Loss and gain of function in SERPINB11: an example of a gene under selection on standing variation, with implications for host-pathogen interactions

Impaired SERPIN-Protease Balance in the Peripheral Lungs of Stable COPD Patients

The protease-antiprotease balance is involved in many biological processes, including blood coagulation, tissue remodeling, inflammation and immune responses. The aim of this study is to determine the balance between SERPINs and some related proteases in the lungs of stable COPD patients. In this cross-sectional study, the expression and localization of human SERPINs (anti-proteases) and some related proteases were measured in the lung parenchyma of mild-moderate COPD (MCOPD, n = 13) patients, control smokers (CS, n = 14) and control nonsmokers (CNS, n = 12) using transcriptome analysis, immunohistochemistry, and ELISA tests. Peripheral lung transcriptomic data showed increased mRNA levels of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), cathepsin-L and caspase-1 as well as increased SERPINs A6, B3, B5, B11, B13 in the COPD group compared to the CNS group. At the protein level, IHC analysis showed that tPA and cathepsin-L increased in the bronchiolar epithelium and alveolar septa of the CS and COPD groups compared to the CNS group, as well as SERPINB5 and B13 in the alveolar macrophages and alveolar septa of the CS and COPD groups compared to the CNS group. SERPINA6 was shown to be decreased in the bronchiolar epithelium, bronchiolar lamina propria, and alveolar septa of the CS and COPD groups compared to the CNS group and was positively correlated with lung function. SERPINB3 was decreased in the alveolar septa of the CS group compared to the CNS group. The ELISA tests showed that in the total lung extracts, decreased levels of SERPINA6 and increased caspase-1 were shown in the COPD group compared to the CNS or both control groups, respectively. These data show an imbalance, at the protein level, of SERPINs and some related proteases in the lungs of the CS and stable COPD groups. These alterations may play a role in damaging the lung parenchyma of susceptible COPD patients.

Changes in capture availability due to infection can lead to detectable biases in population-level infectious disease parameters

Correctly identifying the strength of selection that parasites impose on hosts is key to predicting epidemiological and evolutionary outcomes of host-parasite interactions. However, behavioral changes due to infection can alter the capture probability of infected hosts and thereby make selection difficult to estimate by standard sampling techniques. Mark-recapture approaches, which allow researchers to determine if some groups in a population are less likely to be captured than others, can be used to identify infection-driven capture biases. If a metric of interest directly compares infected and uninfected populations, calculated detection probabilities for both groups may be useful in identifying bias. Here, we use an individual-based simulation to test whether changes in capture rate due to infection can alter estimates of three key metrics: 1) reduction in the reproductive success of infected parents relative to uninfected parents, 2) the relative risk of infection for susceptible genotypes compared to resistant genotypes, and 3) changes in allele frequencies between generations. We explore the direction and underlying causes of the biases that emerge from these simulations. Finally, we argue that short series of mark-recapture sampling bouts, potentially implemented in under a week, can yield key data on detection bias due to infection while not adding a significantly higher burden to disease ecology studies.

SERPINB11 variant-related liver injury in STEC-HUS: case reports and literature review

BACKGROUND

Liver damage is uncommon in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (STEC-HUS). Herein, we present two cases with a diagnosis of STEC-HUS that progressed to liver damage, with findings presumably related to the SERPINB11 gene c.268G > T (p.Glu90Ter) variant.

CASE-DIAGNOSIS/TREATMENT

Two boys aged 3 and 2 years, respectively, were referred to our clinic with a preliminary diagnosis of STEC-HUS. The patients had low hemoglobin, thrombocyte, and haptoglobin levels but high levels of lactic dehydrogenase, urea, creatinine, and schistocytes in peripheral smears. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was detected in their stool samples. The patients underwent hemodialysis, plasma exchange, and supportive treatments. Meanwhile, cholestasis developed in the patients, resulting in elevated total bilirubin levels. During the follow-up period, kidney function recovered completely; however, liver function did not improve, and one patient developed chronic liver damage. Gene mutations that may cause liver damage were investigated, and c.268G > T (p.Glu90Ter) homozygous and heterozygous variants were detected in exon 9 of the SERPINB11 gene in the patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Our patients presented with kidney impairment and liver malfunction. Hepatic involvement in STEC-HUS may result from ischemia, hemolysis, and endothelial damage in the hepatic vessels. Liver injury in STEC-HUS cases may be associated with the homozygous SERPINB11 gene c.268G > T (p.Glu90Ter) variant.

Whole Exome Sequencing Among 26 Patients With Indeterminate Acute Liver Failure: A Pilot Study

INTRODUCTION

The etiology of acute liver failure (ALF) remains an important prognostic factor. The Acute Liver Failure Study Group recently reported that 150 of 2,718 adult patients with ALF (5.5%) had an indeterminate etiology. Our aim was to use whole exome sequencing to identify genetic variants associated with phenotypic, biochemical, and histologic features among patients with indeterminate ALF.

METHODS

This effort has defined a cohort of well-pedigreed patients with indeterminate ALF; DNA samples extracted from whole blood samples were obtained from 26 respective patients with indeterminate ALF. These samples were kept at the Acute Liver Failure Study Group repository at the NIDDK, Bethesda. Whole exome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis were performed at the Mayo Clinic Center of Individualized Medicine in Rochester, MN.

RESULTS

Of the 26 patients, 8 survived spontaneously, 6 died, and 12 underwent a liver transplantation; all those transplanted were alive at 21 days after enrollment in the study. Twenty-two of the 26 patients presented as ALF. We found 12 variants associated with 11 genes. The most common variant was rs4940595 in the SERPINB11 gene which was found in 23 of the 26 patients. This variant had a stop codon; no reports of disorders have been associated with this variant. The next most commonly found variant was rs1135840 in the CYP2D6 gene; this mutation is a missense_variant and has been reported to be associated with hepatotoxicity of antituberculous therapy. None of our patients were receiving this therapy. We also found a significant asymmetric distribution of rs1800754 of the CYP2D7 gene and rs1135840 of the CYP2D6 gene between patients who survived spontaneously (75%) and those who died or underwent liver transplantation (30.5% and 25%, respectively).

DISCUSSION

We found 12 variants of 11 genes significantly associated with ALF among adults with indeterminate etiology. We also found a significant asymmetric distribution of 2 variants belonging to the CYP2D7 and CYP2D6 genes, respectively, between those who survived spontaneously and those who died or underwent liver transplantation. The 2 most common variants, rs4940595 and rs1135840, of the SERPINB11 and CYP2D6 genes, respectively, found in our patients with ALF have been described as potentially important in the adaptive response combating the emergence of infectious diseases and associated with hepatotoxicity of antituberculous therapy, respectively. Our findings need to be expanded to include more patients with indeterminate ALF as well as viral, drug toxicity, and autoimmune etiologies to determine whether our findings are associated with the specific etiology, indeterminate, or with the overall ALF syndrome itself.

A survey of methods and tools to detect recent and strong positive selection

Positive selection occurs when an allele is favored by natural selection. The frequency of the favored allele increases in the population and due to genetic hitchhiking the neighboring linked variation diminishes, creating so-called selective sweeps. Detecting traces of positive selection in genomes is achieved by searching for signatures introduced by selective sweeps, such as regions of reduced variation, a specific shift of the site frequency spectrum, and particular LD patterns in the region. A variety of methods and tools can be used for detecting sweeps, ranging from simple implementations that compute summary statistics such as Tajima's D, to more advanced statistical approaches that use combinations of statistics, maximum likelihood, machine learning etc. In this survey, we present and discuss summary statistics and software tools, and classify them based on the selective sweep signature they detect, i.e., SFS-based vs. LD-based, as well as their capacity to analyze whole genomes or just subgenomic regions. Additionally, we summarize the results of comparisons among four open-source software releases (SweeD, SweepFinder, SweepFinder2, and OmegaPlus) regarding sensitivity, specificity, and execution times. In equilibrium neutral models or mild bottlenecks, both SFS- and LD-based methods are able to detect selective sweeps accurately. Methods and tools that rely on LD exhibit higher true positive rates than SFS-based ones under the model of a single sweep or recurrent hitchhiking. However, their false positive rate is elevated when a misspecified demographic model is used to represent the null hypothesis. When the correct (or similar to the correct) demographic model is used instead, the false positive rates are considerably reduced. The accuracy of detecting the true target of selection is decreased in bottleneck scenarios. In terms of execution time, LD-based methods are typically faster than SFS-based methods, due to the nature of required arithmetic.

