Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:4.2.1.22 (cystathionine beta-synthase)
965 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We have developed conditions for efficient cDNA cloning of nanogram amounts of purified mRNAs coding for cystathionine beta-synthase [L-serine hydro-lyase (adding homocysteine), EC 4.2.1.22] and for the cytosolic precursors of mitochondrial ornithine transcarbamylase (carbamoylphosphate:L-ornithine carbamoyltransferase, EC 2.1.3.3) and the beta subunit of propionyl-CoA carboxylase [propanoyl-CoA: carbon-dioxide ligase (ADP-forming), EC 6.4.1.3]. The three mRNAs, prepared by sequential immunoselection from the same batch of rat liver polysomes, were pooled (20 ng each), and cDNA was synthesized by using avian reverse transcriptase. The second DNA strand was prepared by "nick-translation repair" of the cDNA . mRNA hybrid with RNase H, polymerase I, and DNA ligase from Escherichia coli. The double-stranded (ds) DNA was tailed with deoxycytidine residues, annealed with Pst I-cut/dG-tailed pBR322, and used to transform E. coli. The library generated by this three-step procedure contained 5000 independent colonies. A 550-base-pair (bp) cDNA clone of the beta subunit of propionyl-CoA carboxylase was detected by hybrid-selected translation; it was then used to screen the library for longer cDNAs. Two hybridizing cDNAs, 1200 and 1000 bp long with a 200-bp overlap, representing together a full-length copy of the coding region and 446 bp of 3' untranslated sequence, were recovered. Each plasmid mapped to the region q13.3----q22 of human chromosome 3. Cystathionine beta-synthase clones were obtained by screening the library with a single-stranded [32P]cDNA prepared directly from the highly purified synthase mRNA by reverse transcriptase. The longest hybridizing cDNA of 1700 bp was used in hybrid-selected translation and detected a polypeptide of 63 kDa, identical in size to rat liver synthase. In situ hybridization of this cDNA to q22 of human chromosome 21 confirmed two previous tentative assignments of the synthase locus to this chromosome.
...
PMID:Cloning and screening with nanogram amounts of immunopurified mRNAs: cDNA cloning and chromosomal mapping of cystathionine beta-synthase and the beta subunit of propionyl-CoA carboxylase. 345 73

Among several established mouse, rat, and Chinese hamster cell lines that were screened for cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) activity, mouse 3T3 and Chinese hamster Don fibroblasts were found to contain no detectable activity. Somatic cell hybrids between human fibroblasts KG-7 with normal CBS activity and Don/a23TK- cells (series XXI) were examined for CBS activity and for human chromosome content. Only chromosome 21 cosegregated with CBS activity. Because the activities measured could represent either Chinese hamster or human gene products, we have prepared a new series of hybrids between Don/a23TK- cells and mutant human fibroblasts from a patient with homocystinuria due to deficiency of functional CBS mRNA. None of these (series XXV) hybrids contained detectable CBS activity, although collectively all human chromosomes were represented. Our results suggest that the human gene for CBS, called CBS, and thus for the most common form of homocystinuria, is located on chromosome 21.
...
PMID:Assignment of the gene for cystathionine beta-synthase to human chromosome 21 in somatic cell hybrids. 658 57

We used single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) to detect DNA polymorphisms in the 3' untranslated (3'UT) region of the gene for cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS). A polymorphism due to a T-to-C substitution at nucleotide 549 of the 3'UT region with heterozygosity of 46% has been identified. Genotypes for this polymorphism have been obtained in all of the informative CEPH families, and CBS has been placed in the linkage map of human chromosome 21.
...
PMID:Linkage mapping of the cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) gene on human chromosome 21 using a DNA polymorphism in the 3' untranslated region. 809 69

