Co-chaperone CHIP associates with expanded polyglutamine protein and promotes their degradation by proteasomes

J Biol Chem. 2005 Mar 25;280(12):11635-40. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M412042200. Epub 2005 Jan 21.

Abstract

A major hallmark of the polyglutamine diseases is the formation of neuronal intranuclear inclusions of the disease proteins that are ubiquitinated and often associated with various chaperones and proteasome components. But, how the polyglutamine proteins are ubiquitinated and degraded by the proteasomes are not known. Here, we demonstrate that CHIP (C terminus of Hsp70-interacting protein) co-immunoprecipitates with the polyglutamine-expanded huntingtin or ataxin-3 and associates with their aggregates. Transient overexpression of CHIP increases the ubiquitination and the rate of degradation of polyglutamine-expanded huntingtin or ataxin-3. Finally, we show that overexpression of CHIP suppresses the aggregation and cell death mediated by expanded polyglutamine proteins and the suppressive effect is more prominent when CHIP is overexpressed along with Hsc70.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis
  • Ataxin-3
  • Cell Line
  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Huntingtin Protein
  • Mice
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / chemistry
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism
  • Nuclear Proteins / chemistry
  • Nuclear Proteins / metabolism
  • Peptides / metabolism*
  • Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex / physiology*
  • Protein Folding
  • Repressor Proteins
  • Transcription Factors
  • Ubiquitin / metabolism
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / chemistry
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / physiology*

Substances

  • Chi protein, Drosophila
  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Htt protein, mouse
  • Huntingtin Protein
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • Peptides
  • Repressor Proteins
  • Transcription Factors
  • Ubiquitin
  • polyglutamine
  • Stub1 protein, mouse
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases
  • ATXN3 protein, human
  • Ataxin-3
  • Atxn3 protein, mouse
  • Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex