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Nature Microbiology Jun 2024The viral nuclear egress complex (NEC) allows herpesvirus capsids to escape from the nucleus without compromising the nuclear envelope integrity. The NEC lattice...
The viral nuclear egress complex (NEC) allows herpesvirus capsids to escape from the nucleus without compromising the nuclear envelope integrity. The NEC lattice assembles on the inner nuclear membrane and mediates the budding of nascent nucleocapsids into the perinuclear space and their subsequent release into the cytosol. Its essential role makes it a potent antiviral target, necessitating structural information in the context of a cellular infection. Here we determined structures of NEC-capsid interfaces in situ using electron cryo-tomography, showing a substantial structural heterogeneity. In addition, while the capsid is associated with budding initiation, it is not required for curvature formation. By determining the NEC structure in several conformations, we show that curvature arises from an asymmetric assembly of disordered and hexagonally ordered lattice domains independent of pUL25 or other viral capsid vertex components. Our results advance our understanding of the mechanism of nuclear egress in the context of a living cell.
PubMed: 38918469
DOI: 10.1038/s41564-024-01716-8 -
Cells May 2024Eukaryotic cells tether the nucleoskeleton to the cytoskeleton via a conserved molecular bridge, called the LINC complex. The core of the LINC complex comprises...
Eukaryotic cells tether the nucleoskeleton to the cytoskeleton via a conserved molecular bridge, called the LINC complex. The core of the LINC complex comprises SUN-domain and KASH-domain proteins that directly associate within the nuclear envelope lumen. Intra- and inter-chain disulphide bonds, along with KASH-domain protein interactions, both contribute to the tertiary and quaternary structure of vertebrate SUN-domain proteins. The significance of these bonds and the role of PDIs (protein disulphide isomerases) in LINC complex biology remains unclear. Reducing and non-reducing SDS-PAGE analyses revealed a prevalence of SUN2 homodimers in non-tumorigenic breast epithelia MCF10A cells, but not in the invasive triple-negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell line. Furthermore, super-resolution microscopy revealed SUN2 staining alterations in MCF10A, but not in MDA-MB-231 nuclei, upon reducing agent exposure. While PDIA1 levels were similar in both cell lines, pharmacological inhibition of PDI activity in MDA-MB-231 cells led to SUN-domain protein down-regulation, as well as Nesprin-2 displacement from the nucleus. This inhibition also caused changes in perinuclear cytoskeletal architecture and lamin downregulation, and increased the invasiveness of PDI-inhibited MDA-MB-231 cells in space-restrictive in vitro environments, compared to untreated cells. These results emphasise the key roles of PDIs in regulating LINC complex biology, cellular architecture, biomechanics, and invasion.
Topics: Humans; Cell Line, Tumor; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Protein Disulfide-Isomerases; Female; Down-Regulation; Breast Neoplasms; Membrane Proteins; Nuclear Proteins; Nuclear Envelope; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
PubMed: 38891038
DOI: 10.3390/cells13110906 -
Stress Biology Jun 2024In eukaryotes, the nuclear membrane that encapsulates genomic DNA is composed of an inner nuclear membrane (INM), an outer nuclear membrane (ONM), and a perinuclear...
In eukaryotes, the nuclear membrane that encapsulates genomic DNA is composed of an inner nuclear membrane (INM), an outer nuclear membrane (ONM), and a perinuclear space. SUN proteins located in the INM and KASH proteins in the ONM form the SUN-KASH NM-bridge, which functions as the junction of the nucleocytoplasmic complex junction. Proteins containing the SUN domain showed the highest correlation with differentially accumulated proteins (DAPs) in the wheat response to fungal stress. To understand the characteristics of SUN and its associated proteins in wheat responding to pathogen stress, here we investigated and comprehensive analyzed SUN- and KASH-related proteins among the DAPs under fungi infection based on their conserved motifs. In total, four SUN proteins, one WPP domain-interacting protein (WIP), four WPP domain-interacting tail-anchored proteins (WIT), two WPP proteins and one Ran GTPase activating protein (RanGAP) were identified. Following transient expression of Nicotiana benthamiana, TaSUN2, TaRanGAP2, TaWIT1 and TaWIP1 were identified as nuclear membrane proteins, while TaWPP1 and TaWPP2 were expressed in both the nucleus and cell membrane. RT-qPCR analysis demonstrated that the transcription of TaSUN2, TaRanGAP2 and TaWPP1 were strongly upregulated in response to fungal infection. Furthermore, using the bimolecular fluorescence complementation, the luciferase complementation and a nuclear and split-ubiquitin-based membrane yeast two-hybrid systems, we substantiated the interaction between TaSUN2 and TaWIP1, as well as TaWIP1/WIT1 and TaWPP1/WPP2. Silencing of TaSUN2, TaRanGAP2 and TaWPP1 in wheat leaves promoted powdery mildew infection and hyphal growth, and reduced the expression of TaBRI1, TaBAK1 and Ta14-3-3, indicating that these NM proteins play a positive role in resistance to fungal stress. Our study reveals the characteristics of NM proteins and propose the preliminary construction of SUN-WIP-WPP-RanGAP complex in wheat, which represents a foundation for detail elucidating their functions in wheat in future.
