Globotriaosylceramide inhibits iNKT-cell activation in a CD1d-dependent manner.

Globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) is a glycosphingolipid present in cellular membranes that progressively accumulates in Fabry disease. Invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cells are a population of lipid-specific T cells that are phenotypically and functionally altered in Fabry disease. The mechanisms responsible for the iNKT-cell alterations in Fabry disease are not well understood. Here, we analyzed the effect of Gb3 on CD1d-mediated iNKT-cell activation in vitro using human cells and in vivo in the mouse model. We found that Gb3 competes with endogenous and exogenous antigens for CD1d binding, thereby reducing the activation of iNKT cells. This effect was exerted by a reduction in the amount of stimulatory CD1d:α-GalCer complexes in the presence of Gb3 as demonstrated by using an mAb specific for the complex. We also found that administration of Gb3 delivered to the same APC as α-GalCer, induces reduced iNKT-cell activation in vivo. This work highlights the complexity of iNKT-cell activation and the importance of nonantigenic glycosphingolipids in the modulation of this process.

Action myoclonus-renal failure syndrome: diagnostic applications of activity-based probes and lipid analysis.

Lysosomal integral membrane protein-2 (LIMP2) mediates trafficking of glucocerebrosidase (GBA) to lysosomes. Deficiency of LIMP2 causes action myoclonus-renal failure syndrome (AMRF). LIMP2-deficient fibroblasts virtually lack GBA like the cells of patients with Gaucher disease (GD), a lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the GBA gene. While GD is characterized by the presence of glucosylceramide-laden macrophages, AMRF patients do not show these. We studied the fate of GBA in relation to LIMP2 deficiency by employing recently designed activity-based probes labeling active GBA molecules. We demonstrate that GBA is almost absent in lysosomes of AMRF fibroblasts. However, white blood cells contain considerable amounts of residual enzyme. Consequently, AMRF patients do not acquire lipid-laden macrophages and do not show increased plasma levels of macrophage markers, such as chitotriosidase, in contrast to GD patients. We next investigated the consequences of LIMP2 deficiency with respect to plasma glycosphingolipid levels. Plasma glucosylceramide concentration was normal in the AMRF patients investigated as well as in LIMP2-deficient mice. However, a marked increase in the sphingoid base, glucosylsphingosine, was observed in AMRF patients and LIMP2-deficient mice. Our results suggest that combined measurements of chitotriosidase and glucosylsphingosine can be used for convenient differential laboratory diagnosis of GD and AMRF.

A cargo-centered perspective on the PEX5 receptor-mediated peroxisomal protein import pathway.

Peroxisomal matrix proteins are synthesized on cytosolic ribosomes and post-translationally targeted to the organelle by PEX5, the peroxisomal shuttling receptor. The pathway followed by PEX5 during this process is known with reasonable detail. After recognizing cargo proteins in the cytosol, the receptor interacts with the peroxisomal docking/translocation machinery, where it gets inserted; PEX5 is then monoubiquitinated, extracted back to the cytosol and, finally, deubiquitinated. However, despite this information, the exact step of this pathway where cargo proteins are translocated across the organelle membrane is still ill-defined. In this work, we used an in vitro import system to characterize the translocation mechanism of a matrix protein possessing a type 1 targeting signal. Our results suggest that translocation of proteins across the organelle membrane occurs downstream of a reversible docking step and upstream of the first cytosolic ATP-dependent step (i.e. before ubiquitination of PEX5), concomitantly with the insertion of the receptor into the docking/translocation machinery.

Invariant natural killer T cells are phenotypically and functionally altered in Fabry disease.

