Cytosolic Aryl sulfotransferase 4A1 interacts with the peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase Pin1.

Sulfonation by cytosolic sulfotransferases plays an important role in the metabolism of both endogenous and exogenous compounds. Sulfotransferase 4A1 (SULT4A1) is a novel sulfotransferase found primarily in neurons in the brain. It is highly conserved between species, but no substantial enzyme activity has been identified for the protein. Consequently, little is known about the role of this enzyme in the brain. We performed a yeast two-hybrid screen of a human brain library to isolate potential SULT4A1-interacting proteins that might identify the role or regulation of the sulfotransferase in humans. The screen isolated the peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase Pin1. Its interaction with SULT4A1 was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation studies in HeLa cells and by in vitro pull-down of expressed proteins. Moreover, Pin1 binding was dependent on phosphorylation of the SULT4A1 protein. Pin1 destabilized SULT4A1, decreasing its half-life from more than 8 h to approximately 4.5 h. This effect was dependent on the isomerase activity of Pin1 and was inhibited by okadaic acid, suggesting a role for the phosphatase PP2A. Pin1-mediated SULT4A1 degradation did not involve the proteosomes or macroautophagy, but it was inhibited by the calpain antagonists N-acetyl-Leu-Leu-Nle-CHO and Z-Val-Phe-CHO. Finally, Pin1 binding was mapped to two threonine-proline motifs (Thr(8) and Thr(11)) that are not present in any of the other human cytosolic sulfotransferases. Our findings suggest that SULT4A1 is subject to post-translational modification that alters its stability in the cell. These modifications may also be important for enzyme activity, which explains why specific substrates for SULT4A1 have not yet been identified.