A rapid cellular FRET assay of polyglutamine aggregation identifies a novel inhibitor

Neuron. 2003 Nov 13;40(4):685-94. doi: 10.1016/s0896-6273(03)00697-4.

Abstract

Many neurodegenerative diseases, including tauopathies, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and the polyglutamine diseases, are characterized by intracellular aggregation of pathogenic proteins. It is difficult to study modifiers of this process in intact cells in a high-throughput and quantitative manner, although this could facilitate molecular insights into disease pathogenesis. Here we introduce a high-throughput assay to measure intracellular polyglutamine protein aggregation using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). We screened over 2800 biologically active small molecules for inhibitory activity and have characterized one lead compound in detail. Y-27632, an inhibitor of the Rho-associated kinase p160ROCK, diminished polyglutamine protein aggregation (EC(50) congruent with 5 microM) and reduced neurodegeneration in a Drosophila model of polyglutamine disease. This establishes a novel high-throughput approach to study protein misfolding and aggregation associated with neurodegenerative diseases and implicates a signaling pathway of previously unrecognized importance in polyglutamine protein processing.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Amides / pharmacology*
  • Amides / therapeutic use
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Biological Assay / methods*
  • COS Cells
  • Cell Death / drug effects
  • Cell Death / genetics
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Down-Regulation / drug effects
  • Down-Regulation / genetics
  • Drosophila melanogaster
  • Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / methods
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / methods*
  • Humans
  • Huntingtin Protein
  • Inclusion Bodies / chemistry
  • Inclusion Bodies / drug effects
  • Inclusion Bodies / metabolism
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / deficiency
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / genetics
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases / drug therapy
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases / genetics
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases / metabolism
  • Nuclear Proteins / deficiency
  • Nuclear Proteins / genetics
  • Peptides / analysis*
  • Peptides / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Peptides / metabolism
  • Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / drug effects
  • Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / metabolism
  • Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / pathology
  • Protein Folding
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism
  • Pyridines / pharmacology*
  • Pyridines / therapeutic use
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Signal Transduction / genetics
  • Trinucleotide Repeat Expansion / drug effects
  • Trinucleotide Repeat Expansion / genetics
  • rho-Associated Kinases

Substances

  • Amides
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • HTT protein, human
  • Huntingtin Protein
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • Peptides
  • Pyridines
  • Y 27632
  • polyglutamine
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • rho-Associated Kinases