PNKD is the abbreviation for a human neurological movement disorder paroxysmal nonkinesiogenic dyskinesia. Like many other human genetics disorders, PNKD also refers to the disease, the disease gene and the encoded protein. (PNKD) is a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

that in humans is encoded by the ''PNKD''

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

Alternative splicing Alternative splicing, alternative RNA splicing, or differential splicing, is an alternative RNA splicing, splicing process during gene expression that allows a single gene to produce different splice variants. For example, some exons of a gene ma ...

results in the transcription of three

isoforms A protein isoform, or "protein variant", is a member of a set of highly similar proteins that originate from a single gene and are the result of genetic differences. While many perform the same or similar biological roles, some isoforms have uniqu ...

. The mouse

ortholog Sequence homology is the biological homology between DNA, RNA, or protein sequences, defined in terms of shared ancestry in the evolutionary history of life. Two segments of DNA can have shared ancestry because of three phenomena: either a speci ...

is called brain protein 17 (Brp17).

Structure

This gene is located on chromosome 2 at the band 2q35 and contains 12

exon An exon is any part of a gene that will form a part of the final mature RNA produced by that gene after introns have been removed by RNA splicing. The term ''exon'' refers to both the DNA sequence within a gene and to the corresponding sequence ...

s. At least three isoforms of varying lengths (long, medium, and short) can be produced by alternative splicing of this gene. While the gene products of the long (PNKD-L) and medium (PNKD-M) isoforms contain the

C-terminal The C-terminus (also known as the carboxyl-terminus, carboxy-terminus, C-terminal tail, carboxy tail, C-terminal end, or COOH-terminus) is the end of an amino acid chain (protein or polypeptide), terminated by a free carboxyl group (-COOH). When t ...

β-lactamase domain, the short (PNKD-S) isoform, commonly referred to as myofibrillogenesis regulator-1 (MR-1), contains only three exons and lacks homology to any known protein. These isoforms also differ in their tissue-specific expression and

subcellular localization The cells of eukaryotic organisms are elaborately subdivided into functionally-distinct membrane-bound compartments. Some major constituents of eukaryotic cells are: extracellular space, plasma membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, mitochondria, Golgi a ...

. Specifically, PNKD-L is only expressed in the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain, spinal cord and retina. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity o ...

whereas PNKD-M and PNKD-S are ubiquitously expressed across tissues. Moreover, PNKD-L localizes to the

cell membrane The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of a cell from the outside environment (the extr ...

, PNKD-S to the

cytoplasm The cytoplasm describes all the material within a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, including the organelles and excluding the nucleus in eukaryotic cells. The material inside the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell a ...

and

nucleus Nucleus (: nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom *Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucleu ...

, and PNKD-M to the

mitochondrion A mitochondrion () is an organelle found in the cell (biology), cells of most eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double lipid bilayer, membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine tri ...

Function

The function of PNKD proteins are unknown but the long and medium isoforms of PNKD contain a conserved β-lactamase domain which suggest it may function as an

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

. The closest mammalian homolog to PNKD is HAGH, an enzyme involves in a two-step reaction to hydrolyze SLG and produce D-lactic acid and reduced GSH. However, the hydrolytic activity of PNKD is minimal. The long form of PNKD is neuronal specific and encodes a synaptic protein that localizes dominantly to the pre-synaptic membrane. Post-synaptic area and vesicular structure also occasionally has PNKD long form. PNKD long form interacts with pre-synaptic protein RIM and inhibits synaptic exocytosis. PNKD with disease mutations is less effective in inhibition thus the synaptic release is increased. This would cause excessive neurotransmitter release in the brain and maybe the root cause for triggering epilepsy in PNKD patients.

Clinical significance

Point mutations in PNKD exon 1 cause an inherited neurological movement disorder in humans called paroxysmal nonkinesigenic dyskinesia. Overexpression of PNKD has also been associated with multiple cancers, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma,

gastric cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes ...

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...

, and

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

and may serve as a therapeutic target for treating these cancers or a

biomarker In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, ...

for assessing patient outcomes. The signaling pathways involved may vary depending on the cancer. For instance, in human breast cancer (MCF7) cells, PNKD may promote tumor cell proliferation by activating the MEK/ERK signaling pathway, while in human hepatoma (HepG2) cells, PNKD may operate through the MLC2/FAK/AKT pathway.

Interactions

PNKD has been shown to

interact Advocates for Informed Choice, dba interACT or interACT Advocates for Intersex Youth, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization advocating for the legal and human rights of children with intersex traits. The organization was founded in 2006 and fo ...

with: * Rab3-interacting molecule (RIM)1 * RIM2

References

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