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Garai S, Raizada A, Kumar V, Sopory SK, Pareek A, Singla-Pareek SL, Kaur C. In silico analysis of fungal prion-like proteins for elucidating their role in plant-fungi interactions. Arch Microbiol 2024; 206:308. [PMID: 38896139 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-024-04040-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Revised: 06/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Prion-like proteins (PrLPs) have emerged as beneficial molecules with implications in adaptive responses. These proteins possess a conserved prion-like domain (PrLD) which is an intrinsically disordered region capable of adopting different conformations upon perceiving external stimuli. Owing to changes in protein conformation, functional characteristics of proteins harboring PrLDs get altered thereby, providing a unique mode of protein-based regulation. Since PrLPs are ubiquitous in nature and involved in diverse functions, through this study, we aim to explore the role of such domains in yet another important physiological process viz. plant-microbe interactions to get insights into the mechanisms dictating cross-kingdom interactions. We have evaluated the presence and functions of PrLPs in 18 different plant-associated fungi of agricultural importance to unravel their role in plant-microbe interactions. Of the 241,997 proteins scanned, 3,820 (~ 1.6%) were identified as putative PrLPs with pathogenic fungi showing significantly higher PrLP density than their beneficial counterparts. Further, through GO enrichment analysis, we could predict several PrLPs from pathogenic fungi to be involved in virulence and formation of stress granules. Notably, PrLPs involved in (retro)transposition were observed exclusively in pathogenic fungi. We even analyzed publicly available data for the expression alterations of fungal PrLPs upon their interaction with their respective hosts which revealed perturbation in the levels of some PrLP-encoding genes during interactions with plants. Overall, our work sheds light into the probable role of prion-like candidates in plant-fungi interaction, particularly in context of pathogenesis, paving way for more focused studies for validating their role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sampurna Garai
- Plant Stress Biology Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Avi Raizada
- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, Mohali, 140306, Punjab, India
| | - Vijay Kumar
- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, Mohali, 140306, Punjab, India
| | - Sudhir K Sopory
- Plant Stress Biology Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Ashwani Pareek
- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, Mohali, 140306, Punjab, India
| | - Sneh L Singla-Pareek
- Plant Stress Biology Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Charanpreet Kaur
- National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, Mohali, 140306, Punjab, India.
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2
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Wachtel M, Surdez D, Grünewald TGP, Schäfer BW. Functional Classification of Fusion Proteins in Sarcoma. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:1355. [PMID: 38611033 PMCID: PMC11010897 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16071355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Sarcomas comprise a heterogeneous group of malignant tumors of mesenchymal origin. More than 80 entities are associated with different mesenchymal lineages. Sarcomas with fibroblastic, muscle, bone, vascular, adipocytic, and other characteristics are distinguished. Nearly half of all entities contain specific chromosomal translocations that give rise to fusion proteins. These are mostly pathognomonic, and their detection by various molecular techniques supports histopathologic classification. Moreover, the fusion proteins act as oncogenic drivers, and their blockade represents a promising therapeutic approach. This review summarizes the current knowledge on fusion proteins in sarcoma. We categorize the different fusion proteins into functional classes, including kinases, epigenetic regulators, and transcription factors, and describe their mechanisms of action. Interestingly, while fusion proteins acting as transcription factors are found in all mesenchymal lineages, the others have a more restricted pattern. Most kinase-driven sarcomas belong to the fibroblastic/myofibroblastic lineage. Fusion proteins with an epigenetic function are mainly associated with sarcomas of unclear differentiation, suggesting that epigenetic dysregulation leads to a major change in cell identity. Comparison of mechanisms of action reveals recurrent functional modes, including antagonism of Polycomb activity by fusion proteins with epigenetic activity and recruitment of histone acetyltransferases by fusion transcription factors of the myogenic lineage. Finally, based on their biology, we describe potential approaches to block the activity of fusion proteins for therapeutic intervention. Overall, our work highlights differences as well as similarities in the biology of fusion proteins from different sarcomas and provides the basis for a functional classification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Wachtel
- Department of Oncology and Children’s Research Center, University Children’s Hospital, Steinwiesstrasse 75, CH-8032 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Didier Surdez
- Balgrist University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich (UZH), CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas G. P. Grünewald
- Division of Translational Pediatric Sarcoma Research, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Hopp-Children’s Cancer Center (KiTZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), NCT Heidelberg, a Partnership between DKFZ and Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Beat W. Schäfer
