Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0036341 (schizophrenia)
 60,220 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Sulfotransferase 4A1 (SULT4A1) is a novel sulfotransferase expressed almost exclusively in the brain. The gene is located on chromosome 22q13.3, a region implicated in predisposition to schizophrenia. Recently, a variable microsatellite region located upstream of SULT4A1 was found to be associated with an increase in schizophrenia risk. We hypothesised that if functional dysregulation of SULT4A1 was involved in the aetiology of schizophrenia, then genetic variants in the coding sequence of SULT4A1 might be identified in cases compared with controls. To test this, we carried out a mutation analysis of the coding region (exons 2-7) in 71 Australian schizophrenia cases and 69 controls. We found no mutations, either synonymous or nonsynonymous, in either cohort. However, intronic variants (IVS5+12 C>T and IVS5+28 G>C) were identified, the frequency of which was not statistically different between cases and controls. The lack of polymorphisms in the coding region of the SULT4A1 gene is highly unusual and, along with its high conservation between species, suggests that SULT4A1 may have an important function in vivo. However, our findings do not support the hypothesis that germline mutations in the coding region of SULT4A1 contribute to susceptibility to schizophrenia.
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PMID:Lack of exonic sulfotransferase 4A1 mutations in controls and schizophrenia cases. 1912 9

Sulfotransferase 4A1 (SULT4A1) is a novel cytosolic sulfotransferase that is primarily expressed in the brain. To date, no significant enzyme activity or biological function for the protein has been identified, although it is highly conserved between species. Mutations in the SULT4A1 gene have been linked to schizophrenia susceptibility, and recently, its stability was shown to be regulated by Pin1, a peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we investigated the transcriptional regulation of mouse Sult4a1. Using a series of promoter deletion constructs, we identified three cAMP-responsive elements (CREs) that were required for maximal promoter activity. The CREs are located within 100 base pairs of the major transcription start site and are also present in the same region of the human SULT4A1 promoter. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) identified two specific complexes that formed on each of the CREs. One complex contained cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), and the other contained activating transcription factor-2 (ATF-2) and c-Jun. Overexpression of CREB or ATF-2 increased not only reporter promoter activity but also endogenous Sult4a1 mRNA levels in Neuro2a cells. Moreover, [d-Ala(2),N-MePhe(4),Gly-ol(5)]enkephalin (DAMGO) treatment increased both reporter promoter activity and Sult4a1 levels in mu-opioid receptor expressing Neuro2a/mu-opioid receptor cells, and EMSAs showed this to be due to increased binding of CREB and ATF-2 to the Sult4a1 promoter. We also show that DAMGO treatment increases Sult4a1 mRNA and protein levels in primary mouse neurons. These results suggest that Sult4a1 is a target gene for the mu-opioid receptor signaling pathway and other pathways involving activation of CREB and ATF-2.
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PMID:Regulation of mouse brain-selective sulfotransferase sult4a1 by cAMP response element-binding protein and activating transcription factor-2. 2057 Oct 78

The cytosolic sulfotransferase SULT4A1 is highly conserved between mammalian species but its function remains unknown. Polymorphisms in the SULT4A1 gene have been linked to susceptibility to schizophrenia. There are 2 major SULT4A1 transcripts in humans, one that encodes full length protein (wild-type) and one that encodes a truncated protein (variant). Here, we investigated the expression of SULT4A1 in human tissues by RT-PCR and found the wild-type mRNA to be expressed mainly in the brain, gastrointestinal tract and prostate while the splice variant was more widely expressed. In human cell-lines, the wild-type transcript was found in neuronal cells, but the variant transcript was expressed in nearly all other lines examined. Western blot analysis only identified SULT4A1 protein in cells that expressed the wild-type mRNA. No variant protein was detected in cells that expressed the variant mRNA. Ectopically expressed full length SULT4A1 protein was stable while the truncated protein was not, having a half-life of approximately 3 hr. SULT4A1 was also shown to homodimerize, consistent with other SULTs that contain the consensus dimerization motif. Mutation of the dimerization motif resulted in a monomeric form of SULT4A1 that was rapidly degraded by polyubiquitination on the lysine located within the dimerization motif. These results show that SULT4A1 is widely expressed in human tissues, but mostly as a splice variant that produces a rapidly degraded protein. Dimerization protects the protein from degradation. Since many other cytosolic sulfotransferases possess the conserved lysine within the dimerization motif, homodimerization may serve, in part, to stabilize these enzymes in vivo.
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PMID:Expression of the orphan cytosolic sulfotransferase SULT4A1 and its major splice variant in human tissues and cells: dimerization, degradation and polyubiquitination. 2498 29

Sulfotransferase 4A1 (SULT4A1) is a cytosolic sulfotransferase that is highly conserved across species and extensively expressed in the brain. However, the biological function of SULT4A1 is unclear. SULT4A1 has been implicated in several neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Phelan-McDermid syndrome and schizophrenia. Here, we investigate the role of SULT4A1 within neuron development and function. Our data demonstrate that SULT4A1 modulates neuronal branching complexity and dendritic spines formation. Moreover, we show that SULT4A1, by negatively regulating the catalytic activity of Pin1 toward PSD-95, facilitates NMDAR synaptic expression and function. Finally, we demonstrate that the pharmacological inhibition of Pin1 reverses the pathologic phenotypes of neurons knocked down by SULT4A1 by specifically restoring dendritic spine density and rescuing NMDAR-mediated synaptic transmission. Together, these findings identify SULT4A1 as a novel player in neuron development and function by modulating dendritic morphology and synaptic activity.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Sulfotransferase 4A1 (SULT4A1) is a brain-specific sulfotransferase highly expressed in neurons. Different evidence has suggested that SULT4A1 has an important role in neuronal function and that SULT4A1 altered expression might represent a contributing factor in multiple neurodevelopmental disorders. However, the function of SULT4A1 in the mammalian brain is still unclear. Here, we demonstrate that SULT4A1 is highly expressed at postsynaptic sites where it sequesters Pin1, preventing its negative action on synaptic transmission. This study reveals a novel role of SULT4A1 in the modulation of NMDA receptor activity and strongly contributes to explaining the neuronal dysfunction observed in patients carrying deletions of SULTA41 gene.
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PMID:SULT4A1 Modulates Synaptic Development and Function by Promoting the Formation of PSD-95/NMDAR Complex. 3280 Nov 57