scholarly journals Amyloid domains in the cell nucleus controlled by nucleoskeletal protein lamin B1 reveal a new pathway of mercury neurotoxicity

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Arnhold ◽  
Karl-Heinz Guehrs ◽  
Anna von Mikecz
Keyword(s):  
Protein Aggregation ◽  
Cell Nucleus ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
Confocal Imaging ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Organic Chemical ◽  
Protein Homeostasis ◽  
Lamin B1 ◽  
Neuronal Signalling ◽  
Amyloid Fibrillation

Mercury (Hg) is a bioaccumulating trace metal that globally circulates the atmosphere and waters in its elemental, inorganic and organic chemical forms. While Hg represents a notorious neurotoxicant, the underlying cellular pathways are insufficiently understood. We identify amyloid protein aggregation in the cell nucleus as a novel pathway of Hg-bio-interactions. By mass spectrometry of purified protein aggregates a subset of spliceosomal components and nucleoskeletal protein lamin B1 were detected as constituent parts of an Hg-induced nuclear aggregome network. The aggregome network was located by confocal imaging of amyloid-specific antibodies and dyes to amyloid cores within splicing-speckles that additionally recruit components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Hg significantly enhances global proteasomal activity in the nucleus suggesting that formation of amyloid speckles plays a role in maintenance of protein homeostasis. RNAi knock down showed that lamin B1 for its part regulates amyloid speckle formation and thus likewise participates in nuclear protein homeostasis. As the Hg-induced cascade of interactions between the nucleoskeleton and protein homeostasis reduces neuronal signalling, amyloid fibrillation in the cell nucleus is introduced as a feature of Hg-neurotoxicity that opens new avenues of future research. Similar to protein aggregation events in the cytoplasm that are controlled by the cytoskeleton, amyloid fibrillation of nuclear proteins may be driven by the nucleoskeleton.

scholarly journals Amyloid domains in the cell nucleus controlled by nucleoskeletal protein lamin B1 reveal a new pathway of mercury neurotoxicity

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Arnhold ◽  
Karl-Heinz Guehrs ◽  
Anna von Mikecz
Keyword(s):  
Protein Aggregation ◽  
Cell Nucleus ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
Confocal Imaging ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Organic Chemical ◽  
Protein Homeostasis ◽  
Lamin B1 ◽  
Neuronal Signalling ◽  
Amyloid Fibrillation

Mercury (Hg) is a bioaccumulating trace metal that globally circulates the atmosphere and waters in its elemental, inorganic and organic chemical forms. While Hg represents a notorious neurotoxicant, the underlying cellular pathways are insufficiently understood. We identify amyloid protein aggregation in the cell nucleus as a novel pathway of Hg-bio-interactions. By mass spectrometry of purified protein aggregates a subset of spliceosomal components and nucleoskeletal protein lamin B1 were detected as constituent parts of an Hg-induced nuclear aggregome network. The aggregome network was located by confocal imaging of amyloid-specific antibodies and dyes to amyloid cores within splicing-speckles that additionally recruit components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Hg significantly enhances global proteasomal activity in the nucleus suggesting that formation of amyloid speckles plays a role in maintenance of protein homeostasis. RNAi knock down showed that lamin B1 for its part regulates amyloid speckle formation and thus likewise participates in nuclear protein homeostasis. As the Hg-induced cascade of interactions between the nucleoskeleton and protein homeostasis reduces neuronal signalling, amyloid fibrillation in the cell nucleus is introduced as a feature of Hg-neurotoxicity that opens new avenues of future research. Similar to protein aggregation events in the cytoplasm that are controlled by the cytoskeleton, amyloid fibrillation of nuclear proteins may be driven by the nucleoskeleton.

scholarly journals New methods for confocal imaging of infection threads in crop and model legumes

Plant Methods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angus E. Rae ◽  
Vivien Rolland ◽  
Rosemary G. White ◽  
Ulrike Mathesius
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Root Hair ◽  
Periodic Acid ◽  
Confocal Imaging ◽  
Wall Material ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Infection Threads ◽  
Imaging Of Infection

