Recombinant production, characterization and industrial application testing of a novel acidic exo/endo-chitinase from Rasamsonia emersonii.

An acid-active exo/endo-chitinase; comprising a GH18 catalytic domain and substrate insertion domain; originating from the thermophilic filamentous fungus Rasamsonia emersonii, was expressed in Pichia pastoris. In silico analysis including phylogenetic analysis, and recombinant production, purification, biochemical characterisation, and industrial application testing, was carried out. The expressed protein was identified by SDS-PAGE as a smear from 56.3 to 125.1 kDa, which sharpens into bands at 46.0 kDa, 48.4 kDa and a smear above 60 kDa when treated with PNGase F. The acid-active chitinase was primarily a chitobiosidase but displayed some endo-chitinase and acetyl-glucosamidase activity. The enzyme was optimally active at 50 °C, and markedly low pH of 2.8. As far as the authors are aware, this is the lowest pH optima reported for any fungal chitinase. The acid-active chitinase likely plays a role in chitin degradation for cell uptake in its native environment, perhaps in conjunction with a chitin deacetylase. Comparative studies with other R. emersonii chitinases indicate that they may play a synergistic role in this. The acid-active chitinase displayed some efficacy against non-treated substrates; fungal chitin and chitin from shrimp. Thus, it may be suited to industrial chitin hydrolysis reactions for extraction of glucosamine and chitobiose at low pH.

Systems impact of zinc chelation by the epipolythiodioxopiperazine dithiol gliotoxin in Aspergillus fumigatus: a new direction in natural product functionality.

The non-ribosomal peptide gliotoxin, which autoinduces its own biosynthesis, has potent anti-fungal activity, especially in the combined absence of the gliotoxin oxidoreductase GliT and bis-thiomethyltransferase GtmA. Dithiol gliotoxin (DTG) is a substrate for both of these enzymes. Herein we demonstrate that DTG chelates Zn2+ (m/z 424.94), rapidly chelates Zn2+ from Zn(4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol) (Zn(PAR)2) and also inhibits a Zn2+-dependent alkaline phosphatase (AP). Zn2+ addition rescues AP function following DTG-associated inhibition, and pre-incubation of DTG with Zn2+ completely protects AP activity. Zn2+ (1-50 µM) also significantly relieves the potent gliotoxin-mediated inhibition of Aspergillus fumigatus ΔgliT::ΔgtmA (p < 0.05), which infers in vivo dithiol gliotoxin-mediated sequestration of free Zn2+ or chelation from intracellular metalloenzymes as inhibitory mechanisms. Quantitative proteomic analysis revealed that excess Zn2+ alters the effect of gliotoxin on A. fumigatus ΔgliT, with differential abundance of secondary metabolism-associated proteins in the combinatorial condition. GtmA abundance increased 18.8 fold upon co-addition of gliotoxin and Zn2+ compared to gliotoxin alone, possibly to compensate for disruption to GtmA activity, as seen in in vitro assays. Furthermore, DTG effected significant in vitro aggregation of a number of protein classes, including Zn2+-dependent enzymes, while proteins were protected from aggregation by pre-incubating DTG with Zn2+. We conclude that DTG can act in vivo as a Zn2+ chelator, which can significantly impede A. fumigatus growth in the absence of GliT and GtmA.

Cellular toxicity of yeast prion protein Rnq1 can be modulated by N-terminal wild type huntingtin.

Aggregation of the N-terminal human mutant huntingtin and the consequent toxicity in the yeast model of Huntington's disease (HD) requires the presence of Rnq1 protein (Rnq1p) in its prion conformation [RNQ1(+)]. The understanding of interaction of wild-type huntingtin (wt-Htt) with the amyloidogenic prion has some gaps. In this work, we show that N-terminal fragment of wt-Htt (N-wt-Htt) ameliorated the toxic effect of [RNQ1(+)] depending on expression levels of both proteins. When the expression of N-wt-Htt was high, it increased the expression and delayed the aggregation of [RNQ1(+)]. As the expression of N-wt-Htt was reduced, it formed high molecular weight aggregates along with the prion. Even when sequestered by [RNQ1(+)], the beneficial effect of N-wt-Htt on expression of Rnq1p and on cell survival was evident. Huntingtin protein ameliorated toxicity due to the prion protein [RNQ1(+)] in yeast cells in a dose-dependent manner, resulting in increase in cell survival, hinting at its probable role as a component of the proteostasis network of the cell. Taking into account the earlier reports of the beneficial effect of expression of N-wt-Htt on the aggregation of mutant huntingtin, the function of wild-type huntingtin as an inhibitor of protein aggregation in the cell needs to be explored.