PubMed: 38861095
DOI: 10.1007/s44154-024-00163-z -
Science Advances May 2024Mutations in the gene encoding lamins A/C cause an array of tissue-selective diseases, with the heart being the most commonly affected organ. Despite progress in...
Mutations in the gene encoding lamins A/C cause an array of tissue-selective diseases, with the heart being the most commonly affected organ. Despite progress in understanding the perturbations emanating from mutations, an integrative understanding of the pathogenesis underlying cardiac dysfunction remains elusive. Using a novel conditional deletion model capable of translatome profiling, we observed that cardiomyocyte-specific deletion in adult mice led to rapid cardiomyopathy with pathological remodeling. Before cardiac dysfunction, -deleted cardiomyocytes displayed nuclear abnormalities, Golgi dilation/fragmentation, and CREB3-mediated stress activation. Translatome profiling identified MED25 activation, a transcriptional cofactor that regulates Golgi stress. Autophagy is disrupted in the hearts of these mice, which can be recapitulated by disrupting the Golgi. Systemic administration of modulators of autophagy or ER stress significantly delayed cardiac dysfunction and prolonged survival. These studies support a hypothesis wherein stress responses emanating from the perinuclear space contribute to the cardiomyopathy development.
Topics: Animals; Lamin Type A; Mice; Nuclear Envelope; Cardiomyopathies; Myocytes, Cardiac; Autophagy; Stress, Physiological; Disease Models, Animal; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress; Golgi Apparatus; Mice, Knockout
PubMed: 38718107
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh0798 -
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual... Apr 2024To undertake the first ultrastructural characterization of human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) differentiation from fetal development to adolescence.
PURPOSE
To undertake the first ultrastructural characterization of human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) differentiation from fetal development to adolescence.
METHODS
Ten fetal eyes and three eyes aged six, nine, and 17 years were examined in the temporal retina adjacent to the optic nerve head by transmission electron microscopy. The area, number, and distribution of RPE organelles were quantified and interpreted within the context of adjacent photoreceptors, Bruch's membrane, and choriocapillaris maturation.
RESULTS
Between eight to 12 weeks' gestation (WG), pseudostratified columnar epithelia with apical tight junctions differentiate to a simple cuboidal epithelium with random distribution of melanosomes and mitochondria. Between 12 to 26 WG, cells enlarge and show long apical microvilli and apicolateral junctional complexes. Coinciding with eye opening at 26 WG, melanosomes migrate apically whereas mitochondria distribute to perinuclear regions, with the first appearance of phagosomes, complex granules, and basolateral extracellular space (BES) formation. Significantly, autophagy and heterophagy, as evidenced by organelle recycling, and the gold standard of ultrastructural evidence for autophagy of double-membrane autophagosomes and mitophagosomes were evident from 32 WG, followed by basal infoldings of RPE cell membrane at 36 WG. Lipofuscin formation and deposition into the BES evident at six years increased at 17 years.
CONCLUSIONS
We provide compelling ultrastructural evidence that heterophagy and autophagy begins in the third trimester of human fetal development and that deposition of cellular byproducts into the extracellular space of RPE takes place via exocytosis. Transplanted RPE cells must also demonstrate the capacity to subserve autophagic and heterophagic functions for effective disease mitigation.
Topics: Humans; Retinal Pigment Epithelium; Adolescent; Autophagy; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Child; Lipofuscin; Exocytosis; Extracellular Space; Gestational Age; Female; Male; Fetal Development; Mitochondria; Cell Differentiation
PubMed: 38648041
DOI: 10.1167/iovs.65.4.32 -
Viruses Feb 2024Two novel members of the subfamily , family were identified in Brazil. Overall, their genomes have the typical organization 3'-' observed in mono-segmented...