The Uromodulin Gene Locus Shows Evidence of Pathogen Adaptation through Human Evolution

Common variants in the UMOD gene encoding uromodulin, associated with risk of hypertension and CKD in the general population, increase UMOD expression and urinary excretion of uromodulin, causing salt-sensitive hypertension and renal lesions. To determine the effect of selective pressure on variant frequency, we investigated the allelic frequency of the lead UMOD variant rs4293393 in 156 human populations, in eight ancient human genomes, and in primate genomes. The T allele of rs4293393, associated with CKD risk, has high frequency in most modern populations and was the one detected in primate genomes. In contrast, we identified only the derived, C allele in Denisovan and Neanderthal genomes. The distribution of the UMOD ancestral allele did not follow the ancestral susceptibility model observed for variants associated with salt-sensitive hypertension. Instead, the global frequencies of the UMOD alleles significantly correlated with pathogen diversity (bacteria, helminths) and prevalence of antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections (UTIs). The inverse correlation found between urinary levels of uromodulin and markers of UTIs in the general population substantiates the link between UMOD variants and protection against UTIs. These data strongly suggest that the UMOD ancestral allele, driving higher urinary excretion of uromodulin, has been kept at a high frequency because of its protective effect against UTIs.

The spatiotemporal expression and localization implicates a potential role for SerpinB11 in the process of mouse spermatogenesis and apoptosis

In this study, the spatiotemporal expression of SerpinB11 in the mouse testis from postnatal 1-60 d was checked, the SerpinB11 protein strongly localized in the intermediate spermatogonia, B-type spermatogonium, preleptotene spermatocyte, leptonema spermatocyte, zygotene spermatocyte, but weakly localized in the pachytene spermatocyte, diplotene spermatocyte, sphere sperm, and the apoptotic sperm was positive stained of SerpinB11 protein, the localization of cell cycle marker CDK4 and meiosis marker SCP3 were investigated, and the SCP3 and SerpinB11 colocalized in the intermediate spermatogonia, B-type spermatogonium, preleptotene spermatocyte. Taken together, these results suggested that SerpinB11 might involved in spermatogenesis and apoptosis.

Selection on a variant associated with improved viral clearance drives local, adaptive pseudogenization of interferon lambda 4 (IFNL4)

Interferon lambda 4 gene (IFNL4) encodes IFN-λ4, a new member of the IFN-λ family with antiviral activity. In humans IFNL4 open reading frame is truncated by a polymorphic frame-shift insertion that eliminates IFN-λ4 and turns IFNL4 into a polymorphic pseudogene. Functional IFN-λ4 has antiviral activity but the elimination of IFN-λ4 through pseudogenization is strongly associated with improved clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We show that functional IFN-λ4 is conserved and evolutionarily constrained in mammals and thus functionally relevant. However, the pseudogene has reached moderately high frequency in Africa, America, and Europe, and near fixation in East Asia. In fact, the pseudogenizing variant is among the 0.8% most differentiated SNPs between Africa and East Asia genome-wide. Its raise in frequency is associated with additional evidence of positive selection, which is strongest in East Asia, where this variant falls in the 0.5% tail of SNPs with strongest signatures of recent positive selection genome-wide. Using a new Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) approach we infer that the pseudogenizing allele appeared just before the out-of-Africa migration and was immediately targeted by moderate positive selection; selection subsequently strengthened in European and Asian populations resulting in the high frequency observed today. This provides evidence for a changing adaptive process that, by favoring IFN-λ4 inactivation, has shaped present-day phenotypic diversity and susceptibility to disease.

