CLN3 Protein Research Articles

The CLN9 Protein, a Regulator of Dihydroceramide Synthase

A new variant of a group of pediatric neurodegenerative diseases known as neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) or Batten disease has been identified. It is termed CLN9-deficient. CLN9-deficient fibroblasts have a distinctive phenotype of rapid growth and increased apoptosis and diminished levels of ceramide, dihydroceramide, and sphingomyelin. Transfection with CLN8 but not other NCL genes corrected growth and apoptosis in CLN9-deficient cells, although the entire CLN8 sequence was normal. CLN8 is one of the TRAM-Lag1-CLN8 proteins containing a Lag1 motif. The latter imparts (dihydro)ceramide synthase activity to yeast cells. Transfection with the yeast gene Lag1 Sc and the human homolog LASS1 increased ceramide levels and partially corrected growth and apoptosis in CLN9-deficient cells. LASS2,-4,,-5, and -6 also corrected growth and apoptosis. Dihydroceramide levels and dihydroceramide synthase activity were markedly diminished in CLN9-deficient cells. Sequencing of LASS1, LASS2, LASS4, LASS5, and LASS6 genes was normal, and expression levels were increased or normal in CLN9-deficient cells by reverse transcription-PCR. N-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4-HPR), a dihydroceramide synthase activator, corrected growth and apoptosis and increased dihydroceramide synthase activity. Ceramide levels dropped further, and there was no increase in de novo ceramide synthesis, probably due to the effects of 4-HPR as activator of dihydroceramide synthase and inhibitor of dihydroceramide desaturase. Fumonisin B1, a dihydroceramide synthase inhibitor, exaggerated the CLN9-deficient phenotype of accelerated growth, decreased ceramide and increased apoptosis. This was neutralized by 4-HPR. We conclude that the CLN9 protein may be a regulator of dihydroceramide synthase and that 4-HPR could be developed as a treatment for CLN9-deficient patients.

Deletion of the Caenorhabditis elegans homologues of the CLN3 gene, involved in human juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, causes a mild progeric phenotype

The CLN3 gene is involved in juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL), or Batten-Spielmeyer-Vogt disease, a severe hereditary neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder characterized by progressive disease pathology, with loss of vision as the first symptom. Another characteristic of JNCL is the lysosomal accumulation of autofluorescent lipopigments, forming fingerprint storage patterns visible by electron microscopy. The function of the CLN3 protein is still unknown, although the evolutionarily conserved CLN3 protein is being functionally analysed using different experimental models. We have explored the potential of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model for Batten disease in order to bridge the gap between the unicellular yeast and very complex mouse JNCL models. C. elegans has three genes homologous to CLN3, for each of which deletion mutants were isolated. Cln-3.1 deletion mutants have a decreased lifespan, and cln-3.2 deletion mutants a decreased brood size. However, the neuronal or movement defects and aberrant lipopigment distribution or accumulation observed in JNCL were not found in the worms. To detect possible redundancy, single deletion mutants were crossed to obtain double and triple mutants, which were viable but showed no JNCL-specific defects. The cln-3 triple mutants show a more prominent decrease in lifespan and brood size, the latter most conspicuously at the end of the egg-laying period, suggesting premature ageing. To focus our functional analysis we examined the C. elegans cln-3 expression patterns, using promoter-GFP (green fluorescent protein) gene fusions. Fluorescence patterns suggest cln-3.1 expression in the intestine, cln-3.2 expression in the hypoderm, and cln-3.3 expression in intestinal muscle, male-specific posterior muscle and hypoderm. Further life stage- and tissue-specific analysis of the processes causing the phenotype of the cln-3 triple mutants may provide more information about the function of the cln-3 protein and contribute to a better understanding of the basic processes affected in Batten disease patients.

Novel CLN3 mutation predicted to cause complete loss of protein function does not modify the classical JNCL phenotype

Juvenile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (JNCL), or Batten disease, is a childhood neurodegenerative disease that is characterized clinically by progressive visual loss, seizures, dementia, and motor incoordination. Children affected with this disease tend to develop normally for the first 5 years of life. However, once disease onset occurs, they decline rapidly and die in their late 20s to early 30s. Though this represents the typical disease course, the onset and severity of disease symptoms can vary. This variability is presumed to be the result of both differences in the causative genetic mutation in the CLN3 gene as well as environmental influences. Most cases of JNCL are caused by a 1 kb deletion in the CLN3 gene, resulting in a frameshift mutation predicted to leave the first 153 amino acids of the CLN3 protein intact, followed by the addition of 28 novel amino acids. Here we report the discovery of a novel mutation identified as a G to T transversion at nucleotide 49 (G49T) in exon 2 of CLN3, introducing a premature stop codon (E17X) near the N-terminus. This mutation represents the most 5′ mutation described to date. The patient examined in this study was heterozygous for the common 1 kb deletion and E17X. She had classical disease progression, suggesting that this mutation in CLN3 mimics the more prevalent 1 kb deletion and that progression of JNCL is predominantly the result of loss of CLN3 function.