Abstract Background The formation of infection threads in the symbiotic infection of rhizobacteria in legumes is a unique, fascinating, and poorly understood process. Infection threads are tubes of cell wall material that transport rhizobacteria from root hair cells to developing nodules in host roots. They form in a type of reverse tip-growth from an inversion of the root hair cell wall, but the mechanism driving this growth is unknown, and the composition of the thread wall remains unclear. High resolution, 3-dimensional imaging of infection threads, and cell wall component specific labelling, would greatly aid in our understanding of the nature and development of these structures. To date, such imaging has not been done, with infection threads typically imaged by GFP-tagged rhizobia within them, or histochemically in thin sections. Results We have developed new methods of imaging infection threads using novel and traditional cell wall fluorescent labels, and laser confocal scanning microscopy. We applied a new Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) stain using rhodamine-123 to the labelling of whole cleared infected roots of Medicago truncatula; which allowed for imaging of infection threads in greater 3D detail than had previously been achieved. By the combination of the above method and a calcofluor-white counter-stain, we also succeeded in labelling infection threads and plant cell walls separately, and have potentially discovered a way in which the infection thread matrix can be visualized. Conclusions Our methods have made the imaging and study of infection threads more effective and informative, and present exciting new opportunities for future research in the area.

scholarly journals Immunoproteasome Function in Normal and Malignant Hematopoiesis

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1577
Author(s):  
Nuria Tubío-Santamaría ◽  
Frédéric Ebstein ◽  
Florian H. Heidel ◽  
Elke Krüger
Keyword(s):  
Proteasome Inhibition ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
Hematologic Malignancies ◽  
Protein Homeostasis ◽  
Efficacy And Safety ◽  
Hematopoietic System ◽  
Oxidized Proteins ◽  
Attractive Therapeutic Target ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽  
Early Phases

The ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS) is a central part of protein homeostasis, degrading not only misfolded or oxidized proteins but also proteins with essential functions. The fact that a healthy hematopoietic system relies on the regulation of protein homeostasis and that alterations in the UPS can lead to malignant transformation makes the UPS an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of hematologic malignancies. Herein, inhibitors of the proteasome, the last and most important component of the UPS enzymatic cascade, have been approved for the treatment of these malignancies. However, their use has been associated with side effects, drug resistance, and relapse. Inhibitors of the immunoproteasome, a proteasomal variant constitutively expressed in the cells of hematopoietic origin, could potentially overcome the encountered problems of non-selective proteasome inhibition. Immunoproteasome inhibitors have demonstrated their efficacy and safety against inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, even though their development for the treatment of hematologic malignancies is still in the early phases. Various immunoproteasome inhibitors have shown promising preliminary results in pre-clinical studies, and one inhibitor is currently being investigated in clinical trials for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Here, we will review data on immunoproteasome function and inhibition in hematopoietic cells and hematologic cancers.

The Cryo-EM Effect: Structural Biology of Neurodegenerative Disease Proteostasis Factors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin C Creekmore ◽  
Yi-Wei Chang ◽  
Edward B Lee
Keyword(s):  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Protein Aggregation ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disease ◽  
Electron Tomography ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
26S Proteasome ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
New Information ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Regulate Protein

Abstract Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the accumulation of misfolded proteins. This protein aggregation suggests that abnormal proteostasis contributes to aging-related neurodegeneration. A better fundamental understanding of proteins that regulate proteostasis may provide insight into the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disease and may perhaps reveal novel therapeutic opportunities. The 26S proteasome is the key effector of the ubiquitin-proteasome system responsible for degrading polyubiquitinated proteins. However, additional factors, such as valosin-containing protein (VCP/p97/Cdc48) and C9orf72, play a role in regulation and trafficking of substrates through the normal proteostasis systems of a cell. Nonhuman AAA+ ATPases, such as the disaggregase Hsp104, also provide insights into the biochemical processes that regulate protein aggregation. X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures not bound to substrate have provided meaningful information about the 26S proteasome, VCP, and Hsp104. However, recent cryo-EM structures bound to substrate have provided new information about the function and mechanism of these proteostasis factors. Cryo-EM and cryo-electron tomography data combined with biochemical data have also increased the understanding of C9orf72 and its role in maintaining proteostasis. These structural insights provide a foundation for understanding proteostasis mechanisms with near-atomic resolution upon which insights can be gleaned regarding the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases.

