Marie-Christine LEBART

Dr. Marie-Christine LEBART

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

View All Publications
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
MLMarie-Christine LEBART
Marie-Christine LEBART
FTFrançoise Trousse
Françoise Trousse
GVGilles Valette
Gilles Valette
JTJoan Torrent
Joan Torrent
MDMorgane Denus
Morgane Denus
AMAnne Marcilhac
Anne Marcilhac
Reg-1α/lithostathine, a protein mainly associated with the digestive system, was previously shown to be overexpressed in the pre-clinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease. In vitro, the glycosylated protein was reported to form fibrils at physiological pH following the proteolytic action of trypsin. However, the nature of the protease able to act in the central nervous system is unknown. In the present study, we showed that Reg-1α can be cleaved in vitro by calpain-2, the calcium activated neutral protease, overexpressed in neurodegenerative diseases. Using chemical crosslinking experiments, we found that the two proteins can interact with each other. Identification of the cleavage site using mass spectrometry, between Gln4 and Thr5, was found in agreement with the in silico prediction of the calpain cleavage site, in a position different from the one reported for trypsin, i.e., Arg11-Ile12 peptide bond. We showed that the cleavage was impeded by the presence of the neighboring glycosylation of Thr5. Moreover, in vitro studies using electron microscopy showed that calpain-cleaved protein does not form fibrils as observed after trypsin cleavage. Collectively, our results show that calpain-2 cleaves Reg-1α in vitro, and that this action is not associated with fibril formation.