The N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase Radical fringe contributes to defects in JAG1-dependent turnover and signaling of NOTCH3 CADASIL mutants

Abstract

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a genetic vascular dementia characterized by age-related degeneration of vascular mural cells and accumulation of a NOTCH3 mutant protein. NOTCH3 functions as a signaling receptor, activating downstream gene expression in response to ligands like JAG1 and DLL4, which regulate the development and survival of mural cells. This signal transduction process is thought to be connected with NOTCH3 endocytic degradation. However, the specific cellular circumstances that modulate turnover and signaling efficacy of NOTCH3 mutant protein remain largely unknown. Here, we found elevated NOTCH3 and Radical fringe (RFNG) expression in senescent human pericyte cells. We then investigated impacts of RFNG on glycosylation, degradation, and signal activity of three NOTCH3 CADASIL mutants (R90C, R141C, and C185R) in EGF-like repeat-2, 3, and 4, respectively. Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry analysis showed that RFNG modified NOTCH3 WT and C185R to different degrees. Additionally, coculture experiments demonstrated that RFNG significantly promoted JAG1-dependent degradation of NOTCH3 WT but not that of R141C and C185R mutants. Furthermore, RFNG exhibited a greater inhibitory effect on JAG1-mediated activity of NOTCH3 R141C and C185R compared to that of NOTCH3 WT and R90C. In summary, our findings suggest that NOTCH3 R141C and C185R mutant proteins are relatively susceptible to accumulation and signaling impairment under cellular conditions of RFNG and JAG1 coexistence.

Keywords: CADASIL; NOTCH3; aging; fringe; glycosylation; notch pathway; pericyte; protein degradation; vascular biology.