title: High-resolution autoreactive epitope mapping and structural modeling of the 65 kDa form of human glutamic acid decarboxylase.
abstract: The smaller isoform of the GABA-synthesizing enzyme, glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65), is unusually susceptible to becoming a target of autoimmunity affecting its major sites of expression, GABA-ergic neurons and pancreatic beta-cells. In contrast, a highly homologous isoform, GAD67, is not an autoantigen. We used homolog-scanning mutagenesis to identify GAD65-specific amino acid residues which form autoreactive B-cell epitopes in this molecule. Detailed mapping of 13 conformational epitopes, recognized by human monoclonal antibodies derived from patients, together with two and three-dimensional structure prediction led to a model of the GAD65 dimer. GAD65 has structural similarities to ornithine decarboxylase in the pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-binding middle domain (residues 201-460) and to dialkylglycine decarboxylase in the C-terminal domain (residues 461-585). Six distinct conformational and one linear epitopes cluster on the hydrophilic face of three amphipathic alpha-helices in exons 14-16 in the C-terminal domain. Two of those epitopes also require amino acids in exon 4 in the N-terminal domain. Two distinct epitopes reside entirely in the N-terminal domain. In the middle domain, four distinct conformational epitopes cluster on a charged patch formed by amino acids from three alpha-helices away from the active site, and a fifth epitope resides at the back of the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate binding site and involves amino acid residues in exons 6 and 11-12. The epitopes localize to multiple hydrophilic patches, several of which also harbor DR*0401-restricted T-cell epitopes, and cover most of the surface of the protein. The results reveal a remarkable spectrum of human autoreactivity to GAD65, targeting almost the entire surface, and suggest that native folded GAD65 is the immunogen for autoreactive B-cells.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Microbiology/Immunology and Medicine, Hormone Research Institute, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0534, USA.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Chandonia
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Kash
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kanaani
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tunnell
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Domingo
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Banga
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Madec
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baekkeskov
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000378:metabolism; D001665:Binding Sites; D018604:Epitope Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016296:Mutagenesis; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D007527:Isoenzymes; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase