bims-auttor 2021-04-11 papers

bims-auttor

Biomed News

on Autophagy and mTOR

Issue of 2021–04–11
sixteen papers selected by
Viktor Korolchuk, Newcastle University

TSC-insensitive Rheb mutations induce oncogenic transformation through a combination of constitutively active mTORC1 signalling and proteome remodelling.
Mitochondrial Dynamics and VMP1-Related Selective Mitophagy in Experimental Acute Pancreatitis.
Lysosome dysfunction as a cause of neurodegenerative diseases: Lessons from frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The Intraflagellar Transport Protein IFT20 Recruits ATG16L1 to Early Endosomes to Promote Autophagosome Formation in T Cells.
AMPK/ULK1-mediated phosphorylation of Parkin ACT domain mediates an early step in mitophagy.
The paradox of autophagy in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.
FOXO1 controls protein synthesis and transcript abundance of mutant polyglutamine proteins, preventing protein aggregation.
The role of autophagy in controlling of SARS-CoV-2 infection: An overview with virophagy-mediated of molecular drug targets.
Palmitate reduces starvation-induced ER stress by inhibiting ER-phagy in hypothalamic cells.
CCCP-induced mitochondrial dysfunction: Characterization and analysis of integrated stress response to cellular signaling and homeostasis.
Mitochondria-dependent phase separation of disease-relevant proteins drives pathological features of age-related macular degeneration.
Quality Matters? The Involvement of Mitochondrial Quality Control in Cardiovascular Disease.
Mitochondrial Aurora kinase A induces mitophagy by interacting with MAP1LC3 and Prohibitin 2.
Physiological hypoxia restrains the senescence-associated secretory phenotype via AMPK-mediated mTOR suppression.
RTN4B interacting protein FAM134C promotes ER membrane curvature and has a functional role in autophagy.
Endothelial cell autophagy in homeostasis and cancer.

Cell Mol Life Sci. 2021 Apr 08.

TSC-insensitive Rheb mutations induce oncogenic transformation through a combination of constitutively active mTORC1 signalling and proteome remodelling.

Jianling Xie, Stuart P De Poi, Sean J Humphrey, Leanne K Hein, John B Bruning, Wenru Pan, Luke A Selth, Timothy J Sargeant, Christopher G Proud.

  The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is an important regulator of cellular metabolism that is commonly hyperactivated in cancer. Recent cancer genome screens have identified multiple mutations in Ras-homolog enriched in brain (Rheb), the primary activator of mTORC1 that might act as driver oncogenes by causing hyperactivation of mTORC1. Here, we show that a number of recurrently occurring Rheb mutants drive hyperactive mTORC1 signalling through differing levels of insensitivity to the primary inactivator of Rheb, tuberous sclerosis complex. We show that two activated mutants, Rheb-T23M and E40K, strongly drive increased cell growth, proliferation and anchorage-independent growth resulting in enhanced tumour growth in vivo. Proteomic analysis of cells expressing the mutations revealed, surprisingly, that these two mutants promote distinct oncogenic pathways with Rheb-T23M driving an increased rate of anaerobic glycolysis, while Rheb-E40K regulates the translation factor eEF2 and autophagy, likely through differential interactions with 5' AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) which modulate its activity. Our findings suggest that unique, personalized, combination therapies may be utilised to treat cancers according to which Rheb mutant they harbour.

Keywords:  AMPK; PKM; Rheb; TSC; eEF2; mTOR

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-021-03825-7
Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 ;9 640094

Mitochondrial Dynamics and VMP1-Related Selective Mitophagy in Experimental Acute Pancreatitis.

Virginia Vanasco, Alejandro Ropolo, Daniel Grasso, Diego S Ojeda, María Noé García, Tamara A Vico, Tamara Orquera, Jorge Quarleri, Silvia Alvarez, María I Vaccaro.

