The role of site-specific N-glycosylation in secretion of soluble forms of rabies virus glycoprotein

Rabies virus glycoprotein is important in the biology and pathogenesis of neurotropic rabies virus infection. This transmembrane glycoprotein is the only viral protein on the surface of virus particles, is the viral attachment protein that facilitates virus uptake by the infected cell, and is the target of the host humoral immune response to infection. The extracellular domain of this glycoprotein has N- glycosylation sequons at Asn37, Asn247, and Asn319. Appropriate glycosylation of these sequons is important in the expression of the glycoprotein. Soluble forms of rabies virus glycoprotein were constructed by insertion of a stop codon just external to the transmembrane domain. Using site-directed mutagenesis and expression in transfected eukaryotic cells, it was possible to compare the effects of site-specific glycosylation on the cell-surface expression and secretion of transmembrane and soluble forms, respectively, of the same glycoprotein. These studies yielded the surprising finding that although any of the three sequons permitted cell surface expression of full-length rabies virus glycoprotein, only the N-glycan at Asn319 permitted secretion of soluble rabies virus glycoprotein. Despite its biological and medical importance, it has not yet been possible to determine the crystal structure of the full-length transmembrane form of rabies virus glycoprotein which contains heterogeneous oligosaccharides. The current studies demonstrate that a soluble form of rabies virus glycoprotein containing only one sequon at Asn319 is efficiently secreted in the presence of the N-glycan processing inhibitor 1-deoxymannojirimycin. Thus, it is possible to purify a conformationally relevant form of rabies virus glycoprotein that contains only one N-glycan with a substantial reduction in its microheterogeneity. This form of the glycoprotein may be particularly useful for future studies aimed at elucidating the three-dimensional structure of this important glycoprotein.      

Interaction of polycations with cell-surface negative charges of epithelial cells.

The interaction between various polycations and cultured glomerular epithelial cells was studied by cell electrophoresis. It was shown that the glomerular epithelial cell presents a negatively charged surface which imparts a zeta potential of -29.0 +/- 1.5 mV at the peripheral layer of the plasma membrane. The pH at which the GEC charge became 50% reduced (pKa) was determined to be 3.0. A variety of polycations of various sizes and fixed and flexible geometries were tested for their capacity to neutralize the cell charge. All the polycations except cytochrome c and lysozyme were capable of completely neutralizing the cell. Cytochrome c could maximally neutralize only 50% of charge and lysozyme only 72% of charge. However, reduced and 'relaxed' molecules of cytochrome c and lysozyme efficiently neutralized the cell surface, as did larger sized 'flexible' polylysines. On the basis of these findings, we conclude that all polycations are not equal in their capacity to neutralize the cell surface. Flexible molecules in contrast to molecules with rigid structures were more effective in neutralizing the cell. This may likely be due to the exposure and availability of more cationic groups in a flexible molecule which results in stabilization of interaction with cells.     

Membrane-Associated RING-CH proteins associate with Bap31 and target CD81 and CD44 to lysosomes

Membrane-associated RING-CH (MARCH) proteins represent a family of transmembrane ubiquitin ligases modulating intracellular trafficking and turnover of transmembrane protein targets. While homologous proteins encoded by gamma-2 herpesviruses and leporipoxviruses have been studied extensively, limited information is available regarding the physiological targets of cellular MARCH proteins. To identify host cell proteins targeted by the human MARCH-VIII ubiquitin ligase we used stable isotope labeling of amino-acids in cell culture (SILAC) to monitor MARCH-dependent changes in the membrane proteomes of human fibroblasts. Unexpectedly, we observed that MARCH-VIII reduced the surface expression of Bap31, a chaperone that predominantly resides in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We demonstrate that Bap31 associates with the transmembrane domains of several MARCH proteins and controls intracellular transport of MARCH proteins. In addition, we observed that MARCH-VIII reduced the surface expression of the hyaluronic acid-receptor CD44 and both MARCH-VIII and MARCH-IV sequestered the tetraspanin CD81 in endo-lysosomal vesicles. Moreover, gene knockdown of MARCH-IV increased surface levels of endogenous CD81 suggesting a constitutive involvement of this family of ubiquitin ligases in the turnover of tetraspanins. Our data thus suggest a role of MARCH-VIII and MARCH-IV in the regulated turnover of CD81 and CD44, two ubiquitously expressed, multifunctional proteins.     

Inhibition of JC polyomavirus infectivity by the retrograde transport inhibitor Retro-2.1

JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) is a common human pathogen that results in a chronic asymptomatic infection in healthy adults. Under conditions of immunosuppression, JCPyV spreads to the central nervous system and can cause the fatal demyelinating disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a disease for which there are no vaccines or antiviral therapies. Retro-2 is a previously identified small molecule inhibitor that was originally shown to block retrograde transport of toxins such as ricin toxin from endosomes to the Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and Retro-2.1 is a chemical analog of Retro-2 that has been shown to inhibit ricin intoxication of cells at low nanomolar concentrations. Retro-2 has previously been shown to prevent retrograde transport of JCPyV virions to the ER, but the effect of Retro-2.1 on JCPyV infectivity is unknown. Here it is shown that Retro-2.1 inhibits JCPyV with an EC₅₀ of 3.9 μM. This molecule inhibits JCPyV infection at dosages that are not toxic to human tissue culture cells. Retro-2.1 was also tested against two other polyomaviruses, the human BK polyomavirus and simian virus 40, and was also shown to inhibit infection at similar concentrations. Viral uncoating studies demonstrate that Retro-2.1 inhibits BKPyV infectivity in a manner similar to Retro-2. These studies demonstrate that improved analogs of Retro-2 can inhibit infection at lower dosages than Retro-2 and further optimization of these compounds may lead to effective treatment options for those suffering from JCPyV infection and PML.     

