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Protein aggregate myopathies can result from pathogenic variants in genes encoding protein chaperones. DNAJB4 is a cochaperone belonging to the heat shock protein-40 (HSP40) family and plays a vital role in cellular proteostasis. Recessive loss-of-function variants in DNAJB4 cause myopathy with early respiratory failure and spinal rigidity, presenting from infancy to adulthood. This study investigated the broader clinical and genetic spectrum of DNAJB4 myopathy. In this study, we performed whole-exome sequencing on seven patients with early respiratory failure of unknown genetic etiology. We identified five distinct pathogenic variants in DNAJB4 in five unrelated families of diverse ethnic backgrounds: three loss-of-function variants (c.547 C > T, p.R183*; c.775 C > T, p.R259*; an exon 2 deletion) and two missense variants (c.105G > C, p.K35N; c.181 A > G, p.R61G). All patients were homozygous. Most affected individuals exhibited early respiratory failure, and patients from three families had rigid spine syndrome with axial weakness in proportion to appendicular weakness. Additional symptoms included dysphagia, ankle contractures, scoliosis, neck stiffness, and cardiac dysfunction. Notably, J-domain missense variants were associated with a more severe phenotype, including an earlier age of onset and a higher mortality rate, suggesting a strong genotype‒phenotype correlation. Consistent with a loss of function, the nonsense variants presented decreased stability. In contrast, the missense variants exhibited normal or increased stability but behaved as loss-of-function variants in yeast complementation and TDP-43 disaggregation assays. Our findings suggest that DNAJB4 is an emerging cause of myopathy with rigid spine syndrome of variable age of onset and severity. This diagnosis should be considered in individuals presenting with suggestive symptoms, particularly if they exhibit neck stiffness during infancy or experience respiratory failure in adults without significant limb muscle weakness. Missense variants in the J domain may predict a more severe phenotype., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Dominant missense mutations in DNAJB6, a co-chaperone of HSP70, cause limb girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) D1. No treatments are currently available. Two isoforms exist, DNAJB6a and DNAJB6b, each with distinct localizations in muscle. Mutations reside in both isoforms, yet evidence suggests that DNAJB6b is primarily responsible for disease pathogenesis. Knockdown treatment strategies involving both isoforms carry risk, as DNAJB6 knockout is embryonic lethal. We therefore developed an isoform-specific knockdown approach using morpholinos. Selective reduction of each isoform was achieved in vitro in primary mouse myotubes and human LGMDD1 myoblasts, as well as in vivo in mouse skeletal muscle. To assess isoform specific knockdown in LGMDD1, we created primary myotube cultures from a knockin LGMDD1 mouse model. Using mass spectrometry, we identified an LGMDD1 protein signature related to protein homeostasis and myofibril structure. Selective reduction of DNAJB6b levels in LGMDD1 myotubes corrected much of the proteomic disease signature toward wild type levels. Additional in vivo functional data is required to determine if selective reduction of DNAJB6b is a viable therapeutic target for LGMDD1., Competing Interests: A.R.F. and C.C.W. are co-inventors on a pending patent application related to this publication (USPTO serial no. 17/932,996)., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

