bims-auttor Biomed News
on Autophagy and mTOR
Issue of 2021–06–06
47 papers selected by
Viktor Korolchuk, Newcastle University
  1. Membrane recruitment of Atg8 by Hfl1 facilitates turnover of vacuolar membrane proteins in yeast cells approaching stationary phase.
  2. Multiplexed suppression of TOR complex 1 induces autophagy during starvation.
  3. NEK9 regulates primary cilia formation by acting as a selective autophagy adaptor for MYH9/myosin IIA.
  4. Lipid-mediated impairment of axonal lysosome transport contributing to autophagic stress.
  5. Autophagy and ALS: mechanistic insights and therapeutic implications.
  6. Autophagosome biogenesis and human health.
  7. Rapamycin Ameliorates Defects in Mitochondrial Fission and Mitophagy in Glioblastoma Cells.
  8. FKBP39 controls nutrient dependent Nprl3 expression and TORC1 activity in Drosophila.
  9. A Biochemical and Structural Understanding of TOM Complex Interactions and Implications for Human Health and Disease.
  10. Selective autophagy as the basis of autophagy-based degraders.
  11. The nonreceptor tyrosine kinase SRMS inhibits autophagy and promotes tumor growth by phosphorylating the scaffolding protein FKBP51.
  12. Autophagy suppresses the formation of hepatocyte-derived cancer-initiating ductular progenitor cells in the liver.
  13. Mitochondrial Autophagy and Cell Survival is Regulated by the Circadian Clock Gene in Cardiac Myocytes during Ischemic Stress.
  14. The ESCRT-III complex contributes to macromitophagy in yeast.
  15. Autophagy and Extracellular Vesicles, Connected to rabGTPase Family, Support Aggressiveness in Cancer Stem Cells.
  16. Exogenous Hydrogen Sulfide Plays an Important Role Through Regulating Autophagy in Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury.
  17. Involvement of mTOR Pathways in Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury by Modulation of Autophagy and Immune Response.
  18. Herpesvirus Regulation of Selective Autophagy.
  19. TFEB Overexpression, Not mTOR Inhibition, Ameliorates RagCS75Y Cardiomyopathy.
  20. The parkinsonian LRRK2 R1441G mutation shows macroautophagy-mitophagy dysregulation concomitant with endoplasmic reticulum stress.
  21. Alternative careers at the autophagy factory.
  22. UBE4B, a microRNA-9 target gene, promotes autophagy-mediated Tau degradation.
  23. How Lipids Contribute to Autophagosome Biogenesis, a Critical Process in Plant Responses to Stresses.
  24. Short and long sleeping mutants reveal links between sleep and macroautophagy.
  25. High-throughput screening for natural compound-based autophagy modulators reveals novel chemotherapeutic mode of action for arzanol.
  26. MTOR Signaling and Metabolism in Early T Cell Development.
  27. The STING1 network regulates autophagy and cell death.
  28. Apigenin and Luteolin Regulate Autophagy by Targeting NRH-Quinone Oxidoreductase 2 in Liver Cells.
  29. Involvement of the Protein Ras Homolog Enriched in the Striatum, Rhes, in Dopaminergic Neurons' Degeneration: Link to Parkinson's Disease.
  30. Choline kinase alpha 2 acts as a protein kinase to promote lipolysis of lipid droplets.
  31. HIF-1α in the Crosstalk Between Reactive Oxygen Species and Autophagy Process: A Review in Multiple Sclerosis.
  32. PINK1 and parkin shape the organism-wide distribution of a deleterious mitochondrial genome.
  33. Nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich-repeat-containing protein X1 deficiency induces nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide decline, mechanistic target of rapamycin activation, and cellular senescence and accelerates aging lung-like changes.
  34. Model-based analysis uncovers mutations altering autophagy selectivity in human cancer.
  35. A near-infrared fluorescent probe reveals decreased mitochondrial polarity during mitophagy.
  36. Co-Transmission of Alpha-Synuclein and TPPP/p25 Inhibits Their Proteolytic Degradation in Human Cell Models.
  37. Lifelong Aerobic Exercise Alleviates Sarcopenia by Activating Autophagy and Inhibiting Protein Degradation via the AMPK/PGC-1α Signaling Pathway.
  38. When the autophagy protein ATG16L1 met the ciliary protein IFT20.
  39. The autophagy inducer spermidine protects against metabolic dysfunction during overnutrition.
  40. Caenorhabditis elegans Perilipin Is Implicated in Cold-Induced Lipolysis and Inhibits Autophagy in Early Embryos.
  41. Mechanisms and Functions of Pexophagy in Mammalian Cells.
  42. Autophagy Modulators in Cancer Therapy.
  43. TMEM41B and VMP1 are phospholipid scramblases.
  44. mTORC1 induces eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E interaction with TOS-S6 kinase 1 and its activation.
  45. TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1): An emerging therapeutic target for drug discovery.
  46. Therapeutic Potential of Exploiting Autophagy Cascade Against Coronavirus Infection.
  47. Mitophagy and Oxidative Stress: The Role of Aging.
  1. BMC Biol. 2021 Jun 04. 19(1): 117
    Membrane recruitment of Atg8 by Hfl1 facilitates turnover of vacuolar membrane proteins in yeast cells approaching stationary phase.
    Cheng-Wen He, Xue-Fei Cui, Shao-Jie Ma, Qin Xu, Yan-Peng Ran, Wei-Zhi Chen, Jun-Xi Mu, Hui Li, Jing Zhu, Qingqiu Gong, Zhiping Xie.
       BACKGROUND: The vacuole/lysosome is the final destination of autophagic pathways, but can also itself be degraded in whole or in part by selective macroautophagic or microautophagic processes. Diverse molecular mechanisms are involved in these processes, the characterization of which has lagged behind those of ATG-dependent macroautophagy and ESCRT-dependent endosomal multivesicular body pathways.
    RESULTS: Here we show that as yeast cells gradually exhaust available nutrients and approach stationary phase, multiple vacuolar integral membrane proteins with unrelated functions are degraded in the vacuolar lumen. This degradation depends on the ESCRT machinery, but does not strictly require ubiquitination of cargos or trafficking of cargos out of the vacuole. It is also temporally and mechanistically distinct from NPC-dependent microlipophagy. The turnover is facilitated by Atg8, an exception among autophagy proteins, and an Atg8-interacting vacuolar membrane protein, Hfl1. Lack of Atg8 or Hfl1 led to the accumulation of enlarged lumenal membrane structures in the vacuole. We further show that a key function of Hfl1 is the membrane recruitment of Atg8. In the presence of Hfl1, lipidation of Atg8 is not required for efficient cargo turnover. The need for Hfl1 can be partially bypassed by blocking Atg8 delipidation.
    CONCLUSIONS: Our data reveal a vacuolar membrane protein degradation process with a unique dependence on vacuole-associated Atg8 downstream of ESCRTs, and we identify a specific role of Hfl1, a protein conserved from yeast to plants and animals, in membrane targeting of Atg8.
    Keywords:  Atg8; ESCRT; Hfl1; Microautophagy; Vacuole; Yeast
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-021-01048-7
  2. Autophagy. 2021 Jun 04.
    Multiplexed suppression of TOR complex 1 induces autophagy during starvation.
    Tomoyuki Fukuda, Kazuhiro Shiozaki.
      Target of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1) promotes cellular anabolism and suppresses macroautophagy/autophagy. In mammalian cells starved of amino acid, the GATOR1 complex, a negative regulator of TORC1, is released from its inhibitor GATOR2 and inactivates TORC1. We have recently identified the evolutionarily conserved GATOR2 components in fission yeast including Sea3, an ortholog of mammalian WDR59, but, unexpectedly, Sea3 acts as a part of GATOR1 to suppress TORC1. Moreover, fission yeast GATOR1 is not required for the amino-acid starvation-induced TORC1 attenuation, which is instead mediated by the Gcn2 pathway. Conversely, absence of a nitrogen source suppresses TORC1 in a manner dependent on GATOR1 as well as the Tsc1-Tsc2 complex, whose mammalian equivalent functions as a growth-factor sensitive TORC1 inhibitor. Thus, the evolutionarily conserved signaling modules are utilized differently between fission yeast and mammals to control TORC1 activity and autophagy.
    Keywords:  GATOR complex; Gcn2; Rag GTPase; TOR; TSC complex; autophagy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2021.1938915
  3. Nat Commun. 2021 06 02. 12(1): 3292
    NEK9 regulates primary cilia formation by acting as a selective autophagy adaptor for MYH9/myosin IIA.
    Yasuhiro Yamamoto, Haruka Chino, Satoshi Tsukamoto, Koji L Ode, Hiroki R Ueda, Noboru Mizushima.
      Autophagy regulates primary cilia formation, but the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. In this study, we identify NIMA-related kinase 9 (NEK9) as a GABARAPs-interacting protein and find that NEK9 and its LC3-interacting region (LIR) are required for primary cilia formation. Mutation in the LIR of NEK9 in mice also impairs in vivo cilia formation in the kidneys. Mechanistically, NEK9 interacts with MYH9 (also known as myosin IIA), which has been implicated in inhibiting ciliogenesis through stabilization of the actin network. MYH9 accumulates in NEK9 LIR mutant cells and mice, and depletion of MYH9 restores ciliogenesis in NEK9 LIR mutant cells. These results suggest that NEK9 regulates ciliogenesis by acting as an autophagy adaptor for MYH9. Given that the LIR in NEK9 is conserved only in land vertebrates, the acquisition of the autophagic regulation of the NEK9-MYH9 axis in ciliogenesis may have possible adaptive implications for terrestrial life.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23599-7
  4. Autophagy. 2021 Jun 04.
    Lipid-mediated impairment of axonal lysosome transport contributing to autophagic stress.
