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Molecular Cell Jun 2023Autophagy is a conserved intracellular degradation pathway that generates de novo double-membrane autophagosomes to target a wide range of material for lysosomal...
Autophagy is a conserved intracellular degradation pathway that generates de novo double-membrane autophagosomes to target a wide range of material for lysosomal degradation. In multicellular organisms, autophagy initiation requires the timely assembly of a contact site between the ER and the nascent autophagosome. Here, we report the in vitro reconstitution of a full-length seven-subunit human autophagy initiation supercomplex built on a core complex of ATG13-101 and ATG9. Assembly of this core complex requires the rare ability of ATG13 and ATG101 to switch between distinct folds. The slow spontaneous metamorphic conversion is rate limiting for the self-assembly of the supercomplex. The interaction of the core complex with ATG2-WIPI4 enhances tethering of membrane vesicles and accelerates lipid transfer of ATG2 by both ATG9 and ATG13-101. Our work uncovers the molecular basis of the contact site and its assembly mechanisms imposed by the metamorphosis of ATG13-101 to regulate autophagosome biogenesis in space and time.
Topics: Humans; Autophagy-Related Proteins; Autophagy; Autophagosomes; Membrane Proteins; Lipids
PubMed: 37209685
DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.04.026 -
Neuroscience Letters Apr 2019Neurons are long-lived and highly polarized cells that depend on autophagy to maintain cellular homeostasis. The robust, constitutive biogenesis of autophagosomes in the... (Review)
Review
Neurons are long-lived and highly polarized cells that depend on autophagy to maintain cellular homeostasis. The robust, constitutive biogenesis of autophagosomes in the distal axon occurs via a conserved pathway that is required to maintain functional synapses and prevent axon degeneration. Autophagosomes are formed de novo at the axon terminal in a stepwise assembly process, engulfing mitochondrial fragments, aggregated proteins, and bulk cytosol in what appears to be a nonselective uptake mechanism. Following formation, autophagosomes fuse with late endosomes/lysosomes and then are rapidly and efficiently transported along the axon toward the soma, driven by the microtubule motor cytoplasmic dynein. Motile autophagosomes mature to autolysosomes in transit by fusing with additional late endosomes/lysosomes, arriving at the soma as fully competent degradative organelles. Misregulation of neuronal autophagy leads to axonal degeneration and synaptic destabilization, and has been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and ALS.
Topics: Animals; Autophagosomes; Autophagy; Axons; Central Nervous System; Endosomes; Homeostasis; Humans; Lysosomes; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neurons; Protein Transport
PubMed: 29548988
DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.03.025 -
FEBS Letters Nov 2019Autophagy is widely considered as a housekeeping mechanism that enables cells to survive stress conditions and, in particular, nutrient deprivation. Autophagy begins... (Review)
Review
Autophagy is widely considered as a housekeeping mechanism that enables cells to survive stress conditions and, in particular, nutrient deprivation. Autophagy begins with the formation of the phagophore that expands and closes around cytosolic material and damaged organelles destined for degradation. The execution of this complex machinery is guaranteed by the coordinated action of more than 40 ATG (autophagy-related) proteins that control the entire process at different stages from the biogenesis of the autophagosome to cargo sequestration and fusion with lysosomes. Autophagosome biogenesis occurs at multiple intracellular sites, such as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the plasma membrane. Soon after the formation of the phagophore, the nascent autophagosome progressively grows in size and ultimately closes by recruiting intracellular membranes. In this review, we focus on the contribution of three membrane sources - the ER, the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment, and the Golgi complex - to autophagosome biogenesis and expansion. We also highlight the interplay between the secretory pathway and autophagy in cells when nutrients are scarce.
Topics: Animals; Autophagosomes; Autophagy-Related Proteins; Endoplasmic Reticulum; Golgi Apparatus; Humans; Intracellular Membranes; Lysosomes
PubMed: 31603532
DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.13637 -
The Journal of Clinical Investigation Jun 2020Although autophagy is generally protective, uncontrolled or excessive activation of autophagy can be detrimental. However, it is often difficult to distinguish death by...
