Human DNA Ligase I Interacts with and Is Targeted for Degradation by the DCAF7 Specificity Factor of the Cul4-DDB1 Ubiquitin Ligase Complex.

The synthesis, processing, and joining of Okazaki fragments during DNA replication is complex, requiring the sequential action of a large number of proteins. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen, a DNA sliding clamp, interacts with and coordinates the activity of several DNA replication proteins, including the enzymes flap endonuclease 1 (FEN-1) and DNA ligase I that complete the processing and joining of Okazaki fragments, respectively. Although it is evident that maintaining the appropriate relative stoichiometry of FEN-1 and DNA ligase I, which compete for binding to proliferating cell nuclear antigen, is critical to prevent genomic instability, little is known about how the steady state levels of DNA replication proteins are regulated, in particular the proteolytic mechanisms involved in their turnover. Because DNA ligase I has been reported to be ubiquitylated, we used a proteomic approach to map ubiquitylation sites and screen for DNA ligase I-associated E3 ubiquitin ligases. We identified three ubiquitylated lysine residues and showed that DNA ligase I interacts with and is targeted for ubiquitylation by DCAF7, a specificity factor for the Cul4-DDB1 complex. Notably, knockdown of DCAF7 reduced the degradation of DNA ligase I in response to inhibition of proliferation and replacement of ubiquitylated lysine residues reduced the in vitro ubiquitylation of DNA ligase I by Cul4-DDB1 and DCAF7. In contrast, a different E3 ubiquitin ligase regulates FEN-1 turnover. Thus, although the expression of many of the genes encoding DNA replication proteins is coordinately regulated, our studies reveal that different mechanisms are involved in the turnover of these proteins.

Redefining the Breast Cancer Exosome Proteome by Tandem Mass Tag Quantitative Proteomics and Multivariate Cluster Analysis.

Exosomes are microvesicles of endocytic origin constitutively released by multiple cell types into the extracellular environment. With evidence that exosomes can be detected in the blood of patients with various malignancies, the development of a platform that uses exosomes as a diagnostic tool has been proposed. However, it has been difficult to truly define the exosome proteome due to the challenge of discerning contaminant proteins that may be identified via mass spectrometry using various exosome enrichment strategies. To better define the exosome proteome in breast cancer, we incorporated a combination of Tandem-Mass-Tag (TMT) quantitative proteomics approach and Support Vector Machine (SVM) cluster analysis of three conditioned media derived fractions corresponding to a 10 000g cellular debris pellet, a 100 000g crude exosome pellet, and an Optiprep enriched exosome pellet. The quantitative analysis identified 2 179 proteins in all three fractions, with known exosomal cargo proteins displaying at least a 2-fold enrichment in the exosome fraction based on the TMT protein ratios. Employing SVM cluster analysis allowed for the classification 251 proteins as "true" exosomal cargo proteins. This study provides a robust and vigorous framework for the future development of using exosomes as a potential multiprotein marker phenotyping tool that could be useful in breast cancer diagnosis and monitoring disease progression.

Lysine methylation is an endogenous post-translational modification of tau protein in human brain and a modulator of aggregation propensity.

In Alzheimer's disease, the microtubule-associated protein tau dissociates from the neuronal cytoskeleton and aggregates to form cytoplasmic inclusions. Although hyperphosphorylation of tau serine and threonine residues is an established trigger of tau misfunction and aggregation, tau modifications extend to lysine residues as well, raising the possibility that different modification signatures depress or promote aggregation propensity depending on site occupancy. To identify lysine residue modifications associated with normal tau function, soluble tau proteins isolated from four cognitively normal human brains were characterized by MS methods. The major detectable lysine modification was found to be methylation, which appeared in the form of mono- and di-methyl lysine residues distributed among at least 11 sites. Unlike tau phosphorylation sites, the frequency of lysine methylation was highest in the microtubule-binding repeat region that mediates both microtubule binding and homotypic interactions. When purified recombinant human tau was modified in vitro through reductive methylation, its ability to promote tubulin polymerization was retained, whereas its aggregation propensity was greatly attenuated at both nucleation and extension steps. These data establish lysine methylation as part of the normal tau post-translational modification signature in human brain, and suggest that it can function in part to protect against pathological tau aggregation.

Meta-Analysis of Age, Sex, and Race Disparities in the Era of Contemporary Urothelial Carcinoma Treatment.