AP-1 and AP-3 Facilitate Lysosomal Targeting of Batten Disease Protein CLN3 via Its Dileucine Motif

CLN3 is a transmembrane protein with a predominant localization in lysosomes in non-neuronal cells but is also found in endosomes and the synaptic region in neuronal cells. Mutations in the CLN3 gene result in juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis or Batten disease, which currently is the most common cause of childhood dementia. We have recently reported that the lysosomal targeting of CLN3 is facilitated by two targeting motifs: a dileucine-type motif in a cytoplasmic loop domain and an unusual motif in the carboxyl-terminal cytoplasmic tail comprising a methionine and a glycine separated by nine amino acids (Kyttala, A., Ihrke, G., Vesa, J., Schell, M. J., and Luzio, J. P. (2004) Mol. Biol. Cell 15, 1313-1323). In the present study, we investigated the pathways and mechanisms of CLN3 sorting using biochemical binding assays and immunofluorescence methods. The dileucine motif of CLN3 bound both AP-1 and AP-3 in vitro, and expression of mutated CLN3 in AP-1- or AP-3-deficient mouse fibroblasts showed that both adaptor complexes are required for sequential sorting of CLN3 via this motif. Our data indicate the involvement of complex sorting machinery in the trafficking of CLN3 and emphasize the diversity of parallel and sequential sorting pathways in the trafficking of membrane proteins.

CLN3, the protein associated with batten disease: Structure, function and localization

Batten disease, an inherited neurodegenerative storage disease affecting children, results from the autosomal recessive inheritance of mutations in Cln3. The function of the CLN3 protein remains unknown. A key to understanding the pathology of this devastating disease will be to elucidate the function of CLN3 at the cellular level. CLN3 has proven difficult to study as it is predicted to be a membrane protein expressed at relatively low levels. This article is a critical review of various approaches used in examining the structure, trafficking, and localization of CLN3. We conclude that CLN3 is likely resident in the lysosomal/endosomal membrane. Different groups have postulated conflicting orientations for CLN3 within this membrane. In addition, CLN3 undergoes several posttranslational modifications and is trafficked through the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi. Recent evidence also suggests that CLN3 traffics via the plasma membrane. Although the function of this protein remains elusive, it is apparent that genetic alterations in Cln3 may have a direct affect on lysosomal function.

A Dileucine Motif and a Cluster of Acidic Amino Acids in the Second Cytoplasmic Domain of the Batten Disease-related CLN3 Protein Are Required for Efficient Lysosomal Targeting

The juvenile form of ceroid lipofuscinosis (Batten disease) is a neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the CLN3 gene. CLN3 encodes a multimembrane-spanning protein of unknown function, which is mainly localized in lysosomes in non-neuronal cells and in endosomes in neuronal cells. For this study we constructed chimeric proteins of three CLN3 cytoplasmic domains fused to the lumenal and transmembrane domains of the reporter proteins LAMP-1 and lysosomal acid phosphatase to identify lysosomal targeting motifs and to determine the intracellular transport and subcellular localization of the chimera in transfected cell lines. We report that a novel type of dileucine-based sorting motif, EEEX(8)LI, present in the second cytoplasmic domain of CLN3, is sufficient for proper targeting to lysosomes. The first cytoplasmic domain of CLN3 and the mutation of the dileucine motif resulted in a partial missorting of chimeric proteins to the plasma membrane. At equilibrium, 4-13% of the different chimera are present at the cell surface. Analysis of lysosome-specific proteolytic processing revealed that lysosomal acid phosphatase chimera containing the second cytoplasmic domain of CLN3 showed the highest rate of lysosomal delivery, whereas the C terminus of CLN3 was found to be less efficient in lysosomal targeting. However, none of these cytosolic CLN3 domains was able to interact with AP-1, AP-3, or GGA3 adaptor complexes. These data revealed that lysosomal sorting motifs located in an intramolecular cytoplasmic domain of a multimembrane-spanning protein have different structural requirements for adaptor binding than sorting signals found in the C-terminal cytoplasmic domains of single- or dual-spanning lysosomal membrane proteins.

