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International Journal of Molecular... Jan 2023Vacuolar processing enzymes (VPEs) are plant cysteine proteases that are subjected to autoactivation in an acidic pH. It is presumed that VPEs, by activating other... (Review)
Review
Vacuolar processing enzymes (VPEs) are plant cysteine proteases that are subjected to autoactivation in an acidic pH. It is presumed that VPEs, by activating other vacuolar hydrolases, are in control of tonoplast rupture during programmed cell death (PCD). Involvement of VPEs has been indicated in various types of plant PCD related to development, senescence, and environmental stress responses. Another pathway induced during such processes is autophagy, which leads to the degradation of cellular components and metabolite salvage, and it is presumed that VPEs may be involved in the degradation of autophagic bodies during plant autophagy. As both PCD and autophagy occur under similar conditions, research on the relationship between them is needed, and VPEs, as key vacuolar proteases, seem to be an important factor to consider. They may even constitute a potential point of crosstalk between cell death and autophagy in plant cells. This review describes new insights into the role of VPEs in plant PCD, with an emphasis on evidence and hypotheses on the interconnections between autophagy and cell death, and indicates several new research opportunities.
Topics: Apoptosis; Plants; Vacuoles; Autophagy; Cell Death
PubMed: 36674706
DOI: 10.3390/ijms24021198 -
Developmental Cell Mar 2024Lipid droplets (LDs) are fat storage organelles critical for energy and lipid metabolism. Upon nutrient exhaustion, cells consume LDs via gradual lipolysis or via...
Lipid droplets (LDs) are fat storage organelles critical for energy and lipid metabolism. Upon nutrient exhaustion, cells consume LDs via gradual lipolysis or via lipophagy, the en bloc uptake of LDs into the vacuole. Here, we show that LDs dock to the vacuolar membrane via a contact site that is required for lipophagy in yeast. The LD-localized LDO proteins carry an intrinsically disordered region that directly binds vacuolar Vac8 to form vCLIP, the vacuolar-LD contact site. Nutrient limitation drives vCLIP formation, and its inactivation blocks lipophagy, resulting in impaired caloric restriction-induced longevity. We establish a functional link between lipophagy and microautophagy of the nucleus, both requiring Vac8 to form respective contact sites upon metabolic stress. In sum, we identify the tethering machinery of vCLIP and find that Vac8 provides a platform for multiple and competing contact sites associated with autophagy.
Topics: Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Lipid Droplets; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; Vacuoles; Lipid Metabolism; Autophagy
PubMed: 38354739
DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2024.01.014 -
Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy =... Oct 2019According to its different occurrence mechanism, programmed cell death (PCD) is divided into apoptosis, autophagy, necrosis, paraptosis and so on. Paraptosis is... (Review)
Review
According to its different occurrence mechanism, programmed cell death (PCD) is divided into apoptosis, autophagy, necrosis, paraptosis and so on. Paraptosis is morphologically different from apoptosis and autophagy, which exhibit cytoplasmic vacuolation derived from the ER, independent of caspase, absence of apoptotic morphology. Recent researches have implied that a variety of small molecule compounds, such as celastrol, curcumin, can induce paraptosis-associated cell death as the reagent to enhance anti-cancer activity. A better understanding of paraptosis will lay the foundation to develop new therapeutic strategies to treat human cancers that make full use of small-molecule compounds.
Topics: Animals; Apoptosis; Autophagy; Biological Products; Cell Line, Tumor; Endoplasmic Reticulum; Humans; Neoplasms; Protein Biosynthesis; Regulated Cell Death; Small Molecule Libraries; Vacuoles
PubMed: 31306970
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2019.109203 -
Current Biology : CB Aug 2023Controlling intracellular osmolarity is essential to all cellular life. Cells that live in hypo-osmotic environments, such as freshwater, must constantly battle water...
Controlling intracellular osmolarity is essential to all cellular life. Cells that live in hypo-osmotic environments, such as freshwater, must constantly battle water influx to avoid swelling until they burst. Many eukaryotic cells use contractile vacuoles to collect excess water from the cytosol and pump it out of the cell. Although contractile vacuoles are essential to many species, including important pathogens, the mechanisms that control their dynamics remain unclear. To identify the basic principles governing contractile vacuole function, we investigate here the molecular mechanisms of two species with distinct vacuolar morphologies from different eukaryotic lineages: the discoban Naegleria gruberi and the amoebozoan slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. Using quantitative cell biology, we find that although these species respond differently to osmotic challenges, they both use vacuolar-type proton pumps for filling contractile vacuoles and actin for osmoregulation, but not to power water expulsion. We also use analytical modeling to show that cytoplasmic pressure is sufficient to drive water out of contractile vacuoles in these species, similar to findings from the alveolate Paramecium multimicronucleatum. These analyses show that cytoplasmic pressure is sufficient to drive contractile vacuole emptying for a wide range of cellular pressures and vacuolar geometries. Because vacuolar-type proton-pump-dependent contractile vacuole filling and pressure-dependent emptying have now been validated in three eukaryotic lineages that diverged well over a billion years ago, we propose that this represents an ancient eukaryotic mechanism of osmoregulation.
