Flies used to test impact of retinal disease-relevant mutations on function of Crumbs family proteins

Pellikka M, Tepass U. Unique cell biological profiles of retinal disease-causing missense mutations in the polarity protein crumbs. J Cell Sci. 2017 May 17. pii: jcs.197178. PMID: 28515229.

From the abstract: "Mutations in human CRB1 are a major cause of retinal disease that lead to blindness. CRB1 is a transmembrane protein found in the inner segment of photoreceptor cells (PRCs) and the apical membrane of Müller glia. The function of the extracellular region of CRB1 is poorly understood although more than 80 disease-causing missense mutations have been mapped to it. We have recreated four mutations in Drosophila Crumbs (Crb) that affect different extracellular domains. ... The mutant Crb isoforms showed a remarkable diversity in protein abundance, subcellular distribution, and ability to rescue the lack of endogenous Crb, elicit a gain-of-function phenotype, or promote PRC degeneration. Interestingly, although expression of mutant isoforms rescued developmental defects of crb mutants substantially, they accelerated PRC degeneration compared to retinas that lack Crb ... Several Crb mutant proteins accumulated abnormally in the rhabdomere and affected rhodopsin trafficking, suggesting that abnormal rhodopsin physiology contributes to Crb/CRB1-dependent retinal degeneration."

Experiments in flies contribute to study of Renpenning syndrome

Zhang XY, Qi J, Shen YQ, Liu X, Liu A, Zhou Z, Han J, Zhang ZC. Mutations of PQBP1 in Renpenning syndrome promote ubiquitin-mediated degradation of FMRP and cause synaptic dysfunction. Hum Mol Genet. 2017 Mar 1;26(5):955-968. PMID: 28073926.

From the abstract: "Renpenning syndrome is a group of X-linked intellectual disability syndromes caused by mutations in human polyglutamine-binding protein 1 (PQBP1) gene. ... In this study, we examine the cellular and synaptic functions of the most common mutations found in the patients ... In Drosophila neuromuscular junction model, PQBP1 c.463_464dupAG transgenic flies showed remarkable defects of synaptic over-growth, which can be rescued by exogenously expressing dFMRP. Our data strongly support a gain-of-function pathogenic mechanism of PQBP1 c.459_462delAGAG and c.463_464dupAG mutations, and suggest that therapeutic strategies to restore FMRP function may be beneficial for those patients."

Crystal structure of fly protein reveals new functional information relevant to epilepsy and DOOR syndrome

Fischer B, Lüthy K, Paesmans J, De Koninck C, Maes I, Swerts J, Kuenen S, Uytterhoeven V, Verstreken P, Versées W. Skywalker-TBC1D24 has a lipid-binding pocket mutated in epilepsy and required for synaptic function. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2016 Nov;23(11):965-973. PMID: 27669036.

From the abstract: "Mutations in TBC1D24 cause severe epilepsy and DOORS syndrome, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these pathologies are unresolved. We solved the crystal structure of the TBC domain of the Drosophila ortholog Skywalker, revealing an unanticipated cationic pocket conserved among TBC1D24 homologs. ... The most prevalent patient mutations affect the phosphoinositide-binding pocket and inhibit lipid binding. ... Hence, we discovered that a TBC domain affected by clinical mutations directly binds phosphoinositides through a cationic pocket and that phosphoinositide binding is critical for presynaptic function."