Exploring the Molecular Pathophysiological Mechanisms In
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Exploring the Molecular Pathophysiological Mechanisms in Hypomyelinating Leukodystrophies Resulting from Recessive Mutations in EPRS, RARS, and DARS Mariana Gutierrez Salazar, Human Genetics, McGill University, Montreal May 2017 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Science © Mariana Gutierrez Salazar, 2017 1 Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Résumé...................................................................................................................................... 8 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. 10 List of Figures and Tables ...................................................................................................... 12 List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. 14 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 21 1.1.2 Hypothesis .......................................................................................................... 23 1.1.3 Project Rationale ................................................................................................ 23 1.1.4 Specific Aims ..................................................................................................... 24 1.2 Introduction to Leukodystrophies ................................................................................ 25 1.2.1 What are leukodystrophies? ............................................................................... 25 1.2.2 Characterization of leukodystrophies................................................................. 26 1.2.3 Non-hypomyelinating Leukodystrophies ........................................................... 27 1.2.4 Hypomyelinating Leukodystrophies .................................................................. 27 1.3 POLR3-Related Leukodystrophy ................................................................................. 28 1.3.1 Clinical aspects of POLR3-related Leukodystrophy ......................................... 28 1.3.2 Genetic Etiology of POLR3-related Leukodystrophy ....................................... 29 1.3.3 RNA Polymerase III (POLR3) .......................................................................... 29 1.4 Canonical Function of Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases ................................................ 31 1.4.1 Mechanism of Aminoacylation .......................................................................... 31 1.4.2 Structural components of ARS .......................................................................... 32 2 1.4.3 Subcellular localization ...................................................................................... 33 1.4.4 Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases form a multisynthetase complex ....................... 33 1.4.5 Multisynthetase Complex Structure ................................................................... 34 1.5 Non-canonical functions of ARS ................................................................................. 36 1.5.1 ARS Functions in Diverse Cellular Processes ................................................... 36 1.5.2 EPRS is a member of the INF--activated inhibitor of translation (GAIT) complex ............................................................................................................. 39 1.5.3 DARS can affect cell migration ......................................................................... 40 1.5.4 RARS modulates the secretion of AIMP1 ......................................................... 41 1.6 ARSs in Central and Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ......................................... 42 1.7 Mutations in ARS genes cause Hypomyelinating Leukodystrophy ............................ 44 1.7.1 Mutations in DARS cause Hypomyelination with Brain stem and Spinal cord involvement and Leg spasticity (HBSL) .......................................................... 44 1.7.2 Mutations in RARS cause HLD .......................................................................... 44 Chapter 2: Materials and Methods 2.1 Identification of EPRS mutations in HLD patients ...................................................... 47 2.1.1 Patients and DNA Extraction from Blood ......................................................... 47 2.1.2 Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) and Analysis ............................................... 47 2.1.3 Mutation Validation by PCR and Sanger Sequencing ....................................... 47 2.2 Cell Culture .................................................................................................................. 48 2.2.1 HeLa, HEK 293, and fibroblast culture ............................................................. 48 2.3 Western Blot ................................................................................................................ 49 2.3.1 Protein Extraction and Quantification................................................................ 49 3 2.3.2 Western Blot ...................................................................................................... 49 2.4 Cycloheximide Chase Assay ........................................................................................ 51 2.4.1 FLAG-tagged vector Construction .................................................................... 51 2.4.2 Cell Transfection of 3xFLAG-tagged EPRS, RARS, and DARS...................... 52 2.4.3 Cycloheximide Chase Assay .............................................................................. 52 2.5 Affinity Purification coupled to Mass Spectrometry ................................................... 53 2.5.1 FLAG-tagged Affinity Purification coupled to Mass Spectrometry .................. 53 2.5.2 Generation of BioID vectors and BioID cell lines ............................................. 54 2.5.3 Proximity-dependent biotinylation followed by AP-MS (BioID-MS) ............. 55 2.5.4 Preparation of samples for Mass Spectrometry ................................................. 55 2.5.5 Mass Spectrometry ............................................................................................. 56 2.5.6 Mass Spectrometry Data Analysis ..................................................................... 57 2.6 In vitro purification of hPRS, RARS and DARS ......................................................... 58 2.6.1 GST-tagged vectors construction ....................................................................... 58 2.6.2 In vitro expression of GST tagged protein ......................................................... 58 2.6.3 Affinity Purification of GST fusion protein ....................................................... 59 Chapter 3: Results 3.1 Recessive Mutations in EPRS cause Hypomyelinating Leukodystrophy .................... 62 3.1.1 Clinical Presentation .......................................................................................... 62 3.1.2 Identification of EPRS mutations by WES ........................................................ 64 3.2 HLD patient fibroblasts’ show decreased EPRS protein expression ........................... 66 3.3 EPRSP1115R mutant gene product has decreased protein stability ................................ 67 4 3.4 HLD-causing mutations in RARS and DARS cause alterations in relative protein stability of gene products ............................................................................................ 68 3.5 HLD causing mutations in EPRS, RARS, and DARS gene products do not affect the assembly of the MSC as monitored by AP-MS .......................................................... 68 3.6 HLD-causing mutations in RARS and DARS gene products do not affect assembly of the MSC as monitored by BioID-MS ......................................................................... 70 3.7 BioID-MS to assess protein-protein interactions with RARS and DARS ................... 71 3.7.1 BioID-MS and AP-MS results indicate that the MSC does not transiently interact with other ARS proteins ................................................................................ 71 3.7.2 GFAP interacts with RARS and DARS in both WT and MUT forms .............. 73 3.7.3 BioID reveals that TENM4 interacts only with RARS and DARS MUTs ........ 74 3.8 GST-Purification of hPRS, RARS, and DARS WT and MUT proteins for Aminoacylation Assay ....................................................................................................... 75 Chapter 4: Discussion and Conclusion 4.1 Discussion .................................................................................................................... 89 4.2 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 92 References ............................................................................................................................... 94 5 Abstract Hypomyelinating leukodystrophies (HLDs) are a genetically determined group of disorders characterized by deficient myelin deposition during development, which result in relatively specific clinical phenotypes. Recent findings in patients with clinical and radiological features consistent with an HLD have shown that this