POMT1
Protein O-mannosyl-transferase 1 (EC 2.4.1.109) (Dolichyl-phosphate-mannose--protein mannosyltransferase 1)
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Walker-Warburg syndrome, a progressive muscular dystrophy, is a severe disease with various kinds of symptoms such as muscle weakness and occasional seizures. The genes of protein O-mannosyltransferases 1 and 2 (POMT1 and POMT2), fukutin, and fukutin-related protein are responsible for this syndrome. In our previous study, we cloned Drosophila orthologs of human POMT1 and POMT2 and identified their activity. However, the mechanism of onset of this syndrome is not well understood. Furthermore, little is known about the behavioral properties of the Drosophila POMT1 and POMT2 mutants, which are called rotated abdomen (rt) and twisted (tw), respectively. First, we performed various kinds of behavioral tests and described in detail the muscle structures by using these mutants. The mutant flies exhibited abnormalities in heavy exercises such as climbing or flight but not in light movements such as locomotion. Defective motor function in mutants appeared immediately after eclosion and was exaggerated with aging. Along with motor function, muscle ultrastructure in the tw mutant was altered, as seen in human patients. We demonstrated that expression of RNA interference (RNAi) for the rt gene and the tw mutant was almost completely lethal and semi-lethal, respectively. Flies expressing RNAi had reduced lifespans. These findings clearly demonstrate that Drosophila POMT mutants are models for human muscular dystrophy. We then observed a high density of myoblasts with an enhanced degree of apoptosis in the tw mutant, which completely lost enzymatic activity. In this paper, we propose a novel mechanism for the development of muscular dystrophy: POMT mutation causes high myoblast density and position derangement, which result in apoptosis, muscle disorganization, and muscle cell defects.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Apoptosis
- Blotting, Western
- Disease Models, Animal
- Drosophila
- Drosophila Proteins
- Immunohistochemistry
- Locomotion
- Longevity
- Mannosyltransferases
- Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
- Muscular Dystrophies
- Myoblasts
- Polymerase Chain Reaction
- RNA Interference
O-Mannosylation represents an evolutionarily conserved, essential protein modification. In mammals the protein O-mannosyltransferases POMT1 and POMT2 act as a heteromeric complex to initiate O-mannosylation in the endoplasmic reticulum. Mutations in human POMT1 and POMT2 cause a group of congenital muscular dystrophies due to reduced O-glycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan. The most severe of these autosomal recessive conditions is Walker-Warburg syndrome (WWS) with severe brain and ocular involvement. We previously showed in the murine model that Pomt1 is expressed in WWS-related tissues both during embryogenesis and in adults. Whereas there is only a single Pomt1 transcript in adult mice, we demonstrated that there are two Pomt2 transcripts, somatic sPomt2 and testis-specific tPomt2. In this study we demonstrate that sPomt2, but not tPomt2, is prominently expressed in mouse embryos in the tissues that are most severely affected in WWS (developing muscle, eye, and brain). Correlation of POMT transcripts and protein isoforms with POMT mannosyltransferase enzyme activity demonstrates that sPOMT2-POMT1 complexes catalyze mannosyltransfer in adult somatic tissues and testis. It is suggested that the gonadal defects described in some WWS cases are associated with defects in O-mannosylation. Our data further show that whereas sPOMT2 is widely expressed, tPOMT2 is restricted to the acrosome of male germ cells and is not involved in the biosynthesis of O-mannosyl glycans in vivo. We prove that tPOMT2 is highly conserved among mammals, including humans, suggesting a crucial function that is distinct from sPOMT2.
MeSH Terms
- Acrosome
- Aging
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Animals
- Base Sequence
- Brain
- Cell Line
- Conserved Sequence
- Embryo, Mammalian
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
- Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic
- Humans
- Isoenzymes
- Male
- Mannosyltransferases
- Mice
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Organ Specificity
- RNA, Messenger
- Sequence Alignment
- Spermatogenesis
- Spermatozoa
- Syndrome
- Testis