Protein homeostasis disorders of key enzymes of amino acids metabolism: mutation-induced protein kinetic destabilization and new therapeutic strategies

Abstract

Many inborn errors of amino acids metabolism are caused by single point mutations affecting the ability of proteins to fold properly (i.e., protein homeostasis), thus leading to enzyme loss-of-function. Mutations may affect protein homeostasis by altering intrinsic physical properties of the polypeptide (folding thermodynamics, and rates of folding/unfolding/misfolding) as well as the interaction of partially folded states with elements of the protein homeostasis network (such as molecular chaperones and proteolytic machineries). Understanding these mutational effects on protein homeostasis is required to develop new therapeutic strategies aimed to target specific features of the mutant polypeptide. Here, I review recent work in three different diseases of protein homeostasis associated to inborn errors of amino acids metabolism: phenylketonuria, inherited homocystinuria and primary hyperoxaluria type I. These three different genetic disorders involve proteins operating in different cell organelles and displaying different structural complexities. Mutations often decrease protein kinetic stability of the native state (i.e., its half-life for irreversible denaturation), which can be studied using simple kinetic models amenable to biophysical and biochemical characterization. Natural ligands and pharmacological chaperones are shown to stabilize mutant enzymes, thus supporting their therapeutic application to overcome protein kinetic destabilization. The role of molecular chaperones in protein folding and misfolding is also discussed as well as their potential pharmacological modulation as promising new therapeutic approaches. Since current available treatments for these diseases are either burdening or only successful in a fraction of patients, alternative treatments must be considered covering studies from protein structure and biophysics to studies in animal models and patients.