title: TorsinA in the nuclear envelope.
abstract: Early-onset torsion dystonia, a CNS-based movement disorder, is usually associated with a single amino acid deletion (Delta E302/303) in the protein torsinA. TorsinA is an AAA+ ATPase in the endoplasmic reticulum, but what it does is unknown. Here, we use torsinA mutants with defects in ATP hydrolysis (E171Q, ATP-bound) and ATP binding (K108A, ATP-free) to probe torsinA's normal cellular function. Surprisingly, ATP-bound torsinA is recruited to the nuclear envelope (NE) of transfected cells, where it alters connections between inner and outer nuclear membranes. In contrast, ATP-free torsinA is diffusely distributed throughout the endoplasmic reticulum and has no effect on the NE. Among AAA+ ATPases, affinity for substrates is high in the ATP-bound and low in the ATP-free state, leading us to propose that component(s) of the NE may be substrates for torsinA. We also find that the disease-promoting Delta E302/303 mutant is in the NE, and that this relocalization, as well as the mutant's previously described ability to induce membranous inclusions, is eliminated by the K108A ATP-binding mutation. These results suggest that changes in interactions involving torsinA in the NE could be important for the pathogenesis of dystonia and point to torsinA and related proteins as a class of ATPases that may operate in the NE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Teresa V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Naismith
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Heuser
authors.forename: Xandra O
authors.initials: XO
authors.lastname: Breakefield
authors.forename: Phyllis I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Hanson
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000818:Animals; D016466:CHO Cells; D019556:COS Cells; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D006224:Cricetinae; D004422:Dystonia Musculorum Deformans / Q000378:metabolism*; D009153:Mutagens; D009685:Nuclear Envelope / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009153:Mutagens; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases