Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.2.1.23 (beta-galactosidase)
14,648 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Normal human skin fibroblasts were grown in the presence of N-hexyl-O-glucosyl sphingosine (HGS), an inhibitor of aryl glucosidase and glucocerebrosidase. Tests of the cells with aryl glycosides showed that beta-glucosidase activity in the cells was drastically reduced while other enzyme activities (alpha-glucosidase, beta-galactosidase, and N-acetyl-beta-hexosaminidase) were normal or elevated. Exposure of cells to HGS for 28 days resulted in increased values for cell weight per plate, glucocerebroside concentration, and galactosyl-galactosylglucosyl ceramide concentration. The concentrations of total lipid, cholesterol, and protein were unchanged, as was the fatty acid distribution within the glycolipids. Chemically, the inhibitor-treated cells exhibited a model form of Gaucher's disease. Although many membranous cytoplasmic inclusions were induced by HGS, they were unlike the characteristic inclusions seen in individuals with the genetic disorder. Skin fibroblasts from a Gaucher patient showed no abnormalities in composition or appearance.
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PMID:The effects of N-hexyl-O-glucosyl sphingosine on normal cultured human fibroblasts: a chemical model for Gaucher's disease. 17 14

We discovered an enzyme in human platelets that deamidates substance P and other tachykinins. Because an amidated carboxyl terminus is important for biological activity, we purified and characterized this deamidase. The enzyme, released from human platelets by thrombin, was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, followed by chromatography on an octyl-Sepharose column and chromatofocusing on PBE 94. The purified enzyme exhibits esterase, peptidase, and deamidase activities. The peptidase activity (with furylacryloyl-Phe-Phe) is optimal at pH 5.0 while the esterase (benzoyl-tyrosine ethyl ester) and deamidase (D-Ala2-Leu5-enkephalinamide) activities are optimal at pH 7.0. With biologically important peptides, the enzyme acts both as a deamidase (substance P, neurokinin A, and eledoisin) and a carboxy-peptidase (with bradykinin, angiotensin I, substance P-free acid, oxytocin-free acid) at neutrality, although the carboxypeptidase action is faster at pH 5.5. Enkephalins, released upon deamidation of enkephalinamides, were not cleaved. Gly9-NH2 of oxytocin was released without deamidation. Peptides with a penultimate Arg residue were not hydrolyzed. Some properties of the deamidase are similar to those reported for cathepsin A. The deamidase is inhibited by diisopropylfluorophosphate, inhibitors of chymotrypsin-type enzymes, and mercury compounds while other inhibitors of catheptic enzymes, trypsin-like enzymes, and metalloproteases were ineffective. In gel filtration, the native enzyme has an Mr = 94,000 while in non-reducing sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the Mr = 52,000 indicating it exists as a dimer. After reduction, deamidase dissociates into two chains of Mr = 33,000 and 21,000 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. [3H]diisopropylfluorophosphate labeled the active site serine in the Mr = 33,000 chain. The first 25 amino acids of both chains were sequenced. They are identical with the sequences of the two chains of lysosomal "protective protein" which, in turn, has sequence similarity to the KEX1 gene product and carboxypeptidase Y of yeast. This protective protein complexes with beta-galactosidase and neuraminidase in lysosomes and is vitally important in maintaining their activity and stability. A defect in this protein is the cause of galactosialidosis, a severe genetic disorder. The ability of physiological stimuli (e.g. thrombin or collagen) to release the deamidase from platelets indicates that it may also be involved in the local metabolism of bioactive peptides.
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PMID:A peptidase in human platelets that deamidates tachykinins. Probable identity with the lysosomal "protective protein". 169 76

GM1 Gangliosidosis is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder due to deficiency of the lysosome enzyme beta-galactosidase, with consequent tissue accumulation of glycolipids, oligosaccharides, and especially GM1 ganglioside. In the present paper we report the clinical and laboratory findings obtained for eight families starting from eight index cases exhibiting the childhood form of the disease. The total number of cases in these families may be as high as 14, thus causing GM1 gangliosidosis to be the inborn metabolic error most frequently diagnosed in our service. Hypotonia, neuromotor retardation, hepatosplenomegaly, macrocephaly, and hydrocele are some of the most frequent clinical findings. The disease evolves towards convulsions and bronchopneumonia, leading to patient death generally during the first half of the second year of life. The presence of vacuolated lymphocytes, alterations of the lumbar vertebrae, and cherry spots on the retina were observed in almost all patients. When tested for inborn metabolic errors, all patients gave normal results, a fact that may have confused and delayed diagnosis. Diagnosis was made by urine oligosaccharide chromatography and confirmed by beta-galactoside measurement in peripheral blood leukocytes. This method proved to be accurate also for the detection of heterozygotes, which permitted post-mortem diagnosis in two families. The authors speculate that increased fetal loss and tendency towards macrosomy may be possible characteristics of the disease, suggest that testing for vacuolated lymphocytes be used as a screening method, and propose that urine oligosaccharide chromatography be included in the routine screening for inborn metabolic errors.
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PMID:GM1 gangliosidosis: clinical and laboratory findings in eight families. 392 30

