Acyl-CoA synthetase 3 promotes lipid droplet biogenesis in ER microdomains

Control of lipid droplet (LD) nucleation and copy number are critical, yet poorly understood, processes. We use model peptides that shift from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to LDs in response to fatty acids to characterize the initial steps of LD formation occurring in lipid-starved cells. Initially, arriving lipids are rapidly packed in LDs that are resistant to starvation (pre-LDs). Pre-LDs are restricted ER microdomains with a stable core of neutral lipids. Subsequently, a first round of “emerging” LDs is nucleated, providing additional lipid storage capacity. Finally, in proportion to lipid concentration, new rounds of LDs progressively assemble. Confocal microscopy and electron tomography suggest that emerging LDs are nucleated in a limited number of ER microdomains after a synchronized stepwise process of protein gathering, lipid packaging, and recognition by Plin3 and Plin2. A comparative analysis demonstrates that the acyl-CoA synthetase 3 is recruited early to the assembly sites, where it is required for efficient LD nucleation and lipid storag

Dinàmica i funcionalitat de KRas en els endosomes

[cat] En els últims anys les endomembranes cel•lulars, especialment les del compariment endocític (endosomes primerencs, EE; tardans LI / MVBs) estan adquirint rellevància com a plataformes de senyalització que poden tenir un paper important en el control de diferents processos cel•lulars com la proliferació o la mobilitat cel•lular. S'ha descrit la presència de diverses GTPasas, entre elles KRas, en els endosomes, les quals són importants per a la senyalització cel•lular. En aquesta tesi s'ha analitzat la dinàmica i la funcionalitat de la GTPasa KRas en els endosomes. Per poder determinar la quantitat de KRas present en els endosomes i determinar si la seva activació modifica la seva proporció en aquests orgànuls, es va quantificar la presència de GFP-KRas (actiu i inactiu) en els EE. Independentment de l'estat d'activació de KRas, un 10-15% del KRas expressat es troba en els endosomes. Posteriorment, es va analitzar la dinàmica d'associació a la membrana endosomal de KRas. Es conclou que, segons l'estat d'activació que presenti la GTPasa KRas, aquesta s'uneix amb més o menys rapidesa a la membrana dels endosomes, sent més ràpida i més gran la seva recuperació a la membrana quan es troba en la seva forma activa (KRas- GTP). En aquesta tesi s'analitzen diverses proteïnes d'unió a KRas que podrien potencialment modificar la seva recuperació en la membrana dels endosomes, com la calmodulina (CaM) o la subunitat delta de la fosfodiesterasa 6 (PDEδ). Com a resultat es conclou que la CaM pot modificar la dinàmica de KRas en aquests orgànuls, segurament mitjançant la seva unió a la regió polibàsica quan la serina 181 no es troba fosforilada. Així mateix es demostra que, almenys en les nostres condicions experimentals, la PDEδ no està involucrada en la dinàmica de KRas en els endosomes. S'ha analitzat el paper de dues fosfolípids principals de la membrana dels endosomes primerencs, el PI3P i el PS (fosfatidilserina), en el reclutament de KRas a la membrana dels endosomes. Els resultats obtinguts demostren una major tendència de KRas per la unió a la PS que als PI3P, però no es descarta que, en absència de PS, KRas pugui unir-se als PI3P. En l'últim apartat d'aquesta tesi s'estudien diferents funcions de KRas en els endosomes com la seva influència en la mobilitat d'aquests orgànuls oa la mobilitat cel • lular. Es conclou que KRas és important per a la mobilitat dels endosomes i per a la mobilitat cel • lular. També s'analitza el paper de KRas en la localització de la metal•loproteasa MT1-MMP. Mitjançant tècniques bioquímiques i de microscòpia, es demostra que KRas és important, i necessari, perquè la metal•loproteasa es localitzi a la membrana plasmàtica i pugui així exercir la seva missió proteolítica per la degradació de la matriu extracel•lular.[eng] In recent years cellular endomembranes, particularly the endocytic compariment (early endosomes, EE; late LE / MVBs) are gaining importance as signaling platforms that can have an important role in the control of various cellular processes such as proliferation or cell mobility. It has been described the presence of several GTPases, including KRas at the endosomes, which are important for cell signaling. This thesis has analyzed the dynamics and functionality of the GTPase KRas in endosomes. To determine the amount of KRas present at the endosomes andto determine if its activation State changes its proportion in these organelles, the presence of GFP-KRas (active and inactive) was quantified in the EE. Regardless of the state of KRas, 10-15% of KRas expressed in endosomes. Subsequently, the dynamics of endosomal membrane association was analyzed KRas. We conclude that, according to the activation state this GTPase KRas, it recovers more or less rapidly at the membrane of endosomes, being faster and higher its recovery in the membrane when it is in its active form (KRas- GTP). It has been proposed several binding proteins are discussed KRas recovery could potentially modify KRas recovery at the membrane of endosomes, as calmodulin (CaM) or phosphodiesterase delta 6 (PDEδ) subunit. As a result we conclude that CaM can change the dynamic of KRas at these organelles, probably by binding to the polybasic region when serine 181 is not phosphorylated. It is also shown that, at least in our experimental conditions, the PDEδ is not involved in the dynamics of KRas in endosomes. We analyzed the role of two major membrane phospholipid of the early endosomes, the PI3P and PS (phosphatidylserine), in the recruitment of KRas on its membrane. The results show a greater tendency of KRas for binding to PS rather than the PI3P, but it is possible that in the absence of PS, KRas could bind to PI3P. The final section of this thesis KRas different functions are studied in endosomes as their influence on the mobility of these organelles or cell motility. We conclude that KRas is important for the mobility of endosomes and for cel •lular mobility. The role of KRas in locating metalloprotease MT1-MMP has been also analysed. By biochemical and microscopic techniques, we demonstrate that KRas is important and necessary for the metalloprotease to localize at the plasma membrane where it can exert its proteolytic task for the degradation of extracellular matrix