    Joseph C Roney, Sunan Li, Tamar Farfel-Becker, Ning Huang, Tao Sun, Yuxiang Xie, Xiu-Tang Cheng, Mei-Yao Lin, Frances M Platt, Zu-Hang Sheng.
      Efficient degradation of autophagic vacuoles (AVs) generated at axon terminals by mature lysosomes enriched in the cell body represents an exceptional challenge that neurons face in maintaining cellular homeostasis. Here, we discuss our recent findings revealing a lipid-mediated impairment of lysosome transport to distal axons contributing to axonal AV accumulation in the neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC). Using transmission electron microscopy, we observed a striking buildup of endocytic and autophagic organelles in NPC dystrophic axons, indicating defects in the clearance of organelles destined for lysosomal degradation. We further revealed that elevated cholesterol on NPC lysosome membranes abnormally sequesters motor-adaptors of axonal lysosome delivery, resulting in impaired anterograde lysosome transport into distal axons that disrupts maturation of axonal AVs during their retrograde transport route. Together, our study demonstrates a mechanism by which altered membrane lipid composition compromises axonal lysosome trafficking and positioning and shows that lowering lysosomal lipid levels rescues lysosome transport into NPC axons, thus reducing axonal autophagic stress at early stages of NPC disease.
    Keywords:  Niemann-Pick disease type C; autophagy; axonal dystrophy; axonal transport; cholesterol; kinesin; lipid; lysosomal storage disorder; lysosome; neurodegeneration
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2021.1938916
  5. Autophagy. 2021 May 31. 1-29
    Autophagy and ALS: mechanistic insights and therapeutic implications.
    Jason P Chua, Hortense De Calbiac, Edor Kabashi, Sami J Barmada.
      Mechanisms of protein homeostasis are crucial for overseeing the clearance of misfolded and toxic proteins over the lifetime of an organism, thereby ensuring the health of neurons and other cells of the central nervous system. The highly conserved pathway of autophagy is particularly necessary for preventing and counteracting pathogenic insults that may lead to neurodegeneration. In line with this, mutations in genes that encode essential autophagy factors result in impaired autophagy and lead to neurodegenerative conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, the mechanistic details underlying the neuroprotective role of autophagy, neuronal resistance to autophagy induction, and the neuron-specific effects of autophagy-impairing mutations remain incompletely defined. Further, the manner and extent to which non-cell autonomous effects of autophagy dysfunction contribute to ALS pathogenesis are not fully understood. Here, we review the current understanding of the interplay between autophagy and ALS pathogenesis by providing an overview of critical steps in the autophagy pathway, with special focus on pivotal factors impaired by ALS-causing mutations, their physiologic effects on autophagy in disease models, and the cell type-specific mechanisms regulating autophagy in non-neuronal cells which, when impaired, can contribute to neurodegeneration. This review thereby provides a framework not only to guide further investigations of neuronal autophagy but also to refine therapeutic strategies for ALS and related neurodegenerative diseases.Abbreviations: ALS: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Atg: autophagy-related; CHMP2B: charged multivesicular body protein 2B; DPR: dipeptide repeat; FTD: frontotemporal dementia; iPSC: induced pluripotent stem cell; LIR: LC3-interacting region; MAP1LC3/LC3: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3; MTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase; PINK1: PTEN induced kinase 1; RNP: ribonuclear protein; sALS: sporadic ALS; SPHK1: sphingosine kinase 1; TARDBP/TDP-43: TAR DNA binding protein; TBK1: TANK-binding kinase 1; TFEB: transcription factor EB; ULK: unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase; UPR: unfolded protein response; UPS: ubiquitin-proteasome system; VCP: valosin containing protein.
    Keywords:  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; C9orf72; CHMP2B; SQSTM1/p62; TBK1; macroautophagy; mitophagy; myelinophagy; neuronal autophagy; optineurin
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2021.1926656
  6. Cell Discov. 2020 Jun 02. 6(1): 33
    Autophagosome biogenesis and human health.
    Tsuyoshi Kawabata, Tamotsu Yoshimori.
      Autophagy degrades the cytoplasmic contents engulfed by autophagosomes. Besides providing energy and building blocks during starvation via random degradation, autophagy selectively targets cytotoxic components to prevent a wide range of diseases. This preventive activity of autophagy is supported by many studies using animal models and reports identifying several mutations in autophagy-related genes that are associated with human genetic disorders, which have been published in the past decade. Here, we summarize the molecular mechanisms of autophagosome biogenesis involving the proteins responsible for these genetic disorders, demonstrating a role for autophagy in human health. These findings will help elucidate the underlying mechanisms of autophagy-related diseases and develop future medications.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41421-020-0166-y
  7. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 May 20. pii: 5379. [Epub ahead of print]22(10):
    Rapamycin Ameliorates Defects in Mitochondrial Fission and Mitophagy in Glioblastoma Cells.
    Paola Lenzi, Rosangela Ferese, Francesca Biagioni, Federica Fulceri, Carla L Busceti, Alessandra Falleni, Stefano Gambardella, Alessandro Frati, Francesco Fornai.
      Glioblastoma (GBM) cells feature mitochondrial alterations, which are documented and quantified in the present study, by using ultrastructural morphometry. Mitochondrial impairment, which roughly occurs in half of the organelles, is shown to be related to mTOR overexpression and autophagy suppression. The novelty of the present study consists of detailing an mTOR-dependent mitophagy occlusion, along with suppression of mitochondrial fission. These phenomena contribute to explain the increase in altered mitochondria reported here. Administration of the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin rescues mitochondrial alterations. In detail, rapamycin induces the expression of genes promoting mitophagy (PINK1, PARKIN, ULK1, AMBRA1) and mitochondrial fission (FIS1, DRP1). This occurs along with over-expression of VPS34, an early gene placed upstream in the autophagy pathway. The topographic stoichiometry of proteins coded by these genes within mitochondria indicates that, a remarkable polarization of proteins involved in fission and mitophagy within mitochondria including LC3 takes place. Co-localization of these proteins within mitochondria, persists for weeks following rapamycin, which produces long-lasting mitochondrial plasticity. Thus, rapamycin restores mitochondrial status in GBM cells. These findings add novel evidence about mitochondria and GBM, while fostering a novel therapeutic approach to restore healthy mitochondria through mTOR inhibition.
    Keywords:  AMBRA1; DRP1; FIS1; OPA1; PARKIN; PINK1; ULK1; VPS34; autophagy; mitochondria
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22105379
  8. Cell Death Dis. 2021 Jun 02. 12(6): 571
    FKBP39 controls nutrient dependent Nprl3 expression and TORC1 activity in Drosophila.
    Ying Zhou, Jian Guo, Xinyu Wang, Yang Cheng, Jianwen Guan, Priyam Barman, Ming-An Sun, Yuanyuan Fu, Wanhong Wei, Congjing Feng, Mary A Lilly, Youheng Wei.
      Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (TORC1) is a master regulator that coordinates nutrient status with cell metabolism. The GTPase-activating protein towards Rags complex 1 (GATOR1) inhibits TORC1 activity and protects cells from damage during periods of stress. Here we characterize multiple pathways that regulate the expression of the GATOR1 component Nprl3 in Drosophila. We determine that the stability of Nprl3 is impacted by the Unassembled Soluble Complex Proteins Degradation (USPD) pathway. In addition, we find that FK506 binding protein 39 (FKBP39)-dependent proteolytic destruction maintains Nprl3 at low levels in nutrient replete conditions. Nutrient starvation abrogates the degradation of the Nprl3 protein and rapidly promotes Nprl3 accumulation. Consistent with a role in promoting the stability of a TORC1 inhibitor, mutations in fkbp39 decrease TORC1 activity and increase autophagy. Finally, we show that the 5'UTR of nprl3 transcripts contain a functional upstream open reading frame (uORF) that inhibits main ORF translation. In summary, our work has uncovered novel mechanisms of Nprl3 regulation and identifies an important role for FKBP39 in the control of cellular metabolism.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-021-03860-z
  9. Cells. 2021 May 11. pii: 1164. [Epub ahead of print]10(5):
    A Biochemical and Structural Understanding of TOM Complex Interactions and Implications for Human Health and Disease.
    Ashley S Pitt, Susan K Buchanan.
      The central role mitochondria play in cellular homeostasis has made its study critical to our understanding of various aspects of human health and disease. Mitochondria rely on the translocase of the outer membrane (TOM) complex for the bulk of mitochondrial protein import. In addition to its role as the major entry point for mitochondrial proteins, the TOM complex serves as an entry pathway for viral proteins. TOM complex subunits also participate in a host of interactions that have been studied extensively for their function in neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, innate immunity, cancer, metabolism, mitophagy and autophagy. Recent advances in our structural understanding of the TOM complex and the protein import machinery of the outer mitochondrial membrane have made structure-based therapeutics targeting outer mitochondrial membrane proteins during mitochondrial dysfunction an exciting prospect. Here, we describe advances in understanding the TOM complex, the interactome of the TOM complex subunits, the implications for the development of therapeutics, and our understanding of the structure/function relationship between components of the TOM complex and mitochondrial homeostasis.
