GSTZ1 Research Articles

Hypersuccinylacetonaemia and normal liver function in maleylacetoacetate isomerase deficiency

BackgroundA high level of succinylacetone (SA) in blood is a sensitive, specific newborn screening marker for hepatorenal tyrosinemia type 1 (HT1, MIM 276700) caused by deficiency of fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH)....

Pharmacogenetic considerations with dichloroacetate dosing.

The investigational drug dichloroacetate (DCA) is a metabolic regulator that has been successfully used to treat acquired and congenital metabolic diseases and, recently, solid tumors. Its clinical use has revealed challenges in selecting appropriate doses. Chronic administration of DCA leads to inhibition of DCA metabolism and potential accumulation to levels that result in side effects. This is because conversion of DCA to glyoxylate is catalyzed by one enzyme, glutathione transferase zeta 1 (GSTZ1-1), which is inactivated by DCA. SNPs in the GSTZ1 gene result in expression of polymorphic variants of the enzyme that differ in activity and rates of inactivation by DCA under physiological conditions: these properties lead to considerable variation between people in the pharmacokinetics of DCA.

The genetic basis of quality of life in healthy Swedish women: a candidate gene approach.

BackgroundQuality of life (QoL) is an increasingly important parameter in clinical practice as it predicts mortality and poor health outcomes. It is hypothesized that one may have a genetic predisposition for QoL. We therefore related 139 candidate genes, selected through a literature search, to QoL in healthy females.MethodsIn 5,142 healthy females, background characteristics (i.e. demographic, clinical, lifestyle, and psychological factors) were assessed. QoL was measured by the EORTC QLQ-C30, which consists of 15 domains. For all women genotype information was available. For each candidate gene, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified based on their functional (n = 2,663) and physical annotation (n = 10,649). SNPs were related to each QoL-domain, while controlling for background characteristics and population stratification. Finally, gene-based analyses were performed relating the combined effect of 10,649 SNPs (selected based on physical annotation) for each gene, to QoL using the statistical software package VEGAS.ResultsOverall, we found no relation between genetic variations (SNPs and genes) and 14 out of 15 QoL-domains. The strongest association was found between cognitive functioning and the top SNP rs1468951 (p = 1.21E-05) in the GSTZ1 gene. Furthermore, results of the gene-based test showed that the combined effect of 11 SNPs within the GSTZ1 gene is significantly associated with cognitive functioning (p = 2.60E-05).ConclusionIf validated, the involvement of GSTZ1 in cognitive functioning underscores its heritability which is likely the result of differences in the dopamine pathway, as GSTZ1 contributes to the equilibrium between dopamine and its neurotoxic metabolites via the glutathione redox cycle.

MAP3K7 and GSTZ1 are associated with human longevity: a two-stage case–control study using a multilocus genotyping

The pathways that regulate energy homeostasis, the mechanisms of damage repair, and the signaling response to internal environmental changes or external signals have been shown to be critical in modulating lifespan of model organisms and humans. In order to investigate whether genetic variation of genes involved in these pathways contribute to longevity, a two-stage case-control study in two independent sets of long-lived individuals from Calabria (Italy) was performed. In stage 1, 317 SNPs in 104 genes were analyzed in 78 cases (median age 98 years) and 71 controls (median age 67 years). In stage 2, 31 candidate SNPs identified in stage 1 (π markers = 0.1) were analyzed in an independent sample composed by 288 cases (median age 92 years) and 554 controls (median age 67 years). Two SNPs, rs282070 located in intron 1 of the MAP3K7 gene, and rs2111699 located in intron 1 of the GSTZ1 gene, were significantly associated (after adjustment for multiple testing) with longevity in stage 2 (p = 1.1 × 10(-3) and p = 1.4 × 10(-3), respectively). Interestingly, both genes are implicated in the cellular response to internal and external environmental changes, playing a crucial role in the inflammation processes that accompany aging. Our data confirm that long-lived subjects are endowed with genetic variants that allow them to optimize these cellular responses and to better deal with environmental and internal stresses.

