Agouti-signaling protein

Agouti-signaling protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ASIP gene.^[5][6] It is responsible for the distribution of melanin pigment in mammals.^[7][8] Agouti interacts with the melanocortin 1 receptor to determine whether the melanocyte (pigment cell) produces phaeomelanin (a red to yellow pigment), or eumelanin (a brown to black pigment).^[9] This interaction is responsible for making distinct light and dark bands in the hairs of animals such as the agouti, which the gene is named after. In other species such as horses, agouti signalling is responsible for determining which parts of the body will be red or black. Mice with wildtype agouti will be grey, with each hair being partly yellow and partly black. Loss of function mutations in mice and other species cause black fur coloration, while mutations causing expression throughout the whole body in mice cause yellow fur and obesity.^[10]

ASIP
Available structures PDB Ortholog search: PDBe RCSB List of PDB id codes 1Y7J, 1Y7K, 2KZA, 2L1J
Identifiers
Aliases	ASIP, AGSW, SHEP9, ASP, AGTIL, AGTI, agouti signaling protein
External IDs	OMIM: 600201 MGI: 87853 HomoloGene: 1264 GeneCards: ASIP
Gene location (Human) Chr. Chromosome 20 (human)^[1] Band 20q11.22 Start 34,194,569 bp^[1] End 34,269,344 bp^[1]
Gene location (Mouse) Chr. Chromosome 2 (mouse)^[2] Band 2 H1|2 76.83 cM Start 154,633,322 bp^[2] End 154,892,932 bp^[2]
RNA expression pattern Bgee Human Mouse (ortholog) Top expressed in left ventricle skin of abdomen corpus epididymis tibial nerve canal of the cervix left uterine tube right lobe of liver sural nerve monocyte right lung Top expressed in spermatocyte morula spermatid lip thymus neck digastric muscle neural tube temporal muscle testicle More reference expression data BioGPS n/a
Gene ontology Molecular function melanocortin receptor binding signaling receptor binding type 3 melanocortin receptor binding type 4 melanocortin receptor binding Cellular component extracellular region extracellular space intracellular anatomical structure Biological process positive regulation of melanin biosynthetic process pigmentation cell-cell signaling melanosome organization melanin biosynthetic process adult feeding behavior genetic imprinting melanosome transport generation of precursor metabolites and energy signal transduction hormone-mediated signaling pathway Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs Species Human Mouse Entrez 434 50518 Ensembl ENSG00000101440 ENSMUSG00000027596 UniProt P42127 Q03288 RefSeq (mRNA) NM_001672 NM_001385218 NM_015770 RefSeq (protein) NP_001663 NP_056585 Location (UCSC) Chr 20: 34.19 – 34.27 Mb Chr 2: 154.63 – 154.89 Mb PubMed search ^[3] ^[4]
Wikidata
View/Edit Human View/Edit Mouse

The agouti-signaling protein (ASIP) is a competitive antagonist with alpha-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) to bind with melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) proteins. Activation by α-MSH causes production of the darker eumelanin, while activation by ASIP causes production of the redder phaeomelanin.^[11] This means where and while agouti is being expressed, the part of the hair that is growing will come out yellow rather than black.

Function

In mice, the agouti gene encodes a paracrine signalling molecule that causes hair follicle melanocytes to synthesize the yellow pigment pheomelanin instead of the black or brown pigment eumelanin. Pleiotropic effects of constitutive expression of the mouse gene include adult-onset obesity, increased tumor susceptibility, and premature infertility. This gene is highly similar to the mouse gene and encodes a secreted protein that may (1) affect the quality of hair pigmentation, (2) act as an inverse agonist of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, (3) play a role in neuroendocrine aspects of melanocortin action, and (4) have a functional role in regulating lipid metabolism in adipocytes.^[12]

In mice, the wild type agouti allele (A) presents a grey phenotype, however, many allele variants have been identified through genetic analyses, which result in a wide range of phenotypes distinct from the typical grey coat.^[13] The most widely studied allele variants are the lethal yellow mutation (A^y) and the viable yellow mutation (A^vy) which are caused by ectopic expression of agouti.^[13] These mutations are also associated with yellow obese syndrome which is characterized by early onset obesity, hyperinsulinemia and tumorigenesis.^[13][14] The murine agouti gene locus is found on chromosome 2 and encodes a 131 amino acid protein. This protein signals the distribution of melanin pigments in epithelial melanocytes located at the base of hair follicles with expression being more sensitive on ventral hair than on dorsal hair.^[15][16] Agouti is not directly secreted in the melanocyte as it works as a paracrine factor on dermal papillae cells to inhibit release of melanocortin.^[17] Melanocortin acts on follicular melanocytes to increase production of eumelanin, a melanin pigment responsible for brown and black hair. When agouti is expressed, production of pheomelanin dominates, a melanin pigment that produces yellow or red colored hair.^[18]

