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Post-Translational Incorporation of L-Phenylalanine into the C-Terminus of α-Tubulin as a Possible Cause of Neuronal Dysfunction

Ditamo, Y; Dentesano, YM; Purro, SA; Arce, CA; Bisig, CG; (2016) Post-Translational Incorporation of L-Phenylalanine into the C-Terminus of α-Tubulin as a Possible Cause of Neuronal Dysfunction. Scientific Reports , 6 , Article 38140. 10.1038/srep38140. Green open access

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Abstract

α-Tubulin C-terminus undergoes post-translational, cyclic tyrosination/detyrosination, and L-Phenylalanine (Phe) can be incorporated in place of tyrosine. Using cultured mouse brain-derived cells and an antibody specific to Phe-tubulin, we showed that: (i) Phe incorporation into tubulin is reversible; (ii) such incorporation is not due to de novo synthesis; (iii) the proportion of modified tubulin is significant; (iv) Phe incorporation reduces cell proliferation without affecting cell viability; (v) the rate of neurite retraction declines as level of C-terminal Phe incorporation increases; (vi) this inhibitory effect of Phe on neurite retraction is blocked by the co-presence of tyrosine; (vii) microtubule dynamics is reduced when Phe-tubulin level in cells is high as a result of exogenous Phe addition and returns to normal values when Phe is removed; moreover, microtubule dynamics is also reduced when Phe-tubulin is expressed (plasmid transfection). It is known that Phe levels are greatly elevated in blood of phenylketonuria (PKU) patients. The molecular mechanism underlying the brain dysfunction characteristic of PKU is unknown. Beyond the differences between human and mouse cells, it is conceivable the possibility that Phe incorporation into tubulin is the first event (or among the initial events) in the molecular pathways leading to brain dysfunctions that characterize PKU.

Type: Article
Title: Post-Translational Incorporation of L-Phenylalanine into the C-Terminus of α-Tubulin as a Possible Cause of Neuronal Dysfunction
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1038/srep38140
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38140
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © The Author(s) 2016. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Institute of Prion Diseases
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Institute of Prion Diseases > MRC Prion Unit at UCL
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1535646
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