The long-term goal of this project is to understand how cells cope with mutant Rhodopsin-1 (Rh-1) proteins that underlie age-related retinal degeneration in the Drosophila model for Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa (ADRP). The Rh-1 alleles in this model impair the encoded protein's folding property and impose stress to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Healthy young cells exhibit robust ER stress-response mechanisms that allow the afflicted photoreceptors to survive until old age. On the other hand, old cells succumb to stress by activating cell death pathways, leading to age-related retinal degeneration. A better understanding of these pathways may allow the development of effective therapeutic strategies against this disease. Through our unique Drosophila-based approach, we identified a number of cellular response mechanisms to mutant Rh-1 that were unexpected, yet likely to play important roles in ADRP. Here, we propose three Specific Aims to investigate those mechanisms.
In Aim 1, we plan to examine how cells degrade misfolded rhodopsins to reduce stress in the ER. We had previously established that a central ubiquitin ligase involved in this process, HRD1, can significantly delay the course of retinal degeneration in the Drosophila ADRP model. HRD1 requires the cooperation of other proteins that help recognize and degrade misfolded Rh-1. Through a genetic screen, we identified a poorly characterized carboxypeptidase as one of the most potent factors that help reduce misfolded Rh-1 levels. Here, we propose to validate the intriguing idea that HRD1-mediated degradation of misfolded rhodopsin requires this carboxypeptidase of unknown function.
In Aim 2, we propose to determine the role of translational inhibitors in the ER stress response. Translational inhibition s a common outcome of cellular stress, and specifically in response to misfolded protein overload in the ER, cells activate the translational inhibitor PERK to reduce the burden on the ER protein folding system. Unexpectedly, we discovered that another translational inhibitor, 4E-BP, is induced downstream of PERK. As 4E-BP is known for its effects in enhancing stress resistance and prolonging lifespan, we plan to test the functional significance of 4E-BP induction in the ADRP model. Moreover, we propose to determine how 4E-BP protects cells against ER stress.
In Aim 3, we propose to study how ER stress induces cell death. Many cell death regulators localize to the mitochondrial outer membrane for their function, and we hypothesize that a specific cell death pathway conveys stress signals from the ER to the mitochondria. Through a genetic screen, we identified two Cyclin Dependent Kinases (CDKs) that are unexpectedly involved in this cell death signaling. Here, we propose to test the idea these CDKs form a linear pathway that promotes pro-apoptotic events at the mitochondrial outer membrane. The genes of interest here will be further examined for their roles in age-related retinal degeneration in a Drosophila model of ADRP. A successful outcome of this proposal is expected to bring conceptual advances to the three poorly understood areas of ER stress response that are directly related to the pathology of ADRP.

Public Health Relevance

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disorder that leads to a progressive loss of vision. Autosomal Dominant form of this disease is the most common type, most frequently caused by mutations in the rhodopsin gene. Here we propose to use the Drosophila model for ADRP to study how healthy cells respond to such stress caused by such mutant proteins, and how one can use that knowledge to delay the course of retinal degeneration in that model.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY020866-07
Application #
9306097
Study Section
Biology of the Visual System Study Section (BVS)
Program Officer
Neuhold, Lisa
Project Start
2010-08-01
Project End
2018-08-31
Budget Start
2017-08-01
Budget End
2018-08-31
Support Year
7
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
New York University
Department
Anatomy/Cell Biology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
121911077
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10010
Huang, Huai-Wei; Brown, Brian; Chung, Jaehoon et al. (2018) highroad Is a Carboxypetidase Induced by Retinoids to Clear Mutant Rhodopsin-1 in Drosophila Retinitis Pigmentosa Models. Cell Rep 22:1384-1391
Vasudevan, Deepika; Clark, Nicholas K; Sam, Jessica et al. (2017) The GCN2-ATF4 Signaling Pathway Induces 4E-BP to Bias Translation and Boost Antimicrobial Peptide Synthesis in Response to Bacterial Infection. Cell Rep 21:2039-2047
Kang, Min-Ji; Vasudevan, Deepika; Kang, Kwonyoon et al. (2017) 4E-BP is a target of the GCN2-ATF4 pathway during Drosophila development and aging. J Cell Biol 216:115-129
Huang, Huai-Wei; Zeng, Xiaomei; Rhim, Taiyoun et al. (2017) The requirement of IRE1 and XBP1 in resolving physiological stress during Drosophila development. J Cell Sci 130:3040-3049
Ryoo, Hyung Don; Vasudevan, Deepika (2017) Two distinct nodes of translational inhibition in the Integrated Stress Response. BMB Rep 50:539-545
Vasudevan, Deepika; Ryoo, Hyung Don (2016) Detection of Cell Death in Drosophila Tissues. Methods Mol Biol 1419:131-44
Mollereau, B; Rzechorzek, N M; Roussel, B D et al. (2016) Adaptive preconditioning in neurological diseases - therapeutic insights from proteostatic perturbations. Brain Res 1648:603-616
Ryoo, Hyung Don (2016) Long and short (timeframe) of endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced cell death. FEBS J 283:3718-3722
Ryoo, Hyung Don (2015) Drosophila as a model for unfolded protein response research. BMB Rep 48:445-53
Kang, Kwonyoon; Ryoo, Hyung Don; Park, Jung-Eun et al. (2015) A Drosophila Reporter for the Translational Activation of ATF4 Marks Stressed Cells during Development. PLoS One 10:e0126795

Showing the most recent 10 out of 21 publications