- Department of Oncology and Children’s Research Center, University Children’s Hospital, Steinwiesstrasse 75, CH-8032 Zurich, Switzerland
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3
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Patil A, Strom AR, Paulo JA, Collings CK, Ruff KM, Shinn MK, Sankar A, Cervantes KS, Wauer T, St Laurent JD, Xu G, Becker LA, Gygi SP, Pappu RV, Brangwynne CP, Kadoch C. A disordered region controls cBAF activity via condensation and partner recruitment. Cell 2023; 186:4936-4955.e26. [PMID: 37788668 PMCID: PMC10792396 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.08.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 07/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) represent a large percentage of overall nuclear protein content. The prevailing dogma is that IDRs engage in non-specific interactions because they are poorly constrained by evolutionary selection. Here, we demonstrate that condensate formation and heterotypic interactions are distinct and separable features of an IDR within the ARID1A/B subunits of the mSWI/SNF chromatin remodeler, cBAF, and establish distinct "sequence grammars" underlying each contribution. Condensation is driven by uniformly distributed tyrosine residues, and partner interactions are mediated by non-random blocks rich in alanine, glycine, and glutamine residues. These features concentrate a specific cBAF protein-protein interaction network and are essential for chromatin localization and activity. Importantly, human disease-associated perturbations in ARID1B IDR sequence grammars disrupt cBAF function in cells. Together, these data identify IDR contributions to chromatin remodeling and explain how phase separation provides a mechanism through which both genomic localization and functional partner recruitment are achieved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajinkya Patil
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Program in Virology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Amy R Strom
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Joao A Paulo
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Clayton K Collings
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Kiersten M Ruff
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center for Biomolecular Condensates, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Min Kyung Shinn
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center for Biomolecular Condensates, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Akshay Sankar
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Kasey S Cervantes
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Tobias Wauer
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jessica D St Laurent
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Grace Xu
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Lindsay A Becker
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Steven P Gygi
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Rohit V Pappu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Center for Biomolecular Condensates, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Clifford P Brangwynne
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 21044, USA; Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
| | - Cigall Kadoch
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 21044, USA.
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4
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Muacevic A, Adler JR, Nigh G, McCullough PA. A Potential Role of the Spike Protein in Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Narrative Review. Cureus 2023; 15:e34872. [PMID: 36788995 PMCID: PMC9922164 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.34872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Human prion protein and prion-like protein misfolding are widely recognized as playing a causal role in many neurodegenerative diseases. Based on in vitro and in vivo experimental evidence relating to prion and prion-like disease, we extrapolate from the compelling evidence that the spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 contains extended amino acid sequences characteristic of a prion-like protein to infer its potential to cause neurodegenerative disease. We propose that vaccine-induced spike protein synthesis can facilitate the accumulation of toxic prion-like fibrils in neurons. We outline various pathways through which these proteins could be expected to distribute throughout the body. We review both cellular pathologies and the expression of disease that could become more frequent in those who have undergone mRNA vaccination. Specifically, we describe the spike protein's contributions, via its prion-like properties, to neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative diseases; to clotting disorders within the vasculature; to further disease risk due to suppressed prion protein regulation in the context of widely prevalent insulin resistance; and to other health complications. We explain why these prion-like characteristics are more relevant to vaccine-related mRNA-induced spike proteins than natural infection with SARS-CoV-2. We note with an optimism an apparent loss of prion-like properties among the current Omicron variants. We acknowledge that the chain of pathological events described throughout this paper is only hypothetical and not yet verified. We also acknowledge that the evidence we usher in, while grounded in the research literature, is currently largely circumstantial, not direct. Finally, we describe the implications of our findings for the general public, and we briefly discuss public health recommendations we feel need urgent consideration. An earlier version of this article was previously posted to the Authorea preprint server on August 16, 2022.
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5
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Pintado-Grima C, Santos J, Iglesias V, Manglano-Artuñedo Z, Pallarès I, Ventura S. Exploring cryptic amyloidogenic regions in prion-like proteins from plants. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 13:1060410. [PMID: 36726678 PMCID: PMC9885169 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1060410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Prion-like domains (PrLDs) are intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) of low sequence complexity with a similar composition to yeast prion domains. PrLDs-containing proteins have been involved in different organisms' regulatory processes. Regions of moderate amyloid propensity within IDRs have been shown to assemble autonomously into amyloid fibrils. These sequences tend to be rich in polar amino acids and often escape from the detection of classical bioinformatics screenings that look for highly aggregation-prone hydrophobic sequence stretches. We defined them as cryptic amyloidogenic regions (CARs) and recently developed an integrated database that collects thousands of predicted CARs in IDRs. CARs seem to be evolutionary conserved among disordered regions because of their potential to stablish functional contacts with other biomolecules. Here we have focused on identifying and characterizing CARs in prion-like proteins (pCARs) from plants, a lineage that has been poorly studied in comparison with other prionomes. We confirmed the intrinsic amyloid potential for a selected pCAR from Arabidopsis thaliana and explored functional enrichments and compositional bias of pCARs in plant prion-like proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Pintado-Grima
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jaime Santos
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Valentín Iglesias
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research (ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic-Universitat de Barcelona), Barcelona, Spain
- Nanomalaria Group, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Zoe Manglano-Artuñedo
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Irantzu Pallarès
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Salvador Ventura
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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6
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Gropp MHM, Klaips CL, Hartl FU. Formation of toxic oligomers of polyQ-expanded Huntingtin by prion-mediated cross-seeding. Mol Cell 2022; 82:4290-4306.e11. [PMID: 36272412 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2022.09.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Manifestation of aggregate pathology in Huntington's disease is thought to be facilitated by a preferential vulnerability of affected brain cells to age-dependent proteostatic decline. To understand how specific cellular backgrounds may facilitate pathologic aggregation, we utilized the yeast model in which polyQ-expanded Huntingtin forms aggregates only when the endogenous prion-forming protein Rnq1 is in its amyloid-like prion [PIN+] conformation. We employed optogenetic clustering of polyQ protein as an orthogonal method to induce polyQ aggregation in prion-free [pin-] cells. Optogenetic aggregation circumvented the prion requirement for the formation of detergent-resistant polyQ inclusions but bypassed the formation of toxic polyQ oligomers, which accumulated specifically in [PIN+] cells. Reconstitution of aggregation in vitro suggested that these polyQ oligomers formed through direct templating on Rnq1 prions. These findings shed light on the mechanism of prion-mediated formation of oligomers, which may play a role in triggering polyQ pathology in the patient brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael H M Gropp
- Department of Cellular Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Courtney L Klaips
- Department of Cellular Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152 Martinsried, Germany; Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells & Systems, University Medical Center Groningen, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713AV Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - F Ulrich Hartl
- Department of Cellular Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152 Martinsried, Germany; Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany.
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7
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Aledo JC. A Census of Human Methionine-Rich Prion-like Domain-Containing Proteins. Antioxidants (Basel) 2022; 11:antiox11071289. [PMID: 35883780 PMCID: PMC9312190 DOI: 10.3390/antiox11071289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Methionine-rich prion-like proteins can regulate liquid–liquid phase separation processes in response to stresses. To date, however, very few proteins have been identified as methionine-rich prion-like. Herein, we have performed a computational survey of the human proteome to search for methionine-rich prion-like domains. We present a census of 51 manually curated methionine-rich prion-like proteins. Our results show that these proteins tend to be modular in nature, with molecular sizes significantly greater than those we would expect due to random sampling effects. These proteins also exhibit a remarkably high degree of spatial compaction when compared to average human proteins, even when protein size is accounted for. Computational evidence suggests that such a high degree of compactness might be due to the aggregation of methionine residues, pointing to a potential redox regulation of compactness. Gene ontology and network analyses, performed to shed light on the biological processes in which these proteins might participate, indicate that methionine-rich and non-methionine-rich prion-like proteins share gene ontology terms related to the regulation of transcription and translation but, more interestingly, these analyses also reveal that proteins from the methionine-rich group tend to share more gene ontology terms among them than they do with their non-methionine-rich prion-like counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Carlos Aledo
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain
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8
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Behbahanipour M, García-Pardo J, Ventura S. Decoding the role of coiled-coil motifs in human prion-like proteins. Prion 2021; 15:143-154. [PMID: 34428113 PMCID: PMC8386614 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2021.1961569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions are self-propagating proteins that cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases in humans. However, increasing evidence suggests that eukaryotic cells exploit prion conformational conversion for functional purposes. A recent study delineated a group of twenty prion-like proteins in humans, characterized by the presence of low-complexity glutamine-rich sequences with overlapping coiled-coil (CCs) motifs. This is the case of Mediator complex subunit 15 (MED15), which is overexpressed in a wide range of human cancers. Biophysical studies demonstrated that the prion-like domain (PrLD) of MED15 forms homodimers in solution, sustained by CCs interactions. Furthermore, the same coiled-coil (CC) region plays a crucial role in the PrLD structural transition to a transmissible β-sheet amyloid state. In this review, we discuss the role of CCs motifs and their contribution to amyloid transitions in human prion-like domains (PrLDs), while providing a comprehensive overview of six predicted human prion-like proteins involved in transcription, gene expression, or DNA damage response and associated with human disease, whose PrLDs contain or overlap with CCs sequences. Finally, we try to rationalize how these molecular signatures might relate to both their function and involvement in disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molood Behbahanipour
