A Myo6 Mutation Destroys Coordination between the Myosin Heads, Revealing New Functions of Myosin VI in the Stereocilia of Mammalian Inner Ear Hair Cells

Myosin VI, found in organisms from Caenorhabditis elegans to humans, is essential for auditory and vestibular function in mammals, since genetic mutations lead to hearing impairment and vestibular dysfunction in both humans and mice. Here, we show that a missense mutation in this molecular motor in an ENU-generated mouse model, Tailchaser, disrupts myosin VI function. Structural changes in the Tailchaser hair bundles include mislocalization of the kinocilia and branching of stereocilia. Transfection of GFP-labeled myosin VI into epithelial cells and delivery of endocytic vesicles to the early endosome revealed that the mutant phenotype displays disrupted motor function. The actin-activated ATPase rates measured for the D179Y mutation are decreased, and indicate loss of coordination of the myosin VI heads or ‘gating’ in the dimer form. Proper coordination is required for walking processively along, or anchoring to, actin filaments, and is apparently destroyed by the proximity of the mutation to the nucleotide-binding pocket. This loss of myosin VI function may not allow myosin VI to transport its cargoes appropriately at the base and within the stereocilia, or to anchor the membrane of stereocilia to actin filaments via its cargos, both of which lead to structural changes in the stereocilia of myosin VI–impaired hair cells, and ultimately leading to deafness

Regulation of Toll-like receptor signaling by NDP52-mediated selective autophagy is normally inactivated by A20

Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling is linked to autophagy that facilitates elimination of intracellular pathogens. However, it is largely unknown whether autophagy controls TLR signaling. Here, we report that poly(I:C) stimulation induces selective autophagic degradation of the TLR adaptor molecule TRIF and the signaling molecule TRAF6, which is revealed by gene silencing of the ubiquitin-editing enzyme A20. This type of autophagy induced formation of autophagosomes and could be suppressed by an autophagy inhibitor and lysosomal inhibitors. However, this autophagy was not associated with canonical autophagic processes, including involvement of Beclin-1 and conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II. Through screening of TRIF-interacting ‘autophagy receptors’ in human cells, we identified that NDP52 mediated the selective autophagic degradation of TRIF and TRAF6 but not TRAF3. NDP52 was polyubiquitinated by TRAF6 and was involved in aggregation of TRAF6, which may result in the selective degradation. Intriguingly, only under the condition of A20 silencing, NDP52 could effectively suppress poly(I:C)-induced proinflammatory gene expression. Thus, this study clarifies a selective autophagic mechanism mediated by NDP52 that works downstream of TRIF–TRAF6. Furthermore, although A20 is known as a signaling fine-tuner to prevent excess TLR signaling, it paradoxically downregulates the fine-tuning effect of NDP52 on TLR signaling

The bilobe structure of Trypanosoma brucei contains a MORN-repeat protein

10.1016/j.molbiopara.2009.05.001Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology167295-103MBIP

BILBO1 Is a Scaffold Protein of the Flagellar Pocket Collar in the Pathogen Trypanosoma brucei

The flagellar pocket (FP) of the pathogen Trypanosoma brucei is an important single copy structure that is formed by the invagination of the pellicular membrane. It is the unique site of endo- and exocytosis and is required for parasite pathogenicity. The FP consists of distinct structural sub-domains with the least explored being the annulus/horseshoe shaped flagellar pocket collar (FPC). To date the only known component of the FPC is the protein BILBO1, a cytoskeleton protein that has a N-terminus that contains an ubiquitin-like fold, two EF-hand domains, plus a large C-terminal coiled-coil domain. BILBO1 has been shown to bind calcium, but in this work we demonstrate that mutating either or both calcium-binding domains prevents calcium binding. The expression of deletion or mutated forms of BILBO1 in trypanosomes and mammalian cells demonstrate that the coiled-coil domain is necessary and sufficient for the formation of BILBO1 polymers. This is supported by Yeast two-hybrid analysis. Expression of full-length BILBO1 in mammalian cells induces the formation of linear polymers with comma and globular shaped termini, whereas mutation of the canonical calcium-binding domain resulted in the formation of helical polymers and mutation in both EF-hand domains prevented the formation of linear polymers. We also demonstrate that in T. brucei the coiled-coil domain is able to target BILBO1 to the FPC and to form polymers whilst the EF-hand domains influence polymers shape. This data indicates that BILBO1 has intrinsic polymer forming properties and that binding calcium can modulate the form of these polymers. We discuss whether these properties can influence the formation of the FPC

Spatially resolved proteomic mapping in living cells with the engineered peroxidase APEX2

This protocol describes a method to obtain spatially resolved proteomic maps of specific compartments within living mammalian cells. An engineered peroxidase, APEX2, is genetically targeted to a cellular region of interest. Upon the addition of hydrogen peroxide for 1 min to cells preloaded with a biotin-phenol substrate, APEX2 generates biotin-phenoxyl radicals that covalently tag proximal endogenous proteins. Cells are then lysed, and biotinylated proteins are enriched with streptavidin beads and identified by mass spectrometry. We describe the generation of an appropriate APEX2 fusion construct, proteomic sample preparation, and mass spectrometric data acquisition and analysis. A two-state stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) protocol is used for proteomic mapping of membrane-enclosed cellular compartments from which APEX2-generated biotin-phenoxyl radicals cannot escape. For mapping of open cellular regions, we instead use a 'ratiometric' three-state SILAC protocol for high spatial specificity. Isotopic labeling of proteins takes 5–7 cell doublings. Generation of the biotinylated proteomic sample takes 1 d, acquiring the mass spectrometric data takes 2–5 d and analysis of the data to obtain the final proteomic list takes 1 week.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF Graduate Research Fellowship)United States. Dept. of Defense (National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ((NIH R01 CA186568)Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Collaborative Initiative Award

Autophagy receptors link myosin VI to autophagosomes to mediate Tom1-dependent autophagosome maturation and fusion with the lysosome

Autophagy targets pathogens, damaged organelles and protein aggregates for lysosomal degradation. These ubiquitylated cargoes are recognized by specific autophagy receptors, which recruit LC3-positive membranes to form autophagosomes. Subsequently, autophagosomes fuse with endosomes and lysosomes, thus facilitating degradation of their content; however, the machinery that targets and mediates fusion of these organelles with autophagosomes remains to be established. Here we demonstrate that myosin VI, in concert with its adaptor proteins NDP52, optineurin, T6BP and Tom1, plays a crucial role in autophagy. We identify Tom1 as a myosin VI binding partner on endosomes, and demonstrate that loss of myosin VI and Tom1 reduces autophagosomal delivery of endocytic cargo and causes a block in autophagosome-lysosome fusion. We propose that myosin VI delivers endosomal membranes containing Tom1 to autophagosomes by docking to NDP52, T6BP and optineurin, thereby promoting autophagosome maturation and thus driving fusion with lysosomes