Methylenetetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate Cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate Synthetase Research Articles

Moderate folic acid supplementation and MTHFD1-synthetase deficiency in mice, a model for the R653Q variant, result in embryonic defects and abnormal placental development

Moderately high folic acid intake in pregnant women has led to concerns about deleterious effects on the mother and fetus. Common polymorphisms in folate genes, such as methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (MTHFD1) R653Q, may modulate the effects of elevated folic acid intake. We investigated the effects of moderate folic acid supplementation on reproductive outcomes and assessed the potential interaction of the supplemented diet with MTHFD1-synthetase (Mthfd1S) deficiency in mice, which is a model for the R653Q variant. Female Mthfd1S+/+ and Mthfd1S+/- mice were fed a folic acid-supplemented diet (FASD) (5-fold higher than recommended) or control diets before mating and during pregnancy. Embryos and placentas were assessed for developmental defects at embryonic day 10.5 (E10.5). Maternal folate and choline metabolites and gene expression in folate-related pathways were examined. The combination of FASD and maternal MTHFD1-synthetase deficiency led to a greater incidence of defects in E10.5 embryos (diet × maternal genotype, P = 0.0016; diet × embryonic genotype, P = 0.054). The methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) protein and methylation potential [ratio of S-adenosylmethionine (major methyl donor):S-adenosylhomocysteine) were reduced in maternal liver. Although 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (methylTHF) was higher in maternal circulation, the methylation potential was lower in embryos. The presence of developmental delays and defects in Mthfd1S+/- embryos was associated with placental defects (P = 0.003). The labyrinth layer failed to form properly in the majority of abnormal placentas, which compromised the integration of the maternal and fetal circulation and presumably the transfer of methylTHF and other nutrients. Moderately higher folate intake and MTHFD1-synthetase deficiency in pregnant mice result in a lower methylation potential in maternal liver and embryos and a greater incidence of defects in embryos. Although maternal circulating methylTHF was higher, it may not have reached the embryos because of abnormal placental development; abnormal placentas were observed predominantly in abnormally developed embryos. These findings have implications for women with high folate intakes, particularly if they are polymorphic for MTHFD1 R653Q.

Genetic impairments in folate enzymes increase dependence on dietary choline for phosphatidylcholine production at the expense of betaine synthesis.

Although single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in folate-mediated pathways predict susceptibility to choline deficiency during severe choline deprivation, it is unknown if effects persist at recommended intakes. Thus, we used stable isotope liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methodology to examine the impact of candidate SNPs on choline metabolism in a long-term, randomized, controlled feeding trial among pregnant, lactating, and nonpregnant (NP) women consuming 480 or 930 mg/d choline (22% as choline-d9, with d9 indicating a deuterated trimethyl amine group) and meeting folate-intake recommendations. Variants impairing folate metabolism, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) rs1801133, methionine synthase (MTR) rs1805087 [wild-type (WT)], MTR reductase (MTRR) rs1801394, and methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (MTHFD1) rs2236225, influenced choline dynamics, frequently through interactions with reproductive state and choline intake, with fewer genotypic alterations observed among pregnant women. Women with these variants partitioned more dietary choline toward phosphatidylcholine (PC) biosynthesis via the cytidine diphosphate (CDP)-choline pathway at the expense of betaine synthesis even when use of betaine as a methyl donor was increased. Choline intakes of 930 mg/d restored partitioning of dietary choline between betaine and CDP-PC among NP (MTHFR rs1801133 and MTR rs1805087 WT) and lactating (MTHFD1 rs2236225) women with risk genotypes. Overall, our findings indicate that loss-of-function variants in folate-metabolizing enzymes strain cellular PC production, possibly via impaired folate-dependent phosphatidylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PEMT)-PC synthesis, and suggest that women with these risk genotypes may benefit from choline intakes exceeding current recommendations.-Ganz, A. B., Shields, K., Fomin, V. G., Lopez, Y. S., Mohan, S., Lovesky, J., Chuang, J. C., Ganti, A., Carrier, B., Yan, J., Taeswuan, S., Cohen, V. V., Swersky, C. C., Stover, J. A., Vitiello, G. A., Malysheva, O. V., Mudrak, E., Caudill, M. A. Genetic impairments in folate enzymes increase dependence on dietary choline for phosphatidylcholine production at the expense of betaine synthesis.

