Interconnected Regulation of Apoptosis and WIPI-Mediated Autophagy

Autophagy is a genetic program that secures the survival of eukaryotic cells to compensate for periods of starvation and cellular stress. Apoptosis, in contrast, is a genetically defined program leading to cell death. Both pathways are interconnected through conserved co-regulatory signaling pathways that are context-dependent. Proper co-regulation of autophagy and apoptosis, whereby autophagy exerts an antiapoptotic function and apoptosis inhibits autophagic survival strategies, critically secures the survival of healthy cells and counteracts genomic instability in eukaryotic organisms. Cancer cells often become resistant to apoptosis and addicted to autophagy, making this scenario highly relevant to define novel therapeutic strategies. The co-regulatory crosstalk between apoptosis and autophagy converges on the production of phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P) essential for the onset of autophagy. WD-repeat protein interacting with phosphoinositides (WIPI) members function as essential PI3P effectors in autophagy and fulfill an important role in health and disease. Here, we summarize details on the regulation of WIPI-mediated autophagy in the context of co-regulatory signals for both apoptosis and autophagy

ATG-18 and EPG-6 are Both Required for Autophagy but Differentially Contribute to Lifespan Control in Caenorhabditis elegans

During macroautophagy, the human WIPI (WD-repeat protein interacting with phosphoinositides) proteins (WIPI1–4) function as phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate effectors at the nascent autophagosome. Likewise, the two WIPI homologues in Caenorhabditis elegans, ATG-18 and EPG-6, play important roles in autophagy, whereby ATG-18 is considered to act upstream of EPG-6 at the onset of autophagy. Due to its essential role in autophagy, ATG-18 was found to be also essential for lifespan extension in Caenorhabditis elegans; however, this has not yet been addressed with regard to EPG-6. Here, we wished to address this point and generated mutant strains that expressed the autophagy marker GFP::LGG-1 (GFP-LC3 in mammals) and harbored functional deletions of either atg-18 (atg18(gk378)), epg-6 (epg-6(bp242)) or both (atg-18(gk378);epg-6(bp242)). Using quantitative fluorescence microscopy, Western blotting, and lifespan assessments, we provide evidence that in the absence of either ATG-18 or EPG-6 autophagy was impaired, and while atg-18 mutant animals showed a short-lived phenotype, lifespan was significantly increased in epg-6 mutant animals. We speculate that the long-lived phenotype of epg-6 mutant animals points towards an autophagy-independent function of EPG-6 in lifespan control that warrants further mechanistic investigations in future studies

The ABL-MYC axis controls WIPI1-enhanced autophagy in lifespan extension

Human WIPI beta-propellers function as PI3P effectors in autophagy, with WIPI4 and WIPI3 being able to link autophagy control by AMPK and TORC1 to the formation of autophagosomes. WIPI1, instead, assists WIPI2 in efficiently recruiting the ATG16L1 complex at the nascent autophagosome, which in turn promotes lipidation of LC3/GABARAP and autophagosome maturation. However, the specific role of WIPI1 and its regulation are unknown. Here, we discovered the ABL-ERK-MYC signalling axis controlling WIPI1. As a result of this signalling, MYC binds to the WIPI1 promoter and represses WIPI1 gene expression. When ABL-ERK-MYC signalling is counteracted, increased WIPI1 gene expression enhances the formation of autophagic membranes capable of migrating through tunnelling nanotubes to neighbouring cells with low autophagic activity. ABL-regulated WIPI1 function is relevant to lifespan control, as ABL deficiency in C. elegans increased gene expression of the WIPI1 orthologue ATG-18 and prolonged lifespan in a manner dependent on ATG-18. We propose that WIPI1 acts as an enhancer of autophagy that is physiologically relevant for regulating the level of autophagic activity over the lifespan.Peer reviewe

The ABL-MYC axis controls WIPI1-enhanced autophagy in lifespan extension

Abstract Human WIPI β-propellers function as PI3P effectors in autophagy, with WIPI4 and WIPI3 being able to link autophagy control by AMPK and TORC1 to the formation of autophagosomes. WIPI1, instead, assists WIPI2 in efficiently recruiting the ATG16L1 complex at the nascent autophagosome, which in turn promotes lipidation of LC3/GABARAP and autophagosome maturation. However, the specific role of WIPI1 and its regulation are unknown. Here, we discovered the ABL-ERK-MYC signalling axis controlling WIPI1. As a result of this signalling, MYC binds to the WIPI1 promoter and represses WIPI1 gene expression. When ABL-ERK-MYC signalling is counteracted, increased WIPI1 gene expression enhances the formation of autophagic membranes capable of migrating through tunnelling nanotubes to neighbouring cells with low autophagic activity. ABL-regulated WIPI1 function is relevant to lifespan control, as ABL deficiency in C. elegans increased gene expression of the WIPI1 orthologue ATG-18 and prolonged lifespan in a manner dependent on ATG-18. We propose that WIPI1 acts as an enhancer of autophagy that is physiologically relevant for regulating the level of autophagic activity over the lifespan

Reproducibility of fluorescent expression from engineered biological constructs in E. coli

We present results of the first large-scale interlaboratory study carried out in synthetic biology, as part of the 2014 and 2015 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competitions. Participants at 88 institutions around the world measured fluorescence from three engineered constitutive constructs in E. coli. Few participants were able to measure absolute fluorescence, so data was analyzed in terms of ratios. Precision was strongly related to fluorescent strength, ranging from 1.54-fold standard deviation for the ratio between strong promoters to 5.75-fold for the ratio between the strongest and weakest promoter, and while host strain did not affect expression ratios, choice of instrument did. This result shows that high quantitative precision and reproducibility of results is possible, while at the same time indicating areas needing improved laboratory practices.Peer reviewe