    Keywords:  TOM complex; TOM complex interactions; TOM subunits; mitochondrial cell signaling; mitochondrial quality control
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10051164
  10. Cell Chem Biol. 2021 May 22. pii: S2451-9456(21)00223-3. [Epub ahead of print]
    Selective autophagy as the basis of autophagy-based degraders.
    Daiki Takahashi, Hirokazu Arimoto.
      Degrader technologies, which enable the chemical knockdown of disease-causing proteins, are promising for drug discovery. After two decades of research, degraders using the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) are currently in clinical trials. However, the UPS substrates are mainly limited to soluble proteins. Autophagy-targeting chimeras and autophagosome-tethering compounds are degraders that use autophagy, which has functions complementary to the UPS. They can degrade organelles and aggregate-prone proteins, making them promising treatments against age-related conditions such as mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegenerative diseases. The molecular mechanism of selective autophagy is an ongoing research topic, which explains why autophagy-based degraders were not available until recently. In this review, we introduce four classifications of selective autophagy mechanisms to facilitate the understanding of the degrader design.
    Keywords:  ATTEC; AUTAC; LLPS; S-guanylation; aggregates; autophagy; degrader; mitochondria; p62; ubiquitin
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2021.05.006
  11. PLoS Biol. 2021 Jun 02. 19(6): e3001281
    The nonreceptor tyrosine kinase SRMS inhibits autophagy and promotes tumor growth by phosphorylating the scaffolding protein FKBP51.
    Jung Mi Park, Seung Wook Yang, Wei Zhuang, Asim K Bera, Yan Liu, Deepak Gurbani, Sergei J von Hoyningen-Huene, Sadie Miki Sakurada, Haiyun Gan, Shondra M Pruett-Miller, Kenneth D Westover, Malia B Potts.
      Nutrient-responsive protein kinases control the balance between anabolic growth and catabolic processes such as autophagy. Aberrant regulation of these kinases is a major cause of human disease. We report here that the vertebrate nonreceptor tyrosine kinase Src-related kinase lacking C-terminal regulatory tyrosine and N-terminal myristylation sites (SRMS) inhibits autophagy and promotes growth in a nutrient-responsive manner. Under nutrient-replete conditions, SRMS phosphorylates the PHLPP scaffold FK506-binding protein 51 (FKBP51), disrupts the FKBP51-PHLPP complex, and promotes FKBP51 degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. This prevents PHLPP-mediated dephosphorylation of AKT, causing sustained AKT activation that promotes growth and inhibits autophagy. SRMS is amplified and overexpressed in human cancers where it drives unrestrained AKT signaling in a kinase-dependent manner. SRMS kinase inhibition activates autophagy, inhibits cancer growth, and can be accomplished using the FDA-approved tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib. This illuminates SRMS as a targetable vulnerability in human cancers and as a new target for pharmacological induction of autophagy in vertebrates.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001281
  12. Sci Adv. 2021 Jun;pii: eabf9141. [Epub ahead of print]7(23):
    Autophagy suppresses the formation of hepatocyte-derived cancer-initiating ductular progenitor cells in the liver.
    Valentin J A Barthet, Martina Brucoli, Marcus J G W Ladds, Christoph Nössing, Christos Kiourtis, Alice D Baudot, James O'Prey, Barbara Zunino, Miryam Müller, Stephanie May, Colin Nixon, Jaclyn S Long, Thomas G Bird, Kevin M Ryan.
      Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is driven by repeated rounds of inflammation, leading to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and, ultimately, cancer. A critical step in HCC formation is the transition from fibrosis to cirrhosis, which is associated with a change in the liver parenchyma called ductular reaction. Here, we report a genetically engineered mouse model of HCC driven by loss of macroautophagy and hemizygosity of phosphatase and tensin homolog, which develops HCC involving ductular reaction. We show through lineage tracing that, following loss of autophagy, mature hepatocytes dedifferentiate into biliary-like liver progenitor cells (ductular reaction), giving rise to HCC. Furthermore, this change is associated with deregulation of yes-associated protein and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif transcription factors, and the combined, but not individual, deletion of these factors completely reverses the dedifferentiation capacity and tumorigenesis. These findings therefore increase our understanding of the cell of origin of HCC development and highlight new potential points for therapeutic intervention.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf9141
  13. Autophagy. 2021 Jun 04.
    Mitochondrial Autophagy and Cell Survival is Regulated by the Circadian Clock Gene in Cardiac Myocytes during Ischemic Stress.
    Inna Rabinovich-Nikitin, Mina Rasouli, Cristine J Reitz, Illana Posen, Victoria Margulets, Rimpy Dhingra, Tarak N Khatua, James A Thliveris, Tami A Martino, Lorrie A Kirshenbaum.
      Cardiac function is highly reliant on mitochondrial oxidative metabolism and quality control. The circadian Clock gene is critically linked to vital physiological processes including mitochondrial fission, fusion and bioenergetics; however, little is known of how the Clock gene regulates these vital processes in the heart. Herein, we identified a putative circadian CLOCK-mitochondrial interactome that gates an adaptive survival response during myocardial ischemia. We show by transcriptome and gene ontology mapping in CLOCK Δ19/Δ19 mouse that Clock transcriptionally coordinates the efficient removal of damaged mitochondria during myocardial ischemia by directly controlling transcription of genes required for mitochondrial fission, fusion and macroautophagy/autophagy. Loss of Clock gene activity impaired mitochondrial turnover resulting in the accumulation of damaged reactive oxygen species (ROS)-producing mitochondria from impaired mitophagy. This coincided with ultrastructural defects to mitochondria and impaired cardiac function. Interestingly, wild type CLOCK but not mutations of CLOCK defective for E-Box binding or interaction with its cognate partner ARNTL/BMAL-1 suppressed mitochondrial damage and cell death during acute hypoxia. Interestingly, the autophagy defect and accumulation of damaged mitochondria in CLOCK-deficient cardiac myocytes were abrogated by restoring autophagy/mitophagy. Inhibition of autophagy by ATG7 knockdown abrogated the cytoprotective effects of CLOCK. Collectively, our results demonstrate that CLOCK regulates an adaptive stress response critical for cell survival by transcriptionally coordinating mitochondrial quality control mechanisms in cardiac myocytes. Interdictions that restore CLOCK activity may prove beneficial in reducing cardiac injury in individuals with disrupted circadian CLOCK.
    Keywords:  autophagy; clock; metabolism; mitochondrion; myocardial infarction
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2021.1938913
  14. Traffic. 2021 Jun 05.
    The ESCRT-III complex contributes to macromitophagy in yeast.
    Zulin Wu, Haiqian Xu, Junze Liu, Fan Zhou, Yongheng Liang.
      Mitochondria play important roles in energy generation and homeostasis maintenance in eukaryotic cells. The damaged or superfluous mitochondria can be nonselectively or selectively removed through the autophagy/lysosome pathway, which was referred as mitophagy. According to the molecular machinery for degrading mitochondria, the selectively removed mitochondria can occur through macromitophagy or micromitophagy. In this study, we show that the endosomal sorting complex required for transport III (ESCRT-III) in budding yeast regulates macromitophagy induced by nitrogen starvation, but not by the post-logarithmic phase growth in lactate medium by monitoring a mitochondrial marker, Om45. Firstly, loss of ESCRT-III subunit Snf7 or Vps4-Vta1 complex subunit Vps4, two representative subunits of the ESCRT complex, suppresses the delivery and degradation of Om45-GFP to vacuoles. Secondly, we show that the mitochondrial marker Om45 and mitophagy receptor Atg32 accumulate on autophagosomes marked with Atg8 (mitophagosomes, MPs) in ESCRT mutants. Moreover, the protease-protection assay indicates that Snf7 and Vps4 are involved in MP closure. Finally, Snf7 interacts with Atg11, which was detected by two ways, GST pulldown and BiFC, and this BiFC interaction happens on mitochondrial reticulum. Therefore, we proposed that the ESCRT-III machinery mediates nitrogen starvation-induced macromitophagy by the interaction between Snf7 and Atg11 so that Snf7 is recruited to Atg32 marked MPs by the known Atg11-Atg32 interaction to seal them. These results reveal that the ESCRT-III complex plays a new role in yeast on macromitophagy.
    Keywords:  Atg11; Atg32; ESCRT; Macromitophagy; Micromitophagy; Mitophagosome; Mitophagy, Snf7; Vps4
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/tra.12805
  15. Cells. 2021 May 27. pii: 1330. [Epub ahead of print]10(6):
    Autophagy and Extracellular Vesicles, Connected to rabGTPase Family, Support Aggressiveness in Cancer Stem Cells.
    Aude Brunel, Gaëlle Bégaud, Clément Auger, Stéphanie Durand, Serge Battu, Barbara Bessette, Mireille Verdier.
      Even though cancers have been widely studied and real advances in therapeutic care have been made in the last few decades, relapses are still frequently observed, often due to therapeutic resistance. Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) are, in part, responsible for this resistance. They are able to survive harsh conditions such as hypoxia or nutrient deprivation. Autophagy and Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) secretion are cellular processes that help CSC survival. Autophagy is a recycling process and EVs secretion is essential for cell-to-cell communication. Their roles in stemness maintenance have been well described. A common pathway involved in these processes is vesicular trafficking, and subsequently, regulation by Rab GTPases. In this review, we analyze the role played by Rab GTPases in stemness status, either directly or through their regulation of autophagy and EVs secretion.