  Mitophagy and zymophagy are selective autophagy pathways early induced in acute pancreatitis that may explain the mild, auto limited, and more frequent clinical presentation of this disease. Adequate mitochondrial bioenergetics is necessary for cellular restoration mechanisms that are triggered during the mild disease. However, mitochondria and zymogen contents are direct targets of damage in acute pancreatitis. Cellular survival depends on the recovering possibility of mitochondrial function and efficient clearance of damaged mitochondria. This work aimed to analyze mitochondrial dynamics and function during selective autophagy in pancreatic acinar cells during mild experimental pancreatitis in rats. Also, using a cell model under the hyperstimulation of the G-coupled receptor for CCK (CCK-R), we aimed to investigate the mechanisms involved in these processes in the context of zymophagy. We found that during acute pancreatitis, mitochondrial O2 consumption and ATP production significantly decreased early after induction of acute pancreatitis, with a consequent decrease in the ATP/O ratio. Mitochondrial dysfunction was accompanied by changes in mitochondrial dynamics evidenced by optic atrophy 1 (OPA-1) and dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP-1) differential expression and ultrastructural features of mitochondrial fission, mitochondrial elongation, and mitophagy during the acute phase of experimental mild pancreatitis in rats. Mitophagy was also evaluated by confocal assay after transfection with the pMITO-RFP-GFP plasmid that specifically labels autophagic degradation of mitochondria and the expression and redistribution of the ubiquitin ligase Parkin1. Moreover, we report for the first time that vacuole membrane protein-1 (VMP1) is involved and required in the mitophagy process during acute pancreatitis, observable not only by repositioning around specific mitochondrial populations, but also by detection of mitochondria in autophagosomes specifically isolated with anti-VMP1 antibodies as well. Also, VMP1 downregulation avoided mitochondrial degradation confirming that VMP1 expression is required for mitophagy during acute pancreatitis. In conclusion, we identified a novel DRP1-Parkin1-VMP1 selective autophagy pathway, which mediates the selective degradation of damaged mitochondria by mitophagy in acute pancreatitis. The understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved to restore mitochondrial function, such as mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy, could be relevant in the development of novel therapeutic strategies in acute pancreatitis.

Keywords:  DRP1; Parkin1; VMP1; autophagy; mitochondrial dynamics; mitochondrial function; mitophagy; pancreatitis

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.640094
Neurobiol Dis. 2021 Mar 31. pii: S0969-9961(21)00109-1. [Epub ahead of print] 105360

Lysosome dysfunction as a cause of neurodegenerative diseases: Lessons from frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Jessica Root, Paola Merino, Austin Nuckols, Michelle Johnson, Thomas Kukar.

  Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are fatal neurodegenerative disorders that are thought to exist on a clinical and pathological spectrum. FTD and ALS are linked by shared genetic causes (i.e. C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansions) and neuropathology, such as inclusions of ubiquitinated, misfolded proteins (i.e. TAR DNA-binding protein 43; TDP-43) in the CNS. Furthermore, some genes that cause FTD or ALS when mutated encode proteins that localize to the lysosome or modulate endosome-lysosome function, including lysosomal fusion, cargo trafficking, lysosomal acidification, autophagy, or TFEB activity. In this review, we summarize evidence that lysosomal dysfunction, caused by genetic mutations (i.e. C9orf72, GRN, MAPT, TMEM106B) or toxic-gain of function (i.e. aggregation of TDP-43 or tau), is an important pathogenic disease mechanism in FTD and ALS. Further studies into the normal function of many of these proteins are required and will help uncover the mechanisms that cause lysosomal dysfunction in FTD and ALS. Mutations or polymorphisms in genes that encode proteins important for endosome-lysosome function also occur in other age-dependent neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's (i.e. APOE, PSEN1, APP) and Parkinson's (i.e. GBA, LRRK2, ATP13A2) disease. A more complete understanding of the common and unique features of lysosome dysfunction across the spectrum of neurodegeneration will help guide the development of therapies for these devastating diseases.

Keywords:  Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD); Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); Autophagy; C9orf72; Frontotemporal dementia (FTD); Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD); Granulins (GRNs); Lysosome dysfunction; Microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT); Neurodegeneration; Progranulin (PGRN); Transactive response DNA binding protein 43 kDa (TDP-43); Transcription factor EB (TFEB); Transmembrane protein 106B (TMEM106B); Ubiquitin

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105360
Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 ;9 634003

The Intraflagellar Transport Protein IFT20 Recruits ATG16L1 to Early Endosomes to Promote Autophagosome Formation in T Cells.

