structural variants of serum albumin (alloalbumins) are known than for any other human protein except hemoglobin. Including three previously unreported examples described here, we have identified 13 different point substitutions in alloalbumins of Japanese origin. Of these only albumin B and two proalbumins have been reported in other ethnic groups, and these are the most common variants of European origin. Some alloalbumins of Asiatic origin, but not yet identified in Japanese, are present in diverse ethnic groups. An alloalbumin found in indigenes of New Guinea (lysine----asparagine at position 313) is also present in Caucasians of various European descents. Albumin Lambadi, occurring in a tribal group in south India, has a mutation (glutamic acid----lysine at position 501) also found as a rare variant in individuals of diverse ethnic origin resident on four continents. These results suggest that some alloalbumins with the same substitution may have originated by independent mutations in various populations. This, together with the apparent clustering of point substitutions in the protein structure, may reflect hypermutability of the albumin gene.

Point substitutions in Japanese alloalbumins

We have completed the structural study of five rare types of inherited albumin variants (alloalbumins) discovered in the Biochemical Genetics Study of 15,581 unrelated children in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We have also identified the structural change in five other alloalbumin specimens detected during clinical electrophoresis of sera from Japanese living near Tokyo. Each of the five albumin variants from Nagasaki and Hiroshima has a single amino acid substitution. All of these substitutions differ, and none has been reported in non-Japanese populations. No instances of proalbumin variants or of albumin B (the most frequent alloalbumins in Caucasians) were detected in the children in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, one instance of a variant proalbumin and two examples of albumin B occurred in Japanese from the vicinity of Tokyo. In addition a previously unreported point substitution was found in albumin Tochigi, which is present in two unrelated persons from Tochigi prefecture. Four of the point mutations in the Japanese alloalbumins are in close proximity in a short segment of the polypeptide chain (residues 354-382) in which three additional point substitutions have been reported in diverse populations. These results, combined with earlier data, suggest that point substitutions are grouped in certain segments of the albumin molecule.

Identical structural changes in inherited albumin variants from different populations

Alloalbuminemia is rare and has a cumulative frequency of only approximately 1 in 3,000 in Europeans and Japanese. The worldwide ethnic and geographic distribution of certain albumin genetic variants appears to be nonrandom. Moreover, we have found that structurally identical variants may occur at different frequencies in ethnically distinct populations, presumably owing to independent mutations. In this study, albumin B and two types of proalbumins, which as a group are the most common European albumin variants, have also been found in Asians. We have identified the amino acid substitution characteristic of albumin B (glutamic acid----lysine at position 570) in alloalbumins from six unrelated individuals of five different European descents and also in two Japanese and one Cambodian. The two types of proalbumins most common in Europe (Lille type, arginine----histidine at position -2; Christchurch type, arginine----glutamic acid at position -1) also occur in Japan. These results provide evidence for independent mutations at single sites in the albumin genome. The clustering of these and of several other amino acid exchanges in certain regions of the albumin molecule suggests two possibilities: that certain sites are hypermutable or that mutants involving certain sites are more subject to selection than mutants involving others.

The same substitution, glutamic acid----lysine at position 501, occurs in three alloalbumins of Asiatic origin: albumins Vancouver, Birmingham, and Adana

A strategy is described for identifying structural changes in genetic variants of human serum albumin (alloalbumins). By use of this strategy we have determined an amino acid substitution in three alloalbumins of Asiatic origin. The same amino acid exchange, glutamic acid----lysine at position 501, occurs in albumins Vancouver and Birmingham, both from families that migrated from northern India, and also in albumin Adana from Turkey. This exchange corresponds to a single base mutation in the codon GAG to AAG and accords with the slow mobility of the three albumins at pH 8.6. Each of the three alloalbumins had been reported to be a new variant, yet they have the same substitution. These results emphasize the need for structural study of genetic variants that have been differentiated only by nonspecific physical criteria such as dye binding and electrophoretic mobility. We know of no other description of the substitution involved in an alloalbumin originating from the Indian subcontinent. However, the same change of glutamic acid----lysine at position 501 may be present in several other named variants reported for populations in north India and the surrounding regions.

The amino acid substitution in albumin Roma: 321 Glu----Lys

Albumin Roma is an electrophoretically slow moving genetic variant of human serum albumin found in 22 unrelated families. The protein was isolated from the serum of a healthy, heterozygous subject. Analysis of CNBr fragments by isoelectric focusing allowed us to localize the mutation to fragment CNBr IV (residues 299-329). This fragment was isolated on a preparative scale by RP-HPLC and subjected to tryptic digestion. Sequential analysis of two abnormal tryptic peptides, purified by RP-HPLC, revealed that the variant arises from the substitution of glutamic acid 321 by lysine. This amino acid replacement, probably resulting from a point mutation in the structural gene, causes a change in the net charge of +2 units which is in keeping with the decreased electrophoretic mobility of the native protein.

Amino acid substitutions in inherited albumin variants from Amerindian and Japanese populations

We report an effort to determine the basis for the altered migration of seven inherited albumin variants detected by one-dimensional electrophoresis in population surveys involving tribal Amerindians and Japanese children. An amino acid substitution has thus far been determined for four of the variants. The randomness in the albumin polypeptide of these and the other sixteen independently ascertained amino acid substitutions of albumin and proalbumin thus far established was analyzed; the clustering of eight of these at two positions in the six-amino acid propeptide sequence seems noteworthy. By comparison with other proteins studied by electrophoresis, albumin exhibits "average" variability. It is a paradox that individuals who, for genetic reasons, lack albumin exhibit no obvious ill effects; yet, electrophoretic variants of albumin are no more numerous than are variants of proteins, the absence of which results in severe disease.