The genetic association with clearance of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is one of the strongest and most elusive known associations with disease. The genetic variant more strongly associated with improved HCV clearance inactivates the recently discovered IFNL4 gene, which encodes for antiviral IFN-λ4 protein, and turns it into a polymorphic pseudogene. We show that functional IFN-λ4 is conserved and functionally important in mammals. In humans though the inactivating mutation appeared in Africa just before the out-of-Africa migration and quickly became advantageous, with the strength of selection (the degree of advantage) varying across human groups. In particular, selection became stronger out of Africa and was strongest in East Asia, raising the frequency of the pseudogene and resulting in the virtual loss of functional IFN-λ4 protein in several Asian populations. Although the environmental force driving selection is unknown, this process resulted in variable clearance of HCV in modern human populations. The complex selective history of IFNL4-inactivating allele has thus shaped present-day heterogeneity across populations not only in genetic variation, but also in relevant phenotypes and susceptibility to disease.

Adaptive evolution and divergence of SERPINB3: a young duplicate in great Apes

A series of duplication events led to an expansion of clade B Serine Protease Inhibitors (SERPIN), currently displaying a large repertoire of functions in vertebrates. Accordingly, the recent duplicates SERPINB3 and B4 located in human 18q21.3 SERPIN cluster control the activity of different cysteine and serine proteases, respectively. Here, we aim to assess SERPINB3 and B4 coevolution with their target proteases in order to understand the evolutionary forces shaping the accelerated divergence of these duplicates. Phylogenetic analysis of primate sequences placed the duplication event in a Hominoidae ancestor (∼30 Mya) and the emergence of SERPINB3 in Homininae (∼9 Mya). We detected evidence of strong positive selection throughout SERPINB4/B3 primate tree and target proteases, cathepsin L2 (CTSL2) and G (CTSG) and chymase (CMA1). Specifically, in the Homininae clade a perfect match was observed between the adaptive evolution of SERPINB3 and cathepsin S (CTSS) and most of sites under positive selection were located at the inhibitor/protease interface. Altogether our results seem to favour a coevolution hypothesis for SERPINB3, CTSS and CTSL2 and for SERPINB4 and CTSG and CMA1. A scenario of an accelerated evolution driven by host-pathogen interactions is also possible since SERPINB3/B4 are potent inhibitors of exogenous proteases, released by infectious agents. Finally, similar patterns of expression and the sharing of many regulatory motifs suggest neofunctionalization as the best fitted model of the functional divergence of SERPINB3 and B4 duplicates.

Increasing transcriptome response of serpins during the ontogenetic stages in the salmon louse Caligus rogercresseyi (Copepoda: Caligidae)

Serine protease inhibitors, or serpins, target serine proteases, and are important regulators of intra- and extracellular proteolysis. For parasite survival, parasite-derived protease inhibitors have been suggested to play essential roles in evading the host's immune system and protecting against exogenous host proteases. The aim of this work was to identify serpins via high throughput transcriptome sequencing and elucidate their potential functions during the lifecycle of the salmon louse Caligus rogercresseyi. Eleven putative, partial serpin sequences in the C. rogercresseyi transcriptome were identified and denoted as Cr-serpins 1 to 11. Comparative analysis of the deduced serpin-like amino acid sequences revealed a highly conserved reactive center loop region. Interestingly, P1 residues suggest putative functions involved with the trypsin/subtilisin, elastase, or subtilisin inhibitors, which evidenced increasing gene expression profiles from the copepodid to adult stage in C. rogercresseyi. Concerning this, Cr-serpin 10 was mainly expressed in the copepodid stage, while Cr-serpins 3, 4, 5, and 11 were mostly expressed in chalimus and adult stages. These results suggest that serpins could be involved in evading the immune response of the host fish. The identification of these serpins furthers the understanding of the immune system in this important ectoparasite species.