BACKGROUND: Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is one of the most common cancers diagnosed worldwide. However, minority populations, such as female, elder, and Black patients, may have disparate outcomes and are commonly neglected in randomized prospective trials. This review aims to study the relationship between age, sex, and race on urothelial cancer prognosis, particularly focusing on contemporary therapy and its effect on overall survival. METHODS: Phase III prospective trials since 2016 of immune checkpoint inhibitors, antibody-drug conjugates, or targeted therapies in urothelial carcinoma were identified from PubMed. Trials that did not report on survival by race, sex, or age distribution were excluded, and remaining trials (n = 17) were compared by subgroup. RESULTS: Women were reported to have inferior OS on investigational agents compared to men in 9/17 trials. In a meta-analysis, women had inferior OS to men (OR 0.89 [95% CI: 0.78-0.99]; p = 0.04). Asian/Pacific Islander patients had inferior outcomes to White patients on investigational agents in 3/5 trials. In a meta-analysis, OS was not significant by race (OR 1.18 [0.90-1.46], p = 0.38). Black patients composed <2% of all trial patients, and no subgroup data were reported. Both 65 (n = 7) and 75 (n = 2) were reported as age cut-offs in trial subgroups, and survival data were mixed. CONCLUSIONS: Women in UC trials may have inferior survival outcomes to men. Racial diversity was poor and thus limited any conclusions on survival disparities.

Impact of immune-related adverse events on survival among patients with head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Aim: Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized treatment of metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). Our goal was to assess for an association between immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and clinical outcomes for patients on ICIs.Methods: We analyzed a cohort of 110 HNSCC patients who received ICI therapy at the University of Virginia.Results: On review, 48% of our patients experienced an irAE with the most common events being hypothyroidism (30%), dermatitis (14%) and hepatitis (11%). Women were more likely to experience irAEs. Treatment interruption/discontinuation occurred in 43% patients with irAEs. Development of irAEs was associated with superior objective response rate (68 vs. 39%, p = 0.009), with a greater rate of CR (17 vs. 5%) and PR (32 vs. 16%). Twelve patients underwent ICI re-treatment following irAE, with 17% attaining a complete disease response, 25% attaining a partial response, 33% achieving stable disease and 25% experiencing disease progression with ICI resumption.Conclusion: Development of irAE was associated with superior objective response rate, with a greater rate of CR and PR. ICI re-treatment following irAE was feasible in a significant proportion of patients and can be attempted in carefully selected patients, given the dearth of second-line therapies for these patients.

While outcomes for patients who receive immunotherapy for advanced head and neck cancer are greatly improved compared with traditional chemotherapy, a feared complication of this treatment is immune-related side effects. The exact incidence of these side effects is not known in head and neck cancer but are well described in other cancers. In this study, about half of head and neck cancer patients who received immunotherapy developed side effects due to immune over-activation. Women and patients who did not receive radiation were more likely to develop these side effects. Patient who developed immune side effects were more likely to see shrinkage in their tumors, and may have a higher likelihood of longer survival, although the findings were not statistically significant.

Phosphorylation of serine 51 regulates the interaction of human DNA ligase I with replication factor C and its participation in DNA replication and repair.

Human DNA ligase I (hLigI) joins Okazaki fragments during DNA replication and completes excision repair via interactions with proliferating cell nuclear antigen and replication factor C (RFC). Unlike proliferating cell nuclear antigen, the interaction with RFC is regulated by hLigI phosphorylation. To identity of the site(s) involved in this regulation, we analyzed phosphorylated hLigI purified from insect cells by mass spectrometry. These results suggested that serine 51 phosphorylation negatively regulates the interaction with RFC. Therefore, we constructed versions of hLigI in which serine 51 was replaced with either alanine (hLigI51A) to prevent phosphorylation or aspartic acid (hLigI51D) to mimic phosphorylation. hLigI51D but not hLigI51A was defective in binding to purified RFC and in associating with RFC in cell extracts. Although DNA synthesis and proliferation of hLigI-deficient cells expressing either hLig51A or hLig51 was reduced compared with cells expressing wild-type hLigI, cellular senescence was only observed in the cells expressing hLigI51D. Notably, these cells had increased levels of spontaneous DNA damage and phosphorylated CHK2. In addition, although expression of hLigI51A complemented the sensitivity of hLigI-deficient cells to a poly (ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, expression of hLig151D did not, presumably because these cells are more dependent upon PARP-dependent repair pathways to repair the damage resulting from the abnormal DNA replication. Finally, neither expression of hLigI51D nor hLigI51A fully complemented the sensitivity of hLigI-deficient cells to DNA alkylation. Thus, phosphorylation of serine 51 on hLigI plays a critical role in regulating the interaction between hLigI and RFC, which is required for efficient DNA replication and repair.

IsoQuant: a software tool for stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture-based mass spectrometry quantitation.

