bims-lymeca Biomed News
on Lysosome metabolism in cancer
Issue of 2022–07–03
eight papers selected by
Harilaos Filippakis, University of New England



  1. Contact (Thousand Oaks). 2022 Jan;5 251525642210970
      Lysosomes serve as cellular degradation and signaling centers that coordinate the turnover of macromolecules with cell metabolism. The adaptation of cellular lysosome content and activity via the induction of lysosome biogenesis is therefore key to cell physiology and to counteract disease. Previous work has established a pathway for the induction of lysosome biogenesis in signaling-inactive starved cells that is based on the repression of mTORC1-mediated nutrient signaling. How lysosomal biogenesis is facilitated in signaling-active fed cells is poorly understood. A recent study by Malek et al (Malek et al, 2022) partially fills this gap by unraveling a nutrient signaling-independent pathway for lysosome biogenesis that operates in signaling-active cells. This pathway involves the receptor-mediated activation of phospholipase C, inositol (1,4,5)-triphosphate (IP3)-triggered release of calcium ions from endoplasmic reticulum stores, and the calcineurin-induced activation of transcription factor EB (TFEB) and its relative TFE3 to induce lysosomal gene expression independent of calcium in the lysosome lumen. These findings contribute to our understanding of how lysosome biogenesis and function are controlled in response to environmental changes and cell signaling and may conceivably be of relevance for our understanding and the treatment of lysosome-related diseases as well as for aging and neurodegeneration.
    Keywords:  calcium; inositol (1,4,5)-triphosphate; lysosome; nutrient signaling; phospholipase C
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/25152564221097052
  2. J Biol Chem. 2022 Jun 24. pii: S0021-9258(22)00629-9. [Epub ahead of print] 102187
      Lysosome membranes contain diverse phosphoinositide (PtdIns) lipids that coordinate lysosome function and dynamics. The PtdIns repertoire on lysosomes is tightly regulated by the actions of diverse PtdIns kinases and phosphatases; however, specific roles for PtdIns in lysosomal functions and dynamics are currently unclear and require further investigation. It was previously shown that PIKfyve, a lipid kinase that synthesizes PtdIns(3,5)P2 from PtdIns(3)P, controls lysosome "fusion-fission" cycle dynamics, autophagosome turnover, and endocytic cargo delivery. Furthermore, INPP4B, a PtdIns 4-phosphatase that hydrolyzes PtdIns(3,4)P2 to form PtdIns(3)P, is emerging as a cancer-associated protein with roles in lysosomal biogenesis and other lysosomal functions. Here, we investigated the consequences of disrupting PIKfyve function in Inpp4b-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Through confocal fluorescence imaging, we observed the formation of massively enlarged lysosomes, accompanied by exacerbated reduction of endocytic trafficking, disrupted lysosome fusion-fission dynamics, and inhibition of autophagy. Finally, HPLC scintillation quantification of 3H-myo-inositol labelled phosphoinositides and phosphoinositide immunofluorescence staining, we observed that lysosomal PtdIns(3)P levels were significantly elevated in Inpp4b-deficient cells due to the hyperactivation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit VPS34 enzymatic activity. In conclusion, our study identifies a novel signaling axis that maintains normal lysosomal homeostasis and dynamics, which includes the catalytic functions of Inpp4b, PIKfyve, and VPS34.
    Keywords:  Apilimod; Inpp4b; Lysosomes; PIKfyve; PtdIns(3)P; Vps34
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102187
  3. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2022 Jun 01. 63(6): 26
       Purpose: Diabetic cataract (DC) is a visual disorder arising from diabetes mellitus (DM). Autophagy, a prosurvival intracellular process through lysosomal fusion and degradation, has been implicated in multiple diabetic complications. Herein, we performed in vivo and in vitro assays to explore the specific roles of the autophagy-lysosome pathway in DC.