Disruption of the Mthfd1 Gene Reveals a Monofunctional 10-Formyltetrahydrofolate Synthetase in Mammalian Mitochondria

The Mthfd1 gene encoding the cytoplasmic methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase enzyme (DCS) was inactivated in embryonic stem cells. The null embryonic stem cells were used to generate spontaneously immortalized fibroblast cell lines that exhibit the expected purine auxotrophy. Elimination of these cytoplasmic activities allowed for the accurate assessment of similar activities encoded by other genes in these cells. A low level of 10-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase was detected and was shown to be localized to mitochondria. However, NADP-dependent methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase activity was not detected. Northern blot analysis suggests that a recently identified mitochondrial DCS (Prasannan, P., Pike, S., Peng, K., Shane, B., and Appling, D. R. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 43178-43187) is responsible for the synthetase activity. The lack of NADP-dependent dehydrogenase activity suggests that this RNA may encode a monofunctional synthetase. Moreover, examination of the primary structure of this novel protein revealed mutations in key residues required for dehydrogenase and cyclohydrolase activities. This monofunctional synthetase completes the pathway for the production of formate from formyltetrahydrofolate in the mitochondria in our model of mammalian one-carbon folate metabolism in embryonic and transformed cells.

Mammalian mitochondrial methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase derived from a trifunctional methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase-synthetase

We have isolated the cDNA and the gene encoding the murine cytoplasmic methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (DCS). Comparison of these sequences with the 3 ′-untranslated region of the mitochondrial NAD +-dependent methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase (mt-DC) revealed areas of significant homology. Both exon and intron sequences of the synthetase domain of DCS are homologous to sequences in the untranslated region of mt-DC. A similar comparison between the mt-DC and the DCS sequences of humans as well as Drosophila supports the conclusion that in higher eukcaryotes the bifunctional mt-DC replaced a trifunctional precursor through inactivation of the synthetase domain. The mt-DC should be considered in models of one-carbon folate fluxes in mammals.

The NADP-dependent methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase is not expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda cells.

The insect cell line derived from Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) does not express the activities of the trifunctional NADP-dependent methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase. The lack of synthetase activity was confirmed by the inability to incorporate radiolabeled formate into nucleotides. The cells express, instead, a Mg2+ and NAD-dependent bifunctional methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase with properties similar to the enzyme found in the mitochondria of transformed mammalian cells. In contrast, the enzyme in Sf9 cells is localized in the cytoplasm. Nutritional studies in defined medium with dialyzed serum demonstrated that the Sf9 cell does not required added purines or pyrimidines for growth. It is auxotrophic for cysteine and glycine; this latter requirement is probably due to the absence of mitochondrial serine hydroxymethyltransferase. Incorporation of labeled glycine and serine into DNA indicates that only serine is a source of one-carbon units. These results suggest that the mitochondria in Sf9 cells do not play a major role in folate-mediated metabolism.

Transcriptional regulation of murine NADP +-dependent methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase-synthetase

The cytosolic NADP +-dependent methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase is ubiquitously expressed in all mouse tissues and cell lines examined. Northern analyses of the RNA indicated that there is an extensive variation in the levels of mRNA in different tissues. However, the gene is refractory to induction by serum, phorbol esters or growth factors in cultured fibroblasts. The mRNA of the NADP′-dependent trifunctional enzyme is stabilized post-transcriptionally by insulin-like growth factor-1.

A pseudogene on the X chromosome for the human trifunctional enzyme MTHFD (methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase)

The human trifunctional folate-dependent protein MTHFD has been mapped to chromosome 14q24 and to the X chromosome at Xp11. The MTHFD sequence on the X chromosome was identifled by screening an X-chromosome-specific library. Amplification by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing of PCR products indicate that the sequence is an intronless pseudogene.

