title: Molecular insights into the pathogenicity of variants associated with the aromatic amino acid decarboxylase deficiency.
abstract: Dopa decarboxylase (DDC or AADC) is a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the decarboxylation of L-aromatic amino acids into the corresponding aromatic amines. AADC deficiency is an inborn error of neurotransmitters biosynthesis with an autosomal recessive inheritance. About 30 pathogenic mutations have been identified, but the enzymatic phenotypes causing AADC deficiency are unknown, and the therapeutic management is challenging. Here, we report biochemical and bioinformatic analyses of the human wild-type DDC and the pathogenic variants G102S, F309L, S147R and A275T whose mutations concern amino acid residues at or near the active site. We found that the mutations cause, even if to different extents, a decreased PLP binding affinity (in the range 1.4-170-fold), an altered state of the bound coenzyme and of its microenvironment, and a reduced catalytic efficiency (in the range 17-930-fold). Moreover, as compared to wild-type, the external aldimines formed by the variants with L-aromatic amino acids exhibit different spectroscopic features, do not protect against limited proteolysis, and lead to the formation, in addition to aromatic amines, of cyclic-substrate adducts. This suggests that these external Schiff bases are not properly oriented and anchored, i.e., in a conformation not completely productive for decarboxylation. The external aldimines that the variants form with D-Dopa also appear not to be correctly located at their active site, as suggested by the rate constants of PLP-L-Dopa adduct production higher than that of the wild-type. The possible therapeutic implications of the data are discussed in the light of the molecular defects of the pathogenic variants.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e della Riproduzione, Sezione di Chimica Biologica, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università degli Studi di Verona, Strada Le Grazie, 8, 37134, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Montioli
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cellini
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Borri Voltattorni
mesh_terms: D000592:Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D001142:Aromatic-L-Amino-Acid Decarboxylases / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics; D003653:Decarboxylation / Q000502:physiology*; D004296:Dopa Decarboxylase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed / Q000379:methods; D017354:Point Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D004296:Dopa Decarboxylase; D001142:Aromatic-L-Amino-Acid Decarboxylases