Neurons need to be maintained to persist throughout adulthood for proper brain function. However neuronal activity, injury and aging exert physical stress on the nervous system, which compromise nervous system function. Healthy neurons are able to maintain their integrity throughout the lifespan of the animal, suggesting the existence of a maintenance mechanism that allows neurons to sustain or even repair damage. A forward genetic screening in Drosophila identified mutations in a gene called nmnat that cause a rapid and severe neurodegeneration immediately post neuronal differentiation and development. NMNAT protein was required to maintain neuronal integrity in an activity-dependent manner. When probing for the exact role of NMNAT in neuronal maintenance, a novel stress responsive chaperone function was identified, in addition to its essential housekeeping NAD synthase role. In this work, the mechanism of NMNAT-mediated neuroprotection is investigated. First, the transcriptional regulation of Drosophila NMNAT during acute stress is analyzed. Here, both stress transcription factors heat shock factor (HSF) and hypoxia inducible factor alpha (HIF1-α) have been shown to upregulate NMNAT during stress through a heat shock element in the nmnat promoter. In addition, the role of NMNAT for stress tolerance in Drosophila is revealed. Second, to elucidate the neuroprotective capacity of NMNAT in neurodegenerative disease, mouse models of tauopathy have been used. In the P301L Tau-transgenic mouse model, the levels of endogenous NMNAT2 have been studied at various ages to link a reduction in NMNAT2 as a precursor for neurodegeneration. The underlying mechanism of NMNAT2 downregulation is further studied in this model. Third, using Drosophila model of Tauopathy, the protective capacity of both wild type and enzyme-inactive NMNAT in ameliorating the pathological and behavioral impairments from Tau-induced neurodegeneration were studied extensively. The possible protective mechanism of NMNAT is uncovered by identifying novel interactions of NMNAT with hyperphosphorylated and ubiquitinated Tau in regulating the levels of toxic Tau species. Finally, this study also identified endogenous proteins that NMNAT interacts with to provide insight into a neuroprotective chaperone role of NMNAT. Together, these studies improve our understanding of the mechanisms of neuronal maintenance, by providing a comprehensive investigation of the stress-responsive regulation of NMNAT in both Drosophila and mammalian models, and its role as a chaperone both in protein foldopathies and in healthy neurons.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is one of such diseases associated with protein aggregation. Aβ is the main protein component of senile plaques in AD, and is neurotoxic when aggregated. In particular, soluble oligomeric forms of Aβ are closely related to neurotoxicity. In this dissertation, we examine the differences in Aβ aggregation intermediates, and final structures formed when only a simple modification in Aβ aggregation conditions is made, the presence or absence of mixing during aggregation. We show that intermediates in the aggregation pathway show significantly different structural rearrangements. The protein stabilities of Αβ species show that spherical aggregates corresponding to the most toxic Αβ species change their structure the most rapidly in denaturant, and that in general, increased toxicity correlated with decreased aggregate stability. In Alzheimer’s disease, even delaying Aβ aggregation onset or slowing its progression might be therapeutically useful, as disease onset is late in life. Small heat shock proteins (sHsps) may be useful for prevention of Αβ aggregation, since sHsps can interact with partly folded intermediate states of proteins to prevent incorrect folding and aggregation. In this research, several small heat shock proteins (sHsps) are tested to prevent Aβ aggregation and toxicity. sHsps used in this research are Hsp17.7, Hsp27, and Hsp20. All types of Hsp20, Hsp20-MBP, His-Hsp20 and His-Hsp20 without 11 residues in C-terminus, can prevent Aβ1-40 aggregation. Hsp20 also prevents Aβ toxicity in the same concentration ranges of it aggregation prevention activity. Hsp17.7 and Hsp27, however, can inhibit Αβ1-40 aggregation but not toxicity. A number of experiments to examine the mechanism of Hsp20 suggest that multivalent binding of sHsp to Aβ is necessary for the toxicity prevention activity. Conclusively, different Aβ incubation conditions in vitro can affect the rate of Aβ fibril formation, the morphology, the toxicity and the conformation of intermediates in the aggregation pathway. Hsp20 rather than other sHsps may be a useful molecular model for the drug design of the next generation of Aβ aggregation inhibitors to be used in the treatment of AD.

