Co-translational, Post-translational, and Non-catalytic Roles of N-Terminal Acetyltransferases.

Recent studies of N-terminal acetylation have identified new N-terminal acetyltransferases (NATs) and expanded the known functions of these enzymes beyond their roles as ribosome-associated co-translational modifiers. For instance, the identification of Golgi- and chloroplast-associated NATs shows that acetylation of N termini also happens post-translationally. In addition, we now appreciate that some NATs are highly specific; for example, a dedicated NAT responsible for post-translational N-terminal acetylation of actin was recently revealed. Other studies have extended NAT function beyond Nt acetylation, including functions as lysine acetyltransferases (KATs) and non-catalytic roles. Finally, emerging studies emphasize the physiological relevance of N-terminal acetylation, including roles in calorie-restriction-induced longevity and pathological α-synuclein aggregation in Parkinson's disease. Combined, the NATs rise as multifunctional proteins, and N-terminal acetylation is gaining recognition as a major cellular regulator.

Naa10p Inhibits Beige Adipocyte-Mediated Thermogenesis through N-α-acetylation of Pgc1α.

Diet-induced obesity can be caused by impaired thermogenesis of beige adipocytes, the brown-like adipocytes in white adipose tissue (WAT). Promoting brown-like features in WAT has been an attractive therapeutic approach for obesity. However, the mechanism underlying beige adipocyte formation is largely unknown. N-α-acetyltransferase 10 protein (Naa10p) catalyzes N-α-acetylation of nascent proteins, and overexpression of human Naa10p is linked to cancer development. Here, we report that both conventional and adipose-specific Naa10p deletions in mice result in increased energy expenditure, thermogenesis, and beige adipocyte differentiation. Mechanistically, Naa10p acetylates the N terminus of Pgc1α, which prevents Pgc1α from interacting with Pparγ to activate key genes, such as Ucp1, involved in beige adipocyte function. Consistently, fat tissues of obese human individuals show higher NAA10 expression. Thus, Naa10p-mediated N-terminal acetylation of Pgc1α downregulates thermogenic gene expression, making inhibition of Naa10p enzymatic activity a potential strategy for treating obesity.

The Role of N-α-acetyltransferase 10 Protein in DNA Methylation and Genomic Imprinting.

Genomic imprinting is an allelic gene expression phenomenon primarily controlled by allele-specific DNA methylation at the imprinting control region (ICR), but the underlying mechanism remains largely unclear. N-α-acetyltransferase 10 protein (Naa10p) catalyzes N-α-acetylation of nascent proteins, and mutation of human Naa10p is linked to severe developmental delays. Here we report that Naa10-null mice display partial embryonic lethality, growth retardation, brain disorders, and maternal effect lethality, phenotypes commonly observed in defective genomic imprinting. Genome-wide analyses further revealed global DNA hypomethylation and enriched dysregulation of imprinted genes in Naa10p-knockout embryos and embryonic stem cells. Mechanistically, Naa10p facilitates binding of DNA methyltransferase 1 (Dnmt1) to DNA substrates, including the ICRs of the imprinted allele during S phase. Moreover, the lethal Ogden syndrome-associated mutation of human Naa10p disrupts its binding to the ICR of H19 and Dnmt1 recruitment. Our study thus links Naa10p mutation-associated Ogden syndrome to defective DNA methylation and genomic imprinting.

Ophthalmic manifestations of NAA10-related and NAA15-related neurodevelopmental syndromes: Analysis of cortical visual impairment and refractive errors.

