Proteins in aggregates functionally impact multiple neurodegenerative disease models by forming proteasome‐blocking complexes |
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| Authors: | Yuan Gao Li‐Rong Yu Ramani Alla Robert Shmookler Reis |
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| Affiliation: | 1. National Center for Toxicological Research, Food & Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR, USA;2. McClellan Veterans Medical Center, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare Service, Little Rock, AR, USA;3. Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, USA;4. Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA |
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| Abstract: | ![]()
Age-dependent neurodegenerative diseases progressively form aggregates containing both shared components (e.g., TDP-43, phosphorylated tau) and proteins specific to each disease. We investigated whether diverse neuropathies might have additional aggregation-prone proteins in common, discoverable by proteomics. Caenorhabditis elegans expressing unc-54p/Q40::YFP, a model of polyglutamine array diseases such as Huntington''s, accrues aggregates in muscle 2–6 days posthatch. These foci, isolated on antibody-coupled magnetic beads, were characterized by high-resolution mass spectrometry. Three Q40::YFP-associated proteins were inferred to promote aggregation and cytotoxicity, traits reduced or delayed by their RNA interference knockdown. These RNAi treatments also retarded aggregation/cytotoxicity in Alzheimer''s disease models, nematodes with muscle or pan-neuronal Aβ1–42 expression and behavioral phenotypes. The most abundant aggregated proteins are glutamine/asparagine-rich, favoring hydrophobic interactions with other random-coil domains. A particularly potent modulator of aggregation, CRAM-1/HYPK, contributed < 1% of protein aggregate peptides, yet its knockdown reduced Q40::YFP aggregates 72–86% (P < 10−6). In worms expressing Aβ1–42, knockdown of cram-1 reduced β-amyloid 60% (P < 0.002) and slowed age-dependent paralysis > 30% (P < 10−6). In wild-type worms, cram-1 knockdown reduced aggregation and extended lifespan, but impaired early reproduction. Protection against seeded aggregates requires proteasome function, implying that normal CRAM-1 levels promote aggregation by interfering with proteasomal degradation of misfolded proteins. Molecular dynamic modeling predicts spontaneous and stable interactions of CRAM-1 (or human orthologs) with ubiquitin, and we verified that CRAM-1 reduces degradation of a tagged-ubiquitin reporter. We propose that CRAM-1 exemplifies a class of primitive chaperones that are initially protective and highly beneficial for early reproduction, but ultimately impair aggregate clearance and limit longevity. |
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| Keywords: | Alzheimer (disease)
C. elegans
Huntington (disease) neurodegeneration (protein) aggregation proteasome |
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