Fabry disease is a lysosomal storage disease belonging to the group of sphingolipidoses. In Fabry disease there is accumulation of mainly globotriaosylceramide due to deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme α-galactosidase A. The lysosome is an important compartment for the activity of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells. iNKT cells are lipid-specific T cells that were shown to be important in infection, autoimmunity and tumor surveillance. In several mouse models of lysosomal storage disorders there is a decrease in iNKT cell numbers. Furthermore, alterations on iNKT cell subsets have been recently described in the Fabry disease mouse model. Herein, we analyzed iNKT cells and their subsets in Fabry disease patients. Although there were no differences in the percentage of iNKT cells between Fabry disease patients and control subjects, Fabry disease patients presented a reduction in the iNKT CD4(+) cells accompanied by an increase in the iNKT DN cells. Since iNKT cell subsets produce different quantities of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, we analyzed IFN-γ and IL-4 production by iNKT cells of Fabry disease patients and mice. We found a significant reduction in the production of IL-4 by mice splenic iNKT cells and human iNKT cell subsets, but no significant alterations in the production of IFN-γ. Altogether, our results suggest a bias towards a pro-inflammatory phenotype in Fabry disease iNKT cells.

Heat shock induces a massive but differential inactivation of SUMO-specific proteases.

Covalent conjugation of the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) to proteins is a highly dynamic and reversible process. Cells maintain a fine-tuned balance between SUMO conjugation and deconjugation. In response to stress stimuli such as heat shock, this balance is altered resulting in a dramatic increase in the levels of SUMO conjugates. Whether this reflects an activation of the conjugation cascade, a decrease in the activity of SUMO-specific proteases (SENPs), or both, remains unknown. Here, we show that from the five human SENPs detected in HeLa cells (SENP1/2/3/6/7) the activities of all but one (SENP6) were largely diminished after 30min of heat shock. The decreased activity is not due to changes in their steady-state levels. Rather, in vitro experiments suggest that these SENPs are intrinsically heat-sensitive, a property most likely emerging from their catalytic domains. Heat shock inactivation seems to be a specific property of SENPs because numerous members of the related deubiquitinase family of cysteine proteases are not affected by this stress condition. Overall, our results suggest that SENPs are particularly sensitive to heat shock, a property that may be important for the adaptation of cells to this stress condition.

Identification of ubiquitin-specific protease 9X (USP9X) as a deubiquitinase acting on ubiquitin-peroxin 5 (PEX5) thioester conjugate.

Peroxin 5 (PEX5), the peroxisomal protein shuttling receptor, binds newly synthesized peroxisomal matrix proteins in the cytosol and promotes their translocation across the organelle membrane. During the translocation step, PEX5 itself becomes inserted into the peroxisomal docking/translocation machinery. PEX5 is then monoubiquitinated at a conserved cysteine residue and extracted back into the cytosol in an ATP-dependent manner. We have previously shown that the ubiquitin-PEX5 thioester conjugate (Ub-PEX5) released into the cytosol can be efficiently disrupted by physiological concentrations of glutathione, raising the possibility that a fraction of Ub-PEX5 is nonenzymatically deubiquitinated in vivo. However, data suggesting that Ub-PEX5 is also a target of a deubiquitinase were also obtained in that work. Here, we used an unbiased biochemical approach to identify this enzyme. Our results suggest that ubiquitin-specific protease 9X (USP9X) is by far the most active deubiquitinase acting on Ub-PEX5, both in female rat liver and HeLa cells. We also show that USP9X is an elongated monomeric protein with the capacity to hydrolyze thioester, isopeptide, and peptide bonds. The strategy described here will be useful in identifying deubiquitinases acting on other ubiquitin conjugates.

Left ventricular noncompaction in a patient with fabry disease: overdiagnosis, morphological manifestation of fabry disease or two unrelated rare conditions in the same patient?

We report a clinical case of a young female with Fabry disease but without left ventricular hypertrophy, which fulfills the diagnostic criteria of left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC). To our knowledge, this is the first report of LVNC in a patient with Fabry disease. The possibility of an overdiagnosis of LVNC is discussed based on the limitations of the current diagnostic criteria. This case was further investigated by genetic analysis, which came to demonstrate the limited usefulness of genetic testing in the diagnosis of LVNC. Assuming a true trabecular pattern of LVNC, the hypothesis that the same patient has two unrelated and rare conditions, although possible, is unlikely. The genetic and clinical heterogeneity of LVNC is discussed and supports, along with this clinical case, the hypothesis that LVNC is a morphological expression of different diseases rather than a distinct cardiomyopathy. Accordingly, LVNC could be a rare cardiac manifestation of Fabry disease.

