The United Kingdom Primary Immune Deficiency (UKPID) registry 2012 to 2017.

This is the second report of the United Kingdom Primary Immunodeficiency (UKPID) registry. The registry will be a decade old in 2018 and, as of August 2017, had recruited 4758 patients encompassing 97% of immunology centres within the United Kingdom. This represents a doubling of recruitment into the registry since we reported on 2229 patients included in our first report of 2013. Minimum PID prevalence in the United Kingdom is currently 5·90/100 000 and an average incidence of PID between 1980 and 2000 of 7·6 cases per 100 000 UK live births. Data are presented on the frequency of diseases recorded, disease prevalence, diagnostic delay and treatment modality, including haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and gene therapy. The registry provides valuable information to clinicians, researchers, service commissioners and industry alike on PID within the United Kingdom, which may not otherwise be available without the existence of a well-established registry.

How receptors talk to trimeric G proteins.

Stimulated by hormones and sensory stimuli, serpentine receptors promote the release of GDP that is bound to the alpha subunit of trimeric G proteins and its replacement by GTP. Recent investigations have begun to define the sizes, shapes, and relative orientations of receptors and G proteins, the surfaces through which they interact with one another, and conformational changes in both sets of molecules that underlie receptor-catalyzed guanine-nucleotide exchange.

Spatial control of actin polymerization during neutrophil chemotaxis.

Neutrophils respond to chemotactic stimuli by increasing the nucleation and polymerization of actin filaments, but the location and regulation of these processes are not well understood. Here, using a permeabilized-cell assay, we show that chemotactic stimuli cause neutrophils to organize many discrete sites of actin polymerization, the distribution of which is biased by external chemotactic gradients. Furthermore, the Arp2/3 complex, which can nucleate actin polymerization, dynamically redistributes to the region of living neutrophils that receives maximal chemotactic stimulation, and the least-extractable pool of the Arp2/3 complex co-localizes with sites of actin polymerization. Our observations indicate that chemoattractant-stimulated neutrophils may establish discrete foci of actin polymerization that are similar to those generated at the posterior surface of the intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. We propose that asymmetrical establishment and/or maintenance of sites of actin polymerization produces directional migration of neutrophils in response to chemotactic gradients.

Pertussis toxin inhibition of chemotactic factor-induced calcium mobilization and function in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

Chemotactic factors stimulate a rapid increase in the cytosolic concentration of intracellular calcium ions ([Ca2+]in) in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL), which may be an event that is critical to the expression of chemotaxis and other PMNL functions. Treatment of PMNL with pertussis toxin catalyzes ADP-ribosylation of a protein similar or identical to the inhibiting regulatory protein of adenylate cyclase, Gi, and suppresses the increase in [Ca2+]in elicited by leukotriene B4(LTB4) and formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine. Chemotactic migration and lysosomal enzyme release elicited by chemotactic factors were inhibited by pertussis toxin with a concentration-dependence similar to that for inhibition of the increase in [Ca2+]in, without an effect on lysosomal enzyme release induced by the ionophore A23187 and phorbol myristate acetate. Activated pertussis toxin catalyzed the [32P]ADP-ribosylation of a 41 kD protein in homogenates of PMNL. The extent of [32P]ADP-ribosylation of this protein was reduced 59% by pretreatment of intact PMNL with pertussis toxin. Pertussis toxin selectively decreased the number of high-affinity receptors for LTB4 on PMNL by 60% without altering the number or binding properties of the low-affinity subset of receptors. Pertussis toxin modification of a membrane protein of PMNL analogous to Gi thus simultaneously alters chemotactic receptors and attenuates the changes in cytosolic calcium concentration and PMNL function caused by chemotactic factors.

Leukocytes navigate by compass: roles of PI3Kgamma and its lipid products.

Morphologic polarity is necessary for the motility of mammalian cells. In leukocytes responding to a chemoattractant, this polarity is regulated by activities of small Rho guanosine triphosphatases (Rho GTPases) and the phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks). Moreover, in neutrophils, lipid products of PI3Ks appear to regulate activation of Rho GTPases, are required for cell motility and accumulate asymmetrically to the plasma membrane at the leading edge of polarized cells. By spatially regulating Rho GTPases and organizing the leading edge of the cell, PI3Ks and their lipid products could play pivotal roles not only in establishing leukocyte polarity but also as compass molecules that tell the cell where to crawl.

Activation of the alpha subunit of Gs in intact cells alters its abundance, rate of degradation, and membrane avidity.

Binding of GTP induces alpha subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins to take on an active conformation, capable of regulating effector molecules. We expressed epitope-tagged versions of the alpha subunit (alpha s) of Gs in genetically alpha s-deficient S49 cyc- cells. Addition of a hemagglutinin (HA) epitope did not alter the ability of wild type alpha s to mediate hormonal stimulation of adenylyl cyclase or to attach to cell membranes. The HA epitope did, however, allow a mAb to immunoprecipitate the recombinant protein (HA-alpha s) quantitatively from cell extracts. We activated the epitope-tagged alpha s in intact cells by: (a) exposure of cells to cholera toxin, which activates alpha s by covalent modification; (b) mutational replacement of arginine-201 in HA-alpha s by a cysteine residue, to create HA-alpha s-R201C; like the cholera toxin-catalyzed modification, this mutation activates alpha s by slowing its intrinsic GTPase activity; and (c) treatment of cells with the beta-adrenoceptor agonist, isoproterenol, which promotes binding of GTP to alpha s, thereby activating adenylyl cyclase. Both cholera toxin and the R201C mutation accelerated the rate of degradation of alpha s (0.03 h-1) by three- to fourfold and induced a partial shift of the protein from a membrane bound to a soluble compartment. At steady state, 80% of HA-alpha s- R201C was found in the soluble fraction, as compared to 10% of wild type HA-alpha s. Isoproterenol rapidly (in < 2 min) caused 20% of HA-alpha s to shift from the membrane-bound to the soluble compartment. Cholera toxin induced a 3.5-fold increase in the rate of degradation of a second mutant, HA-alpha s-G226A, but did not cause it to move into the soluble fraction; this observation shows that loss of membrane attachment is not responsible for the accelerated degradation of alpha s in response to activation. Taken together, these findings show that activation of alpha s induces a conformational change that loosens its attachment to membranes and increases its degradation rate.

Cholera toxin can catalyze ADP-ribosylation of cytoskeletal proteins.

Cholera toxin catalyzes transfer of radiolabel from [32P]NAD+ to several peptides in particulate preparations of human foreskin fibroblasts. Resolution of these peptides by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis allowed identification of two peptides of Mr = 42,000 and 52,000 as peptide subunits of a regulatory component of adenylate cyclase. The radiolabeling of another group of peptides (Mr = 50,000 to 65,000) suggested that cholera toxin could catalyze ADP-ribosylation of cytoskeletal proteins. This suggestion was confirmed by showing that incubation with cholera toxin and [32P]NAD+ caused radiolabeling of purified microtubule and intermediate filament proteins.

Separate GTP binding and GTPase activating domains of a G alpha subunit.

Most members of the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) superfamily hydrolyze guanosine triphosphate (GTP) quite slowly unless stimulated by a GTPase activating protein or GAP. The alpha subunits (G alpha) of the heterotrimeric G proteins hydrolyze GTP much more rapidly and contain an approximately 120-residue insert not found in other GTPases. Interactions between a G alpha insert domain and a G alpha GTP-binding core domain, both expressed as recombinant proteins, show that the insert acts biochemically as a GAP. The results suggest a general mechanism for GAP-dependent hydrolysis of GTP by other GTPases.

Selection of a variant lymphoma cell deficient in adenylate cyclase.

Isoproterenol, a stimulator of adenylate cyclase, was used to select a stable variant clone of mouse lymphosarcoma cells deficient in the enzyme. The inability of four different stimulators to activate cyclic adenosine monophosphate synthesis in the variant, in contrast to its wild-type parent, implies that in normal cells one type of adenylate cyclase molecular can respond to different activators.

Structure. Rhodopsin sees the light.

Members of the seven transmembrane receptor superfamily bind a remarkable variety of ligands, from neurotransmitters to odorants, and activate a spectacular array of G protein signaling molecules. These G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are important in many cellular functions and so there has been great interest in elucidating how they transmit their signals to the interior of the cell after activation by ligand. As Bourne and Meng explain in their Perspective, the molecular movements of activated GPCRs are becoming clear now that the first crystal structure of a GPCR (rhodopsin, the light-trapping receptor found in the retina of the eye) has been reported (Palczweski et al.).

Regulation of phosphodiesterase synthesis: requirement for cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinase.

Endogenous cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and its dibutyryl derivative increase cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity in cultured lymphoma cells. This effect is prevented by cycloheximide. A variant population of cells deficient in cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase contains lower basal phosphodiesterase activity, which cannot be induced by cyclic AMP.

Gz-mediated hormonal inhibition of cyclic AMP accumulation.

Hormones inhibit synthesis of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) in most cells via receptors coupled to pertussis toxin (PTX)-sensitive guanine nucleotide-binding (G) proteins. Mutationally activated alpha subunits of Gi2 (alpha i2) constitutively inhibit cAMP accumulation when transfected into cells. Cells have now been transfected with mutant alpha subunits of four other G proteins--Gz, a PTX-insensitive G protein of unknown function, and Gi1, Gi3, and G(o), which are PTX-sensitive. Mutant alpha z, alpha i1, and alpha i3 inhibited cAMP accumulation but alpha o did not. Moreover, expression of wild-type alpha z produced cells in which PTX did not block hormonal inhibition of cAMP accumulation. Thus, Gz can trigger an effector pathway in response to hormone receptors that ordinarily interact with PTX-sensitive Gi proteins.

Histamine augments leukocyte adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate and blocks antigenic histamine release.

Extracellular histamine stimulates accumulation of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in human leukocytes and prevents antigenic release of histamine from cells of allergic donors. Both effects occur at histamine concentrations that can be achieved by antigenic release of the amine in vitro.

Receptors for histamine can be detected on the surface of selected leukocytes.

Histamine insolubilized by chemical linkage via a protein or polypeptide carrier to Sepharose beads cannot penetrate cells. Even so, the resultant histamine-coated Sepharose binds leukocytes selectively. Despite the low molecular weight of histaminie, the binding is via preformed cell membrane receptors and can be specifically and competitively blocked or reversed by antihistamines.

Cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase: pivotal role in regulation of enzyme induction and growth.

Dibutyryl cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) produces phosphodiesterase induction, growth arrest, and cytolysis in S49 lymphoma cells. The striking parallelism between protein kinase activity that is dependent on cytosol cyclic AMP and cellular responses to dibutyryl cyclic AMP in wild-type cells and three classes of clones resistant to cyclic AMP indicates that protein kinase mediates cyclic AMP regulation of growth and enzyme induction in S49 cells.

Carboxyl terminal domain of Gs alpha specifies coupling of receptors to stimulation of adenylyl cyclase.

The alpha subunits of Gs and Gi link different sets of hormone receptors to stimulation and inhibition, respectively, of adenylyl cyclase. A chimeric alpha i/alpha s cDNA was constructed that encodes a polypeptide composed of the amino terminal 60% of an alpha i chain and the carboxyl terminal 40% of alpha s. The cDNA was introduced via a retroviral vector into S49 cyc- cells, which lack endogenous alpha s. Although less than half of the hybrid alpha chain is derived from alpha s, its ability to mediate beta-adrenoceptor stimulation of adenylyl cyclase matched that of the normal alpha s polypeptide expressed from the same retroviral vector in cyc- cells. This result indicates that carboxyl terminal amino acid sequences of alpha s contain the structural features that are required for specificity of interactions with the effector enzyme, adenylyl cyclase, as well as with the hormone receptor.

Receptor and betagamma binding sites in the alpha subunit of the retinal G protein transducin.

