Interdependence of laforin and malin proteins for their stability and functions could underlie the molecular basis of locus heterogeneity in Lafora disease

Lafora disease (LD), an autosomal recessive and fatal form of neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by the presence of polyglucosan inclusions in the affected tissues including the brain. LD can be caused by defects either in the EPM2A gene coding for the laforin protein phosphatase or the NHLRC1 gene coding for the malin ubiquitin ligase. Since the clinical symptoms of LD patients representing the two genetic groups are very similar and since malin is known to interact with laforin, we were curious to examine the possibility that the two proteins regulate each other's function. Using cell biological assays we demonstrate here that (i) malin promotes its own degradation via autoubiquitination, (ii) laforin prevents the auto-degradation of malin by presenting itself as a substrate and (iii) malin preferentially degrades the phosphatase-inactive laforin monomer. Our results that laforin and malin regulate each other's stability and activity offers a novel and attractive model to explain the molecular basis of locus heterogeneity observed in LD.

Dimeric quaternary structure of human laforin

The phosphatase laforin removes phosphate groups from glycogen during biosynthetic activity. Loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding laforin is the predominant cause of Lafora disease, a fatal form of progressive myoclonic epilepsy. Here, we used hybrid structural methods to determine the molecular architecture of human laforin. We found that laforin adopts a dimeric quaternary structure, topologically similar to the prototypical dual specificity phosphatase VH1. The interface between the laforin carbohydrate-binding module and the dual specificity phosphatase domain generates an intimate substrate-binding crevice that allows for recognition and dephosphorylation of phosphomonoesters of glucose. We identify novel molecular determinants in the laforin active site that help decipher the mechanism of glucan phosphatase activity.

Regulation of protein function by interfering protein species

Abstract Most proteins do not function alone but act in protein complexes. For several transcriptional regulators, it is known that they have to homo- or heterodimerize prior to DNA binding. These protein interactions occur through defined protein-protein-interaction (PPI) domains. More than two decades ago, inhibitor of DNA binding (ID), a small protein containing a single helix-loop-helix (HLH) motif was identified. ID is able to interact with the larger DNA-binding basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors, but due to the lack of the basic domain required for DNA binding, ID traps bHLH proteins in non-functional complexes. Work in plants has, in the recent years, identified more small proteins acting in analogy to ID. A hallmark of these small negative acting proteins is the presence of a protein-interaction domain and the absence of other functional domains required for transcriptional activation or DNA binding. Because these proteins are often very small and function in analogy to microRNAs (meaning in a dominant-negative manner), we propose to refer to these protein species as 'microProteins' (miPs). miPs can be encoded in the genome as individual transcription units but can also be produced by alternative splicing. Other negatively acting proteins, consisting of more than one domain, have also been identified, and we propose to call these proteins 'interfering proteins' (iPs). The aim of this review is to state more precisely how to discriminate miPs from iPs. Therefore, we will highlight recent findings on both protein species and describe their mode of action. Furthermore, miPs have the ability to regulate proteins of diverse functions, emphasizing their value as biotechnological tools.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase variants in human hereditary disorders and disease susceptibilities

Reversible tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins is a key regulatory mechanism to steer normal development and physiological functioning of multicellular organisms. Phosphotyrosine dephosphorylation is exerted by members of the super-family of protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) enzymes and many play such essential roles that a wide variety of hereditary disorders and disease susceptibilities in man are caused by PTP alleles. More than two decades of PTP research has resulted in a collection of PTP genetic variants with corresponding consequences at the molecular, cellular and physiological level. Here we present a comprehensive overview of these PTP gene variants that have been linked to disease states in man. Although the findings have direct bearing for disease diagnostics and for research on disease etiology, more work is necessary to translate this into therapies that alleviate the burden of these hereditary disorders and disease susceptibilities in man.

