Systematic screen for human disease genes in yeast

High similarity between yeast and human mitochondria allows functional genomic study of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to be used to identify human genes involved in disease. So far, 102 heritable disorders have been attributed to defects in a quarter of the known nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins in humans. Many mitochondrial diseases remain unexplained, however, in part because only 40-60% of the presumed 700-1,000 proteins involved in mitochondrial function and biogenesis have been identified. Here we apply a systematic functional screen using the pre-existing whole-genome pool of yeast deletion mutants to identify mitochondrial proteins. Three million measurements of strain fitness identified 466 genes whose deletions impaired mitochondrial respiration, of which 265 were new. Our approach gave higher selection than other systematic approaches, including fivefold greater selection than gene expression analysis. To apply these advantages to human disorders involving mitochondria, human orthologs were identified and linked to heritable diseases using genomic map positions.     

Paxillin binds schwannomin and regulates its density-dependent localization and effect on cell morphology

Neurofibromatosis type 2 is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by tumors, predominantly schwannomas, in the nervous system. It is caused by mutations in the gene NF2, encoding the growth regulator schwannomin (also known as merlin). Mutations occur throughout the 17-exon gene, with most resulting in protein truncation and undetectable amounts of schwannomin protein. Pathogenic mutations that result in production of defective schwannomin include in-frame deletions of exon 2 and three independent missense mutations within this same exon. Mice with conditional deletion of exon 2 in Schwann cells develop schwannomas, which confirms the crucial nature of exon 2 for growth control. Here we report that the molecular adaptor paxillin binds directly to schwannomin at residues 50-70, which are encoded by exon 2. This interaction mediates the membrane localization of schwannomin to the plasma membrane, where it associates with beta 1 integrin and erbB2. It defines a pathogenic mechanism for the development of NF2 in humans with mutations in exon 2 of NF2.     

Urocortin-deficient mice show hearing impairment and increased anxiety-like behavior

Urocortin is a member of the corticotropin-releasing hormone peptide family and is found in many discrete brain regions. The distinct expression pattern of urocortin suggests that it influences such behaviors as feeding, anxiety and auditory processing. To better define the physiological roles of urocortin, we have generated mice carrying a null mutation of the urocortin gene. Urocortin-deficient mice have normal basal feeding behavior and stress responses, but show heightened anxiety-like behaviors in the elevated plus maze and open-field tests. In addition, hearing is impaired in the mutant mice at the level of the inner ear, suggesting that urocortin is involved in the normal development of cochlear sensory-cell function. These results provide the first example of a function for any peptidergic system in hearing.     

Amplification of PPM1D in human tumors abrogates p53 tumor-suppressor activity

Expression of oncogenic Ras in primary human cells activates p53, thereby protecting cells from transformation. We show that in Ras-expressing IMR-90 cells, p53 is phosphorylated at Ser33 and Ser46 by the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Activity of p38 MAPK is regulated by the p53-inducible phosphatase PPM1D, creating a potential feedback loop. Expression of oncogenic Ras suppresses PPM1D mRNA induction, leaving p53 phosphorylated at Ser33 and Ser46 and in an active state. Retrovirus-mediated overexpression of PPM1D reduced p53 phosphorylation at these sites, abrogated Ras-induced apoptosis and partially rescued cells from cell-cycle arrest. Inactivation of p38 MAPK (the product of Mapk14) in vivo by gene targeting or by PPM1D overexpression expedited tumor formation after injection of mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) expressing E1A+Ras into nude mice. The gene encoding PPM1D (PPM1D, at 17q22/q23) is amplified in human breast-tumor cell lines and in approximately 11% of primary breast tumors, most of which harbor wildtype p53. These findings suggest that inactivation of the p38 MAPK through PPM1D overexpression resulting from PPM1D amplification contributes to the development of human cancers by suppressing p53 activation.     

Low-penetrance susceptibility to breast cancer due to CHEK2(*)1100delC in noncarriers of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations

Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 confer a high risk of breast and ovarian cancer, but account for only a small fraction of breast cancer susceptibility. To find additional genes conferring susceptibility to breast cancer, we analyzed CHEK2 (also known as CHK2), which encodes a cell-cycle checkpoint kinase that is implicated in DNA repair processes involving BRCA1 and p53 (refs 3,4,5). We show that CHEK2(*)1100delC, a truncating variant that abrogates the kinase activity, has a frequency of 1.1% in healthy individuals. However, this variant is present in 5.1% of individuals with breast cancer from 718 families that do not carry mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 (P = 0.00000003), including 13.5% of individuals from families with male breast cancer (P = 0.00015). We estimate that the CHEK2(*)1100delC variant results in an approximately twofold increase of breast cancer risk in women and a tenfold increase of risk in men. By contrast, the variant confers no increased cancer risk in carriers of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. This suggests that the biological mechanisms underlying the elevated risk of breast cancer in CHEK2 mutation carriers are already subverted in carriers of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, which is consistent with participation of the encoded proteins in the same pathway.     

A bisexually reproducing all-triploid vertebrate

Green toads are common in the Palaearctic region, where they have differentiated into several taxa. The toads exist with variable amounts of ploidy, similar to other anuran species or reptiles. In vertebrate biology, the very rare occurrence of triploidy is coupled with infertility or unisexuality, or requires the coexistence of individuals of different ploidy in a reproductive community. The reproduction of naturally occurring triploids has been reported to occur only through parthenogenesis, gynogenesis or hybridogenesis. The bisexual reproduction of pure triploids has been considered to be impossible because of the problem of equally distributing three chromosome sets in meiosis. Here we report geographically isolated populations of green toads (Bufo viridis complex) that are all-triploid and reproduce bisexually.     

Crumbs, the Drosophila homologue of human CRB1/RP12, is essential for photoreceptor morphogenesis

The apical transmembrane protein Crumbs is a central regulator of epithelial apical-basal polarity in Drosophila. Loss-of-function mutations in the human homologue of Crumbs, CRB1 (RP12), cause recessive retinal dystrophies, including retinitis pigmentosa. Here we show that Crumbs and CRB1 localize to corresponding subdomains of the photoreceptor apical plasma membrane: the stalk of the Drosophila photoreceptor and the inner segment of mammalian photoreceptors. These subdomains support the morphogenesis and orientation of the photosensitive membrane organelles: rhabdomeres and outer segments, respectively. Drosophila Crumbs is required to maintain zonula adherens integrity during the rapid apical membrane expansion that builds the rhabdomere. Crumbs also regulates stalk development by stabilizing the membrane-associated spectrin cytoskeleton, a function mechanistically distinct from its role in epithelial apical-basal polarity. We propose that Crumbs is a central component of a molecular scaffold that controls zonula adherens assembly and defines the stalk as an apical membrane subdomain. Defects in such scaffolds may contribute to human CRB1-related retinal dystrophies.