Alternative protein sorting pathways

Plasmodium falciparum enolase complements yeast enolase functions and associates with the parasite food vacuole

Plasmodium falciparum enolase (Pfeno) localizes to the cytosol, nucleus, cell membrane and cytoskeletal elements, suggesting multiple non-glycolytic functions for this protein. Our recent observation of association of enolase with the food vacuole (FV) in immuno-gold electron microscopic images of P. falciparum raised the possibility for yet another moonlighting function for this protein. Here we provide additional support for this localization by demonstrating the presence of Pfeno in purified FVs by immunoblotting. To examine the potential functional role of FV-associated Pfeno, we assessed the ability of Pfeno to complement a mutant Saccharomyces cervisiae strain deficient in enolase activity. In this strain (Tetr-Eno2), the enolase 1 gene is deleted and expression of the enolase 2 gene is under the control of a tetracycline repressible promoter. Enolase deficiency in this strain was previously shown to cause growth retardation, vacuolar fragmentation and altered expression of certain vacuolar proteins. Expression of Pfeno in the enolase-deficient yeast strain restored all three phenotypic effects. However, transformation of Tetr-eno2 with an enzymatically active, monomeric mutant form of Pfeno (Δ(5)Pfeno) fully restored cell growth, but only partially rescued the fragmented vacuolar phenotype, suggesting that the dimeric structure of Pfeno is required for the optimal vacuolar functions. Bioinformatic searches revealed the presence of Plasmodium orthologs of several yeast vacuolar proteins that are predicted to form complexes with Pfeno. Together, these observations raise the possibility that association of Pfeno with food vacuole in Plasmodium may have physiological function(s).

The gap junction cellular internet: connexin hemichannels enter the signalling limelight

Cxs (connexins), the protein subunits forming gap junction intercellular communication channels, are transported to the plasma membrane after oligomerizing into hexameric assemblies called connexin hemichannels (CxHcs) or connexons, which dock head-to-head with partner hexameric channels positioned on neighbouring cells. The double membrane channel or gap junction generated directly couples the cytoplasms of interacting cells and underpins the integration and co-ordination of cellular metabolism, signalling and functions, such as secretion or contraction in cell assemblies. In contrast, CxHcs prior to forming gap junctions provide a pathway for the release from cells of ATP, glutamate, NAD+ and prostaglandin E2, which act as paracrine messengers. ATP activates purinergic receptors on neighbouring cells and forms the basis of intercellular Ca2+ signal propagation, complementing that occuring more directly via gap junctions. CxHcs open in response to various types of external changes, including mechanical, shear, ionic and ischaemic stress. In addition, CxHcs are influenced by intracellular signals, such as membrane potential, phosphorylation and redox status, which translate external stresses to CxHc responses. Also, recent studies demonstrate that cytoplasmic Ca2+ changes in the physiological range act to trigger CxHc opening, indicating their involvement under normal non-pathological conditions. CxHcs not only respond to cytoplasmic Ca2+, but also determine cytoplasmic Ca2+, as they are large conductance channels, suggesting a prominent role in cellular Ca2+ homoeostasis and signalling. The functions of gap-junction channels and CxHcs have been difficult to separate, but synthetic peptides that mimic short sequences in the Cx subunit are emerging as promising tools to determine the role of CxHcs in physiology and pathology.

The Ras/cAMP-dependent protein kinase signaling pathway regulates an early step of the autophagy process in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

When faced with nutrient deprivation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells enter into a nondividing resting state, known as stationary phase. The Ras/PKA (cAMP-dependent protein kinase) signaling pathway plays an important role in regulating the entry into this resting state and the subsequent survival of stationary phase cells. The survival of these resting cells is also dependent upon autophagy, a membrane trafficking pathway that is induced upon nutrient deprivation. Autophagy is responsible for targeting bulk protein and other cytoplasmic constituents to the vacuolar compartment for their ultimate degradation. The data presented here demonstrate that the Ras/PKA signaling pathway inhibits an early step in autophagy because mutants with elevated levels of Ras/PKA activity fail to accumulate transport intermediates normally associated with this process. Quantitative assays indicate that these increased levels of Ras/PKA signaling activity result in an essentially complete block to autophagy. Interestingly, Ras/PKA activity also inhibited a related process, the cytoplasm to vacuole targeting (Cvt) pathway that is responsible for the delivery of a subset of vacuolar proteins in growing cells. These data therefore indicate that the Ras/PKA signaling pathway is not regulating a switch between the autophagy and Cvt modes of transport. Instead, it is more likely that this signaling pathway is controlling an activity that is required during the early stages of both of these membrane trafficking pathways. Finally, the data suggest that at least a portion of the Ras/PKA effects on stationary phase survival are the result of the regulation of autophagy activity by this signaling pathway.