NAA10-related (Ogden syndrome) and NAA15-related neurodevelopmental syndrome are known to present with varying degrees of intellectual disability, hypotonia, congenital cardiac abnormalities, seizures, and delayed speech and motor development. However, the ophthalmic manifestations of NAA10 and NAA15 variants are not yet fully characterized or understood. This study analyzed the prevalence of six ophthalmic conditions (cortical visual impairment, myopia, hyperopia, strabismus, nystagmus, and astigmatism) in 67 patients with pathogenic (P) or likely pathogenic (LP) variants in the NAA10 cohort (54 inherited, 10 de novo; 65 missense, 2 frameshift) and 19 patients with (L)P variants in the NAA15 cohort (18 de novo; 8 frameshift, 4 missense, 4 nonsense, and 1 splice site). Patients were interviewed virtually or in-person to collect a comprehensive medical history verified by medical records. These records were then analyzed to calculate the prevalence of these ophthalmic manifestations in each cohort. Analysis revealed a higher prevalence of ophthalmic conditions in our NAA10 cohort compared to existing literature (myopia 25.4% vs. 4.7%; astigmatism 37.3% vs. 13.2%; strabismus 28.4% vs. 3.8%; CVI 22.4% vs. 8.5%, respectively). No statistically significant differences were identified in the prevalence of these conditions between the NAA10 and NAA15 variants. Our study includes novel neuroimaging of 13 NAA10 and 5 NAA15 probands, which provides no clear correlation between globe size and severity of comorbid ophthalmic disease. Finally, anecdotal evidence was compiled to underscore the importance of early ophthalmologic evaluations and therapeutic interventions.

Longitudinal adaptive behavioral outcomes in Ogden syndrome by seizure status and therapeutic intervention.

Ogden syndrome, also known as NAA10-related neurodevelopmental syndrome, is a rare genetic condition associated with pathogenic variants in the NAA10 N-terminal acetylation family of proteins. The condition was initially described in 2011 and is characterized by a range of neurologic symptoms, including intellectual disability and seizures, as well as developmental delays, psychiatric symptoms, congenital heart abnormalities, hypotonia, and others. Previously published articles have described the etiology and phenotype of Ogden syndrome, mostly with retrospective analyses; herein, we report prospective data concerning its progress over time. The current study involves a total of 58 distinct participants; of these, 43 caregivers were interviewed using the Vineland-3 and answered a survey regarding therapy and other questions, 10 of whom completed the Vineland-3 but did not answer the survey, and 5 participants who answered the survey but have not yet performed the Vineland-3 due to language constraints. The average age at the time of the most recent assessment was 12.4 years, with individuals ranging in age from 11 months to 40.2 years. Using Vineland-3 scores, we show decline in cognitive function over time in individuals with Ogden syndrome (n = 53). Sub-domain analysis found the decline to be present across all modalities. In addition, we describe the nature of seizures in this condition in greater detail, as well as investigate how already-available non-pharmaceutical therapies impact individuals with NAA10-related neurodevelopmental syndrome. Additional investigation between seizure and non-seizure groups showed no significant difference in adaptive behavior outcomes. A therapy investigation showed speech therapy to be the most commonly used therapy by individuals with NAA10-related neurodevelopmental syndrome, followed by occupational and physical therapy, with more severely affected individuals receiving more types of therapy than their less-severe counterparts. Early intervention analysis was only significantly effective for speech therapy, with analyses of all other therapies being non-significant. Our study portrays the decline in cognitive function over time of individuals within our cohort, independent of seizure status, and therapies being received, and highlights the urgent need for the development of effective treatments for Ogden syndrome.

Phenotypic variability and gastrointestinal manifestations/interventions for growth in NAA10-related neurodevelopmental syndrome.

