A Golgi-localized mannosidase (MAN1B1) plays a non-enzymatic gatekeeper role in protein biosynthetic quality control

Conformation-based disorders are manifested at the level of protein structure, necessitating an accurate understanding of how misfolded proteins are processed by the cellular proteostasis network. Asparagine-linked glycosylation plays important roles for protein quality control within the secretory pathway. The suspected role for the MAN1B1 gene product MAN1B1, also known as ER mannosidase I, is to function within the ER similar to the yeast ortholog Mns1p, which removes a terminal mannose unit to initiate a glycan-based ER-associated degradation (ERAD) signal. However, we recently discovered that MAN1B1 localizes to the Golgi complex in human cells and uncovered its participation in ERAD substrate retention, retrieval to the ER, and subsequent degradation from this organelle. The objective of the current study was to further characterize the contribution of MAN1B1 as part of a Golgi-based quality control network. Multiple lines of experimental evidence support a model in which neither the mannosidase activity nor catalytic domain is essential for the retention or degradation of the misfolded ERAD substrate Null Hong Kong. Instead, a highly conserved, vertebrate-specific non-enzymatic decapeptide sequence in the luminal stem domain plays a significant role in controlling the fate of overexpressed Null Hong Kong. Together, these findings define a new functional paradigm in which Golgi-localized MAN1B1 can play a mannosidase-independent gatekeeper role in the proteostasis network of higher eukaryotes.

A histidine-rich linker region in peptidylglycine α-amidating monooxygenase has the properties of a pH sensor

Decreasing luminal pH is thought to play a role in the entry of newly synthesized and endocytosed membrane proteins into secretory granules. The two catalytic domains of peptidylglycine α-amidating monooxygenase (PAM), a type I integral membrane protein, catalyze the sequential reactions that convert peptidyl-Gly substrates into amidated products. We explored the hypothesis that a conserved His-rich cluster (His-Gly-His-His) in the linker region connecting its two catalytic domains senses pH and affects PAM trafficking by mutating these His residues to Ala (Ala-Gly-Ala-Ala; H3A). Purified recombinant wild-type and H3A linker peptides were examined using circular dichroism and tryptophan fluorescence; mutation of the His cluster largely eliminated its pH sensitivity. An enzymatically active PAM protein with the same mutations (PAM-1/H3A) was expressed in HEK293 cells and AtT-20 corticotrope tumor cells. Metabolic labeling followed by immunoprecipitation revealed more rapid loss of newly synthesized PAM-1/H3A than PAM-1; although release of newly synthesized monofunctional PHM/H3A was increased, release of soluble bifunctional PAM/H3A, a product of the endocytic pathway, was decreased. Surface biotinylation revealed rapid loss of PAM-1/H3A, with no detectable return of the mutant protein to secretory granules. Consistent with its altered endocytic trafficking, little PAM-1/H3A was subjected to regulated intramembrane proteolysis followed by release of a small nuclear-targeted cytosolic fragment. AtT-20 cells expressing PAM-1/H3A adopted the morphology of wild-type AtT-20 cells; secretory products no longer accumulated in the trans-Golgi network and secretory granule exocytosis was more responsive to secretagogue.

Myocilin mediates myelination in the peripheral nervous system through ErbB2/3 signaling

The glaucoma-associated gene, myocilin, is expressed in ocular and non-ocular tissues including the peripheral nervous system, but its functions in these tissues remain poorly understood. We demonstrate that in sciatic nerve, myocilin is expressed in Schwann cells with high concentrations at the nodes of Ranvier. There, myocilin interacts with gliomedin, neurofascin, and NrCAM, which are essential for node formation and function. Treatment of isolated dorsal root ganglion cultures with myocilin stimulates clustering of the nodal proteins neurofascin and sodium channel Nav1.2. Sciatic nerves of myocilin null mice express reduced levels of several myelin-associated and basal membrane proteins compared with those of wild-type littermates. They also demonstrate reduced myelin sheath thickness and partial disorganization of the nodes. Myocilin signaling through ErbB2/3 receptors may contribute to these observed effects. Myocilin binds to ErbB2/ErbB3, activates these receptors, and affects the downstream PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. These data implicate a role for myocilin in the development and/or maintenance of myelination and nodes of Ranvier in sciatic nerve.

Myocilin stimulates osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells through mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling

Myocilin is a secreted glycoprotein that is expressed in ocular and non-ocular tissues. Mutations in the MYOCILIN gene may lead to juvenile- and adult-onset primary open-angle glaucoma. Here we report that myocilin is expressed in bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and plays a role in their differentiation into osteoblasts in vitro and in osteogenesis in vivo. Expression of myocilin was detected in MSCs derived from mouse, rat, and human bone marrow, with human MSCs exhibiting the highest level of myocilin expression. Expression of myocilin rose during the course of human MSC differentiation into osteoblasts but not into adipocytes, and treatment with exogenous myocilin further enhanced osteogenesis. MSCs derived from Myoc-null mice had a reduced ability to differentiate into the osteoblastic lineage, which was partially rescued by exogenous extracellular myocilin treatment. Myocilin also stimulated osteogenic differentiation of wild-type MSCs, which was associated with activation of the p38, Erk1/2, and JNK MAP kinase signaling pathways as well as up-regulated expression of the osteogenic transcription factors Runx2 and Dlx5. Finally, cortical bone thickness and trabecular volume, as well as the expression level of osteopontin, a known factor of bone remodeling and osteoblast differentiation, were reduced dramatically in the femurs of Myoc-null mice compared with wild-type mice. These data suggest that myocilin should be considered as a target for improving the bone regenerative potential of MSCs and may identify a new role for myocilin in bone formation and/or maintenance in vivo.