Functional analysis of mutations in the human carnitine/acylcarnitine translocase in Aspergillus nidulans.
Deficiency of the carnitine/acylcarnitine translocase (CACT), the most severe disorder of fatty acid beta-oxidation, is usually lethal in both humans and animals, precluding the development of animal models of the disease. In contrast, CACT deficiency is conditionally lethal in the fungus Aspergillus nidulans, since loss-of-function mutations in acuH, the translocase structural gene, do not prevent growth on carbon sources other than ketogenic compounds, such as fatty acids. Here, we describe the molecular characterization of extant acuH alleles and the development of a fungal model for CACT deficiency based on the ability of human CACT to fully complement, when expressed at physiological levels, the growth defect of an A. nidulans DeltaacuH strain on acetate and long-chain fatty acids. By using growth tests and in vitro assays this model enabled us to carry out a functional characterization of human CACT mutations showing that it may be useful for distinguishing potentially pathogenic human CACT missense mutations from neutral, single residue substitution-causing polymorphisms.
Pérez
Patricia
P
Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Universidad de Alcalá, Carretera Madrid-Barcelona Km, 33.600, Alcalá de Henares ES-28871, Madrid, Spain.
Martínez
Oscar
O
Romero
Beatriz
B
Olivas
Israel
I
Pedregosa
Ana M
AM
Palmieri
Ferdinando
F
Laborda
Fernando
F
Ramón De Lucas
J
J
D001233:Aspergillus nidulans / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D002333:Carnitine Acyltransferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D010957:Plasmids; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D002333:Carnitine Acyltransferases