New efficient vaccines against infectious diseases are in demand. Some important factors impeding the vaccine development are the poor immunogenicity and the MHC restriction of the immune responses to a number of antigens. The use of novel vaccine adjuvants or carrier proteins, which are known to enhance the immunogenicity of the subunit antigens and provide T-cell help, can circumvent these problems. The potential of heat shock proteins (HSPs) to function as adjuvants when fused to or co-delivered with protein antigens, make them attractive vaccine candidates. In this thesis we have evaluated the potency of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) as a possible vaccine adjuvant and studied the mechanisms behind the adjuvanticity. The first article aims to evaluate the carrier effect of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) on a malarial antigen EB200 that induces a MHC restricted response in mice. Immunization of CBA and C57BL/6 mice, high and low responders to EB200, respectively, with the GST-EB200 fusion protein elicited EB200 specific antibody responses in both strains of mice, which indicated that MHC restriction was broken in C57BL/6 mice. However, the antibody affinity and the magnitude of the response were lower in the C57BL/6 mice compared with that in CBA. To improve the response, the efficacy of various adjuvants like alum, HSP70 from Trypanosoma cruzi, and the adjuvant combination (HSP70 and cholera toxin) was evaluated. The results indicated that cholera toxin and HSP70 act synergistically and improve the immunogenicity of EB200 antigen by increasing the affinity and magnitude of the response. HSP belongs to a family of conserved molecules and the maximum homology lies on the N-terminal region of the protein, therefore there is a risk that use of a complete molecule would give rise to autoimmunity. Thus, in our second study we first evaluated the adjuvant effect of the less conserved portion of HSP70 derived from Plasmodium falciparum (Pf70C). We found that the Pf70C exhibited similar adjuvant properties as the whole molecule. We further analyzed the adjuvant potential of Pf70C against EB200 formulated as a chimeric DNA vaccine construct. These constructs alone failed to generate substantial levels of EB200 specific antibodies in mice. However, the DNA immunization efficiently primed the immune system. This was evident as the subsequent boosting with the corresponding recombinant fusion proteins Pf70C-EB200 elicited strong EB200 specific Th-1 antibody responses. In contrast, no such priming effect was observed for ex vivo IFN-γ production, however stimulation with the Pf70C-EB200 fusion protein induced an enhanced secretion of IFN-γ in vitro. During the infection process, the synthesis of bacterial HSP is up-regulated, which is known to sensitize T cells in the infected host. Since a high degree of homology exists within the phylogenetic families of HSPs, we postulated that exposure of mice to microorganisms could prime the immune system for evolutionary diverse HSPs and for any antigen coupled to them. We tested this hypothesis by priming mice with different microorganisms such as BCG, Mycobacterium vaccae or Chlamydia pneumoniae and boosted with a recombinant fusion protein Pf70C-EB200 or with a panel of HSPs. We found that BCG and M. vaccae but not C. pneumoniae could provide priming of the immune system to induce secondary IgG responses to Pf70C as well as to other HSPs tested. The priming effect was also observed when the EB200 antigen was coupled to Pf70C. Analysis of the IgG1 and IgG2a profiles and IFN-g production induced against the HSPs revealed a mixture of Th1/Th2 type of responses. We also observed that HSP70 specific sera cross-reacted some extent with certain autoreactive antigens. However, no deposits were observed in the kidneys of HSP treated animals. Finally, we investigated the role of TLR2 and TLR4 on HSP70-mediated adjuvanticity. We found that HSPs displayed different degrees of adjuvanticity regarding both the strength and the profile of the induced immune response. Also, they possessed different requirements for signaling through TLRs. While HSP70 from T. cruzi induced antigen-specific humoral responses in wild type as well as in both the TLR2 and TLR4 knockout mice, the response was diminished in the TLR4 knockout mice when both the whole and C-terminal fragment of HSP70 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis was used. However, the C-terminal fragment of P. falciparum HSP70 elicited responses only in wild type mice but not in TLR2 or TLR4 knockout mice indicating that the adjuvant function differ for phylogenetically related HSPs. Taken together our data suggest that HSPs can be promising candidates in future vaccines.