Cells from patients with xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) variant are thought to be defective in postreplication repair. This DNA repair pathway is not well defined in human cells and the exact genetic defect of XP variant is unknown. In another cancer-prone hereditary disorder, hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer, tumors are characterized by a DNA mismatch repair defect with microsatellite instability. Since there are some similarities between postreplication repair and mismatch repair, we investigated microsatellite instability, the hallmark of a DNA mismatch repair defect, in a lymphoblastoid cell line from a patient with XP variant. Two normal lines and one nucleotide excision repair-defective XP group A line were used as controls. In a host cell microsatellite instability assay, the recently developed shuttle vector pZCA29 was transfected into these cells and replicated plasmid recovered after 3 days. The plasmid contains two CA repeat tracts that interrupt the reading frame of the lacZ gene. Reversion to active beta-galactosidase, detectable by a color reaction of bacterial transformants, represents the frequency of frameshift mutations in the CA repeat tracts during replication of the plasmid, and thereby the host cells' microsatellite instability. We did not find any significant differences in the mutation frequencies of the plasmids after passage through either cell line. This indicates that there is no microsatellite instability in the examined XP variant cell line.
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PMID:Assessment of microsatellite instability in a cell line from a patient with xeroderma pigmentosum variant. 955 84

Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic disorder leading to the degeneration of striatal GABA-ergic output neurons. No treatment is currently available for this devastating disorder, although several neurotrophic factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), have been shown to be beneficial for striatal neuron survival. We analyzed the effect of adenovirus-mediated transfer of the BDNF gene in a model of HD. Using a stereological procedure, three groups of rats were given an intrastriatal injection of adenovirus encoding BDNF, beta-galactosidase, or sham surgery. Two weeks after treatment, the animals were lesioned with quinolinic acid (QUIN), a toxin that induces striatal neuron death by an excitotoxic process. One month after the lesion, histological study revealed that striatal neurons were protected only in rats treated with the BDNF adenovirus. Volume measurements showed that the QUIN-induced lesions were 55% smaller in the BDNF adenovirus-treated group than in the beta-galactosidase adenovirus-treated group (p < 0.05), and the sham-treated group (p < 0.05). To determine the survival of striatal GABA-ergic output neurons after the QUIN-induced lesion, we immunostained brain sections with DARPP-32, an antibody specific for striatal output neurons. Prior treatment with the BDNF adenovirus resulted in a cell survival of 64%, whereas that after beta-galactosidase treatment was 46% (p < 0.05), showing that the BDNF adenovirus protected the striatal neurons. These results indicate that transfer of the BDNF gene is of therapeutic value for Huntington's disease.
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PMID:Brain-derived neurotrophic factor-mediated protection of striatal neurons in an excitotoxic rat model of Huntington's disease, as demonstrated by adenoviral gene transfer. 1060 59

Treatment failure after radiation therapy of prostate cancer (PC) could be a significant problem. Our objective is to design genetic radiosensitizing strategies for the treatment of PC. Cells from individuals with the genetic disorder ataxia telangiectasia (AT) are hypersensitive to ionizing radiation. Therefore, we examined whether attenuation of the AT gene product, AT mutated (ATM), in PC cells could result in an increased intrinsic radiosensitivity. A p53-mutant PC cell line, PC-3 was infected with adenoviral vectors, expressing antisense ATM RNA to various domains of the ATM gene. Immunoblot analyses of cellular extracts from antisense ATM-transfected PC-3 cells showed attenuated expression of the ATM protein within 2 days of viral infection. Compared with cells infected with an adeno-beta-galactosidase vector, antisense ATM-transfected PC-3 cells showed aberrant control of S-phase cell-cycle checkpoints after exposure to ionizing radiation. Under these conditions, the intrinsic radiosensitivity of the PC-3 cells was enhanced. Consequently antisense ATM gene therapy could serve as a paradigm for strategies that target the cellular survival mechanisms of an irradiated tumor cell and may provide therapeutic benefit to patients undergoing radiation therapy for PC.
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PMID:Adenovirus-mediated antisense ATM gene transfer sensitizes prostate cancer cells to radiation. 1105 87

KCNQ1 is the human gene responsible in most cases for the long QT syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by anomalies in cardiac repolarization leading to arrhythmias and sudden death. KCNQ1 encodes a pore-forming K+ channel subunit termed KvLQT1 which, in association with its regulatory beta-subunit IsK (also called minK), produces the slow component of the delayed-rectifier cardiac K+ current. We used in situ hybridization to localize KvLQT1 and IsK mRNAs in various tissues from adult mice. We showed that KvLQT1 mRNA expression is widely distributed in epithelial tissues, in the absence (small intestine, lung, liver, thymus) or presence (kidney, stomach, exocrine pancreas) of its regulator IsK. In the kidney and the stomach, however, the expression patterns of KvLQT1 and IsK do not coincide. In many tissues, in situ data obtained with the IsK probe coincide with beta-galactosidase expression in IsK-deficient mice in which the bacterial lacZ gene has been substituted for the IsK coding region. Because expression of KvLQT1 in the presence or absence of its regulator generates a K+ current with different biophysical characteristics, the role of KvLQT1 in epithelial cells may vary depending on the expression of its regulator IsK. The high level of KvLQT1 expression in epithelial tissues is consistent with its potential role in K+ secretion and recycling, in maintaining the resting potential, and in regulating Cl- secretion and/or Na+ absorption.
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PMID:Differential expression of KvLQT1 and its regulator IsK in mouse epithelia. 1120 32

