2025年 新着論文 19 分子生命科学分野から論文が発表されました

A Disease-Associated Mutation Impedes PPIA through Allosteric Dynamics Modulation

Biochemistry. 2025 Jun 30. doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.5c00260. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yoshikazu Hattori  1 Munehiro Kumashiro  1 Hiroyuki Kumeta  2 Taisei Kyo  1   3 Soichiro Kawagoe  1 Motonori Matsusaki  1 Tomohide Saio  1

Affiliations

  • 1 Institute of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
  • 2 Faculty of Advanced Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021, Japan.
  • 3 Student Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Tokushima University, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.

Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor neuron degeneration. Peptidylprolyl cis-trans isomerase A (PPIA) is a molecular chaperone involved in protein folding, and its dysfunction has been linked to ALS pathogenesis, as proline is recognized as a key residue for maintaining proper folding of ALS-related proteins. A recent study identified a K76E mutation in PPIA in sporadic ALS patients, but its effect on protein function and structure remain unclear. In this study, we used biochemical and biophysical techniques to investigate the structural and functional consequences of the K76E mutation. Our results show that K76E significantly reduces enzyme activity without affecting structure, monodispersity, or substrate recognition. Significant effects of K76E mutation were identified by relaxation dispersion NMR experiments, showing that K76E disrupts key protein dynamics and alters an allosteric network essential for isomerase activity. Corroborated by theoretical kinetic analysis, these dynamics data, revealing the exchange process for K76E to be approximately 1 order of magnitude slower than that of the wild type, explain the reduced cis-trans isomerase activity of the K76E mutant. These findings suggest that the pathogenic effect of K76E arises primarily from impaired protein dynamics rather than direct structural disruption. Our study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying ALS-associated mutations and their impact on protein function.

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