Transmembrane receptors for hormones, neurotransmitters, light, and odorants mediate their cellular effects by activating heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins). Crystal structures have revealed contact surfaces between G protein subunits, but not the surfaces or molecular mechanism through which Galphabetagamma responds to activation by transmembrane receptors. Such a surface was identified from the results of testing 100 mutant alpha subunits of the retinal G protein transducin for their ability to interact with rhodopsin. Sites at which alanine substitutions impaired this interaction mapped to two distinct Galpha surfaces: a betagamma-binding surface and a putative receptor-interacting surface. On the basis of these results a mechanism for receptor-catalyzed exchange of guanosine diphosphate for guanosine triphosphate is proposed.

Polarization of chemoattractant receptor signaling during neutrophil chemotaxis.

Morphologic polarity is necessary for chemotaxis of mammalian cells. As a probe of intracellular signals responsible for this asymmetry, the pleckstrin homology domain of the AKT protein kinase (or protein kinase B), tagged with the green fluorescent protein (PHAKT-GFP), was expressed in neutrophils. Upon exposure of cells to chemoattractant, PHAKT-GFP is recruited selectively to membrane at the cell's leading edge, indicating an internal signaling gradient that is much steeper than that of the chemoattractant. Translocation of PHAKT-GFP is inhibited by toxin-B from Clostridium difficile, indicating that it requires activity of one or more Rho guanosine triphosphatases.

Two G protein oncogenes in human endocrine tumors.

Somatic mutations in a subset of growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary tumors convert the gene for the alpha polypeptide chain (alpha s) of Gs into a putative oncogene, termed gsp. These mutations, which activate alpha s by inhibiting its guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) activity, are found in codons for either of two amino acids, each of which is completely conserved in all known G protein alpha chains. The likelihood that similar mutations would activate other G proteins prompted a survey of human tumors for mutations that replace either of these two amino acids in other G protein alpha chain genes. The first gene so far tested, which encodes the alpha chain of Gi2, showed mutations that replaced arginine-179 with either cysteine or histidine in 3 of 11 tumors of the adrenal cortex and 3 of 10 endocrine tumors of the ovary. The mutant alpha i2 gene is a putative oncogene, referred to as gip2. In addition, gsp mutations were found in 18 of 42 GH-secreting pituitary tumors and in an autonomously functioning thyroid adenoma. These findings suggest that human tumors may harbor oncogenic mutations in various G protein alpha chain genes.

Factors affecting low birthweight after assisted reproduction technology: difference between transfer of fresh and cryopreserved embryos suggests an adverse effect of oocyte collection.

BACKGROUND: Data show that differences exist in the birthweight of singletons after frozen embryo transfer (FET) compared with fresh transfer or gamete intra-Fallopian transfer (GIFT). Factors associated with low birthweight (LBW) after assisted reproduction technology (ART) were studied. METHODS: Birthweight, distribution of birthweight, z-score, LBW (<2500 g), gestation and percentage preterm (<37 weeks) for singleton births >19 weeks gestation, conceived by ART or non-ART treatments (ovulation induction and artificial insemination) between 1978 and 2005 were analysed for one large Australian clinic. RESULTS: For first births, the mean birthweight was significantly (P < 0.005) lower, and LBW and preterm birth more frequent for GIFT (mean = 3133 g, SD = 549, n = 109, LBW = 10.9% and preterm = 10.0%), IVF (3166, 676, 1615, 11.7, 12.5) and ICSI (3206, 697, 1472, 11.5, 11.9) than for FET (3352, 615, 2383, 6.5, 9.2) and non-ART conceptions (3341, 634, 940, 7.1, 8.6). Regression modelling showed ART treatment before 1993 and fresh embryo transfer were negatively related to birthweight after including other covariates: gestation, male sex, parity, birth defects, Caesarean section, perinatal death and socio-economic status. CONCLUSIONS: Birthweights were lower and LBW rates higher after GIFT or fresh embryo transfer than after FET. Results for FET were similar to those for non-ART conceptions. This suggests IVF and ICSI laboratory procedures affecting the embryos are not causal but other factors operating in the woman, perhaps associated with oocyte collection itself, which affect endometrial receptivity, implantation or early pregnancy, may be responsible for LBW with ART.