Francesca Finetti, Chiara Cassioli, Valentina Cianfanelli, Fabrizia Zevolini, Anna Onnis, Monica Gesualdo, Jlenia Brunetti, Francesco Cecconi, Cosima T Baldari.

  Lymphocyte homeostasis, activation and differentiation crucially rely on basal autophagy. The fine-tuning of this process depends on autophagy-related (ATG) proteins and their interaction with the trafficking machinery that orchestrates the membrane rearrangements leading to autophagosome biogenesis. The underlying mechanisms are as yet not fully understood. The intraflagellar transport (IFT) system, known for its role in cargo transport along the axonemal microtubules of the primary cilium, has emerged as a regulator of autophagy in ciliated cells. Growing evidence indicates that ciliogenesis proteins participate in cilia-independent processes, including autophagy, in the non-ciliated T cell. Here we investigate the mechanism by which IFT20, an integral component of the IFT system, regulates basal T cell autophagy. We show that IFT20 interacts with the core autophagy protein ATG16L1 and that its CC domain is essential for its pro-autophagic activity. We demonstrate that IFT20 is required for the association of ATG16L1 with the Golgi complex and early endosomes, both of which have been identified as membrane sources for phagophore elongation. This involves the ability of IFT20 to interact with proteins that are resident at these subcellular localizations, namely the golgin GMAP210 at the Golgi apparatus and Rab5 at early endosomes. GMAP210 depletion, while leading to a dispersion of ATG16L1 from the Golgi, did not affect basal autophagy. Conversely, IFT20 was found to recruit ATG16L1 to early endosomes tagged for autophagosome formation by the BECLIN 1/VPS34/Rab5 complex, which resulted in the local accumulation of LC3. Hence IFT20 participates in autophagosome biogenesis under basal conditions by regulating the localization of ATG16L1 at early endosomes to promote autophagosome biogenesis. These data identify IFT20 as a new regulator of an early step of basal autophagy in T cells.

Keywords:  ATG16L1; T cell; autophagy; early endosomes; intraflagellar transport; vesicular trafficking

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.634003
Sci Adv. 2021 Apr;pii: eabg4544. [Epub ahead of print]7(15):

AMPK/ULK1-mediated phosphorylation of Parkin ACT domain mediates an early step in mitophagy.

Chien-Min Hung, Portia S Lombardo, Nazma Malik, Sonja N Brun, Kristina Hellberg, Jeanine L Van Nostrand, Daniel Garcia, Joshua Baumgart, Ken Diffenderfer, John M Asara, Reuben J Shaw.

The serine/threonine kinase ULK1 mediates autophagy initiation in response to various cellular stresses, and genetic deletion of ULK1 leads to accumulation of damaged mitochondria. Here we identify Parkin, the core ubiquitin ligase in mitophagy, and PARK2 gene product mutated in familial Parkinson's disease, as a ULK1 substrate. Recent studies uncovered a nine residue ("ACT") domain important for Parkin activation, and we demonstrate that AMPK-dependent ULK1 rapidly phosphorylates conserved serine108 in the ACT domain in response to mitochondrial stress. Phosphorylation of Parkin Ser108 occurs maximally within five minutes of mitochondrial damage, unlike activation of PINK1 and TBK1, which is observed thirty to sixty minutes later. Mutation of the ULK1 phosphorylation sites in Parkin, genetic AMPK or ULK1 depletion, or pharmacologic ULK1 inhibition, all lead to delays in Parkin activation and defects in assays of Parkin function and downstream mitophagy events. These findings reveal an unexpected first step in the mitophagy cascade.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abg4544
Genet Mol Biol. 2021 ;pii: S1415-47572021000300103. [Epub ahead of print]44(2): e20200014

The paradox of autophagy in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.

Larissa Brussa Reis, Eduardo C Filippi-Chiela, Patricia Ashton-Prolla, Fernanda Visioli, Clévia Rosset.