Acyl-CoA synthetase 3 promotes lipid droplet biogenesis in ER microdomains.

Control of lipid droplet (LD) nucleation and copy number are critical, yet poorly understood, processes. We use model peptides that shift from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to LDs in response to fatty acids to characterize the initial steps of LD formation occurring in lipid-starved cells. Initially, arriving lipids are rapidly packed in LDs that are resistant to starvation (pre-LDs). Pre-LDs are restricted ER microdomains with a stable core of neutral lipids. Subsequently, a first round of "emerging" LDs is nucleated, providing additional lipid storage capacity. Finally, in proportion to lipid concentration, new rounds of LDs progressively assemble. Confocal microscopy and electron tomography suggest that emerging LDs are nucleated in a limited number of ER microdomains after a synchronized stepwise process of protein gathering, lipid packaging, and recognition by Plin3 and Plin2. A comparative analysis demonstrates that the acyl-CoA synthetase 3 is recruited early to the assembly sites, where it is required for efficient LD nucleation and lipid storage

An integrative study of protein-RNA condensates identifies scaffolding RNAs and reveals players in fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome

Recent evidence indicates that specific RNAs promote the formation of ribonucleoprotein condensates by acting as scaffolds for RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). We systematically investigated RNA-RBP interaction networks to understand ribonucleoprotein assembly. We found that highly contacted RNAs are structured, have long UTRs, and contain nucleotide repeat expansions. Among the RNAs with such properties, we identified the FMR1 3' UTR that harbors CGG expansions implicated in fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS). We studied FMR1 binding partners in silico and in vitro and prioritized the splicing regulator TRA2A for further characterization. In a FXTAS cellular model, we validated the TRA2A-FMR1 interaction and investigated implications of its sequestration at both transcriptomic and post-transcriptomic levels. We found that TRA2A co-aggregates with FMR1 in a FXTAS mouse model and in post-mortem human samples. Our integrative study identifies key components of ribonucleoprotein aggregates, providing links to neurodegenerative disease and allowing the discovery of therapeutic targets.The research leading to these results has been supported by the European Research Council (RIBOMYLOME_309545), Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BFU2014-55054-P and BFU2017-86970-P), and “Fundació La Marató de TV3” (PI043296). We acknowledge support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, ‘Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2013-2017’. We acknowledge the support of the CERCA Programme, Generalitat de Catalunya and Spanish Ministry for Science and Competitiveness (MINECO) to the EMBL partnership

Acyl-CoA synthetase 3 promotes lipid droplet biogenesis in ER microdomains.

Control of lipid droplet (LD) nucleation and copy number are critical, yet poorly understood, processes. We use model peptides that shift from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to LDs in response to fatty acids to characterize the initial steps of LD formation occurring in lipid-starved cells. Initially, arriving lipids are rapidly packed in LDs that are resistant to starvation (pre-LDs). Pre-LDs are restricted ER microdomains with a stable core of neutral lipids. Subsequently, a first round of"emerging" LDs is nucleated, providing additional lipid storage capacity. Finally, in proportion to lipid concentration, new rounds of LDs progressively assemble. Confocal microscopy and electron tomography suggest that emerging LDs are nucleated in a limited number of ER microdomains after a synchronized stepwise process of protein gathering, lipid packaging, and recognition by Plin3 and Plin2. A comparative analysis demonstrates that the acyl-CoA synthetase 3 is recruited early to the assembly sites, where it is required for efficient LD nucleation and lipid storage