    Keywords:  autophagy; cancer stem cells; extracellular vesicles; rab family
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10061330
  16. Front Mol Biosci. 2021 ;8 681676
    Exogenous Hydrogen Sulfide Plays an Important Role Through Regulating Autophagy in Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury.
    Shuangyu Lv, Zhu Wang, Jie Wang, Honggang Wang.
      Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is characterized by limiting blood supply to organs, then restoring blood flow and reoxygenation. It leads to many diseases, including acute kidney injury, myocardial infarction, circulatory arrest, ischemic stroke, trauma, and sickle cell disease. Autophagy is an important and conserved cellular pathway, in which cells transfer the cytoplasmic contents to lysosomes for degradation. It plays an important role in maintaining the balance of cell synthesis, decomposition and reuse, and participates in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), along with carbon monoxide (CO) and nitric oxide (NO), is an important gas signal molecule and regulates various physiological and pathological processes. In recent years, there are many studies on the improvement of I/R injury by H2S through regulating autophagy, but the related mechanisms are not completely clear. Therefore, we summarize the related research in the above aspects to provide theoretical reference for future in-depth research.
    Keywords:  apoptosis; autophagy; hydrogen sulfide; ischemia/reperfusion injury; oxidative stress
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fmolb.2021.681676
  17. Biomedicines. 2021 May 24. pii: 593. [Epub ahead of print]9(6):
    Involvement of mTOR Pathways in Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury by Modulation of Autophagy and Immune Response.
    Ingrid Vargova, Lucia Machova Urdzikova, Kristyna Karova, Barbora Smejkalova, Tolga Sursal, Veronika Cimermanova, Karolina Turnovcova, Chirag D Gandhi, Meena Jhanwar-Uniyal, Pavla Jendelova.
      Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is untreatable and remains the leading cause of disability. Neuroprotection and recovery after SCI can be partially achieved by rapamycin (RAPA) treatment, an inhibitor of mTORC1, complex 1 of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. However, mechanisms regulated by the mTOR pathway are not only controlled by mTORC1, but also by a second mTOR complex (mTORC2). Second-generation inhibitor, pp242, inhibits both mTORC1 and mtORC2, which led us to explore its therapeutic potential after SCI and compare it to RAPA treatment. In a rat balloon-compression model of SCI, the effect of daily RAPA (5 mg/kg; IP) and pp242 (5 mg/kg; IP) treatment on inflammatory responses and autophagy was observed. We demonstrated inhibition of the mTOR pathway after SCI through analysis of p-S6, p-Akt, and p-4E-BP1 levels. Several proinflammatory cytokines were elevated in pp242-treated rats, while RAPA treatment led to a decrease in proinflammatory cytokines. Both RAPA and pp242 treatments caused an upregulation of LC3B and led to improved functional and structural recovery in acute SCI compared to the controls, however, a greater axonal sprouting was seen following RAPA treatment. These results suggest that dual mTOR inhibition by pp242 after SCI induces distinct mechanisms and leads to recovery somewhat inferior to that following RAPA treatment.
    Keywords:  autophagy; dual inhibition; inflammation; mTOR; pp242; rapamycin; spinal cord injury
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines9060593
  18. Viruses. 2021 May 01. pii: 820. [Epub ahead of print]13(5):
    Herpesvirus Regulation of Selective Autophagy.
    Mai Tram Vo, Young Bong Choi.
      Selective autophagy has emerged as a key mechanism of quality and quantity control responsible for the autophagic degradation of specific subcellular organelles and materials. In addition, a specific type of selective autophagy (xenophagy) is also activated as a line of defense against invading intracellular pathogens, such as viruses. However, viruses have evolved strategies to counteract the host's antiviral defense and even to activate some proviral types of selective autophagy, such as mitophagy, for their successful infection and replication. This review discusses the current knowledge on the regulation of selective autophagy by human herpesviruses.
    Keywords:  aggrephagy; autophagy; ferritinophagy; herpesviruses; mitophagy; nucleophagy; selective autophagy; virophagy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/v13050820
  19. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 May 23. pii: 5494. [Epub ahead of print]22(11):
    TFEB Overexpression, Not mTOR Inhibition, Ameliorates RagCS75Y Cardiomyopathy.
    Maengjo Kim, Linghui Lu, Alexey V Dvornikov, Xiao Ma, Yonghe Ding, Ping Zhu, Timothy M Olson, Xueying Lin, Xiaolei Xu.
      A de novo missense variant in Rag GTPase protein C (RagCS75Y) was recently identified in a syndromic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patient. However, its pathogenicity and the related therapeutic strategy remain unclear. We generated a zebrafish RragcS56Y (corresponding to human RagCS75Y) knock-in (KI) line via TALEN technology. The KI fish manifested cardiomyopathy-like phenotypes and poor survival. Overexpression of RagCS75Y via adenovirus infection also led to increased cell size and fetal gene reprogramming in neonatal rat ventricle cardiomyocytes (NRVCMs), indicating a conserved mechanism. Further characterization identified aberrant mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and transcription factor EB (TFEB) signaling, as well as metabolic abnormalities including dysregulated autophagy. However, mTOR inhibition failed to ameliorate cardiac phenotypes in the RagCS75Y cardiomyopathy models, concomitant with a failure to promote TFEB nuclear translocation. This observation was at least partially explained by increased and mTOR-independent physical interaction between RagCS75Y and TFEB in the cytosol. Importantly, TFEB overexpression resulted in more nuclear TFEB and rescued cardiomyopathy phenotypes. These findings suggest that S75Y is a pathogenic gain-of-function mutation in RagC that leads to cardiomyopathy. A primary pathological step of RagCS75Y cardiomyopathy is defective mTOR-TFEB signaling, which can be corrected by TFEB overexpression, but not mTOR inhibition.
    Keywords:  RagCS75Y; Rags; TFEB; cardiomyopathy; mTOR
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22115494
  20. Cell Biol Toxicol. 2021 May 31.
    The parkinsonian LRRK2 R1441G mutation shows macroautophagy-mitophagy dysregulation concomitant with endoplasmic reticulum stress.
    Sokhna M S Yakhine-Diop, Mario Rodríguez-Arribas, Saray Canales-Cortés, Guadalupe Martínez-Chacón, Elisabet Uribe-Carretero, Mercedes Blanco-Benítez, Gema Duque-González, Marta Paredes-Barquero, Eva Alegre-Cortés, Vicente Climent, Ana Aiastui, Adolfo López de Munain, José M Bravo-San Pedro, Mireia Niso-Santano, José M Fuentes, Rosa A González-Polo.
      Autophagy is a mechanism responsible for the degradation of cellular components to maintain their homeostasis. However, autophagy is commonly altered and compromised in several diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders. Parkinson's disease (PD) can be considered a multifactorial disease because environmental factors, genetic factors, and aging are involved. Several genes are involved in PD pathology, among which the LRRK2 gene and its mutations, inherited in an autosomal dominant manner, are responsible for most genetic PD cases. The R1441G LRRK2 mutation is, after G2019S, the most important in PD pathogenesis. Our results demonstrate a relationship between the R1441G LRRK2 mutation and a mechanistic dysregulation of autophagy that compromises cell viability. This altered autophagy mechanism is associated with organellar stress including mitochondrial (which induces mitophagy) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, consistent with the fact that patients with this mutation are more vulnerable to toxins related to PD, such as MPP+.
    Keywords:  Autophagy; MAMs; Mitochondrial dysfunction; Neurodegeneration; Parkinson disease
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10565-021-09617-w
  21. Trends Cell Biol. 2021 Jun 01. pii: S0962-8924(21)00092-1. [Epub ahead of print]
    Alternative careers at the autophagy factory.
    Douglas R Green.
      During autophagy, proteins of the ATG8 family are conjugated to phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) in double-membrane structures called phagophores. Now, Durgan et al. have found that, during the non-canonical process of conjugating ATG8 proteins to single-membrane structures, ATG8 can be ligated to phosphatidylserine. Here, I discuss the potential consequences of their findings.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcb.2021.04.006
  22. Nat Commun. 2021 06 02. 12(1): 3291
    UBE4B, a microRNA-9 target gene, promotes autophagy-mediated Tau degradation.
    Manivannan Subramanian, Seung Jae Hyeon, Tanuza Das, Yoon Seok Suh, Yun Kyung Kim, Jeong-Soo Lee, Eun Joo Song, Hoon Ryu, Kweon Yu.
      The formation of hyperphosphorylated intracellular Tau tangles in the brain is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Tau hyperphosphorylation destabilizes microtubules, promoting neurodegeneration in AD patients. To identify suppressors of tau-mediated AD, we perform a screen using a microRNA (miR) library in Drosophila and identify the miR-9 family as suppressors of human tau overexpression phenotypes. CG11070, a miR-9a target gene, and its mammalian orthologue UBE4B, an E3/E4 ubiquitin ligase, alleviate eye neurodegeneration, synaptic bouton defects, and crawling phenotypes in Drosophila human tau overexpression models. Total and phosphorylated Tau levels also decrease upon CG11070 or UBE4B overexpression. In mammalian neuroblastoma cells, overexpression of UBE4B and STUB1, which encodes the E3 ligase CHIP, increases the ubiquitination and degradation of Tau. In the Tau-BiFC mouse model, UBE4B and STUB1 overexpression also increase oligomeric Tau degradation. Inhibitor assays of the autophagy and proteasome systems reveal that the autophagy-lysosome system is the major pathway for Tau degradation in this context. These results demonstrate that UBE4B, a miR-9 target gene, promotes autophagy-mediated Tau degradation together with STUB1, and is thus an innovative therapeutic approach for AD.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23597-9
  23. Cells. 2021 May 21. pii: 1272. [Epub ahead of print]10(6):
    How Lipids Contribute to Autophagosome Biogenesis, a Critical Process in Plant Responses to Stresses.