Protein transport into secondary plastids and the evolution of primary and secondary plastids

Chloroplasts are key organelles in algae and plants due to their photosynthetic abilities. They are thought to have evolved from prokaryotic cyanobacteria taken up by a eukaryotic host cell in a process termed primary endocytobiosis. In addition, a variety of organisms have evolved by subsequent secondary endocytobioses, in which a heterotrophic host cell engulfed a eukaryotic alga. Both processes dramatically enhanced the complexity of the resulting cells. Since the first version of the endosymbiotic theory was proposed more than 100 years ago, morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular data have been collected substantiating the emerging picture about the origin and the relationship of individual organisms with different primary or secondary chloroplast types. Depending on their origin, plastids in different lineages may have two, three, or four envelope membranes. The evolutionary success of endocytobioses depends, among other factors, on the specific exchange of molecules between the host and endosymbiont. This raises questions concerning how targeting of nucleus-encoded proteins into the different plastid types occurs and how these processes may have developed. Most studies of protein translocation into plastids have been performed on primary plastids, but in recent years more complex protein-translocation systems of secondary plastids have been investigated. Analyses of transport systems in different algal lineages with secondary plastids reveal that during evolution existing translocation machineries were recycled or recombined rather than being developed de novo. This review deals with current knowledge about the evolution and function of primary and secondary plastids and the respective protein-targeting systems.

The Ccz1-Mon1 protein complex is required for the late step of multiple vacuole delivery pathways

Mon1 and Ccz1 were identified from a gene deletion library as mutants defective in the vacuolar import of aminopeptidase I (Ape1) via the cytoplasm to vacuole targeting (Cvt) pathway. The mon1Delta and ccz1Delta strains also displayed defects in autophagy and pexophagy, degradative pathways that share protein machinery and mechanistic features with the biosynthetic Cvt pathway. Further analyses indicated that Mon1, like Ccz1, was required in nearly all membrane-trafficking pathways where the vacuole represented the terminal acceptor compartment. Accordingly, both deletion strains had kinetic defects in the biosynthetic delivery of resident vacuolar hydrolases through the CPY, ALP, and MVB pathways. Biochemical and microscopy studies suggested that Mon1 and Ccz1 functioned after transport vesicle formation but before (or at) the fusion step with the vacuole. Thus, ccz1Delta and mon1Delta are the first mutants identified in screens for the Cvt and Apg pathways that accumulate precursor Ape1 within completed cytosolic vesicles. Subcellular fractionation and co-immunoprecipitation experiments confirm that Mon1 and Ccz1 physically interact as a stable protein complex termed the Ccz1-Mon1 complex. Microscopy of Ccz1 and Mon1 tagged with a fluorescent marker indicated that the Ccz1-Mon1 complex peripherally associated with a perivacuolar compartment and may attach to the vacuole membrane in agreement with their proposed function in fusion.

Autophagy in yeast: a review of the molecular machinery

Autophagy is a membrane trafficking mechanism that delivers cytoplasmic cargo to the vacuole/lysosome for degradation and recycling. In addition to non-specific bulk cytosol, selective cargoes, such as peroxisomes, are sorted for autophagic transport under specific physiological conditions. In a nutrient-rich growth environment, many of the autophagic components are recruited for executing a biosynthetic trafficking process, the cytoplasm to vacuole targeting (Cvt) pathway, that transports the resident hydrolases aminopeptidase I and alpha-mannosidase to the vacuole in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Recent studies have identified pathway-specific components that are necessary to divert a protein kinase and a lipid kinase complex to regulate the conversion between the Cvt pathway and autophagy. Downstream of these proteins, the general machinery for transport vesicle formation involves two novel conjugation systems and a putative membrane protein complex. Completed vesicles are targeted to, and fuse with, the vacuole under the control of machinery shared with other vacuolar trafficking pathways. Inside the vacuole, a potential lipase and several proteases are responsible for the final steps of vesicle breakdown, precursor enzyme processing and substrate turnover. In this review, we discuss the most recent developments in yeast autophagy and point out the challenges we face in the future.