Structure

 

NMR structure family of Agouti Signalling Protein, C-terminal knotting domain. PDB entry 1y7k^[19]

Agouti signalling peptide adopts an inhibitor cystine knot motif.^[19] Along with the homologous Agouti-related peptide, these are the only known mammalian proteins to adopt this fold. The peptide consists of 131 amino acids. ^[20]

Mutations

The lethal yellow mutation (A^y) was the first embryonic mutation to be characterized in mice, as homozygous lethal yellow mice (A^y/ A^y) die early in development, due to an error in trophectoderm differentiation.^[15] Lethal yellow homozygotes are rare today, while lethal yellow and viable yellow heterozygotes (A^y/a and A^vy/a) remain more common. In wild-type mice agouti is only expressed in the skin during hair growth, but these dominant yellow mutations cause it to be expressed in other tissues as well.^[10] This ectopic expression of the agouti gene is associated with the yellow obese syndrome, characterized by early onset obesity, hyperinsulinemia and tumorigenesis.^[15]

The lethal yellow (A^y) mutation is due to an upstream deletion at the start site of agouti transcription. This deletion causes the genomic sequence of agouti to be lost, except the promoter and the first non-encoding exon of Raly, a ubiquitously expressed gene in mammals.^[16] The coding exons of agouti are placed under the control of the Raly promoter, initiating ubiquitous expression of agouti, increasing production of pheomelanin over eumelanin and resulting in the development of a yellow phenotype.^[21]

 

Proposed mechanism for the relationship between ectopic agouti expression and the development of yellow obese syndrome

The viable yellow (A^vy) mutation is due to a change in the mRNA length of agouti, as the expressed gene becomes longer than the normal gene length of agouti. This is caused by the insertion of a single intracisternal A particle (IAP) retrotransposon upstream to the start site of agouti transcription.^[22] In the proximal end of the gene, an unknown promoter then causes agouti to be constitutionally activated, and individuals to present with phenotypes consistent with the lethal yellow mutation. Although the mechanism for the activation of the promoter controlling the viable yellow mutation is unknown, the strength of coat color has been correlated with the degree of gene methylation, which is determined by maternal diet and environmental exposure.^[22] As agouti itself inhibits melanocortin receptors responsible for eumelanin production, the yellow phenotype is exacerbated in both lethal yellow and viable yellow mutations as agouti gene expression is increased. Agouti is unique because although it is a recessive allele, heterozygotes will appear yellow, not the dominant brown or black.^[23]

Viable yellow (A^vy/a) and lethal yellow (A^y/a) heterozygotes have shortened life spans and increased risks for developing early onset obesity, type II diabetes mellitus and various tumors.^[17][24] The increased risk of developing obesity is due to the dysregulation of appetite, as agouti agonizes the agouti-related protein (AGRP), responsible for the stimulation of appetite via hypothalamic NPY/AGRP orexigenic neurons.^[22] Agouti also promotes obesity by antagonizing melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) at the melanocortin receptor (MC4R), as MC4R is responsible for regulating food intake by inhibiting appetite signals.^[25] The increase in appetite is coupled to alterations in nutrient metabolism due to the paracrine actions of agouti on adipose tissue, increasing levels of hepatic lipogenesis, decreasing levels of lipolysis and increasing adipocyte hypertrophy.^[26] This increases body mass and leads to difficulties with weight loss as metabolic pathways become dysregulated. Hyperinsulinemia is caused by mutations to agouti, as the agouti protein functions in a calcium dependent manner to increase insulin secretion in pancreatic beta cells, increasing risks of insulin resistance.^[27] Increased tumor formation is due to the increased mitotic rates of agouti, which are localized to epithelial and mesenchymal tissues.^[21]

Methylation and diet intervention

 

These mice are genetically identical despite looking phenotypically different. The mouse on the left's mother was fed Bisphenol A (BPA) with a normal mouse diet and the mouse on the right's mother was fed BPA with a methyl-rich diet. The left mouse is yellow and obese, while the right mouse is brown and healthy.

