Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is predominantly sporadic, but associated with heritable genetic mutations in 5-10% of cases, including those in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1). We previously showed that misfolding of SOD1 can be transmitted to endogenous human wild-type SOD1 (HuWtSOD1) in an intracellular compartment. Using NSC-34 motor neuron-like cells, we now demonstrate that misfolded mutant and HuWtSOD1 can traverse between cells via two nonexclusive mechanisms: protein aggregates released from dying cells and taken up by macropinocytosis, and exosomes secreted from living cells. Furthermore, once HuWt-SOD1 propagation has been established, misfolding of HuWt-SOD1 can be efficiently and repeatedly propagated between HEK293 cell cultures via conditioned media over multiple passages, and to cultured mouse primary spinal cord cells transgenically expressing HuWtSOD1, but not to cells derived from nontransgenic littermates. Conditioned media transmission of HuWtSOD1 misfolding in HEK293 cells is blocked by HuWtSOD1 siRNA knockdown, consistent with human SOD1 being a substrate for conversion, and attenuated by ultracentrifugation or incubation with SOD1 misfolding-specific antibodies, indicating a relatively massive transmission particle which possesses antibody-accessible SOD1. Finally, misfolded and protease-sensitive HuWtSOD1 comprises up to 4% of total SOD1 in spinal cords of patients with sporadic ALS (SALS). Propagation of HuWtSOD1 misfolding, and its subsequent cell-tocell transmission, is thus a candidate process for the molecular pathogenesis of SALS, which may provide novel treatment and biomarker targets for this devastating disease.A myotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neuromuscular condition that afflicts as many as 1 of 350 males and 420 females over the age of 18 (1). In ALS, degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons causes progressive muscle paralysis and spasticity, affecting mobility, speech, swallowing, and respiration (2). Half of affected individuals die within 3 y, and less than 20% survive for more than 5 y (3); 90-95% of ALS cases are sporadic (SALS) in which some apparently facilitating gene mutations, such as repeat expansions in the gene that encodes ataxin-2 (4), have been identified. The remaining 5-10% of ALS cases are familial (FALS) and predominantly associated with Mendelian-inherited mutations in the genes encoding Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1), TAR-DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), fused in sarcoma/translocated in liposarcoma (FUS/ TLS), C9ORF72, and other genes (reviewed in ref. 3).Despite the profusion of functionally diverse genes implicated in FALS and SALS, clinical and pathological similarities between all forms of ALS suggest the existence of a common pathogenic pathway that could be united by a single gene/protein (5). One of the mechanisms by which a mutant or wild-type (WT) protein can dominate pathogenesis of phenotypically diverse diseases is by propagated protein misfolding, such as that underpinning the prion diseases, which has been increa...

Cells infected with prions contain both prion protein isoforms cellular prion protein (PrP C ) and scrapie prion protein (PrP Sc ). PrPSc is formed posttranslationally through the pathological refolding of PrP C . In scrapieinfected ScN2a cells, the metabolism of both PrP isoforms involves cholesterol-dependent pathways. We show here that both PrP C and PrP Sc are attached to Triton X-100-insoluble, low-density complexes or "rafts." These complexes are sensitive to saponin and thus probably contain cholesterol. This finding suggests that the transformation PrP C 3 PrP Sc occurs within rafts. It also reveals the existence of rafts in late compartments of the endocytic pathway, where most PrP Sc resides. When Triton X-100 lysates of cells were incubated at 37°C prior to density analysis, PrP C was still found in buoyant complexes, although it now failed to sediment at high speed. This property was shared by another glycophosphatidyl inositol protein, Thy-1, and also by the raft resident GM1. In one ScN2a clone and in the brain of a Syrian hamster with scrapie, Triton X-100 extraction at 37°C permitted resolution of PrP C and PrP Sc into two distinct peaks of different densities. This suggests that there are two populations of PrP-containing rafts and may permit isolation of PrP C -specific rafts from those containing PrP Sc . Our findings reinforce the contention that rafts are involved in various aspects of PrP metabolism and in the "life cycle" of prions.Prions are unique proteinaceous pathogens that cause a series of fatal encephalopathies such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease of humans, scrapie of sheep, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (1). Prions seem to propagate in the host by posttranslationally (2, 3) refolding a normal host protein, the cellular prion protein (PrP C ), 1 to an aberrant conformation (4, 5). The only known component of prions is the misfolded isoform of PrP C , the scrapie prion protein (PrP Sc ) (6, 7). Current evidence argues that direct interaction of PrP Sc with PrP C is a prerequisite for the transformation PrP C ϩ PrP Sc 3 2PrP Sc (8,9). PrP C is a phosphoinositol glycolipid (GPI)-anchored glycoprotein present on the surface of neurons and other cells (10,11). The PrP isoforms appear to be chemically identical (12) but differ in their conformation (4); PrP C contains ϳ40% ␣-helix and is devoid of ␤-sheet, whereas PrP Sc has more than 40% ␤-sheet (4, 13-16). The two PrP isoforms differ considerably in their properties; PrP C is readily soluble in most detergents and is completely degraded by proteases, whereas PrP Sc is insoluble in detergents, possesses a protease-resistant core termed PrP27-30, and polymerizes into amyloidic structures called prion rods (17,18). Since no isoform-specific PrP antibody has yet been developed, the disparate properties of PrP C and PrP Sc serve as the sole ways to differentiate experimentally between these proteins. The subcellular sites where PrP Sc is formed, and the trafficking pathways leading to these sites, remain largely unknown. Scrapie-infecte...

