title: Stimulation of NeuroD activity by huntingtin and huntingtin-associated proteins HAP1 and MLK2.
abstract: NeuroD (ND) is a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor important for neuronal development and survival. By using a yeast two-hybrid screen, we identified two proteins that interact with ND, huntingtin-associated protein 1 (HAP1) and mixed-lineage kinase 2 (MLK2), both of which are known to interact with huntingtin (Htt). Htt is a ubiquitous protein important for neuronal transcription, development, and survival, and loss of its function has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder. However, the mechanism by which Htt exerts its neuron-specific function at the molecular level is unknown. Here we report that Htt interacts with ND via HAP1, and that MLK2 phosphorylates and stimulates the activity of ND. Furthermore, we show that Htt and HAP1 facilitate the activation of ND by MLK2. To our knowledge, ND is the first example of a neuron-specific transcription factor involved in neuronal development and survival whose activity is modulated by Htt. We propose that Htt, together with HAP1, may function as a scaffold for the activation of ND by MLK2.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Campus Box 347, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
authors.forename: Edoardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marcora
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gowan
authors.forename: Jacqueline E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D019757:Carbon-Oxygen Lyases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002470:Cell Survival; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D043603:DNA-(Apurinic or Apyrimidinic Site) Lyase; D017353:Gene Deletion; D006801:Humans; D000071058:Huntingtin Protein; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000378:metabolism; D020930:MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017354:Point Mutation; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques; D014981:Xenopus; D029867:Xenopus Proteins
chemical_list: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D019757:Carbon-Oxygen Lyases; D004247:DNA; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D043603:DNA-(Apurinic or Apyrimidinic Site) Lyase; D000071058:Huntingtin Protein; D020930:MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; C086055:HTT protein, human; C506812:Htt protein, mouse; C093564:Neurogenic differentiation factor 1; C093290:MAP3K10 protein, human; C490541:Map3k10 protein, mouse; C490540:map3k10 protein, Xenopus; C085108:APEX1 protein, human; C486216:Apex1 protein, mouse