DnaJ homolog, subfamily B, member 4, a member of the heat shock protein 40 chaperones encoded by DNAJB4, is highly expressed in myofibers. We identified a heterozygous c.270 T > A (p.F90L) variant in DNAJB4 in a family with a dominantly inherited distal myopathy, in which affected members have specific features on muscle pathology represented by the presence of cytoplasmic inclusions and the accumulation of desmin, p62, HSP70, and DNAJB4 predominantly in type 1 fibers. Both Dnajb4F90L knockin and knockout mice developed muscle weakness and recapitulated the patient muscle pathology in the soleus muscle, where DNAJB4 has the highest expression. These data indicate that the identified variant is causative, resulting in defective chaperone function and selective muscle degeneration in specific muscle fibers. This study demonstrates the importance of DNAJB4 in skeletal muscle proteostasis by identifying the associated chaperonopathy., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: To delineate the full phenotypic spectrum and characterize the natural history of limb girdle muscular dystrophy type D1 (LGMDD1)., Methods: We extracted age at clinical events of interest contributing to LGMDD1 disease burden via a systematic literature and chart review. Manual muscle testing and quantitative dynamometry data were used to estimate annualized rates of change. We also conducted a cross-sectional observational study using previously validated patient-reported outcome assessments (ACTIVLIM, PROMIS-57) and a new LGMDD1 questionnaire. Some individuals underwent repeat ACTIVLIM and LGMDD1 questionnaire assessments at 1.5 and 2.5 years., Results: A total of 122 LGMDD1 patients were included from 14 different countries. We identified two new variants (p.E54K, p.V99A). In vitro assays and segregation support their pathogenicity. The mean onset age was 29.7 years. Genotype appears to impact onset age, weakness pattern, and median time to loss of ambulation (34 years). Dysphagia was the most frequent abnormality (51.4%). Deltoids, biceps, grip, iliopsoas, and hamstrings strength decreased by (0.5-1 lb/year). Cross-sectional ACTIVLIM and LGMDD1 questionnaire scores correlated with years from disease onset. Longitudinally, only the LGMDD1 questionnaire detected significant progression at both 1.5 and 2.5 years. Treatment trials would require 62 (1.5 years) or 30 (2.5 years) patients to detect a 70% reduction in the progression of the LGMDD1 questionnaire., Interpretation: This study is the largest description of LGMDD1 patients to date and highlights potential genotype-dependent differences that need to be verified prospectively. Future clinical trials will need to account for variability in these key phenotypic features when selecting outcome measures and enrolling patients., (© 2022 The Authors. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Neurological Association.)

DNAJ/HSP40 co-chaperones are integral to the chaperone network, bind client proteins and recruit them to HSP70 for folding. We performed exome sequencing on patients with a presumed hereditary muscle disease and no genetic diagnosis. This identified four individuals from three unrelated families carrying an unreported homozygous stop gain (c.856A > T; p.Lys286Ter), or homozygous missense variants (c.74G > A; p.Arg25Gln and c.785 T > C; p.Leu262Ser) in DNAJB4. Affected patients presented with axial rigidity and early respiratory failure requiring ventilator support between the 1st and 4th decade of life. Selective involvement of the semitendinosus and biceps femoris muscles was seen on MRI scans of the thigh. On biopsy, muscle was myopathic with angular fibers, protein inclusions and occasional rimmed vacuoles. DNAJB4 normally localizes to the Z-disc and was absent from muscle and fibroblasts of affected patients supporting a loss of function. Functional studies confirmed that the p.Lys286Ter and p.Leu262Ser mutant proteins are rapidly degraded in cells. In contrast, the p.Arg25Gln mutant protein is stable but failed to complement for DNAJB function in yeast, disaggregate client proteins or protect from heat shock-induced cell death consistent with its loss of function. DNAJB4 knockout mice had muscle weakness and fiber atrophy with prominent diaphragm involvement and kyphosis. DNAJB4 knockout muscle and myotubes had myofibrillar disorganization and accumulated Z-disc proteins and protein chaperones. These data demonstrate a novel chaperonopathy associated with DNAJB4 causing a myopathy with early respiratory failure. DNAJB4 loss of function variants may lead to the accumulation of DNAJB4 client proteins resulting in muscle dysfunction and degeneration., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Dominant mutations in the HSP70 cochaperone DNAJB6 cause a late-onset muscle disease termed limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type D1 (LGMDD1), which is characterized by protein aggregation and vacuolar myopathology. Disease mutations reside within the G/F domain of DNAJB6, but the molecular mechanisms underlying dysfunction are not well understood. Using yeast, cell culture, and mouse models of LGMDD1, we found that the toxicity associated with disease-associated DNAJB6 required its interaction with HSP70 and that abrogating this interaction genetically or with small molecules was protective. In skeletal muscle, DNAJB6 localizes to the Z-disc with HSP70. Whereas HSP70 normally diffused rapidly between the Z-disc and sarcoplasm, the rate of diffusion of HSP70 in LGMDD1 mouse muscle was diminished, probably because it had an unusual affinity for the Z-disc and mutant DNAJB6. Treating LGMDD1 mice with a small-molecule inhibitor of the DNAJ-HSP70 complex remobilized HSP70, improved strength, and corrected myopathology. These data support a model in which LGMDD1 mutations in DNAJB6 are a gain-of-function disease that is, counterintuitively, mediated via HSP70 binding. Thus, therapeutic approaches targeting HSP70-DNAJB6 may be effective in treating this inherited muscular dystrophy.

