1. Introduction
Autophagy, a highly conserved catabolic process, is of great importance in eukaryotes. In plants, the role of autophagy has been shown in onto- and organogenesis, for example, in the formation of aerenchyma and xylem vessels [
1], and in the processes of aging and programmed cell death (PCD) [
2]. Autophagy is also considered as a defence reaction for survival of an organism in stressful environments [
3]. Activation of autophagic processes under stress is necessary for the efficient breakdown of macromolecules to provide cells with construction blocks and energy substrates [
4], as well as the timely removal of oxidized or spent macromolecules and damaged structures [
5]. Autophagy is characterized by the appearance of double membrane vesicles (autophagosomes), whose formation is controlled by the sequential activity of multiple autophagy-related (ATG) proteins [
6]. The involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitrogen species (RNS), including nitric oxide (NO), in the regulation of autophagy has been most extensively studied in animal cells where evidence exists for both the induction [
3,
7] and the suppression [
8,
9] of autophagy by RNS. In photosynthetic organisms, little information is available about the effects of NO on autophagic processes. Induction of autophagosome formation by increasing NO levels has been shown in the roots of wheat seedlings [
10]. In the unicellular alga
Chlamidomonas reinhardii, exposure to high light induced NO emission and cell death via autophagy, which was confirmed by an increase in ATG8 protein content and activation of other ATG genes [
11]. Autophagy was suppressed in the presence of the NO acceptor (cPTIO, 2-4-carboxyphenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide). Interestingly, co-treatment of cells with H
2O
2 and NO donors induced autophagy and resulted in cell death after 24 h, and this effect was also eliminated by cPTIO. These data suggest that the regulatory role of NO in autophagic processes is largely due to the synergistic effect of ROS and RNS [
12].
Nitric oxide regulates protein activity through various posttranslational modifications (PTMs), such as S-nitrosylation of sulfhydryl (thiol) groups of proteins and oxidative nitrosylation of iron and other metal-containing proteins. S-nitrosylation of proteins is a mechanism involving the covalent attachment of the -NO group to the cysteine thiol in a protein resulting in the formation of S-nitrosothiol (SNO). Despite the importance of this PTM for cellular biology, in plants our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying S-nitrosylation of proteins remains limited. Current estimates suggest that approximately 70% of the proteome is subject to S-nitrosylation, and most of the S-nitrosylation sites are conserved [
13]. This particular protein PTM is known to be a key element of the NO-mediated signal transduction mechanism in many processes, including autophagy [
14]. Another NO-mediated modification of proteins is tyrosine nitration, which is an irreversible reaction of a nitrating agent with the tyrosine residue of a target protein [
15]. Nitration of oxidoreductase enzymes, such as catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, monodehydroascorbate reductase, superoxide dismutase, and nitrate reductase, has been shown to reduce their activity [
16]. It seems likely that an increase in protein tyrosine nitration could be considered as a consequence of nitrosative and oxidative stresses.
The first article on the regulation of autophagy mediated by protein S-nitrosylation in animal cells was published only in 2011 [
8]. Currently, the study of the effects of protein S-nitrosylation on autophagic processes is a hot topic in medical research [
7,
17,
18]. Targeting the pro-death and pro-survival functions of protein S-nitrosylation in autophagy has become a novel therapeutic strategy for treatments of Parkinson's disease [
19], cellular tumorigenesis [
20,
21], myocardial ischemia [
22], and cocaine dependence [
23]. One of the targets of S-nitrosylation is the family of cysteine proteases ATG4, which occurs universally in eukaryotic cells. For example, ATG4B undergoes S-nitrosylation at Cys189 and Cys292 when glucose levels increase in human neuronal cells [
18]. This modification reduces the efficiency of the proteolytic and delipidative activities of ATG4, resulting in the inhibition of the ability of ATG4B to process ATG8 family precursors and deconjugate ATG8 to PE, and as a consequence in the reduction of autophagic flux.
For plants, only fragmentary information is available about the regulation of autophagy mediated by protein S-nitrosylation. A recent study demonstrated that in
Arabidopsis thaliana hypoxic conditions induce S-nitrosylation of the protein AtGSNOR1 (S-nitrosoglutathione reductase 1) at the conserved Cys10 residue [
24]. This, in turn, changes the conformational structure of the protein and promotes its interaction with AtATG8
via the ATG8-interacting motif (AIM). These protein-protein interactions (PPIs) result in the degradation of AtGSNOR1
via selective autophagy. These data provide direct evidence of a functional link between protein S-nitrosylation and autophagy in plants during stress, particularly in response to hypoxia. Unfortunately, proteins that undergo S-nitrosylation have not been identified in plants exposed to conditions that induce autophagy. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify potential protein targets of S-nitrosylation in the cells of wheat roots, in which autophagy was induced by the application of antimycin A, a mitochondrial inhibitor, and KNO
2, a donor of NO. We have previously showed that antimycin A [
25] and KNO
2 [
26] efficiently induce autophagy in wheat roots. To identify S-nitrosylated proteins, we applied a complex approach including polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), immunoblotting with monoclonal antibodies followed by protein identification in visualized electrophoretic zones (bands) using the bottom-up proteomics approach, i.e. tryptic digestion of individual bands with subsequent nanoflow reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography - (tandem) mass spectrometry (nanoRP-HPLC-MS and MS/MS). Furthermore, this classical bottom-up proteomics approach was combined with algorithms for prediction of hypothetical S-nitrosylation sites and modelling of the protein-ligand molecular interactions.