Hsp104 and ClpB are hexameric ATPases that resolubilize aggregated proteins in collaboration with the Hsp70 chaperone system. Hsp104/ClpB functionally interact only with their respective Hsp70 system and this specificity is mapped to the Hsp104/ClpB coiled-coil domain (CCD). We hypothesize that the interaction between Hsp70 and Hsp104/ClpB CCD stimulates nucleotide exchange and release of substrate from Hsp70. In the current study, the CCDs of E. coli ClpB and S. cerevisiae Hsp104 have been purified. Isolated domains are monomeric and well folded. They inhibit refolding of aggregated firefly luciferase in a species-specific manner. We found that the ATPase activity of E. coli DnaK is stimulated at low concentrations of the E. coli ClpB CCD but not by yeast Hsp104 CCD. However, in another bacterial system (Thermus thermophilus) we found that the ClpB CCD inhibits The ATPase activity of DnaK suggesting that the interaction may have different consequences in distinct chaperone networks.

Exposure of cells to environmental or chemical stressors will initiate the heat shock response, which is mediated by heat shock proteins. Heat shock proteins are molecular chaperones which are classified by size into six main families: HSP100, HSP90, HSP70, HSP60, HSP40 and the small heat shock proteins (sHsps). The sHsp family members bind to denatured proteins and maintain them in a folding competent state such that they may be refolded by other molecular chaperones. <br /><br /> The present study examined the expression and function of two amphibian sHsps, namely, <em>Rana catesbeiana</em> HSP30 and <em>Xenopus laevis</em> HSP27. Initially, an antisense riboprobe was produced to study the mRNA accumulation of <em>Rana hsp30</em> in cultured tongue fibroblast (FT) cells. Results showed that <em>Rana hsp30</em> mRNA was optimally induced when maintained at 35&deg;C for 2 h. An antibody to the recombinant <em>Rana</em> HSP30 protein was also produced in order to study HSP30 protein accumulation in <em>Rana</em> FT cells. Analysis showed that <em>Rana</em> HSP30 was heat-inducible and accumulated maximally at 4 h when maintained at 35&deg;C and then allowed to recover at 22&deg;C for 2 h. Immunocytochemical analysis indicated that <em>Rana</em> HSP30 protein was present primarily in the nucleus, with diffuse localization in the cytoplasm. Additional immunocytochemical analysis showed that <em>Rana</em> HSP30 remained in the nucleus following heat stress and extended periods of recovery. <br /><br /> The molecular chaperone function of <em>Rana</em> HSP30 was also studied. Recombinant <em>Rana</em> HSP30 was found to inhibit the heat induced aggregation of various target proteins including citrate synthase, luciferase and malate dehydrogenase. Also, no major difference was detected between <em>Rana</em> HSP30 and <em>Xenopus</em> HSP30C in the inhibition of heat-induced aggregation of target proteins. <br /><br /> This study also examined the expression and function of <em>Xenopus laevis</em> HSP27. Analysis of the putative amino acid sequence of the <em>Xenopus hsp27</em> cDNA revealed that it had an identity of 71% with chicken, 65% with zebrafish, 63% with human and 53% with topminnow. Most of the identity was located within the &alpha;-crystallin domain of the protein. Interestingly, <em>Xenopus</em> HSP27 shared only a 19% identity with 2 other <em>Xenopus</em> sHsps, HSP30C and HSP30D. <br /><br /> Western blot analysis using an anti-<em>Xenopus</em> HSP27 antibody revealed that HSP27 was not detectable in cultured kidney epithelial cells. However, examination of early <em>Xenopus</em> embryos revealed that HSP27 was first detected in tadpole embryos (stage 44). Heat-inducible HSP27 was also first detected at this stage. The accumulation pattern of <em>Xenopus</em> HSP27 protein was distinct from <em>Xenopus</em> HSP30, which was heat-inducible at midtailbud stage 26, approximately two and a half days earlier in development. <br /><br /> Analysis of recombinant HSP27 by native pore exclusion limit electrophoresis showed that it formed high molecular weight, multimeric complexes. The molecular chaperone function of HSP27 was assessed by means of thermal aggregation assays employing citrate synthase, luciferase and malate dehydrogenase. <em>Xenopus</em> HSP27 inhibited the heat-induced aggregation of all of these target proteins. This study has revealed that <em>Xenopus</em> HSP27 is a member of the HSP27 subfamily of small heat shock proteins in <em>Xenopus</em> and distinct from the HSP30 family. The accumulation of HSP27 under constitutive and stress-inducible conditions is developmentally regulated. Finally, this sHsp appears to function as a molecular chaperone.

