title: The copper chaperone Atox1 in canine copper toxicosis in Bedlington terriers.
abstract: Copper toxicosis, resulting in liver disease, commonly occurs in Bedlington terriers. This recessively inherited disorder, similar in many respects to Wilson disease, is of particular interest because the canine Atp7b gene, homologous to ATP7B defective in Wilson disease, is not responsible for canine copper toxicosis as has been expected. Atox1, a copper chaperone delivering copper to Atp7b, therefore became a potential candidate. We cloned canine Atox1, which shows conserved motifs of the copper-binding domain (MTCXXC) and of the lysine-rich region (KTGK), and showed 88, 80, and 41% amino acid sequence identity with the orthologous mouse, human, and yeast proteins. No gross deletions of Atox1 could be identified in the affected Bedlington terriers by Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA. The canine Atox1 gene spans about 4 kb, with a 204-bp open reading frame cDNA contained within two exons. Sequence analysis of the coding regions, including intron/exon boundaries, showed no mutations in Atox1 from genomic DNA of an affected dog. We have also identified an apparently nontranscribed canine Atox1 pseudogene, with 12 sequence changes and no intron. Mapping of Atox1 and a marker closely linked to the canine copper toxicosis locus indicated lack of synteny. Atox1 is therefore excluded as a candidate gene for canine copper toxicosis, indicating that some other unidentified gene must be responsible for this copper storage disease in dogs and also suggesting the possibility of a similar gene responsible for a copper storage disease in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H7, Canada.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Nanji
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Cox
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003300:Copper / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D000079922:Copper Transport Proteins; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004285:Dogs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005796:Genes; D006527:Hepatolenticular Degeneration / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000235:genetics; D056511:Metallochaperones; D051379:Mice; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000235:genetics*; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011544:Pseudogenes; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: C474500:ATOX1 protein, human; C499247:Atox1 protein, mouse; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D000079922:Copper Transport Proteins; D056511:Metallochaperones; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D009479:Neuropeptides; D003300:Copper