Peroxisome

Transgenic tobacco plants capable of over-expressing Xenopus PPARα (xPPARα), a transcription factor known to be required for peroxisome proliferation in animals, were recently generated. These plants (herewith referred to as PPAR-OE) were found to have increased peroxisome abundance, higher peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase and catalase activity and modified fatty acid metabolism. Further characterization of PPAR-OE plants revealed a higher susceptibility to virulent and a partial loss of resistance to avirulent Pseudomonas syringae pathogens, whereas the basal resistance response remained unaffected. Biochemical- and defense-related gene expression analyses showed that increased susceptibility to bacterial invasion coincided with the generalized reduction in H2O2 and salicylic acid (SA) levels observed within the first 24 h of bacterial contact. Decreased H2O2 levels were correlated with modified activity levels of catalase and other antioxidant enzymes. A correspondence between a rapid (within 1–24 hpi; ACCO and AOC) and sustained increase (up to 6 days pi; ACCO) in the expression levels of ethylene (ACCO) and jasmonic acid (AOC) biosynthetic genes and a higher susceptibility to virulent bacterial invasion was also observed in PPAR-OE plants. Conversely, no apparent differences in the short- and/or long-term expression levels of markers for the hypersensitive-response, oxidative burst and systemic-acquired resistance were observed between wild type and PPAR-OE plants. The results suggest that peroxisome proliferation could lead to increased susceptibility to bacterial pathogens in tobacco by altering the redox balance of the plant and the expression pattern of key defense signaling pathway genes.

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is a complex and perplexing neurodegenerative disorder. The metabolic abnormality, elevated levels of very long-chain fatty acids in tissues and plasma, and the biochemical defect, reduced peroxisomal very long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase (VLCS) activity, are ubiquitous features of the disease. However, clinical manifestations are highly variable with regard to time of onset, site of initial pathology and rate of progression. In addition, the abnormal gene in X-ALD is not the gene for VLCS. Rather, it encodes a peroxisomal membrane protein with homology to the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transmembrane transporter superfamily of proteins. The X-ALD protein (ALDP) is closely related to three other peroxisomal membrane ABC proteins. In this report we summarize all known X-ALD mutations and establish the lack of an X-ALD genotype/phenotype correlation. We compare the evolutionary relationships among peroxisomal ABC proteins, demonstrate that ALDP forms...

Peroxisomes perform diverse and vital functions in eukaryotes, and abnormalities in peroxisomal function lead to severe developmental disorders in humans. Peroxisomes are also involved in a wide array of physiological and metabolic functions unique to plants, yet many aspects of this important organelle are poorly understood. In yeast and mammals, various steps in peroxisome biogenesis require the function of peroxin (PEX) proteins, among which PEX12 is a RING finger peroxisomal membrane protein involved in the import of matrix proteins. To investigate the role of PEX12 in plants, we identified a T-DNA knockout allele of PEX12 and generated partial loss-of-function pex12 mutants using RNA interference. We show that pex12 null mutants are developmentally arrested during early embryogenesis, and that the embryo-lethal phenotype can be rescued by overexpression of the PEX12-cyan fluorescent protein fusion protein, which targets to the peroxisome. Using virus-induced gene-silencing tech...

Fatty acids (FAs) longer than C20 are classified as very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs). Although biosynthesis and degradation of VLCFAs are important for the development and integrity of the myelin sheath, knowledge on the incorporation of extracellular VLCFAs into the cells is limited due to the experimental difficulty of solubilizing them. In this study, we found that a small amount of isopropanol solubilized VLCFAs in aqueous medium by facilitating the formation of the VLCFA/albumin complex. Using this solubilizing technique, we examined the role of the peroxisome in the uptake and metabolism of VLCFAs in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. When wild-type CHO cells were incubated with saturated VLCFAs (S-VLCFAs), such as C23:0 FA, C24:0 FA, and C26:0 FA, extensive uptake was observed. Most of the incorporated S-VLCFAs were oxidatively degraded without acylation into cellular lipids. In contrast, in peroxisome-deficient CHO cells uptake of S-VLCFAs was marginal and oxidative metabolism was not observed. Extensive uptake and acylation of monounsaturated (MU)-VLCFAs, such as C24:1 FA and C22:1 FA, were observed in both types of CHO cells. However, oxidative metabolism was evident only in wild-type cells. Similar manners of uptake and metabolism of S-VLCFAs and MU-VLCFAs were observed in IFRS1, a Schwan cell-derived cell line. These results indicate that peroxisome-deficient cells limit intracellular S-VLCFAs at a low level by halting uptake, and as a result, peroxisome-deficient cells almost completely lose the clearance ability of S-VLCFAs accumulated outside of the cells.

Peroxisomes are subcellular organelles with important functions in lipid metabolism that are found in virtually all eucaryotic cells. The peroxisomal membrane contains a number of integral and peripheral membrane proteins involved in the import of peroxisomal matrix proteins and the transport of metabolites across the membrane. The most abundant peroxisomal membrane protein (Pmp) in rat peroxisomes is Pmp22, a 22 kDa protein of unknown function that is encoded by the Pxmp2 gene. To investigate the function of the Pxmp2 gene, we have initiated mouse knockout studies. The expression level of the Pxmp2 mRNA in mice was investigated by Northern blot analysis. Pxmp2 RNA was shown to be differentially expressed with highest expression levels in liver, kidney and in heart tissue. Comparison with other peroxisomal marker genes revealed that the expression of Pxmp2, Pmp70 (Pxmp1) and catalase was regulated independently. Using 5' and 3' RACE we have cloned the full-length cDNA of mur...