Our study of 61 children with NAA10-related neurodevelopmental syndrome, an X-linked disorder due to NAA10 gene variants, demonstrated a high prevalence of growth failure, with weight and height percentiles often in the failure-to-thrive diagnostic range; however, dramatic weight fluctuations and phenotypic variability is evidenced in the growth parameters of this population. Although never previously explored in depth, the gastrointestinal pathology associated with NAA10-related neurodevelopmental syndrome includes feeding difficulties in infancy, dysphagia, GERD/silent reflux, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, bowel incontinence, and presence of eosinophils on esophageal endoscopy, in order from most to least prevalent. Additionally, the gastrointestinal symptom profile for children with this syndrome has been expanded to include eosinophilic esophagitis, cyclic vomiting syndrome, Mallory Weiss tears, abdominal migraine, esophageal dilation, and subglottic stenosis. Although the exact cause of poor growth in NAA10-related neurodevelopmental syndrome probands is unclear and the degree of contribution to this problem by GI symptomatology remains uncertain, an analysis including nine G-tube or GJ-tube fed probands demonstrates that G/GJ-tubes are overall efficacious with respect to improvements in weight gain and caregiving. The choice to insert a gastrostomy or gastrojejunal tube to aid with weight gain is often a challenging decision to make for parents, who may alternatively choose to rely on oral feeding, caloric supplementation, calorie tracking, and feeding therapy. In this case, if NAA10-related neurodevelopmental syndrome children are not tracking above the failure to thrive (FTT) range past 1 year of age despite such efforts, the treating physicians should be consulted regarding possibly undergoing G-tube placement to avoid prolonged growth failure. If G-tubes are not immediately inducing weight gain after insertion, recommendations could include altering formula, increasing caloric input, or exchanging a G-tube for a GJ-tube by means of a minimally invasive procedure.

N-α-Acetyltransferase 10 inhibits invasion and metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma via regulating Pirh2-p53 signalling pathway.

N-α-Acetyltransferase 10 (NAA10) was reported to be involved in tumour invasion and metastasis in several of tumours. However, the role and mechanism of NAA10-mediated invasion and metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains undetermined. Herein, our study showed that NAA10 inhibits cell migration and invasion in vitro and attenuates the xenograft tumorigenesis in nude mice. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that there is a physical interaction between NAA10 and RelA/p65 in OSCC cells, thereby preventing RelA/p65-mediated transcriptional activation of Pirh2. Consequently, inhibition of Pirh2 increased p53 level and suppressed the expression of p53 downstream targets, matrix metalloprotein-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9. Therefore, NAA10 may function as a tumour metastasis suppressor in the progression of OSCC by targeting Pirh2-p53 axis and might be a prognostic marker as well as a therapeutic target for OSCC.

Naa10p and IKKα interaction regulates EMT in oral squamous cell carcinoma via TGF-ß1/Smad pathway.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been contributed to increase migration and invasion of cancer cells. However, the correlate of Naa10p and IKKα with EMT in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is not yet fully understood. In our present study, we found N-α-acetyltransferase 10 protein (Naa10p) and IκB kinase α (IKKα) were abnormally abundant in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Bioinformatic results indicate that the expression of Naa10p and IKKα is correlated with TGF-ß1/Smad and EMT-related molecules. The Transwell migration, invasion, qRT-PCR and Western blot assay indicated that Naa10p repressed OSCC cell migration, invasion and EMT, whereas IKKα promoted TGF-ß1-mediated OSCC cell migration, invasion and EMT. Mechanistically, Naa10p inhibited IKKα activation of Smad3 through the interaction with IKKα directly in OSCC cells after TGF-ß1 stimulation. Notably, knockdown of Naa10p reversed the IKKα-induced change in the migration, invasion and EMT-related molecules in OSCC cells after TGF-ß1 stimulation. These findings suggest that Naa10p interacted with IKKα mediates EMT in OSCC cells through TGF-ß1/Smad, a novel pathway for preventing OSCC.

Truncating Variants in NAA15 Are Associated with Variable Levels of Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Congenital Anomalies.

