Structure-function analysis of NADE: identification of regions that mediate nerve growth factor-induced apoptosis

Nerve growth factor (NGF) can induce apoptosis in neural cells via activation of the low affinity neurotrophin receptor p75NTR. NADE (p75NTR-associated cell death executor) is a p75NTR-associated protein that mediates apoptosis in response to NGF by interacting with the death domain of p75NTR in 293T, PC12, and nnr5 cells (Mukai, J., Hachiya, T., Shoji-Hoshino, S., Kimura, M. T., Nadano, D., Suvanto, P., Hanaoka, T., Li, Y., Irie, S., Greene, L. A., and Sato, T. A. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 17566-17570). We performed extensive mutational analysis on NADE, to better characterize its structural and functional features. Truncation of a minimal region, including amino acid residues 41-71 of NADE, was found to be sufficient to induce apoptosis. The designated regulatory region includes the C-terminal amino acid residues (72-112) and is essential for NGF-dependent regulation of NADE-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, the mutants with amino acid substitutions in the leucine-rich nuclear export signal (NES) sequence (residues 90-100) abolished the export of NADE from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Mutation of the NES also abolished self-association of NADE, its interaction with p75NTR, and NGF-dependent apoptosis. Expression of a fragment of NADE (amino acid residues 81-124) blocked NGF-induced apoptosis in oligodendrocytes, suggesting that this region has a dominant negative effect on NGF/p75NTR-induced apoptosis. These studies identify distinct regions of NADE that are involved in regulating specific functions involved in p75NTR signal transduction.