Eight patients from five families with undiagnosed dominant distal myopathy underwent clinical, neurophysiological and muscle biopsy examinations. Molecular genetic studies were performed using targeted sequencing of all known myopathy genes followed by segregation of the identified mutations in the affected families using Sanger sequencing. Two novel mutations in DNAJB6 J domain, c.149C>T (p.A50V) and c.161A>C (p.E54A), were identified as the cause of disease. The muscle involvement with p.A50V was distal calf-predominant, and the p.E54A was more proximo-distal. Histological findings were similar to those previously reported in DNAJB6 myopathy. In line with reported pathogenic mutations in the glycine/phenylalanine (G/F) domain of DNAJB6, both the novel mutations showed reduced anti-aggregation capacity by filter trap assay and TDP-43 disaggregation assays. Modeling of the protein showed close proximity of the mutated residues with the G/F domain. Myopathy-causing mutations in DNAJB6 are not only located in the G/F domain, but also in the J domain. The identified mutations in the J domain cause dominant distal and proximo-distal myopathy, confirming that mutations in DNAJB6 should be considered in distal myopathy cases., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To understand DNAJB6's function in skeletal muscle and identify therapeutic targets for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 1D (LGMD1D)., Methods: DNAJB6 knockout (KO) myoblasts were generated with Crispr/cas9 technology, and differentially accumulated proteins were identified using stable isotope labeling, followed by quantitative mass spectrometry. Cultured KO myotubes and mouse muscle from DNAJB6b-WT or DNAJB6b-F93L mice were analyzed using histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and immunoblot. Mouse functional strength measures included forelimb grip strength and inverted wire hang., Results: DNAJB6 inactivation leads to the accumulation of sarcomeric proteins and hypertrophic myotubes with an enhanced fusion index. The increased fusion in DNAJB6 KO myotubes correlates with diminished glycogen synthase kinase-β (GSK3β) activity. In contrast, LGMD1D mutations in DNAJB6 enhance GSK3β activation and suppress β-catenin and NFAT3c signaling. GSK3β inhibition with lithium chloride improves muscle size and strength in an LGMD1D preclinical mouse model., Conclusions: Our results suggest that DNAJB6 facilitates protein quality control and negatively regulates myogenic signaling. In addition, LGMD1D-associated DNAJB6 mutations inhibit myogenic signaling through augmented GSK3β activity. GSK3β inhibition with lithium chloride may be a therapeutic option in LGMD1D.

BAG3 is a multi-domain hub that connects two classes of chaperones, small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) via two isoleucine-proline-valine (IPV) motifs and Hsp70 via a BAG domain. Mutations in either the IPV or BAG domain of BAG3 cause a dominant form of myopathy, characterized by protein aggregation in both skeletal and cardiac muscle tissues. Surprisingly, for both disease mutants, impaired chaperone binding is not sufficient to explain disease phenotypes. Recombinant mutants are correctly folded, show unaffected Hsp70 binding but are impaired in stimulating Hsp70-dependent client processing. As a consequence, the mutant BAG3 proteins become the node for a dominant gain of function causing aggregation of itself, Hsp70, Hsp70 clients and tiered interactors within the BAG3 interactome. Importantly, genetic and pharmaceutical interference with Hsp70 binding completely reverses stress-induced protein aggregation for both BAG3 mutations. Thus, the gain of function effects of BAG3 mutants act as Achilles heel of the HSP70 machinery.