Expression of active domains of a human folate-dependent trifunctional enzyme in Escherichia coli

The cDNA encoding the human trifunctional enzyme methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase was engineered to contain a prokaryotic ribosome binding site and was expressed under the bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase promoter in Escherichia coli. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to prepare constructs that encode separately the dehydrogenase/cyclohydrolase (D/C) domain as amino acid residues 1-301, and the synthetase (Syn) domain as residues 304-935. Both domains formed active enzymes thereby demonstrating their ability to fold independently. The full-length enzyme, D/C and Syn domains were expressed at levels 4-, 55- and 3-fold higher than the specific activities found in liver. Additional mutagenesis and independent expression of domains further defined the interdomain region to include amino acids 292-310. The D/C domain was purified to homogeneity by a single affinity chromatographic step, and the full-length protein in a two-step procedure. The kinetic properties of the D/C domain appear unaltered from those of the trifunctional enzyme.

Primary structure of a human trifunctional enzyme. Isolation of a cDNA encoding methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase.

A DNA clone complementary to the messenger RNA encoding the human trifunctional enzyme 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-5,10-methenyl-tetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-10-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase has been isolated from a lambda gt10 library. In vitro transcription-translation of the 3.1-kilobase cDNA clone yields a protein of 101 kDa, which is of identical size and exhibits the same immunoreactivity as the enzyme purified from human liver. A coding region of 2805 base pairs in the cDNA encodes a protein of 935 amino acids. The initiator methionine is absent from the purified enzyme and the amino-terminal 30 amino acids derived by automated sequence analysis are identical (arginine at position 18 was not identified) with that deduced from the nucleotide sequence. The amino acid sequence of the human enzyme shows extensive homology with that of the yeast enzyme, although the amino-terminal bifunctional dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase domain is less homologous than the carboxyl-terminal synthetase domain. A region was identified which probably serves as a link between these two major domains of the human enzyme. The synthetase domain contains two regions that are homologous to consensus sequences for an ATP-binding site.

The activities of the NAD-dependent methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase from ascites tumor cells are kinetically independent.

The bifunctional NAD-dependent methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase from ascites tumor cells has very different kinetic properties from the larger NADP-dependent methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase present in all mammalian cells. The NAD-dependent dehydrogenase is unique in that it requires formation of a magnesium.enzyme complex to allow addition of the first substrate, NAD+. It catalyzes an equilibrium ordered kinetic mechanism that has methylenetetrahydrofolate as the last reactant to add and NADH as the last product released. The NADP-dependent dehydrogenase has the same order of addition of substrates, but NADPH is released prior to methenyltetrahydrofolate. The dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase activities of both enzymes channel methenyltetrahydropteroylglutamate intermediates with the same efficiency which is unaffected by the number of glutamyl residues in the methylenetetrahydrofolate substrate. However, the cyclohydrolase activity of the bifunctional protein is kinetically independent of its dehydrogenase activity, as supported by its lack of inhibition by NAD+, whereas NADP+ strongly inhibits that of the NADP-dependent enzyme. This difference is further demonstrated by the observation that conversion of formyltetrahydrofolate to methylenetetrahydrofolate in the presence of reduced pyridine nucleotide is catalyzed readily only by the bifunctional enzyme.

Interaction of tetrahydropteroylpolyglutamates with two folate-dependent multifunctional enzymes.