N-alpha-acetylation is a common co-translational protein modification that is essential for normal cell function in humans. We previously identified the genetic basis of an X-linked infantile lethal Mendelian disorder involving a c.109T>C (p.Ser37Pro) missense variant in NAA10, which encodes the catalytic subunit of the N-terminal acetyltransferase A (NatA) complex. The auxiliary subunit of the NatA complex, NAA15, is the dimeric binding partner for NAA10. Through a genotype-first approach with whole-exome or genome sequencing (WES/WGS) and targeted sequencing analysis, we identified and phenotypically characterized 38 individuals from 33 unrelated families with 25 different de novo or inherited, dominantly acting likely gene disrupting (LGD) variants in NAA15. Clinical features of affected individuals with LGD variants in NAA15 include variable levels of intellectual disability, delayed speech and motor milestones, and autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, mild craniofacial dysmorphology, congenital cardiac anomalies, and seizures are present in some subjects. RNA analysis in cell lines from two individuals showed degradation of the transcripts with LGD variants, probably as a result of nonsense-mediated decay. Functional assays in yeast confirmed a deleterious effect for two of the LGD variants in NAA15. Further supporting a mechanism of haploinsufficiency, individuals with copy-number variant (CNV) deletions involving NAA15 and surrounding genes can present with mild intellectual disability, mild dysmorphic features, motor delays, and decreased growth. We propose that defects in NatA-mediated N-terminal acetylation (NTA) lead to variable levels of neurodevelopmental disorders in humans, supporting the importance of the NatA complex in normal human development.

Variants in NAA15 cause pediatric hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The NatA N-acetyltransferase complex is important for cotranslational protein modification and regulation of multiple cellular processes. The NatA complex includes the core components of NAA10, the catalytic subunit, and NAA15, the auxiliary component. Both NAA10 and NAA15 have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders with overlapping clinical features, including variable intellectual disability, dysmorphic facial features, and, less commonly, congenital anomalies such as cleft lip or palate. Cardiac arrhythmias, including long QT syndrome, ventricular tachycardia, and ventricular fibrillation were among the first reported cardiac manifestations in patients with NAA10-related syndrome. Recently, three individuals with NAA10-related syndrome have been reported to also have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The general and cardiac phenotypes of NAA15-related syndrome are not as well described as NAA10-related syndrome. Congenital heart disease, including ventricular septal defects, and arrhythmias, such as ectopic atrial tachycardia, have been reported in a small proportion of patients with NAA15-related syndrome. Given the relationship between NAA10 and NAA15, we propose that HCM is also likely to occur in NAA15-related disorder. We present two patients with pediatric HCM found to have NAA15-related disorder via exome sequencing, providing the first evidence that variants in NAA15 can cause HCM.

Confirmation of Ogden syndrome as an X-linked recessive fatal disorder due to a recurrent NAA10 variant and review of the literature.

Ogden syndrome is a rare lethal X-linked recessive disorder caused by a recurrent missense variant (Ser37Pro) in the NAA10 gene, encoding the catalytic subunit of the N-terminal acetyltransferase A complex (NatA). So far eight boys of two different families have been described in the literature, all presenting the distinctive and recognizable phenotype, which includes mostly postnatal growth retardation, global severe developmental delay, characteristic craniofacial features, and structural cardiac anomalies and/or arrhythmias. Here, we report the ninth case of Ogden syndrome with an independent recurrence of the Ser37Pro variant. We were able to follow the clinical course of the affected boy and delineate the evolving phenotype from his birth until his unfortunate death at 7 months. We could confirm the associated phenotype as well as the natural history of this severe disease. By describing new presenting features, we are further expanding the clinical spectrum associated with Ogden syndrome and review other phenotypes associated with NAA10 variants.

Hydroxylation of the Acetyltransferase NAA10 Trp38 Is Not an Enzyme-Switch in Human Cells.

NAA10 is a major N-terminal acetyltransferase (NAT) that catalyzes the cotranslational N-terminal (Nt-) acetylation of 40% of the human proteome. Several reports of lysine acetyltransferase (KAT) activity by NAA10 exist, but others have not been able to find any NAA10-derived KAT activity, the latter of which is supported by structural studies. The KAT activity of NAA10 towards hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) was recently found to depend on the hydroxylation at Trp38 of NAA10 by factor inhibiting HIF-1α (FIH). In contrast, we could not detect hydroxylation of Trp38 of NAA10 in several human cell lines and found no evidence that NAA10 interacts with or is regulated by FIH. Our data suggest that NAA10 Trp38 hydroxylation is not a switch in human cells and that it alters its catalytic activity from a NAT to a KAT.