    Rodrigo Enrique Gomez, Josselin Lupette, Clément Chambaud, Julie Castets, Amélie Ducloy, Jean-Luc Cacas, Céline Masclaux-Daubresse, Amélie Bernard.
      Throughout their life cycle, plants face a tremendous number of environmental and developmental stresses. To respond to these different constraints, they have developed a set of refined intracellular systems including autophagy. This pathway, highly conserved among eukaryotes, is induced by a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses upon which it mediates the degradation and recycling of cytoplasmic material. Central to autophagy is the formation of highly specialized double membrane vesicles called autophagosomes which select, engulf, and traffic cargo to the lytic vacuole for degradation. The biogenesis of these structures requires a series of membrane remodeling events during which both the quantity and quality of lipids are critical to sustain autophagy activity. This review highlights our knowledge, and raises current questions, regarding the mechanism of autophagy, and its induction and regulation upon environmental stresses with a particular focus on the fundamental contribution of lipids. How autophagy regulates metabolism and the recycling of resources, including lipids, to promote plant acclimation and resistance to stresses is further discussed.
    Keywords:  ATG proteins; ER-stress; autophagosomes; autophagy; environmental stresses; lipids
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10061272
  24. Elife. 2021 Jun 04. pii: e64140. [Epub ahead of print]10
    Short and long sleeping mutants reveal links between sleep and macroautophagy.
    Joseph L Bedont, Hirofumi Toda, Mi Shi, Christine H Park, Christine Quake, Carly Stein, Anna Kolesnik, Amita Sehgal.
      Sleep is a conserved and essential behavior, but its mechanistic and functional underpinnings remain poorly defined. Through unbiased genetic screening in Drosophila, we discovered a novel short-sleep mutant we named argus. Positional cloning and subsequent complementation, CRISPR/Cas9 knock-out, and RNAi studies identified Argus as a transmembrane protein that acts in adult peptidergic neurons to regulate sleep. argus mutants accumulate undigested Atg8a(+) autophagosomes, and genetic manipulations impeding autophagosome formation suppress argus sleep phenotypes, indicating that autophagosome accumulation drives argus short-sleep. Conversely, a blue cheese neurodegenerative mutant that impairs autophagosome formation was identified independently as a gain-of-sleep mutant, and targeted RNAi screens identified additional genes involved in autophagosome formation whose knockdown increases sleep. Finally, autophagosomes normally accumulate during the daytime and nighttime sleep deprivation extends this accumulation into the following morning, while daytime gaboxadol feeding promotes sleep and reduces autophagosome accumulation at nightfall. In sum, our results paradoxically demonstrate that wakefulness increases and sleep decreases autophagosome levels under unperturbed conditions, yet strong and sustained upregulation of autophagosomes decreases sleep, whereas strong and sustained downregulation of autophagosomes increases sleep. The complex relationship between sleep and autophagy suggested by our findings may have implications for pathological states including chronic sleep disorders and neurodegeneration, as well as for integration of sleep need with other homeostats, such as under conditions of starvation.
    Keywords:  D. melanogaster; Drosophila; argus; autophagy; blue cheese; cell biology; genetics; neuroscience; sleep
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.64140
  25. Cell Death Dis. 2021 May 31. 12(6): 560
    High-throughput screening for natural compound-based autophagy modulators reveals novel chemotherapeutic mode of action for arzanol.
    Jana Deitersen, Lena Berning, Fabian Stuhldreier, Sara Ceccacci, David Schlütermann, Annabelle Friedrich, Wenxian Wu, Yadong Sun, Philip Böhler, Niklas Berleth, María José Mendiburo, Sabine Seggewiß, Ruchika Anand, Andreas S Reichert, Maria Chiara Monti, Peter Proksch, Björn Stork.
      Autophagy is an intracellular recycling pathway with implications for intracellular homeostasis and cell survival. Its pharmacological modulation can aid chemotherapy by sensitizing cancer cells toward approved drugs and overcoming chemoresistance. Recent translational data on autophagy modulators show promising results in reducing tumor growth and metastasis, but also reveal a need for more specific compounds and novel lead structures. Here, we searched for such autophagy-modulating compounds in a flow cytometry-based high-throughput screening of an in-house natural compound library. We successfully identified novel inducers and inhibitors of the autophagic pathway. Among these, we identified arzanol as an autophagy-modulating drug that causes the accumulation of ATG16L1-positive structures, while it also induces the accumulation of lipidated LC3. Surprisingly, we observed a reduction of the size of autophagosomes compared to the bafilomycin control and a pronounced accumulation of p62/SQSTM1 in response to arzanol treatment in HeLa cells. We, therefore, speculate that arzanol acts both as an inducer of early autophagosome biogenesis and as an inhibitor of later autophagy events. We further show that arzanol is able to sensitize RT-112 bladder cancer cells towards cisplatin (CDDP). Its anticancer activity was confirmed in monotherapy against both CDDP-sensitive and -resistant bladder cancer cells. We classified arzanol as a novel mitotoxin that induces the fragmentation of mitochondria, and we identified a series of targets for arzanol that involve proteins of the class of mitochondria-associated quinone-binding oxidoreductases. Collectively, our results suggest arzanol as a valuable tool for autophagy research and as a lead compound for drug development in cancer therapy.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-021-03830-5
  26. Genes (Basel). 2021 May 13. pii: 728. [Epub ahead of print]12(5):
    MTOR Signaling and Metabolism in Early T Cell Development.
    Guy Werlen, Ritika Jain, Estela Jacinto.
      The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) controls cell fate and responses via its functions in regulating metabolism. Its role in controlling immunity was unraveled by early studies on the immunosuppressive properties of rapamycin. Recent studies have provided insights on how metabolic reprogramming and mTOR signaling impact peripheral T cell activation and fate. The contribution of mTOR and metabolism during early T-cell development in the thymus is also emerging and is the subject of this review. Two major T lineages with distinct immune functions and peripheral homing organs diverge during early thymic development; the αβ- and γδ-T cells, which are defined by their respective TCR subunits. Thymic T-regulatory cells, which have immunosuppressive functions, also develop in the thymus from positively selected αβ-T cells. Here, we review recent findings on how the two mTOR protein complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2, and the signaling molecules involved in the mTOR pathway are involved in thymocyte differentiation. We discuss emerging views on how metabolic remodeling impacts early T cell development and how this can be mediated via mTOR signaling.
    Keywords:  T lymphocytes; T-cell metabolism; early T cell development; mTOR; mTORC1; mTORC2; thymocytes
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12050728
  27. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2021 Jun 02. 6(1): 208
    The STING1 network regulates autophagy and cell death.
    Ruoxi Zhang, Rui Kang, Daolin Tang.
      Cell death and immune response are at the core of life. In past decades, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein STING1 (also known as STING or TMEM173) was found to play a fundamental role in the production of type I interferons (IFNs) and pro-inflammatory cytokines in response to DNA derived from invading microbial pathogens or damaged hosts by activating multiple transcription factors. In addition to this well-known function in infection, inflammation, and immunity, emerging evidence suggests that the STING1-dependent signaling network is implicated in health and disease by regulating autophagic degradation or various cell death modalities (e.g., apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, mitotic cell death, and immunogenic cell death [ICD]). Here, we outline the latest advances in our understanding of the regulating mechanisms and signaling pathways of STING1 in autophagy and cell death, which may shed light on new targets for therapeutic interventions.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-021-00613-4
  28. Antioxidants (Basel). 2021 May 13. pii: 776. [Epub ahead of print]10(5):
    Apigenin and Luteolin Regulate Autophagy by Targeting NRH-Quinone Oxidoreductase 2 in Liver Cells.
    Elzbieta Janda, Concetta Martino, Concetta Riillo, Maddalena Parafati, Antonella Lascala, Vincenzo Mollace, Jean A Boutin.
      Dietary flavonoids stimulate autophagy and prevent liver dysfunction, but the upstream signaling pathways triggered by these compounds are not well understood. Certain polyphenols bind directly to NRH-quinone oxidoreductase 2 (NQO2) and inhibit its activity. NQO2 is highly expressed in the liver, where it participates in quinone metabolism, but recent evidence indicates that it may also play a role in the regulation of oxidative stress and autophagy. Here, we addressed a potential role of NQO2 in autophagy induction by flavonoids. The pro-autophagic activity of seven flavonoid aglycons correlated perfectly with their ability to inhibit NQO2 activity, and flavones such as apigenin and luteolin showed the strongest activity in all assays. The silencing of NQO2 strongly reduced flavone-induced autophagic flux, although it increased basal LC3-II levels in HepG2 cells. Both flavones induced AMP kinase (AMPK) activation, while its reduction by AMPK beta (PRKAB1) silencing inhibited flavone-induced autophagy. Interestingly, the depletion of NQO2 levels by siRNA increased the basal AMPK phosphorylation but abrogated its further increase by apigenin. Thus, NQO2 contributes to the negative regulation of AMPK activity and autophagy, while its targeting by flavones releases pro-autophagic signals. These findings imply that NQO2 works as a flavone receptor mediating autophagy and may contribute to other hepatic effects of flavonoids.
