In the cytoplasm GAPDH exists primarily as a tetrameric isoform composed of four identical 37 kDa subunits, each with a single catalytic thiol group. GAPDH coverts glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate to D-glycerate 1,3-bisphospate, in the presence of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and inorganic phosphate, and mediates formation of NADH and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). While GAPDH continues to retain its fundamental role as a glycolytic “housekeeping” protein of the cytoplasm, accumulating evidence indicates that posttranslational modifications of cytosolic GAPDH push this molecule into functional avenues that deviate from glycolysis.
In human monocytes GAPDH facilitates a metabolic shift from anaerobic respiration to the pentose phosphate pathway [
13]. Oxidative stress following the respiratory burst during phagocytosis and monocyte activation induces
S-thiolation of the reactive sulfhydryl groups on GAPDH. The corresponding cysteine residue of GAPDH in other organisms is also modified under oxidative stress, which was proposed to be a mechanism to protect the glycolytic enzyme from irreversible oxidative inactivation [
14,
15]. Since inactivation of GAPDH by
S-thiolation is readily reversible, this posttranslational modification may allow GAPDH to function as a switch that enables cells to shift between metabolic functions and maintenance of oxidation/reduction balance. Indeed, Krobitsch and colleagues [
16] provided the first direct evidence that oxidative inhibition of glycolytic enzymes, including GAPDH, is a controlled response that enables cells to redirect their carbohydrate flux from glycolysis to the pentose phosphate pathway, generating NADPH, the reducing power within cells to protect them from oxidative stress ().
Other studies have shown that with this redox-sensitive cysteine residue, GAPDH can modulate cellular signaling pathways in response to oxidative stress [
17,
18]. For example, GAPDH was shown to physiologically bind to inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor, delivering NADH in close proximity to the channel and thus regulating intracellular Ca
2+ signaling () [
19].
S-Nitrosylation, a covalent addition of a nitric oxide (NO) group to the thiol side chain of cysteine, has emerged as an important mechanism for reversible posttranslational regulation of many proteins including GAPDH [
20]. However, its effect in mediating a metabolic flux is limited due to subsequent posttranslational modifications that inactivate GAPDH irreversibly. These include NAD
+ or NADH attachment, both of which are capable of more strongly inhibiting the catalytic activity of GAPDH [
21,
22]. When the cell is exposed to massive stressors beyond its stress tolerance level, the inactivation of GAPDH may have catastrophic “loss of function” effects by reducing the ability of the cell to meet the increased energy demands required to maintain homeostasis under extreme stress [
23,
24]. However, the posttranslational or conformational modifications to a small pool of the total cellular GAPDH are potentially unlikely to induce dramatic changes in the cellular glycolytic pathways. In this case, a small pool of
S-nitrosylated GAPDH has further and irreversible modification (sulphonation) (), which with this modification, translocates to subcellular domains where it does not normally occurs, as seen with GAPDH-Siah association, may stimulate a “gain of function” that could provoke apoptosis or cellular dysfunction (see in subsection 5 below) [
6].
The posttranslational modifications from
S-nitrosylation to sulphonation commit GAPDH to an irreversible signaling cascade that begin in the cytosol and traverse to other cellular compartments. Thus, regulatory mechanisms for this cascade are important for cellular homeostasis. We have recently reported a novel protein, GOSPEL (
GAPDH’s competitor
Of
Siah
Protein
Enhances
Life), as a key regulator for GAPDH [
25]. This cytosolic protein is highly expressed in organs with high levels of energy requirement and high expression levels of GAPDH, such as muscle, heart, and brain. In the presence of nitrosative stress, GOSPEL is quickly S-nitrosylated and retains GAPDH in the cytoplasm, promoting GAPDH-GOSPEL association while competitively preventing the cytotoxic interaction of GAPDH with Siah () [
25]. The competition between GOSPEL and Siah for GAPDH binding is likely to maintain cellular homeostasis when cells are exposed to stressors, by favoring the cytoprotective GOSPEL
S-nitrosylation over the cytotoxic mechanisms mediated by GAPDH
S-nitrosylation. However, once the level of nitrosative stress exceeds a threshold, GAPDH-Siah binding predominates over GAPDH-GOSPEL interaction and then leads to cell death/dysfunction [
25]. This is analogous to
S-nitrosylation of the NMDA-type glutamate receptor [
26–
28]: activation of NMDA receptor at a modest level contains a protective mechanism by
S-nitrosylation (a type of negative feedback), inhibiting the overactivation of this receptor that might result in massive activation of nNOS (nitrosative stress) and cell death/dysfunction. Likewise, we reported that overexpression of GOSPEL is neuroprotective, whereas mutant GOSPEL lacking the
S-nitrosylation site and its binding of GAPDH fails to block cell death in primary neuron cultures [
25]. This neuroprotective action of GOSPEL was further validated in a model of NMDA excitotoxicity
in vivo [
25].
Furthermore, increased levels of oxidative stresses can promote GAPDH aggregation in the cytoplasm, which seems to be associated with cell death () [
29,
30]. Oxidative stress
in vitro elicits the formation of disulfide-bonded GAPDH aggregates, which in turn results in the production of amyloid-like fibrils [
29]. Similarly, oxidative stress caused
in vivo by methamphetamine, which produces massive oxidative stress, induces the formation GAPDH aggregates in mouse brain. In GAPDH transgenic mice, methamphetamine accelerated GAPDH aggregation and neuronal cell death [
30].