Rapid presymptomatic detection of PrPSc via conformationally responsive palindromic PrP peptides

Structurally unique, synthetic prion peptides provide the basis of a simple assay to serve as both a detection and signal amplification system that distinguishes the normal prion protein, PrPC, from the misfolded prion protein, PrPSc, that is associated with the occurrence of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE). Proof-of-principle has been shown on brain samples from an experimental scrapie hamster model. The assay demonstrates very sensitive detection of PrPSc in animal brain tissue with potential application for early presymptomatic detection in animal screening. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the assay could enable blood tests for this TSE disease as well as other amyloid and/or misfolded protein diseases.     

Aggresomes——错误折叠蛋白的一种普遍细胞反应

通常,细胞中的错误折叠蛋白质会被蛋白酶体降解。但是在一定的病理和生理条件下,一些错误折叠蛋白质几乎不被降解,反而可以形成蛋白质聚集体。研究表明,许多疾病,如神经退行性疾病的发病机理与错误折叠蛋白质在细胞内的聚集体沉积有关。这些蛋白质聚集体可以通过微管上动力蛋白依赖的逆行性运输形式传送、聚集,最终形成aggresomes。早新的报道还指出,蛋白质聚集体能直接损伤泛素—蛋白酶体系统的功能,从而引起细胞的调控紊乱和细胞死亡。     

Misfolded protein aggregates: mechanisms, structures and potential for disease transmission

Some of the most prevalent human degenerative diseases appear as a result of the misfolding and aggregation of proteins. Compelling evidence suggest that misfolded protein aggregates play an important role in cell dysfunction and tissue damage, leading to the disease. Prion protein (Prion diseases), amyloid-beta (Alzheimer's disease), alpha-synuclein (Parkinson's disease), Huntingtin (Huntington's disease), serum amyloid A (AA amyloidosis) and islet amyloid polypeptide (type 2 diabetes) are some of the proteins that trigger disease when they get misfolded. The recent understanding of the crucial role of misfolded proteins as well as the structural requirements and mechanism of protein misfolding have raised the possibility that these diseases may be transmissible by self-propagation of the protein misfolding process in a similar way as the infamous prions transmit prion diseases. Future research in this field should aim to clarify this possibility and translate the knowledge of the basic disease mechanisms into development of novel strategies for early diagnosis and efficient treatment.     

TRIM family proteins: roles in proteostasis and neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are a diverse group of disorders characterized by the progressive degeneration of the structure and function of the central or peripheral nervous systems. One of the major features of NDs, such as Alzheimer''s disease (AD), Parkinson''s disease (PD) and Huntington''s disease (HD), is the aggregation of specific misfolded proteins, which induces cellular dysfunction, neuronal death, loss of synaptic connections and eventually brain damage. By far, a great amount of evidence has suggested that TRIM family proteins play crucial roles in the turnover of normal regulatory and misfolded proteins. To maintain cellular protein quality control, cells rely on two major classes of proteostasis: molecular chaperones and the degradative systems, the latter includes the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and autophagy; and their dysfunction has been established to result in various physiological disorders including NDs. Emerging evidence has shown that TRIM proteins are key players in facilitating the clearance of misfolded protein aggregates associated with neurodegenerative disorders. Understanding the different pathways these TRIM proteins employ during episodes of neurodegenerative disorder represents a promising therapeutic target. In this review, we elucidated and summarized the diverse roles with underlying mechanisms of members of the TRIM family proteins in NDs.     

