The 11S Proteasomal Activator REGγ Impacts Polyglutamine-Expanded Androgen Receptor Aggregation and Motor Neuron Viability through Distinct Mechanisms.

Authors

Jill M. Yersak, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Heather L. Montie, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Erica S. Chevalier-Larsen, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Yuhong Liu, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Lan Huang, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Martin Rechsteiner, University of Utah School of Medicine
Diane E. Merry, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-24-2017

Comments

This article has been peer reviewed. It is the author’s final published version in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience

Volume 10, May 2017, Article number 159.

The published version is available at DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2017.00159. Copyright © Yersak et al.

Abstract

Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is caused by expression of a polyglutamine (polyQ)-expanded androgen receptor (AR). The inefficient nuclear proteasomal degradation of the mutant AR results in the formation of nuclear inclusions containing amino-terminal fragments of the mutant AR. PA28γ (also referred to as REGγ) is a nuclear 11S-proteasomal activator with limited proteasome activation capabilities compared to its cytoplasmic 11S (PA28α, PA28β) counterparts. To clarify the role of REGγ in polyQ-expanded AR metabolism, we carried out genetic and biochemical studies in cell models of SBMA. Overexpression of REGγ in a PC12 cell model of SBMA increased polyQ-expanded AR aggregation and contributed to polyQ-expanded AR toxicity in the presence of dihydrotestosterone (DHT). These effects of REGγ were independent of its association with the proteasome and may be due, in part, to the decreased binding of polyQ-expanded AR by the E3 ubiquitin-ligase MDM2. Unlike its effects in PC12 cells, REGγ overexpression rescued transgenic SBMA motor neurons from DHT-induced toxicity in a proteasome binding-dependent manner, suggesting that the degradation of a specific 11S proteasome substrate or substrates promotes motor neuron viability. One potential substrate that we found to play a role in mutant AR toxicity is the splicing factor SC35. These studies reveal that, depending on the cellular context, two biological roles for REGγ impact cell viability in the face of polyQ-expanded AR; a proteasome binding-independent mechanism directly promotes mutant AR aggregation while a proteasome binding-dependent mechanism promotes cell viability. The balance between these functions likely determines REGγ effects on polyQ-expanded AR-expressing cells.

Recommended Citation

Yersak, Jill M.; Montie, Heather L.; Chevalier-Larsen, Erica S.; Liu, Yuhong; Huang, Lan; Rechsteiner, Martin; and Merry, Diane E., "The 11S Proteasomal Activator REGγ Impacts Polyglutamine-Expanded Androgen Receptor Aggregation and Motor Neuron Viability through Distinct Mechanisms." (2017). Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers. Paper 121.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/bmpfp/121

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

PubMed ID

28596723