Ubiquitin-specific protease 14 (USP14) is one of the major proteasome-associated deubiquitinating enzymes critical for proteome homeostasis. However, substrates of USP14 remain largely unknown, hindering the understanding of its functional roles. Here we conduct a comprehensive proteome, ubiquitinome and interactome analysis for USP14 substrate screening. Bioinformatics analysis reveals broad new potential roles of USP14, especially in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. Among the potential substrates identified, we show that fatty acid synthase (FASN), a key enzyme involved in hepatic lipogenesis, is a bona fide substrate of USP14. USP14 directly interacts with and increases FASN stability. As a result, overexpression of USP14 promotes liver triglyceride accumulation in C57BL/6 mice, whereas genetic ablation or pharmacological inhibition of USP14 ameliorates hepatosteatosis, hyperglycemia and insulin resistance in obese mice. In conclusion, our findings reveal for the first time an indispensable role of USP14 in hepatosteatosis through FASN stabilization.

L-Enduracididine (L-End) is a nonproteinogenic amino acid found in a number of bioactive peptides, including the antibiotics teixobactin, enduracidin, and mannopeptimycin. The potent activity of these compounds against antibiotic-resistant pathogens like MRSA and their novel mode of action have garnered considerable interest for the development of these peptides into clinically relevant antibiotics. This goal has been hampered, at least in part, by the fact that L-End is difficult to synthesize and not currently commercially available. We have begun to elucidate the biosynthetic pathway of this unusual building block. In mannopeptimycin-producing strains, like Streptomyces wadayamensis, L-End is produced from L-Arg by the action of three enzymes: MppP, MppQ, and MppR. Herein, we report the structural and functional characterization of MppP. This pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme was predicted to be a fold type I aminotransferase on the basis of sequence analysis. We show that MppP is actually the first example of a PLP-dependent hydroxylase that catalyzes a reaction of L-Arg with dioxygen to yield a mixture of 2-oxo-4-hydroxy-5-guanidinovaleric acid and 2-oxo-5-guanidinovaleric acid in a 1.7:1 ratio. The structure of MppP with PLP bound to the catalytic lysine residue (Lys221) shows that, while the tertiary structure is very similar to those of the well-studied aminotransferases, there are differences in the arrangement of active site residues around the cofactor that likely account for the unusual activity of this enzyme. The structure of MppP with the substrate analogue D-Arg bound shows how the enzyme binds its substrate and indicates why D-Arg is not a substrate. On the basis of this work and previous work with MppR, we propose a plausible biosynthetic scheme for L-End.

Background Children with multiple exposures to anesthesia and surgery may have an increased risk of developing cognitive impairment. Sevoflurane, a commonly used anesthetic in children, has been reported to decrease levels of postsynaptic density 95 protein. However, the upstream mechanisms and downstream consequences of the sevoflurane-induced reduction in postsynaptic density 95 protein levels remains largely unknown. We therefore set out to assess whether sevoflurane acts on ubiquitination–proteasome pathway to facilitate postsynaptic density 95 protein degradation. Methods Six-day-old wild-type mice received anesthesia with 3% sevoflurane 2 h daily for 3 days starting on postnatal day 6. We determined the effects of the sevoflurane anesthesia on mRNA, protein and ubiquitinated levels of postsynaptic density 95 protein in neurons, and synaptosomes and hippocampus of young mice. Cognitive function in the mice was determined at postnatal day 31 by using a Morris water maze. Proteasome inhibitor MG132 and E3 ligase mouse double mutant 2 homolog inhibitor Nutlin-3 were used for the interaction studies. Results The sevoflurane anesthesia decreased protein, but not mRNA, levels of postsynaptic density 95, and reduced ubiquitinated postsynaptic density 95 protein levels in neurons, synaptosomes, and hippocampus of young mice. Both MG132 and Nutlin-3 blocked these sevoflurane-induced effects. Sevoflurane promoted the interaction of mouse double mutant 2 homolog and postsynaptic density 95 protein in neurons. Finally, MG132 and Nutlin-3 ameliorated the sevoflurane-induced cognitive impairment in the mice. Conclusions These data suggest that sevoflurane acts on the ubiquitination–proteasome pathway to facilitate postsynaptic density 95 protein degradation, which then decreases postsynaptic density 95 protein levels, leading to cognitive impairment in young mice. These studies would further promote the mechanistic investigation of anesthesia neurotoxicity in the developing brain.