Thursday, July 28, 2016

Uncovering the cellular function of Torsins -- relevance to DYT1 dystonia

Grillet M, Dominguez Gonzalez B, Sicart A, Pöttler M, Cascalho A, Billion K, Hernandez Diaz S, Swerts J, Naismith TV, Gounko NV, Verstreken P, Hanson PI, Goodchild RE. Torsins Are Essential Regulators of Cellular Lipid Metabolism. Dev Cell. 2016 Jul 14. PMID: 27453503.

From the abstract: "Torsins are developmentally essential AAA+ proteins, and mutation of human torsinA causes the neurological disease DYT1 dystonia. They localize in the ER membranes, but their cellular function remains unclear. We now show that dTorsin is required in Drosophila adipose tissue, where it suppresses triglyceride levels, promotes cell growth, and elevates membrane lipid content. We also see that human torsinA at the inner nuclear membrane is associated with membrane expansion and elevated cellular lipid content. ... These findings identify that torsins are essential regulators of cellular lipid metabolism and implicate disturbed lipid biology in childhood-onset DYT1 dystonia."

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