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Chiki A, Ricci J, Hegde R, Abriata LA, Reif A, Boudeffa D, Lashuel HA. Site-Specific Phosphorylation of Huntingtin Exon 1 Recombinant Proteins Enabled by the Discovery of Novel Kinases. Chembiochem 2021; 22:217-231. [PMID: 32805086 PMCID: PMC8698011 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202000508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Post-translational modifications (PTMs) within the first 17 amino acids (Nt17) of exon 1 of the Huntingtin protein (Httex1) play important roles in modulating its cellular properties and functions in health and disease. In particular, phosphorylation of threonine and serine residues (T3, S13, and/or S16) has been shown to inhibit Htt aggregation in vitro and inclusion formation in cellular and animal models of Huntington's disease (HD). In this paper, we describe a new and simple methodology for producing milligram quantities of highly pure wild-type or mutant Httex1 proteins that are site-specifically phosphorylated at T3 or at both S13 and S16. This advance was enabled by 1) the discovery and validation of novel kinases that efficiently phosphorylate Httex1 at S13 and S16 (TBK1), at T3 (GCK) or T3 and S13 (TNIK and HGK), and 2) the development of an efficient methodology for producing recombinant native Httex1 proteins by using a SUMO-fusion expression and purification strategy.[26] As a proof of concept, we demonstrate how this method can be applied to produce Httex1 proteins that are both site-specifically phosphorylated and fluorescently or isotopically labeled. Together, these advances should increase access to these valuable tools and expand the range of methods and experimental approaches that can be used to elucidate the mechanisms by which phosphorylation influences Httex1 or HTT structure, aggregation, interactome, and function(s) in health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anass Chiki
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, School of Life Sciences Brain Mind InstituteEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Station 191015LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Jonathan Ricci
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, School of Life Sciences Brain Mind InstituteEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Station 191015LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Ramanath Hegde
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, School of Life Sciences Brain Mind InstituteEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Station 191015LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Luciano A. Abriata
- Protein Production and Structure Core Facility and Laboratory for Biomolecular ModelingEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB)1015LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Andreas Reif
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, School of Life Sciences Brain Mind InstituteEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Station 191015LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Driss Boudeffa
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, School of Life Sciences Brain Mind InstituteEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Station 191015LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Hilal A. Lashuel
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, School of Life Sciences Brain Mind InstituteEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Station 191015LausanneSwitzerland
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Hegde RN, Chiki A, Petricca L, Martufi P, Arbez N, Mouchiroud L, Auwerx J, Landles C, Bates GP, Singh-Bains MK, Dragunow M, Curtis MA, Faull RL, Ross CA, Caricasole A, Lashuel HA. TBK1 phosphorylates mutant Huntingtin and suppresses its aggregation and toxicity in Huntington's disease models. EMBO J 2020; 39:e104671. [PMID: 32757223 PMCID: PMC7459410 DOI: 10.15252/embj.2020104671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Phosphorylation of the N‐terminal domain of the huntingtin (HTT) protein has emerged as an important regulator of its localization, structure, aggregation, clearance and toxicity. However, validation of the effect of bona fide phosphorylation in vivo and assessing the therapeutic potential of targeting phosphorylation for the treatment of Huntington's disease (HD) require the identification of the enzymes that regulate HTT phosphorylation. Herein, we report the discovery and validation of a kinase, TANK‐binding kinase 1 (TBK1), that efficiently phosphorylates full‐length and N‐terminal HTT fragments in vitro (at S13/S16), in cells (at S13) and in vivo. TBK1 expression in HD models (cells, primary neurons, and Caenorhabditis elegans) increases mutant HTT exon 1 phosphorylation and reduces its aggregation and cytotoxicity. We demonstrate that the TBK1‐mediated neuroprotective effects are due to phosphorylation‐dependent inhibition of mutant HTT exon 1 aggregation and an increase in autophagic clearance of mutant HTT. These findings suggest that upregulation and/or activation of TBK1 represents a viable strategy for the treatment of HD by simultaneously lowering mutant HTT levels and blocking its aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramanath Narayana Hegde
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Anass Chiki
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Lara Petricca
- Department of Neuroscience, IRBM Science Park, Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Martufi
- Department of Neuroscience, IRBM Science Park, Rome, Italy
| | - Nicolas Arbez
- Division of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry and Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Laurent Mouchiroud
- Laboratory of Integrative and Systems Physiology, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Johan Auwerx
- Laboratory of Integrative and Systems Physiology, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Christian Landles
- Huntington's Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Gillian P Bates
- Huntington's Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Malvindar K Singh-Bains
- Centre for Brain Research, Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Mike Dragunow
- Centre for Brain Research, Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Maurice A Curtis
- Centre for Brain Research, Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Richard Lm Faull
- Centre for Brain Research, Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Christopher A Ross
- Division of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry and Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Hilal A Lashuel
- Laboratory of Molecular and Chemical Biology of Neurodegeneration, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
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Bk B, Skuntz S, Prochazkova M, Kesavapany S, Amin ND, Shukla V, Grant P, Kulkarni AB, Pant HC. Overexpression of the Cdk5 inhibitory peptide in motor neurons rescue of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis phenotype in a mouse model. Hum Mol Genet 2020; 28:3175-3187. [PMID: 31189016 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddz118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2019] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects motor nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Etiological mechanisms underlying the disease remain poorly understood; recent studies suggest that deregulation of p25/Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) activity leads to the hyperphosphorylation of Tau and neurofilament (NF) proteins in ALS transgenic mouse model (SOD1G37R). A Cdk5 involvement in motor neuron degeneration is supported by analysis of three SOD1G37R mouse lines exhibiting perikaryal inclusions of NF proteins and hyperphosphorylation of Tau. Here, we tested the hypothesis that inhibition of Cdk5/p25 hyperactivation in vivo is a neuroprotective factor during ALS pathogenesis by crossing the new transgenic mouse line that overexpresses Cdk5 inhibitory peptide (CIP) in motor neurons with the SOD1G37R, ALS mouse model (TriTg mouse line). The overexpression of CIP in the motor neurons significantly improves motor deficits, extends survival and delays pathology in brain and spinal cord of TriTg mice. In addition, overexpression of CIP in motor neurons significantly delays neuroinflammatory responses in TriTg mouse. Taken together, these data suggest that CIP may serve as a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Binukumar Bk
- Neuronal Cytoskeletal Protein Regulation Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.,CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India
| | - Susan Skuntz
- Neuronal Cytoskeletal Protein Regulation Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Michaela Prochazkova
- Functional Genomics Section, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Sashi Kesavapany
- National Institute of Health Technologies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Niranjana D Amin
- Neuronal Cytoskeletal Protein Regulation Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Varsha Shukla
- Neuronal Cytoskeletal Protein Regulation Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Philip Grant
- Neuronal Cytoskeletal Protein Regulation Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Ashok B Kulkarni
- Functional Genomics Section, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Harish C Pant
- Neuronal Cytoskeletal Protein Regulation Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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