Identification of the mitochondrial MSRB2 as a binding partner of LG72

Genetic studies have linked the evolutionary novel, anthropoid primate-specific gene locus G72/G30 in the etiology of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. However, the function of the protein encoded by this locus, LG72, is currently controversially discussed. Some studies have suggested that LG72 binds to and regulates the activity of the peroxisomal enzyme D-amino-acid-oxidase, while others proposed an alternative role of this protein due to its mitochondrial location in vitro. Studies with transgenic mice expressing LG72 further suggested that high levels of LG72 lead to an impairment of mitochondrial functions with a concomitant increase in reactive oxygen species production. In the present study, we now performed extensive interaction analyses and identified the mitochondrial methionine-R-sulfoxide reductase B2 (MSRB2) as a specific interaction partner of LG72. MSRB2 belongs to the MSR protein family and functions in mitochondrial oxidative stress defense. Based on our results, we propose that LG72 is involved in the regulation of mitochondrial oxidative stress

Hsp70 chaperones: Cellular functions and molecular mechanism

Hsp70 proteins are central components of the cellular network of molecular chaperones and folding catalysts. They assist a large variety of protein folding processes in the cell by transient association of their substrate binding domain with short hydrophobic peptide segments within their substrate proteins. The substrate binding and release cycle is driven by the switching of Hsp70 between the low-affinity ATP bound state and the high-affinity ADP bound state. Thus, ATP binding and hydrolysis are essential in vitro and in vivo for the chaperone activity of Hsp70 proteins. This ATPase cycle is controlled by co-chaperones of the family of J-domain proteins, which target Hsp70s to their substrates, and by nucleotide exchange factors, which determine the lifetime of the Hsp70-substrate complex. Additional co-chaperones fine-tune this chaperone cycle. For specific tasks the Hsp70 cycle is coupled to the action of other chaperones, such as Hsp90 and Hsp100

The Hsc/Hsp70 Co-Chaperone Network Controls Antigen Aggregation and Presentation during Maturation of Professional Antigen Presenting Cells

The maturation of mouse macrophages and dendritic cells involves the transient deposition of ubiquitylated proteins in the form of dendritic cell aggresome-like induced structures (DALIS). Transient DALIS formation was used here as a paradigm to study how mammalian cells influence the formation and disassembly of protein aggregates through alterations of their proteostasis machinery. Co-chaperones that modulate the interplay of Hsc70 and Hsp70 with the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and the autophagosome-lysosome pathway emerged as key regulators of this process. The chaperone-associated ubiquitin ligase CHIP and the ubiquitin-domain protein BAG-1 are essential for DALIS formation in mouse macrophages and bone-marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs). CHIP also cooperates with BAG-3 and the autophagic ubiquitin adaptor p62 in the clearance of DALIS through chaperone-assisted selective autophagy (CASA). On the other hand, the co-chaperone HspBP1 inhibits the activity of CHIP and thereby attenuates antigen sequestration. Through a modulation of DALIS formation CHIP, BAG-1 and HspBP1 alter MHC class I mediated antigen presentation in mouse BMDCs. Our data show that the Hsc/Hsp70 co-chaperone network controls transient protein aggregation during maturation of professional antigen presenting cells and in this way regulates the immune response. Similar mechanisms may modulate the formation of aggresomes and aggresome-like induced structures (ALIS) in other mammalian cell types

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

HSP70-binding protein HSPBP1 regulates chaperone expression at a posttranslational level and is essential for spermatogenesis

Molecular chaperones play key roles during growth, development, and stress survival. The ability to induce chaperone expression enables cells to cope with the accumulation of nonnative proteins under stress and complete developmental processes with an increased requirement for chaperone assistance. Here we generate and analyze transgenic mice that lack the cochaperone HSPBP1, a nucleotide-exchange factor of HSP70 proteins and inhibitor of chaperone-assisted protein degradation. Male HSPBP1(−/−) mice are sterile because of impaired meiosis and massive apoptosis of spermatocytes. HSPBP1 deficiency in testes strongly reduces the expression of the inducible, antiapoptotic HSP70 family members HSPA1L and HSPA2, the latter of which is essential for synaptonemal complex disassembly during meiosis. We demonstrate that HSPBP1 affects chaperone expression at a posttranslational level by inhibiting the ubiquitylation and proteasomal degradation of inducible HSP70 proteins. We further provide evidence that the cochaperone BAG2 contributes to HSP70 stabilization in tissues other than testes. Our findings reveal that chaperone expression is determined not only by regulated transcription, but also by controlled degradation, with degradation-inhibiting cochaperones exerting essential prosurvival functions

GrpE-like regulation of the hsc70 chaperone by the anti-apoptotic protein BAG-1.

