Mechanistic implications for LDL receptor degradation from the PCSK9/LDLR structure at neutral pH.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Lo Surdo P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3245695 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Mechanistic implications for LDL receptor degradation from the PCSK9/LDLR structure at neutral pH.
Lo Surdo Paola P Bottomley Matthew J MJ Calzetta Alessandra A Settembre Ethan C EC Cirillo Agostino A Pandit Shilpa S Ni Yan G YG Hubbard Brian B Sitlani Ayesha A Carfí Andrea A
EMBO reports 20111201 12
The protein PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9) is a key regulator of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) levels and cardiovascular health. We have determined the crystal structure of LDLR bound to PCSK9 at neutral pH. The structure shows LDLR in a new extended conformation. The PCSK9 C-terminal domain is solvent exposed, enabling cofactor binding, whereas the catalytic domain and prodomain interact with LDLR epidermal growth factor(A) and β-propeller domains, respectively. ...[more]
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Project description:PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9) is a secreted serine protease that regulates cholesterol homoeostasis by inducing post-translational degradation of hepatic LDL-R [LDL (low-density lipoprotein) receptor]. Intramolecular autocatalytic processing of the PCSK9 zymogen in the endoplasmic reticulum results in a tightly associated complex between the prodomain and the catalytic domain. Although the autocatalytic processing event is required for proper secretion of PCSK9, the requirement of proteolytic activity in the regulation of LDL-R is currently unknown. Co-expression of the prodomain and the catalytic domain in trans allowed for production of a catalytically inactive secreted form of PCSK9. This catalytically inactive PCSK9 was characterized and shown to be functionally equivalent to the wild-type protein in lowering cellular LDL uptake and LDL-R levels. These findings suggest that, apart from autocatalytic processing, the protease activity of PCSK9 is not necessary for LDL-R regulation.
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Project description:Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) binds to the LDL receptor (LDLR) at the cell surface and reroutes the internalized LDLR to intracellular degradation. In this study, we have shown that PCSK9-mediated degradation of the full-length 160 kDa LDLR generates a 17 kDa C-terminal LDLR fragment. This fragment was not generated from mutant LDLRs resistant to PCSK9-mediated degradation or when degradation was prevented by chemicals such as ammonium chloride or the cysteine cathepsin inhibitor E64d. The observation that the 17 kDa fragment was only detected when the cells were cultured in the presence of the ?-secretase inhibitor DAPT indicates that this 17 kDa fragment undergoes ?-secretase cleavage within the transmembrane domain. The failure to detect the complementary 143 kDa ectodomain fragment is likely to be due to its rapid degradation in the endosomal lumen. The 17 kDa C-terminal LDLR fragment was also generated from a Class 5 mutant LDLR undergoing intracellular degradation. Thus, one may speculate that an LDLR with bound PCSK9 and a Class 5 LDLR with bound LDL are degraded by a similar mechanism that could involve ectodomain cleavage in the endosome.
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Project description:The proprotein convertase PCSK9, a target for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, is a negative regulator of the LDL receptor (LDLR) leading to its degradation in endosomes/lysosomes and up-regulation of plasma LDL-cholesterol levels. The proprotein convertases, a family of nine secretory serine proteases, are first synthesized as inactive zymogens. Except for PCSK9, all other convertases are activated following the autocatalytic excision of their inhibitory N-terminal prosegment. PCSK9 is unique since the mature enzyme exhibits a cleaved prosegment complexed with the catalytic subunit and has no protease activity towards other substrates. Similar to other convertases, we hypothesized that the in trans presence of the PCSK9 prosegment would interfere with PCSK9's activity on the LDLR. Since the prosegment cannot be secreted alone, we engineered a chimeric protein using the Fc-region of human IgG1 fused to the PCSK9 prosegment. The expression of such Fcpro-fusion protein in HEK293 and HepG2 cells resulted in a secreted protein that binds PCSK9 and markedly inhibits its activity on the LDLR. This was observed by either intracellular co-expression of PCSK9 and Fcpro or by an extracellular in vitro co-incubation of Fcpro with PCSK9. Structure-function studies revealed that the inhibitory function of Fcpro does not require the acidic N-terminal stretch (residues 31-58) nor the C-terminal Gln 152 of the prosegment. Fcpro likely interacts with the prosegment and/or catalytic subunit of the prosegment≡PCSK9 complex thereby allosterically modulating its function. Our data suggest a novel strategic approach for the design and isolation of PCSK9 inhibitors.
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Project description:Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type-9 (PCSK9) binds to LDL receptor (LDLR) and targets it for lysosomal degradation in cells. Decreased hepatic clearance of plasma LDL-cholesterol is the primary gauge of PCSK9 activity in humans; however, PCSK9's evolutionary role may extend to other lipoprotein classes and processes. This review highlights studies that are providing novel insights into physiological regulation of PCSK9 transcription and plasma PCSK9 activity.Recent studies indicate that circulating PCSK9 binds to apolipoprotein B100 on LDL particles, which in turn inhibits PCSK9's ability to bind to cell surface LDLRs. Negative feedback of secreted PCSK9 activity by LDL could serve to increase plasma excursion of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and monitor lipoprotein remodeling. Recent findings have identified hepatocyte nuclear factor-1? as a key transcriptional regulator that cooperates with sterol regulatory element-binding protein-2 to control PCSK9 expression in hepatocytes in response to nutritional and hormonal inputs, as well as acute inflammation.PCSK9 is an established target for cholesterol-lowering therapies. Further study of PCSK9 regulatory mechanisms may identify additional control points for pharmacological inhibition of PCSK9-mediated LDLR degradation. PCSK9 function could reflect ancient roles in the fasting-feeding cycle and in linking lipoprotein metabolism with innate immunity.
