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Deficiency of mannan-binding lectin associated serine protease-2 due to missense polymorphisms

Genes & Immunity volume 8, pages 154–163 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Mannan-binding lectin (MBL) and ficolins distinguish between self, non-self and altered-self by recognizing patterns of ligands on the surface of microorganisms or aberrant cells. When this happens MBL-associated serine protease-2 (MASP-2) is activated and cleaves complement factors to start inflammatory actions. We examined human populations for MASP-2 levels, MASP-2 function and for the presence of mutations in coding exons of MASP2. The MASP-2 levels were lowest in Africans from Zambia (median, 196 ng/ml) followed by Hong Kong Chinese (262 ng/ml), Brazilian Amerindians (290 ng/ml) and Danish Caucasians (416 ng/ml). In the Chinese population, we uncovered a novel four amino-acid tandem duplication (p.156_159dupCHNH) associated with low levels of MASP-2. The frequency of this mutation as well as the SNPs p.R99C, p.R118C, p.D120G, p.P126L and p.V377A were analyzed. The p.156_159dupCHNH was only found in Chinese (gene frequency 0.26%) and p.D120G was found only in Caucasians and Inuits from West-Greenland. The p.P126L and p.R99Q were present in Africans and Amerindians only, except for p.R99Q in one Caucasian. The MASP-2 levels were reduced in individuals with p.V377A present. The MASP-2 present in individuals homozygous for p.377A or p.99Q had a normal enzyme activity whereas MASP-2 in individuals homozygous for p.126L was non-functional.

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Abbreviations

MBL:

mannan-binding lectin

SNP:

single nucleotide polymorphism

MASP-2:

MBL-associated serine protease-2

g:

genomic

p:

protein

c:

cDNA

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Christine Gaboriaud, Grenoble, France for discussions on the possible structural influences of the polymorphisms. We are grateful for the excellent technical assistance from Hanne Nielsen, Annette Hansen, Louise Jakobsen and Lisbeth Jensen. This study was supported by Danish Research Council and Novo Nordic Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

    S Thiel, M Gadjeva, M Ruseva & J C Jensenius

  2. Regional Centre for Blood Transfusion and Clinical Immunology, Aalborg Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

    R Steffensen

  3. Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Hvidovre University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark

    I J Christensen

  4. Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    W K Ip & Y L Lau

  5. Department of Clinical Pathology, Hospital de Clínicas, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil

    I J M Reason

  6. Department of Medical Biochemistry and Genetics, Panum Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark

    H Eiberg

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  1. S Thiel
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Correspondence to S Thiel.

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Financial interests

ST and JCJ have financial interest in NatImmune A/S, a biotech company exploring the possibilities of therapy with proteins of the innate immune system.

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Thiel, S., Steffensen, R., Christensen, I. et al. Deficiency of mannan-binding lectin associated serine protease-2 due to missense polymorphisms. Genes Immun 8, 154–163 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gene.6364373

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