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA), a hereditary disorder that involves the progressive thinning of hair in a defined pattern, is driven by androgens. The hair follicle dermal papilla (DP) expresses androgen receptors (AR) and plays an important role in the control of normal hair growth. In AGA, it has been proposed that the inhibitory actions of androgens are mediated via the DP although the molecular nature of these interactions is poorly understood. To investigate mechanisms of AGA, we cultured DP cells (DPC) from balding and non-balding scalp and confirmed previous reports that balding DPC grow slower in vitro than non-balding DPC. Loss of proliferative capacity of balding DPC was associated with changes in cell morphology, expression of senescence-associated beta-galactosidase, as well as decreased expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and Bmi-1; upregulation of p16(INK4a)/pRb and nuclear expression of markers of oxidative stress and DNA damage including heat shock protein-27, super oxide dismutase catalase, ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated kinase (ATM), and ATM- and Rad3-related protein. Premature senescence of balding DPC in vitro in association with expression of p16(INK4a)/pRB suggests that balding DPC are sensitive to environmental stress and identifies alternative pathways that could lead to novel therapeutic strategies for treatment of AGA.
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PMID:Premature senescence of balding dermal papilla cells in vitro is associated with p16(INK4a) expression. 1798 30

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ) is a small lipophilic molecule critical for the transport of electrons from complexes I and II to complex III in the mitochondrial respiratory chain. CoQ deficiency is a rare human genetic condition that has been associated with a variety of clinical phenotypes. With the aim of elucidating how CoQ deficiency affects an organism, we have investigated the pathophysiologic processes present within fibroblasts derived from 4 patients with CoQ deficiency. Assays of cultured fibroblasts revealed decreased activities of complex II+III, complex III, and complex IV, reduced expression of mitochondrial proteins involved in oxidative phosphorylation, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), activation of mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT), and reduced growth rates. These abnormalities were partially restored by CoQ supplementation. Moreover, we demonstrate that CoQ deficient fibroblasts exhibited increased levels of lysosomal markers (beta-galactosidase, cathepsin, LC3, and Lyso Tracker), and enhanced expression of autophagic genes at both transcriptional and translational levels, indicating the presence of autophagy. Electron microscopy studies confirmed a massive degradation of the altered mitochondria by mitophagy. Autophagy in CoQ deficient fibroblasts was abolished by antioxidants or cyclosporin treatments suggesting that both ROS and MPT participate in this process. Furthermore, prevention of autophagy in CoQ deficient fibroblasts by 3-methyl adenine or wortmannin, as well as the induction of CoQ deficiency in cells lacking autophagy (by means of genetic knockout of the Atg5 gene in mouse embryonic fibroblasts) resulted in apoptotic cell death, suggesting a protective role of autophagy in CoQ deficiency.
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PMID:Coenzyme Q deficiency triggers mitochondria degradation by mitophagy. 1911 82

Beta-galactosidase is an enzyme administered as a digestive supplement to treat lactose intolerance, a genetic condition prevalent in most world regions. The gene encoding an acid-stable beta-galactosidase potentially suited for use as a digestive supplement was cloned from Aspergillus niger van Tiegh, sequenced and expressed in Pichia pastoris. The purified recombinant protein exhibited kinetic properties similar to those of the native enzyme and thus was also competitively inhibited by its product, galactose, at application-relevant concentrations. In order to alleviate this product inhibition, a model of the enzyme structure was generated based on a Penicillium sp. beta-galactosidase crystal structure with bound beta-galactose. This led to targeted mutagenesis of an Asp(258)-Ser-Tyr-Pro-Leu-Gly-Phe amino acid motif in the A. niger van Tiegh enzyme and isolation from the resultant library of a mutant beta-galactosidase enzyme with reduced sensitivity to inhibition by galactose (K (i) of 6.46 mM galactose, compared with 0.76 mM for the wildtype recombinant enzyme). The mutated enzyme also exhibited an increased K (m) (3.76 mM compared to 2.21 mM) and reduced V (max) (110.8 micromol min(-1) mg(-1) compared to 172.6 micromol min(-1) mg(-1)) relative to the wild-type enzyme, however, and its stability under simulated fasting gastric conditions was significantly reduced. The study nevertheless demonstrates the potential to rationally engineer the A. niger van Tiegh enzyme to relieve product inhibition and create mutants with improved, application-relevant kinetic properties for treatment of lactose intolerance.
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PMID:Engineering of a fungal beta-galactosidase to remove product inhibition by galactose. 2049 47


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