Two novel members of the subfamily , family were identified in Brazil. Overall, their genomes have the typical organization 3'-' observed in mono-segmented plant-infecting rhabdoviruses. In aristolochia-associated cytorhabdovirus (AaCV), found in the liana aristolochia ( Hook), an additional short orphan ORF encoding a transmembrane helix was detected between and . The AaCV genome and inferred encoded proteins share the highest identity values, consistently < 60%, with their counterparts of the yerba mate chlorosis-associated virus (). The second virus, false jalap virus (FaJV), was detected in the herbaceous plant false jalap ( L.) and represents together with tomato betanucleorhabdovirus 2, originally found in tomato plants in Slovenia, a tentative new species of the genus . FaJV particles accumulate in the perinuclear space, and electron-lucent viroplasms were observed in the nuclei of the infected cells. Notably, distinct from typical rhabdoviruses, most virions of AaCV were observed to be non-enclosed within membrane-bounded cavities. Instead, they were frequently seen in close association with surfaces of mitochondria or peroxisomes. Unlike FaJV, AaCV was successfully graft-transmitted to healthy plants of three species of the genus Aristolochia, while mechanical and seed transmission proved unsuccessful for both viruses. Data suggest that these viruses belong to two new tentative species within the subfamily .
Topics: Aristolochia; Mirabilis; Genome, Viral; Rhabdoviridae; Plants; Phylogeny; Plant Diseases
PubMed: 38543688
DOI: 10.3390/v16030322 -
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton,... 2024Microglia are the resident brain macrophage cells that are involved in constant surveillance of brain microenvironment. In Alzheimer's disease, microglia get over...
Microglia are the resident brain macrophage cells that are involved in constant surveillance of brain microenvironment. In Alzheimer's disease, microglia get over activated upon the accumulation of Tau and amyloid-β species in the extracellular space, ultimately leading to neurodegeneration. Microglia phagocytose the extracellular Tau species by several mechanisms among which P2Y12 receptor-mediated internalization of extracellular Tau is recently studied. Extracellular Tau activates microglia and directly interacts with the P2Y12 receptor. Tau-receptor complex is then internalized followed by perinuclear accumulation and lysosomal degradation. Upon microglial activation by extracellular Tau, P2Y12 receptor is also involved in membrane-associated actin remodeling which has its key role in active migration and phagocytosis.
Topics: Humans; Microglia; Receptors, Purinergic P2Y12; Purinergic P2Y Receptor Antagonists; Alzheimer Disease; Amyloid beta-Peptides; tau Proteins
PubMed: 38512682
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3629-9_25 -
Acta Ophthalmologica Mar 2024Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a devastating eye disease that causes permanent vision loss in the central part of the retina, known as the macula. Patients...
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a devastating eye disease that causes permanent vision loss in the central part of the retina, known as the macula. Patients with such severe visual loss face a reduced quality of life and are at a 1.5 times greater risk of death compared to the general population. Currently, there is no cure for or effective treatment for dry AMD. There are several mechanisms thought to underlie the disease, for example, ageing-associated chronic oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage, harmful protein aggregation and inflammation. As a way of gaining a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind AMD and thus developing new therapies, we have created a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (PGC1α/NFE2L2) double-knockout (dKO) mouse model that mimics many of the clinical features of dry AMD, including elevated levels of oxidative stress markers, damaged mitochondria, accumulating lysosomal lipofuscin and extracellular drusen-like structures in retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE). In addition, a human RPE cell-based model was established to examine the impact of non-functional intracellular clearance systems on inflammasome activation. In this study, we found that there was a disturbance in the autolysosomal machinery responsible for clearing mitochondria in the RPE cells of one-year-old PGC1α/NFE2L2-deficient mice. The confocal immunohistochemical analysis revealed an increase in autophagosome marker microtubule-associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3B (LC3B) as well as multiple mitophagy markers such as PTE-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) and E3 ubiquitin ligase (PARKIN), along with signs of damaged mitochondria. However, no increase in autolysosome formation was detected, nor was there a colocalization of the lysosomal marker LAMP2 or the mitochondrial marker, ATP synthase β. There was an upregulation of late autolysosomal fusion Ras-related protein (Rab7) in the perinuclear space of RPE cells, together with autofluorescent aggregates. Additionally, we observed an increase in the