scholarly journals Ubiquitin-Independent Degradation of Antiapoptotic MCL-1

2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 3099-3110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Stewart ◽  
Brian Koss ◽  
Madhavi Bathina ◽  
Rhonda M. Perciavalle ◽  
Kristen Bisanz ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Antiapoptotic myeloid cell leukemia 1 (MCL-1) is an essential modulator of survival during the development and maintenance of a variety of cell lineages. Its turnover, believed to be mediated by the ubiquitin-proteasome system, facilitates apoptosis induction in response to cellular stress. To investigate the contribution of ubiquitinylation in regulating murine MCL-1 turnover, we generated an MCL-1 mutant lacking the lysine residues required for ubiquitinylation (MCL-1KR). Here, we demonstrate that despite failing to be ubiquitinylated, the MCL-1KR protein is eliminated at a rate similar to that of wild-type MCL-1 under basal and stressed conditions. Moreover, the degradation of wild-type MCL-1 is not affected when ubiquitin-activating enzyme E1 activity is blocked. Likewise, both wild-type and MCL-1KR proteins are similarly degraded when expressed in primary lymphocytes. Supporting these findings, unmodified, in vitro-translated MCL-1 can be degraded in a cell-free system by the 20S proteasome. Taken together, these data demonstrate that MCL-1 degradation can occur independently of ubiquitinylation.

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 1075-1084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heike Laser ◽  
Laura Conforti ◽  
Giacomo Morreale ◽  
Till G.M. Mack ◽  
Molly Heyer ◽  
...  

Slow Wallerian degeneration (WldS) mutant mice express a chimeric nuclear protein that protects sick or injured axons from degeneration. The C-terminal region, derived from NAD+ synthesizing enzyme Nmnat1, is reported to confer neuroprotection in vitro. However, an additional role for the N-terminal 70 amino acids (N70), derived from multiubiquitination factor Ube4b, has not been excluded. In wild-type Ube4b, N70 is part of a sequence essential for ubiquitination activity but its role is not understood. We report direct binding of N70 to valosin-containing protein (VCP; p97/Cdc48), a protein with diverse cellular roles including a pivotal role in the ubiquitin proteasome system. Interaction with WldS targets VCP to discrete intranuclear foci where ubiquitin epitopes can also accumulate. WldS lacking its N-terminal 16 amino acids (N16) neither binds nor redistributes VCP, but continues to accumulate in intranuclear foci, targeting its intrinsic NAD+ synthesis activity to these same foci. Wild-type Ube4b also requires N16 to bind VCP, despite a more C-terminal binding site in invertebrate orthologues. We conclude that N-terminal sequences of WldS protein influence the intranuclear location of both ubiquitin proteasome and NAD+ synthesis machinery and that an evolutionary recent sequence mediates binding of mammalian Ube4b to VCP.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 2450
Author(s):  
Won-Hee Song ◽  
Dalen Zuidema ◽  
Young-Joo Yi ◽  
Michal Zigo ◽  
Zhibing Zhang ◽  
...  

Propagation of paternal sperm-contributed mitochondrial genes, resulting in heteroplasmy, is seldom observed in mammals due to post-fertilization degradation of sperm mitochondria, referred to as sperm mitophagy. Whole organelle sperm mitochondrion degradation is thought to be mediated by the interplay between the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and the autophagic pathway (Song et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2016). Both porcine and primate post-fertilization sperm mitophagy rely on the ubiquitin-binding autophagy receptor, sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1), and the proteasome-interacting ubiquitinated protein dislocase, valosin-containing protein (VCP). Consequently, we anticipated that sperm mitophagy could be reconstituted in a cell-free system consisting of permeabilized mammalian spermatozoa co-incubated with porcine oocyte extracts. We found that SQSTM1 was detected in the midpiece/mitochondrial sheath of the sperm tail after, but not before, co-incubation with oocyte extracts. VCP was prominent in the sperm mitochondrial sheath both before and after the extract co-incubation and was also detected in the acrosome and postacrosomal sheath and the subacrosomal layer of the spermatozoa co-incubated with extraction buffer as control. Such patterns are consistent with our previous observation of SQSTM1 and VCP associating with sperm mitochondria inside the porcine zygote. In addition, it was observed that sperm head expansion mimicked the early stages of paternal pronucleus development in a zygote during prolonged sperm-oocyte extract co-incubation. Treatment with anti-SQSTM1 antibody during extract co-incubation prevented ooplasmic SQSTM1 binding to sperm mitochondria. Even in an interspecific cellular environment encompassing bull spermatozoa and porcine oocyte extract, ooplasmic SQSTM1 was recruited to heterospecific sperm mitochondria. Complementary with the binding of SQSTM1 and VCP to sperm mitochondria, two sperm-borne pro-mitophagy proteins, parkin co-regulated gene product (PACRG) and spermatogenesis associated 18 (SPATA18), underwent localization changes after extract coincubation, which were consistent with their degradation observed inside fertilized porcine oocytes. These results demonstrate that the early developmental events of post-fertilization sperm mitophagy observed in porcine zygote can be reconstituted in a cell-free system, which could become a useful tool for identifying additional molecules that regulate mitochondrial inheritance in mammals


2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 166-171
Author(s):  
Anne M. Landau ◽  
Rosmarie Siegrist-Johnstone ◽  
Julie Desbarats

Objective: Fas (CD95), commonly categorised as a death receptor due to its well-defined role in apoptosis, can paradoxically also promote neuroprotection. We have previously found that defects in Fas signalling render mice highly susceptible to neural degeneration in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine mouse model of Parkinson's disease (PD). Decreased activity of the ubiquitin proteasome system and accumulation of protein aggregates are implicated in PD pathogenesis. Here, we investigate the relationship between Fas and ubiquitin proteasomal activity in neuronal cells.Methods: We performed proteasome assays in neuroblastoma cells and in midbrain cultures of wild-type and Fas-deficient mice.Results: Neuroblastoma cells upregulated proteasomal activity in response to an activating Fas antibody in vitro. Furthermore, neural tissue from Fas-deficient mice showed decreased proteasomal activity compared with the tissue from wild-type mice when exposed to a PD-inducing toxin in vivo.Conclusion: These findings suggest that mechanisms for Fas-mediated neuroprotection may include Fas-induced upregulation of proteasomal activity, and consequently less accumulation of toxic protein aggregates.


1984 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 248-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
J E Rothman ◽  
L J Urbani ◽  
R Brands

Mixed monolayers containing vesicular stomatitis virus-infected Chinese hamster ovary clone 15B cells (lacking UDP-N-acetylglucosamine transferase I, a Golgi enzyme) and uninfected wild-type Chinese hamster ovary cells were formed. Extensive cell fusion occurs after the monolayer is exposed to a pH of 5.0. The vesicular stomatitis virus encoded membrane glycoprotein (G protein) resident in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (labeled with [35S]methionine) or Golgi complex (labeled with [3H]palmitate) of 15B cells at the time of fusion can reach Golgi complexes from wild-type cells after fusion; G protein present in the plasma membrane cannot. Transfer to wild-type Golgi complexes is monitored by the conversion of G protein to an endoglycosidase H-resistant form upon arrival, and also demonstrated by immunofluorescence microscopy. G protein in the Golgi complex of the 15B cells at the time of fusion exhibits properties vis a vis its transfer to an exogenous Golgi population identical to those found earlier in a cell-free system (Fries, E., and J. E. Rothman. 1981. J. Cell Biol., 90: 697-704). Specifically, pulse-chase experiments using the in vivo fusion and in vitro assays reveal the same two populations of G protein in the Golgi complex. The first population, consisting of G protein molecules that have just received their fatty acid, can transfer to a second Golgi population in vivo and in vitro. The second population, entered by G protein approximately 5 min after its acylation, is unavailable for this transfer, in vivo and in vitro. Presumably, this second population consists of those G-protein molecules that had already been transferred between compartments within the 15B Golgi population, in an equivalent process before cell fusion or homogenization for in vitro assays. Evidently, the same compartment boundary in the Golgi complex is detected by these two measurements. The surprisingly facile process of glycoprotein transit between Golgi stacks that occurs in vivo may therefore be retained in vitro, providing a basis for the cell-free system.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Dina Aweida ◽  
Shenhav Cohen

Protein degradation maintains cellular integrity by regulating virtually all biological processes, whereas impaired proteolysis perturbs protein quality control, and often leads to human disease. Two major proteolytic systems are responsible for protein breakdown in all cells: autophagy, which facilitates the loss of organelles, protein aggregates, and cell surface proteins; and the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), which promotes degradation of mainly soluble proteins. Recent findings indicate that more complex protein structures, such as filamentous assemblies, which are not accessible to the catalytic core of the proteasome in vitro, can be efficiently degraded by this proteolytic machinery in systemic catabolic states in vivo. Mechanisms that loosen the filamentous structure seem to be activated first, hence increasing the accessibility of protein constituents to the UPS. In this review, we will discuss the mechanisms underlying the disassembly and loss of the intricate insoluble filamentous myofibrils, which are responsible for muscle contraction, and whose degradation by the UPS causes weakness and disability in aging and disease. Several lines of evidence indicate that myofibril breakdown occurs in a strictly ordered and controlled manner, and the function of AAA-ATPases is crucial for their disassembly and loss.


2004 ◽  
Vol 287 (4) ◽  
pp. H1730-H1739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron Zohar ◽  
Baoqian Zhu ◽  
Peter Liu ◽  
Jaro Sodek ◽  
C. A. McCulloch

Reperfusion-induced oxidative injury to the myocardium promotes activation and proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts and repair by scar formation. Osteopontin (OPN) is a proinflammatory cytokine that is upregulated after reperfusion. To determine whether OPN enhances fibroblast survival after exposure to oxidants, cardiac fibroblasts from wild-type (WT) or OPN-null (OPN−/−) mice were treated in vitro with H2O2to model reperfusion injury. Within 1 h, membrane permeability to propidium iodide (PI) was increased from 5 to 60% in OPN−/−cells but was increased to only 20% in WT cells. In contrast, after 1–8 h of treatment with H2O2, the percent of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-stained cells was more than twofold higher in WT than OPN−/−cells. Electron microscopy of WT cells treated with H2O2showed chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation, and cytoplasmic and nuclear shrinkage, which are consistent with apoptosis. In contrast, H2O2-treated OPN−/−cardiac fibroblasts exhibited cell and nuclear swelling and membrane disruption that are indicative of cell necrosis. Treatment of OPN−/−and WT cells with a cell-permeable caspase-3 inhibitor reduced the percentage of TUNEL staining by more than fourfold in WT cells but decreased staining in OPN−/−cells by ∼30%. Although the percentage of PI-permeable WT cells was reduced threefold, the percent of PI-permeable OPN−/−cells was not altered. Restoration of OPN expression in OPN−/−fibroblasts reduced the percentage of PI-permeable cells but not TUNEL staining after H2O2treatment. Thus H2O2-induced cell death in OPN-deficient cardiac fibroblasts is mediated by a caspase-3-independent, necrotic pathway. We suggest that the increased expression of OPN in the myocardium after reperfusion may promote fibrosis by protecting cardiac fibroblasts from cell death.


2007 ◽  
Vol 403 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandrine Pacquelet ◽  
Jennifer L. Johnson ◽  
Beverly A. Ellis ◽  
Agnieszka A. Brzezinska ◽  
William S. Lane ◽  
...  

Exposure of neutrophils to LPS (lipopolysaccharide) triggers their oxidative response. However, the relationship between the signalling downstream of TLR4 (Toll-like receptor 4) after LPS stimulation and the activation of the oxidase remains elusive. Phosphorylation of the cytosolic factor p47phox is essential for activation of the NADPH oxidase. In the present study, we examined the hypothesis that IRAK-4 (interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase-4), the main regulatory kinase downstream of TLR4 activation, regulates the NADPH oxidase through phosphorylation of p47phox. We show that p47phox is a substrate for IRAK-4. Unlike PKC (protein kinase C), IRAK-4 phosphorylates p47phox not only at serine residues, but also at threonine residues. Target residues were identified by tandem MS, revealing a novel threonine-rich regulatory domain. We also show that p47phox is phosphorylated in granulocytes in response to LPS stimulation. LPS-dependent phosphorylation of p47phox was enhanced by the inhibition of p38 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase), confirming that the kinase operates upstream of p38 MAPK. IRAK-4-phosphorylated p47phox activated the NADPH oxidase in a cell-free system, and IRAK-4 overexpression increased NADPH oxidase activity in response to LPS. We have shown that endogenous IRAK-4 interacts with p47phox and they co-localize at the plasma membrane after LPS stimulation, using immunoprecipitation assays and immunofluorescence microscopy respectively. IRAK-4 was activated in neutrophils in response to LPS stimulation. We found that Thr133, Ser288 and Thr356, targets for IRAK-4 phosphorylation in vitro, are also phosphorylated in endogenous p47phox after LPS stimulation. We conclude that IRAK-4 phosphorylates p47phox and regulates NADPH oxidase activation after LPS stimulation.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 4467-4472
Author(s):  
M Altmann ◽  
N Sonenberg ◽  
H Trachsel

The gene encoding translation initiation factor 4E (eIF-4E) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was randomly mutagenized in vitro. The mutagenized gene was reintroduced on a plasmid into S. cerevisiae cells having their only wild-type eIF-4E gene on a plasmid under the control of the regulatable GAL1 promoter. Transcription from the GAL1 promoter (and consequently the production of wild-type eIF-4E) was then shut off by plating these cells on glucose-containing medium. Under these conditions, the phenotype conferred upon the cells by the mutated eIF-4E gene became apparent. Temperature-sensitive S. cerevisiae strains were identified by replica plating. The properties of one strain, 4-2, were further analyzed. Strain 4-2 has two point mutations in the eIF-4E gene. Upon incubation at 37 degrees C, incorporation of [35S]methionine was reduced to 15% of the wild-type level. Cell-free translation systems derived from strain 4-2 were dependent on exogenous eIF-4E for efficient translation of certain mRNAs, and this dependence was enhanced by preincubation of the extract at 37 degrees C. Not all mRNAs tested required exogenous eIF-4E for translation.


2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 784-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Zichel ◽  
A. Mimran ◽  
A. Keren ◽  
A. Barnea ◽  
I. Steinberger-Levy ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Botulinum toxins produced by the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum are the most potent biological toxins in nature. Traditionally, people at risk are immunized with a formaldehyde-inactivated toxin complex. Second generation vaccines are based on the recombinant carboxy-terminal heavy-chain (Hc) fragment of the neurotoxin. However, the materialization of this approach is challenging, mainly due to the high AT content of clostridial genes. Herein, we present an alternative strategy in which the native genes encoding Hc proteins of botulinum toxins A, B, and E were used to express the recombinant Hc fragments in a cell-free expression system. We used the unique property of this open system to introduce different combinations of chaperone systems, protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), and reducing/oxidizing environments directly to the expression reaction. Optimized expression conditions led to increased production of soluble Hc protein, which was successfully scaled up using a continuous exchange (CE) cell-free system. Hc proteins were produced at a concentration of more than 1 mg/ml and purified by one-step Ni+ affinity chromatography. Mice immunized with three injections containing 5 μg of any of the in vitro-expressed, alum-absorbed, Hc vaccines generated a serum enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) titer of 105 against the native toxin complex, which enabled protection against a high-dose toxin challenge (103 to 106 mouse 50% lethal dose [MsLD50]). Finally, immunization with a trivalent HcA, HcB, and HcE vaccine protected mice against the corresponding trivalent 105 MsLD50 toxin challenge. Our results together with the latest developments in scalability of the in vitro protein expression systems offer alternative routes for the preparation of botulinum vaccine.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aida Kozlic ◽  
Nikola Winter ◽  
Theresia Telser ◽  
Jakob Reimann ◽  
Katrin Rose ◽  
...  

The N-degron pathway is a branch of the ubiquitin-proteasome system where amino-terminal residues serve as degradation signals. In a synthetic biology approach, we expressed ubiquitin ligase PRT6 and ubiquitin conjugating enzyme 2 (AtUBC2) from Arabidopsis thaliana in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain with mutation in its endogenous N-degron pathway. The two enzymes re-constitute part of the plant N-degron pathway and were probed by monitoring the stability of co-expressed GFP-linked plant proteins starting with Arginine N-degrons. The novel assay allows for straightforward analysis, whereas in vitro interaction assays often do not allow detection of the weak binding of N-degron recognizing ubiquitin ligases to their substrates, and in planta testing is usually complex and time-consuming.


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