Hsc70 protein interaction with soluble and fibrillar alpha-synuclein

J Biol Chem. 2011 Oct 7;286(40):34690-9. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M111.261321. Epub 2011 Aug 10.

Abstract

The aggregation of α-synuclein (α-Syn), the primary component of Lewy bodies, into high molecular weight assemblies is strongly associated with Parkinson disease. This event is believed to result from a conformational change within native α-Syn. Molecular chaperones exert critical housekeeping functions in vivo including refolding, maintaining in a soluble state, and/or pacifying protein aggregates. The influence of the stress-induced heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) on α-Syn aggregation has been notably investigated. The constitutively expressed chaperone Hsc70 acts as an antiaggregation barrier before cells are overwhelmed with α-Syn aggregates and Hsp70 expression induced. Here, we investigate the interaction between Hsc70 and α-Syn, the consequences of this interaction, and the role of nucleotides and co-chaperones Hdj1 and Hdj2 as modulators. We show that Hsc70 sequesters soluble α-Syn in an assembly incompetent complex in the absence of ATP. The affinity of Hsc70 for soluble α-Syn diminishes upon addition of ATP alone or together with its co-chaperones Hdj1 or Hdj2 allowing faster binding and release of client proteins thus abolishing α-Syn assembly inhibition by Hsc70. We show that Hsc70 binds α-Syn fibrils with a 5-fold tighter affinity compared with soluble α-Syn. This suggests that Hsc70 preferentially interacts with high molecular weight α-Syn assemblies in vivo. Hsc70 binding certainly has an impact on the physicochemical properties of α-Syn assemblies. We show a reduced cellular toxicity of α-Syn fibrils coated with Hsc70 compared with "naked" fibrils. Hsc70 may therefore significantly affect the cellular propagation of α-Syn aggregates and their spread throughout the central nervous system in Parkinson disease.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenosine Triphosphate / chemistry
  • Amyloid / metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Cell Line
  • HSC70 Heat-Shock Proteins / metabolism*
  • HSP40 Heat-Shock Proteins / metabolism
  • Heat-Shock Proteins / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Parkinson Disease / metabolism
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Conformation
  • Protein Folding
  • Solubility
  • alpha-Synuclein / metabolism*

Substances

  • Amyloid
  • Dnaja1 protein, mouse
  • Dnajb1 protein, mouse
  • HSC70 Heat-Shock Proteins
  • HSP40 Heat-Shock Proteins
  • Heat-Shock Proteins
  • alpha-Synuclein
  • Adenosine Triphosphate