Topics: Cytosol; Dictyostelium; Osmolar Concentration; Water-Electrolyte Balance; Vacuoles; Eukaryota; Water
PubMed: 37478864
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.061 -
The Journal of Biological Chemistry Dec 2021Legionella pneumophila is a facultative intracellular pathogen that uses the Dot/Icm Type IV secretion system (T4SS) to translocate many effectors into its host and... (Review)
Review
Legionella pneumophila is a facultative intracellular pathogen that uses the Dot/Icm Type IV secretion system (T4SS) to translocate many effectors into its host and establish a safe, replicative lifestyle. The bacteria, once phagocytosed, reside in a vacuolar structure known as the Legionella-containing vacuole (LCV) within the host cells and rapidly subvert organelle trafficking events, block inflammatory responses, hijack the host ubiquitination system, and abolish apoptotic signaling. This arsenal of translocated effectors can manipulate the host factors in a multitude of different ways. These proteins also contribute to bacterial virulence by positively or negatively regulating the activity of one another. Such effector-effector interactions, direct and indirect, provide the delicate balance required to maintain cellular homeostasis while establishing itself within the host. This review summarizes the recent progress in our knowledge of the structure-function relationship and biochemical mechanisms of select effector pairs from Legionella that work in opposition to one another, while highlighting the diversity of biochemical means adopted by this intracellular pathogen to establish a replicative niche within host cells.
Topics: Animals; Bacterial Proteins; Homeostasis; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Inflammation; Legionella pneumophila; Legionnaires' Disease; Type IV Secretion Systems; Ubiquitination; Vacuoles
PubMed: 34695417
DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101340 -
The FEBS Journal Jan 2011In receptor-mediated sorting of soluble protein ligands in the endomembrane system of eukaryotic cells, three completely different receptor proteins for mammalian... (Review)
Review
In receptor-mediated sorting of soluble protein ligands in the endomembrane system of eukaryotic cells, three completely different receptor proteins for mammalian (mannose 6-phosphate receptor), yeast (Vps10p) and plant cells (vacuolar sorting receptor; VSR) have in common the features of pH-dependent ligand binding and receptor recycling. In striking contrast, the plant receptor homology-transmembrane-RING-H2 (RMR) proteins serve as sorting receptors to a separate type of vacuole, the protein storage vacuole, but do not recycle, and their trafficking pathway results in their internalization into the destination vacuole. Even though plant RMR proteins share high sequence similarity with the best-characterized mammalian PA-TM-RING family proteins, these two families of proteins appear to play distinctly different roles in plant and animal cells. Thus, this minireview focuses on this unique sorting mechanism and traffic of RMR proteins via dense vesicles in various plant cell types.
Topics: Ligands; Plant Proteins; Protein Transport; Receptors, Cell Surface; Vacuoles; Vesicular Transport Proteins
PubMed: 21078125
DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2010.07923.x -
Current Genetics Apr 2018All eukaryotes require the transition metal, iron, a redox active element that is an essential cofactor in many metabolic pathways, as well as an oxygen carrier. Iron... (Review)
Review
All eukaryotes require the transition metal, iron, a redox active element that is an essential cofactor in many metabolic pathways, as well as an oxygen carrier. Iron can also react to generate oxygen radicals such as hydroxyl radicals and superoxide anions, which are highly toxic to cells. Therefore, organisms have developed intricate mechanisms to acquire iron as well as to protect themselves from the toxic effects of excess iron. In fungi and plants, iron is stored in the vacuole as a protective mechanism against iron toxicity. Iron storage in the vacuole is mediated predominantly by the vacuolar metal importer Ccc1 in yeast and the homologous transporter VIT1 in plants. Transcription of yeast CCC1 expression is tightly controlled primarily by the transcription factor Yap5, which sits on the CCC1 promoter and activates transcription through the binding of Fe-S clusters. A second mechanism that regulates CCC1 transcription is through the Snf1 signaling pathway involved in low-glucose sensing. Snf1 activates stress transcription factors Msn2 and Msn4 to mediate CCC1 transcription. Transcriptional regulation by Yap5 and Snf1 are completely independent and provide for a graded response in Ccc1 expression. The identification of multiple independent transcriptional pathways that regulate the levels of Ccc1 under high iron conditions accentuates the importance of protecting cells from the toxic effects of high iron.
