Over the past two decades there have been significant advances in our understanding of copper homeostasis and the pathological consequences of copper dysregulation. Cumulative evidence is revealing a complex regulatory network of proteins and pathways that maintain copper homeostasis. The recognition of copper dysregulation as a key pathological feature in prominent neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and prion diseases has led to increased research focus on the mechanisms controlling copper homeostasis in the brain. The copper-transporting P-type ATPases (copper-ATPases), ATP7A and ATP7B, are critical components of the copper regulatory network. Our understanding of the biochemistry and cell biology of these complex proteins has grown significantly since their discovery in 1993. They are large polytopic transmembrane proteins with six copper-binding motifs within the cytoplasmic N-terminal domain, eight transmembrane domains, and highly conserved catalytic domains. These proteins catalyze ATP-dependent copper transport across cell membranes for the metallation of many essential cuproenzymes, as well as for the removal of excess cellular copper to prevent copper toxicity. A key functional aspect of these copper transporters is their copper-responsive trafficking between the trans-Golgi network and the cell periphery. ATP7A- and ATP7B-deficiency, due to genetic mutation, underlie the inherited copper transport disorders, Menkes and Wilson diseases, respectively. Their importance in maintaining brain copper homeostasis is underscored by the severe neuropathological deficits in these disorders. Herein we will review and update our current knowledge of these copper transporters in the brain and the central nervous system, their distribution and regulation, their role in normal brain copper homeostasis, and how their absence or dysfunction contributes to disturbances in copper homeostasis and neurodegeneration.

Background: Clusterin and COMMD1 interact to down-regulate copper transporters ATP7A and ATP7B. Results: Clusterin and COMMD1 act independently and under different conditions to target ATP7B degradation via different pathways. Conclusion: Clusterin and COMMD1 regulate the quality control of ATP7A/ATP7B and directly impact copper homeostasis. Significance: Clusterin and COMMD1 allelic variations may influence the clinical expression of Menkes and Wilson diseases.

The copper-transporting P 1B -type ATPases (Cu-ATPases) ATP7A and ATP7B are key regulators of physiological copper levels. They function to maintain intracellular copper homeostasis by delivering copper to secretory compartments and by trafficking toward the cell periphery to export excess copper. Mutations in the genes encoding ATP7A and ATP7B lead to copper deficiency and toxicity disorders, Menkes and Wilson diseases, respectively. This report describes the interaction between the Cu-ATPases and clusterin and demonstrates a chaperone-like role for clusterin in facilitating their degradation. Clusterin interacted with both ATP7A and ATP7B in mammalian cells. This interaction increased under conditions of oxidative stress and with mutations in ATP7B that led to its misfolding and mislocalization. A Wilson disease patient mutation (G85V) led to enhanced ATP7B turnover, which was further exacerbated when cells overexpressed clusterin. We demonstrated that clusterin-facilitated degradation of mutant ATP7B is likely to involve the lysosomal pathway. The knockdown and overexpression of clusterin increased and decreased, respectively, the Cu-ATPase-mediated copper export capacity of cells. These results highlight a new role for intracellular clusterin in mediating Cu-ATPase quality control and hence in the normal maintenance of copper homeostasis, and in promoting cell survival in the context of disease. Based on our findings, it is possible that variations in clusterin expression and function could contribute to the variable clinical expression of Menkes and Wilson diseases.

Glutaredoxin1 (GRX1) is a glutathione (GSH)-dependent thiol oxidoreductase. The GRX1/GSH system is important for the protection of proteins from oxidative damage and in the regulation of protein function. Previously we demonstrated that GRX1/GSH regulates the activity of the essential copper-transporting P1B-Type ATPases (ATP7A, ATP7B) in a copper-responsive manner. It has also been established that GRX1 binds copper with high affinity and regulates the redox chemistry of the metallochaperone ATOX1, which delivers copper to the copper-ATPases. In this study, to further define the role of GRX1 in copper homeostasis, we examined the effects of manipulating GRX1 expression on copper homeostasis and cell survival in mouse embryonic fibroblasts and in human neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y). GRX1 knockout led to cellular copper retention (especially when cultured with elevated copper) and reduced copper tolerance, while in GRX1-overexpressing cells challenged with elevated copper, there was a reduction in both intracellular copper levels and copper-induced reactive oxygen species, coupled with enhanced cell proliferation. These effects are consistent with a role for GRX1 in regulating ATP7A-mediated copper export, and further support a new function for GRX1 in neuronal copper homeostasis and in protection from copper-mediated oxidative injury.