ceramide transporter and the Goodpasture antigen binding protein: one protein - one function

• Published in: Journal of neurochemistry 2010-06, Vol.113 (6), p.1369-1386
• Main Authors: Mencarelli, Chiara, Losen, Mario, Hammels, Caroline, De Vry, Jochen, Hesselink, Matthijs K.C, Steinbusch, Harry W.M, De Baets, Marc H, Martínez-Martínez, Pilar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Autoantigens - metabolism; autoimmunity; Binding sites; Biochemistry; Biological and medical sciences; Cell physiology; Central Nervous System - metabolism; ceramide; Collagen Type IV - metabolism; Danio rerio; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glomerulonephritis; GPBP/CERT; Humans; Medical sciences; Models, Biological; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular biology; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; Nephropathies. Renovascular diseases. Renal failure; neurodegenerative diseases; Neurodegenerative Diseases - metabolism; Neurology; Protein Splicing - genetics; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - chemistry; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - classification; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - physiology; Proteins; Signal transduction
• ISSN: 0022-3042; 1471-4159
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2010.06673.x

J. Neurochem. (2010) 113, 1369-1386. The Goodpasture antigen-binding protein (GPBP) and its splice variant the ceramide transporter (CERT) are multifunctional proteins that have been found to play important roles in brain development and biology. However, the function of GPBP and CERT is controversial because of their involvement in two apparently unrelated research fields: GPBP was initially isolated as a protein associated with collagen IV in patients with the autoimmune disease Goodpasture syndrome. Subsequently, a splice variant lacking a serine-rich domain of 26 amino acids (GPBPΔ26) was found to mediate the cytosolic transport of ceramide and was therefore (re)named CERT. The two splice forms likely carry out different functions in specific sub-cellular localizations. Selective GPBP knockdown induces extensive apoptosis and tissue loss in the brain of zebrafish. GPBP/GPBPΔ26 knock-out mice die as a result of structural and functional defects in endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. Because both mitochondria and ceramide play an important role in many biological events that regulate neuronal differentiation, cellular senescence, proliferation and cell death, we propose that GPBP and CERT are pivotal in neurodegenerative processes. In this review, we discuss the current state of knowledge on GPBP and CERT, including the molecular and biochemical characterization of GPBP in the field of autoimmunity as well as the fundamental research on CERT in ceramide transport, biosynthesis, localization, metabolism and cell homeostasis.