title: Altered regulation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling in cathepsin D-deficient brain.
abstract: Cathepsin D (CD) is an essential lysosomal protease and mice lacking this enzyme exhibit neuropathology similar to that observed in brains of patients with neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosces (NCL/Batten disease), a group of autosomal recessive pediatric neurodegenerative diseases. CD-deficient (CD-/-) brains exhibit a dramatic induction of autophagic stress as defined by the aberrant accumulation of autophagosomes, which is concomitant with markers of apoptosis. However, the signaling abnormalities which lead to CD deficiency-induced neurodegeneration are poorly defined. Since phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3-K) is known to regulate both apoptosis and autophagy, PI3-K-mediated signaling events were assessed in CD-/- brain at P14 and P25-26. Compared to WT littermate controls, CD-/- cortical neurons exhibited a widespread decrease in phosphorylation of Akt (inactivation) and GSK3beta (disinhibition) at P25-26, while levels of total Akt and GSK3beta remained unchanged. This P25-26-specific decrease in phosphorylation of Akt and GSK-3beta in CD-/- brain coincided temporally with markers of apoptosis but followed the induction of autophagic stress observed at both P14 and P25-26. In addition, levels and/or activation of mTOR and Beclin were not affected by CD deficiency, suggesting that the accumulation of autophagosomes is not due to an increased synthesis of autophagosomes but rather from an inhibition of autophagosome recycling, due most likely to a compromise in lysosome function. Together these observations indicate a pronounced decrease in pro-survival PI3-K signaling in CD-/- brain that may contribute to autophagic stress-induced and apoptotic neuropathology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Neuropathology Division, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama 35294-0017, USA.
authors.forename: Ken C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Walls
authors.forename: Barbara J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Klocke
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saftig
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Uchiyama
authors.forename: Kevin A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Shacka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D001343:Autophagy; D000071186:Beclin-1; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002402:Cathepsin D / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D010588:Phagosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D000071186:Beclin-1; D002402:Cathepsin D; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D011494:Protein Kinases; D011506:Proteins; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; C115010:Becn1 protein, mouse; C546843:mTOR protein, mouse; C000605507:Gsk3b protein, mouse