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Attenuation of Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration in a C. elegans Parkinson’s Model through Regulation of Xanthine Dehydrogenase (XDH-1) Expression by the RNA Editase, ADR-2
Starr, L.A.; McKay, L.E.; Peter, K.N.; Seyfarth, L.M.; Berkowitz, L.A.; Caldwell, K.A.; Caldwell, G.A. Attenuation of Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration in a C. elegans Parkinson’s Model through Regulation of Xanthine Dehydrogenase (XDH-1) Expression by the RNA Editase, ADR-2. J. Dev. Biol.2023, 11, 20.
Starr, L.A.; McKay, L.E.; Peter, K.N.; Seyfarth, L.M.; Berkowitz, L.A.; Caldwell, K.A.; Caldwell, G.A. Attenuation of Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration in a C. elegans Parkinson’s Model through Regulation of Xanthine Dehydrogenase (XDH-1) Expression by the RNA Editase, ADR-2. J. Dev. Biol. 2023, 11, 20.
Starr, L.A.; McKay, L.E.; Peter, K.N.; Seyfarth, L.M.; Berkowitz, L.A.; Caldwell, K.A.; Caldwell, G.A. Attenuation of Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration in a C. elegans Parkinson’s Model through Regulation of Xanthine Dehydrogenase (XDH-1) Expression by the RNA Editase, ADR-2. J. Dev. Biol.2023, 11, 20.
Starr, L.A.; McKay, L.E.; Peter, K.N.; Seyfarth, L.M.; Berkowitz, L.A.; Caldwell, K.A.; Caldwell, G.A. Attenuation of Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration in a C. elegans Parkinson’s Model through Regulation of Xanthine Dehydrogenase (XDH-1) Expression by the RNA Editase, ADR-2. J. Dev. Biol. 2023, 11, 20.
Abstract
Differential RNA editing by adenosine deaminases that act on RNA (ADARs) has been implicat-ed in several neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). Here, we report results of an RNAi screen of genes differentially regulated in adr-2 mutants, normally encoding the only catalytically active ADAR in Caenorhabditis elegans, ADR-2. Subsequent analysis of candidate genes that alter the misfolding of human α-synuclein (α-syn) and dopaminergic neurodegenera-tion, two PD pathologies, reveal that reduced expression of xdh-1, the ortholog of human xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH), is protective against α-synuclein-induced dopaminergic neurodegenera-tion. Further RNAi experiments show that WHT-2, the worm ortholog of the human ABCG2 transporter and a predicted interactor of XDH-1, is the rate-limiting factor in the ADR-2, XDH-1, WHT-2 system for dopaminergic neuroprotection. Proteomic analysis indicates that the editing of one nucleotide in wht-2 RNA leads to the substitution of threonine with alanine at residue 124 in the WHT-2 protein, changing its structure. Thus, we propose a model where wht-2, is edited by ADR-2 which promotes optimal export of uric acid, a known substrate of WHT-2 and a product of XDH-1 activity. In the absence of editing, uric acid export is limited provoking a reduction in xdh-1 transcription to limit uric acid production and maintain cellular homeostasis. In turn, ele-vation of uric acid is protective against dopaminergic neuronal cell death. These data indicate that modifying specific targets of RNA editing may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for PD.
Biology and Life Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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