In neurons, posttranslational modification by palmitate regulates the trafficking and function of signaling molecules, neurotransmitter receptors, and associated synaptic scaffolding proteins. However, the enzymatic machinery involved in protein palmitoylation has remained elusive. Here, using biochemical assays, we show that huntingtin (htt) interacting protein, HIP14, is a neuronal palmitoyl transferase (PAT). HIP14 shows remarkable substrate specificity for neuronal proteins, including SNAP-25, PSD-95, GAD65, synaptotagmin I, and htt. Conversely, HIP14 is catalytically invariant toward paralemmin and synaptotagmin VII. Exogenous HIP14 enhances palmitoylation-dependent vesicular trafficking of several acylated proteins in both heterologous cells and neurons. Moreover, interference with endogenous expression of HIP14 reduces clustering of PSD-95 and GAD65 in neurons. These findings define HIP14 as a mammalian palmitoyl transferase involved in the palmitoylation and trafficking of multiple neuronal proteins.

Post-translational modification by the lipid palmitate is crucial for the correct targeting and function of many proteins. Here we show that huntingtin (htt) is normally palmitoylated at cysteine 214, which is essential for its trafficking and function. The palmitoylation and distribution of htt are regulated by the palmitoyl transferase huntingtin interacting protein 14 (HIP14). Expansion of the polyglutamine tract of htt, which causes Huntington disease, results in reduced interaction between mutant htt and HIP14 and consequently in a marked reduction in palmitoylation. Mutation of the palmitoylation site of htt, making it palmitoylation resistant, accelerates inclusion formation and increases neuronal toxicity. Downregulation of HIP14 in mouse neurons expressing wild-type and mutant htt increases inclusion formation, whereas overexpression of HIP14 substantially reduces inclusions. These results suggest that the expansion of the polyglutamine tract in htt results in decreased palmitoylation, which contributes to the formation of inclusion bodies and enhanced neuronal toxicity.

Human wild-type superoxide dismutase-1 (wtSOD1) is known to coaggregate with mutant SOD1 in familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS), in double transgenic models of FALS, and in cell culture systems, but the structural determinants of this process are unclear. Here we molecularly dissect the effects of intracellular and cell-free obligately misfolded SOD1 mutant proteins on natively structured wild-type SOD1. Expression of the enzymatically inactive, natural familial ALS SOD1 mutations G127X and G85R in human mesenchymal and neural cell lines induces misfolding of wild-type natively structured SOD1, as indicated by: acquisition of immunoreactivity with SOD1 misfolding-specific monoclonal antibodies; markedly enhanced protease sensitivity suggestive of structural loosening; and nonnative disulfide-linked oligomer and multimer formation. Expression of G127X and G85R in mouse cell lines did not induce misfolding of murine wtSOD1, and a species restriction element for human wtSOD1 conversion was mapped to a region of sequence divergence in loop II and β-strand 3 of the SOD1 β-barrel (residues 24-36), then further refined surprisingly to a single tryptophan residue at codon 32 (W32) in human SOD1. Time course experiments enabled by W32 restriction revealed that G127X and misfolded wtSOD1 can induce misfolding of cell-endogenous wtSOD1. Finally, aggregated recombinant G127X is capable of inducing misfolding and protease sensitivity of recombinant human wtSOD1 in a cell-free system containing reducing and chelating agents; cell-free wtSOD1 conversion was also restricted by W32. These observations demonstrate that misfolded SOD1 can induce misfolding of natively structured wtSOD1 in a physiological intracellular milieu, consistent with a direct protein-protein interaction.neurodegeneration | protein misfolding | prion | template-directed misfolding | seeded polymerization

