Ubiquilin 2 is not associated with tau pathology

PLoS One. 2013 Sep 26;8(9):e76598. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076598. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Accumulation of aberrant proteins in inclusion bodies is a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases. Impairment of proteolytic systems is a common event in these protein misfolding diseases. Recently, mutations in the UBQLN 2 gene encoding ubiquilin 2 have been identified in X-linked amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Furthermore, ubiquilin 2 is associated with inclusions in familial and sporadic ALS/dementia, synucleinopathies and polyglutamine diseases. Ubiquilin 2 exerts a regulatory role in proteostasis and thus it has been suggested that ubiquilin 2 pathology may be a common event in neurodegenerative diseases. Tauopathies, a heterogenous group of neurodegenerative diseases accompanied with dementia, are characterized by inclusions of the microtubule-binding protein tau. In the present study, we investigate whether ubiquilin 2 is connected with tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD), supranuclear palsy (PSP) and Pick's disease (PiD) and familial cases with frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17). We show that ubiquilin 2 positive inclusions are absent in these tauopathies. Furthermore, we find decreased ubiquilin 2 protein levels in AD patients, but our results do not indicate a correlation with tau pathology. Our data show no evidence for involvement of ubiquilin 2 and indicate that other mechanisms underly the proteostatic disturbances in tauopathies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Autophagy-Related Proteins
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases / metabolism*
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases / pathology*
  • Ubiquitins / metabolism*
  • tau Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing
  • Autophagy-Related Proteins
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • UBQLN2 protein, human
  • Ubiquitins
  • tau Proteins

Grants and funding

This study was financially supported by Internationale Stichting Alzheimer Onderzoek (ISAO #10502). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.