Previous studies have reported erythrocyte macrocytosis in adults and children with Down syndrome (DS), the significance of which remains unclear. We compared hematological parameters of 50 DS children aged 2 to 15 years, divided into three age groups, with those of 68 aged-matched healthy children. Patients with DS had a significantly increased mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and hemoglobin in all groups when compared with the controls. Erythrocyte creatine content, hexokinase (Hk) activity, erythrocyte and serum folates, vitamin B12, haptoglobin, serum iron, and ferritin were tested. All of these parameters were not significantly different from those of the control group. We conclude that macrocytosis may not be an expression of reduced red cell survival but rather of an altered folate remethylation pathway, secondary to enhanced cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) activity, the gene for which is present on chromosome 21.
...
PMID:Hematological studies in children with Down syndrome. 873 44

The gene for cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) is located on chromosome 21 and is overexpressed in children with Down syndrome (DS), or trisomy 21. The dual purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of overexpression of the CBS gene on homocysteine metabolism in children with DS and to determine whether the supplementation of trisomy 21 lymphoblasts in vitro with selected nutrients would shift the genetically induced metabolic imbalance. Plasma samples were obtained from 42 children with karyotypically confirmed full trisomy 21 and from 36 normal siblings (mean age 7.4 years). Metabolites involved in homocysteine metabolism were measured and compared to those of normal siblings used as controls. Lymphocyte DNA methylation status was determined as a functional endpoint. The results indicated that plasma levels of homocysteine, methionine, S-adenosylhomocysteine, and S-adenosylmethionine were all significantly decreased in children with DS and that their lymphocyte DNA was hypermethylated relative to that in normal siblings. Plasma levels of cystathionine and cysteine were significantly increased, consistent with an increase in CBS activity. Plasma glutathione levels were significantly reduced in the children with DS and may reflect an increase in oxidative stress due to the overexpression of the superoxide dismutase gene, also located on chromosome 21. The addition of methionine, folinic acid, methyl-B(12), thymidine, or dimethylglycine to the cultured trisomy 21 lymphoblastoid cells improved the metabolic profile in vitro. The increased activity of CBS in children with DS significantly alters homocysteine metabolism such that the folate-dependent resynthesis of methionine is compromised. The decreased availability of homocysteine promotes the well-established "folate trap," creating a functional folate deficiency that may contribute to the metabolic pathology of this complex genetic disorder.
...
PMID:Homocysteine metabolism in children with Down syndrome: in vitro modulation. 1139 81

Down syndrome (DS) is the most common human chromosomal abnormality caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21 and characterized by somatic anomalies and mental retardation. The phenotype of DS is thought to result from overexpression of genes encoded on chromosome 21. Although several studies reported mRNA levels of genes localized on chromosome 21, mRNA data cannot be simply extrapolated to protein levels. Furthermore, most protein data have been generated using immunochemical methods. In this study we investigated expression of three proteins (cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS), pyridoxal kinase (PDXK), ES1 protein homolog, mitochondrial precursor (ES1)) whose genes are encoded on chromosome 21 in fetal DS (n = 8; mean gestational age of 19.8 +/- 2.0 weeks) and controls (n = 7; mean gestational age of 18.8 +/- 2.2 weeks) brains (cortex) using proteomic technologies. Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) with subsequent in-gel digestion of spots and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) spectroscopic identification followed by quantification of spots with specific software was applied. Subsequent quantitative analysis of CBS and PDXK revealed levels comparable between DS and controls. By contrast, ES1 was two-fold elevated (P < 0.01) in fetal DS brain. This protein shows significant homology with the E. coli SCRP-27A/ELBB and zebrafish ES1 protein and contains a potential targeting sequence to mitochondria in its N-terminal region. Based on the assumption that structural similarities reflect functional relationship, it may be speculated that ES1 is serving a basic function in mitochondria. Although no function of the human ES1 protein is known yet, ES1 may be a candidate protein involved in the pathogenesis of the brain deficit in DS.
...
PMID:Expression of cystathionine beta-synthase, pyridoxal kinase, and ES1 protein homolog (mitochondrial precursor) in fetal Down syndrome brain. 1508 24

Down's syndrome (DS) or trisomy 21 is the most common genetic cause of mental retardation, and adults with DS develop Alzheimer type of disease (AD). Cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) is encoded on chromosome 21 and deficiency in its activity causes homocystinuria, the most common inborn error of sulfur amino acid metabolism and characterized by mental retardation and vascular disease. Here, we show that the levels of CBS in DS brains are approximately three times greater than those in the normal individuals. CBS is localized to astrocytes and those surrounding senile plaques in the brains of DS patients with AD. The over-expression of CBS may cause the developmental abnormality in cognition in DS children and that may lead to AD in DS adults.
...
PMID:Cystathionine beta-synthase is enriched in the brains of Down's patients. 1627 69

Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of significant cognitive disability. We hypothesize that by identifying metabolic alterations associated with cognitive impairment, it may be possible to develop medical or dietary interventions to ameliorate cognitive disabilities in persons with DS. Evidence suggests that one-carbon/transsulfuration (1C-TS) metabolism is abnormal in persons with DS. Cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) plays a critical role in this metabolic system. The gene for CBS is on human chromosome 21, and there is evidence of elevated CBS enzyme activity in tissues and cells from individuals with DS. To analyze the possible role of CBS in Down syndrome, we have produced several lines of transgenic mice expressing the human CBS gene. We describe the use of Florescence Situ Hybridization (FISH) analysis to characterize the transgene insertion site for each line. Our initial expression analysis of each transgenic line by RT-PCR shows that the tissue specificity of human CBS mRNA levels in these mice may differ from the tissue specificity of mouse CBS mRNA levels in the same animals. These mice will be invaluable for assessing the regulation of the CBS gene and the role of CBS in cognition. They can also be used to develop therapies that target abnormalities in 1C-TS metabolism to improve cognition in persons with DS.
...
PMID:The production of transgenic mice expressing human cystathionine beta-synthase to study Down syndrome. 1654 33

This study was aimed at analyzing the effect of mutations in three non-synonymous SNP genes (677C > T and 1298A > C of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene, and 66A > G in the MTRR gene) on total plasmatic homocysteine (Hcy), in 91 mothers of Down syndrome (DS) infants and 90 control mothers. The comparison of both groups of mothers is a new way to determine if those mutations and their interactions increase the risk for DS. Material came from the case-control network of the Spanish Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECEMC). Using a general lineal model in a backwards step, we performed the analyses including the different mutations, maternal age, the fact that each mother had a DS or a control infant, and all possible interactions of these variables, in the models, being maternal Hcy the continuous dependent variable. In another model, maternal folic acid intake during the third trimester of pregnancy was added. The results from both models were essentially the same: Hcy levels variability differs from case mothers to control ones, the presence of the MTHFR1298A > C polymorphism also affects significantly the Hcy variance, as it does the statistical interaction between the mutations MTRR66A > G and MTHFR1298A > C in the mother. In this sense, the interaction between different polymorphisms may totally modify their individual effects, and some of those effects are different in mothers of DS children and in controls' mothers. For instance, only two mutations in MTRR66 (GGAA) in mothers of control infants increase the reference maternal Hcy level in 4.66 units, and the individual effect of the genotype with only two mutations in the MTHFR1298 gene (AACC) increases the reference Hcy level in 12.74 units. However, the presence of the four mutations (GGCC) interacts giving a statistically significant decrease in 6.00 units in the level of Hcy in control mothers. On the contrary, in mothers of DS infants, the sole presence of two mutations in one of these two genes decreases the levels of Hcy (-2.31 units for GGAA genotype, and -3.43 units for AACC genotype), while the presence of the four mutations (GGCC) increases Hcy in 9.53 units. Taking into consideration that in the one-carbon metabolism cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) catalyzes Hcy in an irreversible way, and that CBS gene is located in chromosome 21, fetuses and infants with DS have functional folate deficiency due to overexpression of CBS. This fact, as well as others influencing Hcy levels (such as nutrients interactions and lifestyle), together with the fetal genotype, suggest that their relationship with DS could be through an effect on fetal survival up to birth. Three possible mechanisms are considered by evaluating the results in the light of the present knowledge on cytology and molecular biology.
...
PMID:Maternal polymorphisms 677C-T and 1298A-C of MTHFR, and 66A-G MTRR genes: is there any relationship between polymorphisms of the folate pathway, maternal homocysteine levels, and the risk for having a child with Down syndrome? 1657 99