Phosphorylation by neuronal cdc2-like protein kinase promotes dimerization of Tau protein in vitro.
In Alzheimer's disease, the microtubule-associated protein tau forms paired helical filaments (PHFs) that are the major structural component of neurofibrillary tangles. Although tau isolated from PHFs (PHF-tau) is abnormally phosphorylated, the role of this abnormal phosphorylation in PHF assembly is not known. Previously, neuronal cdc2-like protein kinase (NCLK) was shown to phosphorylate tau on sites that are abnormally phosphorylated in PHF-tau (Paudel, H. K., Lew, J., Ali, Z., and Wang, J. H. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 23512-23518). In this study, phosphorylation by NCLK was found to promote dimerization of recombinant human tau (R-tau) and brain tau (B-tau) purified from brain extract. Chemical cross-linking by disuccinimidyl suberate (DSS), a homobifunctional chemical cross-linker that specifically cross-linked R-tau dimers, and a Superose 12 gel filtration chromatography revealed that R-tau preparations contain mixtures of monomeric and dimeric R-tau species. When the structure of NCLK-phosphorylated R-tau was studied by a similar approach, DSS preferentially cross-linked the phosphorylated R-tau over the nonphosphorylated R-tau, and the phosphorylated R-tau eluted as a dimeric species from the gel filtration column. Phosphorylated R-tau became resistant to DSS upon dephosphorylation and was recovered as a monomeric species from the gel filtration column. In the presence of a low concentration of dithiothreitol (1.65 microM), R-tau formed disulfide cross-linked R-tau dimers. When compared, phosphorylated R-tau formed more disulfide cross-linked dimers than the nonphosphorylated R-tau. B-tau also was specifically cross-linked to dimers by DSS. When B-tau and NCLK-phosphorylated B-tau were treated with DSS, phosphorylated B-tau was preferentially cross-linked over nonphosphorylated counterpart. Taken together, these results suggest that phosphorylation by NCLK promotes dimerization and formation of disulfide cross-linked tau dimers, which is suggested to be the key step leading to PHF assembly (Schweers, O., Mandelkow, E.-M., Biernat, J., and Mandelkow, E. (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 92, 8463-8467).
Paudel
H K
HK
Bloomfield Center for Research in Aging, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, H3T 1E2, Canada. MDHP@MUSICA.McGILL.CA
D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002417:Cattle; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000494:pharmacology; D051360:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5; D018844:Cyclin-Dependent Kinases; D019281:Dimerization; D004220:Disulfides / Q000378:metabolism; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D009474:Neurons / Q000201:enzymology*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D013388:Succinimides / Q000494:pharmacology; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D004220:Disulfides; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D013388:Succinimides; D016875:tau Proteins; D051360:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C495905:CDK5 protein, human; D018844:Cyclin-Dependent Kinases; C019358:disuccinimidyl suberate