On detecting incomplete soft or hard selective sweeps using haplotype structure

We present a new haplotype-based statistic (nSL) for detecting both soft and hard sweeps in population genomic data from a single population. We compare our new method with classic single-population haplotype and site frequency spectrum (SFS)-based methods and show that it is more robust, particularly to recombination rate variation. However, all statistics show some sensitivity to the assumptions of the demographic model. Additionally, we show that nSL has at least as much power as other methods under a number of different selection scenarios, most notably in the cases of sweeps from standing variation and incomplete sweeps. This conclusion holds up under a variety of demographic models. In many aspects, our new method is similar to the iHS statistic; however, it is generally more robust and does not require a genetic map. To illustrate the utility of our new method, we apply it to HapMap3 data and show that in the Yoruban population, there is strong evidence of selection on genes relating to lipid metabolism. This observation could be related to the known differences in cholesterol levels, and lipid metabolism more generally, between African Americans and other populations. We propose that the underlying causes for the selection on these genes are pleiotropic effects relating to blood parasites rather than their role in lipid metabolism.

SERPINA2 is a novel gene with a divergent function from SERPINA1

Serine protease inhibitors (SERPINs) are a superfamily of highly conserved proteins that play a key role in controlling the activity of proteases in diverse biological processes. The SERPIN cluster located at the 14q32.1 region includes the gene coding for SERPINA1, and a highly homologous sequence, SERPINA2, which was originally thought to be a pseudogene. We have previously shown that SERPINA2 is expressed in different tissues, namely leukocytes and testes, suggesting that it is a functional SERPIN. To investigate the function of SERPINA2, we used HeLa cells stably transduced with the different variants of SERPINA2 and SERPINA1 (M1, S and Z) and leukocytes as the in vivo model. We identified SERPINA2 as a 52 kDa intracellular glycoprotein, which is localized at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), independently of the variant analyzed. SERPINA2 is not significantly regulated by proteasome, proposing that ER localization is not due to misfolding. Specific features of SERPINA2 include the absence of insoluble aggregates and the insignificant response to cell stress, suggesting that it is a non-polymerogenic protein with divergent activity of SERPINA1. Using phylogenetic analysis, we propose an origin of SERPINA2 in the crown of primates, and we unveiled the overall conservation of SERPINA2 and A1. Nonetheless, few SERPINA2 residues seem to have evolved faster, contributing to the emergence of a new advantageous function, possibly as a chymotrypsin-like SERPIN. Herein, we present evidences that SERPINA2 is an active gene, coding for an ER-resident protein, which may act as substrate or adjuvant of ER-chaperones.

Reproduction and immunity-driven natural selection in the human WFDC locus

The whey acidic protein (WAP) four-disulfide core domain (WFDC) locus located on human chromosome 20q13 spans 19 genes with WAP and/or Kunitz domains. These genes participate in antimicrobial, immune, and tissue homoeostasis activities. Neighboring SEMG genes encode seminal proteins Semenogelin 1 and 2 (SEMG1 and SEMG2). WFDC and SEMG genes have a strikingly high rate of amino acid replacement (dN/dS), indicative of responses to adaptive pressures during vertebrate evolution. To better understand the selection pressures acting on WFDC genes in human populations, we resequenced 18 genes and 54 noncoding segments in 71 European (CEU), African (YRI), and Asian (CHB + JPT) individuals. Overall, we identified 484 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including 65 coding variants (of which 49 are nonsynonymous differences). Using classic neutrality tests, we confirmed the signature of short-term balancing selection on WFDC8 in Europeans and a signature of positive selection spanning genes PI3, SEMG1, SEMG2, and SLPI. Associated with the latter signal, we identified an unusually homogeneous-derived 100-kb haplotype with a frequency of 88% in Asian populations. A putative candidate variant targeted by selection is Thr56Ser in SEMG1, which may alter the proteolytic profile of SEMG1 and antimicrobial activities of semen. All the well-characterized genes residing in the WDFC locus encode proteins that appear to have a role in immunity and/or fertility, two processes that are often associated with adaptive evolution. This study provides further evidence that the WFDC and SEMG loci have been under strong adaptive pressure within the short timescale of modern humans.