Different outcome of sarcoglycan missense mutation between human and mouse.

Sarcoglycanopathies are rare autosomic limb girdle muscular dystrophies caused by mutations in one of the genes coding for sarcoglycan (α, ß, δ, and γ-sarcoglycans). Sarcoglycans form a complex, which is an important part of the dystrophin-associated glycoprotein complex that protects sarcolemma against muscle contraction-induced damages. Absence of one of the sarcoglycan at the plasma membrane induces the disappearance of the whole complex and perturbs muscle fiber membrane integrity. We previously demonstrated that point mutations in the human sarcoglycan genes affects the folding of the corresponding protein, which is then retained in the endoplasmic reticulum by the protein quality control and prematurely degraded by the proteasome. Interestingly, modulation of the quality control using pharmacological compounds allowed the rescue of the membrane localization of the mutated sarcoglycan. Two previously generated mouse models, knock-in for the most common sarcoglycan mutant, R77C α-sarcoglycan, failed in reproducing the dystrophic phenotype observed in human patients. Based on these results and the need to test therapies for these fatal diseases, we decided to generate a new knock-in mouse model carrying the missense mutation T151R in the ß-sarcoglycan gene since this is the second sarcoglycan protein with the most frequently reported missense mutations. Muscle analysis, performed at the age of 4 and 9-months, showed the presence of the mutated ß-sarcoglycan protein and of the other components of the dystrophin-associated glycoprotein complex at the muscle membrane. In addition, these mice did not develop a dystrophic phenotype, even at a late stage or in condition of stress-inducing exercise. We can speculate that the absence of phenotype in mouse may be due to a higher tolerance of the endoplasmic reticulum quality control for amino-acid changes in mice compared to human.

Trophic activity of a naturally occurring truncated isoform of the P2X7 receptor.

P2X7 is the largest member of the P2X subfamily of purinergic receptors. A typical feature is the carboxyl tail, which allows formation of a large pore. Recently a naturally occurring truncated P2X7 splice variant, isoform B (P2X7B), has been identified. Here we show that P2X7B expression in HEK293 cells, a cell type lacking endogenous P2X receptors, mediated ATP-stimulated channel activity but not plasma membrane permeabilization, raised endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) content, activated the transcription factor NFATc1, increased the cellular ATP content, and stimulated growth. In addition, P2X7B-transfected HEK293 cells (HEK293-P2X7B), like most tumor cells, showed strong soft agar-infiltrating ability. When coexpressed with full-length P2X7 (P2X7A), P2X7B coassembled with P2X7A into a heterotrimer and potentiated all known responses mediated by this latter receptor. P2X7B mRNA was found to be widely distributed in human tissues, especially in the immune and nervous systems, and to a much higher level than P2X7A. Finally, P2X7B expression was increased on mitogenic stimulation of peripheral blood lymphocyte. Altogether, these data show that P2X7B is widely expressed in several human tissues, modulates P2X7A functions, participates in the control of cell growth, and may help understand the role of the P2X7 receptor in the control of normal and cancer cell proliferation.

The novel skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum JP-45 protein. Molecular cloning, tissue distribution, developmental expression, and interaction with alpha 1.1 subunit of the voltage-gated calcium channel.

JP-45 is a novel integral protein constituent of the skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum junctional face membrane. We identified its primary structure from a cDNA clone isolated from a mouse skeletal muscle cDNA library. Mouse skeletal muscle JP-45 displays over 86 and 50% identity with two hypothetical NCBI data base protein sequences from mouse tongue and human muscle, respectively. JP-45 is predicted to have a cytoplasmic domain, a single transmembrane segment followed by an intralumenal domain enriched in positively charged amino acids. Northern and Western blot analyses reveal that the protein is mainly expressed in skeletal muscle. The mRNA encoding JP-45 appears in 17-day-old mouse embryos; expression of the protein peaks during the second month of postnatal development and then decreases approximately 3-fold during aging. Double immunofluorescence of adult skeletal muscle fibers demonstrates that JP-45 co-localizes with the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium release channel. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments with a monoclonal antibody against JP-45 show that JP-45 interacts with the alpha1.1 subunit voltage-gated calcium channel and calsequestrin. These results are consistent with the localization of JP-45 in the junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum and with its involvement in the molecular mechanism underlying skeletal muscle excitation-contraction coupling.