Structural changes and metal binding by proalbumins and other amino-terminal genetic variants of human serum albumin

Proalbumins are rare genetic variants of human serum albumin containing a basic propeptide that is not removed during post-transcriptional processing because of a mutation in the site of excision, an Arg-Arg sequence. We have identified the amino acid substitutions in three different types of proalbumins designated Gainesville, Taipei, and Takefu. The first two proalbumins are identical to previously described proalbumins of the Christchurch and Lille types, respectively, and exhibit the characteristic properties of susceptibility to tryptic cleavage and of lower metal-binding affinity. Takefu is a third type of proalbumin and resists tryptic cleavage because of the substitution Arg-1----Pro. Each of the first two types of proalbumins has been identified in geographically separate, ethnically diverse populations and therefore must have arisen by independent mutations. There is some tendency for mutations in albumin to cluster in the propeptide sequence. Although the substitution His3----Gln in the genetic variant albumin Nagasaki-3 decreases metal-binding affinity, mutations further down the polypeptide chain have no such effect, nor is there any reduction of copper-binding affinity in albumin from patients with Wilson disease.

Amino acid substitutions in genetic variants of human serum albumin and in sequences inferred from molecular cloning

The structural changes in four genetic variants of human serum albumin were analyzed by tandem high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) of the tryptic peptides, HPLC mapping and isoelectric focusing of the CNBr fragments, and amino acid sequence analysis of the purified peptides. Lysine-372 of normal (common) albumin A was changed to glutamic acid both in albumin Naskapi, a widespread polymorphic variant of North American Indians, and in albumin Mersin found in Eti Turks. The two variants also exhibited anomalous migration in NaDodSO4/PAGE, which is attributed to a conformational change. The identity of albumins Naskapi and Mersin may have originated through descent from a common mid-Asiatic founder of the two migrating ethnic groups, or it may represent identical but independent mutations of the albumin gene. In albumin Adana, from Eti Turks, the substitution site was not identified but was localized to the region from positions 447 through 548. The substitution of aspartic acid-550 by glycine was found in albumin Mexico-2 from four individuals of the Pima tribe. Although only single-point substitutions have been found in these and in certain other genetic variants of human albumin, five differences exist in the amino acid sequences inferred from cDNA sequences by workers in three other laboratories. However, our results on albumin A and on 14 different genetic variants accord with the amino acid sequence of albumin deduced from the genomic sequence. The apparent amino acid substitutions inferred from comparison of individual cDNA sequences probably reflect artifacts in cloning or in cDNA sequence analysis rather than polymorphism of the coding sections of the albumin gene.

The molecular defect of albumin Tagliacozzo: 313 Lys----Asn

Albumin Tagliacozzo is a fast-moving genetic variant of human serum albumin found in 19 unrelated families. The protein was isolated from the serum of a heterozygous healthy subject. Analysis of CNBr fragments by isoelectric focusing allowed us to localize the mutation to CNBr fragment IV (residues 299-329). This fragment was isolated on a preparative scale and subjected to tryptic digestion. Sequential analysis of the abnormal tryptic peptide, purified by RP-HPLC, revealed the variant was caused by 313 Lys----Asn substitution, probably due to a point mutation in the structural gene. The lack of a lysine residue accounts for the electrophoretic behavior of albumin Tagliacozzo.

Two new slow-moving variants of human serum albumin

Two new slow-moving variants of human serum albumin were found in members of two unrelated Japanese families. These variants, different from each other and from the slow-moving variants described previously, were designated albumin "Okinoerabu' and albumin "Akasaka'. The mode of inheritance of each variant was consistent with an autosomal codominant trait. A very rare type, homozygote for a variant, albumin "Okinoerabu', was also detected. The segregation data of albumin and Gc showed no discrepancy from the postulation of a linkage between these two loci.

Structural or functional heterogeneity of normal human serum albumin, allo albumin, bisalbumin

The present paper reports a comparative isoelectric focusing study of electrophoretically normal and abnormal albumins. All the albumins were purified by two different techniques (cellulose acetate electrophoresis and preparative slab isoelectric focusing), and submitted to analytical isoelectric focusing before and after incubation with either metabolites or drugs. Isoelectric focusing patterns show general heterogeneity, both in normal and in any of the observed alloalbumins. The heterogeneity is increased in bisalbumins (drug or metabolite induced), showing the same electrophoretic pattern as alloalbumins. The differences are related to the amount of the ligands. The results agree with the hypothesis that the heterogeneity depends on the structure and the carrier function of albumin.

Serum albumin variants from populations of Andhra Pradesh, S. India

1108 tribal and 1062 non-tribal individuals from three districts of Andhra Pradesh were examined for serum albumin variants. A slow-moving variant, identical to Albumin Kashmir was found in a single Muslim individual. Another new slow-moving variant, faster than Albumin Kashmir found in a single individual of a Koya Dora tribe is designated as Albumin Koya Dora.

A homozygote for a serum albumin variant of the fast type

A healthy, 10-year-old male born in Milano to a family from Southern Italy (Puglia) was found to be a homozygote for an albumin variant of the fast type. His parents are half-first cousins. Their common grandfather, the parents, one sister, and three brothers of the child were all heterozygotes for the same albumin variant. This seems to be the first case of a homozygote for a fast albumin variant described in Europe.