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Ubiquilin regulates presenilin endoproteolysis and modulates gamma-secretase components, Pen-2 and nicastrin.

ABSTRACT: Mutations in presenilin proteins (PS1 and PS2) lead to early-onset Alzheimer's disease. PS proteins are endoproteolytically cleaved into two main fragments: the NTF (PS N-terminal fragment) and the CTF (PS C-terminal fragment). The two fragments are believed to constitute the core catalytic enzyme activity called gamma-secretase, which is responsible for cleaving beta-amyloid precursor protein to release Abeta. Thus, studying factors that modulate PS fragment levels could provide important information about gamma-secretase. Previously, we demonstrated that the protein, ubiquilin-1, interacts both in vivo and in vitro with PS and that overexpression of ubiquilin-1 or -2 leads to increased accumulation of full-length PS proteins. Using wild-type HEK-293 cells (human embryonic kidney 293 cells) and PS-inducible cells, we now show that overexpression of either ubiquilin-1 or -2 decreases the PS NTF and CTF levels. Conversely, siRNA (small interfering RNA)-mediated knockdown of ubiquilin-1 and -2 proteins increased the PS NTF and CTF levels. We considered that ubiquilin might alter PS fragment accumulation by acting as a shuttle factor escorting PS fragments to the proteasome for degradation. However, through proteasome inhibition studies, we show that this does not occur. Instead, our results suggest that ubiquilin regulates PS fragment production. We also examined whether other components of the gamma-secretase complex are affected by ubiquilin expression. Interestingly, overexpression of ubiquilin resulted in a decrease in Pen-2 and nicastrin levels, two essential components of the gamma-secretase complex. In contrast, knockdown of ubiquilin-1 and -2 protein expression by RNAi (RNA interference) increased Pen-2 and nicastrin levels. Finally, we show that inhibition of the proteasome results in decreased PS fragment production and that reversal of proteasome inhibition restores PS fragment production, suggesting that the proteasome may be involved in PS endoproteolysis. These studies implicate ubiquilin as an important factor in regulating PS biogenesis and metabolism.

SUBMITTER: Massey LK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1276952 | biostudies-other | 2005 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:Neurexins are a large family of neuronal plasma membrane proteins, which function as trans-synaptic receptors during synaptic differentiation. The binding of presynaptic neurexins to postsynaptic partners, such as neuroligins, has been proposed to participate in a signaling pathway that regulates synapse formation/stabilization. The identification of mutations in neurexin genes associated with autism and mental retardation suggests that dysfunction of neurexins may underlie synaptic defects associated with brain disorders. However, the mechanisms that regulate neurexin function at synapses are still unclear. Here, we show that neurexins are proteolytically processed by presenilins (PS), the catalytic components of the γ-secretase complex that mediates the intramembraneous cleavage of several type I membrane proteins. Inhibition of PS/γ-secretase by using pharmacological and genetic approaches induces a drastic accumulation of neurexin C-terminal fragments (CTFs) in cultured rat hippocampal neurons and mouse brain. Neurexin-CTFs accumulate mainly at the presynaptic terminals of PS conditional double knockout (PS cDKO) mice lacking both PS genes in glutamatergic neurons of the forebrain. The fact that loss of PS function enhances neurexin accumulation at glutamatergic terminals mediated by neuroligin-1 suggests that PS regulate the processing of neurexins at glutamatergic synapses. Interestingly, presenilin 1 (PS1) is recruited to glutamatergic terminals mediated by neuroligin-1, thus concentrating PS1 at terminals containing β-neurexins. Furthermore, familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD)-linked PS1 mutations differentially affect β-neurexin-1 processing. Expression of PS1 M146L and PS1 H163R mutants in PS-/- cells rescues the processing of β-neurexin-1, whereas PS1 C410Y and PS1 ΔE9 fail to rescue the processing defect. These results suggest that PS regulate the synaptic function and processing of neurexins at glutamatergic synapses, and that impaired neurexin processing by PS may play a role in FAD.

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Ubiquilin regulates presenilin endoproteolysis and modulates gamma-secretase components, Pen-2 and nicastrin.

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