In eukaryotes, the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) degrades most cellular protein. Inhibition of the UPS has been associated with different disease states and can affect various intracellular processes including the activation of heat shock protein (hsp) gene expression. During cellular stress, HSPs act as molecular chaperones by inhibiting protein aggregation and assisting in their refolding once normal conditions are re-established. In the present study, Withaferin A (WA), a steroidal lactone with possible anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties, was found to inhibit proteasome activity and induce the expression of hsp genes in the amphibian model system, Xenopus laevis. Treatment of Xenopus kidney epithelial A6 cells with WA produced an increase in the accumulation of ubiquitinated protein and a significant decrease in chymotrypsin-like activity. Furthermore, immunoblot analysis revealed that WA induced HSP30 and HSP70 accumulation. For example, cells treated with 5 μM WA for 18 h resulted in the optimal accumulation of HSP30 and HSP70. Northern blot analysis revealed that exposure of cells to 5 μM WA induced hsp30 and hsp70 mRNA accumulation in a time-dependent manner up to 12 h. The activation of heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) DNA-binding may be involved in WA-induced hsp gene expression in A6 cells, since pretreatment with the HSF1 inhibitor, KNK437, reduced the accumulation of HSP30 and HSP70. Also, WA acted synergistically with mild heat shock to enhance HSP accumulation to a greater extent than the sum of both stressors individually. In cells recovering from WA, the relative levels of HSP30 and HSP70 accumulation remained elevated from 6 to 12 h after removal of WA. Immuocytochemical analysis and laser scanning confocal microscopy revealed that WA-induced HSP30 accumulation occurred primarily in the cytoplasm with some staining in the nucleus in a granular or punctate pattern. Prolonged exposure to WA resulted in some disorganization of the actin cytoskeleton as well as large cytoplasmic HSP30 staining structures in some cells. Prior exposure of cells to WA treatment conferred thermotolerance since it protected them against a subsequent thermal challenge at 37 °C. In conclusion, this study has shown that WA can induce an inhibition of proteasome activity and an increase hsp gene expression. Activating the heat shock response is a potential avenue for novel drug therapies, which can confer cytoprotection in disease states involving cytotoxic protein aggregation.

The E. coli ArsA is involved in arsenic detoxification but the role of yArsA (ArsA homologue of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, encoded by YDL100c ORF) in yeast is still undefined. Disruption of YDL100c ORF is not lethal but the disrupted strain (KO) shows decreased thermotolerance. To study the role of yArsA in thermotolerance, wild type (WT) and KO were grown at 25¢Jand 37¢J, and assayed for the intracellular levels of trehalose accumulation and molecular oxidation, and the biosynthesis of heat shock proteins. The results show that molecular oxidation is higher and trehalose accumulation is lower in KO compared with WT grown at 37¢J, suggesting that increased ROS and decreased trehalose content are the cause of cell death. Further analysis of the expression of ROS defense mechanisms show that there is no significant difference in TSL1 and SOD1 expression in WT and KO grown at 25¢J or 37¢J but the CTT1 expression in KO was much less than WT grown at 37¢J. These observations are consistent with the assays of enzymatic activity of catalase and antioxidant GSH contents. Loss of catalase activity, decreased trehalose contents and Hsp104p expression suggest a deficiency in activation of general but not specific stress response in KO when grown at 37¢J. Therefore, yArsA was involved in signaling the general stress response in stress tolerance network.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is one of such diseases associated with protein aggregation. A&#946; is the main protein component of senile plaques in AD, and is neurotoxic when aggregated. In particular, soluble oligomeric forms of A&#946; are closely related to neurotoxicity. In this dissertation, we examine the differences in A&#946; aggregation intermediates, and final structures formed when only a simple modification in A&#946; aggregation conditions is made, the presence or absence of mixing during aggregation. We show that intermediates in the aggregation pathway show significantly different structural rearrangements. The protein stabilities of &#913;&#946; species show that spherical aggregates corresponding to the most toxic &#913;&#946; species change their structure the most rapidly in denaturant, and that in general, increased toxicity correlated with decreased aggregate stability. In Alzheimer’s disease, even delaying A&#946; aggregation onset or slowing its progression might be therapeutically useful, as disease onset is late in life. Small heat shock proteins (sHsps) may be useful for prevention of &#913;&#946; aggregation, since sHsps can interact with partly folded intermediate states of proteins to prevent incorrect folding and aggregation. In this research, several small heat shock proteins (sHsps) are tested to prevent A&#946; aggregation and toxicity. sHsps used in this research are Hsp17.7, Hsp27, and Hsp20. All types of Hsp20, Hsp20-MBP, His-Hsp20 and His-Hsp20 without 11 residues in C-terminus, can prevent A&#946;1-40 aggregation. Hsp20 also prevents A&#946; toxicity in the same concentration ranges of it aggregation prevention activity. Hsp17.7 and Hsp27, however, can inhibit &#913;&#946;1-40 aggregation but not toxicity. A number of experiments to examine the mechanism of Hsp20 suggest that multivalent binding of sHsp to A&#946; is necessary for the toxicity prevention activity. Conclusively, different A&#946; incubation conditions in vitro can affect the rate of A&#946; fibril formation, the morphology, the toxicity and the conformation of intermediates in the aggregation pathway. Hsp20 rather than other sHsps may be a useful molecular model for the drug design of the next generation of A&#946; aggregation inhibitors to be used in the treatment of AD.