Au niveau du cerveau et dans le plasma de malades atteints de maladie d’Alzheimer (MA), l’accumulation de C22:0 et d’acides gras a tres longue chaine (C24:0 ; C26:0), la diminution d’acide docosahexaenoique (C22:6 n-3) et les modifications quantitatives et qualitatives de plasmalogenes suggerent l’implication de dysfonctions peroxysomales. En fonction de ces constatations, les activites biologiques de C22:0, C24:0 et C26:0 ont ete recherchees sur des cellules neuronales humaines SK-N-BE. La lipotoxicite des acides gras (C22:0, C24:0 et C26:0) induit divers effets au niveau des mitochondries (modifications topographiques, morphologiques et fonctionnelles), conduit a une rupture de l’equilibre RedOx (surproduction d’especes radicalaires de l’oxygene, modification de l’activite des enzymes anti-oxydantes : catalase, SOD, GPx), a une peroxydation lipidique et a une desorganisation du cytosquelette (microfilaments d’actine, tubuline, neurofilaments). Ces acides affectent aussi l’amyloido...

The majority of proteins targeted to the peroxisomal lumen contain a C-terminal peroxisomal targeting signal-1 (PTS1) that is bound by the peroxin Pex5p. The PTS1 is generally regarded as a C-terminal tripeptide that adheres to the consensus (S/A/C)(K/R/H)(L/M). Previously, we studied the binding affinity of peptides of the form YQX(-3)X(-2)X(-1) to the peptide-binding domain of human Pex5p (referred to as Pex5p-C). Optimal affinity was found for YQSKL, which bound with an affinity of 200 ± 40 nM. To extend this work, we investigated the properties of a peptide containing the last 9 residues of acyl-CoA oxidase (RHYLKPLQSKL) and discovered that it binds to Pex5p-C with a dissociation constant of 1.4 ± 0.4 nM, 180 times tighter than YQSKL. Further analysis revealed that the enhanced affinity is primarily due to the presence of leucine in the (-5) position. In addition, a peptide corresponding to the luciferase C-terminus (YKGGKSKL) was found to bind Pex5p-C about 20 times tighter than YQSKL. The majority of this effect results from having lysine in position (-4). Catalase contains a noncanonical PTS1 (-AREKANL). The affinity of YQANL was found to be 3600 ± 400 nM. This relatively weak binding is consistent with previous unsuccessful attempts to direct chloramphenicol acetyltransferase to the peroxisome by fusing -ANL to its C-terminus (-GGA-ANL). The peptides YKANL, YEKANL, YREKANL, and YAREKANL all bound Pex5p-C with higher affinities than did YQANL, but the affinities are still lower than peptides that correspond to functional targeting signals in other contexts. Because both catalase and Pex5p are tetramers (as opposed to the monomeric Pex5p-C and the peptides used in our studies), multidentate effects on binding affinity between Pex5p and other oligomeric proteins should be considered. Our study provides direct thermodynamic data revealing that peptide binding to Pex5p-C binding is favored by lysine in the (-4) position and leucine in the (-5) position. Our results suggest that peptides or proteins with optimized residues in the (-4) and/or (-5) positions can bind to Pex5p with affinities that are at least two orders of magnitude greater than that of YQSKL, and that this stabilization can compensates for otherwise weakly binding PTS1s. Proteins 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Key enzymes involved in oxidation and esterification of long-chain fatty acids were investigated in male rats fed different types and amounts of oil in their diet. A diet with 20% (w/w) fish oil, partially hydrogenated fish oil (PHFO) and partially hydrogenated soybean oil (PHSO) was shown to stimulate the mitochondrial and microsomal palmitoyl-CoA synthetase activity (EC 6.2.1.3) compared to soybean oil-fed animals after 1 week of feeding. Rapeseed oil had no effect. Partially hydrogenated oils in the diet resulted in significantly higher levels of mitochondrial glycerophosphate acyltransferase compared to unhydrogenated oils in the diet. Rats fed 20% (w/w) rapeseed oil had a decreased activity of this mitochondrial enzyme, whereas the microsomal glycerophosphate acyltransferase activity was stimulated to a comparable extent with 20% (w/w) rapeseed oil, fish oil or PHFO in the diet. Increasing the amount of PHFO (from 5 to 25% (w/w)) in the diet for 3 days led to increased mitochon...

The mechanisms of peroxisomal biogenesis remain incompletely understood, specially regarding the role of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in human cells, where genetic disorders of peroxisome biogenesis lead to Zellweger syndrome (ZS). The Pex3p peroxisomal membrane protein (PMP) required for early steps of peroxisome biogenesis has been detected in the ER in yeast but not in mammalian cells. Here, we show that Pex3p-GFP expressed in a new ZS cell line (MR), which lacks peroxisomes due to a mutation in the PEX3 gene, localizes first in the ER and subsequently in newly formed peroxisomes. Pex3p bearing an artificial N-glycosylation site shows an electrophoretic shift indicative of ER targeting while en route to preformed peroxisomes in normal fibroblast. A signal peptide that forces its entry into the ER does not eliminate its capability to drive peroxisome biogenesis in ZS cells. Thus, Pex3p is able to drive peroxisome biogenesis from the ER and its ER pathway is not privative of ZS cells. Cross-expression experiments of Pex3p in GM623 cells lacking Pex16p or Pex16p in MR cells lacking Pex3p, showed evidence that Pex3p requires Pex16p for ER location but is dispensable for the ER location of Pex16p. These results indicate that Pex3p follows the ER-to-peroxisomal route in mammalian cells and provides new clues to understand its function. J. Cell. Biochem. 107: 1083–1096, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.