The survival of motor neuron (SMN) protein plays an essential role in the biogenesis of spliceosomal snRNPs and the molecular assembly of Cajal bodies (CBs). Deletion of or mutations in the SMN1 gene cause spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) with degeneration and loss of motor neurons. Reduced SMN levels in SMA lead to deficient snRNP biogenesis with consequent splicing pathology. Here, we demonstrate that SMN is a novel and specific target of the acetyltransferase CBP (CREB-binding protein). Furthermore, we identify lysine (K) 119 as the main acetylation site in SMN. Importantly, SMN acetylation enhances its cytoplasmic localization, causes depletion of CBs, and reduces the accumulation of snRNPs in nuclear speckles. In contrast, the acetylation-deficient SMNK119R mutant promotes formation of CBs and a novel category of promyelocytic leukemia (PML) bodies enriched in this protein. Acetylation increases the half-life of SMN protein, reduces its cytoplasmic diffusion rate and modifies its interactome. Hence, SMN acetylation leads to its dysfunction, which explains the ineffectiveness of HDAC (histone deacetylases) inhibitors in SMA therapy despite their potential to increase SMN levels.

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 1D (LGMD1D) is caused by dominantly inherited missense mutations in DNAJB6, an Hsp40 co-chaperone. LGMD1D muscle has rimmed vacuoles and inclusion bodies containing DNAJB6, Z-disc proteins and TDP-43. DNAJB6 is expressed as two isoforms; DNAJB6a and DNAJB6b. Both isoforms contain LGMD1D mutant residues and are expressed in human muscle. To identify which mutant isoform confers disease pathogenesis and generate a mouse model of LGMD1D, we evaluated DNAJB6 expression and localization in skeletal muscle as well as generating DNAJB6 isoform specific expressing transgenic mice. DNAJB6a localized to myonuclei while DNAJB6b was sarcoplasmic. LGMD1D mutations in DNAJB6a or DNAJB6b did not alter this localization in mouse muscle. Transgenic mice expressing the LGMD1D mutant, F93L, in DNAJB6b under a muscle-specific promoter became weak, had early lethality and developed muscle pathology consistent with myopathy after 2 months; whereas mice expressing the same F93L mutation in DNAJB6a or overexpressing DNAJB6a or DNAJB6b wild-type transgenes remained unaffected after 1 year. DNAJB6b localized to the Z-disc and DNAJB6b-F93L expressing mouse muscle had myofibrillar disorganization and desmin inclusions. Consistent with DNAJB6 dysfunction, keratin 8/18, a DNAJB6 client also accumulated in DNAJB6b-F93L expressing mouse muscle. The RNA-binding proteins hnRNPA1 and hnRNPA2/B1 accumulated and co-localized with DNAJB6 at sarcoplasmic stress granules suggesting that these proteins maybe novel DNAJB6b clients. Similarly, hnRNPA1 and hnRNPA2/B1 formed sarcoplasmic aggregates in patients with LGMD1D. Our data support that LGMD1D mutations in DNAJB6 disrupt its sarcoplasmic function suggesting a role for DNAJB6b in Z-disc organization and stress granule kinetics., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The molecular chaperone network protects against the toxic misfolding and aggregation of proteins. Disruption of this network leads to a variety of protein conformational disorders. One such example recently discovered is limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 1D (LGMD1D), which is caused by mutation of the HSP40 chaperone DNAJB6. All LGMD1D-associated mutations localize to the conserved G/F domain of DNAJB6, but the function of this domain is largely unknown. Here, we exploit the yeast HSP40 Sis1, which has known aggregation-prone client proteins, to gain insight into the role of the G/F domain and its significance in LGMD1D pathogenesis. Strikingly, we demonstrate that LGMD1D mutations in a Sis1-DNAJB6 chimera differentially impair the processing of specific conformers of two yeast prions, [RNQ+] and [PSI+]. Importantly, these differences do not simply correlate to the sensitivity of these prion strains to changes in chaperone levels. Additionally, we analyzed the effect of LGMD1D-associated DNAJB6 mutations on TDP-43, a protein known to form inclusions in LGMD1D. We show that the DNAJB6 G/F domain mutants disrupt the processing of nuclear TDP-43 stress granules in mammalian cells. These data suggest that the G/F domain mediates chaperone-substrate interactions in a manner that extends beyond recognition of a particular client and to a subset of client conformers. We propose that such selective chaperone disruption may lead to the accumulation of toxic aggregate conformers and result in the development of LGMD1D and perhaps other protein conformational disorders.