New insights into the mechanisms of protein misfolding and aggregation in amyloidogenic diseases derived from pressure studies

Hydrostatic pressure is a robust tool for studying the thermodynamics of protein folding and protein interactions, as well as the dynamics and structure of folding intermediates. One of the main innovations obtained from using high pressure is the stabilization of folding intermediates such as molten-globule conformations, thus providing a unique opportunity for characterizing their structure and dynamics. Equally important is the prospect of understanding protein misfolding diseases by using pressure to populate partially folded intermediates at the junction between productive and off-pathway folding, which may give rise to misfolded proteins, aggregates, and amyloids. High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) has also been used to dissociate nonamyloid aggregates and inclusion bodies. In many proteins, the competition between correct folding and misfolding can lead to formation of insoluble aggregates, an important problem for the biotechnology industry and for human pathologies such as amyloidosis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, prion's, and tumor diseases. The diversity of diseases that result from protein misfolding has made this theme an important research focus for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The use of high-pressure promises to contribute to the identification of the mechanisms behind these defects and creation of therapies against these diseases.     

The battle of the fold: chaperones take on prions

Protein conformational diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's, affect a large portion of our aging population. Cells have evolved mechanisms for rescuing and recycling misfolded proteins, but these systems are not perfect. Chaperones can rescue misfolded proteins by breaking up aggregates and assisting in the refolding process. Proteins that cannot be rescued by refolding can be delivered to the proteasome by chaperones to be recycled. One class of 'misfolded' proteins, prions, appears to evade detection by this machinery and persist in a misfolded state. In fact, it seems that the prions usurp the refolding machinery and actually employ chaperones to propagate the prion state. Recent data has begun to uncover the mechanism behind this unique relationship.     

Protein folding and aggregation: two sides of the same coin in the condensation of proteins revealed by pressure studies

Hydrostatic pressure can be considered as "thermodynamic tweezers" to approach the protein folding problem and to study the cases when folding goes wrong leading to the protein folding disorders. The main outcome of the use of high pressure in this field is the stabilization of folding intermediates such as partially folded conformations, thus allowing us to characterize their structural properties. Because partially folded intermediates are usually at the intersection between productive and off-pathway folding, they may give rise to misfolded proteins, aggregates and amyloids that are involved in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. Of particular interest is the use of hydrostatic pressure to unveil the structural transitions in prion conversion and to populate possible intermediates in the folding/unfolding pathway of the prion protein. The main hypothesis for prion diseases proposes that the cellular protein (PrP(C)) can be altered into a misfolded, beta-sheet-rich isoform, the PrP(Sc) (from scrapie). It has been demonstrated that hydrostatic pressure affects the balance between the different prion species. The last findings on the application of high pressure on amyloidogenic proteins will be discussed here as regards to their energetic and volumetric properties. The use of high pressure promises to contribute to the identification of the underlying mechanisms of these neurodegenerative diseases and to develop new therapeutic approaches.     

Exosomes: vesicular carriers for intercellular communication in neurodegenerative disorders

The intercellular transfer of misfolded proteins has received increasing attention in various neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the aggregation of specific proteins, as observed in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. One hypothesis holds that intercellular dissemination of these aggregates within the central nervous system results in the seeded assembly of the cognate soluble protein in target cells, similar to that proposed for transmissible prion diseases. The molecular mechanisms underlying the intercellular transfer of these proteinaceous aggregates are poorly understood. Various transfer modes of misfolded proteins including continuous cell-cell contacts such as nanotubes, unconventional secretion or microvesicle/exosome-associated dissemination have been suggested. Cells can release proteins, lipids and nucleic acids by vesicular exocytosis pathways destined for horizontal transfer. Encapsulation into microvesicular/exosomal vehicles not only protects these molecules from degradation and dilution in the extracellular space but also facilitates delivery over large distances, e.g. within the blood flow or interstitial fluid. Specific surface ligands might allow the highly efficient and targeted uptake of these vesicles by recipient cells. In this review, we focus on the cell biology and function of neuronal microvesicles/exosomes and discuss the evidence for pathogenic intercellular protein transfer mediated by vesicular carriers.     

