title: Prion-like domains as epigenetic regulators, scaffolds for subcellular organization, and drivers of neurodegenerative disease.
abstract: Key challenges faced by all cells include how to spatiotemporally organize complex biochemistry and how to respond to environmental fluctuations. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae harnesses alternative protein folding mediated by yeast prion domains (PrDs) for rapid evolution of new traits in response to environmental stress. Increasingly, it is appreciated that low complexity domains similar in amino acid composition to yeast PrDs (prion-like domains; PrLDs) found in metazoa have a prominent role in subcellular cytoplasmic organization, especially in relation to RNA homeostasis. In this review, we highlight recent advances in our understanding of the role of prions in enabling rapid adaptation to environmental stress in yeast. We also present the complete list of human proteins with PrLDs and discuss the prevalence of the PrLD in nucleic-acid binding proteins that are often connected to neurodegenerative disease, including: ataxin 1, ataxin 2, FUS, TDP-43, TAF15, EWSR1, hnRNPA1, and hnRNPA2. Recent paradigm-shifting advances establish that PrLDs undergo phase transitions to liquid states, which contribute to the structure and biophysics of diverse membraneless organelles. This structural functionality of PrLDs, however, simultaneously increases their propensity for deleterious protein-misfolding events that drive neurodegenerative disease. We suggest that even these PrLD-misfolding events are not irreversible and can be mitigated by natural or engineered protein disaggregases, which could have important therapeutic applications. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI:RNA Metabolism in Disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States of America; Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Graduate Group, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States of America.
authors.forename: Zachary M
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: March
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, United States of America. Electronic address: oliver.king@umassmed.edu.
authors.forename: Oliver D
authors.initials: OD
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States of America; Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Graduate Group, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States of America. Electronic address: jshorter@mail.med.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shorter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000067696:Ataxin-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D000067698:Ataxin-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D002148:Calmodulin-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D000076245:Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A1; D034481:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Group A-B / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D015388:Organelles / Q000378:metabolism; D000072002:Prion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000072417:Protein Domains; D034802:RNA-Binding Protein EWS; D034702:RNA-Binding Protein FUS / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae; D035381:TATA-Binding Protein Associated Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C000593749:ATXN1 protein, human; C000593752:ATXN2 protein, human; D000067696:Ataxin-1; D000067698:Ataxin-2; D002148:Calmodulin-Binding Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C500986:EWSR1 protein, human; C000599550:FUS protein, human; D000076245:Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A1; D034481:Heterogeneous-Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Group A-B; D000072002:Prion Proteins; D034802:RNA-Binding Protein EWS; D034702:RNA-Binding Protein FUS; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C102041:TAF15 protein, human; C000598624:TARDBP protein, human; D035381:TATA-Binding Protein Associated Factors; C439768:hnRNP A2; C000619656:hnRNPA1 protein, human
keywords: ALS; Disaggregase; Phase transition; Prion; Prion-like domains; RNA-binding proteins