Charting the N-Terminal Acetylome: A Comprehensive Map of Human NatA Substrates.

N-terminal acetylation (Nt-acetylation) catalyzed by conserved N-terminal acetyltransferases or NATs embodies a modification with one of the highest stoichiometries reported for eukaryotic protein modifications to date. Comprising the catalytic N-alpha acetyltransferase (NAA) subunit NAA10 plus the ribosome anchoring regulatory subunit NAA15, NatA represents the major acetyltransferase complex with up to 50% of all mammalian proteins representing potential substrates. Largely in consequence of the essential nature of NatA and its high enzymatic activity, its experimentally confirmed mammalian substrate repertoire remained poorly charted. In this study, human NatA knockdown conditions achieving near complete depletion of NAA10 and NAA15 expression resulted in lowered Nt-acetylation of over 25% out of all putative NatA targets identified, representing an up to 10-fold increase in the reported number of substrate N-termini affected upon human NatA perturbation. Besides pointing to less efficient NatA substrates being prime targets, several putative NatE substrates were shown to be affected upon human NatA knockdown. Intriguingly, next to a lowered expression of ribosomal proteins and proteins constituting the eukaryotic 48S preinitiation complex, steady-state levels of protein N-termini additionally point to NatA Nt-acetylation deficiency directly impacting protein stability of knockdown affected targets.

Metagenomic characterization of lysine acetyltransferases in human cancer and their association with clinicopathologic features.

Lysine acetyltransferases (KATs) are a highly diverse group of epigenetic enzymes that play important roles in various cellular processes including transcription, signal transduction, and cellular metabolism. However, our knowledge of the genomic and transcriptomic alterations of KAT genes and their clinical significance in human cancer remains incomplete. We undertook a metagenomic analysis of 37 KATs in more than 10 000 cancer samples across 33 tumor types, focusing on breast cancer. We identified associations among recurrent genetic alteration, gene expression, clinicopathologic features, and patient survival. Loss-of-function analysis was carried out to examine which KAT has important roles in growth and viability of breast cancer cells. We identified that a subset of KAT genes, including NAA10, KAT6A, and CREBBP, have high frequencies of genomic amplification or mutation in a spectrum of human cancers. Importantly, we found that 3 KATs, NAA10, ACAT2, and BRD4, were highly expressed in the aggressive basal-like subtype, and their expression was significantly associated with disease-free survival. Furthermore, we showed that depletion of NAA10 inhibits basal-like breast cancer growth in vitro. Our findings provide a strong foundation for further mechanistic research and for developing therapies that target NAA10 or other KATs in human cancer.

Severe syndromic ID and skewed X-inactivation in a girl with NAA10 dysfunction and a novel heterozygous de novo NAA10 p.(His16Pro) variant - a case report.

BACKGROUND: NAA10 is the catalytic subunit of the major N-terminal acetyltransferase complex NatA which acetylates almost half the human proteome. Over the past decade, many NAA10 missense variants have been reported as causative of genetic disease in humans. Individuals harboring NAA10 variants often display variable degrees of intellectual disability (ID), developmental delay, and cardiac anomalies. Initially, carrier females appeared to be oligo- or asymptomatic with X-inactivation pattern skewed towards the wild type allele. However, recently it has been shown that NAA10 variants can cause syndromic or non-syndromic intellectual disability in females as well. The impact of specific NAA10 variants and the X-inactivation pattern on the individual phenotype in females remains to be elucidated. CASE PRESENTATION: Here we present a novel de novo NAA10 (NM_003491.3) c.[47A > C];[=] (p.[His16Pro];[=]) variant identified in a young female. The 10-year-old girl has severely delayed motor and language development, disturbed behavior with hyperactivity and restlessness, moderate dilatation of the ventricular system and extracerebral CSF spaces. Her blood leukocyte X-inactivation pattern was skewed (95/5) towards the maternally inherited X-chromosome. Our functional study indicates that NAA10 p.(H16P) impairs NatA complex formation and NatA catalytic activity, while monomeric NAA10 catalytic activity appears to be intact. Furthermore, cycloheximide experiments show that the NAA10 H16P variant does not affect the cellular stability of NAA10. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that NAA10 p.(His16Pro) causes a severe form of syndromic ID in a girl most likely through impaired NatA-mediated Nt-acetylation of cellular proteins. X-inactivation analyses showed a skewed X-inactivation pattern in DNA from blood of the patient with the maternally inherited allele being preferentially methylated/inactivated.

