Are you Angela Eeds?

Claim your profile

Publications (3)14.56 Total impact

  • Article: Molecular defects in human carbamoy phosphate synthetase I: mutational spectrum, diagnostic and protein structure considerations.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Deficiency of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I (CPSI) results in hyperammonemia ranging from neonatally lethal to environmentally induced adult-onset disease. Over 24 years, analysis of tissue and DNA samples from 205 unrelated individuals diagnosed with CPSI deficiency (CPSID) detected 192 unique CPS1 gene changes, of which 130 are reported here for the first time. Pooled with the already reported mutations, they constitute a total of 222 changes, including 136 missense, 15 nonsense, 50 changes of other types resulting in enzyme truncation, and 21 other changes causing in-frame alterations. Only ∼10% of the mutations recur in unrelated families, predominantly affecting CpG dinucleotides, further complicating the diagnosis because of the "private" nature of such mutations. Missense changes are unevenly distributed along the gene, highlighting the existence of CPSI regions having greater functional importance than other regions. We exploit the crystal structure of the CPSI allosteric domain to rationalize the effects of mutations affecting it. Comparative modeling is used to create a structural model for the remainder of the enzyme. Missense changes are found to directly correlate, respectively, with the one-residue evolutionary importance and inversely correlate with solvent accessibility of the mutated residue. This is the first large-scale report of CPS1 mutations spanning a wide variety of molecular defects highlighting important regions in this protein.
    Human Mutation 11/2010; 32(6):579-89. · 5.69 Impact Factor
  • Article: Environmentally determined genetic expression: clinical correlates with molecular variants of carbamyl phosphate synthetase I.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: Carbamyl phosphate synthetase I (CPSI) determines the rate-limiting entry of free ammonia into the urea cycle. Disruption of CPSI affects the liver's ability to remove waste nitrogen and produce arginine, citrulline, and urea. Arginine is the necessary precursor for the critical biomolecule, nitric oxide (NO). We have studied the classic model of CPSI deficiency, which results in severe hyperammonemia, and identified a large number of molecular defects. A number of CPSI polymorphisms have been found that appear to result in functional consequences. We have examined the association of these polymorphisms with various environmental stress conditions and found that certain CPSI alleles are associated with clinical outcome. We refer to these associations as environmentally determined genetic expression (EDGE) affects. In addition to studies of classic CPSI deficiency, we have developed data for the EDGE concept in post-cardiac surgery-related pulmonary hypertension, hepatic veno-occlusive disease after bone marrow transplantation, and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. We have linked these outcomes and genotypes to the availability of the urea cycle intermediates, citrulline and arginine, and their role in NO synthesis. We hypothesize that these polymorphisms affect the functional efficiency of CPSI and thus the entire urea cycle and as such, the availability of the NO substrates. By piecing together the various functional aspects of the urea cycle changes we have seen, we can better understand the clinical vulnerabilities of patients in environmentally stressful situations. This knowledge should allow us to design intervention strategies to either predict or modify the associated adverse outcomes.
    Molecular Genetics and Metabolism 05/2004; 81 Suppl 1:S12-9. · 3.19 Impact Factor
  • Article: Uniparental disomy of chromosome 2 resulting in lethal trifunctional protein deficiency due to homozygous alpha-subunit mutations.
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: The mitochondrial trifunctional protein (TFP) is an enzyme complex of the fatty acid beta-oxidation cycle composed of an alpha- and a beta-subunit. The two encoding genes are located in the same region on chromosome 2 (2p23). TFP deficiency due to either alpha- or beta-subunit mutations is characterized by mutational and phenotypic heterogeneity with severe, early-onset, cardiac forms and milder, later-onset, myopathic phenotypes. In two unrelated patients with lethal TFP deficiency, we delineated apparently homozygous alpha-subunit mutations that were present in heterozygous form in both mothers, but not in either biological father. We performed a microsatellite repeat analysis of both patients and their parents using seven chromosome 2-specific polymorphic DNA markers and four nonchromosome 2 markers. In both patients, two chromosome 2-specific markers demonstrated maternal isodisomy of chromosome 2. The other five chromosome 2-specific markers were noninformative in each patient. Inheritance of alleles from chromosomes 4, 5, and 7 was consistent with paternity. These results explain the apparently anomalous pattern of transmission. Six of our 12 known TFP-deficient patients with alpha-subunit mutations have disease due to homozygous changes and two of them via the mechanism of uniparental disomy (UPD) (16.7%). For very rare autosomal recessive diseases, UPD may represent a common mechanism. This study emphasizes the need to confirm mutations in parents whenever possible. TFP deficiency is another disorder that has become manifest due to isodisomy of chromosome 2. This information will impact genetic counseling for these families, reducing greatly the 25% risk normally used for recessive disorders.
    Human Mutation 01/2003; 20(6):447-51. · 5.69 Impact Factor