Peroxiredoxin 5 (PRDX5) was the last member to be identified among the six mammalian peroxiredoxins. It is also the unique atypical 2-Cys peroxiredoxin in mammals. Like the other five members, PRDX5 is widely expressed in tissues but differs by its surprisingly large subcellular distribution. In human cells, it has been shown that PRDX5 can be addressed to mitochondria, peroxisomes, the cytosol, and the nucleus. PRDX5 is a peroxidase that can use cytosolic or mitochondrial thioredoxins to reduce alkyl hydroperoxides or peroxynitrite with high rate constants in the 10(6) to 10(7) M(-1)s(-1) range, whereas its reaction with hydrogen peroxide is more modest, in the 10(5) M(-1)s(-1) range. PRDX5 crystal structures confirmed the proposed enzymatic mechanisms based on biochemical data but revealed also some specific unexpected structural features. So far, PRDX5 has been viewed mainly as a cytoprotective antioxidant enzyme acting against endogenous or exogenous peroxide attacks rather than as a redox sensor. Accordingly, overexpression of the enzyme in different subcellular compartments protects cells against death caused by nitro-oxidative stresses, whereas gene silencing makes them more vulnerable. Thus, more than 10 years after its molecular cloning, mammalian PRDX5 appears to be a unique peroxiredoxin exhibiting specific functional and structural features.
In human, the subcellular targeting of peroxiredoxin-5 (PRDX5), a thioredoxin peroxidase, is dependent on the use of multiple alternative transcription start sites and two alternative in-frame translation initiation sites, which determine whether or not the region encoding a mitochondrial targeting sequence (MTS) is translated. In the present study, the abolition of PRDX5 mitochondrial targeting in dog is highlighted and the molecular mechanism underlying the loss of mitochondrial PRDX5 during evolution is examined. Here, we show that the absence of mitochondrial PRDX5 is generalized among the extant canids and that the first events leading to PRDX5 MTS abolition in canids involve a mutation in the more 5′ translation initiation codon as well as the appearance of a STOP codon. Furthermore, we found that PRDX5 MTS functionality is maintained in giant panda and northern elephant seal, which are phylogenetically closely related to canids. Also, the functional consequences of the restoration of mitochondrial PRDX5 in dog Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells were investigated. The restoration of PRDX5 mitochondrial targeting in MDCK cells, instead of protecting, provokes deleterious effects following peroxide exposure independently of its peroxidase activity, indicating that mitochondrial PRDX5 gains cytotoxic properties under acute oxidative stress in MDCK cells. Altogether our results show that, although mitochondrial PRDX5 cytoprotective function against oxidative stress has been clearly demonstrated in human and rodents, PRDX5 targeting to mitochondria has been evolutionary lost in canids. Moreover, restoration of mitochondrial PRDX5 in dog MDCK cells, instead of conferring protection against peroxide exposure, makes them more vulnerable.
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