NAA10 polyadenylation signal variants cause syndromic microphthalmia.

BACKGROUND: A single variant in NAA10 (c.471+2T>A), the gene encoding N-acetyltransferase 10, has been associated with Lenz microphthalmia syndrome. In this study, we aimed to identify causative variants in families with syndromic X-linked microphthalmia. METHODS: Three families, including 15 affected individuals with syndromic X-linked microphthalmia, underwent analyses including linkage analysis, exome sequencing and targeted gene sequencing. The consequences of two identified variants in NAA10 were evaluated using quantitative PCR and RNAseq. RESULTS: Genetic linkage analysis in family 1 supported a candidate region on Xq27-q28, which included NAA10. Exome sequencing identified a hemizygous NAA10 polyadenylation signal (PAS) variant, chrX:153,195,397T>C, c.*43A>G, which segregated with the disease. Targeted sequencing of affected males from families 2 and 3 identified distinct NAA10 PAS variants, chrX:g.153,195,401T>C, c.*39A>G and chrX:g.153,195,400T>C, c.*40A>G. All three variants were absent from gnomAD. Quantitative PCR and RNAseq showed reduced NAA10 mRNA levels and abnormal 3' UTRs in affected individuals. Targeted sequencing of NAA10 in 376 additional affected individuals failed to identify variants in the PAS. CONCLUSION: These data show that PAS variants are the most common variant type in NAA10-associated syndromic microphthalmia, suggesting reduced RNA is the molecular mechanism by which these alterations cause microphthalmia/anophthalmia. We reviewed recognised variants in PAS associated with Mendelian disorders and identified only 23 others, indicating that NAA10 harbours more than 10% of all known PAS variants. We hypothesise that PAS in other genes harbour unrecognised pathogenic variants associated with Mendelian disorders. The systematic interrogation of PAS could improve genetic testing yields.

Control of Hsp90 chaperone and its clients by N-terminal acetylation and the N-end rule pathway.

We found that the heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) chaperone system of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is greatly impaired in naa10Δ cells, which lack the NatA Nα-terminal acetylase (Nt-acetylase) and therefore cannot N-terminally acetylate a majority of normally N-terminally acetylated proteins, including Hsp90 and most of its cochaperones. Chk1, a mitotic checkpoint kinase and a client of Hsp90, was degraded relatively slowly in wild-type cells but was rapidly destroyed in naa10Δ cells by the Arg/N-end rule pathway, which recognized a C terminus-proximal degron of Chk1. Diverse proteins (in addition to Chk1) that are shown here to be targeted for degradation by the Arg/N-end rule pathway in naa10Δ cells include Kar4, Tup1, Gpd1, Ste11, and also, remarkably, the main Hsp90 chaperone (Hsc82) itself. Protection of Chk1 by Hsp90 could be overridden not only by ablation of the NatA Nt-acetylase but also by overexpression of the Arg/N-end rule pathway in wild-type cells. Split ubiquitin-binding assays detected interactions between Hsp90 and Chk1 in wild-type cells but not in naa10Δ cells. These and related results revealed a major role of Nt-acetylation in the Hsp90-mediated protein homeostasis, a strong up-regulation of the Arg/N-end rule pathway in the absence of NatA, and showed that a number of Hsp90 clients are previously unknown substrates of the Arg/N-end rule pathway.