Correct functioning of agouti requires DNA methylation. Methylation occurs in six guanine-cytosine (GC) rich sequences in the 5’ long terminal repeat of the IAP element in the viable yellow mutation.^[24] Methylation on a gene causes the gene to not be expressed because it will cause the promoter to be turned off. In utero, the mother's diet can cause methylation or demethylation. When this area is unmethylated, ectopic expression of agouti occurs, and yellow phenotypes are shown because the phaeomelanin is expressed instead of eumelanin. When the region is methylated, agouti is expressed normally, and grey and brown phenotypes (eumelanin) occur. The epigenetic state of the IAP element is determined by the level of methylation, as individuals show a wide range of phenotypes based on their degree of DNA methylation.^[24] Increased methylation is correlated with increased expression of the normal agouti gene. Low levels of methylation can induce gene imprinting which results in offspring displaying consistent phenotypes to their parents, as ectopic expression of agouti is inherited through non-genomic mechanisms.^[22][28]

DNA methylation is determined in utero by maternal nutrition and environmental exposure.^[24] Methyl is synthesized de novo but attained through the diet by folic acid, methionine, betaine, and choline, as these nutrients feed into a consistent metabolic pathway for methyl synthesis.^[29] Adequate zinc and vitamin B12 are required for methyl synthesis as they act as cofactors for transferring methyl groups.^[6]

When inadequate methyl is available during early embryonic development, DNA methylation cannot occur, which increases ectopic expression of agouti and results in the presentation of the lethal yellow and viable yellow phenotypes which persist into adulthood. This leads to the development of the yellow obese syndrome, which impairs normal development and increases susceptibility to the development of chronic disease. Ensuring maternal diets are high in methyl equivalents is a key preventive measure for reducing ectopic expression of agouti in offspring. Diet intervention through methyl supplementation reduces imprinting at the agouti locus, as increased methyl consumption causes the IAP element to become completely methylated and ectopic expression of agouti to be reduced.^[30] This lowers the proportion of offspring that present with the yellow phenotype and increases the number offspring that resemble agouti wild type mice with grey coats.^[22] Two genetically identical mice could look very different phenotypically due to the mothers' diets while the mice were in utero. If the mice has the agouti gene it can be expressed due to the mother eating a typical diet and the offspring would have a yellow coat. If the same mother had eaten a methyl-rich diet supplemented with zinc, vitamin B12, and folic acid then the offspring's agouti gene would likely become methylated, it wouldn't be expressed, and the coat color would be brown instead. In mice, the yellow coat color is also associated with health problems in mice including obesity and diabetes.^[31]

Human homologue

Agouti signaling protein (ASP) is the human homologue of murine agouti. It is encoded by the human agouti gene on chromosome 20 and is a protein consisting of 132 amino acids. It is expressed much more broadly than murine agouti and is found in adipose tissue, pancreas, testes, and ovaries, whereas murine agouti is solely expressed in melanocytes.^[6] ASP has 85% similarity to the murine form of agouti.^[32] As ectopic expression of murine agouti leads to the development of the yellow obese syndrome, this is expected to be consistent in humans.^[32] The yellow obese syndrome increases the development of many chronic diseases, including obesity, type II diabetes mellitus and tumorigenesis.^[13]

ASP has similar pharmacological activation to murine agouti, as melanocortin receptors are inhibited through competitive antagonism.^[33] Inhibition of melanocortin by ASP can also be through non-competitive methods, broadening its range of effects.^[21] The function of ASP differs to murine agouti. ASP effects the quality of hair pigmentation whereas murine agouti controls the distribution of pigments that determine coat color.^[22] ASP has neuroendocrine functions consistent with murine agouti, as it agonizes via AgRP neurons in the hypothalamus and antagonizes MSH at MC4Rs which reduce satiety signals. AgRP acts as an appetite stimulator and increases appetite while decreasing metabolism. Because of these mechanisms, AgRP may be linked to increased body mass and obesity in both humans and mice.^[34] Over-expression of AgRP has been linked to obesity in males, while certain polymorphisms of AgRP have been linked to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa.^[35][36] The mechanism underlying hyperinsulinemia in humans is consistent with murine agouti, as insulin secretion is heightened through calcium sensitive signaling in pancreatic beta cells.^[6] The mechanism for ASP induced tumorigenesis remains unknown in humans.^[6]

See also

• Agouti coloration genetics
• Agouti-related peptide
• Genomic imprinting
• Methylation
• Epigenetics

