miR-155-3p Drives the Development of Autoimmune Demyelination by Regulation of Heat Shock Protein 40
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Authors: Mycko, Marcin P.; Cichalewska, Maria; Cwiklinska, Hanna; Selmaj, Krzysztof W.
Abstract
microRNA-155 (miR-155) plays an important role in posttranscriptional gene regulation of the immune system. We and others have described miR-155 upregulation inThelper cells (Th) during the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis. We have shown that mice in which the miR-155 host gene (MIR155HG) has been deactivated are resistant to EAE. MIR155HG produces two different miRNA strands, miR-155-5p and miR-155-3p, and miR-155-5p has been considered the only functional miR-155 form. Surprisingly, we found that miR-155-3p is also strongly upregulated in Th cells infiltrating the brain in EAE. Functional manipulation of miR-155-3p expression revealed its particular role in regulation of Th17 development. The search for miRNA-155-3p target genes highlighted transcripts of two heat shock protein 40 genes, Dnaja2 and Dnajb1. These two genes negatively regulated Th17 differentiation, leading to decreased EAE. Therefore, our findings provide new insights into a previously unknown mechanism by which miR-155-3p controls Th17 cell differentiation and autoimmune demyelination.
HSP40 proteins use class-specific regulation to drive HSP70 functional diversity
NATURE
Authors: Faust, Ofrah; Abayev-Avraham, Meital; Wentink, Anne S.; Maurer, Michael; Nillegoda, Nadinath B.; London, Nir; Bukau, Bernd; Rosenzweig, Rina
Abstract
The binding and activation of HSP70 by class B J-domain proteins is subject to an autoinhibitory regulatory mechanism that controls substrate targeting to HSP70 and is required for the disaggregation of amyloid fibres. The ubiquitous heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) family consists of ATP-dependent molecular chaperones, which perform numerous cellular functions that affect almost all aspects of the protein life cycle from synthesis to degradation(1-3). Achieving this broad spectrum of functions requires precise regulation of HSP70 activity. Proteins of the HSP40 family, also known as J-domain proteins (JDPs), have a key role in this process by preselecting substrates for transfer to their HSP70 partners and by stimulating the ATP hydrolysis of HSP70, leading to stable substrate binding(3,4). In humans, JDPs constitute a large and diverse family with more than 40 different members(2), which vary in their substrate selectivity and in the nature and number of their client-binding domains(5). Here we show that JDPs can also differ fundamentally in their interactions with HSP70 chaperones. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy(6,7) we find that the major class B JDPs are regulated by an autoinhibitory mechanism that is not present in other classes. Although in all JDPs the interaction of the characteristic J-domain is responsible for the activation of HSP70, in DNAJB1 the HSP70-binding sites in this domain are intrinsically blocked by an adjacent glycine-phenylalanine rich region-an inhibition that can be released upon the interaction of a second site on DNAJB1 with the HSP70 C-terminal tail. This regulation, which controls substrate targeting to HSP70, is essential for the disaggregation of amyloid fibres by HSP70-DNAJB1, illustrating why no other class of JDPs can substitute for class B in this function. Moreover, this regulatory layer, which governs the functional specificities of JDP co-chaperones and their interactions with HSP70s, could be key to the wide range of cellular functions of HSP70.