Function of alternative splicing

Almost all polymerase II transcripts undergo alternative pre-mRNA splicing. Here, we review the functions of alternative splicing events that have been experimentally determined. The overall function of alternative splicing is to increase the diversity of mRNAs expressed from the genome. Alternative splicing changes proteins encoded by mRNAs, which has profound functional effects. Experimental analysis of these protein isoforms showed that alternative splicing regulates binding between proteins, between proteins and nucleic acids as well as between proteins and membranes. Alternative splicing regulates the localization of proteins, their enzymatic properties and their interaction with ligands. In most cases, changes caused by individual splicing isoforms are small. However, cells typically coordinate numerous changes in 'splicing programs', which can have strong effects on cell proliferation, cell survival and properties of the nervous system. Due to its widespread usage and molecular versatility, alternative splicing emerges as a central element in gene regulation that interferes with almost every biological function analyzed.

Increased laforin and laforin binding to glycogen underlie Lafora body formation in malin-deficient Lafora disease

The solubility of glycogen, essential to its metabolism, is a property of its shape, a sphere generated through extensive branching during synthesis. Lafora disease (LD) is a severe teenage-onset neurodegenerative epilepsy and results from multiorgan accumulations, termed Lafora bodies (LB), of abnormally structured aggregation-prone and digestion-resistant glycogen. LD is caused by loss-of-function mutations in the EPM2A or EPM2B gene, encoding the interacting laforin phosphatase and malin E3 ubiquitin ligase enzymes, respectively. The substrate and function of malin are unknown; an early counterintuitive observation in cell culture experiments that it targets laforin to proteasomal degradation was not pursued until now. The substrate and function of laforin have recently been elucidated. Laforin dephosphorylates glycogen during synthesis, without which phosphate ions interfere with and distort glycogen construction, leading to LB. We hypothesized that laforin in excess or not removed following its action on glycogen also interferes with glycogen formation. We show in malin-deficient mice that the absence of malin results in massively increased laforin preceding the appearance of LB and that laforin gradually accumulates in glycogen, which corresponds to progressive LB generation. We show that increasing the amounts of laforin in cell culture causes LB formation and that this occurs only with glycogen binding-competent laforin. In summary, malin deficiency causes increased laforin, increased laforin binding to glycogen, and LB formation. Furthermore, increased levels of laforin, when it can bind glycogen, causes LB. We conclude that malin functions to regulate laforin and that malin deficiency at least in part causes LB and LD through increased laforin binding to glycogen.

Laforin, a protein with many faces: glucan phosphatase, adapter protein, et alii

Lafora disease (LD) is a rare, fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of glycogen-like inclusions in the cytoplasm of cells from most tissues of affected patients. One hundred years after the first description of these inclusions, the molecular bases underlying the processes involved in LD physiopathology are finally being elucidated. The main cause of the disease is related to the activity of two proteins, the dual-specificity phosphatase laforin and the E3-ubiquitin ligase malin, which form a functional complex. Laforin is unique in humans, as it is composed of a carbohydrate-binding module attached to a cysteine-based catalytic dual-specificity phosphatase domain. Laforin directly dephosphorylates glycogen, but other proteinaceous substrates, if they exist, have remained elusive. Recently, an emerging set of laforin-binding partners apart from malin have been described, suggestive of laforin roles unrelated to its catalytic activity. Further investigations based on different transgenic mouse models have shown that the laforin-malin complex is also involved in other cellular processes, such as response to endoplasmic reticulum stress and misfolded protein clearance by the lysosomal pathway. However, controversial data and some missing links still make it difficult to assess the concrete relationship between glycogen deregulation and neuronal damage leading to the fatal symptoms observed in LD patients, such as myoclonic seizures and epilepsy. Consequently, clinical treatments are far from being achieved. In the present review, we focus on the knowledge of laforin biology, not only as a glucan phosphatase, but also as an adaptor protein involved in several physiological pathways.

The laforin-malin complex negatively regulates glycogen synthesis by modulating cellular glucose uptake via glucose transporters

Lafora disease (LD), an inherited and fatal neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by increased cellular glycogen content and the formation of abnormally branched glycogen inclusions, called Lafora bodies, in the affected tissues, including neurons. Therefore, laforin phosphatase and malin ubiquitin E3 ligase, the two proteins that are defective in LD, are thought to regulate glycogen synthesis through an unknown mechanism, the defects in which are likely to underlie some of the symptoms of LD. We show here that laforin's subcellular localization is dependent on the cellular glycogen content and that the stability of laforin is determined by the cellular ATP level, the activity of 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase, and the affinity of malin toward laforin. By using cell and animal models, we further show that the laforin-malin complex regulates cellular glucose uptake by modulating the subcellular localization of glucose transporters; loss of malin or laforin resulted in an increased abundance of glucose transporters in the plasma membrane and therefore excessive glucose uptake. Loss of laforin or malin, however, did not affect glycogen catabolism. Thus, the excessive cellular glucose level appears to be the primary trigger for the abnormally higher levels of cellular glycogen seen in LD.

Actin cytoskeleton remodeling by the alternatively spliced isoform of PDLIM4/RIL protein

RIL (product of PDLIM4 gene) is an actin-associated protein that has previously been shown to stimulate actin bundling by interacting with actin-cross-linking protein α-actinin-1 and increasing its affinity to filamentous actin. Here, we report that the alternatively spliced isoform of RIL, denoted here as RILaltCterm, functions as a dominant-negative modulator of RIL-mediated actin reorganization. RILaltCterm is regulated at the level of protein stability, and this protein isoform accumulates particularly in response to oxidative stress. We show that the alternative C-terminal segment of RILaltCterm has a disordered structure that directs the protein to rapid degradation in the core 20 S proteasomes. Such degradation is ubiquitin-independent and can be blocked by binding to NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase NQO1, a detoxifying enzyme induced by prolonged exposure to oxidative stress. We show that either overexpression of RILaltCterm or its stabilization by stresses counteracts the effects produced by full-length RIL on organization of actin cytoskeleton and cell motility. Taken together, the data suggest a mechanism for fine-tuning actin cytoskeleton rearrangement in response to stresses.

Lafora disease: epidemiology, pathophysiology and management

Lafora disease is a rare, fatal, autosomal recessive, progressive myoclonic epilepsy. It may also be considered as a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism because of the formation of polyglucosan inclusion bodies in neural and other tissues due to abnormalities of the proteins laforin or malin. The condition is characterized by epilepsy, myoclonus and dementia. Diagnostic findings on MRI and neurophysiological testing are not definitive and biopsy or genetic studies may be required. Therapy in Lafora disease is currently limited to symptomatic management of the epilepsy, myoclonus and intercurrent complications. With a greater understanding of the pathophysiological processes involved, there is justified hope for future therapies.

Expression of the functional carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) of human laforin

Laforin is a human protein associated with the glycogen metabolism, composed of two structurally and functionally independent domains: a phosphatase catalytic domain and a substrate-binding module with glycogen and starch affinity. The main goal of this work is the development of a methodology for the expression of the so far poorly characterized carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) of laforin, allowing its study and development of biomedical applications. The laforin's CBM sequence was originally cloned by PCR from a human muscle cDNA library. The recombinant protein, containing laforin's CBM fused to an Arg-Gly-Asp sequence (RGD), was cloned and expressed using vector pET29a and recovered as inclusion bodies (IBs). Refolding of the IBs allowed the purification of soluble, dimeric and functional protein, according to adsorption assays using starch and glycogen. Several other experimental approaches, using both bacteria and yeast, were unsuccessfully tested, pointing towards the difficulties in producing the heterologous protein. Indeed, this is the first work reporting the production of the functional CBM from human laforin.