    Keywords:  IC50; autophagy; bergamot flavonoids; enzymatic activity; flavoenzyme; menadione; polyphenol; quinone reductase
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10050776
  29. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 May 18. pii: 5326. [Epub ahead of print]22(10):
    Involvement of the Protein Ras Homolog Enriched in the Striatum, Rhes, in Dopaminergic Neurons' Degeneration: Link to Parkinson's Disease.
    Marcello Serra, Annalisa Pinna, Giulia Costa, Alessandro Usiello, Massimo Pasqualetti, Luigi Avallone, Micaela Morelli, Francesco Napolitano.
      Rhes is one of the most interesting genes regulated by thyroid hormones that, through the inhibition of the striatal cAMP/PKA pathway, acts as a modulator of dopamine neurotransmission. Rhes mRNA is expressed at high levels in the dorsal striatum, with a medial-to-lateral expression gradient reflecting that of both dopamine D2 and adenosine A2A receptors. Rhes transcript is also present in the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, olfactory tubercle and bulb, substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and ventral tegmental area of the rodent brain. In line with Rhes-dependent regulation of dopaminergic transmission, data showed that lack of Rhes enhanced cocaine- and amphetamine-induced motor stimulation in mice. Previous studies showed that pharmacological depletion of dopamine significantly reduces Rhes mRNA levels in rodents, non-human primates and Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, suggesting a link between dopaminergic innervation and physiological Rhes mRNA expression. Rhes protein binds to and activates striatal mTORC1, and modulates L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in PD rodent models. Finally, Rhes is involved in the survival of mouse midbrain dopaminergic neurons of SNc, thus pointing towards a Rhes-dependent modulation of autophagy and mitophagy processes, and encouraging further investigations about mechanisms underlying dysfunctions of the nigrostriatal system.
    Keywords:  3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA); Huntington’s disease; L-Dopa-induced dyskinesia (LID); SUMO E3 ligase; autophagy; mTOR; mitophagy; substantia nigra
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22105326
  30. Mol Cell. 2021 May 25. pii: S1097-2765(21)00362-2. [Epub ahead of print]
    Choline kinase alpha 2 acts as a protein kinase to promote lipolysis of lipid droplets.
    Rui Liu, Jong-Ho Lee, Jingyi Li, Rilei Yu, Lin Tan, Yan Xia, Yanhua Zheng, Xue-Li Bian, Philip L Lorenzi, Qianming Chen, Zhimin Lu.
      Lipid droplets are important for cancer cell growth and survival. However, the mechanism underlying the initiation of lipid droplet lipolysis is not well understood. We demonstrate here that glucose deprivation induces the binding of choline kinase (CHK) α2 to lipid droplets, which is sequentially mediated by AMPK-dependent CHKα2 S279 phosphorylation and KAT5-dependent CHKα2 K247 acetylation. Importantly, CHKα2 with altered catalytic domain conformation functions as a protein kinase and phosphorylates PLIN2 at Y232 and PLIN3 at Y251. The phosphorylated PLIN2/3 dissociate from lipid droplets and are degraded by Hsc70-mediated autophagy, thereby promoting lipid droplet lipolysis, fatty acid oxidation, and brain tumor growth. In addition, levels of CHKα2 S279 phosphorylation, CHKα2 K247 acetylation, and PLIN2/3 phosphorylation are positively correlated with one another in human glioblastoma specimens and are associated with poor prognosis in glioblastoma patients. These findings underscore the role of CHKα2 as a protein kinase in lipolysis and glioblastoma development.
    Keywords:  AMPK; KAT5; PLIN2/3; acetylation; autophagy; choline kinase; lipid droplet; lipolysis; phosphorylation; tumorigenesis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2021.05.005
  31. Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2021 Jun 05.
    HIF-1α in the Crosstalk Between Reactive Oxygen Species and Autophagy Process: A Review in Multiple Sclerosis.
    Rezvan Asgari, Reza Yarani, Pantea Mohammadi, Mohammad Sajad Emami Aleagha.
      Cellular stress can lead to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) while autophagy, as a catabolic pathway, protects the cells against stress. Autophagy in its turn plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis (MS). In the current review, we first summarized the contribution of ROS and autophagy to MS pathogenesis. Then probable crosstalk between these two pathways through HIF-1α for the first time has been proposed with the hope of employing a better understanding of MS pathophysiology and probable therapeutic approaches.
    Keywords:  Autophagy; HIF-1α; Multiple sclerosis; ROS
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-021-01111-5
  32. Cell Rep. 2021 Jun 01. pii: S2211-1247(21)00552-0. [Epub ahead of print]35(9): 109203
    PINK1 and parkin shape the organism-wide distribution of a deleterious mitochondrial genome.
    Arnaud Ahier, Chuan-Yang Dai, Ina Kirmes, Nadia Cummins, Grace Ching Ching Hung, Jürgen Götz, Steven Zuryn.
      In multiple species, certain tissue types are prone to acquiring greater loads of mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) mutations relative to others, but the mechanisms that drive these heteroplasmy differences are unknown. We find that the conserved PTEN-induced putative kinase (PINK1/PINK-1) and the E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase parkin (PDR-1), which are required for mitochondrial autophagy (mitophagy), underlie stereotyped differences in heteroplasmy of a deleterious mitochondrial genome mutation (ΔmtDNA) between major somatic tissues types in Caenorhabditis elegans. We demonstrate that tissues prone to accumulating ΔmtDNA have lower mitophagy responses than those with low mutation levels. Moreover, we show that ΔmtDNA heteroplasmy increases when proteotoxic species that are associated with neurodegenerative disease and mitophagy inhibition are overexpressed in the nervous system. These results suggest that PINK1 and parkin drive organism-wide patterns of heteroplasmy and provide evidence of a causal link between proteotoxicity, mitophagy, and mtDNA mutation levels in neurons.
    Keywords:  Alzheimer's disease; PINK1; heteroplasmy; mitochondria; mitophagy; mtDNA; parkin; polyglutamate; proteotoxicity; tau
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109203
  33. Aging Cell. 2021 Jun 04. e13410
    Nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich-repeat-containing protein X1 deficiency induces nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide decline, mechanistic target of rapamycin activation, and cellular senescence and accelerates aging lung-like changes.
    Hyeon Jun Shin, Sang-Hun Kim, Hong-Jai Park, Min-Sun Shin, Insoo Kang, Min-Jong Kang.
      Mitochondrial dysfunction has long been implicated to have a causative role in organismal aging. A mitochondrial molecule, nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich-repeat-containing protein X1 (NLRX1), represents the only NLR family member that targets this cellular location, implying that NLRX1 probably establishes a fundamental link between mitochondrial functions and cellular physiology. However, the significance of NLRX1 function in cellular senescence, a key conceptual constituent in aging biology, is yet to be defined. Here, we demonstrate that molecular hallmarks involved in aging biology including NAD+ decline, and activation of mTOR, p53, and p16INK4A are significantly enhanced in NLRX1 deficiency in vitro. Mechanistic studies of replicative cellular senescence in the presence or absence of NLRX1 in vitro reveal that NLRX1-deficient fibroblasts fail to maintain optimal NAD+ /NADH ratio, which instigates the decline of SIRT1 and the activation of mTOR, p16INK4A , and p53, leading to the increase in senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-β-gal)-positive cells. Importantly, the enhanced cellular senescence response in NLRX1 deficiency is significantly attenuated by pharmacological inhibition of mTOR signaling in vitro. Finally, our in vivo murine studies reveal that NLRX1 decreases with age in murine lungs and NLRX1 deficiency in vivo accelerates pulmonary functional and structural changes that recapitulate the findings observed in human aging lungs. In conclusion, the current study provides evidence for NLRX1 as a crucial regulator of cellular senescence and in vivo lung aging.
    Keywords:  NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide); NLRX1 (nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich-repeat-containing protein X1); cellular senescence; lung aging; mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin)
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.13410
  34. Nat Commun. 2021 05 31. 12(1): 3258
    Model-based analysis uncovers mutations altering autophagy selectivity in human cancer.
    Zhu Han, Weizhi Zhang, Wanshan Ning, Chenwei Wang, Wankun Deng, Zhidan Li, Zehua Shang, Xiaofei Shen, Xiaohui Liu, Otto Baba, Tsuyoshi Morita, Lu Chen, Yu Xue, Da Jia.
      Autophagy can selectively target protein aggregates, pathogens, and dysfunctional organelles for the lysosomal degradation. Aberrant regulation of autophagy promotes tumorigenesis, while it is far less clear whether and how tumor-specific alterations result in autophagic aberrance. To form a link between aberrant autophagy selectivity and human cancer, we establish a computational pipeline and prioritize 222 potential LIR (LC3-interacting region) motif-associated mutations (LAMs) in 148 proteins. We validate LAMs in multiple proteins including ATG4B, STBD1, EHMT2 and BRAF that impair their interactions with LC3 and autophagy activities. Using a combination of transcriptomic, metabolomic and additional experimental assays, we show that STBD1, a poorly-characterized protein, inhibits tumor growth via modulating glycogen autophagy, while a patient-derived W203C mutation on LIR abolishes its cancer inhibitory function. This work suggests that altered autophagy selectivity is a frequently-used mechanism by cancer cells to survive during various stresses, and provides a framework to discover additional autophagy-related pathways that influence carcinogenesis.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23539-5
  35. Chem Sci. 2019 Dec 18. 11(6): 1617-1622
    A near-infrared fluorescent probe reveals decreased mitochondrial polarity during mitophagy.
