Functional Characterization of <i>FH</i> Mutation c.557G>A Underlies Uterine Leiomyomas

The <i>FH</i> gene encodes the fumarate hydratase of the Krebs cycle and functions as a homotetramer to catalyze the hydration of fumarate to malate. Mutations in <i>FH</i> result in uterine leiomyomas, a rare autosomal dominant inherited metabolic disease. However, how <i...

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Main Authors: Ping Li, Yanru Wu, Huizhi Wu, Qiuhong Xiong, Na Zhao, Guangxin Chen, Changxin Wu, Han Xiao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-01-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/3/1452
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author Ping Li
Yanru Wu
Huizhi Wu
Qiuhong Xiong
Na Zhao
Guangxin Chen
Changxin Wu
Han Xiao
author_facet Ping Li
Yanru Wu
Huizhi Wu
Qiuhong Xiong
Na Zhao
Guangxin Chen
Changxin Wu
Han Xiao
author_sort Ping Li
collection DOAJ
description The <i>FH</i> gene encodes the fumarate hydratase of the Krebs cycle and functions as a homotetramer to catalyze the hydration of fumarate to malate. Mutations in <i>FH</i> result in uterine leiomyomas, a rare autosomal dominant inherited metabolic disease. However, how <i>FH</i> mutations result in this disease is poorly understood. Here, the <i>FH</i> mutation c.557G>A (p.S186N) was identified in a family with uterine leiomyomas phenotype. A series of studies were performed to confirm the pathogenicity of this mutation. Results showed that the FH mutant exhibited significantly lower fumarase enzyme activity and increased the fumarates level compared with the wildtype, which might be due to the impaired homotetramer formation in the native gel electrophoresis. Interestingly, the immunofluorescence study revealed that the overexpressed FH mutant exhibited puncta structures compared with the evenly expressed FH wildtype in cytoplasm suggesting that the altered amino acid might result in dysfunctional proteins which were accumulated to reduce its cytotoxicity. Importantly, the cells overexpressing the FH mutant exhibited higher proliferation and extracellular acidification rate value (ECAR) which might be caused by the upregulated HIF-1<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">α</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula> indicating the tumor phenotype. Notably, phospho-mTOR was significantly increased and autophagy was inhibited in the FH mutant overexpression cells compared with the wildtype. Our work provides new insight into the <i>FH</i> mutation c.557G>A (p.S186N) underlies uterine leiomyomas and important information for accurate genetic counseling and clinical diagnosis of the disease.
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spelling doaj.art-160af6d678f2411e93cb3beeb0c6bf5d2023-11-23T16:41:03ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672022-01-01233145210.3390/ijms23031452Functional Characterization of <i>FH</i> Mutation c.557G>A Underlies Uterine LeiomyomasPing Li0Yanru Wu1Huizhi Wu2Qiuhong Xiong3Na Zhao4Guangxin Chen5Changxin Wu6Han Xiao7Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education of China, The Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Cell Biology of Shanxi Province, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, ChinaInstitutes of Biomedical Sciences, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education of China, The Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Cell Biology of Shanxi Province, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, ChinaInstitutes of Biomedical Sciences, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education of China, The Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Cell Biology of Shanxi Province, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, ChinaInstitutes of Biomedical Sciences, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education of China, The Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Cell Biology of Shanxi Province, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, ChinaInstitutes of Biomedical Sciences, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education of China, The Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Cell Biology of Shanxi Province, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, ChinaInstitutes of Biomedical Sciences, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education of China, The Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Cell Biology of Shanxi Province, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, ChinaInstitutes of Biomedical Sciences, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education of China, The Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Cell Biology of Shanxi Province, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, ChinaInstitutes of Biomedical Sciences, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education of China, The Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Cell Biology of Shanxi Province, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, ChinaThe <i>FH</i> gene encodes the fumarate hydratase of the Krebs cycle and functions as a homotetramer to catalyze the hydration of fumarate to malate. Mutations in <i>FH</i> result in uterine leiomyomas, a rare autosomal dominant inherited metabolic disease. However, how <i>FH</i> mutations result in this disease is poorly understood. Here, the <i>FH</i> mutation c.557G>A (p.S186N) was identified in a family with uterine leiomyomas phenotype. A series of studies were performed to confirm the pathogenicity of this mutation. Results showed that the FH mutant exhibited significantly lower fumarase enzyme activity and increased the fumarates level compared with the wildtype, which might be due to the impaired homotetramer formation in the native gel electrophoresis. Interestingly, the immunofluorescence study revealed that the overexpressed FH mutant exhibited puncta structures compared with the evenly expressed FH wildtype in cytoplasm suggesting that the altered amino acid might result in dysfunctional proteins which were accumulated to reduce its cytotoxicity. Importantly, the cells overexpressing the FH mutant exhibited higher proliferation and extracellular acidification rate value (ECAR) which might be caused by the upregulated HIF-1<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">α</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula> indicating the tumor phenotype. Notably, phospho-mTOR was significantly increased and autophagy was inhibited in the FH mutant overexpression cells compared with the wildtype. Our work provides new insight into the <i>FH</i> mutation c.557G>A (p.S186N) underlies uterine leiomyomas and important information for accurate genetic counseling and clinical diagnosis of the disease.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/3/1452uterine leiomyomasFHfumarasemutationmTORautophagy
spellingShingle Ping Li
Yanru Wu
Huizhi Wu
Qiuhong Xiong
Na Zhao
Guangxin Chen
Changxin Wu
Han Xiao
Functional Characterization of <i>FH</i> Mutation c.557G>A Underlies Uterine Leiomyomas
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
uterine leiomyomas
FH
fumarase
mutation
mTOR
autophagy
title Functional Characterization of <i>FH</i> Mutation c.557G>A Underlies Uterine Leiomyomas
title_full Functional Characterization of <i>FH</i> Mutation c.557G>A Underlies Uterine Leiomyomas
title_fullStr Functional Characterization of <i>FH</i> Mutation c.557G>A Underlies Uterine Leiomyomas
title_full_unstemmed Functional Characterization of <i>FH</i> Mutation c.557G>A Underlies Uterine Leiomyomas
title_short Functional Characterization of <i>FH</i> Mutation c.557G>A Underlies Uterine Leiomyomas
title_sort functional characterization of i fh i mutation c 557g a underlies uterine leiomyomas
topic uterine leiomyomas
FH
fumarase
mutation
mTOR
autophagy
url https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/3/1452
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AT qiuhongxiong functionalcharacterizationofifhimutationc557gaunderliesuterineleiomyomas
AT nazhao functionalcharacterizationofifhimutationc557gaunderliesuterineleiomyomas
AT guangxinchen functionalcharacterizationofifhimutationc557gaunderliesuterineleiomyomas
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