Cajal bodies (CBs) are nuclear organelles involved in the maturation of spliceosomal small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs). They concentrate coilin, snRNPs and the survival motor neuron protein (SMN). Dysfunction of CB assembly occurs in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Here, we demonstrate that SMN is a SUMO1 target that has a small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO)-interacting motif (SIM)-like motif in the Tudor domain. The expression of SIM-like mutant constructs abolishes the interaction of SMN with the spliceosomal SmD1 (also known as SNRPD1), severely decreases SMN-coilin interaction and prevents CB assembly. Accordingly, the SMN SIM-like-mediated interactions are important for CB biogenesis and their dysfunction can be involved in SMA pathophysiology.

TDP-43 aggregation in the cytoplasm or nucleus is a key feature of the pathology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia and is observed in numerous other neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. Despite this fact, the inciting events leading to TDP-43 aggregation remain unclear. We observed that endogenous TDP-43 undergoes reversible aggregation in the nucleus after the heat shock and that this behavior is mediated by the C-terminal prion domain. Substitution of the prion domain from TIA-1 or an authentic yeast prion domain from RNQ1 into TDP-43 can completely recapitulate heat shock-induced aggregation. TDP-43 is constitutively bound to members of the Hsp40/Hsp70 family, and we found that heat shock-induced TDP-43 aggregation is mediated by the availability of these chaperones interacting with the inherently disordered C-terminal prion domain. Finally, we observed that the aggregation of TDP-43 during heat shock led to decreased binding to hnRNPA1, and a change in TDP-43 RNA-binding partners suggesting that TDP-43 aggregation alters its function in response to misfolded protein stress. These findings indicate that TDP-43 shares properties with physiologic prions from yeast, in that self-aggregation is mediated by a Q/N-rich disordered domain, is modulated by chaperone proteins and leads to altered function of the protein. Furthermore, they indicate that TDP-43 aggregation is regulated by chaperone availability, explaining the recurrent observation of TDP-43 aggregates in degenerative diseases of both the brain and muscle where protein homeostasis is disrupted.

Type I spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by loss or mutations of the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene. The reduction in SMN protein levels in SMA leads to degeneration and death of motor neurons. In this study, we have analyzed the nuclear reorganization of Cajal bodies, PML bodies and nucleoli in type I SMA motor neurons with homozygous deletion of exons 7 and 8 of the SMN1 gene. Western blot analysis is is revealed a marked reduction of SMN levels compared to the control sample. Using a neuronal dissociation procedure to perform a careful immunocytochemical and quantitative analysis of nuclear bodies, we demonstrated a severe decrease in the mean number of Cajal bodies per neuron and in the proportion of motor neurons containing these structures in type I SMA. Moreover, most Cajal bodies fail to recruit SMN and spliceosomal snRNPs, but contain the proteasome activator PA28, a molecular marker associated with the cellular stress response. Neuronal stress in SMA motor neurons also increases PML body number. The existence of chromatolysis and eccentric nuclei in SMA motor neurons correlates with Cajal body disruption and nucleolar relocalization of coil in, a Cajal body marker. Our results indicate that the Cajal body is a pathophysiological target in type I SMA motor neurons. They also suggest the Cajal body-dependent dysfunction of snRNP biogenesis and, therefore, pre-mRNA splicing in these neurons seems to be an essential component for SMA pathogenesis.

