Calnexin: a molecular chaperone with a taste for carbohydrate

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 123-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Williams

Calnexin is an integral membrane protein of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that binds transiently to a wide array of newly synthesized membrane and secretory proteins. It also exhibits prolonged binding to misfolded or incompletely folded proteins. Recent studies have demonstrated that calnexin functions as a molecular chaperone to facilitate the folding and assembly of proteins in the ER. It is also a component of the quality control system that prevents proteins from progressing along the secretory pathway until they have acquired proper tertiary or quaternary structure. Most proteins that are translocated into the ER are glycosylated at Asn residues, and calnexin's interactions are almost exclusively restricted to proteins that possess this posttranslational modification. The preference for glycoproteins resides in calnexin's ability to function as a lectin with specificity for the GlC1Man9GlcNAc2 oligosaccharide, an early intermediate in the processing of Asn-linked oligosaccharides. Calnexin also has the capacity to bind to polypeptide segments of unfolded glycoproteins. Available evidence suggests that calnexin utilizes its lectin property during initial capture of a newly synthesized glycoprotein and that subsequent association (and chaperone function) is mediated through polypeptide interactions. Unlike other molecular chaperones that are soluble proteins, calnexin is an intrinsic component of the ER membrane. Its unique ability to capture unfolded glycoproteins through their large oligosaccharide moieties may have evolved as a means to overcome accessibility problems imposed by being constrained within a lipid bilayer.Key words: protein folding, molecular chaperones, calnexin, quality control, endoplasmic reticulum.

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (23) ◽  
pp. 11291-11298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aeid Igbaria ◽  
Philip I. Merksamer ◽  
Ala Trusina ◽  
Firehiwot Tilahun ◽  
Jeffrey R. Johnson ◽  
...  

Diverse perturbations to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) functions compromise the proper folding and structural maturation of secretory proteins. To study secretory pathway physiology during such “ER stress,” we employed an ER-targeted, redox-responsive, green fluorescent protein—eroGFP—that reports on ambient changes in oxidizing potential. Here we find that diverse ER stress regimes cause properly folded, ER-resident eroGFP (and other ER luminal proteins) to “reflux” back to the reducing environment of the cytosol as intact, folded proteins. By utilizing eroGFP in a comprehensive genetic screen in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we show that ER protein reflux during ER stress requires specific chaperones and cochaperones residing in both the ER and the cytosol. Chaperone-mediated ER protein reflux does not require E3 ligase activity, and proceeds even more vigorously when these ER-associated degradation (ERAD) factors are crippled, suggesting that reflux may work in parallel with ERAD. In summary, chaperone-mediated ER protein reflux may be a conserved protein quality control process that evolved to maintain secretory pathway homeostasis during ER protein-folding stress.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Mehnert ◽  
Franziska Sommermeyer ◽  
Maren Berger ◽  
Sathish Kumar Lakshmipathy ◽  
Robert Gauss ◽  
...  

Misfolded proteins of the secretory pathway are extracted from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), polyubiquitylated by a protein complex termed the Hmg-CoA reductase degradation ligase (HRD-ligase), and degraded by cytosolic 26S proteasomes. This process is termed ER-associated protein degradation (ERAD). We previously showed that the membrane protein Der1, which is a subunit of the HRD-ligase, is involved in the export of aberrant polypeptides from the ER. Unexpectedly, we also uncovered a close spatial proximity of Der1 and the substrate receptor Hrd3 in the ER lumen. We report here on a mutant Hrd3KR that is selectively defective for ERAD of soluble proteins. Hrd3KR displays subtle structural changes that affect its positioning toward Der1. Furthermore, increased quantities of the ER-resident Hsp70-type chaperone Kar2 and the Hsp40-type cochaperone Scj1 bind to Hrd3KR. Of note, deletion of SCJ1 impairs ERAD of model substrates and causes the accumulation of client proteins at Hrd3. Our data imply a function of Scj1 in the removal of malfolded proteins from the receptor Hrd3, which facilitates their delivery to downstream-acting components like Der1.


2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen McCaffrey ◽  
Ineke Braakman

The ER (endoplasmic reticulum) is the protein folding ‘factory’ of the secretory pathway. Virtually all proteins destined for the plasma membrane, the extracellular space or other secretory compartments undergo folding and maturation within the ER. The ER hosts a unique PQC (protein quality control) system that allows specialized modifications such as glycosylation and disulfide bond formation essential for the correct folding and function of many secretory proteins. It is also the major checkpoint for misfolded or aggregation-prone proteins that may be toxic to the cell or extracellular environment. A failure of this system, due to aging or other factors, has therefore been implicated in a number of serious human diseases. In this article, we discuss several key features of ER PQC that maintain the health of the cellular secretome.


2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (4) ◽  
pp. 1377-1408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel N. Hebert ◽  
Maurizio Molinari

A substantial fraction of eukaryotic gene products are synthesized by ribosomes attached at the cytosolic face of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. These polypeptides enter cotranslationally in the ER lumen, which contains resident molecular chaperones and folding factors that assist their maturation. Native proteins are released from the ER lumen and are transported through the secretory pathway to their final intra- or extracellular destination. Folding-defective polypeptides are exported across the ER membrane into the cytosol and destroyed. Cellular and organismal homeostasis relies on a balanced activity of the ER folding, quality control, and degradation machineries as shown by the dozens of human diseases related to defective maturation or disposal of individual polypeptides generated in the ER.


1995 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
P S Kim ◽  
P Arvan

Before secretion, newly synthesized thyroglobulin (Tg) folds via a series of intermediates: disulfide-linked aggregates and unfolded monomers-->folded monomers-->dimers. Immediately after synthesis, very little Tg associated with calnexin (a membrane-bound molecular chaperone in the ER), while a larger fraction bound BiP (a lumenal ER chaperone); dissociation from these chaperones showed superficially similar kinetics. Calnexin might bind selectively to carbohydrates within glycoproteins, or to hydrophobic surfaces of secretory proteins while they form proper disulfide bonds (Wada, I., W.-J. Ou, M.-C. Liu, and G. Scheele, J. Biol. Chem. 1994. 269:7464-7472). Because Tg has multiple disulfides, as well as glycans, we tested a brief exposure of live thyrocytes to dithiothreitol, which resulted in quantitative aggregation of nascent Tg, as analyzed by SDS-PAGE of cells lysed without further reduction. Cells lysed in the presence of dithiothreitol under non-denaturing conditions caused Tg aggregates to run as reduced monomers. For cells lysed either way, after in vivo reduction, Tg coprecipitated with calnexin. After washout of dithiothreitol, nascent Tg aggregates dissolved intracellularly and were secreted ultimately. 1 h after washout, > or = 92% of labeled Tg was found to dissociate from calnexin, while the fraction of labeled Tg bound to BiP rose from 0 to approximately 40%, demonstrating a "precursor-product" relationship. Whereas intralumenal reduction was essential for efficient Tg coprecipitation with calnexin, Tg glycosylation was not required. These data are among the first to demonstrate sequential chaperone function involved in conformational maturation of nascent secretory proteins within the ER.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aeid Igbaria ◽  
Philip I. Merksamer ◽  
Ala Trusina ◽  
Firehiwot Tilahun ◽  
Jefferey R. Johnson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTDiverse perturbations to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) functions compromise the proper folding and structural maturation of secretory proteins. To study secretory pathway physiology during such “ER stress”, we employed an ER-targeted, redox-responsive, green fluorescent protein—eroGFP—that reports on ambient changes in oxidizing potential. Here we find that diverse ER stress agents cause properly folded, ER-resident eroGFP (and other ER luminal proteins) to “reflux” back to the reducing environment of the cytosol as intact, folded proteins. By utilizing eroGFP in a comprehensive genetic screen in S. cerevisiae, we show that ER protein reflux during ER stress requires specific chaperones and co-chaperones residing in both the ER and the cytosol. Chaperone-mediated ER protein reflux does not require E3 ligase activity, and proceeds even more vigorously when these ER-associated degradation (ERAD) factors are crippled, suggesting that reflux may work in parallel with ERAD. In summary, chaperone-mediated ER-protein reflux may be a conserved protein quality control process that evolved to maintain secretory pathway homeostasis during ER protein-folding stress.SIGNIFICANCEApproximately one third of eukaryotic proteins are synthesized on ribosomes attached to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. Many of these polypeptides co- or post-translationally translocate into the ER, wherein they fold and mature. An ER quality-control system proofreads these proteins by facilitating their folding and modification, while eliminating misfolded proteins through ER-associated degradation (ERAD). Yet, the fate of many secretory proteins during ER stress is not completely understood. Here, we uncovered an ER-stress induced “protein reflux” system that delivers intact, folded ER luminal proteins back to the cytosol without degrading them. We found that ER protein reflux works in parallel to ERAD and requires distinct ER-resident and cytosolic chaperones and co-chaperones.


1997 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1805-1814 ◽  
Author(s):  
J S Cox ◽  
R E Chapman ◽  
P Walter

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a multifunctional organelle responsible for production of both lumenal and membrane components of secretory pathway compartments. Secretory proteins are folded, processed, and sorted in the ER lumen and lipid synthesis occurs on the ER membrane itself. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, synthesis of ER components is highly regulated: the ER-resident proteins by the unfolded protein response and membrane lipid synthesis by the inositol response. We demonstrate that these two responses are intimately linked, forming different branches of the same pathway. Furthermore, we present evidence indicating that this coordinate regulation plays a role in ER biogenesis.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 2980-2993
Author(s):  
R Ossig ◽  
C Dascher ◽  
H H Trepte ◽  
H D Schmitt ◽  
D Gallwitz

It has been shown previously that defects in the essential GTP-binding protein, Ypt1p, lead to a block in protein transport from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi apparatus in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here we report that four newly discovered suppressors of YPT1 deletion (SLY1-20, SLY2, SLY12, and SLY41) to a varying degree restore ER-to-Golgi transport defects in cells lacking Ypt1p. These suppressors also partially complement the sec21-1 and sec22-3 mutants which lead to a defect early in the secretory pathway. Sly1p-depleted cells, as well as a conditional lethal sly2 null mutant at nonpermissive temperatures, accumulate ER membranes and core-glycosylated invertase and carboxypeptidase Y. The sly2 null mutant under restrictive conditions (37 degrees C) can be rescued by the multicopy suppressor SLY12 and the single-copy suppressor SLY1-20, indicating that these three SLY genes functionally interact. Sly2p is shown to be an integral membrane protein.


2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 2537-2548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satomi Nadanaka ◽  
Hiderou Yoshida ◽  
Fumi Kano ◽  
Masayuki Murata ◽  
Kazutoshi Mori

Newly synthesized secretory and transmembrane proteins are folded and assembled in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) where an efficient quality control system operates so that only correctly folded molecules are allowed to move along the secretory pathway. The productive folding process in the ER has been thought to be supported by the unfolded protein response (UPR), which is activated by the accumulation of unfolded proteins in the ER. However, a dilemma has emerged; activation of ATF6, a key regulator of mammalian UPR, requires intracellular transport from the ER to the Golgi apparatus. This suggests that unfolded proteins might be leaked from the ER together with ATF6 in response to ER stress, exhibiting proteotoxicity in the secretory pathway. We show here that ATF6 and correctly folded proteins are transported to the Golgi apparatus via the same route and by the same mechanism under conditions of ER stress, whereas unfolded proteins are retained in the ER. Thus, activation of the UPR is compatible with the quality control in the ER and the ER possesses a remarkable ability to select proteins to be transported in mammalian cells in marked contrast to yeast cells, which actively utilize intracellular traffic to deal with unfolded proteins accumulated in the ER.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (24) ◽  
pp. 9351
Author(s):  
Shingo Kanemura ◽  
Motonori Matsusaki ◽  
Kenji Inaba ◽  
Masaki Okumura

Complicated and sophisticated protein homeostasis (proteostasis) networks in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), comprising disulfide catalysts, molecular chaperones, and their regulators, help to maintain cell viability. Newly synthesized proteins inserted into the ER need to fold and assemble into unique native structures to fulfill their physiological functions, and this is assisted by protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) family. Herein, we focus on recent advances in understanding the detailed mechanisms of PDI family members as guides for client folding and assembly to ensure the efficient production of secretory proteins.


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