bims-auttor 2019-06-30 papers

bims-auttor

Biomed News

on Autophagy and mTOR

Issue of 2019–06–30
seven papers selected by
Viktor Korolchuk, Newcastle University

Mechanistic Insights into the Role of Atg11 in Selective Autophagy.
Discovery of Small-Molecule Selective mTORC1 Inhibitors via Direct Inhibition of Glucose Transporters.
Revisiting the role of autophagy in melanoma.
The amino acid transporter SLC-36.1 cooperates with PtdIns3P 5-kinase to control phagocytic lysosome reformation.
Upregulation of ATG7 Attenuates Motor Neuron Dysfunction Associated with Depletion of TARDBP/TDP-43.
Lysosomal Regulation of Inter-mitochondrial Contact Fate and Motility in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 2.
Unmasking senescence: context-dependent effects of SASP in cancer.

J Mol Biol. 2019 Jun 22. pii: S0022-2836(19)30402-4. [Epub ahead of print]

Mechanistic Insights into the Role of Atg11 in Selective Autophagy.

Katarzyna Zientara-Rytter, Suresh Subramani.

  Macroautophagy (referred to hereafter as autophagy) is an intracellular degradation pathway in which the formation of a double-membrane vesicle called the autophagosome is a key event in the transport of multiple cytoplasmic cargo (e.g. proteins, protein aggregates, lipid droplets or organelles) to the vacuole (lysosome in mammals) for degradation and recycling. During this process, autophagosomes are formed de novo by membrane fusion events leading to phagophore formation initiated at the phagophore assembly site (PAS). In yeast, Atg11 and Atg17 function as protein scaffolds, essential for selective and non-selective types of autophagy, respectively. While Atg17 functions in non-selective autophagy are well-defined in the literature, less attention is concentrated on recent findings regarding the roles of Atg11 in selective autophagy. Here, we summarize current knowledge about the Atg11 scaffold protein and review recent findings in the context of its role in selective autophagy initiation and autophagosome formation.

Keywords:  Atg11; Atg17; Autophagosome; Membrane tethering; Scaffold protein; Selective autophagy; Selective autophagy receptor

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2019.06.017
Cell Chem Biol. 2019 Jun 06. pii: S2451-9456(19)30178-3. [Epub ahead of print]

Discovery of Small-Molecule Selective mTORC1 Inhibitors via Direct Inhibition of Glucose Transporters.

Seong A Kang, David J O'Neill, Andreas W Machl, Casey J Lumpkin, Stephanie N Galda, Shomit Sengupta, Sarah J Mahoney, Jessica J Howell, Lisa Molz, Seung Hahm, George P Vlasuk, Eddine Saiah.

  The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a central regulator of cellular metabolic processes. Dysregulation of this kinase complex can result in a variety of human diseases. Rapamycin and its analogs target mTORC1 directly; however, chronic treatment in certain cell types and in vivo results in the inhibition of both mTORC1 and mTORC2. We have developed a high-throughput cell-based screen for the detection of phosphorylated forms of the mTORC1 (4E-BP1, S6K1) and mTORC2 (Akt) substrates and have identified and characterized a chemical scaffold that demonstrates a profile consistent with the selective inhibition of mTORC1. Stable isotope labeling of amino acids in cell culture-based proteomic target identification revealed that class I glucose transporters were the primary target for these compounds yielding potent inhibition of glucose uptake and, as a result, selective inhibition of mTORC1. The link between the glucose uptake and selective mTORC1 inhibition are discussed in the context of a yet-to-be discovered glucose sensor.

Keywords:  4E-BP1; Akt; GLUT; GLUT1; S6K1; mTOR; mTORC1; pharmacological inhibition; rapalog; rapamycin

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2019.05.009
Autophagy. 2019 Jun 26.

Revisiting the role of autophagy in melanoma.

Shun Li, Ying Song, Christine Quach, Dali Nemecio, Chengyu Liang.

  Although alterations of the macroautophagy/autophagy-lysosome pathway have been observed in cancer for many years, the mechanisms underlying these changes and the importance of autophagic and lysosomal reprogramming by cancer have yet to be well identified. Our recent study demonstrates that oncogenic BRAF signaling promotes melanoma growth and resistance to BRAF-targeted therapy through phosphorylation and functional inactivation of TFEB (transcription factor EB) and consequent suppression of the autophagy-lysosome gene network. This is by no means the first time that this pathway has been directly linked to oncogenic BRAF-driven melanoma. The key observations revealed in this study also leads to a complex but growing convergence of our understanding of the biology of the autophagy-lysosome pathway and the mechanisms underlying cancer prevention and treatment.

Keywords:  BRAF; TFEB; autophagy; lysosome; melanoma

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2019.1635386
J Cell Biol. 2019 Jun 24. pii: jcb.201901074. [Epub ahead of print]

The amino acid transporter SLC-36.1 cooperates with PtdIns3P 5-kinase to control phagocytic lysosome reformation.

Qiwen Gan, Xin Wang, Qian Zhang, Qiuyuan Yin, Youli Jian, Yubing Liu, Nan Xuan, Jinglin Li, Junxiang Zhou, Kai Liu, Yudong Jing, Xiaochen Wang, Chonglin Yang.