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder caused by germline mutations in TSC1 or TSC2 genes, which leads to the hyperactivation of the mTORC1 pathway, an important negative regulator of autophagy. This leads to the development of hamartomas in multiple organs. The variability in symptoms presents a challenge for the development of completely effective treatments for TSC. One option is the treatment with mTORC1 inhibitors, which are targeted to block cell growth and restore autophagy. However, the therapeutic effect of rapamycin seems to be more efficient in the early stages of hamartoma development, an effect that seems to be associated with the paradoxical role of autophagy in tumor establishment. Under normal conditions, autophagy is directly inhibited by mTORC1. In situations of bioenergetics stress, mTORC1 releases the Ulk1 complex and initiates the autophagy process. In this way, autophagy promotes the survival of established tumors by supplying metabolic precursors during nutrient deprivation; paradoxically, excessive autophagy has been associated with cell death in some situations. In spite of its paradoxical role, autophagy is an alternative therapeutic strategy that could be explored in TSC. This review compiles the findings related to autophagy and the new therapeutic strategies targeting this pathway in TSC.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4685-GMB-2020-0014
Hum Mol Genet. 2021 Apr 02. pii: ddab095. [Epub ahead of print]

FOXO1 controls protein synthesis and transcript abundance of mutant polyglutamine proteins, preventing protein aggregation.

Gabriel Vasata Furtado, Jing Yang, Di Wu, Christos I Papagiannopoulos, Hanna M Terpstra, E F Elsiena Kuiper, Sybille Krauss, Wei-Guo Zhu, Harm H Kampinga, Steven Bergink.

FOXO1, a transcription factor downstream of the insulin/insulin like growth factor axis has been linked to protein degradation. Elevated expression of FOXO orthologs can also prevent aggregation of CAG-repeat disease causing polyglutamine (polyQ) proteins but whether FOXO1 targets mutant proteins for degradation is unclear. Here we show that increased expression of FOXO1 prevents toxic polyQ aggregation in human cells while reducing FOXO1 levels has the opposite effect and accelerates it. Although FOXO1 indeed stimulates autophagy, its effect on polyQ aggregation is independent of autophagy, UPS mediated protein degradation and is not due to a change in mutant polyQ protein turnover. Instead FOXO1 specifically downregulates protein synthesis rates from expanded pathogenic CAG repeat transcripts. FOXO1 orchestrates a change in the composition of proteins that occupy mutant expanded CAG transcripts, including the recruitment of IGF2BP3. This mRNA binding protein enables a FOXO1 driven decrease in pathogenic expanded CAG transcript- and protein levels, thereby reducing the initiation of amyloidogenesis. Our data thus demonstrate that FOXO1 not only preserves protein homeostasis at multiple levels, but also reduces accumulation of aberrant RNA species that may co-contribute to the toxicity in CAG-repeat diseases.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddab095
Cell Biol Int. 2021 Apr 05.

The role of autophagy in controlling of SARS-CoV-2 infection: An overview with virophagy-mediated of molecular drug targets.

Saman Sargazi, Roghayeh Sheervalilou, Mohsen Rokni, Milad Shirvaliloo, Omolbanin Shahraki, Nima Rezaei.

  Autophagy-dependent cell death is a prominent mechanism that majorly contributes to homeostasis by maintaining the turnover of organelles under stressful conditions. Several viruses, including coronaviruses, take advantage of cellular autophagy to facilitate their own replication. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a beta-coronavirus that mediates its replication through dependent or independent ATG5 pathway using specific double-membrane vesicles that can be considered as similar to autophagosomes. With due attention to several mutations in NSP6, a non-structural protein with a positive regulatory effect on autophagosome formation, a potential correlation between SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis mechanisms and autophagy can be expected. Certain medications, albeit limited in number, have been indicated to negatively regulate autophagy flux, potentially in a way similar to the inhibitory effect of β-CoVs on the process of autophagy. Though, there is no conclusive evidence to support their direct antagonizing effect on CoVs. Off-target accumulation of a major fraction of FDA-approved autophagy modulating drugs may result in adverse effects. Therefore, medications that have modulatory effects on autophagy could be considered as potential lead compounds for the development of new treatments against this virus. This review discusses the role of autophagy/virophagy in controlling of SARS-CoV-2, focusing on the potential therapeutic implications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Keywords:  Autophagy; Beta-coronavirus; Coronavirus disease 2019; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Virophagy

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/cbin.11609
Mol Brain. 2021 04 06. 14(1): 65

Palmitate reduces starvation-induced ER stress by inhibiting ER-phagy in hypothalamic cells.

