ALS-FUS mutations cause abnormal PARylation and histone H1.2 interaction, leading to pathological changes.

The majority of severe early-onset and juvenile cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are caused by mutations in the FUS gene, resulting in rapid disease progression. Mutant FUS accumulates within stress granules (SGs), thereby affecting the dynamics of these ribonucleoprotein complexes. Here, we define the interactome of the severe mutant FUSP525L variant in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived motor neurons. We find increased interaction of FUSP525L with the PARP1 enzyme, promoting poly-ADP-ribosylation (PARylation) and binding of FUS to histone H1.2. Inhibiting PARylation or reducing H1.2 levels alleviates mutant FUS aggregation, SG alterations, and apoptosis in human motor neurons. Conversely, elevated H1.2 levels exacerbate FUS-ALS phenotypes, driven by the internally disordered terminal domains of H1.2. In C. elegans models, knockdown of H1.2 and PARP1 orthologs also decreases FUSP525L aggregation and neurodegeneration, whereas H1.2 overexpression worsens ALS-related changes. Our findings indicate a link between PARylation, H1.2, and FUS with potential therapeutic implications.

The emerging role and therapeutic implications of bacterial and parasitic deubiquitinating enzymes.

Deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) are emerging as key factors for the infection of human cells by pathogens such as bacteria and parasites. In this review, we discuss the most recent studies on the role of deubiquitinase activity in exploiting and manipulating ubiquitin (Ub)-dependent host processes during infection. The studies discussed here highlight the importance of DUB host-pathogen research and underscore the therapeutic potential of inhibiting pathogen-specific DUB activity to prevent infectious diseases.

In planta expression of human polyQ-expanded huntingtin fragment reveals mechanisms to prevent disease-related protein aggregation.

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.

Light-Dependent Control of Bacterial Expression at the mRNA Level.

Sensory photoreceptors mediate numerous light-dependent adaptations across organisms. In optogenetics, photoreceptors achieve the reversible, non-invasive, and spatiotemporally precise control by light of gene expression and other cellular processes. The light-oxygen-voltage receptor PAL binds to small RNA aptamers with sequence specificity upon blue-light illumination. By embedding the responsive aptamer in the ribosome-binding sequence of genes of interest, their expression can be downregulated by light. We developed the pCrepusculo and pAurora optogenetic systems that are based on PAL and allow to down- and upregulate, respectively, bacterial gene expression using blue light. Both systems are realized as compact, single plasmids that exhibit stringent blue-light responses with low basal activity and up to several 10-fold dynamic range. As PAL exerts light-dependent control at the RNA level, it can be combined with other optogenetic circuits that control transcription initiation. By integrating regulatory mechanisms operating at the DNA and mRNA levels, optogenetic circuits with emergent properties can thus be devised. As a case in point, the pEnumbra setup permits to upregulate gene expression under moderate blue light whereas strong blue light shuts off expression again. Beyond providing novel signal-responsive expression systems for diverse applications in biotechnology and synthetic biology, our work also illustrates how the light-dependent PAL-aptamer interaction can be harnessed for the control and interrogation of RNA-based processes.