Topics: Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors; Cation Transport Proteins; DNA-Binding Proteins; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; Iron; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; Signal Transduction; Transcription Factors; Vacuoles
PubMed: 29043483
DOI: 10.1007/s00294-017-0767-7 -
The Journal of Cell Biology Oct 2017Membrane contact sites between endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria, mediated by the ER-mitochondria encounter structure (ERMES) complex, are critical for...
Membrane contact sites between endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria, mediated by the ER-mitochondria encounter structure (ERMES) complex, are critical for mitochondrial homeostasis and cell growth. Defects in ERMES can, however, be bypassed by point mutations in the endosomal protein Vps13 or by overexpression of the mitochondrial protein Mcp1. How this bypass operates remains unclear. Here we show that the mitochondrial outer membrane protein Mcp1 functions in the same pathway as Vps13 by recruiting it to mitochondria and promoting its association to vacuole-mitochondria contacts. Our findings support a model in which Mcp1 and Vps13 work as functional effectors of vacuole-mitochondria contact sites, while tethering is mediated by other factors, including Vps39. Tethered and functionally active vacuole-mitochondria interfaces then compensate for the loss of ERMES-mediated ER-mitochondria contact sites.
Topics: Endoplasmic Reticulum; Mitochondria; Mitochondrial Proteins; Models, Biological; Point Mutation; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; Vacuoles
PubMed: 28864540
DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201610055 -
Traffic (Copenhagen, Denmark) Sep 2003The Gram-negative pathogen Salmonella enterica can survive and replicate within a variety of mammalian cells. Regardless of the cell type, internalized bacteria survive... (Review)
Review
The Gram-negative pathogen Salmonella enterica can survive and replicate within a variety of mammalian cells. Regardless of the cell type, internalized bacteria survive and replicate within the Salmonella-containing vacuole, the biogenesis of which is dependent on bacterially encoded virulence factors. In particular, Type III secretion systems translocate bacterial effector proteins into the eukaryotic cell where they can specifically interact with a variety of targets. Salmonella has two distinct Type III secretion systems that are believed to have completely different functions. The SPI2 system is induced intracellularly and is required for intracellular survival in macrophages; it plays no role in invasion but is categorized as being required for Salmonella-containing vacuole biogenesis. In contrast, the SPI1 Type III secretion system is induced extracellularly and is essential for invasion of nonphagocytic cells. Its role in post-invasion processes has not been well studied. Recent studies indicate that Salmonella-containing vacuole biogenesis may be more dependent on SPI1 than previously believed. Other non-SPI2 virulence factors and the host cell itself may play critical roles in determining the intracellular environment of this facultative intracellular pathogen. In this review we discuss the recent advances in determining the mechanisms by which Salmonella regulate Salmonella-containing vacuole biogenesis and the implications of these findings.
Topics: Actins; Animals; Bacterial Proteins; Biomarkers; Endocytosis; Endosomes; Humans; Lipids; Lysosomes; Membrane Proteins; Salmonella; Salmonella Infections, Animal; Vacuoles
PubMed: 12911813
DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0854.2003.00118.x -
Microbiological Reviews Sep 1990The fungal vacuole is an extremely complex organelle that is involved in a wide variety of functions. The vacuole not only carries out degradative processes, the role... (Review)
Review
The fungal vacuole is an extremely complex organelle that is involved in a wide variety of functions. The vacuole not only carries out degradative processes, the role most often ascribed to it, but also is the primary storage site for certain small molecules and biosynthetic precursors such as basic amino acids and polyphosphate, plays a role in osmoregulation, and is involved in the precise homeostatic regulation of cytosolic ion and basic amino acid concentration and intracellular pH. These many functions necessitate an intricate interaction between the vacuole and the rest of the cell; the vacuole is part of both the secretory and endocytic pathways and is also directly accessible from the cytosol. Because of the various roles and properties of the vacuole, it has been possible to isolate mutants which are defective in various vacuolar functions including the storage and uptake of metabolites, regulation of pH, sorting and processing of vacuolar proteins, and vacuole biogenesis. These mutants show a remarkable degree of genetic overlap, suggesting that these functions are not individual, discrete properties of the vacuole but, rather, are closely interrelated.
Topics: Fungi; Hydrolases; Vacuoles
PubMed: 2215422
DOI: 10.1128/mr.54.3.266-292.1990