The BAG-1 protein appears to inhibit cell death by binding to Bcl-2, the Raf-1 protein kinase, and certain growth factor receptors, but the mechanism of inhibition remains enigmatic. BAG-1 also interacts with several steroid hormone receptors which require the molecular chaperones Hsc70 and Hsp90 for activation. Here we show that BAG-1 is a regulator of the Hsc70 chaperone. BAG-1 binds to the ATPase domain of Hsc70 and, in cooperation with Hsp40, stimulates Hsc70's steady-state ATP hydrolysis activity approximately 40-fold. Similar to the action of the GrpE protein on bacterial Hsp70, BAG-1 accelerates the release of ADP from Hsc70. Thus, BAG-1 regulates the Hsc70 ATPase in a manner contrary to the Hsc70-interacting protein Hip, which stabilizes the ADP-bound state. Intriguingly, BAG-1 and Hip compete in binding to the ATPase domain of Hsc70. Our results reveal an unexpected diversity in the regulation of Hsc70 and raise the possibility that the observed anti-apoptotic function of BAG-1 may be exerted through a modulation of the chaperone activity of Hsc70 on specific protein folding and maturation pathways

Physiological studies on the utilization of oleic acid by Saccharomyces cerevisiae in relation to microbody development

We studied the influence of specific growth conditions on the induction of β-oxidation enzymes and rate of microbody proliferation in S. cerevisiae by oleic acid. Of all conditions tested, highest enzyme levels and microbody numbers were achieved in glucose-limited continuous cultures, supplemented with oleic acids second carbon source. Comparable enzyme levels were observed in identical cultures of peroxisome-deficient (pas) mutants of S. cerevisiae. These experiments showed chemostat cultures on glucose/oleic acid mixtures to be a method of choice for future studies on microbody biogenesis/assembly in constructed, conditional pas mutants.

Modulation of in vivo HSP70 chaperone activity by Hip and Bag-1

The chaperone activity of Hsp70 is influenced by the activities of both positive and negative regulatory proteins. In this study, we provide first time evidence for the stimulating effect of the Hsp70-interacting protein Hip on the chaperone activity in the mammalian cytosol. Overexpressing Hip enhances the refolding of the heat-inactivated reporter enzyme luciferase expressed in hamster lung fibroblasts. Also, it protects luciferase from irreversible denaturation under conditions of ATP depletion. We demonstrate that these stimulating actions depend on both the presence of the central Hsp70-binding site and the amino-terminal homo-oligomerization domain of Hip. The carboxyl terminus (amino acids 257-368) comprising the 7 GGMP repeats (Hsc70-like domain) and the Sti1p-like domain are dispensable for the Hip-mediated stimulation of the cellular chaperone activity. Bag-1, which inhibits the Hsp70 chaperone activity both in vitro and in vivo, was found to compete with the stimulatory action of Hip. In cells overexpressing both Hip and Bag-1, the inhibitory effects of Bag-1 were found to be dominant. Our results reveal that in vivo a complex level of regulation of the cellular chaperone activity exists that not only depends on the concentration of Hsp70 but also on the concentration, affinity, and intracellular localization of positive and negative coregulators. As the Hsp70 chaperone machine is also protective in the absence of ATP, our data also demonstrate that cycling between an ATP/ADP-bound state is not absolutely required for the Hsp70 chaperone machine to be active in vivo

HSJ1 Is a Neuronal Shuttling Factor for the Sorting of Chaperone Clients to the Proteasome

SummaryProtein degradation in eukaryotic cells usually involves the attachment of a ubiquitin chain to a substrate protein and its subsequent sorting to the proteasome. Molecular mechanisms underlying the sorting process only recently began to emerge and rely on a cooperation of chaperone machineries and ubiquitin-chain recognition factors [1–3]. Here, we identify isoforms of the cochaperone HSJ1 as neuronal shuttling factors for ubiquitylated proteins. HSJ1 combines a J-domain that stimulates substrate loading onto the Hsc70 chaperone with ubiquitin interaction motifs (UIMs) involved in binding ubiquitylated chaperone clients. HSJ1 prevents client aggregation, shields clients against chain trimming by ubiquitin hydrolases, and stimulates their sorting to the proteasome. In this way, HSJ1 isoforms participate in ER-associated degradation (ERAD) and protect neurons against cytotoxic protein aggregation