Cooperative binding of the cytoplasm to vacuole targeting pathway proteins, Cvt13 and Cvt20, to phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate at the pre-autophagosomal structure is required for selective autophagy

Autophagy is a catabolic membrane-trafficking mechanism involved in cell maintenance and development. Most components of autophagy also function in the cytoplasm to vacuole targeting (Cvt) pathway, a constitutive biosynthetic pathway required for the transport of aminopeptidase I (Ape1). The protein components of autophagy and the Cvt pathway include a putative complex composed of Apg1 kinase and several interacting proteins that are specific for either the Cvt pathway or autophagy. A second required complex includes a phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) 3-kinase and associated proteins that are involved in its activation and localization. The majority of proteins required for the Cvt and autophagy pathways localize to a perivacuolar pre-autophagosomal structure. We show that the Cvt13 and Cvt20 proteins are required for transport of precursor Ape1 through the Cvt pathway. Both proteins contain phox homology domains that bind PtdIns(3)P and are necessary for membrane localization to the pre-autophagosomal structure. Functional phox homology domains are required for Cvt pathway function. Cvt13 and Cvt20 interact with each other and with an autophagy-specific protein, Apg17, that interacts with Apg1 kinase. These results provide the first functional connection between the Apg1 and PtdIns 3-kinase complexes. The data suggest a role for PtdIns(3)P in the Cvt pathway and demonstrate that this lipid is required at the pre-autophagosomal structure.

Cvt18/Gsa12 is required for cytoplasm-to-vacuole transport, pexophagy, and autophagy in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris

Eukaryotic cells have the ability to degrade proteins and organelles by selective and nonselective modes of micro- and macroautophagy. In addition, there exist both constitutive and regulated forms of autophagy. For example, pexophagy is a selective process for the regulated degradation of peroxisomes by autophagy. Our studies have shown that the differing pathways of autophagy have many molecular events in common. In this article, we have identified a new member in the family of autophagy genes. GSA12 in Pichia pastoris and its Saccharomyces cerevisiae counterpart, CVT18, encode a soluble protein with two WD40 domains. We have shown that these proteins are required for pexophagy and autophagy in P. pastoris and the Cvt pathway, autophagy, and pexophagy in S. cerevisiae. In P. pastoris, Gsa12 appears to be required for an early event in pexophagy. That is, the involution of the vacuole or extension of vacuole arms to engulf the peroxisomes does not occur in the gsa12 mutant. Consistent with its role in vacuole engulfment, we have found that this cytosolic protein is also localized to the vacuole surface. Similarly, Cvt18 displays a subcellular localization that distinguishes it from the characterized proteins required for cytoplasm-to-vacuole delivery pathways.

Aut5/Cvt17p, a putative lipase essential for disintegration of autophagic bodies inside the vacuole

Selective disintegration of membrane-enclosed autophagic bodies is a feature of eukaryotic cells not studied in detail. Using a Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant defective in autophagic-body breakdown, we identified and characterized Aut5p, a glycosylated integral membrane protein. Site-directed mutagenesis demonstrated the relevance of its putative lipase active-site motif for autophagic-body breakdown. aut5Delta cells show reduced protein turnover during starvation and are defective in maturation of proaminopeptidase I. Most recently, by means of the latter phenotype, Aut5p was independently identified as Cvt17p. In this study we additionally checked for effects on vacuolar acidification and detected mature vacuolar proteases, both of which are prerequisites for autophagic-body lysis. Furthermore, biologically active hemagglutinin-tagged Aut5p (Aut5-Ha) localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum (nuclear envelope) and is targeted to the vacuolar lumen independent of autophagy. In pep4Delta cells immunogold electron microscopy located Aut5-Ha at approximately 50-nm-diameter intravacuolar vesicles. Characteristic missorting in vps class E and fab1Delta cells, which affects the multivesicular body (MVB) pathway, suggests vacuolar targeting of Aut5-Ha similar to that of the MVB pathway. In agreement with localization of Aut5-Ha at intravacuolar vesicles in pep4Delta cells and the lack of vacuolar Aut5-Ha in wild-type cells, our pulse-chase experiments clearly indicated that Aut5-Ha degradation with 50 to 70 min of half-life is dependent on vacuolar proteinase A.