HER-family ligands promote acquired resistance to trastuzumab in gastric cancer

Despite the clinical benefit of trastuzumab, eventually all HER2-amplified gastric cancer tumors develop drug resistance. We aimed to identify molecular mechanisms of acquired resistance to trastuzumab in gastric cancer by using well-established cell line-based preclinical models, as well as samples from patients with HER2-positive gastric cancer treated with trastuzumab. We studied trastuzumab resistance in NCI-N87 and OE19, two gastric cancer cell lines that overexpress HER2 receptor and are trastuzumab sensitive. Differences at protein, DNA, and RNA levels between the parental and resistant cells were characterized and functional studies were performed. Paired pre- and post-trastuzumab blood and tissue samples from patients with gastric cancer treated with trastuzumab were analyzed. We found that resistant cells were associated with increased activation of MAPK/ERK and PI3K/mTOR pathways driven by SRC activation. Upstream, resistant cells showed increased coexpression of multiple HER-family ligands that allowed for compensatory activation of alternative HER receptors upon HER2 blockade. Simultaneous inhibition of EGFR, HER2, and HER3 by the novel antibody mixture, Pan-HER, effectively reverted trastuzumab resistance in vitro and in vivo Similarly, an increase in HER-family ligands was observed in serum and tumor from patients with gastric cancer after trastuzumab therapy. We propose that trastuzumab resistance in gastric cancer is mediated by HER-family ligand upregulation that allows a compensatory activation of HER receptors and maintains downstream signaling activation despite trastuzumab therapy. Resistance is reverted by simultaneous inhibition of EGFR, HER2, and HER3, thereby revealing a potential therapeutic strategy to overcome trastuzumab resistance in patients with gastric cancer

The First-in-class Anti-EGFR Antibody Mixture Sym004 Overcomes Cetuximab Resistance Mediated by EGFR Extracellular Domain Mutations in Colorectal Cancer.

PURPOSE: Approved anti-EGFR antibodies cetuximab and panitumumab provide significant clinical benefit in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC). However, patients ultimately develop disease progression, often driven by acquisition of mutations in the extracellular domain (ECD) of EGFR. Sym004 is a novel 1:1 mixture of two nonoverlapping anti-EGFR mAbs that recently showed promising clinical activity in a phase I trial in MCRC. Our aim was to determine the efficacy of Sym004 to circumvent cetuximab resistance driven by EGFR ECD mutations. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Functional studies were performed to assess drug-receptor binding as well as ligand-dependent activation of individual EGFR mutants in the presence of cetuximab, panitumumab, and Sym004. Cell viability and molecular effects of the drugs were assayed in cetuximab-resistant cell lines and in tumor xenograft models. Efficacy of Sym004 was evaluated in patients progressing to cetuximab that harbored EGFR mutation in the post-cetuximab tumor sample. RESULTS: Contrary to cetuximab and panitumumab, Sym004 effectively bound and abrogated ligand-induced phosphorylation of all individual EGFR mutants. Cells resistant to cetuximab harboring mutations in EGFR maintained sensitivity to Sym004, which was consistent with an effective suppression of EGFR downstream signaling, translating into profound and sustained tumor regression in the xenograft model. As proof-of-principle, a patient with a tumor harboring an EGFR mutation (G465R) following cetuximab therapy benefited from Sym004 therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Sym004 is an active drug in MCRC resistant to cetuximab/panitumumab mediated by EGFR mutations. EGFR mutations are potential biomarkers of response to Sym004 to be evaluated in ongoing large clinical trials.This work was supported by PI12/00989, PI15/00457, DTS15/00048, RD12/0036/0051, 2014SGR740, PIE15/00008, and by the Xarxa de Banc de Tumors de Cataluny

The First-in-class Anti-EGFR Antibody Mixture Sym004 Overcomes Cetuximab Resistance Mediated by EGFR Extracellular Domain Mutations in Colorectal Cancer.

PURPOSE: Approved anti-EGFR antibodies cetuximab and panitumumab provide significant clinical benefit in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (MCRC). However, patients ultimately develop disease progression, often driven by acquisition of mutations in the extracellular domain (ECD) of EGFR. Sym004 is a novel 1:1 mixture of two nonoverlapping anti-EGFR mAbs that recently showed promising clinical activity in a phase I trial in MCRC. Our aim was to determine the efficacy of Sym004 to circumvent cetuximab resistance driven by EGFR ECD mutations. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Functional studies were performed to assess drug-receptor binding as well as ligand-dependent activation of individual EGFR mutants in the presence of cetuximab, panitumumab, and Sym004. Cell viability and molecular effects of the drugs were assayed in cetuximab-resistant cell lines and in tumor xenograft models. Efficacy of Sym004 was evaluated in patients progressing to cetuximab that harbored EGFR mutation in the post-cetuximab tumor sample. RESULTS: Contrary to cetuximab and panitumumab, Sym004 effectively bound and abrogated ligand-induced phosphorylation of all individual EGFR mutants. Cells resistant to cetuximab harboring mutations in EGFR maintained sensitivity to Sym004, which was consistent with an effective suppression of EGFR downstream signaling, translating into profound and sustained tumor regression in the xenograft model. As proof-of-principle, a patient with a tumor harboring an EGFR mutation (G465R) following cetuximab therapy benefited from Sym004 therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Sym004 is an active drug in MCRC resistant to cetuximab/panitumumab mediated by EGFR mutations. EGFR mutations are potential biomarkers of response to Sym004 to be evaluated in ongoing large clinical trials.This work was supported by PI12/00989, PI15/00457, DTS15/00048, RD12/0036/0051, 2014SGR740, PIE15/00008, and by the Xarxa de Banc de Tumors de Cataluny