GRASP55 regulates the unconventional secretion and aggregation of mutant huntingtin

Recent studies demonstrated that the Golgi reassembly stacking proteins (GRASPs), especially GRASP55, regulate Golgi-independent unconventional secretion of certain cytosolic and transmembrane cargoes; however, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Here, we surveyed several neurodegenerative disease–related proteins, including mutant huntingtin (Htt-Q74), superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), tau, and TAR DNA–binding protein 43 (TDP-43), for unconventional secretion; our results show that Htt-Q74 is most robustly secreted in a GRASP55-dependent manner. Using Htt-Q74 as a model system, we demonstrate that unconventional secretion of Htt is GRASP55 and autophagy dependent and is enhanced under stress conditions such as starvation and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Mechanistically, we show that GRASP55 facilitates Htt secretion by tethering autophagosomes to lysosomes to promote autophagosome maturation and subsequent lysosome secretion and by stabilizing p23/TMED10, a channel for translocation of cytoplasmic proteins into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum–Golgi intermediate compartment. Moreover, we found that GRASP55 levels are upregulated by various stresses to facilitate unconventional secretion, whereas inhibition of Htt-Q74 secretion by GRASP55 KO enhances Htt aggregation and toxicity. Finally, comprehensive secretomic analysis identified novel cytosolic cargoes secreted by the same unconventional pathway, including transgelin (TAGLN), multifunctional protein ADE2 (PAICS), and peroxiredoxin-1 (PRDX1). In conclusion, this study defines the pathway of GRASP55-mediated unconventional protein secretion and provides important insights into the progression of Huntington’s disease.