Accurate protein identification and quantitation are critical when interpreting the biological relevance of large-scale shotgun proteomics data sets. Although significant technical advances in peptide and protein identification have been made, accurate quantitation of high-throughput data sets remains a key challenge in mass spectrometry data analysis and is a labor intensive process for many proteomics laboratories. Here, we report a new SILAC-based proteomics quantitation software tool, named IsoQuant, which is used to process high mass accuracy mass spectrometry data. IsoQuant offers a convenient quantitation framework to calculate peptide/protein relative abundance ratios. At the same time, it also includes a visualization platform that permits users to validate the quality of SILAC peptide and protein ratios. The program is written in the C# programming language under the Microsoft .NET framework version 4.0 and has been tested to be compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7. It is freely available to noncommercial users at http://www.proteomeumb.org/MZw.html .

Dual modification of Alzheimer's disease PHF-tau protein by lysine methylation and ubiquitylation: a mass spectrometry approach.

In sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD), neurofibrillary lesion formation is preceded by extensive post-translational modification of the microtubule associated protein tau. To identify the modification signature associated with tau lesion formation at single amino acid resolution, immunopurified paired helical filaments were isolated from AD brain and subjected to nanoflow liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. The resulting spectra identified monomethylation of lysine residues as a new tau modification. The methyl-lysine was distributed among seven residues located in the projection and microtubule binding repeat regions of tau protein, with one site, K254, being a substrate for a competing lysine modification, ubiquitylation. To characterize methyl lysine content in intact tissue, hippocampal sections prepared from post mortem late-stage AD cases were subjected to double-label confocal fluorescence microscopy using anti-tau and anti-methyl lysine antibodies. Anti-methyl lysine immunoreactivity colocalized with 78 ± 13% of neurofibrillary tangles in these specimens. Together these data provide the first evidence that tau in neurofibrillary lesions is post-translationally modified by lysine methylation.

Reversal of autophagy dysfunction in the TgCRND8 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease ameliorates amyloid pathologies and memory deficits.

Autophagy, a major degradative pathway for proteins and organelles, is essential for survival of mature neurons. Extensive autophagic-lysosomal pathology in Alzheimer's disease brain contributes to Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis, although the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Here, we identified and characterized marked intraneuronal amyloid-ß peptide/amyloid and lysosomal system pathology in the Alzheimer's disease mouse model TgCRND8 similar to that previously described in Alzheimer's disease brains. We further establish that the basis for these pathologies involves defective proteolytic clearance of neuronal autophagic substrates including amyloid-ß peptide. To establish the pathogenic significance of these abnormalities, we enhanced lysosomal cathepsin activities and rates of autophagic protein turnover in TgCRND8 mice by genetically deleting cystatin B, an endogenous inhibitor of lysosomal cysteine proteases. Cystatin B deletion rescued autophagic-lysosomal pathology, reduced abnormal accumulations of amyloid-ß peptide, ubiquitinated proteins and other autophagic substrates within autolysosomes/lysosomes and reduced intraneuronal amyloid-ß peptide. The amelioration of lysosomal function in TgCRND8 markedly decreased extracellular amyloid deposition and total brain amyloid-ß peptide 40 and 42 levels, and prevented the development of deficits of learning and memory in fear conditioning and olfactory habituation tests. Our findings support the pathogenic significance of autophagic-lysosomal dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease and indicate the potential value of restoring normal autophagy as an innovative therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease.

A specific amyloid-beta protein assembly in the brain impairs memory.

Memory function often declines with age, and is believed to deteriorate initially because of changes in synaptic function rather than loss of neurons. Some individuals then go on to develop Alzheimer's disease with neurodegeneration. Here we use Tg2576 mice, which express a human amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP) variant linked to Alzheimer's disease, to investigate the cause of memory decline in the absence of neurodegeneration or amyloid-beta protein amyloidosis. Young Tg2576 mice (< 6 months old) have normal memory and lack neuropathology, middle-aged mice (6-14 months old) develop memory deficits without neuronal loss, and old mice (> 14 months old) form abundant neuritic plaques containing amyloid-beta (refs 3-6). We found that memory deficits in middle-aged Tg2576 mice are caused by the extracellular accumulation of a 56-kDa soluble amyloid-beta assembly, which we term Abeta*56 (Abeta star 56). Abeta*56 purified from the brains of impaired Tg2576 mice disrupts memory when administered to young rats. We propose that Abeta*56 impairs memory independently of plaques or neuronal loss, and may contribute to cognitive deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease.

