Dysfunction of endocytic kinase AAK1 in ALS

Bingxing Shi, Sean D. Conner, Jian Liu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mechanisms of human mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1)-induced toxicity in causing the familial form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) remain elusive. Identification of new proteins that can selectively interact with mutant SOD1s and investigation of their potential roles in ALS are important to discover new pathways that are involved in disease pathology. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, we identified the adaptor-associated kinase 1 (AAK1), a regulatory protein in clathrin-coated vesicle endocytic pathway that selectively interacted with the mutant but not the wild-type SOD1. Using both transgenic mouse and rat SOD1-linked familial ALS (FALS) models, we found that AAK1 was partially colocalized with the endosomal and presynaptic protein markers under the normal physiological condition, but was mislocated into aggregates that contained mutant SOD1s and the neurofilament proteins in rodent models of ALS in disease. AAK1 protein levels were also decreased in ALS patients. These results suggest that dysfunction of a component in the endosomal and synaptic vesicle recycling pathway is involved in ALS pathology.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)22918-22932
Number of pages15
JournalInternational journal of molecular sciences
Volume15
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 10 2014

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • AAK1
  • ALS
  • Aggregates
  • Endocytosis
  • SOD1

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Dysfunction of endocytic kinase AAK1 in ALS'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this