References

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9. Voisey J, van Daal A (February 2002). "Agouti: from mouse to man, from skin to fat". Pigment Cell Research. 15 (1): 10–8. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0749.2002.00039.x. PMID 11837451.
10. Klebig ML, Wilkinson JE, Geisler JG, Woychik RP (May 1995). "Ectopic expression of the agouti gene in transgenic mice causes obesity, features of type II diabetes, and yellow fur". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 92 (11): 4728–32. Bibcode:1995PNAS...92.4728K. doi:10.1073/pnas.92.11.4728. PMC 41780. PMID 7761391.
11. Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM): 600201
12. "Entrez Gene: ASIP".
13. Bultman SJ, Michaud EJ, Woychik RP (December 1992). "Molecular characterization of the mouse agouti locus". Cell. 71 (7): 1195–204. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(05)80067-4. PMID 1473152. S2CID 205925106.
14. Wolff GL, Roberts DW, Mountjoy KG (November 1999). "Physiological consequences of ectopic agouti gene expression: the yellow obese mouse syndrome". Physiological Genomics. 1 (3): 151–63. doi:10.1152/physiolgenomics.1999.1.3.151. PMID 11015573. S2CID 14773686.
15. Mayer TC, Fishbane JL (June 1972). "Mesoderm-ectoderm interaction in the production of the agouti pigmentation pattern in mice" (PDF). Genetics. 71 (2): 297–303. doi:10.1093/genetics/71.2.297. PMC 1212784. PMID 4558326.
16. Melmed, S., ed. (2010). The Pituitary (3rd ed.). Cambridge: MA: Academic Press.
17. Miltenberger RJ, Mynatt RL, Wilkinson JE, Woychik RP (September 1997). "The role of the agouti gene in the yellow obese syndrome". The Journal of Nutrition. 127 (9): 1902S–1907S. doi:10.1093/jn/127.9.1902S. PMID 9278579.
18. Lu D, Willard D, Patel IR, Kadwell S, Overton L, Kost T, Luther M, Chen W, Woychik RP, Wilkison WO (October 1994). "Agouti protein is an antagonist of the melanocyte-stimulating-hormone receptor". Nature. 371 (6500): 799–802. Bibcode:1994Natur.371..799L. doi:10.1038/371799a0. PMID 7935841. S2CID 4282784.
19. McNulty JC, Jackson PJ, Thompson DA, Chai B, Gantz I, Barsh GS, Dawson PE, Millhauser GL (2005). "Structures of the agouti signaling protein". Journal of Molecular Biology. 346 (4): 1059–1070. doi:10.1016/j.jmb.2004.12.030. PMID 15701517.
20. Lu D, Willard D, Patel IR, Kadwell S, Overton L, Kost T, Luther M, Chen W, Woychik RP, Wilkison WO (October 1994). "Agouti protein is an antagonist of the melanocyte-stimulating-hormone receptor". Nature. 371 (6500): 799–802. Bibcode:1994Natur.371..799L. doi:10.1038/371799a0. PMID 7935841. S2CID 4282784.
21. Tollefsbol, T., ed. (2012). Epigenetics in Human Disease (6 ed.). Cambridge: MA: Academic Press.
22. Dolinoy DC (August 2008). "The agouti mouse model: an epigenetic biosensor for nutritional and environmental alterations on the fetal epigenome". Nutrition Reviews. 66 Suppl 1 (1): S7-11. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2008.00056.x. PMC 2822875. PMID 18673496.
23. Barsh, G. S. (2001-01-01), "Agouti", in Brenner, Sydney; Miller, Jefferey H. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Genetics, Academic Press, p. 23, doi:10.1006/rwgn.2001.0017, ISBN 9780122270802, retrieved 2019-09-19
24. Spiegelman BM, Flier JS (November 1996). "Adipogenesis and obesity: rounding out the big picture". Cell. 87 (3): 377–89. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(00)81359-8. PMID 8898192. S2CID 17130318.
25. Adan RA, Tiesjema B, Hillebrand JJ, la Fleur SE, Kas MJ, de Krom M (December 2006). "The MC4 receptor and control of appetite". British Journal of Pharmacology. 149 (7): 815–27. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0706929. PMC 2014686. PMID 17043670.
26. Johnson PR, Hirsch J (January 1972). "Cellularity of adipose depots in six strains of genetically obese mice" (PDF). Journal of Lipid Research. 13 (1): 2–11. doi:10.1016/S0022-2275(20)39428-1. PMID 5059196.
27. Moussa NM, Claycombe KJ (September 1999). "The yellow mouse obesity syndrome and mechanisms of agouti-induced obesity". Obesity Research. 7 (5): 506–14. doi:10.1002/j.1550-8528.1999.tb00440.x. PMID 10509609.
28. Constância M, Pickard B, Kelsey G, Reik W (September 1998). "Imprinting mechanisms". Genome Research. 8 (9): 881–900. doi:10.1101/gr.8.9.881. PMID 9750189.
29. Cooney CA, Dave AA, Wolff GL (August 2002). "Maternal methyl supplements in mice affect epigenetic variation and DNA methylation of offspring". The Journal of Nutrition. 132 (8 Suppl): 2393S–2400S. doi:10.1093/jn/132.8.2393S. PMID 12163699.
30. López-Calderero I, Sánchez Chávez E, García-Carbonero R (May 2010). "The insulin-like growth factor pathway as a target for cancer therapy". Clinical & Translational Oncology. 12 (5): 326–38. doi:10.1007/s12094-010-0514-8. PMID 20466617. S2CID 207382579.
31. "Nutrition & the Epigenome". learn.genetics.utah.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
32. Kwon HY, Bultman SJ, Löffler C, Chen WJ, Furdon PJ, Powell JG, et al. (October 1994). "Molecular structure and chromosomal mapping of the human homolog of the agouti gene". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 91 (21): 9760–4. Bibcode:1994PNAS...91.9760K. doi:10.1073/pnas.91.21.9760. PMC 44896. PMID 7937887.
33. Takeuchi S (2015). Handbook of Hormones. Cambridge: MA: Academic Press. pp. 66–67.
34. Shutter JR, Graham M, Kinsey AC, Scully S, Lüthy R, Stark KL (March 1997). "Hypothalamic expression of ART, a novel gene related to agouti, is up-regulated in obese and diabetic mutant mice". Genes & Development. 11 (5): 593–602. doi:10.1101/gad.11.5.593. PMID 9119224.
35. Katsuki A, Sumida Y, Gabazza EC, Murashima S, Tanaka T, Furuta M, et al. (May 2001). "Plasma levels of agouti-related protein are increased in obese men". The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 86 (5): 1921–4. doi:10.1210/jcem.86.5.7458. PMID 11344185.
36. Vink T, Hinney A, van Elburg AA, van Goozen SH, Sandkuijl LA, Sinke RJ, et al. (May 2001). "Association between an agouti-related protein gene polymorphism and anorexia nervosa". Molecular Psychiatry. 6 (3): 325–8. doi:10.1038/sj.mp.4000854. PMID 11326303. S2CID 6755288.