Prion diseases propagate by converting a normal glycoprotein of the host, PrP C , into a pathogenic prion' conformation. Several misfolding mutants of PrP C are degraded through the ER-associated degradation (ERAD)±proteasome pathway. In their infectious form, prion diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy involve PrP C of wild-type sequence. In contrast to mutant PrP, wild-type PrP C was hitherto thought to be stable in the ER and thus immune to ERAD. Using proteasome inhibitors, we now show that~10% of nascent PrP C molecules are diverted into the ERAD pathway. Cells incubated with N-acetyl-leucinal-leucinal-norleucinal (ALLN), lactacystin or MG132 accumulated both detergent-soluble and insoluble PrP species. The insoluble fraction included an unglycosylated 26 kDa PrP species with a protease-resistant core, and a M r`l adder' that contained ubiquitylated PrP. Our results show for the ®rst time that wild-type PrP C molecules are subjected to ERAD, in the course of which they are dislocated into the cytosol and ubiquitylated. The presence of wild-type PrP molecules in the cytosol may have potential pathogenic implications.

Huntington disease (HD) is caused by polyglutamine [poly(Q)] expansion in the protein huntingtin (htt). Although the exact mechanism of disease progression remains to be elucidated, altered interactions of mutant htt with its protein partners could contribute to the disease. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, we have isolated a novel htt interacting protein, HIP14. HIP14's interaction with htt is inversely correlated to the poly(Q) length in htt. mRNAs of 9 and 6 bp are transcribed from the HIP14 gene, with the 6 kb transcript being predominantly expressed in the brain. HIP14 protein is enriched in the brain, shows partial co-localization with htt in the striatum, and is found in medium spiny projection neurons, the subset of neurons affected in HD. HIP14 localizes to the Golgi, and to vesicles in the cytoplasm. The HIP14 protein has sequence similarity to Akr1p, a protein essential for endocytosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Expression of human HIP14 results in rescue of the temperature-sensitive lethality in akr1 Delta yeast cells and, furthermore, restores their defect in endocytosis, demonstrating a role for HIP14 in intracellular trafficking. Our findings suggest that decreased interaction between htt and HIP14 could contribute to the neuronal dysfunction in HD by perturbing normal intracellular transport pathways in neurons.

Palmitoylation, a post-translational modification of cysteine residues with the lipid palmitate, has recently emerged as an important mechanism for regulating protein trafficking and function. With the identification of 23 DHHC mammalian palmitoyl acyl transferases (PATs), a key question was the nature of substrate-enzyme specificity for these PATs. Using the acyl-biotin exchange palmitoylation assay, we compared the substrate specificity of four neuronal PATs, namely DHHC-3, DHHC-8, HIP14L (DHHC-13), and HIP14 (DHHC-17). Exogenous expression of enzymes and substrates in COS cells reveals that HIP14L and HIP14 modulate huntingtin palmitoylation, DHHC-8 modulates paralemmin-1 palmitoylation, and DHHC-3 shows the least substrate specificity. These in vitro data were validated by lentiviral siRNA-mediated knockdown of endogenous HIP14 and DHHC-3 in cultured rat cortical neurons. PATs require the presence of palmitoylated cysteines in order to interact with their substrates. To understand the elements that influence enzyme/substrate specificity further, we fused the HIP14 ankryin repeat domain to the N terminus of DHHC-3, which is not a PAT for huntingtin. This modification enabled DHHC-3 to behave similarly to HIP14 by modulating palmitoylation and trafficking of huntingtin. Taken together, this study indicates that individual PATs have specific substrate preference, determined by regulatory domains outside the DHHC domain of the enzymes.