SRRM2, a potential blood biomarker revealing high alternative splicing in Parkinson's disease

Background

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects about five million people worldwide. Diagnosis remains clinical, based on phenotypic patterns. The discovery of laboratory markers that will enhance diagnostic accuracy, allow pre-clinical detection and tracking of disease progression is critically needed. These biomarkers may include transcripts with different isoforms.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We performed extensive analysis on 3 PD microarray experiments available through GEO and found that the RNA splicing gene SRRM2 (or SRm300), sereine/arginine repetitive matrix 2, was the only gene differentially upregulated among all the three PD experiments. SRRM2 expression was not changed in the blood of other neurological diseased patients versus the healthy controls. Using real-time PCR, we report that the shorter transcript of SRRM2 was 1.7 fold (p = 0.008) upregulated in the substantia nigra of PDs vs controls while the longer transcript was 0.4 downregulated in both the substantia nigra (p = 0.03) and amygdala (p = 0.003). To validate our results and test for the possibility of alternative splicing in PD, we performed independent microarray scans, using Affymetrix Exon_ST1 arrays, from peripheral blood of 28 individuals (17 PDs and 11 Ctrls) and found a significant upregulation of the upstream (5′) exons of SRRM2 and a downregulation of the downstream exons, causing a total of 0.7 fold down regulation (p = 0.04) of the long isoform. In addition, we report novel information about hundreds of genes with significant alternative splicing (differential exonic expression) in PD blood versus controls.

Conclusions/Significance

The consistent dysregulation of the RNA splicing factor SRRM2 in two different PD neuronal sources and in PD blood but not in blood of other neurologically diseased patients makes SRRM2 a strong candidate gene for PD and draws attention to the role of RNA splicing in the disease.

Hyperphosphorylation and aggregation of Tau in laforin-deficient mice, an animal model for Lafora disease

Lafora progressive myoclonous epilepsy (Lafora disease; LD) is caused by mutations in the EPM2A gene encoding a dual specificity protein phosphatase named laforin. Our analyses on the Epm2a gene knock-out mice, which developed most of the symptoms of LD, reveal the presence of hyperphosphorylated Tau protein (Ser(396) and Ser(202)) as neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the brain. Intriguingly, NFTs were also observed in the skeletal muscle tissues of the knock-out mice. The hyperphosphorylation of Tau was associated with increased levels of the active form of GSK3 beta. The observations on Tau protein were replicated in cell lines using laforin overexpression and knockdown approaches. We also show here that laforin and Tau proteins physically interact and that the interaction was limited to the phosphatase domain of laforin. Finally, our in vitro and in vivo assays demonstrate that laforin dephosphorylates Tau, and therefore laforin is a novel Tau phosphatase. Taken together, our study suggests that laforin is one of the critical regulators of Tau protein, that the NFTs could underlie some of the symptoms seen in LD, and that laforin can contribute to the NFT formation in Alzheimer disease and other tauopathies.

Deletions and missense mutations of EPM2A exacerbate unfolded protein response and apoptosis of neuronal cells induced by endoplasm reticulum stress

The majority of the Lafora's disease (LD) is caused by defect in the EPM2A gene, including missense and nonsense mutations and deletions. These defects mainly occur in the carbohydrate-binding domain, and how these mutations cause neuronal defects is under active investigation. Here, we report that the mutant proteins encoded by all missense mutations and most deletions tested are unstable, insoluble and ubiquitinated, and are accumulated in aggresome-like structures. The effect of apparent 'gain-of-function' mutations can be corrected by co-transfection of wild-type EPM2A cDNA, which is consistent with the recessive nature of these mutations in LD patients. In a neuronal cell line, these mutant aggregates exacerbate endoplasm reticulum (ER) stress and make the cells susceptible to the apoptosis induced by ER stressor, thapsigargin. The chemical chaperon, 4-phenylbutyrate, increased the mutant solubility, reduced the ER stress and dulled the sensitivity of mutant neuronal cells to apoptosis induced by thapsigargin and the mutant laforin proteins. The increased sensitivity to ER stress-induced apoptosis may contribute to LD pathogenesis.