Aspectos clínicos, bioquímicos, moleculares y tratamiento de 2 pacientes con enfermedad de Gaucher / Clinical, biochemical and molecular features and the treatment of two patients presenting with Gaucher's disease

La enfermedad de Gaucher es una entidad hereditaria del metabolismo de los esfingolípidos con un patrón de herencia autosómico recesivo determinada por una deficiencia de la actividad de la enzima b-glucosidasa ácida. En este trabajo se presentan 2 pacientes en edad pediátrica, uno del sexo femenino y otro del masculino, ambos con anemia y hepatoesplenomegalia confirmadas por ultrasonido. El aspirado de médula ósea mostró infiltración por células de almacenamiento, niveles bajos de la actividad enzimática de b-glucocerebrosidasa y el diagnóstico molecular de las posibles mutaciones conocidas confirmaron la enfermedad en ambos pacientes que se encuentran en tratamiento con terapia enzimática sustitutiva (imiglucerasa), con evolución favorable en los aspectos clínicos y humorales.

Gaucher's disease is a hereditary entity related to sphingolipids metabolism with an autosomal recessive hereditary pattern determined by a failure of the acid b-glucosidase enzyme. In present paper authors present the case of two pediatric patients (1 female and 1 male) both presenting with anemia and hepatosplenomegaly by ultrasound (US). Bone marrow aspirate showed infiltration by storage cells, low levels of enzymatic activity of b-glucocerebroside and a molecular diagnosis of potential known mutations confirmed the disease in both patients, who are under treatment with substitutive enzymatic therapy (imiglucerase) with a favorable course in clinical and humoral features.

The cytosolic domain of PEX3, a protein involved in the biogenesis of peroxisomes, binds membrane lipids.

According to current models, most newly synthesized peroxisomal intrinsic membrane proteins are recognized in the cytosol and targeted to the peroxisomal membrane by PEX19. At the organelle membrane the PEX19-cargo protein complex interacts with PEX3, a protein believed to possess only one transmembrane domain and exposing the majority of its polypeptide chain into the cytosol. In agreement with this topological model, a recombinant protein comprising the cytosolic domain of PEX3 can be purified in a soluble and monomeric form in the absence of detergents or other solubilizing agents. Here, we show that this recombinant protein actually precipitates when incubated with mild detergents, suggesting that this domain of PEX3 interacts with amphipathic molecules. Following this observation, we tested this recombinant protein in lipid-binding assays and found that it interacts strongly with liposomes inducing their flocculation or even partial solubilization. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Mapping the cargo protein membrane translocation step into the PEX5 cycling pathway.

Newly synthesized peroxisomal matrix proteins are targeted to the organelle by PEX5, the peroxisomal cycling receptor. Over the last few years, valuable data on the mechanism of this process have been obtained using a PEX5-centered in vitro system. The data gathered until now suggest that cytosolic PEX5.cargo protein complexes dock at the peroxisomal docking/translocation machinery, where PEX5 becomes subsequently inserted in an ATP-independent manner. This PEX5 species is then monoubiquitinated at a conserved cysteine residue, a mandatory modification for the next step of the pathway, the ATP-dependent dislocation of the ubiquitin-PEX5 conjugate back into the cytosol. Finally, the ubiquitin moiety is removed, yielding free PEX5. Despite its usefulness, there are many unsolved mechanistic aspects that cannot be addressed with this in vitro system and that call for a cargo protein-centered perspective instead. Here we describe a robust peroxisomal in vitro import system that provides this perspective. The data obtained with it suggest that translocation of a cargo protein across the peroxisomal membrane, including its release into the organelle matrix, occurs prior to PEX5 ubiquitination.

Properties of the ubiquitin-pex5p thiol ester conjugate.

