PRMT1-mediated arginine methylation controls ATXN2L localization.
Arginine methylation is a posttranslational modification that is of importance in diverse cellular processes. Recent proteomic mass spectrometry studies reported arginine methylation of ataxin-2-like (ATXN2L), the paralog of ataxin-2, a protein that is implicated in the neurodegenerative disorder spinocerebellar ataxia type 2. Here, we investigated the methylation state of ATXN2L and its significance for ATXN2L localization. We first confirmed that ATXN2L is asymmetrically dimethylated in vivo, and observed that the nuclear localization of ATXN2L is altered under methylation inhibition. We further discovered that ATXN2L associates with the protein arginine-N-methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1). Finally, we showed that neither mutation of the arginine-glycine-rich motifs of ATXN2L nor methylation inhibition alters ATXN2L localization to stress granules, suggesting that methylation of ATXN2L is probably not mandatory.
Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 63-73, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
Christian
C
Kaehler
Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 63-73, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
Anika
A
Guenther
Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 63-73, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
Anja
A
Uhlich
Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 63-73, 14195 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: krobitsc@molgen.mpg.de.
Sylvia
S
Krobitsch
D001120:Arginine / Q000378:metabolism*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008745:Methylation; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D021381:Protein Transport; D011484:Protein-Arginine N-Methyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
C000600133:ATXN2L protein, human; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D001120:Arginine; C099988:PRMT1 protein, human; D011484:Protein-Arginine N-Methyltransferases
Asymmetric arginine dimethylation; Ataxin-2-like; Protein arginine methyltransferase; Splicing speckles; Stress granules