ApoE Cascade Hypothesis in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

The ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE4) is a strong genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and several other neurodegenerative conditions, including Lewy body dementia (LBD). The three APOE alleles encode protein isoforms that differ from one another only at amino acid positions 112 and 158: apoE2 (C112, C158), apoE3 (C112, R158), and apoE4 (R112, R158). Despite progress, it remains unclear how these small amino acid differences in apoE sequence among the three isoforms lead to profound effects on aging and disease-related pathways. Here, we propose a novel "ApoE Cascade Hypothesis" in AD and age-related cognitive decline, which states that the biochemical and biophysical properties of apoE impact a cascade of events at the cellular and systems levels, ultimately impacting aging-related pathogenic conditions including AD. As such, apoE-targeted therapeutic interventions are predicted to be more effective by addressing the biochemical phase of the cascade.

Stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture based mass spectrometry approach to detect transient protein interactions using substrate trapping.

The analysis of protein interactors in protein complexes can yield important insight into protein function and signal transduction. Thus, a reliable approach to distinguish true interactors from nonspecific interacting proteins is of utmost importance for accurate data interpretation. Although stringent purification methods are critical, challenges still remain in the selection of criteria that will permit the objective differentiation of true members of the protein complex from nonspecific background proteins. To address these challenges, we have developed a quantitative proteomic strategy combining stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC), affinity substrate trapping, and gel electrophoresis followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (geLC-MS/MS) protein quantitation. ATP hydrolysis-deficient vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 4B (Vps4B) was used as the "bait" protein which served as a substrate trap since its lack of ATP hydrolysis enzymatic activity allows the stabilization of its transiently associated interacting proteins. A significant advantage of our approach is the use of our new in-house-developed software program for SILAC-based mass spectrometry quantitation, which further facilitates the differentiation between the bait protein, endogenous bait-interacting proteins, and nonspecific binding proteins based on their protein ratios. The strategy presented herein is applicable to the analysis of other protein complexes whose compositions are dependent upon the ATP hydrolysis activity of the bait protein used in affinity purification studies.

Interplay between nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 and inflammatory mediators in COVID-19-related liver injury.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a global pandemic and poses a major threat to human health worldwide. In addition to respiratory symptoms, COVID-19 is usually accompanied by systemic inflammation and liver damage in moderate and severe cases. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) is a transcription factor that regulates the expression of antioxidant proteins, participating in COVID-19-mediated inflammation and liver injury. Here, we show the novel reciprocal regulation between NRF2 and inflammatory mediators associated with COVID-19-related liver injury. Additionally, we describe some mechanisms and treatment strategies.

Histone demethylase JMJD1A promotes expression of DNA repair factors and radio-resistance of prostate cancer cells.

The DNA damage response (DDR) pathway is a promising target for anticancer therapies. The androgen receptor and myeloblastosis transcription factors have been reported to regulate expression of an overlapping set of DDR genes in prostate cancer cells. Here, we found that histone demethylase JMJD1A regulates expression of a different set of DDR genes largely through c-Myc. Inhibition of JMJD1A delayed the resolution of γ-H2AX foci, reduced the formation of foci containing ubiquitin, 53BP1, BRCA1 or Rad51, and inhibited the reporter activity of double-strand break (DSB) repair. Mechanistically, JMJD1A regulated expression of DDR genes by increasing not only the level but also the chromatin recruitment of c-Myc through H3K9 demethylation. Further, we found that ubiquitin ligase HUWE1 induced the K27-/K29-linked noncanonical ubiquitination of JMJD1A at lysine-918. Ablation of the JMJD1A noncanonical ubiquitination lowered DDR gene expression, impaired DSB repair, and sensitized response of prostate cells to irradiation, topoisomerase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors. Thus, development of agents that target JMJD1A or its noncanonical ubiquitination may sensitize the response of prostate cancer to radiotherapy and possibly also genotoxic therapy.

Proteomic analysis of protein phosphorylation and ubiquitination in Alzheimer's disease.

Posttranslational modifications such as phosphorylation and ubiquitination serve, independently or together, as gatekeepers of protein transport and turnover in normal and disease physiologies. Aberrant protein phosphorylation is one of the defining pathological hallmarks of more than 20 different neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). The disruption of the phosphorylation of neurotransmitter receptors has been implicated as one of the causal factors of impaired memory function in AD (1-3). Another feature of AD is the aberrant accumulation of proteins that are normally degraded by the ubiquitin proteasome system upon being conjugated to ubiquitin. Thus, elucidating the protein targets of phosphorylation and ubiquitination that can serve as AD biomarkers will aid in the development of effective therapeutic approaches to the treatment of AD. This chapter provides details pertaining to the qualitative and quantitative liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry-based analysis of an affinity purified, phosphorylated, and ubiquitinated protein, paired-helical filament tau.

