Sugar and alcohol molecules provide a therapeutic strategy for the serpinopathies that cause dementia and cirrhosis

Lynda K. Sharp, Meera Mallya, Kerri J. Kinghorn, Zhen Wang, Damian C. Crowther, James A. Huntington, Didier Belorgey, David A. Lomas

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mutations in neuroserpin and α1-antitrypsin cause these proteins to form ordered polymers that are retained within the endoplasmic reticulum of neurones and hepatocytes, respectively. The resulting inclusions underlie the dementia familial encephalopathy with neuroserpin inclusion bodies (FENIB) and Z α1-antitrypsin-associated cirrhosis. Polymers form by a sequential linkage between the reactive centre loop of one molecule and β-sheet A of another, and strategies that block polymer formation are likely to be successful in treating the associated disease. We show here that glycerol, the sugar alcohol erythritol, the disaccharide trehalose and its breakdown product glucose reduce the rate of polymerization of wild-type neuroserpin and the Ser49Pro mutant that causes dementia. They also attenuate the polymerization of the Z variant of α1-antitrypsin. The effect on polymerization was apparent even when these agents had been removed from the buffer. None of these agents had any detectable effect on the structure or inhibitory activity of neuroserpin or α1-antitrypsin. These data demonstrate that sugar and alcohol molecules can reduce the polymerization of serpin mutants that cause disease, possibly by binding to and stabilizing β-sheet A.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2450-2552
Number of pages103
JournalFEBS Journal
Volume273
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2006

Keywords

  • FENIB
  • Neuroserpin
  • Polymerization
  • Serpinopathy
  • α-antitrypsin

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Sugar and alcohol molecules provide a therapeutic strategy for the serpinopathies that cause dementia and cirrhosis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this