Beyond lectins: the calnexin/calreticulin chaperone system of the endoplasmic reticulum

Proteomic Identification of Novel Substrates of a Protein Isoaspartyl Methyltransferase Repair Enzyme

We report the use of a proteomic strategy to identify hitherto unknown substrates for mammalian protein l-isoaspartate O-methyltransferase. This methyltransferase initiates the repair of isoaspartyl residues in aged or stress-damaged proteins in vivo. Tissues from mice lacking the methyltransferase (Pcmt1(-/-)) accumulate more isoaspartyl residues than their wild-type littermates, with the most "damaged" residues arising in the brain. To identify the proteins containing these residues, brain homogenates from Pcmt1(-/-) mice were methylated by exogenous repair enzyme and the radiolabeled methyl donor S-adenosyl-[methyl-(3)H]methionine. Methylated proteins in the homogenates were resolved by both one-dimensional and two-dimensional electrophoresis, and methyltransferase substrates were identified by their increased radiolabeling when isolated from Pcmt1(-/-) animals compared with Pcmt1(+/+) littermates. Mass spectrometric analyses of these isolated brain proteins reveal for the first time that microtubule-associated protein-2, calreticulin, clathrin light chains a and b, ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1, phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein, stathmin, beta-synuclein, and alpha-synuclein, are all substrates for the l-isoaspartate methyltransferase in vivo. Our methodology for methyltransferase substrate identification was further supplemented by demonstrating that one of these methyltransferase targets, microtubule-associated protein-2, could be radiolabeled within Pcmt1(-/-) brain extracts using radioactive methyl donor and exogenous methyltransferase enzyme and then specifically immunoprecipitated with microtubule-associated protein-2 antibodies to recover co-localized protein with radioactivity. We comment on the functional significance of accumulation of relatively high levels of isoaspartate within these methyltransferase targets in the context of the histological and phenotypical changes associated with the methyltransferase knock-out mice.

Regulation of G protein-coupled receptor export trafficking

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute a superfamily of cell-surface receptors which share a common topology of seven transmembrane domains and modulate a variety of cell functions through coupling to heterotrimeric G proteins by responding to a vast array of stimuli. The magnitude of cellular response elicited by a given signal is dictated by the level of GPCR expression at the plasma membrane, which is the balance of elaborately regulated endocytic and exocytic trafficking. This review will cover recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanism underlying anterograde transport of the newly synthesized GPCRs from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through the Golgi to the plasma membrane. We will focus on recently identified motifs involved in GPCR exit from the ER and the Golgi, GPCR folding in the ER and the rescue of misfolded receptors from within, GPCR-interacting proteins that modulate receptor cell-surface targeting, pathways that mediate GPCR traffic, and the functional role of export in controlling GPCR signaling.

Microarray gene expression analysis in atrophying rainbow trout muscle: a unique nonmammalian muscle degradation model

Muscle atrophy is a physiological response to diverse physiological and pathological conditions that trigger muscle deterioration through specific cellular mechanisms. Despite different signals, the biochemical changes in atrophying muscle share many common cascades. Muscle deterioration as a physiological response to the energetic demands of fish vitellogenesis represents a unique model for studying the mechanisms of muscle degradation in non-mammalian animals. A salmonid microarray, containing 16,006 cDNAs, was used to study the transcriptome response to atrophy of fast-switch muscles from gravid rainbow trout compared with sterile fish. Eighty-two unique transcripts were upregulated and 120 transcripts were downregulated in atrophying muscles. Transcripts having gene ontology identifiers were grouped according to their functions. Muscle deterioration was associated with elevated expression of genes involved in the catheptic and collagenase proteolytic pathways; the aerobic production, buffering, and utilization of ATP; and growth arrest; whereas atrophying muscle showed downregulation of genes encoding a serine proteinase inhibitor, enzymes of anaerobic respiration, muscle proteins as well as genes required for RNA and protein biosynthesis/processing. Therefore, gene transcription of the trout muscle atrophy changed in a manner similar to mammalian muscle atrophy. These changes result in an arrest of normal cell growth, protein degradation, and decreased glycolytic cellular respiration that is characteristic of the fast-switch muscle. For the first time, other changes/mechanisms unique to fish were discussed including genes associated with muscle atrophy.

A Role for Sperm Surface Protein Disulfide Isomerase Activity in Gamete Fusion: Evidence for the Participation of ERp57

In mammals, sperm-egg interaction is based on molecular events either unique to gametes or also present in somatic cells. In gamete fusion, it is unknown which features are gamete specific and which are shared with other systems. Conformational changes mediated by thiol-disulfide exchange are involved in the activation of some virus membrane fusion proteins. Here we asked whether that mechanism is also operative in sperm-egg fusion. Different inhibitors of protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) activity were able to inhibit sperm-egg fusion in vitro. While pretreatment of oocytes had no effect, pretreatment of sperm reduced their fusion ability. Some members of the PDI family were detected on the sperm head, and use of specific antibodies and substrates suggested that the oxidoreductase ERp57 has a role in gamete fusion. The results support the idea that thiol-disulfide exchange is a mechanism that may act in gamete fusion to produce conformational changes in fusion-active proteins.