– Fig. 2 Cellular chaperones (green) interact with the amino-terminal segment of \u03b1-synuclein (red), thus actively regulating its functional species by shifting its conformational equilibrium. Change of the natural \u03b1-synuclein\u2013chaperone ratio or prevention of the \u03b1-synuclein\u2013chaperone interaction by posttranslational modifications can lead to the formation of pathological species, including the accumulation of \u03b1-synuclein at mitochondria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nModifications of \u03b1-synuclein may interfere with its interaction with chaperones<\/h3>\n
Using mass spectrometry, we investigated what \u03b1-synuclein mainly binds to living cells and found that \u03b1-synuclein is found bound to several different chaperones, including different variants of the most abundant molecular chaperones Hsc70 and Hsp90. We noticed that if we inhibited both Hsc70 and Hsp90, the intensity profile of \u03b1-synuclein was affected, which we did not observe if only Hsc70 was inhibited. Because cells contain several different chaperones, this indicates that Hsc70 and other chaperones have an overlapping function.<\/p>\n
We also noticed that if we inhibited both of these chaperones, the equilibrium state of \u03b1-synuclein appears to be disturbed and more \u03b1-synuclein binds to the membrane rather than to the chaperones. Interestingly, this results in the formation of stable aggregates containing \u03b1-synuclein. We further investigated which membrane organelle that \u03b1-synuclein interacts with in this chaperone-inhibited state by means of immunofluorescence microscopy and found that \u03b1-synuclein was relocated to the mitochondria.<\/p>\n
Finally, we took a closer look at how post-translational modifications of \u03b1-synuclein affect its interaction with chaperones. We tested several know modifications of \u03b1-synuclein: acetylation, phosphorylation, methionine oxidation as well as a mutant where we removed the amino-terminal portion of \u03b1-synuclein. Acetylation of the amino-terminal portion of \u03b1-synuclein, which is the major variant found in mammalian cells, did not adversely affect the interaction between chaperones and \u03b1-synuclein. In contrast, \u03b1-synuclein, which lacked its N-terminal portion, had a greatly reduced interaction with the chaperones, as expected. Oxidative stress and upregulation of the kinase c-Abl (Abelson tyrosine kinase) with phosphorylation of Tyr39 are known risk factors for Parkinson’s disease. We therefore investigated the effect of oxidation of Met1 and Met5, as well as different phosphorylation patterns of tyrosines in \u03b1-synuclein. We could see that oxidation had a negative effect on the interaction between \u03b1-synuclein and chaperones. For phosphorylation, we observed that the phosphorylations involving Tyr39, either individually or together with Tyr125, Tyr133 and Tyr136, had a negative effect on the interaction between \u03b1-synuclein and chaperones. In contrast, phosphorylations that did not include Tyr39 had no adverse effect on the chaperone-\u03b1-synuclein interaction.<\/p>\n
What do our results mean?<\/h3>\n
In summary, our results indicate that \u03b1-synuclein has a distinct recognition sequence that is recognised by several different chaperones, and they also provide completely novel insights into how molecular chaperones regulate \u03b1-synuclein via this interaction. In our model, the majority of \u03b1-synuclein is bound to chaperones as the cells function normally and are healthy. Based on data on the concentration of \u03b1-synuclein and the chaperones Hsp70 and Hsp90 in nerve synapses, we estimate that approximately 90% of \u03b1-synuclein is bound to molecular chaperones effectively controlling the amount of free \u03b1-synuclein.<\/p>\n
By contrast, when the balance between \u03b1-synuclein and chaperones is disturbed, \u03b1-synuclein interacts more extensively with cellular membranes, relocates to the mitochondria possibly starting to integrate into the mitochondrial membranes as recent studies suggest7<\/sup> as well as starting to form protein aggregates. It is already known that Lewy bodies are largely composed of both \u03b1-synuclein and mitochondrial fragments, and impaired mitochondrial function has been suggested as a contributing factor behind Parkinson’s disease, which could be explained by our model.<\/p>\nIn our experiments, we have used specific inhibitors for the Hsc70 and Hsp90 chaperones, but the most important question is of course what causes the same phenomenon naturally. In our model, both altered amounts and\/or altered activity of both chaperones and \u03b1-synuclein could interfere with the equilibrium balance, but as we have shown, post-translational modifications may also affect the interaction between chaperones and \u03b1-synuclein. Previous research in the field has shown that within hereditary Parkinson’s, the ratio between \u03b1-synuclein and chaperones is impaired as well as that with aging the concentration of cellular chaperones is reduced.<\/p>\n
Another important driver of neurodegenerative diseases is oxidative stress. This has also been shown to be associated with increased phosphorylation of Tyr39 by \u03b1-synuclein,8 <\/sup>which we could show in our study to have an inhibitory effect on the interaction between \u03b1-synuclein and chaperones. The kinase we used for monophosphorylation of Tyr39, so-called \u2018c-Abl\u2019, is also interesting from the perspective that upregulation of c-Abl correlates strongly with the specific phosphorylation of Tyr39 and Parkinson’s disease. This link has already been started to be exploited in the clinics, as initial studies suggested the benefits of the usage of inhibitors of c-Abl initially developed for its participation in a severe form of leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia.9<\/sup><\/p>\nCollectively, our recent results form a novel picture of how \u03b1-synuclein is regulated within the cellular context by molecular chaperones, and shows how a non-functioning interaction between chaperones and \u03b1-synuclein can result in \u03b1-synuclein forming aggregates as which might represent a crucial initial process leading to cellular dysfunction in neurons and subsequently to the neurodegenerative disease. In addition, the direct link to the mitochondria is highly intriguing as it becomes more and more understood that mitochondria play a central role in Parkinson\u2019s and we have started to investigate how \u03b1-synuclein might be affected by mitochondrial proteins. In summary, we hope that our studies will lead in the future to new types of drugs or therapies being developed based on the role of chaperones in regulating \u03b1-synuclein.<\/p>\n
Acknowledgements<\/h3>\n
B.M.B. gratefully acknowledges funding from the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsr\u00e5det Starting Grant 2016-04721) and the Knut och Alice Wallenberg Foundation through a Wallenberg Academy Fellowship (2016.0163) as well as through the Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The Swedish NMR Centre of the University of Gothenburg is acknowledged for spectrometer time.<\/p>\n