DHHC5 protein palmitoylates flotillin-2 and is rapidly degraded on induction of neuronal differentiation in cultured cells

Yi Li, Brent R. Martin, Benjamin F. Cravatt, Sandra L. Hofmann

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

108 Scopus citations

Abstract

Post-translational palmitoylation of intracellular proteins is mediated by protein palmitoyltransferases belonging to the DHHC family, which share a common catalytic Asp-His-His-Cys (DHHC) motif. Several members have been implicated in neuronal development, neurotransmission, and synaptic plasticity. We previously observed that mice homozygous for a hypomorphic allele of the ZDHHC5 gene are impaired in context-dependent learning and memory. To identify potentially relevant protein substrates of DHHC5, we performed a quantitative proteomic analysis of stable isotope-labeled neuronal stem cell cultures from forebrains of normal andDHHC5-GT(gene-trapped) mice using the bioorthogonal palmitate analog 17-octadecynoic acid.We identified ∼300 17-octadecynoic acid-modified and hydroxylamine-sensitive proteins, of which a subset was decreased in abundance inDHHC5-GTcells. Palmitoylation and oligomerization of one of these proteins (flotillin- 2) was abolished in DHHC5-GT neuronal stem cells. In COS-1 cells, overexpression of DHHC5 markedly stimulated the palmitoylation of flotillin-2, strongly suggesting a direct enzyme-substrate relationship. Serendipitously, we found that down-regulation of DHHC5 was triggered within minutes following growth factor withdrawal from normal neural stem cells, a maneuver that is used to induce neural differentiation in culture. The effect was reversible for up to 4 h, and degradation was partially prevented by inhibitors of ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. These findings suggest that protein palmitoylation can be regulated through changes in DHHC PAT levels in response to differentiation signals.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)523-530
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume287
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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