In eukaryotes, the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) degrades most cellular protein. Inhibition of the UPS has been associated with different disease states and can affect various intracellular processes including the activation of heat shock protein (hsp) gene expression. During cellular stress, HSPs act as molecular chaperones by inhibiting protein aggregation and assisting in their refolding once normal conditions are re-established. In the present study, Withaferin A (WA), a steroidal lactone with possible anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties, was found to inhibit proteasome activity and induce the expression of hsp genes in the amphibian model system, Xenopus laevis. Treatment of Xenopus kidney epithelial A6 cells with WA produced an increase in the accumulation of ubiquitinated protein and a significant decrease in chymotrypsin-like activity. Furthermore, immunoblot analysis revealed that WA induced HSP30 and HSP70 accumulation. For example, cells treated with 5 μM WA for 18 h resulted in the optimal accumulation of HSP30 and HSP70. Northern blot analysis revealed that exposure of cells to 5 μM WA induced hsp30 and hsp70 mRNA accumulation in a time-dependent manner up to 12 h. The activation of heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) DNA-binding may be involved in WA-induced hsp gene expression in A6 cells, since pretreatment with the HSF1 inhibitor, KNK437, reduced the accumulation of HSP30 and HSP70. Also, WA acted synergistically with mild heat shock to enhance HSP accumulation to a greater extent than the sum of both stressors individually. In cells recovering from WA, the relative levels of HSP30 and HSP70 accumulation remained elevated from 6 to 12 h after removal of WA. Immuocytochemical analysis and laser scanning confocal microscopy revealed that WA-induced HSP30 accumulation occurred primarily in the cytoplasm with some staining in the nucleus in a granular or punctate pattern. Prolonged exposure to WA resulted in some disorganization of the actin cytoskeleton as well as large cytoplasmic HSP30 staining structures in some cells. Prior exposure of cells to WA treatment conferred thermotolerance since it protected them against a subsequent thermal challenge at 37 °C. In conclusion, this study has shown that WA can induce an inhibition of proteasome activity and an increase hsp gene expression. Activating the heat shock response is a potential avenue for novel drug therapies, which can confer cytoprotection in disease states involving cytotoxic protein aggregation.

Skeletal muscle injury results in functional deficits that can take several weeks to fully recover. Ultimate recovery of function is dependent on the muscle’s ability to regenerate, a highly coordinated process that involves transient muscle inflammation and the replacement of damaged myofibers. Instrumental in the inflammatory response, is the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α. Expression of TNF-α is thought to be regulated, in part, by the stress sensing 70 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp70). However, it remains unclear how Hsp70 alters TNF-α following injury, and if so, how these changes affect skeletal muscle repair. Therefore, we up-regulated Hsp70 expression using 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG) prior to and following BaCl2-induced injury, and assessed TNF-α and myogenin content. Regenerating fiber cross-sectional area (CSA) and in vivo isometric torque were also analyzed in the weeks following the injury. Treatment of 17-AAG resulted in a ~5 fold increase in Hsp70 of the uninjured muscle, but did not affect any other biochemical, morphological or functional variables compared to controls. In the days following the injury, TNF-α and myogenin were elevated and directly correlated. At these earlier time points (≤7 days), treatment of 17-AAG increased TNF-α above that of the injured controls and resulted in a sustained increase in myogenin. However, no differences were observed in regenerating fiber CSA or in vivo torque production between the groups. Together, these data suggest that Hsp70 induction increases TNF-α and myogenin content following BaCl2-induced injury, but does not appear to alter skeletal muscle regeneration or attenuate functional deficits in otherwise healthy young mice.