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Assay Development for High Content Quantification of Sod1 Mutant Protein Aggregate Formation in Living Cells
Published on: October 4, 2017
Ubiquitination of alpha-synuclein by Siah-1 promotes alpha-synuclein aggregation and apoptotic cell death
James T Lee1, Tiffany C Wheeler, Lian Li
1Department of Pharmacology, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322-3090, USA.
Abstract:
Point mutations and gene multiplication of alpha-synuclein cause autosomal dominant familial Parkinson's disease (PD). Moreover, alpha-synuclein- and ubiquitin-positive inclusion bodies are the pathological hallmarks of PD and several other neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy. Despite the presence of ubiquitinated alpha-synuclein species in Lewy bodies, the regulation of alpha-synuclein ubiquitination and its role in Lewy body formation and neurodegeneration remain poorly understood. Here, we report that alpha-synuclein interacts and colocalizes with mammalian seven in absentia homologue-1 (Siah-1), a RING-type E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase. Siah-1 binds the brain-enriched E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UbcH8 and facilitates mono- and di-ubiquitination of alpha-synuclein in vivo. The ubiquitination of alpha-synuclein by Siah-1 is disrupted by the PD-linked A30P mutation but not by A53T mutation. We find that Siah-1-mediated ubiquitination does not target alpha-synuclein for degradation by the proteasome, but rather, it promotes alpha-synuclein aggregation and enhances alpha-synuclein toxicity. Our findings suggest that Siah-1-mediated alpha-synuclein ubiquitination may play a critical role in Lewy body formation and PD pathogenesis.
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