Further reading

• Wilczynski AM, Joseph CG, Haskell-Luevano C (September 2005). "Current trends in the structure-activity relationship studies of the endogenous agouti-related protein (AGRP) melanocortin receptor antagonist". Medicinal Research Reviews. 25 (5): 545–56. doi:10.1002/med.20037. PMID 16044415. S2CID 116767.
• Pritchard LE, White A (October 2005). "Agouti-related protein: more than a melanocortin-4 receptor antagonist?". Peptides. 26 (10): 1759–70. doi:10.1016/j.peptides.2004.11.036. PMID 15996791. S2CID 21598037.
• Stütz AM, Morrison CD, Argyropoulos G (October 2005). "The agouti-related protein and its role in energy homeostasis". Peptides. 26 (10): 1771–81. doi:10.1016/j.peptides.2004.12.024. PMID 15961186. S2CID 9749408.
• Millhauser GL, McNulty JC, Jackson PJ, Thompson DA, Barsh GS, Gantz I (June 2003). "Loops and links: structural insights into the remarkable function of the agouti-related protein" (PDF). Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 994 (1): 27–35. Bibcode:2003NYASA.994...27M. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2003.tb03159.x. hdl:2027.42/75746. PMID 12851295. S2CID 46576434.
• Barsh GS, He L, Gunn TM (2002). "Genetic and biochemical studies of the Agouti-attractin system". Journal of Receptor and Signal Transduction Research. 22 (1–4): 63–77. doi:10.1081/RRS-120014588. PMID 12503608. S2CID 25089838.
• Millington GW (May 2006). "Proopiomelanocortin (POMC): the cutaneous roles of its melanocortin products and receptors". Clinical and Experimental Dermatology. 31 (3): 407–12. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2230.2006.02128.x. PMID 16681590. S2CID 25213876.

External links

• agouti+protein at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.