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Published on: October 4, 2017
Modeling the effect of 3 missense AGXT mutations on dimerization of the AGT enzyme in primary hyperoxaluria type 1
Angela Robbiano1, Vladimir Frecer, Jan Miertus
1Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, Regione Gonzole, Orbassano, Italy.
Introduction:
Mutations of the AGXT gene encoding the alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase liver enzyme (AGT) cause primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1). Here we report a molecular modeling study of selected missense AGXT mutations: the common Gly170Arg and the recently described Gly47Arg and Ser81Leu variants, predicted to be pathogenic using standard criteria.
Methods:
Taking advantage of the refined 3D structure of AGT, we computed the dimerization energy of the wild-type and mutated proteins.
Results:
Molecular modeling predicted that Gly47Arg affects dimerization with a similar effect to that shown previously for Gly170Arg through classical biochemical approaches. In contrast, no effect on dimerization was predicted for Ser81Leu. Therefore, this probably demonstrates pathogenic properties via a different mechanism, similar to that described for the adjacent Gly82Glu mutation that affects pyridoxine binding.
Conclusion:
This study shows that the molecular modeling approach can contribute to evaluating the pathogenicity of some missense variants that affect dimerization. However, in silico studies--aimed to assess the relationship between structural change and biological effects--require the integrated use of more than 1 tool.