Genetic and Epigenetic Regulation and Expression Signatures of Glutathione S-Transferases in Developing Mouse Liver

The hepatic glutathione S-transferases (Gsts) are critical phase II enzymes in protecting cellular macromolecules against electrophiles and oxidative stress. Little is known about the ontogeny of Gsts and the underlying regulatory mechanisms during liver development. Therefore, in this study, the ontogeny and the regulatory mechanisms of 19 known Gst isoforms were investigated in mouse liver from 2 days before birth to postnatal day 45. With the exception of Gstm5 and MGst2 that showed a progressive decline in postnatal messenger RNA (mRNA) expression, most other Gst isoforms showed a progressive increase in postnatal mRNA expression. Two-way hierarchical clustering revealed three distinct expression patterns of these Gsts isoforms: perinatal, adolescent, and adult enriched. The expression signatures of certain Gst isoforms showed positive association with the ontogeny of critical xenobiotic-sensing transcription factors, including aryl hydrocarbon receptor, pregnane X receptor (PXR), constitutive androstane receptor, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha, and NF-E2-related factor-2. Specifically, genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with the next generation sequencing technology (ChIP-Seq) revealed direct PXR-binding sites to the Gsta, Gstm, Gstt, and Gstp polycistron clusters as well as to the Mgst1 gene locus. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-on-chip analysis demonstrated that DNA methylation and histone H3K27-trimethylation (H3K27me3), two-gene expression-suppressing epigenetic marks, were consistently low around the Gstz1 gene locus. In contrast, enrichment of histone H3K4-dimethylation (H3K4me2), a hallmark for gene activation, increased 60% around the Gstz1 gene locus from prenatal to the young adult period. Regression analysis revealed a strong correlation between the enrichment of H3K4me2 and Gstz1 mRNA expression (r = 0.76). In conclusion, this study characterized three distinct ontogenic expression signatures of the 19 Gst isoforms and examined some genetic and epigenetic mechanisms inducing their transcription during liver development.

Mice Deficient in Glutathione Transferase Zeta/Maleylacetoacetate Isomerase Exhibit a Range of Pathological Changes and Elevated Expression of Alpha, Mu, and Pi Class Glutathione Transferases

Glutathione transferase zeta (GSTZ1-1) is the major enzyme that catalyzes the metabolism of alpha-halo acids such as dichloroacetic acid, a carcinogenic contaminant of chlorinated water. GSTZ1-1 is identical with maleylacetoacetate isomerase, which catalyzes the penultimate step in the catabolic pathways for phenylalanine and tyrosine. In this study we have deleted the Gstz1 gene in BALB/c mice and characterized their phenotype. Gstz1(-/-) mice do not have demonstrable activity with maleylacetone and alpha-halo acid substrates, and other GSTs do not compensate for the loss of this enzyme. When fed a standard diet, the GSTZ1-1-deficient mice showed enlarged liver and kidneys as well as splenic atrophy. Light and electron microscopic examination revealed multifocal hepatitis and ultrastructural changes in the kidney. The addition of 3% (w/v) phenylalanine to the drinking water was lethal for young mice (<28 days old) and caused liver necrosis, macrovesicular steatosis, splenic atrophy, and a significant loss of circulating leukocytes in older surviving mice. GSTZ1-1-deficient mice showed constitutive induction of alpha, mu, and pi class GSTs as well as NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1. The overall response is consistent with the chronic accumulation of a toxic metabolite(s). We detected the accumulation of succinylacetone in the serum of deficient mice but cannot exclude the possibility that maleylacetoacetate and maleylacetone may also accumulate.

Disruption of GSTZ1 Gene by Large Genetic Alteration in Oryza glaberrima

After the completion of the genome sequencing project of common rice (Oryza sativa L.), comparative genomic studies between rice and related species became important to reveal the function of each gene. The rice genome contains two copies of the gene encoding zeta class glutathione S-transferase (GSTZ) that is reported to be the enzyme in the catabolic pathway of tyrosine and phenylalanine. Two GSTZ genes of O. sativa, OsGSTZ1 and OsGSTZ2, display a tandem arrangement. Upstream OsGSTZ1 gene is constitutively expressed, whereas the downstream OsGSTZ2 gene is inducible by stresses. We analyzed the expression of the GSTZ gene in the African cultivated species O. glaberrima and wild species O. longistaminata by using RT-PCR. The results showed that both GSTZ1 and GSTZ2 genes were expressed in O. longistaminata, whereas only the cDNA fragment of downstream GSTZ2 was detected in O. glaberrima. Thus, the genomic sequence of the GSTZ1 locus of O. glaberrima was determined by PCR genomic walking. Sequence comparison between O. sativa and O. glaberrima revealed that the genomic sequence upstream from the eighth intron of the OgGSTZ1 gene was highly homologous, in inverted orientation, to a BAC clone, over 1-Mb apart from the OsGSTZ1 gene in O. sativa. This result suggested that the OgGSTZ1 gene was disrupted by a large rearrangement or inversion. The genetic alteration was also observed in several lines of O. glaberrima and its ancestral wild species O. barthii. The loss of the OgGSTZ1 gene in O. glaberrima is important, as the expression of the gene is 12-fold higher than that of OsGSTZ2 in O. sativa and since O. sativa and O. glaberrima differ in several such as seed yield and annual/perennial habitat that might be related to the translocation of nitrogen metabolites from leaves to seeds.