HSP90α is needed for the survival of rod photoreceptors and regulates the expression of rod PDE6 subunits

Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is an abundant molecular chaperone that regulates the stability of a small set of proteins essential in various cellular pathways. Cytosolic HSP90 has two closely related paralogs: HSP90α and HSP90β. Due to the structural and sequence similarities of cytosolic HSP90 paralogs, identifying the unique functions and substrates in the cell remains challenging. In this article, we assessed the role of HSP90α in the retina using a novel HSP90α murine knockout model. Our findings show that HSP90α is essential for rod photoreceptor function but was dispensable in cone photoreceptors. In the absence of HSP90α, photoreceptors developed normally. We observed rod dysfunction in HSP90α knockout at 2 months with the accumulation of vacuolar structures, apoptotic nuclei, and abnormalities in the outer segments. The decline in rod function was accompanied by progressive degeneration of rod photoreceptors that was complete at 6 months. The deterioration in cone function and health was a “bystander effect” that followed the degeneration of rods. Tandem mass tag proteomics showed that HSP90α regulates the expression levels of <1% of the retinal proteome. More importantly, HSP90α was vital in maintaining rod PDE6 and AIPL1 cochaperone levels in rod photoreceptor cells. Interestingly, cone PDE6 levels were unaffected. The robust expression of HSP90β paralog in cones likely compensates for the loss of HSP90α. Overall, our study demonstrated the critical need for HSP90α chaperone in the maintenance of rod photoreceptors and showed potential substrates regulated by HSP90α in the retina.