Harmine Acts as an Indirect Inhibitor of Intracellular Protein Aggregation
Published on 2020-03-11T08:33:29Z (GMT)
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Protein aggregation
and oxidative stress
are two pathological hallmarks of a number of protein misfolding diseases,
including Huntington’s disease (HD). Whether protein aggregation
precedes elevation of oxidative stress or follows it remains ambiguous.
We have investigated the role of harmine, a beta-carboline alkaloid,
in aggregation of a mutant huntingtin fragment (103Q-htt) in a yeast
model of HD. We observed that harmine was able to decrease intracellular
aggregation of 103Q-htt, and this reduction was higher than that observed
with trehalose, a conventional protein stabilizer. The presence of
harmine also decreased prion formation. Decreased protein aggregation
was accompanied by reduction in oxidative stress. However, harmine
had no effect on aggregation of the mutant huntingtin fragment in
vitro. Thus, based on experimental data, we conclude that the antioxidant
harmine lowers aggregation-induced elevation in oxidative stress,
which slows down intracellular protein aggregation.
Cite this collection
Jain, Swati; Panuganti, Venkataharsha; Jha, Sonali; Roy, Ipsita (2020): Harmine Acts as an Indirect Inhibitor
of Intracellular Protein Aggregation. ACS Publications. Collection. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.9b02375