Aims: Several neurodegenerative disorders show alterations in glutamatergic synapses and increased susceptibility to excitotoxicity. Mounting evidence suggests a central role for the cellular prion protein (PrPC) in neuroprotection. Therefore, the loss of PrPC function occurring in prion disorders may contribute to the disease progression and neurodegeneration. Indeed, PrPC modulates N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDAR), thus preventing cell death. In this study, we show that PrPC and copper cooperatively inhibit NMDAR through S-nitrosylation, a post-translational modification resulting from the chemical reaction of nitric oxide (NO) with cysteines. Results: Comparing wild-type Prnp (Prnp+/+) and PrPC knockout (Prnp0/0) mouse hippocampi, we found that GluN1 and GluN2A S-nitrosylation decrease in Prnp0/0. Using organotypic hippocampal cultures, we found that copper chelation decreases NMDAR S-nitrosylation in Prnp+/+ but not in Prnp0/0. This suggests that PrPC requires copper to support the chemical reaction between NO and thiols. We explored PrPC-Cu neuroprotective role by evaluating neuron susceptibility to excitotoxicity in Prnp+/+ and Prnp0/0 cultures. We found that (i) PrPC-Cu modulates GluN2A-containing NMDAR, those inhibited by S-nitrosylation; (ii) PrPC and copper are interdependent to protect neurons from insults; (iii) neuronal NO synthase inhibition affects susceptibility in wild-type but not in Prnp0/0, while (iv) the addition of a NO donor enhances Prnp0/0 neurons survival. Innovation and Conclusions: Our results show that PrPC and copper support NMDAR S-nitrosylation and cooperatively exert neuroprotection. In addition to NMDAR, PrPC may also favor the S-nitrosylation of other proteins. Therefore, this mechanism may be investigated in the context of the different cellular processes in which PrPC is involved. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 22, 772–784.

SummaryThe RNA-binding protein HuD promotes neurogenesis and favors recovery from peripheral axon injury. HuD interacts with many mRNAs, altering both stability and translation efficiency. We generated a nucleotide resolution map of the HuD RNA interactome in motor neuron-like cells, identifying HuD target sites in 1,304 mRNAs, almost exclusively in the 3′ UTR. HuD binds many mRNAs encoding mTORC1-responsive ribosomal proteins and translation factors. Altered HuD expression correlates with the translation efficiency of these mRNAs and overall protein synthesis, in a mTORC1-independent fashion. The predominant HuD target is the abundant, small non-coding RNA Y3, amounting to 70% of the HuD interaction signal. Y3 functions as a molecular sponge for HuD, dynamically limiting its recruitment to polysomes and its activity as a translation and neuron differentiation enhancer. These findings uncover an alternative route to the mTORC1 pathway for translational control in motor neurons that is tunable by a small non-coding RNA.

RALY is a member of the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein family (hnRNP), a large family of RNA-binding proteins involved in many aspects of RNA metabolism. Although RALY interactome has been recently characterized, a comprehensive global analysis of RALY-associated RNAs is lacking and the biological function of RALY remains elusive. Here, we performed RIP-seq analysis to identify RALY interacting RNAs and assessed the role of RALY in gene expression. We demonstrate that RALY binds specific coding and non-coding RNAs and associates with translating mRNAs of mammalian cells. Among the identified transcripts, we focused on ANXA1 and H1FX mRNAs, encoding for Annexin A1 and for the linker variant of the histone H1X, respectively. Both proteins are differentially expressed by proliferating cells and are considered as markers for tumorigenesis. We demonstrate that cells lacking RALY expression exhibit changes in the levels of H1FX and ANXA1 mRNAs and proteins in an opposite manner. We also provide evidence for a direct binding of RALY to the U-rich elements present within the 3΄UTR of both transcripts. Thus, our results identify RALY as a poly-U binding protein and as a regulator of H1FX and ANXA1 in mammalian cells.

The cellular prion protein (PrPC) has been widely investigated ever since its conformational isoform, the prion (or PrPSc), was identified as the etiological agent of prion disorders. The high homology shared by the PrPC-encoding gene among mammals, its high turnover rate and expression in every tissue strongly suggest that PrPC may possess key physiological functions. Therefore, defining PrPC roles, properties and fate in the physiology of mammalian cells would be fundamental to understand its pathological involvement in prion diseases. Since the incidence of these neurodegenerative disorders is enhanced in aging, understanding PrPC functions in this life phase may be of crucial importance. Indeed, a large body of evidence suggests that PrPC plays a neuroprotective and antioxidant role. Moreover, it has been suggested that PrPC is involved in Alzheimer disease, another neurodegenerative pathology that develops predominantly in the aging population. In prion diseases, PrPC function is likely lost upon protein aggregation occurring in the course of the disease. Additionally, the aging process may alter PrPC biochemical properties, thus influencing its propensity to convert into PrPSc. Both phenomena may contribute to the disease development and progression. In Alzheimer disease, PrPC has a controversial role because its presence seems to mediate β-amyloid toxicity, while its down-regulation correlates with neuronal death. The role of PrPC in aging has been investigated from different perspectives, often leading to contrasting results. The putative protein functions in aging have been studied in relation to memory, behavior and myelin maintenance. In aging mice, PrPC changes in subcellular localization and post-translational modifications have been explored in an attempt to relate them to different protein roles and propensity to convert into PrPSc. Here we provide an overview of the most relevant studies attempting to delineate PrPC functions and fate in aging.

The heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNP) form a large family of RNA-binding proteins that exert numerous functions in RNA metabolism. RALY is a member of the hnRNP family that binds poly-U-rich elements within several RNAs and regulates the expression of specific transcripts. RALY is up-regulated in different types of cancer, and its down-regulation impairs cell cycle progression. However, the RALY's role in regulating RNA levels remains elusive. Here, we show that numerous genes coding for factors involved in transcription and cell cycle regulation exhibit an altered expression in RALY-down-regulated HeLa cells, consequently causing impairments in transcription, cell proliferation, and cell cycle progression. Interestingly, by comparing the list of RALY targets with the list of genes affected by RALY down-regulation, we found an enrichment of RALY mRNA targets in the down-regulated genes upon RALY silencing. The affected genes include the E2F transcription factor family. Given its role as proliferation-promoting transcription factor, we focused on E2F1. We demonstrate that mRNA stability and E2F1 protein levels are reduced in cells lacking RALY expression. Finally, we also show that RALY interacts with transcriptionally active chromatin in both an RNA-dependent and -independent manner and that this association is abolished in the absence of active transcription. Taken together, our results highlight the importance of RALY as an indirect regulator of transcription and cell cycle progression through the regulation of specific mRNA targets, thus strengthening the possibility of a direct gene expression regulation exerted by RALY.