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    A role for the Parkinson’s disease protein DJ-1 as a chaperone and antioxidant in the anhydrobiotic nematode Panagrolaimus superbus


    Culleton, Bridget A. and Lall, Patrick and Kinsella, Gemma K. and Doyle, Sean and McCaffrey, John G. and Fitzpatrick, David A. and Burnell, Ann (2014) A role for the Parkinson’s disease protein DJ-1 as a chaperone and antioxidant in the anhydrobiotic nematode Panagrolaimus superbus. Cell Stress & Chaperones, 20 (1). pp. 121-137. ISSN 1355-8145

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    Abstract

    Mutations in the human DJ-1/PARK7 gene are associated with familial Parkinson’s disease. DJ-1 belongs to a large, functionally diverse family with homologues in all biological kingdoms. Several activities have been demonstrated for DJ-1: an antioxidant protein, a redox-regulated molecular chaperone and a modulator of multiple cellular signalling pathways. The majority of functional studies have focussed on human DJ-1 (hDJ-1), but studies on DJ-1 homologues in Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, Dugesia japonica and Escherichia coli also provide evidence of a role for DJ-1 as an antioxidant. Here, we show that dehydration is a potent inducer of a dj-1 gene in the anhydrobiotic nematode Panagrolaimus superbus. Our secondary structure and homology modelling analyses shows that recombinant DJ-1 protein from P. superbus (PsuDJ-1.1) is a well-folded protein, which is similar in structure to the hDJ-1. PsuDJ-1.1 is a heat stable protein; with T1/2 unfolding transition values of 76 and 70 °C obtained from both circular dichroism (CD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements respectively. We found that PsuDJ-1.1 is an efficient antioxidant that also functions as a ‘holdase’ molecular chaperone that can maintain its chaperone function in a reducing environment. In addition to its chaperone activity, PsuDJ-1.1 may also be an important non-enzymatic antioxidant, capable of providing protection to P. superbus from oxidative damage when the nematodes are in a desiccated, anhydrobiotic state.

    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: DJ-1; Chaperone; Antioxidant; Anhydrobiosis; Homology modelling; Molecular dynamics;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Science and Engineering > Biology
    Item ID: 9132
    Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12192-014-0531-6
    Depositing User: Dr. Sean Doyle
    Date Deposited: 09 Jan 2018 14:46
    Journal or Publication Title: Cell Stress & Chaperones
    Publisher: Springer Verlag
    Refereed: Yes
    URI:
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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