numbers of Toll-like receptors 3 and 9, while those of NOD-like receptor 3 were decreased in PGC1α/NFE2L2 dKO retinal specimens compared to wild-type animals. There was a trend towards increased complement component C5a and increased involvement of the serine protease enzyme, thrombin, in enhancing the terminal pathway producing C5a, independent of C3. The levels of primary acute phase C-reactive protein and receptor for advanced glycation end products were also increased in the PGC1α/NFE2L2 dKO retina. Furthermore, selective proteasome inhibition with epoxomicin promoted both nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase and mitochondrial-mediated oxidative stress, leading to the release of mitochondrial DNA to the cytosol, resulting in potassium efflux-dependent activation of the absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) inflammasome and the subsequent secretion of interleukin-1β in ARPE-19 cells. In conclusion, the data suggest that there is at least a relative decrease in mitophagy, increases in the amounts of C5 and thrombin and decreased C3 levels in this dry AMD-like model. Moreover, selective proteasome inhibition evoked mitochondrial damage and AIM2 inflammasome activation in ARPE-19 cells.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Mice; Infant; Inflammasomes; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha; Retinal Pigment Epithelium; Thrombin; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; Quality of Life; Macular Degeneration; Oxidative Stress; Geographic Atrophy; Biomarkers; Epithelial Cells; Retinal Pigments
PubMed: 38467968
DOI: 10.1111/aos.16661 -
BioRxiv : the Preprint Server For... Feb 2024Autophagic mechanisms that maintain nuclear envelope homeostasis are bulwarks to aging and disease. By leveraging 4D lattice light sheet microscopy and correlative light...
Autophagic mechanisms that maintain nuclear envelope homeostasis are bulwarks to aging and disease. By leveraging 4D lattice light sheet microscopy and correlative light and electron tomography, we define a quantitative and ultrastructural timeline of a nuclear macroautophagy (nucleophagy) pathway in yeast. Nucleophagy initiates with a rapid local accumulation of the nuclear cargo adaptor Atg39 at the nuclear envelope adjacent to the nucleus-vacuole junction and is delivered to the vacuole in ~300 seconds through an autophagosome intermediate. Mechanistically, nucleophagy incorporates two consecutive and genetically defined membrane fission steps: inner nuclear membrane (INM) fission generates a lumenal vesicle in the perinuclear space followed by outer nuclear membrane (ONM) fission to liberate a double membraned vesicle to the cytosol. ONM fission occurs independently of phagophore engagement and instead relies surprisingly on dynamin-like protein1 (Dnm1), which is recruited to sites of Atg39 accumulation at the nuclear envelope. Loss of Dnm1 compromises nucleophagic flux by stalling nucleophagy after INM fission. Our findings reveal how nuclear and INM cargo are removed from an intact nucleus without compromising its integrity, achieved in part by a non-canonical role for Dnm1 in nuclear envelope remodeling.
PubMed: 38405892
DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.14.580336 -
PLoS Pathogens Jan 2024Nuclear egress is an essential process in herpesvirus replication whereby nascent capsids translocate from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. This initial step of nuclear...
Nuclear egress is an essential process in herpesvirus replication whereby nascent capsids translocate from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. This initial step of nuclear egress-budding at the inner nuclear membrane-is coordinated by the nuclear egress complex (NEC). Composed of the viral proteins UL31 and UL34, NEC deforms the membrane around the capsid as the latter buds into the perinuclear space. NEC oligomerization into a hexagonal membrane-bound lattice is essential for budding because NEC mutants designed to perturb lattice interfaces reduce its budding ability. Previously, we identified an NEC suppressor mutation capable of restoring budding to a mutant with a weakened hexagonal lattice. Using an established in-vitro budding assay and HSV-1 infected cell experiments, we show that the suppressor mutation can restore budding to a broad range of budding-deficient NEC mutants thereby acting as a universal suppressor. Cryogenic electron tomography of the suppressor NEC mutant lattice revealed a hexagonal lattice reminiscent of wild-type NEC lattice instead of an alternative lattice. Further investigation using x-ray crystallography showed that the suppressor mutation promoted the formation of new contacts between the NEC hexamers that, ostensibly, stabilized the hexagonal lattice. This stabilization strategy is powerful enough to override the otherwise deleterious effects of mutations that destabilize the NEC lattice by different mechanisms, resulting in a functional NEC hexagonal lattice and restoration of membrane budding.
Topics: Herpesvirus 1, Human; Suppression, Genetic; Cell Nucleus; Nuclear Envelope; Herpesviridae; Virus Release
PubMed: 38227586
DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011936