Nuclear speckles are essential nuclear compartments involved in the assembly, delivery and recycling of pre-mRNA processing factors, and in the post-transcriptional processing of pre-mRNAs. Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) is caused by a small expansion of the polyalanine tract in the poly(A)-binding protein nuclear 1 (PABPN1). Aggregation of expanded PABPN1 into intranuclear inclusions (INIs) in skeletal muscle fibers is the pathological hallmark of OPMD. In this study what we have analyzed in muscle fibers of OPMD patients and in primary cultures of human myoblasts are the relationships between nuclear speckles and INIs, and the contribution of the former to the biogenesis of the latter. While nuclear speckles concentrate snRNP splicing factors and PABPN1 in control muscle fibers, they are depleted of PABPN1 and appear closely associated with INIs in muscle fibers of OPMD patients. The induction of INI formation in human myoblasts expressing either wild type GFP-PABPN1 or expanded GFP-PABPN1-17ala demonstrates that the initial aggregation of PABPN1 proteins and their subsequent growth in INIs occurs at the edges of the nuclear speckles. Moreover, the growing of INIs gradually depletes PABPN1 proteins and poly(A) RNA from nuclear speckles, although the existence of these nuclear compartments is preserved. Time-lapse experiments in cultured myoblasts confirm nuclear speckles as biogenesis sites of PABPN1 inclusions. Given the functional importance of nuclear speckles in the post-transcriptional processing of pre-mRNAs, the INI-dependent molecular reorganization of these nuclear compartments in muscle fibers may cause a severe dysfunction in nuclear trafficking and processing of polyadenylated mRNAs, thereby contributing to the molecular pathophysiology of OPMD. Our results emphasize the potential importance of nuclear speckles as nuclear targets of neuromuscular disorders., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Coilin, a molecular marker for Cajal bodies (CBs), is a phosphoprotein that contains a cryptic nucleolar localization signal and multiple interacting domains, such as the RG-box. Post-translational symmetrical dimethylation of arginines on the coilin RG-box is required for the recruitment of the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein and splicing small ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) to CBs. Here, we analyze the role of the methylation state of coilin in the regulation of its localization to the nucleolus. We use the MCF7 MTAP(-/-) cell line, which lacks the gene encoding 5'-methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP). This is a key enzyme of the methionine salvage pathway. The reduction of the levels of coilin methylation causes disruption of the canonical CBs and coilin redistribution to nucleoplasmic microfoci and to the nucleolus. Intranucleolar coilin is unmethylated and appears restricted to the dense fibrillar component. Interestingly, intranucleolar coilin is not associated with SMN or snRNPs, and does not interfere with global transcriptional activity. Overexpression of wild-type MTAP reverts the intranucleolar localization of coilin and the disruption of CBs to the normal coilin phenotype. Our results suggest the existence of a dynamic flux of coilin between CBs, nucleoplasm and nucleolus, and indicate that coilin methylation plays a key role in this process.