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Project description:PCSK9 is a secreted ligand and negative post-translational regulator of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) in hepatocytes. Gain-of-function (GOF) or loss-of-function (LOF) mutations in PCSK9 are directly correlated with high or low plasma LDL-cholesterol levels, respectively. Therefore, PCSK9 is a prevailing lipid-lowering target to prevent coronary heart diseases and stroke. Herein, we fused monomeric fluorescent proteins to PCSK9 and LDLR to visualize their intra- and extracellular trafficking dynamics by live confocal microscopy. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) showed that PCSK9 LOF R46L mutant and GOF mutations S127R and D129G, but not the LDLR high-affinity mutant D374Y, significantly accelerate PCSK9 exit from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Quantitative analysis of inverse FRAP revealed that only R46L presented a much slower trafficking from the trans-Golgi network (TGN) to the plasma membrane and a lower mobile fraction likely suggesting accumulation or delayed exit at the TGN as an underlying mechanism. While not primarily involved in LDLR binding, PCSK9 C-terminal domain (CTD) was found to be essential to induce LDLR degradation both upon its overexpression in cells or via the extracellular pathway. Our data revealed that PCSK9 CTD is required for the localization of PCSK9 at the TGN and increases its LDLR-mediated endocytosis. Interestingly, intracellular lysosomal targeting of PCSK9-?CTD was able to rescue its capacity to induce LDLR degradation emphasizing a role of the CTD in the sorting of PCSK9-LDLR complex towards late endocytic compartments. Finally, we validated our dual fluorescence system as a cell based-assay by preventing PCSK9 internalization using a PCSK9-LDLR blocking antibody, which may be expended to identify protein, peptide or small molecule inhibitors of PCSK9.
| S-EPMC4900664 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) posttranslationally regulates hepatic low-density lipoprotein receptors (LDLRs) by binding to LDLRs on the cell surface, leading to their degradation. The binding site of PCSK9 has been localized to the epidermal growth factor-like repeat A (EGF-A) domain of the LDLR. Here, we describe the crystal structure of a complex between PCSK9 and the EGF-A domain of the LDLR. The binding site for the LDLR EGF-A domain resides on the surface of PCSK9's subtilisin-like catalytic domain containing Asp-374, a residue for which a gain-of-function mutation (Asp-374-Tyr) increases the affinity of PCSK9 toward LDLR and increases plasma LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in humans. The binding surface on PCSK9 is distant from its catalytic site, and the EGF-A domain makes no contact with either the C-terminal domain or the prodomain. Point mutations in PCSK9 that altered key residues contributing to EGF-A binding (Arg-194 and Phe-379) greatly diminished binding to the LDLR's extracellular domain. The structure of PCSK9 in complex with the LDLR EGF-A domain defines potential therapeutic target sites for blocking agents that could interfere with this interaction in vivo, thereby increasing LDLR function and reducing plasma LDL-C levels.
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Project description:BackgroundGreen tea drinking has been proven to lower lipid and exert cardiovascular protection, while the potential mechanism has not been fully determined. This study was to investigate whether the beneficial impact of epigallocatechingallate (EGCG), a type of catechin in green tea on lipids is associated with proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) pathways.MethodsWe studied the effects and underlying molecular mechanism of EGCG or green tea on regulating cholesterol from human, animal and in vitro.ResultsIn the age- and gender-matched case control observation, we found that individuals with frequent tea consumption (n = 224) had the lower plasma PCSK9 and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels compared with ones without tea consumption (n = 224, p < 0.05). In the high fat diet (HFD) fed rats, EGCG administration significantly lowered circulating PCSK9 concentration and liver PCSK9 expression, along with up-regulated LDL receptor (LDLR) expression but decreased level of LDL-C. In hepatic cell study, similar results were obtained regarding the impact of EGCG on LDLR and PCSK9 expression. The assay transposase-accessible chromatic with high-throughput sequencing (ATAC-seq) and subsequent results suggested that two transcription factors, hepatocyte nuclear factor-1α (HNF-1α) and forkhead box class O (FoxO) 3a involved in inhibitory action of EGCG on PCSK9 expression.ConclusionsThe present study demonstrates that EGCG suppresses PCSK9 production by promoting nuclear FoxO3a, and reducing nuclear HNF1α, resulting in up-regulated LDLR expression and LDL uptake in hepatocytes. Thereby inhibiting liver and circulating PCSK9 levels, and ultimately lowering LDL-C levels.
| S-EPMC7216725 | biostudies-literature