FICD activity and AMPylation remodelling modulate human neurogenesis

Nat Commun. 2020 Jan 24;11(1):517. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-14235-6.

Abstract

Posttranslational modification (PTM) of proteins represents an important cellular mechanism for controlling diverse functions such as signalling, localisation or protein-protein interactions. AMPylation (also termed adenylylation) has recently been discovered as a prevalent PTM for regulating protein activity. In human cells AMPylation has been exclusively studied with the FICD protein. Here we investigate the role of AMPylation in human neurogenesis by introducing a cell-permeable propargyl adenosine pronucleotide probe to infiltrate cellular AMPylation pathways and report distinct modifications in intact cancer cell lines, human-derived stem cells, neural progenitor cells (NPCs), neurons and cerebral organoids (COs) via LC-MS/MS as well as imaging methods. A total of 162 AMP modified proteins were identified. FICD-dependent AMPylation remodelling accelerates differentiation of neural progenitor cells into mature neurons in COs, demonstrating a so far unknown trigger of human neurogenesis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenosine / metabolism
  • Adenosine Monophosphate / metabolism*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Cathepsin B / metabolism
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Down-Regulation
  • Humans
  • Membrane Proteins / chemistry
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism*
  • Neural Stem Cells / metabolism
  • Neurogenesis*
  • Neurons / metabolism
  • Nucleotidyltransferases / chemistry
  • Nucleotidyltransferases / metabolism*
  • Organoids / metabolism
  • Protein Processing, Post-Translational*

Substances

  • Membrane Proteins
  • Adenosine Monophosphate
  • FICD protein, human
  • Nucleotidyltransferases
  • Cathepsin B
  • Adenosine