Roles of Hsp104 and trehalose in solubilisation of mutant huntingtin in heat shocked Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells.

Inhibition of huntingtin aggregation, either in the nucleus and/or in the cytosol, has been identified as a major strategy to ameliorate the symptoms of Huntington's disease. Chaperones and other protein stabilisers would thus be key players in ensuring the correct folding of the amyloidogenic protein and its expression in the soluble form. By transient activation of the global heat stress response in Saccharomyces cerevisiaeBY4742, we show that heterologous expression of mutant huntingtin (103Q-htt) could be modulated so that the protein was partitioned off in the soluble fraction of the cytosol. This led to lower levels of reactive oxygen species and improved cell viability. Previous reports had speculated on the relationship between trehalose and the heat shock response in ensuring enhanced cell survival but no direct evidence of such an interaction was available. Using mutants of an isogenic strain which do not express the major trehalose synthetic or metabolising enzymes or the chaperone, heat shock protein 104 (Hsp104), we were able to identify the functions of Hsp104 and the osmoprotectant trehalose in solubilising mutant huntingtin. We propose that the beneficial effect of the protein refolding machinery in solubilising the aggregation-prone protein is exerted by maintaining a tight balance between the trehalose synthetic enzyme, trehalose-6-phosphate synthase 1 and Hsp104. This ensures that the level of the osmoprotectant, trehalose, does not exceed the limit beyond which it is reported to inhibit protein refolding.

Activation of salt shock response leads to solubilisation of mutant huntingtin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Formation of cytoplasmic and nuclear aggregates is a hallmark of Huntington's disease (HD). Inhibition of aggregation of mutant huntingtin has been suggested to be a feasible approach to slow down the progress of this neurodegenerative disorder. Exposure to environmental stimuli leads to the activation of the stress response machinery of the cell. In this work, we have investigated the effect of salt shock on the aggregation of mutant huntingtin (103Q-htt) in a yeast model of HD. We found that at an optimum concentration of NaCl, the protein no longer formed aggregates and existed in the soluble form. This led to lower oxidative stress in the cell. Salt shock resulted in the synthesis of the osmolyte glycerol, which was partially responsible for the beneficial effect of stress. Surprisingly, we also found increase in the synthesis of another osmolyte, trehalose. Using deletion strains, we were able to show that the effect on solubilisation of mutant huntingtin is due to the synthesis of optimum amounts of both osmolytes. Stress-induced effect was monitored on gene expression. Genes related to proteins of the osmosensory pathway were upregulated on exposure to salt while those coding for stress response proteins were downregulated when solubilisation of mutant huntingtin occurred. Our study shows that activation of stress response elements can have beneficial effect in the solubilisation of huntingtin in a yeast model of HD.

Hsp104 as a key modulator of prion-mediated oxidative stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Maintenance of cellular redox homoeostasis forms an important part of the cellular defence mechanism and continued cell viability. Despite extensive studies, the role of the chaperone Hsp104 (heat-shock protein of 102 kDa) in propagation of misfolded protein aggregates in the cell and generation of oxidative stress remains poorly understood. Expression of RNQ1-RFP in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells led to the generation of the prion form of the protein and increased oxidative stress. In the present study, we show that disruption of Hsp104 in an isogenic yeast strain led to solubilization of RNQ1-RFP. This reduced the oxidative stress generated in the cell. The higher level of oxidative stress in the Hsp104-containing (parental) strain correlated with lower activity of almost all of the intracellular antioxidant enzymes assayed. Surprisingly, this did not correspond with the gene expression analysis data. To compensate for the decrease in protein translation induced by a high level of reactive oxygen species, transcriptional up-regulation takes place. This explains the discrepancy observed between the transcription level and functional enzymatic product. Our results show that in a ΔHsp104 strain, due to lower oxidative stress, no such mismatch is observed, corresponding with higher cell viability. Thus Hsp104 is indirectly responsible for enhancing the oxidative stress in a prion-rich environment.