Alport syndrome caused by a COL4A5 deletion and exonization of an adjacent AluY

Mutation-induced activation of splice sites in intronic repetitive sequences has contributed significantly to the evolution of exon–intron structure and genetic disease. Such events have been associated with mutations within transposable elements, most frequently in mutation hot-spots of Alus. Here, we report a case of Alu exonization resulting from a 367-nt genomic COL4A5 deletion that did not encompass any recognizable transposed element, leading to the Alport syndrome. The deletion brought to proximity the 5? splice site of COL4A5 exon 33 and a cryptic 3? splice site in an antisense AluY copy in intron 32. The fusion exon was depleted of purines and purine-rich splicing enhancers, but had low levels of intramolecular secondary structure, was flanked by short introns and had strong 5? and Alu-derived 3? splice sites, apparently compensating poor composition and context of the new exon. This case demonstrates that Alu splice sites can be activated by outlying deletions, highlighting Alu versatility in shaping the exon–intron organization and expanding the spectrum of mutational mechanisms that introduce repetitive sequences in mRNAs

Yakushinamides, Polyoxygenated Fatty Acid Amides That Inhibit HDACs and SIRTs, from the Marine Sponge <i>Theonella swinhoei</i>

Yakushinamides A (<b>1</b>) and B (<b>2</b>), prolyl amides of polyoxygenated fatty acids, have been isolated from the marine sponge <i>Theonella swinhoei</i> as inhibitors of HDACs and SIRTs. Their planar structures were determined by interpretation of the NMR data of the intact molecules and tandem FABMS data of the methanolysis products. For the assignment of the relative configurations of the three contiguous oxymethine carbons in <b>1</b> and <b>2</b>, Kishi’s universal NMR database was applied to the methanolysis products. During the assignments of relative configurations of the isolated 1-hydroxy-3-methyl moiety in <b>1</b> and the isolated 1-hydroxy-2-methyl moiety in <b>2</b>, we found diagnostic NMR features to distinguish each pair of diastereomers. The absolute configurations of <b>1</b> and <b>2</b> were determined by a combination of the modified Mosher’s method and Marfey’s method. Although the modified Mosher’s method was successfully applied to the methanolysis product of <b>1</b>, this method gave an ambiguous result at C-20 when applied to the methanolysis product of <b>2</b>, even after oxidative cleavage of the C-14 and C-15 bond

Early Elevation of Complement Factor Ba Is a Predictive Biomarker for Transplant-Associated Thrombotic Microangiopathy

Transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) is a fatal complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Previous reports suggest that TA-TMA is caused by complement activation by complement-related genetic variants; however, this needs to be verified, especially in adults. Here, we performed a nested case-control study of allo-HSCT-treated adults at a single center. Fifteen TA-TMA patients and 15 non-TA-TMA patients, matched according to the propensity score, were enrolled. Based on a previous report showing an association between complement-related genes and development of TA-TMA, we first sequenced these 17 genes. Both cohorts harbored several genetic variants with rare allele frequencies; however, there was no difference in the percentage of patients in the TA-TMA and non-TA-TMA groups with the rare variants, or in the average number of rare variants per patient. Second, we measured plasma concentrations of complement proteins. Notably, levels of Ba protein on Day 7 following allo-HSCT were abnormally and significantly higher in TA-TMA than in non-TA-TMA cases, suggesting that complement activation via the alternative pathway contributes to TA-TMA. All other parameters, including soluble C5b-9, on Day 7 were similar between the groups. The levels of C3, C4, CH50, and complement factors H and I in the TA-TMA group after Day 28 were significantly lower than those in the non-TA-TMA group. Complement-related genetic variants did not predict TA-TMA development. By contrast, abnormally high levels of Ba on Day 7 did predict development of TA-TMA and non-relapse mortality. Thus, Ba levels on Day 7 after allo-HSCT are a sensitive and prognostic biomarker of TA-TMA