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Molecular Neurodegeneration
Published in: Molecular Neurodegeneration 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research article

Calcium-responsive transactivator (CREST) protein shares a set of structural and functional traits with other proteins associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Authors: Michail S Kukharsky, Annamaria Quintiero, Taisei Matsumoto, Koji Matsukawa, Haiyan An, Tadafumi Hashimoto, Takeshi Iwatsubo, Vladimir L Buchman, Tatyana A Shelkovnikova

Published in: Molecular Neurodegeneration | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Background

Mutations in calcium-responsive transactivator (CREST) encoding gene have been recently linked to ALS. Similar to several proteins implicated in ALS, CREST contains a prion-like domain and was reported to be a component of paraspeckles.

Results

We demonstrate that CREST is prone to aggregation and co-aggregates with FUS but not with other two ALS-linked proteins, TDP-43 and TAF15, in cultured cells. Aggregation of CREST affects paraspeckle integrity, probably by trapping other paraspeckle proteins within aggregates. Like several other ALS-associated proteins, CREST is recruited to induced stress granules. Neither of the CREST mutations described in ALS alters its subcellular localization, stress granule recruitment or detergent solubility; however Q388stop mutation results in elevated steady-state levels and more frequent nuclear aggregation of the protein. Both wild-type protein and its mutants negatively affect neurite network complexity of unstimulated cultured neurons when overexpressed, with Q388stop mutation being the most deleterious. When overexpressed in the fly eye, wild-type CREST or its mutants lead to severe retinal degeneration without obvious differences between the variants.

Conclusions

Our data indicate that CREST and certain other ALS-linked proteins share several features implicated in ALS pathogenesis, namely the ability to aggregate, be recruited to stress granules and alter paraspeckle integrity. A change in CREST levels in neurons which might occur under pathological conditions would have a profound negative effect on neuronal homeostasis.
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Metadata
Title
Calcium-responsive transactivator (CREST) protein shares a set of structural and functional traits with other proteins associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Authors
Michail S Kukharsky
Annamaria Quintiero
Taisei Matsumoto
Koji Matsukawa
Haiyan An
Tadafumi Hashimoto
Takeshi Iwatsubo
Vladimir L Buchman
Tatyana A Shelkovnikova
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Molecular Neurodegeneration / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1750-1326
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13024-015-0014-y

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