Pex5p, the peroxisomal protein cycling receptor, binds newly synthesized peroxisomal matrix proteins in the cytosol and promotes their translocation across the organelle membrane. During its transient passage through the membrane, Pex5p is monoubiquitinated at a conserved cysteine residue, a requisite for its subsequent ATP-dependent export back into the cytosol. Here we describe the properties of the soluble and membrane-bound monoubiquitinated Pex5p species (Ub-Pex5p). Our data suggest that 1) Ub-Pex5p is deubiquitinated by a combination of context-dependent enzymatic and nonenzymatic mechanisms; 2) soluble Ub-Pex5p retains the capacity to interact with the peroxisomal import machinery in a cargo-dependent manner; and 3) substitution of the conserved cysteine residue of Pex5p by a lysine results in a quite functional protein both in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, we show that MG132, a proteasome inhibitor, blocks the import of a peroxisomal reporter protein in vivo.

Members of the E2D (UbcH5) family mediate the ubiquitination of the conserved cysteine of Pex5p, the peroxisomal import receptor.

According to current models of peroxisomal biogenesis, newly synthesized peroxisomal matrix proteins are transported into the organelle by Pex5p. Pex5p recognizes these proteins in the cytosol, mediates their membrane translocation, and is exported back into the cytosol in an ATP-dependent manner. We have previously shown that export of Pex5p is preceded by (and requires) monoubiquitination of a conserved cysteine residue present at its N terminus. In yeasts, and probably also in plants, ubiquitination of Pex5p is mediated by a specialized ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, Pex4p. In mammals, the identity of this enzyme has remained unknown for many years. Here, we provide evidence suggesting that E2D1/2/3 (UbcH5a/b/c) are the mammalian functional counterparts of yeast/plant Pex4p. The mechanistic implications of these findings are discussed.

Ubiquitination of mammalian Pex5p, the peroxisomal import receptor.

Protein translocation across the peroxisomal membrane requires the concerted action of numerous peroxins. One central component of this machinery is Pex5p, the cycling receptor for matrix proteins. Pex5p recognizes newly synthesized proteins in the cytosol and promotes their translocation across the peroxisomal membrane. After this translocation step, Pex5p is recycled back into the cytosol to start a new protein transport cycle. Here, we show that mammalian Pex5p is ubiquitinated at the peroxisomal membrane. Two different types of ubiquitination were detected, one of which is thiol-sensitive, involves Cys(11) of Pex5p, and is necessary for the export of the receptor back into the cytosol. Together with mechanistic data recently described for yeast Pex5p, these findings provide strong evidence for the existence of Pex4p- and Pex22p-like proteins in mammals.

The import competence of a peroxisomal membrane protein is determined by Pex19p before the docking step.

Biogenesis of the mammalian peroxisomal membrane requires the action of Pex3p and Pex16p, two proteins present in the organelle membrane, and Pex19p, a protein that displays a dual subcellular distribution (peroxisomal and cytosolic). Pex19p interacts with most peroxisomal intrinsic membrane proteins, but whether this property reflects its role as an import receptor for this class of proteins or a chaperone-like function in the assembly/disassembly of peroxisomal membrane proteins has been the subject of much controversy. Here, we describe an in vitro system particularly suited to address this issue. It is shown that insertion of a reporter protein into the peroxisomal membrane is a Pex3p-dependent process that does not require ATP/GTP hydrolysis. The system can be programmed with recombinant versions of Pex19p, allowing us to demonstrate that Pex19p-cargo protein complexes formed in the absence of peroxisomes are the substrates for the peroxisomal docking/insertion machinery. Data suggesting that cargo-loaded Pex19p displays a much higher affinity for Pex3p than Pex19p alone are also provided. These results suggest that soluble Pex19p participates in the targeting of newly synthesized peroxisomal membrane proteins to the organelle membrane and support the existence of a cargo-induced peroxisomal targeting mechanism for Pex19p.

Pex5p, the peroxisomal cycling receptor, is a monomeric non-globular protein.

