TY - JOUR
T1 - Nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyl transferase-mediated axonal protection requires enzymatic activity but not increased levels of neuronal nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
AU - Sasaki, Yo
AU - Vohra, Bhupinder P.S.
AU - Lund, Frances E.
AU - Milbrandt, Jeffrey
PY - 2009/4/29
Y1 - 2009/4/29
N2 - Axonal degeneration is a hallmark of many neurological disorders. Studies in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases indicate that axonal degeneration is an early event in the disease process, and delaying this process can lead to decreased progression of the disease and survival extension. Overexpression of the Wallerian degeneration slow (Wlds) protein can delay axonal degeneration initiated via axotomy, chemotherapeutic agents, or genetic mutations. The Wlds protein consists of the N-terminal portion of the ubiquitination factor Ube4b fused to the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) biosynthetic enzyme nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyl transferase 1 (Nmnat1). We previously showed that the Nmnat1 portion of this fusion protein was the critical moiety for Wlds-mediated axonal protection. Here, we describe the development of an automated quantitative assay for assessing axonal degeneration. This method successfully showed that Nmnat1 enzymatic activity is important for axonal protection as mutants with reduced enzymatic activity lacked axon protective activity. We also found that Nmnat enzymes with diverse sequences and structures from various species, including Drosophila melanogaster, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and archaebacterium Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, which encodes a protein with no homology to eukaryotic Nmnat enzymes, all mediate robust axonal protection after axotomy. Besides the importance of Nmnat enzymatic activity, we did not observe changes in the steady-state NAD+ level, and we found that inhibition of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt), which synthesizes substrate for Nmnat in mammalian cells, did not affect the protective activity of Nmnat1. These results provide the possibility of a role for new Nmnat enzymatic activity in axonal protection in addition to NAD+ synthesis.
AB - Axonal degeneration is a hallmark of many neurological disorders. Studies in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases indicate that axonal degeneration is an early event in the disease process, and delaying this process can lead to decreased progression of the disease and survival extension. Overexpression of the Wallerian degeneration slow (Wlds) protein can delay axonal degeneration initiated via axotomy, chemotherapeutic agents, or genetic mutations. The Wlds protein consists of the N-terminal portion of the ubiquitination factor Ube4b fused to the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) biosynthetic enzyme nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyl transferase 1 (Nmnat1). We previously showed that the Nmnat1 portion of this fusion protein was the critical moiety for Wlds-mediated axonal protection. Here, we describe the development of an automated quantitative assay for assessing axonal degeneration. This method successfully showed that Nmnat1 enzymatic activity is important for axonal protection as mutants with reduced enzymatic activity lacked axon protective activity. We also found that Nmnat enzymes with diverse sequences and structures from various species, including Drosophila melanogaster, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and archaebacterium Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, which encodes a protein with no homology to eukaryotic Nmnat enzymes, all mediate robust axonal protection after axotomy. Besides the importance of Nmnat enzymatic activity, we did not observe changes in the steady-state NAD+ level, and we found that inhibition of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt), which synthesizes substrate for Nmnat in mammalian cells, did not affect the protective activity of Nmnat1. These results provide the possibility of a role for new Nmnat enzymatic activity in axonal protection in addition to NAD+ synthesis.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=65649126738&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5469-08.2009
DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5469-08.2009
M3 - Article
C2 - 19403820
AN - SCOPUS:65649126738
SN - 0270-6474
VL - 29
SP - 5525
EP - 5535
JO - Journal of Neuroscience
JF - Journal of Neuroscience
IS - 17
ER -