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Beijer D, Marte S, Li JC, De Ridder W, Chen JZ, Tadenev ALD, Miers KE, Deconinck T, Macdonell R, Marques W, De Jonghe P, Pratt SL, Meyer-Schuman R, Züchner S, Antonellis A, Burgess RW, Baets J. Dominant NARS1 mutations causing axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease expand NARS1-associated diseases. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae070. [PMID: 38495304 PMCID: PMC10943570 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Pathogenic variants in six aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (ARS) genes are implicated in neurological disorders, most notably inherited peripheral neuropathies. ARSs are enzymes that charge tRNA molecules with cognate amino acids. Pathogenic variants in asparaginyl-tRNA synthetase (NARS1) cause a neurological phenotype combining developmental delay, ataxia and demyelinating peripheral neuropathy. NARS1 has not yet been linked to axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Exome sequencing of patients with inherited peripheral neuropathies revealed three previously unreported heterozygous NARS1 variants in three families. Clinical and electrophysiological details were assessed. We further characterized all three variants in a yeast complementation model and used a knock-in mouse model to study variant p.Ser461Phe. All three variants (p.Met236del, p.Cys342Tyr and p.Ser461Phe) co-segregate with the sensorimotor axonal neuropathy phenotype. Yeast complementation assays show that none of the three NARS1 variants support wild-type yeast growth when tested in isolation (i.e. in the absence of a wild-type copy of NARS1), consistent with a loss-of-function effect. Similarly, the homozygous knock-in mouse model (p.Ser461Phe/Ser472Phe in mouse) also demonstrated loss-of-function characteristics. We present three previously unreported NARS1 variants segregating with a sensorimotor neuropathy phenotype in three families. Functional studies in yeast and mouse support variant pathogenicity. Thus, NARS1 is the seventh ARS implicated in dominant axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, further stressing that all dimeric ARSs should be evaluated for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danique Beijer
- Translational Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, B-2610, Belgium
- Laboratory of Neuromuscular Pathology, Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, B-2610, Belgium
- Department for Human Genetics and John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Sheila Marte
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Jiaxin C Li
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA
- Genetics Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Willem De Ridder
- Translational Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, B-2610, Belgium
- Laboratory of Neuromuscular Pathology, Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, B-2610, Belgium
- Neuromuscular Reference Centre, Department of Neurology, Antwerp University Hospital, Wilrijk, B-2610, Belgium
| | - Jessie Z Chen
- Department of Neurology, Austin Health, Melbourne, VIC 3084, Australia
| | | | | | - Tine Deconinck
- Translational Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, B-2610, Belgium
- Center of Medical Genetics, University of Antwerp and Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, B-2650, Belgium
| | - Richard Macdonell
- Department of Neurology, Austin Health, Melbourne, VIC 3084, Australia
| | - Wilson Marques
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavior Sciences, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 14051-140, Brazil
| | - Peter De Jonghe
- Translational Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, B-2610, Belgium
- Laboratory of Neuromuscular Pathology, Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, B-2610, Belgium
- Neuromuscular Reference Centre, Department of Neurology, Antwerp University Hospital, Wilrijk, B-2610, Belgium
| | - Samia L Pratt
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA
- Neuroscience Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | | | - Stephan Züchner
- Department for Human Genetics and John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Anthony Antonellis
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Robert W Burgess
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA
- Genetics Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA
- Neuroscience Program, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - Jonathan Baets
- Translational Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, B-2610, Belgium
- Laboratory of Neuromuscular Pathology, Institute Born-Bunge, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, B-2610, Belgium
- Neuromuscular Reference Centre, Department of Neurology, Antwerp University Hospital, Wilrijk, B-2610, Belgium
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Saga Y, Kawashima M, Sakai S, Yamazaki K, Kaneko M, Takahashi M, Sato N, Toyoda Y, Takase S, Nakano T, Kawakami N, Kushiro T. Plant-Specific Domains and Fragmented Sequences Imply Non-Canonical Functions in Plant Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:E1056. [PMID: 32906706 DOI: 10.3390/genes11091056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Revised: 08/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) play essential roles in protein translation. In addition, numerous aaRSs (mostly in vertebrates) have also been discovered to possess a range of non-canonical functions. Very few studies have been conducted to elucidate or characterize non-canonical functions of plant aaRSs. A genome-wide search for aaRS genes in Arabidopsis thaliana revealed a total of 59 aaRS genes. Among them, asparaginyl-tRNA synthetase (AsnRS) was found to possess a WHEP domain inserted into the catalytic domain in a plant-specific manner. This insertion was observed only in the cytosolic isoform. In addition, a long stretch of sequence that exhibited weak homology with histidine ammonia lyase (HAL) was found at the N-terminus of histidyl-tRNA synthetase (HisRS). This HAL-like domain has only been seen in plant HisRS, and only in cytosolic isoforms. Additionally, a number of genes lacking minor or major portions of the full-length aaRS sequence were found. These genes encode 14 aaRS fragments that lack key active site sequences and are likely catalytically null. These identified genes that encode plant-specific additional domains or aaRS fragment sequences are candidates for aaRSs possessing non-canonical functions.
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