Although autophagy is generally protective, uncontrolled or excessive activation of autophagy can be detrimental. However, it is often difficult to distinguish death by autophagy from death with autophagy, and whether autophagy contributes to death in cardiomyocytes (CMs) is still controversial. Excessive activation of autophagy induces a morphologically and biochemically defined form of cell death termed autosis. Whether autosis is involved in tissue injury induced under pathologically relevant conditions is poorly understood. In the present study, myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) induced autosis in CMs, as evidenced by cell death with numerous vacuoles and perinuclear spaces, and depleted intracellular membranes. Autosis was observed frequently after 6 hours of reperfusion, accompanied by upregulation of Rubicon, attenuation of autophagic flux, and marked accumulation of autophagosomes. Genetic downregulation of Rubicon inhibited autosis and reduced I/R injury, whereas stimulation of autosis during the late phase of I/R with Tat-Beclin 1 exacerbated injury. Suppression of autosis by ouabain, a cardiac glycoside, in humanized Na+,K+-ATPase-knockin mice reduced I/R injury. Taken together, these results demonstrate that autosis is significantly involved in I/R injury in the heart and triggered by dysregulated accumulation of autophagosomes due to upregulation of Rubicon.
Topics: Animals; Autophagosomes; Autophagy; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury; Myocardium; Up-Regulation
PubMed: 32364533
DOI: 10.1172/JCI132366 -
Nature Cell Biology Mar 2018Macroautophagy, initially described as a non-selective nutrient recycling process, is essential for the removal of multiple cellular components. In the past three... (Review)
Review
Macroautophagy, initially described as a non-selective nutrient recycling process, is essential for the removal of multiple cellular components. In the past three decades, selective autophagy has been characterized as a highly regulated and specific degradation pathway for removal of unwanted cytosolic components and damaged and/or superfluous organelles. Here, we discuss different types of selective autophagy, emphasizing the role of ligand receptors and scaffold proteins in providing cargo specificity, and highlight unanswered questions in the field.
Topics: Animals; Autophagosomes; Autophagy; Autophagy-Related Proteins; Humans; Ligands; Lysosomes; Mitochondria; Mitophagy; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 29476151
DOI: 10.1038/s41556-018-0037-z -
Nature Communications Sep 2023In autophagy, a membrane cisterna called the isolation membrane expands, bends, becomes spherical, and closes to sequester cytoplasmic constituents into the resulting...
In autophagy, a membrane cisterna called the isolation membrane expands, bends, becomes spherical, and closes to sequester cytoplasmic constituents into the resulting double-membrane vesicle autophagosome for lysosomal/vacuolar degradation. Here, we discover a mechanism that allows the isolation membrane to expand with a large opening to ensure non-selective cytoplasm sequestration within the autophagosome. A sorting nexin complex that localizes to the opening edge of the isolation membrane plays a critical role in this process. Without the complex, the isolation membrane expands with a small opening that prevents the entry of particles larger than about 25 nm, including ribosomes and proteasomes, although autophagosomes of nearly normal size eventually form. This study sheds light on membrane morphogenesis during autophagosome formation and selectivity in autophagic degradation.
Topics: Autophagy; Autophagosomes; Cytosol; Macroautophagy; Ribosomes
PubMed: 37726301
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41525-x -
The EMBO Journal Dec 2022Autophagy, a conserved eukaryotic intracellular catabolic pathway, maintains cell homeostasis by lysosomal degradation of cytosolic material engulfed in double membrane...
Autophagy, a conserved eukaryotic intracellular catabolic pathway, maintains cell homeostasis by lysosomal degradation of cytosolic material engulfed in double membrane vesicles termed autophagosomes, which form upon sealing of single-membrane cisternae called phagophores. While the role of phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) in autophagosome biogenesis is well-studied, the roles of other phospholipids in autophagy remain rather obscure. Here we utilized budding yeast to study the contribution of phosphatidylcholine (PC) to autophagy. We reveal for the first time that genetic loss of PC biosynthesis via the CDP-DAG pathway leads to changes in lipid composition of autophagic membranes, specifically replacement of PC by phosphatidylserine (PS). This impairs closure of the autophagic membrane and autophagic flux. Consequently, we show that choline-dependent recovery of de novo PC biosynthesis via the CDP-choline pathway restores autophagosome formation and autophagic flux in PC-deficient cells. Our findings therefore implicate phospholipid metabolism in autophagosome biogenesis.