In mammals, targeting of newly synthesized peroxisomal matrix proteins to the organelle requires Pex5p, the peroxisomal cycling receptor. Pex5p is a multidomain protein involved in a complex network of transient protein-protein interactions. Besides interacting directly with most peroxisomal proteins en route to the organelle, Pex5p has also binding domains for several components of the peroxisomal docking/translocation machinery. However, our knowledge of how binding of a cargo protein to Pex5p influences its properties is still rather limited. Here, we describe a protease assay particularly useful for identifying and characterizing protein-protein interactions involving human Pex5p. Binding of a PTS1-containing peptide/protein to Pex5p as well as the interaction of this peroxin with the Src homology domain 3 of Pex13p could be easily demonstrated using this assay. To address the possible effects of these Pex5p-interacting peptides/proteins on the assumed quaternary structure of Pex5p, we have analyzed the hydrodynamic properties of human Pex5p using size exclusion chromatography, sucrose gradient centrifugation, and sedimentation equilibrium centrifugation. Our results show that Pex5p is a monomeric protein with an abnormal shape. The implications of these findings on current models of protein translocation across the peroxisomal membrane are discussed.

The N terminus of the peroxisomal cycling receptor, Pex5p, is required for redirecting the peroxisome-associated peroxin back to the cytosol.

Most newly synthesized peroxisomal matrix proteins are transported to the organelle by Pex5p, a remarkable multidomain protein involved in an intricate network of transient protein-protein interactions. Presently, our knowledge regarding the structure/function of amino acid residues 118 to the very last residue of mammalian Pex5p is quite vast. Indeed, the cargo-protein receptor domain as well as the binding sites for several peroxins have all been mapped to this region of Pex5p. In contrast, structural/functional data regarding the first 117 amino acid residues of Pex5p are still scarce. Here we show that a truncated Pex5p lacking the first 110 amino acid residues (DeltaN110-Pex5p) displays exactly the peroxisomal import properties of the full-length peroxin implying that this N-terminal domain is involved neither in cargo-protein binding nor in the docking/translocation step of the Pex5p-cargo protein complex at the peroxisomal membrane. However, the ATP-dependent export step of DeltaN110-Pex5p from the peroxisomal membrane is completely blocked, a phenomenon that was also observed for a Pex5p version lacking just the first 17 amino acid residues but not for a truncated protein comprising amino acid residues 1-324 of Pex5p. By exploring the unique properties of DeltaN110-Pex5p, the effect of temperature on the import/export kinetics of Pex5p was characterized. Our data indicate that the export step of Pex5p from the peroxisomal compartment (in contrast with its insertion into the organelle membrane) is highly dependent on the temperature.

The energetics of Pex5p-mediated peroxisomal protein import.

Most newly synthesized peroxisomal matrix proteins are targeted to the organelle by Pex5p, the peroxisomal cycling receptor. According to current models of peroxisomal biogenesis, Pex5p interacts with cargo proteins in the cytosol and transports them to the peroxisomal membrane. After delivering the passenger protein into the peroxisomal matrix, Pex5p returns to the cytosol to catalyze additional rounds of transportation. Obviously, such cyclic pathway must require energy, and indeed, data confirming this need are already available. However, the exact step(s) of this cycle where energy input is necessary remains unclear. Here, we present data suggesting that insertion of Pex5p into the peroxisomal membrane does not require ATP hydrolysis. This observation raises the possibility that at the peroxisomal membrane ATP is needed predominantly (if not exclusively) downstream of the protein translocation step to reset the Pex5p-mediated transport system.

Characterization of the peroxisomal cycling receptor, Pex5p, using a cell-free in vitro import system.

According to current models of peroxisomal biogenesis, Pex5p cycles between the cytosol and the peroxisome transporting newly synthesized proteins to the organelle matrix. However, little is known regarding the mechanism of this pathway. Here, we show that Pex5p enters and exits the peroxisomal compartment in a process that requires ATP. Insertion of Pex5p into the peroxisomal membrane is blocked by anti-Pex14p IgGs. At the peroxisomal level, two Pex14p-associated populations of Pex5p could be resolved, stage 2 and stage 3 Pex5p, both exposing the majority of their masses into the organelle lumen. Stage 3 Pex5p can be easily detected only under ATP-limiting conditions; in the presence of ATP it leaves the peroxisomal compartment rapidly. Our data suggest that translocation of PTS1-containing proteins across the peroxisomal membrane occurs concomitantly with formation of the Pex5p-Pex14p membrane complex and that this is probably the site from which Pex5p leaves the peroxisomal compartment.