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Llamas E, Koyuncu S, Lee HJ, Wehrmann M, Gutierrez-Garcia R, Dunken N, Charura N, Torres-Montilla S, Schlimgen E, Mandel AM, Theile EB, Grossbach J, Wagle P, Lackmann JW, Schermer B, Benzing T, Beyer A, Pulido P, Rodriguez-Concepcion M, Zuccaro A, Vilchez D. In planta expression of human polyQ-expanded huntingtin fragment reveals mechanisms to prevent disease-related protein aggregation. Nat Aging 2023; 3:1345-1357. [PMID: 37783816 PMCID: PMC10645592 DOI: 10.1038/s43587-023-00502-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
In humans, aggregation of polyglutamine repeat (polyQ) proteins causes disorders such as Huntington's disease. Although plants express hundreds of polyQ-containing proteins, no pathologies arising from polyQ aggregation have been reported. To investigate this phenomenon, we expressed an aggregation-prone fragment of human huntingtin (HTT) with an expanded polyQ stretch (Q69) in Arabidopsis thaliana plants. In contrast to animal models, we find that Arabidopsis sp. suppresses Q69 aggregation through chloroplast proteostasis. Inhibition of chloroplast proteostasis diminishes the capacity of plants to prevent cytosolic Q69 aggregation. Moreover, endogenous polyQ-containing proteins also aggregate on chloroplast dysfunction. We find that Q69 interacts with the chloroplast stromal processing peptidase (SPP). Synthetic Arabidopsis SPP prevents polyQ-expanded HTT aggregation in human cells. Likewise, ectopic SPP expression in Caenorhabditis elegans reduces neuronal Q67 aggregation and subsequent neurotoxicity. Our findings suggest that synthetic plant proteins, such as SPP, hold therapeutic potential for polyQ disorders and other age-related diseases involving protein aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernesto Llamas
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Seda Koyuncu
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute for Integrated Stress Response Signaling, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Hyun Ju Lee
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute for Integrated Stress Response Signaling, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Markus Wehrmann
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute for Integrated Stress Response Signaling, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Ricardo Gutierrez-Garcia
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute for Integrated Stress Response Signaling, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Nick Dunken
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Nyasha Charura
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | | | - Elena Schlimgen
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute for Integrated Stress Response Signaling, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Amrei M Mandel
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Department II of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Erik Boelen Theile
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Jan Grossbach
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Prerana Wagle
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Jan-Wilm Lackmann
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Bernhard Schermer
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Department II of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Thomas Benzing
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Department II of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Andreas Beyer
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Pablo Pulido
- Department of Plant Molecular Genetics, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Alga Zuccaro
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - David Vilchez
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
- Institute for Integrated Stress Response Signaling, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
- Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
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Llamas E, Torres‐Montilla S, Lee HJ, Barja MV, Schlimgen E, Dunken N, Wagle P, Werr W, Zuccaro A, Rodríguez‐Concepción M, Vilchez D. The intrinsic chaperone network of Arabidopsis stem cells confers protection against proteotoxic stress. Aging Cell 2021; 20:e13446. [PMID: 34327811 PMCID: PMC8373342 DOI: 10.1111/acel.13446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The biological purpose of plant stem cells is to maintain themselves while providing new pools of differentiated cells that form organs and rejuvenate or replace damaged tissues. Protein homeostasis or proteostasis is required for cell function and viability. However, the link between proteostasis and plant stem cell identity remains unknown. In contrast to their differentiated counterparts, we find that root stem cells can prevent the accumulation of aggregated proteins even under proteotoxic stress conditions such as heat stress or proteasome inhibition. Notably, root stem cells exhibit enhanced expression of distinct chaperones that maintain proteome integrity. Particularly, intrinsic high levels of the T-complex protein-1 ring complex/chaperonin containing TCP1 (TRiC/CCT) complex determine stem cell maintenance and their remarkable ability to suppress protein aggregation. Overexpression of CCT8, a key activator of TRiC/CCT assembly, is sufficient to ameliorate protein aggregation in differentiated cells and confer resistance to proteotoxic stress in plants. Taken together, our results indicate that enhanced proteostasis mechanisms in stem cells could be an important requirement for plants to persist under extreme environmental conditions and reach extreme long ages. Thus, proteostasis of stem cells can provide insights to design and breed plants tolerant to environmental challenges caused by the climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernesto Llamas
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging‐Associated Diseases (CECAD) University of Cologne Cologne Germany
| | - Salvador Torres‐Montilla
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) CSIC‐IRTA‐UAB‐UBCampus UAB Bellaterra Barcelona Spain
| | - Hyun Ju Lee
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging‐Associated Diseases (CECAD) University of Cologne Cologne Germany
| | - María Victoria Barja
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) CSIC‐IRTA‐UAB‐UBCampus UAB Bellaterra Barcelona Spain
| | - Elena Schlimgen
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging‐Associated Diseases (CECAD) University of Cologne Cologne Germany
| | - Nick Dunken
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS) Institute for Plant Sciences University of Cologne Cologne Germany
| | - Prerana Wagle
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging‐Associated Diseases (CECAD) University of Cologne Cologne Germany
| | - Wolfgang Werr
- Developmental Biology Biocenter University of Cologne Cologne Germany
| | - Alga Zuccaro
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS) Institute for Plant Sciences University of Cologne Cologne Germany
| | - Manuel Rodríguez‐Concepción
- Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) CSIC‐IRTA‐UAB‐UBCampus UAB Bellaterra Barcelona Spain
- Institute for Plant Molecular and Cell Biology (IBMCP) CSIC‐UPV Valencia Spain
| | - David Vilchez
- Cologne Excellence Cluster for Cellular Stress Responses in Aging‐Associated Diseases (CECAD) University of Cologne Cologne Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC) University of Cologne Cologne Germany
- Faculty of Medicine University Hospital Cologne Cologne Germany
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