Aldo-keto reductases as modulators of stress response

Human aldose reductase (AKR1B1) has been implicated as a factor in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. However, little is known about the physiological role of this enzyme or of related aldo-keto reductases in human tissues. In mammalian systems, a gene knock out approach is often employed as an experimental strategy to probe for gene function. However, in the murine system, phenotypic characterization of an aldose reductase (AKR1B3) knock out is likely to be complicated due to functional compensation by redundant AKRs including AKRs 1A (aldehyde reductase), 1B7 (FR-1) and 1B8 (MVDP). As an alternate strategy, we are examining the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system for a functional genomics study of AKRs. A distinct advantage of this system centers on the ability to readily ablate multiple targeted genes in a single strain. In addition to providing insights into functional redundancy, this system allows us to use a genetic approach to study possible effector pathways associated with one or more individual genes. Yeast open reading frames (ORFs) encoding AKRs with functional similarity to human aldose reductase (AKR1B1) were identified by BLAST analysis and were functionally validated by studies of recombinant proteins. By ablating three of the yeast AKR genes most functionally similar to AKR1B1, we have created a unique strain of S. cerevisiae that shows enhanced sensitivity to stress. Ongoing studies with oligonucleotide arrays show that the triple null strain has an altered transcription profile consistent with an enhanced stress response in comparison with the parental strain. These data indicate that AKR-null strains may provide new insights into signaling mechanisms involving this family of proteins.