Expression of TorsinA in a heterologous yeast system reveals interactions with lumenal domains of LINC and nuclear pore complex components.

DYT1 dystonia is caused by an in-frame deletion of a glutamic acid codon in the gene encoding the AAA+ ATPase TorsinA (TorA). TorA localizes within the lumen of the nuclear envelope/endoplasmic reticulum and binds to a membrane-spanning cofactor, lamina associated polypeptide 1 (LAP1) or lumenal domain like LAP1 (LULL1), to form an ATPase; the substrate(s) of TorA remains ill-defined. Here we use budding yeast, which lack Torsins, to interrogate TorA function. We show that TorA accumulates at nuclear envelope-embedded spindle pole bodies (SPBs) in a way that requires its oligomerization and the SUN (Sad1 and UNc-84)-domain protein, Mps3. We further show that TorA physically interacts with human SUN1/2 within this system, supporting the physiological relevance of these interactions. Consistent with the idea that TorA acts on a SPB substrate, its binding to SPBs is modulated by the ATPase-stimulating activity of LAP1. TorA and TorA-ΔE reduce the fitness of cells expressing mps3 alleles, whereas TorA alone inhibits growth of cells lacking Pom152, a component of the nuclear pore complex. This genetic specificity is mirrored biochemically as TorA, but not TorA-ΔE, binds Pom152. Thus, TorA-nucleoporin interactions might be abrogated by TorA-ΔE, suggesting new experimental avenues to interrogate the molecular basis behind nuclear envelope herniations seen in mammalian cells lacking TorA function.