Polyphenolic flavonoid (Myricetin) upregulated proteasomal degradation mechanisms: Eliminates neurodegenerative proteins aggregation

Major neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by the formation of misfolded proteins aggregates inside or outside the neuronal cells. Previous studies suggest that aberrant proteins aggregates play a critical role in protein homeostasis imbalance and failure of protein quality control (PQC) mechanism, leading to disease conditions. However, we still do not understand the precise mechanisms of PQC failure and cellular dysfunctions associated with neurodegenerative diseases caused by the accumulation of protein aggregates. Here, we show that Myricetin, a flavonoid, can eliminate various abnormal proteins from the cellular environment via modulating endogenous levels of Hsp70 chaperone and quality control (QC)-E3 ubiquitin ligase E6-AP. We have observed that Myricetin treatment suppresses the aggregation of different aberrant proteins. Myricetin also enhances the elimination of various toxic neurodegenerative diseases associated proteins from the cells, which could be reversed by the addition of putative proteasome inhibitor (MG132). Remarkably, Myricetin can also stabilize E6-AP and reduce the misfolded proteins inclusions, which further alleviates cytotoxicity. Taken together these findings suggested that new mechanistic and therapeutic insights based on small molecules mediated regulation of disturbed protein quality control mechanism, which may result in the maintenance of the state of proteostasis.     

E6-AP promotes misfolded polyglutamine proteins for proteasomal degradation and suppresses polyglutamine protein aggregation and toxicity

The accumulation of intracellular protein deposits as inclusion bodies is the common pathological hallmark of most age-related neurodegenerative disorders including polyglutamine diseases. Appearance of aggregates of the misfolded mutant disease proteins suggest that cells are unable to efficiently degrade them, and failure of clearance leads to the severe disturbances of the cellular quality control system. Recently, the quality control ubiquitin ligase CHIP has been shown to suppress the polyglutamine protein aggregation and toxicity. Here we have identified another ubiquitin ligase, called E6-AP, which is able to promote the proteasomal degradation of misfolded polyglutamine proteins and suppress the polyglutamine protein aggregation and polyglutamine protein-induced cell death. E6-AP interacts with the soluble misfolded polyglutamine protein and associates with their aggregates in both cellular and transgenic mouse models. Partial knockdown of E6-AP enhances the rate of aggregate formation and cell death mediated by the polyglutamine protein. Finally, we have demonstrated the up-regulation of E6-AP in the expanded polyglutamine protein-expressing cells as well as cells exposed to proteasomal stress. These findings suggest that E6-AP is a critical mediator of the neuronal response to misfolded polyglutamine proteins and represents a potential therapeutic target in the polyglutamine diseases.     

Propagation of the prion phenomenon: beyond the seeding principle

The deposition of misfolded proteins is the hallmark of the late-onset, rapidly progressive and devastating neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. These diseases are caused by a gain of toxic properties associated with the propensity of otherwise soluble proteins to misfold. What governs the deposition of the disease-causing proteins in aged neurons is unclear, but recent evidence suggests that once misfolded, the diverse proteins associated with the neurodegenerative diseases can induce aggregation of their soluble counterpart, thereby sharing one of the defining properties of prions. In addition to the seeded polymerization, prions have the ability to replicate their aberrant conformation indefinitely and are transmissible. Are these properties also shared by diverse misfolded proteins?     

Hemochromatosis: As a conformational disorder

Hereditary hemochroamtosis (HH) refers to a unique clinicopathologic subset of iron overload syndromes that includes the disorder related to C282Y homozygous mutation of the hemochromatosis protein (HFE), the most common form of hereditary hemochromatosis. Recent reports have highlighted analogies with the class of disorders, known as the conformational diseases whereby HFE C282Y mutant protein forms aggregates and is subsequently retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In conformational disorders, accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the ER can activate a complex cascade linked to the regulation of diverse physiologic processes, disease onset and progression. To-date, reviews on HFE C282Y HH have largely dealt with the end-stage consequence of this disorder (iron overload). However, our review focuses on upstream molecular events resulting from the mislocalization of the aggregation-prone HFE C282Y protein leading to potential advances in treatment and diagnosis.     

