Glutathionylation decreases methyltransferase activity of PRMT5 and inhibits cell proliferation

Glutathionylation is an important posttranslational modification that protects proteins from further oxidative damage as well as influencing protein structure and activity. In the present study, we demonstrate that the cysteine-42 residue in protein arginine N-methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is glutathionylated in aged mice or in cells that have been exposed to oxidative stress. Deglutathionylation of this protein is catalyzed by glutaredoxin-1 (Grx1). Using mutagenesis and subsequent biochemical analyses, we show that glutathionylation decreased the binding affinity of PRMT5 with methylosome protein-50 (MEP50) and reduced the methyltransferase activity of PRMT5. Furthermore, overexpression of PRMT5-C42A mutant caused a significant increase in histone methylation in HEK293T and A549 cells and promoted cell growth, whereas overexpression of the PRMT5-C42D mutant, a mimic of glutathionylated PRMT5, inhibited cell proliferation. Taken together, our results demonstrate a new mechanism of regulation of PRMT5 methyltransferases activity and suggest that PRMT5 glutathionylation is partly responsible for reactive oxygen species-mediated cell growth inhibition