학술논문

CERT1 mutations perturb human development by disrupting sphingolipid homeostasis
Document Type
article
Author
Charlotte GehinMuseer A. LoneWinston LeeLaura CapolupoSylvia HoAdekemi M. AdeyemiErica H. GerkesAlexander P.A. StegmannEstrella López-MartínEva Bermejo-SánchezBeatriz Martínez-DelgadoChristiane ZweierCornelia KrausBernt PoppVincent StrehlowDaniel GräfeIna KnerrEppie R. JonesStefano ZamunerLuciano A. AbriataVidya KunnathullyBrandon E. MoellerAnthony VocatSamuel RommelaereJean-Philippe BocqueteEvelyne RuchtiGreta LimoniMarine Van CampenhoudtSamuel BourgeatPetra HenkleinChristian GilissenBregje W. van BonRolph PfundtMarjolein H. WillemsenJolanda H. SchievingEmanuela LeonardiFiorenza SoliAlessandra MurgiaHui GuoQiumeng ZhangKun XiaChristina R. FagerbergChristoph P. BeierMartin J. LarsenIrene ValenzuelaPaula Fernández-ÁlvarezShiyi XiongRobert ŚmigielVanesa López-GonzálezLluís ArmengolManuela MorleoAngelo SelicorniAnnalaura TorellaMoira BlythNicola S. CooperValerie WilsonRenske OegemaYvan HerengerAurore GardeAnge-Line BruelFrederic Tran Mau-ThemAlexis B.R. MaddocksJennifer M. BainMusadiq A. BhatGregory CostainPeter KannuAshish MarwahaNeena L. ChampaigneMichael J. FriezEllen B. RichardsonVykuntaraju K. GowdaVarunvenkat M. SrinivasanYask GuptaTze Y. LimSimone Sanna-CherchiBruno LemaitreToshiyuki YamajiKentaro HanadaJohn E. BurkeAna Marjia JakšićBrian D. McCabePaolo De Los RiosThorsten HornemannGiovanni D’AngeloVincenzo A. Gennarino
Source
The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Vol 133, Iss 10 (2023)
Subject
Cell biology
Genetics
Medicine
Language
English
ISSN
1558-8238
Abstract
Neural differentiation, synaptic transmission, and action potential propagation depend on membrane sphingolipids, whose metabolism is tightly regulated. Mutations in the ceramide transporter CERT (CERT1), which is involved in sphingolipid biosynthesis, are associated with intellectual disability, but the pathogenic mechanism remains obscure. Here, we characterize 31 individuals with de novo missense variants in CERT1. Several variants fall into a previously uncharacterized dimeric helical domain that enables CERT homeostatic inactivation, without which sphingolipid production goes unchecked. The clinical severity reflects the degree to which CERT autoregulation is disrupted, and inhibiting CERT pharmacologically corrects morphological and motor abnormalities in a Drosophila model of the disease, which we call ceramide transporter (CerTra) syndrome. These findings uncover a central role for CERT autoregulation in the control of sphingolipid biosynthetic flux, provide unexpected insight into the structural organization of CERT, and suggest a possible therapeutic approach for patients with CerTra syndrome.