    Xiaoyi Li, Xiaohua Li, Huimin Ma.
      Mitophagy is a selective form of autophagy by which dysfunctional and damaged mitochondria are degraded in autolysosomes. Since defective mitophagy is closely related to various pathological processes, investigation on the detailed mitophagy process is of great importance. In this respect, disclosing the alterations of mitochondrial microenvironments is expected to be a promising way. However, an appropriate method for monitoring the fluctuations of mitochondrial polarity during mitophagy is still lacking. Here, we report a near-infrared hydroxyl-hemicyanine fluorescent probe that responds to polarity exclusively. Both the shift of emission maxima and the fluorescence intensity ratios at two different wavelengths of the probe can be applied to quantifying the polarity accurately. With ratiometric fluorescence imaging, the polarity differences of normal and cancer cells are clearly discriminated. Most importantly, the mitochondrial polarity variations during starvation and drug-induced mitophagy are determined for the first time. The observed decrease of mitochondrial polarity during mitophagy, together with the rationally designed probe, may facilitate the study on the vital role of mitophagy in physiological and pathological bioprocesses.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1039/c9sc05505c
  36. Front Mol Biosci. 2021 ;8 666026
    Co-Transmission of Alpha-Synuclein and TPPP/p25 Inhibits Their Proteolytic Degradation in Human Cell Models.
    Attila Lehotzky, Judit Oláh, János Tibor Fekete, Tibor Szénási, Edit Szabó, Balázs Győrffy, György Várady, Judit Ovádi.
      The pathological association of alpha-synuclein (SYN) and Tubulin Polymerization Promoting Protein (TPPP/p25) is a key factor in the etiology of synucleinopathies. In normal brains, the intrinsically disordered SYN and TPPP/p25 are not found together but exist separately in neurons and oligodendrocytes, respectively; in pathological states, however, they are found in both cell types due to their cell-to-cell transmission. The autophagy degradation of the accumulated/assembled SYN has been considered as a potential therapeutic target. We have shown that the hetero-association of SYN with TPPP/p25 after their uptake from the medium by human cells (which mimics cell-to-cell transmission) inhibits both their autophagy- and the ubiquitin-proteasome system-derived elimination. These results were obtained by ELISA, Western blot, FACS and immunofluorescence confocal microscopy using human recombinant proteins and living human cells; ANOVA statistical analysis confirmed that TPPP/p25 counteracts SYN degradation by hindering the autophagy maturation at the stage of LC3B-SQSTM1/p62-derived autophagosome formation and its fusion with lysosome. Recently, fragments of TPPP/p25 that bind to the interface between the two hallmark proteins have been shown to inhibit their pathological assembly. In this work, we show that the proteolytic degradation of SYN on its own is more effective than when it is complexed with TPPP/p25. The combined strategy of TPPP/p25 fragments and proteolysis may ensure prevention and/or elimination of pathological SYN assemblies.
    Keywords:  TPPP/p25; alpha-synuclein; autophagy inhibition; drug target; parkinsonism
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fmolb.2021.666026
  37. Metabolites. 2021 May 18. pii: 323. [Epub ahead of print]11(5):
    Lifelong Aerobic Exercise Alleviates Sarcopenia by Activating Autophagy and Inhibiting Protein Degradation via the AMPK/PGC-1α Signaling Pathway.
    Jiling Liang, Hu Zhang, Zhengzhong Zeng, Liangwen Wu, Ying Zhang, Yanju Guo, Jun Lv, Cenyi Wang, Jingjing Fan, Ning Chen.
      Sarcopenia is an aging-induced syndrome characterized by a progressive reduction of skeletal muscle mass and strength. Increasing evidence has attested that appropriate and scientific exercise could induce autophagy or optimize the functional status of autophagy, which plays a critical role in senescent muscular dystrophy. As a publicly recognized strategy for extending lifespan and improving the health of the elderly, the underlying mechanisms of lifelong regular aerobic exercise for the prevention of sarcopenia have not been fully elucidated. To explore the role of lifelong aerobic exercise in the beneficial regulation of autophagic signaling pathways in senescent skeletal muscle, the natural aging mice were used as the sarcopenia model and subjected to lifelong treadmill running to evaluate corresponding parameters related to skeletal muscle atrophy and autophagic signaling pathways. Compared with the young control mice, the aged mice showed a significant reduction in skeletal muscle mass, gastrocnemius muscle weight/body weight (GMW/BW) ratio, and cross-sectional areas (CSA) of skeletal muscle fibers (p < 0.01). In contrast, lifelong aerobic exercise effectively rescued these reduced biomarkers associated with muscle atrophy. Moreover, as shown in the activated AMPK/PGC-1α signaling pathway, lifelong aerobic exercise successfully prevented the aging-induced impairment of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), excessive apoptosis, defective autophagy, and mitochondrial dysfunction. The exercise-induced autophagy suppressed the key regulatory components of the UPS, inhibited excessive apoptosis, and optimized mitochondrial quality control, thereby preventing and delaying aging-induced skeletal muscle atrophy.
    Keywords:  apoptosis; autophagy; lifelong aerobic exercise; mitochondrial quality control; sarcopenia; ubiquitin-proteasome system
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo11050323
  38. Autophagy. 2021 May 31. 1-3
    When the autophagy protein ATG16L1 met the ciliary protein IFT20.
    Asma Boukhalfa, Federica Roccio, Nicolas Dupont, Patrice Codogno, Etienne Morel.
      The primary cilium (PC), a plasma membrane microtubule-based structure, is a sensor of extracellular chemical and mechanical stress stimuli. Upon ciliogenesis, the autophagy protein ATG16L1 and the ciliary protein IFT20 are co-transported to the PC. We demonstrated in a recent study that IFT20 and ATG16L1 interact in a multiprotein complex. This interaction is mediated by the ATG16L1 WD40 domain and an ATG16L1-binding motif newly identified in IFT20. ATG16L1-deficient cells are decorated by giant ciliary structures hallmarked by defects in PC-associated signaling. These structures uncommonly accumulate phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns[4,5]P2) while phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PtdIns4P), a lipid normally concentrated in the PC, is excluded. We show that INPP5E, a phosphoinositide-associated phosphatase responsible for PtdIns4P generation, is a partner of ATG16L1 in this context. Perturbation of the ATG16L1-IFT20 complex alters INPP5E trafficking and proper function at the ciliary membrane. Altogether, these results reveal a novel autophagy-independent function of ATG16L1 that contributes to proper PC dynamics and function.
    Keywords:  ATG; IFT; INPP5E; macroautophagy; phosphoinositides; primary cilium
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2021.1935004
  39. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2021 Jun 01. pii: glab145. [Epub ahead of print]
    The autophagy inducer spermidine protects against metabolic dysfunction during overnutrition.
    Chen-Yu Liao, Oona M P Kummert, Amanda M Bair, Nora Alavi, Josef Alavi, Delana M Miller, Isha Bagga, Anja M Schempf, Yueh-Mei Hsu, Bruce D Woods Ii, Stephen M Brown Mayfield, Angelina N Mitchell, Gabriella Tannady, Aislinn R Talbot, Aaron M Dueck, Ricardo Barrera Ovando, Heather D Parker, Junying Wang, Jane K Schoeneweis, Brian K Kennedy.
      Autophagy, a process catabolizing intracellular components to maintain energy homeostasis, impacts aging and metabolism. Spermidine, a natural polyamine and autophagy activator, extends lifespan across a variety of species, including mice. In addition to protecting cardiac and liver tissue, spermidine also affects adipose tissue through unexplored mechanisms. Here, we examined spermidine in the links between autophagy and systemic metabolism. Consistently, daily injection of spermidine delivered even at late life is sufficient to cause a trend in lifespan extension in wild type mice. We further found that spermidine has minimal metabolic effects in young and old mice under normal nutrition. However, spermidine counteracts HFD (high-fat diet)-induced obesity by increasing lipolysis in visceral fat. Mechanistically, spermidine increases the hepatokine FGF21 expression in liver without reducing food intake. Spermidine also modulates FGF21 in adipose tissues, elevating FGF21 expression in subcutaneous fat, but reducing it in visceral fat. Despite this, FGF21 is not required for spermidine action, since Fgf21  -/- mice were still protected from HFD. Furthermore, the enhanced lipolysis by spermidine was also independent of autophagy in adipose tissue, given that adipose-specific autophagy deficient (Beclin-1  flox/+  Fabp4-cre) mice remained spermidine-responsive under HFD. Our results suggest that the metabolic effects of spermidine occurs through systemic changes in metabolism, involving multiple mechanistic pathways.
    Keywords:  Aging; FGF-21; High-fat diet; Metabolism; Mice
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glab145
  40. Folia Biol (Praha). 2020 ;66(5-6): 179-185
    Caenorhabditis elegans Perilipin Is Implicated in Cold-Induced Lipolysis and Inhibits Autophagy in Early Embryos.
    F Kassak, A A Chughtai, S Kassak, M Kostrouchova.