TDP-43 is a RNA/DNA-binding protein structurally related to nuclear hnRNP proteins. Previous biochemical studies have shown that this nuclear protein plays a role in the regulation of gene transcription, alternative splicing and mRNA stability. Despite the ubiquitous distribution of TDP-43, the growing list of TDP-43 proteinopathies is primarily associated with neurodegenerative disorders. Particularly, TDP-43 redistributes to the cytoplasm and forms pathological inclusions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and several forms of sporadic and familiar frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Here, we have studied the nuclear compartmentalization of TDP-43 in normal rat neurons by using light and electron microscopy immunocytochemistry with molecular markers for nuclear compartments, a transcription assay with 5'-fluorouridine, and in situ hybridization for telomeric DNA. TDP-43 is concentrated in euchromatin domains, specifically in perichromatin fibrils, nuclear sites of transcription and cotranscriptional splicing. In these structures, TDP-43 colocalizes with 5'-fluorouridine incorporation sites into nascent pre-mRNA. TDP-43 is absent in transcriptionally silent centromeric and telomeric heterochromatin, as well as in the Cajal body, a transcription free nuclear compartment. Furthermore, a weak TDP-43 immunolabeling is found in nuclear speckles of splicing factors. The specific localization of TDP-43 in active sites of transcription and cotranscriptional splicing is consistent with biochemical data indicating a role of TDP-43 in the regulation of transcription and alternative splicing.

In 1906, the Spanish neurobiologist Santiago Ramón y Cajal was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in recognition of his work on the structure of neurons and their connections. Cajal is commonly regarded as the father of modern neuroscience. What is less well known is that Cajal also had a great interest in intracellular neuronal structures and developed the reduced silver nitrate method for the study of neurofibrils (neurofilaments) and nuclear subcompartments. It was in 1903 that Cajal discovered the "accessory body" ("Cajal body") and seven years later, published an article on the organization of the cell nucleus in mammalian neurons that represents a masterpiece of nuclear structure at the light microscopy level. In addition to the accessory body, it includes the analysis of several nuclear components currently recognized as fibrillar centers of the nucleolus, nuclear speckles of splicing factors, transcription foci, nuclear matrix, and the double nuclear membrane. The aim of this article is to revisit Cajal's contributions to the knowledge of the neuronal nucleus in light of our current understanding of nuclear structure and function.

Genomic instability at loci with tandem arrays of simple repeats is the cause for many neurological, neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases. When located in coding regions, disease-associated expansions of trinucleotide repeats are translated into homopolymeric amino acid stretches of glutamine or alanine. Polyalanine expansions in the poly(A)-binding protein nuclear 1 (PABPN1) gene causes oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD). To gain novel insight into the molecular pathophysiology of OPMD, we studied the interaction of cellular proteins with normal and expanded PABPN1. Pull-down assays show that heat shock proteins including Hsp70, and type I arginine methyl transferases (PRMT1 and PRMT3) associate preferentially with expanded PABPN1. Immunofluorescence microscopy further reveals accumulation of these proteins at intranuclear inclusions in muscle from OPMD patients. Recombinant PABPN1 with expanded polyalanine stretches binds Hsp70 with higher affinity, and data from molecular simulations suggest that expansions of the PABPN1 polyalanine tract result in transition from a disordered, flexible conformation to a stable helical secondary structure. Taken together, our results suggest that the pathological mutation in the PABPN1 gene alters the protein conformation and induces a preferential interaction with type I PRMTs and Hsp70 chaperones. This in turn causes sequestration in intranuclear inclusions, possibly leading to a progressive cellular defect in arginine methylation and chaperone activity.

Nuclear aggregation of the expanded polyalanine tract in the poly(A)-binding protein nuclear 1 (PABPN1) is the pathological hallmark of oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy. However, wild type PABPN1 aggregates into nuclear inclusion in oxytocin-producing neurons under physiological conditions. In this study we have analyzed the nuclear organization and dynamics of PABPN1 inclusions in oxytocin-producing neurons. We demonstrated that PABPN1 inclusions represent a distinct compartment of the interchromatin region. They establish a spatial relationship with nuclear speckles, Cajal bodies and clastosomes. PABPN1 inclusions accumulate poly(A) RNA, but do not concentrate highly expressed mRNAs in oxytocin producing neurons and the mRNA-binding proteins hnRNP C, Y14 and REF. PABPN1 inclusions are dynamic structures that appear during the postnatal period and their number decrease in response to the activation of transcription. Our results support that the RNA retained in the PABPN1 inclusions is a noncoding regulatory RNA involved in some aspects of nuclear RNA metabolism.