Protein folding and diseases

For most of proteins to be active, they need well-defined three-dimensional structures alone or in complex. Folding is a process through which newly synthesized proteins get to the native state. Protein folding inside cells is assisted by various chaperones and folding factors, and misfolded proteins are eliminated by the ubiquitin-proteasome degradation system to ensure high fidelity of protein expression. Under certain circumstances, misfolded proteins escape the degradation process, yielding to deposit of protein aggregates such as loop-sheet polymer and amyloid fibril. Diseases characterized by insoluble deposits of proteins have been recognized for long time and are grouped as conformational diseases. Study of protein folding mechanism is required for better understanding of the molecular pathway of such conformational diseases.     

Neurodegenerative diseases: a decade of discoveries paves the way for therapeutic breakthroughs

A wide variety of neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the accumulation of intracellular or extracellular protein aggregates. More recently, the genetic identification of mutations in familial counterparts to the sporadic disorders, leading to the development of in vitro and in vivo model systems, has provided insights into disease pathogenesis. The effect of many of these mutations is the abnormal processing of misfolded proteins that overwhelms the quality-control systems of the cell, resulting in the deposition of protein aggregates in the nucleus, cytosol and/or extracellular space. Further understanding of mechanisms regulating protein processing and aggregation, as well as of the toxic effects of misfolded neurodegenerative disease proteins, will facilitate development of rationally designed therapies to treat and prevent these disorders.     

alpha-Synuclein misfolding: single molecule AFM force spectroscopy study

Protein misfolding and aggregation are the very first and critical steps in development of various neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, induced by misfolding of α-synuclein. Thus, elucidating properties of proteins in misfolded states and understanding the mechanisms of their assembly into the disease prone aggregates are critical for the development of rational approaches to prevent protein misfolding-mediated pathologies. To accomplish this goal and as a first step to elucidate the mechanism of α-synuclein misfolding, we applied single-molecule force spectroscopy capable of detecting protein misfolding. We immobilized α-synuclein molecules at their C-termini at the atomic force microscope tips and substrate surfaces, and measured the interaction between the proteins by probing the microscope tip at various locations on the surface. Using this approach, we detected α-synuclein misfolded states by enhanced interprotein interaction. We used a dynamics force spectroscopy approach to measure such an important characteristic of dimers of misfolded α-synuclein as their lifetimes. We found that the dimer lifetimes are in the range of seconds and these values are much higher than the characteristics for the dynamics of the protein in monomeric state. These data show that compared to highly dynamic monomeric forms, α-synuclein dimers are much more stable and thus can serve as stable nuclei for the formation of multimeric and aggregated forms of α-synuclein. Importantly, two different lifetimes were observed for the dimers, suggesting that aggregation can follow different pathways that may lead to different aggregated morphologies of α-synuclein.     

Fighting disease by selective autophagy of aggregate-prone proteins

Ubiquitinated protein aggregates are hallmarks of a range of human diseases, including neurodegenerative, liver and muscle disorders. These protein aggregates are typically positive for the autophagy receptor p62. Whereas the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) degrades shortlived and misfolded ubiquitinated proteins that are small enough to enter the narrow pore of the barrel-shaped proteasome, the lysosomal pathway of autophagy can degrade larger structures including entire organelles or protein aggregates. This degradation requires autophagy receptors that link the cargo with the molecular machinery of autophagy and is enhanced by certain posttranslational modifications of the cargo. In this review we focus on how autophagy clears aggregate-prone proteins and the relevance of this process to protein aggregate associated diseases.     

Prefibrillar amyloid protein aggregates share common features of cytotoxicity

The intracellular free Ca(2+) concentration and redox status of murine fibroblasts exposed to prefibrillar aggregates of the HypF N-terminal domain have been investigated in vitro and in vivo using a range of fluorescent probes. Aggregate entrance into the cytoplasm is followed by an early rise of reactive oxygen species and free Ca(2+) levels and eventually by cell death. Such changes correlate directly with the viability of the cells and are not observed when cell are cultured in the presence of reducing agents or in Ca(2+)-free media. In addition, moderate cell stress following exposure to the aggregates was found to be fully reversible. The results show that the cytotoxicity of prefibrillar aggregates of HypF-N, a protein not associated with clinical disease, has the same fundamental origin as that produced by similar types of aggregates of proteins linked with specific amyloidoses. These findings suggest that misfolded proteinaceous aggregates stimulate generic cellular responses as a result of the exposure of regions of the structure (such as hydrophobic residues and the polypeptide main chain) that are buried in the normally folded proteins. They also support the idea that a higher number of degenerative pathologies than previously known might be considered as protein deposition diseases.     

Role of sHsps in organizing cytosolic protein aggregation and disaggregation

Small heat shock proteins (sHsps) exhibit an ATP-independent chaperone activity to prevent the aggregation of misfolded proteins in vitro. The seemingly conflicting presence of sHsps in insoluble protein aggregates in cells obstructs a precise definition of sHsp function in proteostasis networks. Recent findings specify sHsp activities in protein quality control systems. The sHsps of yeast, Hsp42 and Hsp26, interact with early unfolding intermediates of substrates, keeping them in a ready-to-refold conformation close to the native state. This activity facilitates substrate refolding by ATP-dependent Hsp70-Hsp100 disaggregating chaperones. Hsp42 can actively sequester misfolded proteins and promote their deposition at specific cellular sites. This aggregase activity represents a cytoprotective protein quality control strategy. The aggregase function of Hsp42 controls the formation of cytosolic aggregates (CytoQs) under diverse stress regimes and can be reconstituted in vitro, demonstrating that Hsp42 is necessary and sufficient to promote protein aggregation. Substrates sequestered at CytoQs can be dissociated by Hsp70-Hsp100 disaggregases for subsequent triage between refolding and degradation pathways or are targeted for destruction by selective autophagy termed proteophagy.     

Diseases of protein conformation: what do in vitro experiments tell us about in vivo diseases?

Certain human diseases are associated with proteins that misfold and exhibit decreased solubility under physiological conditions. They result either from mutations that change the amino acid sequence of a protein, or from misfolded wild-type proteins, such as in Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. One subset--the amyloidoses--cause extracellular deposits that stain with the dye Congo red. Another subset is associated with intracellular deposits with non-Congophilic nuclear or cytoplasmic inclusions. Purified, recombinantly produced versions of some of the proteins that form intracellular aggregates can also display Congophilia, as well as other properties associated with the in vivo amyloidoses when examined under non-physiological conditions in vitro. Some of these purified proteins or protein fragments have never been identified as pathogenic in humans or animals. Despite potentially shared thermodynamic and kinetic processes involving the target molecules, the biology of these two subsets differs significantly.     

Inefficient degradation of truncated polyglutamine proteins by the proteasome

Accumulation of mutant proteins into misfolded species and aggregates is characteristic for diverse neurodegenerative diseases including the polyglutamine diseases. While several studies have suggested that polyglutamine protein aggregates impair the ubiquitin-proteasome system, the molecular mechanisms underlying the interaction between polyglutamine proteins and the proteasome have remained elusive. In this study, we use fluorescence live-cell imaging to demonstrate that the proteasome is sequestered irreversibly within aggregates of overexpressed N-terminal mutant Huntingtin fragment or simple polyglutamine expansion proteins. Moreover, by direct targeting of polyglutamine proteins for proteasomal degradation, we observe incomplete degradation of these substrates both in vitro and in vivo. Thus, our data reveal that intrinsic properties of the polyglutamine proteins prevent their efficient degradation and clearance. Additionally, fluorescence resonance energy transfer is detected between the proteasome and aggregated polyglutamine proteins indicative of a close and stable interaction. We propose that polyglutamine-containing proteins are kinetically trapped within proteasomes, which could explain their deleterious effects on cellular function over time.