Topics: Autophagosomes; Phospholipids; Autophagy-Related Proteins; Autophagy; Choline; Cytidine Diphosphate
PubMed: 36300838
DOI: 10.15252/embj.2022110771 -
Cell Communication and Signaling : CCS Jun 2018The MiT/TFE transcription factors play a pivotal role in the regulation of autophagy and lysosomal biogenesis. The subcellular localization and activity of MiT/TFE... (Review)
Review
The MiT/TFE transcription factors play a pivotal role in the regulation of autophagy and lysosomal biogenesis. The subcellular localization and activity of MiT/TFE proteins are primarily regulated through phosphorylation. And the phosphorylated protein is retained in the cytoplasm and subsequently translocates to the nucleus upon dephosphorylation, where it stimulates the expression of hundreds of genes, leading to lysosomal biogenesis and autophagy induction. The transcription factor-mediated lysosome-to-nucleus signaling can be directly controlled by several signaling molecules involved in the mTORC1, PKC, and AKT pathways. MiT/TFE family members have attracted much attention owing to their intracellular clearance of pathogenic factors in numerous diseases. Recently, multiple studies have also revealed the MiT/TFE proteins as master regulators of cellular metabolic reprogramming, converging on autophagic and lysosomal function and playing a critical role in cancer, suggesting that novel therapeutic strategies could be based on the modulation of MiT/TFE family member activity. Here, we present an overview of the latest research on MiT/TFE transcriptional factors and their potential mechanisms in cancer.
Topics: Animals; Autophagosomes; Autophagy; Humans; Lysosomes; Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 29903018
DOI: 10.1186/s12964-018-0242-1 -
The Journal of Cell Biology Jul 2023During autophagy, rapid membrane assembly expands small phagophores into large double-membrane autophagosomes. Theoretical modeling predicts that the majority of...
During autophagy, rapid membrane assembly expands small phagophores into large double-membrane autophagosomes. Theoretical modeling predicts that the majority of autophagosomal phospholipids are derived from highly efficient non-vesicular phospholipid transfer (PLT) across phagophore-ER contacts (PERCS). Currently, the phagophore-ER tether Atg2 is the only PLT protein known to drive phagophore expansion in vivo. Here, our quantitative live-cell imaging analysis reveals a poor correlation between the duration and size of forming autophagosomes and the number of Atg2 molecules at PERCS of starving yeast cells. Strikingly, we find that Atg2-mediated PLT is non-rate limiting for autophagosome biogenesis because membrane tether and the PLT protein Vps13 localizes to the rim and promotes the expansion of phagophores in parallel with Atg2. In the absence of Vps13, the number of Atg2 molecules at PERCS determines the duration and size of forming autophagosomes with an apparent in vivo transfer rate of ∼200 phospholipids per Atg2 molecule and second. We propose that conserved PLT proteins cooperate in channeling phospholipids across organelle contact sites for non-rate-limiting membrane assembly during autophagosome biogenesis.
Topics: Autophagosomes; Phospholipids; Endoplasmic Reticulum; Autophagy; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Autophagy-Related Proteins; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
PubMed: 37115156
DOI: 10.1083/jcb.202211039 -
Nature Communications May 2021Haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) tightly regulate their quiescence, proliferation, and differentiation to generate blood cells during the entire lifetime. The mechanisms...
Haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) tightly regulate their quiescence, proliferation, and differentiation to generate blood cells during the entire lifetime. The mechanisms by which these critical activities are balanced are still unclear. Here, we report that Macrophage-Erythroblast Attacher (MAEA, also known as EMP), a receptor thus far only identified in erythroblastic island, is a membrane-associated E3 ubiquitin ligase subunit essential for HSC maintenance and lymphoid potential. Maea is highly expressed in HSCs and its deletion in mice severely impairs HSC quiescence and leads to a lethal myeloproliferative syndrome. Mechanistically, we have found that the surface expression of several haematopoietic cytokine receptors (e.g. MPL, FLT3) is stabilised in the absence of Maea, thereby prolonging their intracellular signalling. This is associated with impaired autophagy flux in HSCs but not in mature haematopoietic cells. Administration of receptor kinase inhibitor or autophagy-inducing compounds rescues the functional defects of Maea-deficient HSCs. Our results suggest that MAEA provides E3 ubiquitin ligase activity, guarding HSC function by restricting cytokine receptor signalling via autophagy.
Topics: Animals; Autophagosomes; Autophagy; Cell Adhesion Molecules; Cytoskeletal Proteins; Gene Expression Profiling; Hematopoiesis; Hematopoietic Stem Cells; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Protein Stability; Receptors, Thrombopoietin; Signal Transduction; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases; Ubiquitination; fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3
PubMed: 33947846
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22749-1