High glucose upregulation of early-onset Parkinson's disease protein DJ-1 integrates the PRAS40/TORC1 axis to mesangial cell hypertrophy

The Akt kinase signaling pathway is frequently deregulated in many human diseases including cancer, autoimmune disease and diabetes. In nephropathy, associated with diabetes, increased Akt signal transduction results in glomerular especially mesangial cell hypertrophy. The mechanism of Akt activation by elevated glucose is poorly understood. The oncogene DJ-1 prevents oxidative damage and apoptosis of dopaminergic neurons in animal models of Parkinson's disease and in culture. We identified DJ-1 to increase in response to high glucose in renal glomerular mesangial cells concomitant with an increase in phosphorylation of Akt in a time-dependent manner. Plasmid-derived overexpression as well as downregulation of DJ-1 by siRNA showed the requirement of this protein in high glucose-stimulated Akt phosphorylation. The tumor suppressor protein PTEN acts as a negative regulator of Akt activation. Interestingly, DJ-1 was associated with PTEN and this interaction was significantly increased in response to high glucose. High glucose-induced increase in DJ-1 promoted phosphorylation of the PRAS40, a negative regulator of TORC1 kinase activity, resulting in activating and inactivating phosphorylation of S6 kinase and 4EBP-1, respectively. Furthermore, DJ-1 increased protein synthesis and hypertrophy of mesangial cells. Our results provide evidence for a unique mechanism whereby DJ-1 induces Akt/PRAS40/TORC1-mediated hypertrophy in response to high glucose.     

MARCH ubiquitin ligases alter the itinerary of clathrin-independent cargo from recycling to degradation

Following endocytosis, internalized plasma membrane proteins can be recycled back to the cell surface or trafficked to late endosomes/lysosomes for degradation. Here we report on the trafficking of multiple proteins that enter cells by clathrin-independent endocytosis (CIE) and determine that a set of proteins (CD44, CD98, and CD147) found primarily in recycling tubules largely failed to reach late endosomes in HeLa cells, whereas other CIE cargo proteins, including major histocompatibility complex class I protein (MHCI), trafficked to both early endosome antigen 1 (EEA1) and late endosomal compartments in addition to recycling tubules. Expression of the membrane-associated RING-CH 8 (MARCH8) E3 ubiquitin ligase completely shifted the trafficking of CD44 and CD98 proteins away from recycling tubules to EEA1 compartments and late endosomes, resulting in reduced surface levels. Cargo affected by MARCH expression, including CD44, CD98, and MHCI, still entered cells by CIE, suggesting that the routing of ubiquitinated cargo occurs after endocytosis. MARCH8 expression led to direct ubiquitination of CD98 and routing of CD98 to late endosomes/lysosomes.     

Tadalafil Integrates Nitric Oxide-Hydrogen Sulfide Signaling to Inhibit High Glucose-induced Matrix Protein Synthesis in Podocytes

Diabetes-induced kidney cell injury involves an increase in matrix protein expression that is only partly alleviated by current treatment, prompting a search for new modalities. We have previously shown that hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) inhibits high glucose-induced protein synthesis in kidney podocytes. We tested whether tadalafil, a phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor used to treat erectile dysfunction, ameliorates high glucose stimulation of matrix proteins by generating H₂S in podocytes. Tadalafil abrogated high glucose stimulation of global protein synthesis and matrix protein laminin γ1. Tadalafil inhibited high glucose-induced activation of mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 and laminin γ1 accumulation in an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-dependent manner. Tadalafil increased AMPK phosphorylation by stimulating calcium-calmodulin kinase kinase β. Tadalafil rapidly increased the expression and activity of the H₂S-generating enzyme cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) by promoting its translation. dl-Propargylglycine, a CSE inhibitor, and siRNA against CSE inhibited tadalafil-induced AMPK phosphorylation and abrogated the tadalafil effect on high glucose stimulation of laminin γ1. In tadalafil-treated podocytes, we examined the interaction between H₂S and nitric oxide (NO). N^ω-Nitro-l-arginine methyl ester and 1H-[1,2,4]-oxadiazolo-[4,3-a]-quinoxalin-1-one, inhibitors of NO synthase (NOS) and soluble guanylyl cyclase, respectively, abolished tadalafil induction of H₂S and AMPK phosphorylation. Tadalafil rapidly augmented inducible NOS (iNOS) expression by increasing its mRNA, and siRNA for iNOS and 1400W, an iNOS blocker, inhibited tadalafil stimulation of CSE expression and AMPK phosphorylation. We conclude that tadalafil amelioration of high glucose stimulation of synthesis of proteins including matrix proteins in podocytes requires integration of the NO-H₂S-AMPK axis leading to the inhibition of high glucose-induced mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 activity and mRNA translation.