Oxidative stress affects FET proteins localization and alternative pre-mRNA processing in cellular models of ALS

Abstract

FUS/TLS, EWS and TAF15 are members of the FET family of DNA and RNA binding proteins, involved in multiple steps of DNA and RNA processing and implicated in the regulation of gene expression and cell-signaling. All members of the FET family contribute to human pathologies, as they are involved in sarcoma translocations and neurodegenerative diseases. Mutations in FUS/TLS, in EWSR1 and in TAF15 genescause Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a fatal human neurodegenerative disease that affects primarily motor neurons and is characterized by the progressive loss of motor neurons and degradation of the neuromuscular junctions.ALS-associated FET mutations cause FET protein relocalization into cytoplasmic aggregates, thus impairing their normal function. Protein aggregation has been suggested as a co-opting factor during the disease pathogenesis. Cytoplasmic mislocalization of FET proteins contributes to the formation of cytoplasmic aggregates that may alter RNA processing and initiate motor neuron degeneration. Interestingly, oxidative stress, which is implicated in the pathogenesis of ALS, triggers the accumulation of mutant FUS in cytoplasmic stress granules where it binds and sequester wild-type FUS.In order to evaluate the role of FET proteins in ALS and their involvement in the response to oxidative stress, we have developed cellular models of ALS expressing ALS-related FET mutants in neuroblastoma cell lines. Upon treatment with sodium arsenite, cells were analysed by immunofluorescence to monitor the localization of wild-type and mutated FET proteins. Furthermore, we have characterized signal transduction pathways and cell survival upon oxidative stress in our cellular models of ALS. Interestingly, we found that EWS mutant proteins display a different localization from FUS mutants and neither wild-type nor mutated EWS protein translocate into stress granules upon oxidative stress treatment. Collectively, our data provide a new link between the oxidative stress response and RNA metabolism in ALS disease.