    Methods: Streptozotocin-induced DM and incubation in high glucose (HG) led to rat lens opacification. Protein Simple Wes, Western blot, and immunoassay were utilized to investigate autophagic changes in lens epithelial cells (LECs) and lens fiber cells (LFCs). RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to explore genetic changes in the lenses of diabetic rats. Moreover, autophagy-lysosomal functions were examined using lysotracker, Western blot, and immunofluorescence analyses in HG-cultured primary rabbit LECs.
    Results: First, DM and HG culture led to fibrotic LECs, swelling LFCs, and eventually cataracts. Further analysis showed aberrant autophagic degradation in LECs and LFCs during cataract formation. RNA-seq data revealed that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched in the lysosome pathway. In primary LECs, HG treatment resulted in decreased transcription factor EB (TFEB) and cathepsin B (CTSB) activity, and increased lysosomal size and pH values. Moreover, TFEB-mediated dysfunctional lysosomes resulted from excessive oxidative stress in LECs under HG conditions. Furthermore, TFEB activation by curcumin analog C1 alleviated HG-induced cataracts through enhancing lysosome biogenesis and activating protective autophagy, thereby attenuating HG-mediated oxidative damage.
    Conclusions: In summary, we first identified that ROS-TFEB-dependent lysosomal dysfunction contributed to autophagy blockage in HG-induced cataracts. Additionally, TFEB-mediated lysosomal restoration might be a promising therapeutic method for preventing and treating DC through mitigating oxidative stress.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.63.6.26
  4. Science. 2022 Jul;377(6601): 47-56
      The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) kinase controls growth in response to nutrients, including the amino acid leucine. In cultured cells, mTORC1 senses leucine through the leucine-binding Sestrin proteins, but the physiological functions and distribution of Sestrin-mediated leucine sensing in mammals are unknown. We find that mice lacking Sestrin1 and Sestrin2 cannot inhibit mTORC1 upon dietary leucine deprivation and suffer a rapid loss of white adipose tissue (WAT) and muscle. The WAT loss is driven by aberrant mTORC1 activity and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) production in the liver. Sestrin expression in the liver lobule is zonated, accounting for zone-specific regulation of mTORC1 activity and FGF21 induction by leucine. These results establish the mammalian Sestrins as physiological leucine sensors and reveal a spatial organization to nutrient sensing by the mTORC1 pathway.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abi9547
  5. J Biol Chem. 2022 Jun 22. pii: S0021-9258(22)00616-0. [Epub ahead of print] 102174
      The voltage-gated Na+ channel β1 subunit, encoded by SCN1B, regulates cell surface expression and gating of α subunits and participates in cell adhesion. β1 is cleaved by α/β and γ-secretases, releasing an extracellular domain and intracellular domain (ICD), respectively. Abnormal SCN1B expression/function is linked to pathologies including epilepsy, cardiac arrhythmia, and cancer. In this study, we sought to determine the effect of secretase cleavage on β1 function in breast cancer cells. Using a series of GFP-tagged β1 constructs, we show that β1-GFP is mainly retained intracellularly, particularly in the endoplasmic reticulum and endolysosomal pathway, and accumulates in the nucleus. Reduction in endosomal β1-GFP levels occurred following γ-secretase inhibition, implicating endosomes and/or the preceding plasma membrane as important sites for secretase processing. Using live-cell imaging, we also report β1ICD-GFP accumulation in the nucleus. Furthermore, β1-GFP and β1ICD-GFP both increased Na+ current, whereas β1STOP-GFP, which lacks the ICD, did not, thus highlighting that the β1-ICD is necessary and sufficient to increase Na+ current measured at the plasma membrane. Importantly, although the endogenous Na+ current expressed in MDA-MB-231 cells is tetrodotoxin (TTX)-resistant (carried by Nav1.5), the Na+ current increased by β1-GFP or β1ICD-GFP was TTX-sensitive. Finally, we found β1-GFP increased mRNA levels of the TTX-sensitive α subunits SCN1A/Nav1.1 and SCN9A/Nav1.7. Taken together, this work suggests that the β1-ICD is a critical regulator of α subunit function in cancer cells. Our data further highlight that γ-secretase may play a key role in regulating β1 function in breast cancer.
