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The specificity of the interaction between αB-crystallin and desmin filaments and its impact on filament aggregation and cell viability

Elliott, J.L.; Der Perng, M.; Prescott, A.R.; Jansen, K.A.; Koenderink, G.H.; Quinlan, R.A.

The specificity of the interaction between αB-crystallin and desmin filaments and its impact on filament aggregation and cell viability Thumbnail


Authors

J.L. Elliott

M. Der Perng

A.R. Prescott

K.A. Jansen

G.H. Koenderink



Abstract

CRYAB (αB-crystallin) is expressed in many tissues and yet the R120G mutation in CRYAB causes tissue-specific pathologies, namely cardiomyopathy and cataract. Here, we present evidence to demonstrate that there is a specific functional interaction of CRYAB with desmin intermediate filaments that predisposes myocytes to disease caused by the R120G mutation. We use a variety of biochemical and biophysical techniques to show that plant, animal and ascidian small heat-shock proteins (sHSPs) can interact with intermediate filaments. Nevertheless, the mutation R120G in CRYAB does specifically change that interaction when compared with equivalent substitutions in HSP27 (R140G) and into the Caenorhabditis elegans HSP16.2 (R95G). By transient transfection, we show that R120G CRYAB specifically promotes intermediate filament aggregation in MCF7 cells. The transient transfection of R120G CRYAB alone has no significant effect upon cell viability, although bundling of the endogenous intermediate filament network occurs and the mitochondria are concentrated into the perinuclear region. The combination of R120G CRYAB co-transfected with wild-type desmin, however, causes a significant reduction in cell viability. Therefore, we suggest that while there is an innate ability of sHSPs to interact with and to bind to intermediate filaments, it is the specific combination of desmin and CRYAB that compromises cell viability and this is potentially the key to the muscle pathology caused by the R120G CRYAB.

Citation

Elliott, J., Der Perng, M., Prescott, A., Jansen, K., Koenderink, G., & Quinlan, R. (2013). The specificity of the interaction between αB-crystallin and desmin filaments and its impact on filament aggregation and cell viability. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 368(1617), Article 20120375. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0375

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date May 5, 2013
Deposit Date May 1, 2014
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Print ISSN 0962-8436
Electronic ISSN 1471-2970
Publisher The Royal Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 368
Issue 1617
Article Number 20120375
DOI https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0375
Keywords αB-crystallin/CRYAB/HSPB5, Desmin-related myopathy, Desmin intermediate filament, Crystallinopathy, Cardiomyopathy.

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Copyright Statement
© 2013 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original
author and source are credited.





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