Interconnections of CLN3, Hook1 and Rab proteins link Batten disease to defects in the endocytic pathway.

The endosomal/lysosomal transmembrane protein CLN3 is mutated in the Batten disease (juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, JNCL). However, the molecular mechanism of JNCL pathogenesis and the exact function of the CLN3 protein have remained unclear. Previous studies have shown that deletion of BTN1, the yeast orthologue of CLN3, leads to increased expression of BTN2. BTN2 encodes Btn2p, a proposed homologue to a novel microtubule-binding protein Hook1, which regulates endocytosis in Drosophila. We analysed here the putative interconnection between CLN3 and Hook1 in the mammalian cells and discovered that overexpression of human CLN3 induces aggregation of Hook1 protein, potentially by mediating its dissociation from the microtubules. Using in vitro binding assay we were able to demonstrate a weak interaction between Hook1 and the cytoplasmic segments of CLN3. We also found receptor-mediated endocytosis to be defective in CLN3-deficient JNCL fibroblasts, connecting CLN3, Hook1 and endocytosis in the mammalian system. Moreover, co-immunoprecipitation experiments showed that Hook1 physically interacts with endocytic Rab7, Rab9 and Rab11, hence delineating a manifold role for mammalian Hook1 in membrane trafficking events. These novel interactions between the microtubule-binding Hook1 and the large family of Rab GTPases also suggest a link between CLN3 function, microtubule cytoskeleton and endocytic membrane trafficking.

A galactosylceramide binding domain is involved in trafficking of CLN3 from Golgi to rafts via recycling endosomes.

Juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL) is due to mutations in the CLN3 gene. We previously determined that CLN3 protein harbors a highly conserved motif, VYFAE, necessary for its impact on cell growth and apoptosis. Using molecular modeling we demonstrated that this motif is embedded in a stretch of amino acids that is homologous to and structurally compatible with a galactosylceramide (GalCer) binding domain. This domain is present in the V3 loop of the HIV-1 gp120 envelope protein, beta-amyloid protein, and the infectious form of prionic protein, and defines a binding site for lipid rafts. We determined the subcellular localization of CLN3 in different cell systems including human neurons, primary rat hippocampal neurons, normal human fibroblasts, and JNCL fibroblasts homozygous for the 1.02 kb deletion in genomic DNA. Wild-type CLN3 protein was present within Golgi, lipid rafts in the plasma membrane, and early recycling endosomes, but not late endosomes/lysosomes. Wild-type CLN3 internalized from the plasma membrane to the Golgi via Rab4- and Rab11-positive recycling endosomes. Wild-type CLN3 co-localized with GalCer in the Golgi and in lipid rafts at the plasma membrane in normal cells. Neither mutant CLN3 protein nor GalCer were found at the plasma membrane in JNCL fibroblasts. Mutant CLN3p was retained within the Golgi and partially mis-localized to lysosomes, failing to reach recycling endosomes, plasma membrane, or lipid rafts. These studies identify a novel CLN3 domain that may dictate localization and function of CLN3.

CLN3L, a novel protein related to the Batten disease protein, is overexpressed in Cln3-/- mice and in Batten disease.

Batten disease is a severe autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease which results from mutations in CLN3. Although the gene was cloned in 1995, the tissue distribution and subcellular localization of the CLN3 protein (CLN3P) remains inconclusive. We have demonstrated the presence of a novel 33 kDa protein in both normal human and wild-type mouse brain. This 33 kDa protein, which is overexpressed in brains of patients with Batten disease and in Cln3-/- mouse brain, binds to the antibody raised against the peptide sequence of CLN3P and results in aberrant CLN3P localization studies. We expressed a novel 33 kDa protein that is highly similar to CLN3P. We showed that the 33 kDa protein is identical to that recognized in Batten disease and Cln3-/- brain. These studies strongly suggest the presence of an alternative CLN3-like (CLN3L) product in Batten disease. Previous studies of CLN3P tissue distribution and intracellular localization will require extensive reanalysis in order to determine the true expression of CLN3P.

