Praja1 RING-finger E3 ubiquitin ligase is a common suppressor of neurodegenerative disease-associated protein aggregation.

Abstract

The formation of misfolded protein aggregates is one of the pathological hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases. We have previously demonstrated the cytoplasmic aggregate formation of adenovirally expressed transactivation response DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43), the main constituent of neuronal cytoplasmic aggregates in cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), in cultured neuronal cells under the condition of proteasome inhibition. The TDP-43 aggregate formation was markedly suppressed by co-infection of adenoviruses expressing heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1), a master regulator of heat shock response, and Praja1 RING-finger E3 ubiquitin ligase (PJA1) located downstream of the HSF1 pathway. In the present study, we examined other reportedly known E3 ubiquitin ligases for TDP-43, i.e. Parkin, RNF112 and RNF220, but failed to find their suppressive effects on neuronal cytoplasmic TDP-43 aggregate formation, although they all bind to TDP-43 as verified by co-immunoprecipitation. In contrast, PJA1 also binds to adenovirally expressed wild-type and mutated fused in sarcoma, superoxide dismutase 1, α-synuclein and ataxin-3, and huntingtin polyglutamine proteins in neuronal cultures and suppressed the aggregate formation of these proteins. These results suggest that PJA1 is a common sensing factor for aggregate-prone proteins to counteract their aggregation propensity, and could be a potential therapeutic target for neurodegenerative diseases that include ALS, FTLD, Parkinson's disease and polyglutamine diseases.

• Authors: Kazuhiko Watabe, Motoko Niida-Kawaguchi, Mari Tada, Yoichiro Kato, Makiko Murata, Kunikazu Tanji, Koichi Wakabayashi, Mitsunori Yamada, Akiyoshi Kakita, Noriyuki Shibata
• Journal: Neuropathology : official journal of the Japanese Society of Neuropathology (Neuropathology) Vol. 42 Issue 6 Pg. 488-504 (Dec 2022) ISSN: 1440-1789 [Electronic] Australia
• PMID: 35701899 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Neuropathology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Society of Neuropathology.

Chemical References

• Heat Shock Transcription Factors
• Protein Aggregates
• Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases

Topics

• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (pathology)
• Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (pathology)
• Heat Shock Transcription Factors
• Neurodegenerative Diseases
• Protein Aggregates
• Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases (genetics, metabolism)
• Animals