The naturally occurring pteroylpolyglutamate derivatives are substrates for the folate-mediated reactions in cells, including the reactions catalyzed by two multifunctional folate dependent enzymes in eucaryotes. The appropriate derivatives of tetrahydropteroyl (glutamate)n where n = 1, 3, 5, or 7 were used to determine the specificity for, and kinetic advantages of the extra glutamyl residues with two multifunctional proteins from pig liver: methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase, and formiminotransferase-formininotetrahydrofolate cyclodeaminase. Specificity for the polyglutamate derivatives ranged from 10- to 70-fold as indicated from Km values or from the ability to inhibit the five different enzyme activities. With the sequential activities of the transferase-deaminase enzyme, it was demonstrated that when the tetrahydropteroyl pentaglutamate is used as a substrate, the intermediate formimino-compound does not accumulate in the medium. That this kinetic observation is due to preferential transfer of the pentaglutamate- but not monoglutamate intermediate from transferase to deaminase sites without its release from the enzyme molecule was supported by three types of experiments. Chemical modification to yield monofunctional derivatives of the transferase-deaminase affected the kinetics of the recombined activities only with the pentaglutamate substrate, causing a lag in the appearance of final product. Inhibition studies demonstrated that the deaminase activity could preferentially be inhibited only with the monoglutamate substrate. The deaminase activity with the monoglutamate substrate was increased by providing elevated formiminotetrahydrofolate in the assay mixture; no effect was observed when the reaction was carried out with pentaglutamate. Preliminary binding studies indicate a single folate site per subunit of the octameric enzyme, suggesting a type of combined transferase-deaminase site.

84] Methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase: A multifunctional protein from porcine liver

This chapter discusses the multifunctional protein methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase. These enzyme activities have been shown to copurify 100-fold from porcine liver and are now known to comprise the multifunctional proteins in sheep and pig liver, as well as in yeast. The three enzyme assays involve the spectrophotometric measurement of 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate produced or hydrolyzed during the incubations. The dehydrogenase activity is determined by acidification of the assay mix after incubation, thereby destroying the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP)H and converting any formyltetrahydrofolate produced by hydrolysis back to the immediate product, methenyltetrahydrofolate. The synthetase is assayed in a similar fashion, where the formyltetrahydrofolate produced, upon incubating enzyme with tetrahydrofolate, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and formate is converted to 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate by acidification. Cyclohydrolase activity is obtained from the rate of hydrolysis of 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate monitored as a decrease in absorbance at 355 nm on a recording spectrophotometer. The dehydrogenase and cyclohydrolase activities are found in a 33,000 mol wt portion of the polypeptide, indicating a close physical association. This is further supported by the observation that the product of the dehydrogenase is preferentially channeled through the cyclohydrolase, rather than being released into the medium.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase from porcine liver. Location of the activities in two domains of the multifunctional polypeptide.

Chymotryptic cleavage of the trifunctional protein methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase from pig liver yields a fragment of two-thirds the original polypeptide that retains only synthetase activity. A smaller polypeptide corresponding to about one-third of the original polypeptide was shown earlier to retain dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase activity. On immunodiffusion, the synthetase fragment cross-reacts and shows partial identity with antibodies raised against the uncleaved enzyme but shows nonidentity with the dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase fragment, suggesting that the two fragments are derived from different regions of the polypeptide. Amino-terminal analysis of the peptides and uncleaved enzyme indicate that the dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase activities are located at the amino-terminal region and the synthetase near the carboxyl-terminal portion of the polypeptide.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase from porcine liver. Interaction between the dehydrogenase and cyclohydrolase activities of the multifunctional enzyme

Methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate: NADP + oxidoreductase, EC 1.5.1.5) one of the activities of a trifunctional folate-dependent enzyme from porcine liver, uses an ordered kinetic mechanism as determined from initial velocity, product inhibition and dead-end inhibition studied. The final product released from the dehydrogenase is methenyltetrahydrofolate. However, from the time course of appearance of products it is observed that the methenyltetrahydrofolate, rather than equilibrating with the solution, is converted preferentially to formyltetrahydrofolate by the cyclohydrolase, (5,10-methenyletrahydrofolate 5-hydrolase (decyclizing), EC 3.5.4.9) demonstrating a functional interaction between these two enzymic activities.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase. A multifunctional protein from porcine liver.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase. A multifunctional protein from porcine liver.