Yun Lim, Seolsong Kim, Eun-Kyoung Kim.

  Palmitate is a saturated fatty acid that is well known to induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and autophagy. A high-fat diet increases the palmitate level in the hypothalamus, the main region of the brain regulating energy metabolism. Interestingly, hypothalamic palmitate level is also increased under starvation, urging the study to distinguish the effects of elevated hypothalamic palmitate level under different nutrient conditions. Herein, we show that ER-phagy (ER-targeted selective autophagy) is required for progress of ER stress and that palmitate decreases ER stress by inhibiting ER-phagy in hypothalamic cells under starvation. Palmitate inhibited starvation-induced ER-phagy by increasing the level of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) protein, which inhibits autophagy initiation. These findings suggest that, unlike the induction of ER stress under nutrient-rich conditions, palmitate protects hypothalamic cells from starvation-induced stress by inhibiting ER-phagy.

Keywords:  Autophagy; ER stress; ER-phagy; Hypothalamic cells; Palmitate; Starvation

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s13041-021-00777-8
FEBS J. 2021 Apr 09.

CCCP-induced mitochondrial dysfunction: Characterization and analysis of integrated stress response to cellular signaling and homeostasis.

Koncha Ramagopal Reddy, Gayatri Ramachandran, Naresh Babu V Sepuri, Kolluru V A Ramaiah.

  Mitochondrial dysfunction mediated by CCCP (carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone), an inhibitor of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, evokes the integrated stress response (ISR), which is analyzed here by eIF2α phosphorylation and expression profiles of ATF4 and CHOP proteins. Our findings suggest that the CCCP-induced ISR pathway is mediated by activation of HRI kinase, but not by GCN2, PERK, or PKR. Also, CCCP activates AMPK, a cellular energy sensor, and AKT, a regulator implicated in cell survival, and suppresses phosphorylation of mTORC1 substrates eIF4E-BP1 and S6K. CCCP also downregulates translation and promotes autophagy, leading to non-caspase-mediated cell death in HepG2 cells. All these events are neutralized by NAC, an anti-ROS, suggesting that CCCP-induced mitochondrial dysfunction promotes oxidative stress. ISRIB, an inhibitor of the ISR pathway, mitigates CCCP-induced expression of ATF4 and CHOP, activation of AKT, and autophagy, similar to NAC. However, it fails to reverse CCCP-induced AMPK activation, suggesting that CCCP-induced autophagy is dependent on ISR and independent of AMPK activation. ISRIB restores partly, inhibition in eIF4E-BP1 phosphorylation, promotes eIF2α phosphorylation, albeit slowly, and mitigates suppression of translation accordingly, in CCCP-treated cells. These findings are consistent with the idea that CCCP-induced oxidative stress leading to eIF2α phosphorylation and ATF4 expression, which is known to stimulate genes involved in autophagy, play a pro-survival role together with AKT activation and regulate mTOR-mediated eIF4E-BP1 phosphorylation.

Keywords:  AKT; AMPK; ISRIB; Mitochondrial dysfunction; UPR; eIF4E-BP1

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/febs.15868
JCI Insight. 2021 Apr 06. pii: 142254. [Epub ahead of print]

Mitochondria-dependent phase separation of disease-relevant proteins drives pathological features of age-related macular degeneration.

Nilsa La Cunza, Li Xuan Tan, Thushara Thamban, Colin J Germer, Gurugirijha Rathnasamy, Kimberly Toops, Aparna Lakkaraju.

  Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) damages the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), the tissue that safeguards photoreceptor health, leading to irreversible vision loss. Polymorphisms in cholesterol and complement genes are implicated in AMD, yet mechanisms linking risk variants to RPE injury remain unclear. We sought to determine how allelic variants in the apolipoprotein E cholesterol transporter modulate RPE homeostasis and function. Using live-cell imaging, we show that inefficient cholesterol transport by the AMD risk-associated ApoE2 increases RPE ceramide, leading to autophagic defects and complement-mediated mitochondrial damage. Mitochondrial injury drives redox state-sensitive cysteine-mediated phase separation of ApoE2, forming biomolecular condensates that could nucleate drusen. The protective ApoE4 isoform lacks these cysteines and is resistant to phase separation and condensate formation. In Abca4-/- Stargardt macular degeneration mice, mitochondrial dysfunction induces liquid-liquid phase separation of p62/SQSTM1, a multifunctional protein that regulates autophagy. Drugs that decrease RPE cholesterol or ceramide prevent mitochondrial injury and phase separation in vitro and in vivo. In AMD donor RPE, mitochondrial fragmentation correlates with ApoE and p62 condensates. Our studies demonstrate that major AMD genetic and biological risk pathways converge upon RPE mitochondria, and identify mitochondrial stress-mediated protein phase separation as an important pathogenic mechanism and promising therapeutic target in AMD.

Keywords:  Cholesterol; Complement; Ophthalmology; Retinopathy

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.142254
Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 ;9 636295

Quality Matters? The Involvement of Mitochondrial Quality Control in Cardiovascular Disease.

Kai-Lieh Lin, Shang-Der Chen, Kai-Jung Lin, Chia-Wei Liou, Yao-Chung Chuang, Pei-Wen Wang, Jiin-Haur Chuang, Tsu-Kung Lin.

  Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death and global health problems worldwide. Multiple factors are known to affect the cardiovascular system from lifestyles, genes, underlying comorbidities, and age. Requiring high workload, metabolism of the heart is largely dependent on continuous power supply via mitochondria through effective oxidative respiration. Mitochondria not only serve as cellular power plants, but are also involved in many critical cellular processes, including the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and regulating cellular survival. To cope with environmental stress, mitochondrial function has been suggested to be essential during bioenergetics adaptation resulting in cardiac pathological remodeling. Thus, mitochondrial dysfunction has been advocated in various aspects of cardiovascular pathology including the response to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, hypertension (HTN), and cardiovascular complications related to type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Therefore, mitochondrial homeostasis through mitochondrial dynamics and quality control is pivotal in the maintenance of cardiac health. Impairment of the segregation of damaged components and degradation of unhealthy mitochondria through autophagic mechanisms may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of various cardiac disorders. This article provides in-depth understanding of the current literature regarding mitochondrial remodeling and dynamics in cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords:  cardiovascular disease; diabetic cardiomyopathy; hypertension; ischemic heart; mitochondria; mitochondrial haplogroup; mitophagy; nucleus

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.636295
Life Sci Alliance. 2021 Jun;pii: e202000806. [Epub ahead of print]4(6):

Mitochondrial Aurora kinase A induces mitophagy by interacting with MAP1LC3 and Prohibitin 2.

Giulia Bertolin, Marie-Clotilde Alves-Guerra, Angélique Cheron, Agnès Burel, Claude Prigent, Roland Le Borgne, Marc Tramier.

Epithelial and haematologic tumours often show the overexpression of the serine/threonine kinase AURKA. Recently, AURKA was shown to localise at mitochondria, where it regulates mitochondrial dynamics and ATP production. Here we define the molecular mechanisms of AURKA in regulating mitochondrial turnover by mitophagy. AURKA triggers the degradation of Inner Mitochondrial Membrane/matrix proteins by interacting with core components of the autophagy pathway. On the inner mitochondrial membrane, the kinase forms a tripartite complex with MAP1LC3 and the mitophagy receptor PHB2, which triggers mitophagy in a PARK2/Parkin-independent manner. The formation of the tripartite complex is induced by the phosphorylation of PHB2 on Ser39, which is required for MAP1LC3 to interact with PHB2. Last, treatment with the PHB2 ligand xanthohumol blocks AURKA-induced mitophagy by destabilising the tripartite complex and restores normal ATP production levels. Altogether, these data provide evidence for a role of AURKA in promoting mitophagy through the interaction with PHB2 and MAP1LC3. This work paves the way to the use of function-specific pharmacological inhibitors to counteract the effects of the overexpression of AURKA in cancer.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26508/lsa.202000806
Mol Cell. 2021 Mar 27. pii: S1097-2765(21)00213-6. [Epub ahead of print]

Physiological hypoxia restrains the senescence-associated secretory phenotype via AMPK-mediated mTOR suppression.