Phagocytic removal of apoptotic cells involves formation, maturation, and digestion of cell corpse-containing phagosomes. The retrieval of lysosomal components following phagolysosomal digestion of cell corpses remains poorly understood. Here we reveal that the amino acid transporter SLC-36.1 is essential for lysosome reformation during cell corpse clearance in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos. Loss of slc-36.1 leads to formation of phagolysosomal vacuoles arising from cell corpse-containing phagosomes. In the absence of slc-36.1, phagosome maturation is not affected, but the retrieval of lysosomal components is inhibited. Moreover, loss of PPK-3, the C. elegans homologue of the PtdIns3P 5-kinase PIKfyve, similarly causes accumulation of phagolysosomal vacuoles that are defective in phagocytic lysosome reformation. SLC-36.1 and PPK-3 function in the same genetic pathway, and they directly interact with one another. In addition, loss of slc-36.1 and ppk-3 causes strong defects in autophagic lysosome reformation in adult animals. Our findings thus suggest that the PPK-3-SLC-36.1 axis plays a central role in both phagocytic and autophagic lysosome formation.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201901074
Autophagy. 2019 Jun 26.

Upregulation of ATG7 Attenuates Motor Neuron Dysfunction Associated with Depletion of TARDBP/TDP-43.

Aneesh Donde, Mingkuan Sun, Yun Ha Jeong, Xinrui Wen, Jonathan Ling, Sophie Lin, Kerstin Braunstein, Shuke Nie, Sheng Wang, Liam Chen, Philip C Wong.

A shared neuropathological hallmark in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is nuclear clearance and cytoplasmic aggregation of TARDBP/TDP-43 (TAR DNA binding protein). We previously showed that the ability of TARDBP to repress nonconserved cryptic exons was impaired in brains of patients with ALS and FTD, suggesting that its nuclear depletion contributes to neurodegeneration. However, the critical pathways impacted by the failure to repress cryptic exons that may contribute to neurodegeneration remain undefined. Here, we report that transcriptome analysis of TARDBP-deficient neurons revealed downregulation of ATG7, a critical gene required for macroautophagy/autophagy. Mouse and Drosophila models lacking TARDBP/TBPH in motor neurons exhibiting age-dependent neurodegeneration and motor deficits showed reduction of ATG7 and accumulation of SQSTM1/p62 inclusions. Importantly, genetic upregulation of the autophagy pathway improved motor function and survival in TBPH-deficient flies. Together with our observation that ATG7 is reduced in ALS-FTD brain tissues, these findings identify the autophagy pathway as one key effector of nuclear depletion of TARDBP that contributes to neurodegeneration. We thus suggest that the autophagy pathway is a therapeutic target for ALS-FTD and other disorders exhibiting TARDBP pathology.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2019.1635379
Dev Cell. 2019 Jun 06. pii: S1534-5807(19)30446-0. [Epub ahead of print]

Lysosomal Regulation of Inter-mitochondrial Contact Fate and Motility in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 2.

Yvette C Wong, Wesley Peng, Dimitri Krainc.

  Properly regulated mitochondrial networks are essential for cellular function and implicated in multiple diseases. Mitochondria undergo fission and fusion events, but the dynamics and regulation of a third event of inter-mitochondrial contact formation remain unclear. Using super-resolution imaging, we demonstrate that inter-mitochondrial contacts frequently form and play a fundamental role in mitochondrial networks by restricting mitochondrial motility. Inter-mitochondrial contact untethering events are marked and regulated by mitochondria-lysosome contacts, which are modulated by RAB7 GTP hydrolysis. Moreover, inter-mitochondrial contact formation and untethering are further regulated by Mfn1/2 and Drp1 GTP hydrolysis, respectively. Surprisingly, endoplasmic reticulum tubules are also present at inter-mitochondrial contact untethering events, in addition to mitochondrial fission and fusion events. Importantly, we find that multiple Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2 disease-linked mutations in Mfn2 (CMT2A), RAB7 (CMT2B), and TRPV4 (CMT2C) converge on prolonged inter-mitochondrial contacts and defective mitochondrial motility, highlighting a role for inter-mitochondrial contacts in mitochondrial network regulation and disease.

Keywords:  Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2; Mfn2; RAB7; TRPV4; endoplasmic reticulum; inter-mitochondrial contact; lysosome; mitochondria; mitochondria-lysosome contact; super-resolution imaging

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2019.05.033
Nat Rev Cancer. 2019 Jun 24.

Unmasking senescence: context-dependent effects of SASP in cancer.

Douglas V Faget, Qihao Ren, Sheila A Stewart.

Cellular senescence plays a critical role in tumorigenesis. Once thought of as a tissue culture artefact by some researchers, senescence is now a major field of study. Although there are common molecular mechanisms that enforce the growth arrest that characterizes the phenotype, the impact of senescence is varied and can, in some instances, have opposite effects on tumorigenesis. It has become clearer that the cell of origin and the tissue in question dictate the impact of senescence on tumorigenesis. In this Review, we unravel this complexity by focusing on how senescence impacts tumorigenesis when it arises within incipient tumour cells versus stromal cells, and how these roles can change in different stages of disease progression. In addition, we highlight the diversity of the senescent phenotype and its functional output beyond growth arrest: the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). Fortunately, a number of new genetic and pharmacologic tools have been developed that are now allowing the senescence phenotype to be parsed further.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-019-0156-2