Light chain (LC) amyloidosis (AL) involves the toxic aggregation of amyloidogenic immunoglobulin LCs secreted from a clonal expansion of diseased plasma cells. Current AL treatments use chemotherapeutics to ablate the AL plasma cell population. However, no treatments are available that directly reduce the toxic LC aggregation involved in AL pathogenesis. An attractive strategy to reduce toxic LC aggregation in AL involves enhancing endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteostasis in plasma cells to reduce the secretion and subsequent aggregation of amyloidogenic LCs. Here, we show that the ER proteostasis regulator compound 147 reduces secretion of an amyloidogenic LC as aggregation-prone monomers and dimers in AL patient–derived plasma cells. Compound 147 was established to promote ER proteostasis remodeling by activating the ATF6 unfolded protein response signaling pathway through a mechanism involving covalent modification of ER protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs). However, we show that 147-dependent reductions in amyloidogenic LCs are independent of ATF6 activation. Instead, 147 reduces amyloidogenic LC secretion through the selective, on-target covalent modification of ER proteostasis factors, including PDIs, revealing an alternative mechanism by which this compound can influence ER proteostasis of amyloidogenic proteins. Importantly, compound 147 does not interfere with AL plasma cell toxicity induced by bortezomib, a standard chemotherapeutic used to ablate the underlying diseased plasma cells in AL. This shows that pharmacologic targeting of ER proteostasis through selective covalent modification of ER proteostasis factors is a strategy that can be used in combination with chemotherapeutics to reduce the LC toxicity associated with AL pathogenesis.

The PERK arm of the unfolded protein response (UPR) regulates cellular proteostasis and survival in response to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. However, the impact of PERK signaling on extracellular proteostasis is poorly understood. We define how PERK signaling influences extracellular proteostasis during ER stress using a conformational reporter of the secreted amyloidogenic protein transthyretin (TTR). We show that inhibiting PERK signaling impairs secretion of destabilized TTR during thapsigargin (Tg)-induced ER stress by increasing its ER retention in chaperone-bound complexes. Interestingly, PERK inhibition increases the ER stress-dependent secretion of TTR in non-native conformations that accumulate extracellularly as soluble oligomers. Pharmacologic or genetic TTR stabilization partially restores secretion of native TTR tetramers. However, PERK inhibition still increases the ER stress-dependent secretion of TTR in non-native conformations under these conditions, indicating that the conformation of stable secreted proteins can also be affected by inhibiting PERK. Our results define a role for PERK in regulating extracellular proteostasis during ER stress and indicate that genetic or aging-related alterations in PERK signaling can exacerbate ER stress-related imbalances in extracellular proteostasis implicated in diverse diseases.

An inexpensive at-home quantitative analysis activity was developed for the determination of glucose in unknown samples using paper-based microfluidic devices. All of the materials and reagents for the activity fit in a small kit that was mailed to students. The only items students needed to supply were water and a smartphone. Microgram quantities of glucose were dried down in microcentrifuge tubes and included in the kit so that students could prepare external standards. Student results distinguished between two different concentrations of glucose that served as unknown samples. The combination of paper-based devices and dried-down microgram quantities of reagents provides a foundation for the development of other at-home or in-person experiments.

Systemic amyloid diseases are characterized by the deposition of an amyloidogenic protein as toxic oligomers and amyloid fibrils on tissues distal from the site of protein synthesis. Traditionally, these diseases have been viewed as disorders of peripheral target tissues where aggregates are deposited, and toxicity is observed. However, recent evidence highlights an important role for endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteostasis pathways within tissues synthesizing and secreting amyloidogenic proteins, such as the liver, in the pathogenesis of these disorders. Here, we describe the pathologic implications of ER proteostasis and its regulation on the toxic extracellular aggregation of amyloidogenic proteins implicated in systemic amyloid disease pathogenesis. Furthermore, we discuss the therapeutic potential for targeting ER proteostasis to reduce the secretion and toxic aggregation of amyloidogenic proteins to mitigate peripheral amyloid-associated toxicity involved in the onset and progression of systemic amyloid diseases.

The extracellular aggregation of destabilized transthyretin (TTR) variants is implicated in the onset and pathogenesis of familial TTR-related amyloid diseases. One strategy to reduce the toxic, extracellular aggregation of TTR is to decrease the population of aggregation-prone proteins secreted from mammalian cells. The stress-independent activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR)-associated transcription factor ATF6 preferentially decreases the secretion and subsequent aggregation of destabilized, aggregation-prone TTR variants. However, the mechanism of this reduced secretion was previously undefined. Here, we implement a mass-spectrometry-based interactomics approach to identify endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteostasis factors involved in ATF6-dependent reductions in destabilized TTR secretion. We show that ATF6 activation reduces amyloidogenic TTR secretion and subsequent aggregation through a mechanism involving ER retention that is mediated by increased interactions with ATF6-regulated ER proteostasis factors including BiP and PDIA4. Intriguingly, the PDIA4-dependent retention of TTR is independent of both the single TTR cysteine residue and the redox activity of PDIA4, indicating that PDIA4 retains destabilized TTR in the ER through a redox-independent mechanism. Our results define a mechanistic basis to explain the ATF6 activation-dependent reduction in destabilized, amyloidogenic TTR secretion that could be therapeutically accessed to improve treatments of TTR-related amyloid diseases.