    Keywords:  membrane trafficking; proteolysis; voltage-gated sodium channel; β secretase; γ-secretase
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102174
  6. Cancer Discov. 2022 Jun 30. pii: cd.22.0044. [Epub ahead of print]
      The mechanisms underlying metabolic adaptation of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) cells to pharmacological inhibition of RAS-MAPK signaling are largely unknown. Using transcriptome and chromatin immunoprecipitation profiling of PDA cells treated with the MEK inhibitor, Trametinib (MEKi), we identify transcriptional antagonism between c-MYC and the master transcription factors for lysosome gene expression, the MiT/TFE proteins. Under baseline conditions, c-MYC and MiT/TFE factors compete for binding to lysosome gene promoters to fine-tune gene expression. Treatment of PDA cells or patient organoids with MEKi leads to c-MYC downregulation and increased MiT/TFE-dependent lysosome biogenesis. Quantitative proteomics of immunopurified lysosomes uncovered reliance on ferritinophagy, the selective degradation of the iron storage complex ferritin, in MEKi treated cells. Ferritinophagy promotes mitochondrial iron-sulfur cluster protein synthesis and enhanced mitochondrial respiration. Accordingly, suppressing iron utilization sensitizes PDA cells to MEKi, highlighting a critical and targetable reliance on lysosome-dependent iron supply during adaptation to KRAS-MAPK inhibition.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-22-0044
  7. Autophagy. 2022 Jun 27. 1-3
      Exosomes are a subtype of extracellular vesicles (EVs), released by all cell types, that originate from the invagination of the endosomal limiting membrane. These EVs can transport biological information in the form of proteins and RNA and have been the focus of intensive research over the last decade. It is becoming apparent that EVs can have important roles in health and disease. EVs are also promising noninvasive biomarkers of disease (liquid biopsies) and valuable vectors for innovative therapies. However, little is known about the mechanisms that regulate the loading of cytosolic proteins into exosomes. We recently showed that soluble proteins containing amino acid sequences biochemically related to the KFERQ motif are loaded into nascent exosomes at the endosomal limiting membrane, in a process mediated by LAMP2A. Because of the subcellular localization and machinery involved, this mechanism has many similarities with chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) and endosomal microautophagy (e-Mi), but also some important differences. In this punctum we will focus on the mechanistic details of exosomal LAMP2A loading of cargo (e-LLoC) as well as on its implications for intercellular and interorgan communication.
    Keywords:  LAMP2A; autophagy; chaperones; eLLoC; endosomes; exosomes; inter-organ communication; intercellular communication; lysosome
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/15548627.2022.2092315
  8. Cancer Discov. 2022 Jun 30. pii: candisc.0043.2022-1-10 21:36:20.420. [Epub ahead of print]
      Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC) depend on autophagy for survival; however, the metabolic substrates that autophagy provides to drive PDAC progression are unclear. Ferritin, the cellular iron storage complex, is targeted for lysosomal degradation (ferritinophagy) by the selective autophagy adaptor NCOA4, resulting in release of iron for cellular utilization. Using patient-derived and murine models of PDAC we now demonstrate that ferritinophagy is upregulated in PDAC to sustain iron availability thereby promoting tumor progression. Quantitative proteomics reveals that ferritinophagy fuels iron-sulfur cluster protein synthesis to support mitochondrial homeostasis. Targeting NCOA4 leads to tumor growth delay and prolonged survival but with development of compensatory iron acquisition pathways. Finally, enhanced ferritinophagy accelerates PDAC tumorigenesis, and an elevated ferritinophagy expression signature predicts for poor prognosis in PDAC patients. Together, our data reveal that maintenance of iron homeostasis is a critical function of PDAC autophagy, and we define NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy as a therapeutic target in PDAC.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-22-0043