In silico analysis of PPIs clearly demonstrated that S-nitrosylation of proteins, as a result of NO signaling, provides an important link between the key metabolic pathways and autophagy.
4. Discussion
S-nitrosylation of proteins is well-known as a key mechanism of NO-mediated signaling in cells. Given that only fragmentary information is available about PTM-mediated regulation of autophagy in plants, it is important to develop an efficient approach to search for S-nitrosylated target proteins. Therefore, in this study we applied a combination of methods including immunoblotting, protein identification using a standard bottom-up proteomics approach, predictive algorithms, and molecular docking to search for target proteins, i.e. for the potential candidates for S-nitrosylation. While only a few ATG proteins are predicted to be capable of S-nitrosylation, this study identified several S-nitrosylated proteins potentially involved in autophagic flux in wheat roots. Using PPI networks, we found that some of these proteins identified by LC-MS/MS can directly interact with ATG proteins, while others interact with ATG proteins indirectly via key multifunctional regulatory proteins.
Immunoblotting with monoclonal anti-nitroso-
L-cysteine antibodies revealed the accumulation of S-nitrosylated proteins in the cells of the roots treated with the NO donor KNO
2 and the mitochondrial inhibitor antimycin A (
Figure 1b). The accumulation of S-nitrosylated proteins in the roots following treatment with KNO
2 is probably a result of the increase in intracellular NO levels that occurs during the reduction of nitrite to NO by nitrite:NO reductase at the plasma membrane [
33] and the mitochondrial ETC [
34]. Previously we showed that treatment of wheat roots with the inhibitor of mitochondrial complex III antimycin A induces autophagy, which was confirmed by the accumulation of autophagosomes in the cells [
25] and an increase in
ATG gene expression (Minibayeva et al. unpublished). Mitochondrial ETC is known as one of the greatest intracellular sources of NO [
34]. Disruption of mitochondrial complexes causes an increase in mitochondrial NO levels, which can intensify the process of S-nitrosylation of proteins.
Functional annotation of the identified here proteins demonstrated that out of 298 proteins the most representative group of proteins are involved in protein biosynthesis and metabolism, transport, and carbohydrate metabolism (
Figure S2). Among these proteins, 178, which were predicted to contain S-nitrosylation sites in their sequence, are involved in general universal stress response (
Figure 4b). The search for PTMs in the total proteome of the organism leads to a large number of single predictions and a relatively tight correction for multiple comparisons (FDR correction) of the probabilities of each of them. In turn, this leads to the loss of relatively low-confidence peptide spectra, which typically include posttranslationally modified peptides. To avoid these losses of valuable information, such spectra are typically manually inspected. Indeed, as a result of the low contents of modified peptides in the total hydrolysates, the intensity of the corresponding MS signals is low. Moreover, pronounced ion suppression, which is characteristic for electrospray ionization [
35], further reduces signal strength. The low signal intensity of MS1 spectra results in a low intensity of fragment spectra and insufficient representation of individual signals of b- and y-fragment series. In turn, this reduces the probability of identifying the corresponding peptides and Xcorr values obtained in the Sequest search. Such peptides with low probability values do not pass FDR correction and are rejected by the search engine as false positives.
A search for the thionitroso (SNO) group in the identified proteins revealed that this group is lost during sample preparation for mass spectrometric analysis. The SNO group is known to be highly labile and sensitive to experimental conditions. Indeed, in the absence of immediate chemical derivatization of the nitroso group (e.g., by the biotin switch method), the reverse reaction - denitrosylation - begins to prevail. It leads to the degradation of the modification and the impossibility of its detection [
36]. It seems likely that the main reason for the secondary degradation of the modification is the use of the relatively strong reducing agent DTT during sample preparation for nanoLC-MS/MS analysis [
37]. Nevertheless, the presence of S-nitrosylated proteins is confirmed by the interaction of proteins in extracts with monoclonal antibodies for nitroso-
L-cysteine (Fig. 1b), and
in silico identification of S-nitrosylation sites in proteins identified by LC-MS/MS. Three programs predict seventy-eight proteins with a S-nitrosylation site, while eighteen proteins are predicted by all four programs (
Table 1). Interestingly, among the identified S-nitrosylated proteins, PPs localized in the cytoplasm and mitochondria predominate. Identified proteins with predicted SNO group include those involved in protein biosynthesis, responses to stressors, carbohydrate metabolism, cytoskeletal functioning, protein folding, and energy metabolism. For example, modeling of triosophosphate isomerase, a glycolytic enzyme involved in carbohydrate metabolism, confirms possible S-nitrosylation at Cys127 (
Figure 4). Preliminary analysis using S-nitrosylation site prediction software shows that isoforms of the autophagic proteins ATG4 and ATG16 have hypothetical S-nitrosylation sites (
Table S8). This, in turn, may indicate the possibility of S-nitrosylation of ATG proteins.
