title: Pur-alpha regulates cytoplasmic stress granule dynamics and ameliorates FUS toxicity.
abstract: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is characterized by progressive loss of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Mutations in several genes, including FUS, TDP43, Matrin 3, hnRNPA2 and other RNA-binding proteins, have been linked to ALS pathology. Recently, Pur-alpha, a DNA/RNA-binding protein was found to bind to C9orf72 repeat expansions and could possibly play a role in the pathogenesis of ALS. When overexpressed, Pur-alpha mitigates toxicities associated with Fragile X tumor ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) and C9orf72 repeat expansion diseases in Drosophila and mammalian cell culture models. However, the function of Pur-alpha in regulating ALS pathogenesis has not been fully understood. We identified Pur-alpha as a novel component of cytoplasmic stress granules (SGs) in ALS patient cells carrying disease-causing mutations in FUS. When cells were challenged with stress, we observed that Pur-alpha co-localized with mutant FUS in ALS patient cells and became trapped in constitutive SGs. We also found that FUS physically interacted with Pur-alpha in mammalian neuronal cells. Interestingly, shRNA-mediated knock down of endogenous Pur-alpha significantly reduced formation of cytoplasmic stress granules in mammalian cells suggesting that Pur-alpha is essential for the formation of SGs. Furthermore, ectopic expression of Pur-alpha blocked cytoplasmic mislocalization of mutant FUS and strongly suppressed toxicity associated with mutant FUS expression in primary motor neurons. Our data emphasizes the importance of stress granules in ALS pathogenesis and identifies Pur-alpha as a novel regulator of SG dynamics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA.|Division of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: J Gavin
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Daigle
authors.affiliation: Frances and Joseph Weinberg Unit for ALS Research, Department of Neuroscience, Farber Institute for Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Karthik
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krishnamurthy
authors.affiliation: Division of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.|Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Nandini
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ramesh
authors.affiliation: Division of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.|Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Casci
authors.affiliation: Division of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Monaghan
authors.affiliation: Frances and Joseph Weinberg Unit for ALS Research, Department of Neuroscience, Farber Institute for Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McAvoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Anatomy, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Earl W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Godfrey
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Cell Biology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Dianne C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Daniel
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Cell Biology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Edward M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Zachary
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Monahan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shewmaker
authors.affiliation: Frances and Joseph Weinberg Unit for ALS Research, Department of Neuroscience, Farber Institute for Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Piera
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pasinelli
authors.affiliation: Division of Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. udai@pitt.edu.|Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. udai@pitt.edu.|Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. udai@pitt.edu.
authors.forename: Udai Bhan
authors.initials: UB
authors.lastname: Pandey
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D018053:Arsenites / Q000494:pharmacology; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D004265:DNA Helicases; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000494:pharmacology; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D000075223:Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins; D020365:RNA Helicases; D000067776:RNA Recognition Motif Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D034702:RNA-Binding Protein FUS / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017670:Sodium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D018053:Arsenites; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; C489788:MAP2 protein, human; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; C501130:PURA protein, human; D000075223:Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins; D000067776:RNA Recognition Motif Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D034702:RNA-Binding Protein FUS; D017670:Sodium Compounds; D014157:Transcription Factors; C017947:sodium arsenite; D004265:DNA Helicases; C116070:G3BP1 protein, human; D020365:RNA Helicases; D004318:Doxycycline
keywords: ALS; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; C9orf72; FUS; Motor neuron diseases; Neurodegeneration; Primary motor neurons; Pur-alpha; RNA-binding proteins; Stress granules; TDP-43