scholarly journals ER stress causes widespread protein aggregation and prion formation

2017 ◽  
Vol 216 (8) ◽  
pp. 2295-2304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norfadilah Hamdan ◽  
Paraskevi Kritsiligkou ◽  
Chris M. Grant
Keyword(s):  
Protein Aggregation ◽  
Er Stress ◽  
Secretory Pathway ◽  
Cellular Protein ◽  
Protein Homeostasis ◽  
Er Quality Control ◽  
Unfolded Protein ◽  
The Unfolded Protein Response ◽  
Protein Response ◽  
Er Homeostasis

Disturbances in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis create a condition termed ER stress. This activates the unfolded protein response (UPR), which alters the expression of many genes involved in ER quality control. We show here that ER stress causes the aggregation of proteins, most of which are not ER or secretory pathway proteins. Proteomic analysis of the aggregated proteins revealed enrichment for intrinsically aggregation-prone proteins rather than proteins which are affected in a stress-specific manner. Aggregation does not arise because of overwhelming proteasome-mediated degradation but because of a general disruption of cellular protein homeostasis. We further show that overexpression of certain chaperones abrogates protein aggregation and protects a UPR mutant against ER stress conditions. The onset of ER stress is known to correlate with various disease processes, and our data indicate that widespread amorphous and amyloid protein aggregation is an unanticipated outcome of such stress.

Organic matter in carbonaceous meteorites: past, present and future research

2005 ◽  
Vol 363 (1837) ◽  
pp. 2729-2742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A Sephton
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Chemical Evolution ◽  
Chemical Environment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Organic Chemical ◽  
Early Solar System ◽  
Organic Mixtures ◽  
Prebiotic Chemical ◽  
Life On Earth

Carbonaceous meteorites are fragments of ancient asteroids that have remained relatively unprocessed since the formation of the Solar System. These carbon-rich objects provide a record of prebiotic chemical evolution and a window on the early Solar System. Many compound classes are present reflecting a rich organic chemical environment during the formation of the planets. Recent theories suggest that similar extraterrestrial organic mixtures may have acted as the starting materials for life on Earth.

scholarly journals Vaccinia-Related Kinase 2 Controls the Stability of the Eukaryotic Chaperonin TRiC/CCT by Inhibiting the Deubiquitinating Enzyme USP25

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 1754-1762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangjune Kim ◽  
Dohyun Lee ◽  
Juhyun Lee ◽  
Haengjin Song ◽  
Hyo-Jin Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Aggregation ◽  
Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽  
Mutant Protein ◽  
Critical Pathway ◽  
Interacting Protein ◽  
Protein Levels ◽  
Functional Regulation ◽  
The Stability ◽  
And Function ◽  
Polyglutamine Protein

Molecular chaperones monitor the proper folding of misfolded proteins and function as the first line of defense against mutant protein aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases. The eukaryotic chaperonin TRiC is a potent suppressor of mutant protein aggregation and toxicity in early stages of disease progression. Elucidation of TRiC functional regulation will enable us to better understand the pathological mechanisms of neurodegeneration. We have previously shown that vaccinia-related kinase 2 (VRK2) downregulates TRiC protein levels through the ubiquitin-proteasome system by recruiting the E3 ligase COP1. However, although VRK2 activity was necessary in TRiC downregulation, the phosphorylated substrate was not determined. Here, we report that USP25 is a novel TRiC interacting protein that is also phosphorylated by VRK2. USP25 catalyzed deubiquitination of the TRiC protein and stabilized the chaperonin, thereby reducing accumulation of misfolded polyglutamine protein aggregates. Notably, USP25 deubiquitinating activity was suppressed when VRK2 phosphorylated the Thr680, Thr727, and Ser745residues. Impaired USP25 deubiquitinating activity after VRK2-mediated phosphorylation may be a critical pathway in TRiC protein destabilization.

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