In vitro oxidative inactivation of human presequence protease (hPreP).

Teixeira PF, Pinho CM, Branca RM, Lehtiö J, Levine RL, Glaser E

Free Radic. Biol. Med. 53 (11) 2188-2195 [2012-12-01; online 2012-10-03]

The mitochondrial peptidasome called presequence protease (PreP) is responsible for the degradation of presequences and other unstructured peptides including the amyloid-β peptide, whose accumulation may have deleterious effects on mitochondrial function. Recent studies showed that PreP activity is reduced in Alzheimer disease (AD) patients and AD mouse models compared to controls, which correlated with an enhanced reactive oxygen species production in mitochondria. In this study, we have investigated the effects of a biologically relevant oxidant, hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), on the activity of recombinant human PreP (hPreP). H(2)O(2) inhibited hPreP activity in a concentration-dependent manner, resulting in oxidation of amino acid residues (detected by carbonylation) and lowered protein stability. Substitution of the evolutionarily conserved methionine 206 for leucine resulted in increased sensitivity of hPreP to oxidation, indicating a possible protective role of M206 as internal antioxidant. The activity of hPreP oxidized at low concentrations of H(2)O(2) could be restored by methionine sulfoxide reductase A (MsrA), an enzyme that localizes to the mitochondrial matrix, suggesting that hPreP constitutes a substrate for MsrA. In summary, our in vitro results suggest a possible redox control of hPreP in the mitochondrial matrix and support the protective role of the conserved methionine 206 residue as an internal antioxidant.

Affiliated researcher

PubMed 23041349

DOI 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2012.09.039

Crossref 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2012.09.039

pii: S0891-5849(12)01173-2
pmc: PMC3589710
mid: NIHMS413175


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