Mutations in the nervous system--specific HSN2 exon of WNK1 cause hereditary sensory neuropathy type II.
Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type II (HSANII) is an early-onset autosomal recessive disorder characterized by loss of perception to pain, touch, and heat due to a loss of peripheral sensory nerves. Mutations in hereditary sensory neuropathy type II (HSN2), a single-exon ORF originally identified in affected families in Quebec and Newfoundland, Canada, were found to cause HSANII. We report here that HSN2 is a nervous system-specific exon of the with-no-lysine(K)-1 (WNK1) gene. WNK1 mutations have previously been reported to cause pseudohypoaldosteronism type II but have not been studied in the nervous system. Given the high degree of conservation of WNK1 between mice and humans, we characterized the structure and expression patterns of this isoform in mice. Immunodetections indicated that this Wnk1/Hsn2 isoform was expressed in sensory components of the peripheral nervous system and CNS associated with relaying sensory and nociceptive signals, including satellite cells, Schwann cells, and sensory neurons. We also demonstrate that the novel protein product of Wnk1/Hsn2 was more abundant in sensory neurons than motor neurons. The characteristics of WNK1/HSN2 point to a possible role for this gene in the peripheral sensory perception deficits characterizing HSANII.
Centre of Excellence in Neuromics, University of Montreal, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Masoud
M
Shekarabi
Nathalie
N
Girard
Jean-Baptiste
JB
Rivière
Patrick
P
Dion
Martin
M
Houle
André
A
Toulouse
Ronald G
RG
Lafrenière
Freya
F
Vercauteren
Pascale
P
Hince
Janet
J
Laganiere
Daniel
D
Rochefort
Laurence
L
Faivre
Mark
M
Samuels
Guy A
GA
Rouleau
D000293:Adolescent; D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism; D002607:Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D017933:Peripheral Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D000076204:WNK Lysine-Deficient Protein Kinase 1
D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D000076204:WNK Lysine-Deficient Protein Kinase 1; C498743:WNK1 protein, human