Cvt19 is a receptor for the cytoplasm-to-vacuole targeting pathway

Cvt19 is specifically required for the transport of resident vacuolar hydrolases that utilize the cytoplasm-to-vacuole targeting (Cvt) pathway. Autophagy (Apg) and pexophagy, processes that use the majority of the same protein components as the Cvt pathway, do not require Cvt19. Cvt19GFP is localized to punctate structures on or near the vacuole surface. Cvt19 is a peripheral membrane protein that binds to the precursor form of the Cvt cargo protein aminopeptidase I (prAPI) and travels to the vacuole with prAPI. These results suggest that Cvt19 is a receptor protein for prAPI that allows for the selective transport of this protein by both the Cvt and Apg pathways.

Cvt9/Gsa9 functions in sequestering selective cytosolic cargo destined for the vacuole

Three overlapping pathways mediate the transport of cytoplasmic material to the vacuole in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The cytoplasm to vacuole targeting (Cvt) pathway transports the vacuolar hydrolase, aminopeptidase I (API), whereas pexophagy mediates the delivery of excess peroxisomes for degradation. Both the Cvt and pexophagy pathways are selective processes that specifically recognize their cargo. In contrast, macroautophagy nonselectively transports bulk cytosol to the vacuole for recycling. Most of the import machinery characterized thus far is required for all three modes of transport. However, unique features of each pathway dictate the requirement for additional components that differentiate these pathways from one another, including at the step of specific cargo selection.We have identified Cvt9 and its Pichia pastoris counterpart Gsa9. In S. cerevisiae, Cvt9 is required for the selective delivery of precursor API (prAPI) to the vacuole by the Cvt pathway and the targeted degradation of peroxisomes by pexophagy. In P. pastoris, Gsa9 is required for glucose-induced pexophagy. Significantly, neither Cvt9 nor Gsa9 is required for starvation-induced nonselective transport of bulk cytoplasmic cargo by macroautophagy. The deletion of CVT9 destabilizes the binding of prAPI to the membrane and analysis of a cvt9 temperature-sensitive mutant supports a direct role of Cvt9 in transport vesicle formation. Cvt9 oligomers peripherally associate with a novel, perivacuolar membrane compartment and interact with Apg1, a Ser/Thr kinase essential for both the Cvt pathway and autophagy. In P. pastoris Gsa9 is recruited to concentrated regions on the vacuole membrane that contact peroxisomes in the process of being engulfed by pexophagy. These biochemical and morphological results demonstrate that Cvt9 and the P. pastoris homologue Gsa9 may function at the step of selective cargo sequestration.

Apg9p/Cvt7p is an integral membrane protein required for transport vesicle formation in the Cvt and autophagy pathways

In nutrient-rich, vegetative conditions, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae transports a resident protease, aminopeptidase I (API), to the vacuole by the cytoplasm to vacuole targeting (Cvt) pathway, thus contributing to the degradative capacity of this organelle. When cells subsequently encounter starvation conditions, the machinery that recruited precursor API (prAPI) also sequesters bulk cytosol for delivery, breakdown, and recycling in the vacuole by the autophagy pathway. Each of these overlapping alternative transport pathways is specifically mobilized depending on environmental cues. The basic mechanism of cargo packaging and delivery involves the formation of a double-membrane transport vesicle around prAPI and/or bulk cytosol. Upon completion, these Cvt and autophagic vesicles are targeted to the vacuole to allow delivery of their lumenal contents. Key questions remain regarding the origin and formation of the transport vesicle. In this study, we have cloned the APG9/CVT7 gene and characterized the gene product. Apg9p/Cvt7p is the first characterized integral membrane protein required for Cvt and autophagy transport. Biochemical and morphological analyses indicate that Apg9p/Cvt7p is localized to large perivacuolar punctate structures, but does not colocalize with typical endomembrane marker proteins. Finally, we have isolated a temperature conditional allele of APG9/CVT7 and demonstrate the direct role of Apg9p/Cvt7p in the formation of the Cvt and autophagic vesicles. From these results, we propose that Apg9p/Cvt7p may serve as a marker for a specialized compartment essential for these vesicle-mediated alternative targeting pathways.