Using PPI networks, we found proteins such as 14-3-3 proteins (GRF4), heat shock protein 70 kDa (Hsp70, BIP2), 2-Cys peroxiredoxin (BAS-1), and ADP/ATP transporter (AAC1), can directly interact with ATG proteins, while triosephosphate isomerase (TPI), 60S ribosomal protein (RPL7AB), and 26S proteasome non-ATPase regulatory subunit (EMB2107). These proteins can be divided into three groups: (1) proteins that negatively regulate autophagy (14-3-3 protein, heat shock 70 kDa, ADP/ATP carrier); (2) proteins that can be selectively taken up by autophagosomes (26s proteasome sub., 60s ribosomal protein); and (3) proteins whose expression depends on the expression of ATG proteins (2-Cys peroxiredoxin, triosephosphate isomerase). Negative regulators of autophagy include proteins with diverse effects on autophagy flux. For example, Hsp70 is known to regulate autophagy activity by interacting with p62 protein [
37]. However, recent studies showed that the stress response induced Hsp70 can also inhibit autophagy by activating RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (Akt), which in turn phosphorylates and stimulates mTOR. An obvious negative regulator of autophagy is the family of 14-3-3 proteins, which are involved in various multiple molecular interactions and implicated in subcellular localization, scaffolding and stability of proteins. The 14-3-3 proteins block the formation of autophagosomes by interacting with phosphorylated ULK1 (ATG1), [
38]. Furthermore, in a later stage of autophagosome formation, 14-3-3 proteins can interfere with the activity of hVps34 Beclin-1 (ATG6), thereby inhibiting the autophagy process [
39]. Moreover, in plants the 14-3-3-like protein GRF10 and ATG10 are linked through a product of the RNA degradation, namely 2′,3′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (2′,3′-cAMP) [
40]. Accumulation of Br-2′,3′-cAMP/2′,3′-cAMP decreases the expression levels of 14-3-3-like protein but increases the levels of ATG10. Another protein that can stimulate or repress autophagy is the mitochondrial ADP/ATP transporter (AAC), the major transport protein of the inner mitochondrial membrane. This protein exchanges mitochondrial ATP for cytosolic ADP thereby controlling the production of cellular ATP. It was experimentally shown that in yeast AAC proteins are involved in the degradation of mitochondria by facilitating permeabilization of mitochondrial membranes and thus triggering PCD [
41].
A second regulatory group includes proteins that are involved in selective autophagy, such as selective degradation of ribosomes
via ribophagy. Ribosomal assemblies and the abundance of individual ribosomal proteins can be controlled by both the ubiquitin system and autophagy. Interestingly, in human cell lines, it was shown that an increase in NO levels can decrease translational activity and induce ribosome collision, leading to the ribotoxic stress response [
42]. Therefore, a surge of NO may be one of the stimuli for the selective removal of ribosomes. Another NO-sensitive system is the 26S proteasome, a multi-subunit proteolytic machine. It has been shown that in endothelial cells eNOS-derived NO functions as a physiological suppressor of the 26S proteasome in vascular endothelial cells [
43]. Notably, nuclear 26S proteasomes can be substrates of autophagy after nitrogen starvation or inactivation. In plants, excess or damaged proteasomes can be degraded in autophagy pathways mediated by signals from the nutrient-responsive kinase ATG1, the ubiquitin subunit, and autophagy receptors, including RPN10. RPN10 acts as a selective autophagy receptor that targets inactive 26S proteasomes through simultaneous interactions with ubiquitylated subunits/targets of proteasomes and lipidated ATG8 lining enveloped autophagic membranes [
44].
Positive regulation of autophagy by 2-Cys peroxiredoxin (2-CP) is confirmed by the co-expression of transcripts encoding 2-Cys peroxiredoxin and ATG in tomato plants exposed to heat stress [
45]. Silencing ATG5 or ATG7 increased transcript and protein levels of 2-CP but decreased heat stress tolerance, suggesting that peroxiredoxin plays an important role in stress adaptation of plants through activation of autophagy [
45]. Another protein, triosephosphate isomerase is also involved in the autophagy process. For example, it was shown that airborne PM0.1 nanoparticles (diameter <100 nm) induce autophagic cell death, which was characterized by the expression of ATG3, 7 and 8 proteins and triosephosphate isomerase in SH-SY5Y cells [
46].
Taken together, our data demonstrate that numerous proteins involved in autophagy in wheat roots are capable of S-nitrosylation. Mechanisms of their involvement in the autophagic machinery are diverse and can include both direct interactions with ATG proteins and indirect interactions with components of signaling transduction pathways, e.g. receptors and protein kinases, resulting in suppression or activation of autophagic flux.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, F.M., A.F.; methodology, A.M., N.G., J.S.; software, A.M., J.S., E.R.; investigation, A.M., N.G., J.S.; resources, A.F.; writing—original draft preparation, A.M., F.M., J.S., A.F.; writing—review and editing, F.M., A.F.; visualization, A.M., J.S.; supervision, F.M., A.F. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.