Localization of wild-type and mutant neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis CLN8 proteins in non-neuronal and neuronal cells.

Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs) are a group of childhood-onset neurodegenerative disorders characterized by accumulation of autofluorescent lipopigment in many tissues, especially in neurons. Mutations in the CLN8 gene underlie Northern epilepsy (progressive epilepsy with mental retardation [EPMR], OMIM 600143) and a subset of Turkish variant late infantile NCL, but the pathogenetic mechanisms have remained elusive. The CLN8 transmembrane protein is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident protein that recycles between ER and ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC) in non-neuronal cells. To explore the disease mechanisms, we have characterized the neuronal localization of wild-type CLN8 protein as well as CLN8 proteins representing patient mutations. Semliki Forest virus-mediated CLN8 protein localized in the ER of mouse hippocampal primary neurons when compared to subcellular markers by immunofluorescence analysis. We also analyzed the possible polarized targeting of CLN8 and observed basolateral targeting in polarized epithelial CaCo-2 cells, suggesting that CLN8 may locate outside the ER or in a specialized subcompartment of the ER. We were not able, however, to demonstrate differential distribution of CLN8 between axons and dendrites of neurons. Fractionation of mouse brain tissue indicated that endogenous mouse Cln8 is observed in light membrane fractions, different from ER, which further suggested differential localization for CLN8 in polarized cells. The disease mutations did not affect intracellular localization of CLN8 in non-neuronal or neuronal cells. Consequently, there is no obvious genotype-phenotype correlation at the level of protein localization and thus mutations most likely directly affect functionally important domains of CLN8.

Two motifs target Batten disease protein CLN3 to lysosomes in transfected nonneuronal and neuronal cells.

Batten disease is a neurodegenerative disorder resulting from mutations in CLN3, a polytopic membrane protein, whose predominant intracellular destination in nonneuronal cells is the lysosome. The topology of CLN3 protein, its lysosomal targeting mechanism, and the development of Batten disease are poorly understood. We provide experimental evidence that both the N and C termini and one large loop domain of CLN3 face the cytoplasm. We have identified two lysosomal targeting motifs that mediate the sorting of CLN3 in transfected nonneuronal and neuronal cells: an unconventional motif in the long C-terminal cytosolic tail consisting of a methionine and a glycine separated by nine amino acids [M(X)9G], and a more conventional dileucine motif, located in the large cytosolic loop domain and preceded by an acidic patch. Each motif on its own was sufficient to mediate lysosomal targeting, but optimal efficiency required both. Interestingly, in primary neurons, CLN3 was prominently seen both in lysosomes in the cell body and in endosomes, containing early endosomal antigen-1 along neuronal processes. Because there are few lysosomes in axons and peripheral parts of dendrites, the presence of CLN3 in endosomes of neurons may be functionally important. Endosomal association of the protein was independent of the two lysosomal targeting motifs.

A role in vacuolar arginine transport for yeast Btn1p and for human CLN3, the protein defective in Batten disease.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, transport of arginine into the vacuole has previously been shown to be facilitated by a putative H+/arginine antiport. We confirm that transport of arginine into isolated yeast vacuoles requires ATP and we demonstrate a requirement for a functional vacuolar H+-ATPase. We previously reported that deletion of BTN1 (btn1-delta), an ortholog of the human Batten disease gene CLN3, resulted in a decrease in vacuolar pH during early growth. We report that this altered vacuolar pH in btn1-delta strains underlies a lack of arginine transport into the vacuole, which results in a depletion of endogenous vacuolar arginine levels. This arginine transport defect in btn1-delta is complemented by expression of either BTN1 or the human CLN3 gene and strongly suggests a function for transport of, or regulation of the transport of, basic amino acids into the vacuole or lysosome for yeast Btn1p, and human CLN3 protein, respectively. We propose that defective transport at the lysosomal membrane caused by an absence of functional CLN3 is the primary biochemical defect that results in Batten disease.

Membrane topology of CLN3, the protein underlying Batten disease

Juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, or Batten disease, is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by progressive loss of motor and cognitive functions, loss of vision, progressively severe seizures, and death. The disease is associated with mutations in the gene CLN3, which encodes a novel 438 amino acid protein, the function of which is currently unknown. Protein secondary structure prediction programs suggest that the CLN3 protein has five to seven membrane-spanning domains (MSDs). To distinguish among a number of hypothetical models for the membrane topology of CLN3 we used in vitro translation of native, Flag epitope-labeled and glycosylation site-mutated CLN3 protein in the presence or absence of canine pancreatic microsomes. These were immunoprecipitated using antibodies specific for Flag or peptide sequences within CLN3 or left untreated. The results indicate that CLN3 contains five MSDs, an extracellular/intraluminal amino-terminus, and a cytoplasmic carboxy-terminus.

Altered flurothyl seizure induction latency, phenotype, and subsequent mortality in a mouse model of juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis/batten disease.

Juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL), or Batten disease, is a pediatric neurodegenerative disease characterized by vision loss, seizure activity, cognitive decline, and premature death. Discovery of the Batten disease-related gene, CLN3, led to creation of a Cln3 protein-deficient mouse model (Cln3-/-), which recapitulates some of the histopathologic characteristics of the human condition. We hypothesized that lack of Cln3 would alter seizure-related behavioral parameters. Using flurothyl gas inhalation, we examined seizure-induction latencies in Cln3-/- mice and wildtype (wt) controls at time points that represent late neonatal, immature, mature, and aged time points. We examined latency to first myoclonic jerk (LMJ), latency to loss of posture (LOP), and subsequent mortality. Our results demonstrate an age-dependent alteration of seizure-induction latencies in Cln3-/-. Immature Cln-/- mice aged 35-42 days had an increased latency to both LMJ and LOP compared with age-matched wt controls. There were no significant latency differences between Cln3-/- and wt at other time points examined. Mortality after generalized seizure was high in both Cln3-/- and wt animals at late neonatal and immature developmental stages. No mortality was seen in wt mice past maturity at 6 weeks. Mature and aged Cln3-/- animals retained a vulnerability to death after seizure activity. These results suggest that a deficiency of Cln3 protein in the Batten model mice may result in age-dependent alteration of the neuroanatomic and biochemical substrates involved in seizure propagation and recovery. This may be important in understanding seizures, neurodegeneration, and premature death in human Batten disease.

Motifs within the CLN3 protein: modulation of cell growth rates and apoptosis.

Juvenile Batten disease (JNCL) is an autosomal recessive disease that results from mutations in the CLN3 gene. The wild-type CLN3 gene coding sequence has 15 exons, and the translated protein consists of 438 amino acids. The most commonly observed mutation is a 1.02 kb deletion in the genomic DNA. This deletion results in a truncated protein due to the loss of amino acids 154-438, and the introduction of 28 novel amino acids at the c-terminus. We demonstrate that, compared to normal controls, CLN3-deficient immortalization of lymphoblasts homozygous for this deletion grow at a slower rate, and show increased sensitivity to etoposide-induced apoptosis, supporting the notion that CLN3 may negatively regulate apoptosis. Using immortalized JNCL lymphoblast cell lines as a model system, we assess the effects of specific CLN3 mutations on cell growth rates and protection from etoposide-induced apoptosis. Protection from etoposide-induced apoptosis occurs and the cell growth rate is restored following transfection of JNCL lymphoblasts with mutant CLN3 cDNA that includes exons 11 or 13. We show that deletion of the glycosylation sites 71NQSH74 and 310NTSL313, and also mutations within the highly conserved amino acid stretches 184WSSGTGGAGLLG195, 291VYFAE295 and 330VFASRSSL337, result in slowed growth and susceptibility to apoptosis.

Mutated genes in juvenile and variant late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses encode lysosomal proteins.

Positional cloning efforts of genes mutated in Batten disease and in the Finnish type of variant late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis resulted in the identification of two novel genes, CLN3 and CLN5, and corresponding gene products that proved to be residents of lysosomes. Although the clinical phenotype of these NCL subtypes differs in the age of onset, average life span and EEG findings, the major component of material accumulating in patients' lysosomes is subunit c of mitochondrial ATPase in both these diseases. The CLN3 and CLN5 genes show ubiquitous expression patterns and are targeted to lysosomes in vitro, but the observed synaptosomal localization of the CLN3 protein in neurons would suggest some cell specificity in targeting and function of these proteins. So far, 31 different mutations of the CLN3 gene have been described in Batten patients, with one deletion of 1.02 kb accounting for 75% of disease alleles worldwide. Four CLN5 mutations are known, with one premature stop representing the major founder mutation in the isolated Finnish population. Functional studies of the yeast homolog of CLN3 and increased pH in patients' lysosomes would suggest an involvement of this protein in lysosomal pH homeostasis. Knock-out mouse models for CLN3 have been produced and the histopathology bears a close resemblance to human counterparts with characteristic lysosomal accumulations. Both CLN3 and CLN5 mouse models will provide experimental tools to resolve the pathological cascade in these neurodegenerative diseases.

Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses are connected at molecular level: interaction of CLN5 protein with CLN2 and CLN3.

Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs) are neurodegenerative storage diseases characterized by mental retardation, visual failure, and brain atrophy as well as accumulation of storage material in multiple cell types. The diseases are caused by mutations in the ubiquitously expressed genes, of which six are known. Herein, we report that three NCL disease forms with similar tissue pathology are connected at the molecular level: CLN5 polypeptides directly interact with the CLN2 and CLN3 proteins based on coimmunoprecipitation and in vitro binding assays. Furthermore, disease mutations in CLN5 abolished interaction with CLN2, while not affecting association with CLN3. The molecular characterization of CLN5 revealed that it was synthesized as four precursor forms, due to usage of alternative initiator methionines in translation. All forms were targeted to lysosomes and the longest form, translated from the first potential methionine, was associated with membranes. Interactions between CLN polypeptides were shown to occur with this longest, membrane-bound form of CLN5. Both intracellular targeting and posttranslational glycosylation of the polypeptides carrying human disease mutations were similar to wild-type CLN5.

Lysosomal localization of the neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis CLN5 protein

The Finnish variant late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (vLINCL) belongs to the neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis group of common recessively inherited neurodegenerative disorders. The CLN 5 gene responsible for this brain disorder codes for a novel protein with no homology to previously reported proteins. In this study, we have investigated the biosynthesis and intracellular localization of this protein in transiently transfected BHK-21 cells using a CLN5-specific peptide antibody. Confocal immunofluorescence microscopy showed that wild-type CLN5 is predominantly targeted to lysosomes and immunoprecipitation analysis recognized a 60 kDa polypeptide. The molecular weight of this protein was reduced to 40 kDa by deglycosylation with Endo H and to 38 kDa with PNGase F. The same-sized glycosylated polypeptides were also observed in the media, suggesting that the 60 kDa glycosylated CLN5 polypeptide represents a soluble lysosomal glycoprotein, not an integral transmembrane protein as predicted earlier. The most common human vLINCL mutation blocked the lysosomal targeting of expressed polypeptides. This would imply that the pathogenesis of vLINCL would be associated with the defective lysosomal trafficking, preventing the normal biological function of the corresponding polypeptide.

Overexpression of eIF4E in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Causes Slow Growth and Decreased α-Factor Response through Alterations in CLN3 Expression

The association of G(1) cyclins and Cdc28/cyclin-dependent protein kinase catalyzes the cell cycle entry (Start) in budding yeast. Activation of Start is presumed to be triggered by a post-transcriptional increase in Cln3 during early G(1). Cells arrested by mating pheromone show a loss of cyclin-dependent protein kinase activity caused by transcriptional shutoff of cyclins and/or inhibition by Far1. We report that overexpression of eIF4E (Cdc33), a rate-limiting translation initiation factor, causes an increase in CLN3 mRNA translation, which results in increased expression of CLN2 and in slow growth and decreased alpha-factor response. This phenotype was abrogated in a Deltacln3 or Deltacln2 background. We isolated the transcription factor MBP1 as a multicopy suppressor of the growth and alpha-factor response defects. Furthermore, elevated MBP1, a transcriptional regulator of cyclins, altered the transcriptional start site in CLN3 mRNA, shifting it 45 nucleotides upstream of the normal. This lengthened 5'-untranslated region likely reduces translation efficiency and down-regulates CLN3 protein synthesis, thereby correcting for the excess translation promoted by elevated Cdc33. In addition, the CLN2 mRNA level returned to normal. We propose that regulation of translation initiation by Cdc33 plays a pivotal role in the activation of Start and cell cycle progression in budding yeast.

Identification of a transactivation motif in the CLN3 protein.

A transactivation motif has been identified in the neurodegenerative disease protein, CLN3. The C-terminal domain (residues 394-438) of CLN3 can function as a transcriptional activator when fused to the DNA binding domain, LexA. A series of deletion and substitution constructs have been generated to identify the essential region for transactivation. A similar motif is also present in the POU domain transcription factor, nubbin. However, this domain alone does not activate transcription, allowing further localisation of the critical residues in CLN3 required for activity.