The neuron-like UR61 cell is a stable PC12 subline that contains a mouse N-ras oncogene. Dexamethasone (Dex) treatment induces a neuron-like differentiation, which is associated with neuritogenesis and nuclear expression of the glucocorticoid receptor and c-Jun. In differentiated UR61 cells, small ubiquitin-like modifiers 1 (SUMO-1) is concentrated in a new category of SUMO-1 nuclear bodies (SNBs) distinct from promyelocytic leukemia (PML) bodies by their large size and absence of PML protein. SNBs are 1 to 3 mum in diameter and exhibit a fine granular texture by electron microscopy. They are free of splicing factors and transcription foci and show spatial associations with Cajal bodies. In addition to SUMO-1 and the E2-conjugating enzyme Ubc9, which is essential for sumoylation, SNBs concentrate the transcriptional regulators CBP, CREB, and c-Jun. Moreover, transfection experiments demonstrate that SNBs accumulate the active conjugating form of SUMO-1 but not the conjugation defective variant of SUMO-1, supporting that SNBs are sites of sumoylation. Our results suggest that SNBs play a role in the control of the nucleoplasmic concentration of transcription regulators involved in neuroprotection and survival of the UR61 cells.

This paper studies the molecular organization, neuronal distribution and cellular differentiation dynamics of the giant fibrillar centers (GFCs) of nucleoli in rat sensory ganglia neurons. The GFC appeared as a round nucleolar domain (1-2 microm in diameter) partially surrounded by the dense fibrillar component and accompanied by numerous small FCs. By immunocytochemistry, the GFC concentrated the upstream binding factor, which may serve as a marker of this structure, and also contain RNA polymerase I, DNA topoisomerase I, SUMO-1 and Ubc9. However, they lack ubiquitin-proteasome conjugates and 20S proteasome. Transcription assay with 5'-fluorouridine incorporation revealed the presence of nascent RNA on the dense fibrillar component of the neuronal nucleolus, but not within the low electron-density area of the GFC. The formation of GFCs is neuronal size dependent: they were found in 58%, 30% and 0% of the large, medium and small neurons, respectively. GFCs first appeared during the postnatal period, concomitantly with a stage of neuronal growth, myelination and bioelectrical maturation. GFCs were not observed in segregated nucleoli induced by severe inhibition of RNA synthesis. We suggest that the formation of GFCs is associated with a high rate of ribosome biogenesis of the transcriptionally more active large-size neurons.

This paper studies the cell size-dependent organization of the nucleolus and Cajal bodies (CBs) in dissociated human dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons from autopsy tissue samples of patients without neurological disease. The quantitative analysis of nucleoli with an anti-fibrillarin antibody showed that all neurons have only one nucleolus. However, the nucleolar volume and the number of fibrillar centers per nucleolus significantly increase as a function of cell body size. Immunostaining for coilin demonstrated the presence of numerous CBs in DRG neurons (up to 20 in large size neurons). The number of CBs per neuron correlated positively with the cell body volume. Light and electron microscopy immunocytochemical analysis revealed the concentration of coilin, snRNPs, SMN and fibrillarin in CBs of DRG neurons. CBs were frequently associated with the nucleolus, active chromatin domains and PML bodies, but not with telomeres. Our results support the view that the nucleolar volume and number of both fibrillar centers and CBs depend on the cell body mass, a parameter closely related to transcriptional and synaptic activity in mammalian neurons. Moreover, the unusual large number of CBs could facilitate the transfer of RNA processing components from CBs to nucleolar and nucleoplasmic sites of RNA processing.