      Animals use neutral lipids, particularly triacylglycerols (TAGs), to store energy. TAGs are universally organized into dynamic cytoplasmic structures called lipid droplets (LDs). In mammals TAG breakdown is catalysed by lipases, such as hormonesensitive lipase (HSL). LD membrane-resident proteins called perilipins (PLINs) regulate some of these lipases. The model organism Caenorhabditis elegans has a single known PLIN homologue and orthologues of most lipases including HSL. HOSL-1 (the HSL orthologue in C. elegans) is responsible for production of cryoprotective glycerol in cold conditions, in addition to its role in fasting-induced lipolysis. We employed this model of cold exposure to study the role of PLIN-1 in the regulation of HOSL-1. Our results suggest that both HOSL-1 and PLIN-1 are required for cold tolerance and for lipid breakdown in cold. However, the loss of PLIN-1 partially rescued the phenotype of hosl-1 null mutants exposed to cold, suggesting the presence of an alternative pathway generating glycerol via lipolysis. In early embryos, PLIN-1 knock-out results in accumulation of lipids and formation of cytoplasmic clusters of autophagic marker LGG-1, supporting the role of autophagy as an alternative lipolytic pathway in C. elegans, as is the case in mammals.
  41. Cells. 2021 May 03. pii: 1094. [Epub ahead of print]10(5):
    Mechanisms and Functions of Pexophagy in Mammalian Cells.
    Jing Li, Wei Wang.
      Peroxisomes play essential roles in diverse cellular metabolism functions, and their dynamic homeostasis is maintained through the coordination of peroxisome biogenesis and turnover. Pexophagy, selective autophagic degradation of peroxisomes, is a major mechanism for removing damaged and/or superfluous peroxisomes. Dysregulation of pexophagy impairs the physiological functions of peroxisomes and contributes to the progression of many human diseases. However, the mechanisms and functions of pexophagy in mammalian cells remain largely unknown compared to those in yeast. This review focuses on mammalian pexophagy and aims to advance the understanding of the roles of pexophagy in human health and diseases. Increasing evidence shows that ubiquitination can serve as a signal for pexophagy, and ubiquitin-binding receptors, substrates, and E3 ligases/deubiquitinases involved in pexophagy have been described. Alternatively, pexophagy can be achieved in a ubiquitin-independent manner. We discuss the mechanisms of these ubiquitin-dependent and ubiquitin-independent pexophagy pathways and summarize several inducible conditions currently used to study pexophagy. We highlight several roles of pexophagy in human health and how its dysregulation may contribute to diseases.
    Keywords:  autophagy; mammalian; peroxisome; pexophagy; receptor; ubiquitin
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10051094
  42. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 May 28. pii: 5804. [Epub ahead of print]22(11):
    Autophagy Modulators in Cancer Therapy.
    Kamila Buzun, Agnieszka Gornowicz, Roman Lesyk, Krzysztof Bielawski, Anna Bielawska.
      Autophagy is a process of self-degradation that plays an important role in removing damaged proteins, organelles or cellular fragments from the cell. Under stressful conditions such as hypoxia, nutrient deficiency or chemotherapy, this process can also become the strategy for cell survival. Autophagy can be nonselective or selective in removing specific organelles, ribosomes, and protein aggregates, although the complete mechanisms that regulate aspects of selective autophagy are not fully understood. This review summarizes the most recent research into understanding the different types and mechanisms of autophagy. The relationship between apoptosis and autophagy on the level of molecular regulation of the expression of selected proteins such as p53, Bcl-2/Beclin 1, p62, Atg proteins, and caspases was discussed. Intensive studies have revealed a whole range of novel compounds with an anticancer activity that inhibit or activate regulatory pathways involved in autophagy. We focused on the presentation of compounds strongly affecting the autophagy process, with particular emphasis on those that are undergoing clinical and preclinical cancer research. Moreover, the target points, adverse effects and therapeutic schemes of autophagy inhibitors and activators are presented.
    Keywords:  autophagy; autophagy activators; autophagy inhibitors; cancer; cancer therapy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22115804
  43. Autophagy. 2021 Jun 01.
    TMEM41B and VMP1 are phospholipid scramblases.
    Tizhong Zhang, Yang E Li, Yiqiong Yuan, Ximing Du, Yichang Wang, Xiuju Dong, Hongyuan Yang, Shiqian Qi.
      TMEM41B and VMP1, two endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident transmembrane proteins, play important roles in regulating the formation of lipid droplets (LDs), autophagy initiation, and viral infection. However, the biochemical function of TMEM41B and VMP1 is unclear. A lipids distribution screen suggested TMEM41B and VMP1 are critical to the normal distribution of cholesterol and phosphatidylserine. Biochemical analyses unveiled that TMEM41B and VMP1 have scramblase activity. These findings shed light on the mechanism by which TMEM41B and VMP1 regulate LD formation, lipids distribution, macroautophagy, and viral infection.
    Keywords:  ER; TMEM41B; VMP1; lipid droplet; lipid transport; macroautophagy; scramblase; viral infection
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2021.1937898
  44. Cell Cycle. 2021 May;20(9): 839-854
    mTORC1 induces eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E interaction with TOS-S6 kinase 1 and its activation.
    Sheikh Tahir Majeed, Asiya Batool, Rabiya Majeed, Nadiem Nazir Bhat, Muhammad Afzal Zargar, Khurshid Iqbal Andrabi.
      Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E was recently shown to be a substrate of mTORC1, suggesting it may be a mediator of mTORC1 signaling. Here, we present evidence that eIF4E phosphorylated at S209 interacts with TOS motif of S6 Kinase1 (S6K1). We also show that this interaction is sufficient to overcome rapamycin sensitivity and mTORC1 dependence of S6K1. Furthermore, we show that eIF4E-TOS interaction relieves S6K1 from auto-inhibition due to carboxy terminal domain (CTD) and primes it for hydrophobic motif (HM) phosphorylation and activation in mTORC1 independent manner. We conclude that the role of mTORC1 is restricted to engaging eIF4E with S6K1-TOS motif to influence its state of HM phosphorylation and inducing its activation.
    Keywords:  S6 Kinase 1; eIF4E; mTOR
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/15384101.2021.1901038
  45. Drug Discov Today. 2021 May 27. pii: S1359-6446(21)00248-8. [Epub ahead of print]
    TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1): An emerging therapeutic target for drug discovery.
    Shuang Xiang, Shukai Song, Haotian Tang, Jeff B Smaill, Aiqun Wang, Hua Xie, Xiaoyun Lu.
      Dysregulation of TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) homeostasis leads to the occurrence and progression of many diseases, such as inflammation, autoimmune diseases, metabolic diseases, and cancer. Therefore, there is a need to develop TBK1 inhibitors as therapeutic agents. In this review, we highlight the diverse biological functions of TBK1 and summarize the promising small-molecule inhibitors of TBK1 that have the potential to be developed as therapeutic candidates.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drudis.2021.05.016
  46. Front Microbiol. 2021 ;12 675419
    Therapeutic Potential of Exploiting Autophagy Cascade Against Coronavirus Infection.
    Subhajit Maity, Abhik Saha.
      Since its emergence in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) created a worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with nearly 136 million cases and approximately 3 million deaths. Recent studies indicate that like other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 also hijacks or usurps various host cell machineries including autophagy for its replication and disease pathogenesis. Double membrane vesicles generated during initiation of autophagy cascade act as a scaffold for the assembly of viral replication complexes and facilitate RNA synthesis. The use of autophagy inhibitors - chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine initially appeared to be as a potential treatment strategy of COVID-19 patients but later remained at the center of debate due to high cytotoxic effects. In the absence of a specific drug or vaccine, there is an urgent need for a safe, potent as well as affordable drug to control the disease spread. Given the intricate connection between autophagy machinery and viral pathogenesis, the question arises whether targeting autophagy pathway might show a path to fight against SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this review we will discuss about our current knowledge linking autophagy to coronaviruses and how that is being utilized to repurpose autophagy modulators as potential COVID-19 treatment.
    Keywords:  COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; autophagy; coronaviruses (CoVs); virophagy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.675419
  47. Antioxidants (Basel). 2021 May 17. pii: 794. [Epub ahead of print]10(5):
    Mitophagy and Oxidative Stress: The Role of Aging.
    Anna De Gaetano, Lara Gibellini, Giada Zanini, Milena Nasi, Andrea Cossarizza, Marcello Pinti.
      Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of aging. Dysfunctional mitochondria are recognized and degraded by a selective type of macroautophagy, named mitophagy. One of the main factors contributing to aging is oxidative stress, and one of the early responses to excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production is the induction of mitophagy to remove damaged mitochondria. However, mitochondrial damage caused at least in part by chronic oxidative stress can accumulate, and autophagic and mitophagic pathways can become overwhelmed. The imbalance of the delicate equilibrium among mitophagy, ROS production and mitochondrial damage can start, drive, or accelerate the aging process, either in physiological aging, or in pathological age-related conditions, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. It remains to be determined which is the prime mover of this imbalance, i.e., whether it is the mitochondrial damage caused by ROS that initiates the dysregulation of mitophagy, thus activating a vicious circle that leads to the reduced ability to remove damaged mitochondria, or an alteration in the regulation of mitophagy leading to the excessive production of ROS by damaged mitochondria.
    Keywords:  Alzheimer; PINK1; Parkinson; Reactive Oxygen Species; aging; mitochondria; mitophagy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10050794
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