Quantification of Tau Protein Lysine Methylation in Aging and Alzheimer's Disease.

Tau is a microtubule-associated protein that normally interacts in monomeric form with the neuronal cytoskeleton. In Alzheimer's disease, however, it aggregates to form the structural component of neurofibrillary lesions. The transformation is controlled in part by age- and disease-associated post-translational modifications. Recently we reported that tau isolated from cognitively normal human brain was methylated on lysine residues, and that high-stoichiometry methylation depressed tau aggregation propensity in vitro. However, whether methylation stoichiometry reached levels needed to influence aggregation propensity in human brain was unknown. Here we address this problem using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry approaches and human-derived tau samples. Results revealed that lysine methylation was present in soluble tau isolated from cognitively normal elderly cases at multiple sites that only partially overlapped with the distributions reported for cognitively normal middle aged and AD cohorts, and that the quality of methylation shifted from predominantly dimethyl-lysine to monomethyl-lysine with aging and disease. However, bulk mol methylation/mol tau stoichiometries never exceeded 1 mol methyl group/mol tau protein. We conclude that lysine methylation is a physiological post-translational modification of tau protein that changes qualitatively with aging and disease, and that pharmacological elevation of tau methylation may provide a means for protecting against pathological tau aggregation.

Proteomic analysis of exfoliation deposits.

PURPOSE: To increase knowledge of the biochemical composition of lenticular exfoliation material (XFM) by using proteomic approaches. METHODS: Anterior lens capsules from patients with and without exfoliation syndrome (XFS) were homogenized in formic acid and subjected to cyanogen bromide (CNBr) cleavage, and the pattern of chemically generated fragments was compared by SDS-PAGE after silver staining. Unique XFS bands not present in control cases were excised, digested with TPCK-trypsin, and the resultant peptides sequenced with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS). In parallel experiments, CNBr-fragmented XFM was separately digested in solution with trypsin and elastase, and the resultant peptide mixture was analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem MS followed by identification through homology searches at nonredundant protein databases. Immunolocalization of the MS-identified components were performed in XFS versus control samples by using conventional immunohistochemical methods and light microscopy. RESULTS: In addition to fibrillin-1, fibronectin, vitronectin, laminin, and amyloid P-component, which are well-known extracellular matrix and basement membrane components of XFM, the proteomic approaches identified the multifunctional protein clusterin and tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease (TIMP)-3 as well as novel molecules, among them fibulin-2, desmocollin-2, the glycosaminoglycans syndecan-3, and versican, membrane metalloproteases of the ADAM family (a disintegrin and metalloprotease), and the initiation component of the classic complement activation pathway C1q. In all cases, classic immunohistochemistry confirmed their location in XFM. CONCLUSIONS: A novel solubilization strategy combined with sensitive proteomic analysis emphasizes the complexity of the XFS deposits and opens new avenues to study the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis and progression of XFS.

Advancing signaling networks through proteomics.

Healthful physiology can be distinguished from unhealthful physiology by focusing upon how a given signal transduction pathway is shifted as a function of disease. In order to distinguish between pathways that contribute to normal versus disease biology, it is necessary to identify components that comprise a protein module. The development of methods that target such differences is essential for the identification, development and validation of biomarkers that can improve the quality of diagnoses and treatment of disease. This review discusses the use of proteomic methods that integrate cell biology, mass spectrometry and bioinformatics, in relation to the analyses of protein signaling modules that are subject to differential phosphorylation. We examine how these methods can be used to distinguish abnormal from normal physiology.

Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Lysine Posttranslational Modifications of Tau Protein from Alzheimer's Disease Brain.

Recent advances in mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics have greatly facilitated the robust identification and quantification of posttranslational modifications (PTMs), including those that are present at substoichiometric site occupancies. The abnormal posttranslational modification and accumulation of the microtubule-associated protein tau has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and it is thought that the primary mode of regulation of tau occurs through PTMs. Several studies have been published regarding tau phosphorylation; however, other tau PTMs such as ubiquitylation, acetylation, methylation, oxidation, sumoylation, nitration, and glycosylation have not been analyzed as extensively. The comprehensive detection and delineation of these PTMs is critical for drug target discovery and validation. Lysine-directed PTMs including ubiquitylation, acetylation, and methylation play key regulatory roles with respect to the rates of tau turnover and aggregation. MS-based analytical approaches have been used to gain insight into the tau lysine-directed PTM signature that is most closely associated with neurofibrillary lesion formation. This chapter provides details pertaining to the liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based analysis of the lysine-directed posttranslational modification of tau.