- Institut De Biotecnologia I De Biomedicina (Ibb) and Departament De Bioquímica I Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autónoma De Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Javier García-Pardo
- Institut De Biotecnologia I De Biomedicina (Ibb) and Departament De Bioquímica I Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autónoma De Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Salvador Ventura
- Institut De Biotecnologia I De Biomedicina (Ibb) and Departament De Bioquímica I Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autónoma De Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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9
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Gil‐Garcia M, Iglesias V, Pallarès I, Ventura S. Prion-like proteins: from computational approaches to proteome-wide analysis. FEBS Open Bio 2021; 11:2400-2417. [PMID: 34057308 PMCID: PMC8409284 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.13213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Revised: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Prions are self-perpetuating proteins able to switch between a soluble state and an aggregated-and-transmissible conformation. These proteinaceous entities have been widely studied in yeast, where they are involved in hereditable phenotypic adaptations. The notion that such proteins could play functional roles and be positively selected by evolution has triggered the development of computational tools to identify prion-like proteins in different kingdoms of life. These algorithms have succeeded in screening multiple proteomes, allowing the identification of prion-like proteins in a diversity of unrelated organisms, evidencing that the prion phenomenon is well conserved among species. Interestingly enough, prion-like proteins are not only connected with the formation of functional membraneless protein-nucleic acid coacervates, but are also linked to human diseases. This review addresses state-of-the-art computational approaches to identify prion-like proteins, describes proteome-wide analysis efforts, discusses these unique proteins' functional role, and illustrates recently validated examples in different domains of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcos Gil‐Garcia
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia MolecularInstitut de Biotecnologia i de BiomedicinaUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaSpain
| | - Valentín Iglesias
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia MolecularInstitut de Biotecnologia i de BiomedicinaUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaSpain
| | - Irantzu Pallarès
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia MolecularInstitut de Biotecnologia i de BiomedicinaUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaSpain
| | - Salvador Ventura
- Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia MolecularInstitut de Biotecnologia i de BiomedicinaUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaSpain
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Garai S, Citu, Singla-Pareek SL, Sopory SK, Kaur C, Yadav G. Complex Networks of Prion-Like Proteins Reveal Cross Talk Between Stress and Memory Pathways in Plants. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:707286. [PMID: 34381483 PMCID: PMC8350573 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.707286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Prions are often considered as molecular memory devices, generating reproducible memory of a conformational change. Prion-like proteins (PrLPs) have been widely demonstrated to be present in plants, but their role in plant stress and memory remains unexplored. In this work, we report the widespread presence of PrLPs in plants through a comprehensive meta-analysis of 39 genomes representing major taxonomic groups. We find diverse functional roles associated with these proteins in various species and term the full complement of PrLPs in a genome as its "prionome." In particular, we found the rice prionome being significantly enriched in transposons/retrotransposons (Ts/RTRs) and identified over 60 rice PrLPs that were differentially regulated in stress and developmental responses. This prompted us to explore whether and to what extent PrLPs may build stress memory. By integrating the available rice interactome, transcriptome, and regulome data sets, we could find links between stress and memory pathways that would not have otherwise been discernible. Regulatory inferences derived from the superimposition of these data sets revealed a complex network and cross talk between PrLPs, transcription factors (TFs), and the genes involved in stress priming. This integrative meta-analysis connects transient and transgenerational memory mechanisms in plants with PrLPs, suggesting that plant memory may rely upon protein-based signals in addition to chromatin-based epigenetic signals. Taken together, our work provides important insights into the anticipated role of prion-like candidates in stress and memory, paving the way for more focused studies for validating the role of the identified PrLPs in memory acclimation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sampurna Garai
- Plant Stress Biology, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi, India
| | - Citu
- Computational Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi, India
| | - Sneh L. Singla-Pareek
- Plant Stress Biology, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi, India
| | - Sudhir K. Sopory
- Plant Stress Biology, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi, India
| | - Charanpreet Kaur
- Plant Stress Biology, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi, India
- Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Gitanjali Yadav
- Computational Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi, India
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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11
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Functional Mammalian Amyloids and Amyloid-Like Proteins. Life (Basel) 2020; 10:life10090156. [PMID: 32825636 PMCID: PMC7555005 DOI: 10.3390/life10090156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Revised: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyloids are highly ordered fibrous cross-β protein aggregates that are notorious primarily because of association with a variety of incurable human and animal diseases (termed amyloidoses), including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and prion diseases. Some amyloid-associated diseases, in particular T2D and AD, are widespread and affect hundreds of millions of people all over the world. However, recently it has become evident that many amyloids, termed “functional amyloids,” are involved in various activities that are beneficial to organisms. Functional amyloids were discovered in diverse taxa, ranging from bacteria to mammals. These amyloids are involved in vital biological functions such as long-term memory, storage of peptide hormones and scaffolding melanin polymerization in animals, substrate attachment, and biofilm formation in bacteria and fungi, etc. Thus, amyloids undoubtedly are playing important roles in biological and pathological processes. This review is focused on functional amyloids in mammals and summarizes approaches used for identifying new potentially amyloidogenic proteins and domains.
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12
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Hervas R, Rau MJ, Park Y, Zhang W, Murzin AG, Fitzpatrick JAJ, Scheres SHW, Si K. Cryo-EM structure of a neuronal functional amyloid implicated in memory persistence in Drosophila. Science 2020; 367:1230-1234. [PMID: 32165583 DOI: 10.1126/science.aba3526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
How long-lived memories withstand molecular turnover is a fundamental question. Aggregates of a prion-like RNA-binding protein, cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding (CPEB) protein, is a putative substrate of long-lasting memories. We isolated aggregated Drosophila CPEB, Orb2, from adult heads and determined its activity and atomic structure, at 2.6-angstrom resolution, using cryo-electron microscopy. Orb2 formed ~75-nanometer-long threefold-symmetric amyloid filaments. Filament formation transformed Orb2 from a translation repressor to an activator and "seed" for further translationally active aggregation. The 31-amino acid protofilament core adopted a cross-β unit with a single hydrophilic hairpin stabilized through interdigitated glutamine packing. Unlike the hydrophobic core of pathogenic amyloids, the hydrophilic core of Orb2 filaments suggests how some neuronal amyloids could be a stable yet regulatable substrate of memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben Hervas
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA
| | - Michael J Rau
- Washington University Center for Cellular Imaging, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Younshim Park
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA.,Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA
| | - Wenjuan Zhang
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK
| | - Alexey G Murzin
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK
| | - James A J Fitzpatrick
- Washington University Center for Cellular Imaging, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.,Departments of Neuroscience and Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Sjors H W Scheres
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK
| | - Kausik Si
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA. .,Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA
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Cascarina SM, Ross ED. Natural and pathogenic protein sequence variation affecting prion-like domains within and across human proteomes. BMC Genomics 2020; 21:23. [PMID: 31914925 PMCID: PMC6947906 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-019-6425-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Impaired proteostatic regulation of proteins with prion-like domains (PrLDs) is associated with a variety of human diseases including neurodegenerative disorders, myopathies, and certain forms of cancer. For many of these disorders, current models suggest a prion-like molecular mechanism of disease, whereby proteins aggregate and spread to neighboring cells in an infectious manner. The development of prion prediction algorithms has facilitated the large-scale identification of PrLDs among "reference" proteomes for various organisms. However, the degree to which intraspecies protein sequence diversity influences predicted prion propensity has not been systematically examined. RESULTS Here, we explore protein sequence variation introduced at genetic, post-transcriptional, and post-translational levels, and its influence on predicted aggregation propensity for human PrLDs. We find that sequence variation is relatively common among PrLDs and in some cases can result in relatively large differences in predicted prion propensity. Sequence variation introduced at the post-transcriptional level (via alternative splicing) also commonly affects predicted aggregation propensity, often by direct inclusion or exclusion of a PrLD. Finally, analysis of a database of sequence variants associated with human disease reveals a number of mutations within PrLDs that are predicted to increase prion propensity. CONCLUSIONS Our analyses expand the list of candidate human PrLDs, quantitatively estimate the effects of sequence variation on the aggregation propensity of PrLDs, and suggest the involvement of prion-like mechanisms in additional human diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean M Cascarina
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Eric D Ross
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
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