Thijmen van Vliet, Marta Varela-Eirin, Boshi Wang, Michela Borghesan, Simone M Brandenburg, Rossana Franzin, Konstantinos Evangelou, Marc Seelen, Vassilis Gorgoulis, Marco Demaria.

  Cellular senescence is a state of stable proliferative arrest triggered by damaging signals. Senescent cells persist during aging and promote age-related pathologies via the pro-inflammatory senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), whose regulation depends on environmental factors. In vivo, a major environmental variable is oxygenation, which varies among and within tissues. Here, we demonstrate that senescent cells express lower levels of detrimental pro-inflammatory SASP factors in physiologically hypoxic environments, as measured in culture and in tissues. Mechanistically, exposure of senescent cells to low-oxygen conditions leads to AMPK activation and AMPK-mediated suppression of the mTOR-NF-κB signaling loop. Finally, we demonstrate that treatment with hypoxia-mimetic compounds reduces SASP in cells and tissues and improves strength in chemotherapy-treated and aged mice. Our findings highlight the importance of oxygen as a determinant for pro-inflammatory SASP expression and offer a potential new strategy to reduce detrimental paracrine effects of senescent cells.

Keywords:  SASP; aging; hypoxia; hypoxia mimetics; oxygen; p16; senescence

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2021.03.018
Mol Biol Cell. 2021 Apr 07. mbcE20060409

RTN4B interacting protein FAM134C promotes ER membrane curvature and has a functional role in autophagy.

Darshan Kumar, Behnam Lak, Taina Suntio, Helena Vihinen, Ilya Belevich, Tiina Viita, Liu Xiaonan, Aki Vartiainen, Maria Vartiainen, Markku Varjosalo, Eija Jokitalo.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is comprised of a controlled ratio of sheets and tubules, which are maintained by several proteins with multiple functions. Reticulons (RTNs), especially RTN4, and DP1/Yop1p family members are known to induce ER membrane curvature. RTN4B is the main RTN4 isoform expressed in non-neuronal cells. In this study, we identified FAM134C as a RTN4B interacting protein in mammalian, non-neuronal cells. FAM134C localized specifically to the ER tubules and sheet edges. Ultrastructural analysis revealed that overexpression of FAM134C induced formation of unbranched, long tubules or dense globular structures comprised of heavily branched narrow tubules. In both cases, tubules were non-motile. ER tubulation was dependent on the reticulon homology domain (RHD) close to the N-terminus. FAM134C plays a role in the autophagy pathway as its level elevated significantly upon amino acid starvation but not during ER stress. Moreover, FAM134C depletion reduced the number and size of autophagic structures and the amount of ER as a cargo within autophagic structures under starvation conditions. Dominant-negative expression of FAM134C forms with mutated RHD or LC3 interacting region (LIR) also led to the reduced number of autophagic structures. Our results suggest that FAM134C provides a link between regulation of ER architecture and ER turnover by promoting ER tubulation required for subsequent ER fragmentation and engulfment into autophagosomes. [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text].

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.E20-06-0409
FEBS Lett. 2021 Apr 09.

Endothelial cell autophagy in homeostasis and cancer.

Jelle Verhoeven, Jef Baelen, Madhur Agrawal, Patrizia Agostinis.

  Autophagy, the major lysosomal pathway for the degradation and recycling of cytoplasmic materials, is increasingly recognized as a major player in endothelial cell (EC) biology and vascular pathology. Particularly in solid tumors, tumor microenvironmental stress such as hypoxia, nutrient deprivation, inflammatory mediators and metabolic aberrations stimulate autophagy in tumor-associated blood vessels. Increased autophagy in ECs may serve as a mechanism to alleviate stress and restrict exacerbated inflammatory responses. However, increased autophagy in tumor-associated ECs can re-model metabolic pathways and affect the trafficking and surface availability of key mediators and regulators of the interplay between EC and immune cells. In line with this, heightened EC autophagy is involved in pathological angiogenesis, inflammatory and immune responses. Here we review major cellular and molecular mechanisms regulated by autophagy in ECs under physiological conditions and discuss recent evidence implicating EC autophagy in tumor angiogenesis and immunosurveillance.

Keywords:  Autophagy; Cancer; Endothelial cells; Immunosurveillance; Tumor vasculature

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.14087