B56δ long-disordered arms form a dynamic PP2A regulation interface coupled with global allostery and Jordan's syndrome mutations.

Intrinsically disordered regions (IDR) and short linear motifs (SLiMs) play pivotal roles in the intricate signaling networks governed by phosphatases and kinases. B56δ (encoded by PPP2R5D) is a regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) with long IDRs that harbor a substrate-mimicking SLiM and multiple phosphorylation sites. De novo missense mutations in PPP2R5D cause intellectual disabilities (ID), macrocephaly, Parkinsonism, and a broad range of neurological symptoms. Our single-particle cryo-EM structures of the PP2A-B56δ holoenzyme reveal that the long, disordered arms at the B56δ termini fold against each other and the holoenzyme core. This architecture suppresses both the phosphatase active site and the substrate-binding protein groove, thereby stabilizing the enzyme in a closed latent form with dual autoinhibition. The resulting interface spans over 190 Šand harbors unfavorable contacts, activation phosphorylation sites, and nearly all residues with ID-associated mutations. Our studies suggest that this dynamic interface is coupled to an allosteric network responsive to phosphorylation and altered globally by mutations. Furthermore, we found that ID mutations increase the holoenzyme activity and perturb the phosphorylation rates, and the severe variants significantly increase the mitotic duration and error rates compared to the normal variant.

Driving Mitochondrial Fission Improves Cognitive, but not Motor Deficits in a Mouse Model of Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay.

Autosomal-recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) is caused by loss-of-function mutation in the SACS gene, which encodes sacsin, a putative HSP70-HSP90 co-chaperone. Previous studies with Sacs knock-out (KO) mice and patient-derived fibroblasts suggested that SACSIN mutations inhibit the function of the mitochondrial fission enzyme dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1). This in turn resulted in mitochondrial hyperfusion and dysfunction. We experimentally tested this hypothesis by genetically manipulating the mitochondrial fission/fusion equilibrium, creating double KO (DKO) mice that also lack positive (PP2A/Bß2) and negative (PKA/AKAP1) regulators of Drp1. Neither promoting mitochondrial fusion (Bß2 KO) nor fission (Akap1 KO) influenced progression of motor symptoms in Sacs KO mice. However, our studies identified profound learning and memory deficits in aged Sacs KO mice. Moreover, this cognitive impairment was rescued in a gene dose-dependent manner by deletion of the Drp1 inhibitor PKA/Akap1. Our results are inconsistent with mitochondrial dysfunction as a primary pathogenic mechanism in ARSACS. Instead, they imply that promoting mitochondrial fission may be beneficial at later stages of the disease when pathology extends to brain regions subserving learning and memory.

Driving mitochondrial fission improves cognitive, but not motor deficits in a mouse model of Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay.

Autosomal-recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) is caused by loss-of-function mutation in the SACS gene, which encodes sacsin, a putative HSP70-HSP90 co-chaperone. Previous studies with Sacs knock-out (KO) mice and patient-derived fibroblasts suggested that SACSIN mutations inhibit the function of the mitochondrial fission enzyme dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1). This in turn resulted in mitochondrial hyperfusion and dysfunction. We experimentally tested this hypothesis by genetically manipulating the mitochondrial fission/fusion equilibrium, creating double KO (DKO) mice that also lack positive (PP2A/Bß2) and negative (PKA/AKAP1) regulators of Drp1. Neither promoting mitochondrial fusion (Bß2 KO) nor fission (Akap1 KO) influenced progression of motor symptoms in Sacs KO mice. However, our studies identified profound learning and memory deficits in aged Sacs KO mice. Moreover, this cognitive impairment was rescued in a gene dose-dependent manner by deletion of the Drp1 inhibitor PKA/Akap1. Our results are inconsistent with mitochondrial dysfunction as a primary pathogenic mechanism in ARSACS. Instead, they imply that promoting mitochondrial fission may be beneficial at later stages of the disease when pathology extends to brain regions subserving learning and memory.