NAA10 as a New Prognostic Marker for Cancer Progression.

N-α-acetyltransferase 10 (NAA10) is an acetyltransferase that acetylates both N-terminal amino acid and internal lysine residues of proteins. NAA10 is a crucial player to regulate cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, apoptosis, and autophagy. Recently, mounting evidence presented the overexpression of NAA10 in various types of cancer, including liver, bone, lung, breast, colon, and prostate cancers, and demonstrated a correlation of overexpressed NAA10 with vascular invasion and metastasis, thereby affecting overall survival rates of cancer patients and recurrence of diseases. This evidence all points NAA10 toward a promising biomarker for cancer prognosis. Here we summarize the current knowledge regarding the biological functions of NAA10 in cancer progression and provide the potential usage of NAA10 as a prognostic marker for cancer progression.

NAA10 p.(D10G) and NAA10 p.(L11R) Variants Hamper Formation of the NatA N-Terminal Acetyltransferase Complex.

The majority of the human proteome is subjected to N-terminal (Nt) acetylation catalysed by N-terminal acetyltransferases (NATs). The NatA complex is composed of two core subunits-the catalytic subunit NAA10 and the ribosomal anchor NAA15. Furthermore, NAA10 may also have catalytic and non-catalytic roles independent of NatA. Several inherited and de novo NAA10 variants have been associated with genetic disease in humans. In this study, we present a functional analysis of two de novo NAA10 variants, c.29A>G p.(D10G) and c.32T>G p.(L11R), previously identified in a male and a female, respectively. Both of these neighbouring amino acids are highly conserved in NAA10. Immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that both variants hamper complex formation with NAA15 and are thus likely to impair NatA-mediated Nt-acetylation in vivo. Despite their common impact on NatA formation, in vitro Nt-acetylation assays showed that the variants had opposing impacts on NAA10 catalytic activity. While NAA10 c.29A>G p.(D10G) exhibits normal intrinsic NatA activity and reduced monomeric NAA10 NAT activity, NAA10 c.32T>G p.(L11R) displays reduced NatA activity and normal NAA10 NAT activity. This study expands the scope of research into the functional consequences of NAA10 variants and underlines the importance of understanding the diverse cellular roles of NAA10 in disease mechanisms.

Characterization of Lysine Acetyltransferase Activity of Recombinant Human ARD1/NAA10.

Arrest defective 1 (ARD1), also known as N(alpha)-acetyltransferase 10 (NAA10) was originally identified as an N-terminal acetyltransferase (NAT) that catalyzes the acetylation of N-termini of newly synthesized peptides. After that, mammalian ARD1/NAA10 expanded its' role to lysine acetyltransferase (KAT) that post-translationally acetylates internal lysine residues of proteins. ARD1/NAA10 is the only enzyme with both NAT and KAT activities. However, recent studies on the role of human ARD1/NAA10 (hARD1/NAA10) in lysine acetylation are contradictory, as crystal structure and in vitro acetylation assay results revealed the lack of KAT activity. Thus, the role of hARD1/NAA10 in lysine acetylation is still debating. Here, we found a clue that possibly explains these complicated and controversial results on KAT activity of hARD1/NAA10. Recombinant hARD1/NAA10 exhibited KAT activity, which disappeared soon in vitro. Size-exclusion analysis revealed that most recombinant hARD1/NAA10 formed oligomers over time, resulting in the loss of KAT activity. While oligomeric recombinant hARD1/NAA10 lost its ability for lysine acetylation, its monomeric form clearly exhibited lysine acetylation activity in vitro. We also characterized the KAT activity of hARD1/NAA10 that was influenced by several experimental conditions, including concentration of reactants and reaction time. Taken together, our study proves that recombinant hARD1/NAA10 exhibits KAT activity in vitro but only under accurate conditions, including reactant concentrations and reaction duration.