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De Loof A, Schoofs L. Two Undervalued Functions of the Golgi Apparatus: Removal of Excess Ca 2+ and Biosynthesis of Farnesol-Like Sesquiterpenoids, Possibly as Ca 2+-Pump Agonists and Membrane "Fluidizers-Plasticizers". Front Physiol 2020; 11:542879. [PMID: 33178030 PMCID: PMC7593688 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.542879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The extensive literature dealing with the Golgi system emphasizes its role in protein secretion and modification, usually without specifying from which evolutionary ancient cell physiological necessity such secretion originated. Neither does it specify which functional requirements the secreted proteins must meet. From a reinterpretation of some classical and recent data gained mainly, but not exclusively, from (insect) endocrinology, the view emerged that the likely primordial function of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER)–Golgi complex in all eukaryotes was not the secretion of any type of protein but the removal of toxic excess Ca2+ from the cytoplasm. Such activity requires the concurrent secretion of large amounts of Ca2+-carrying/transporting proteins acting as a micro-conveyor belt system inside the RER–Golgi. Thus, (fitness increasing) protein secretion is subordinate to Ca2+ removal. Milk with its high content of protein and Ca2+ (60–90 mM vs. 100 nM in unstimulated mammary gland cells) is an extreme example. The sarco(endo)plasmatic reticulum Ca2+-ATPases (SERCAs) and SPCA1a Ca2+/Mn2+ transport ATPases are major players in Ca2+ removal through the Golgi. Both are blocked by the sesquiterpenoid thapsigargin. This strengthens the hypothesis (2014) that endogenous farnesol-like sesquiterpenoids (FLSs) may act as the long sought for but still unidentified agonist(s) for Ca2+-pumps in both the ER and Golgi. A second putative function also emerges. The fusion of both the incoming and outgoing transport vesicles, respectively, at the cis- and trans- side of Golgi stacks, with the membrane system requiring high flexibility and fast self-closing of the involved membranes. These properties may—possibly partially—be controlled by endogenous hydrophobic membrane “fluidizers” for which FLSs are prime candidates. A recent reexamination of unexplained classical data suggests that they are likely synthesized by the Golgi itself. This game-changing hypothesis is endorsed by several arguments and data, some of which date from 1964, that the insect corpus allatum (CA), which is the major production site of farnesol-esters, has active Golgi systems. Thus, in addition to secreting FLS, in particular juvenile hormone(s), it also secretes a protein(s) or peptide(s) with thus far unknown function. This paper suggests answers to various open questions in cell physiology and general endocrinology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnold De Loof
- Research Group of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Liliane Schoofs
- Research Group of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Papp B, Launay S, Gélébart P, Arbabian A, Enyedi A, Brouland JP, Carosella ED, Adle-Biassette H. Endoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Pumps and Tumor Cell Differentiation. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21093351. [PMID: 32397400 PMCID: PMC7247589 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21093351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Revised: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 05/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium homeostasis plays an essential role in cellular calcium signaling, intra-ER protein chaperoning and maturation, as well as in the interaction of the ER with other organelles. Calcium is accumulated in the ER by sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPases (SERCA enzymes) that generate by active, ATP-dependent transport, a several thousand-fold calcium ion concentration gradient between the cytosol (low nanomolar) and the ER lumen (high micromolar). SERCA enzymes are coded by three genes that by alternative splicing give rise to several isoforms, which can display isoform-specific calcium transport characteristics. SERCA expression levels and isoenzyme composition vary according to cell type, and this constitutes a mechanism whereby ER calcium homeostasis is adapted to the signaling and metabolic needs of the cell, depending on its phenotype, its state of activation and differentiation. As reviewed here, in several normal epithelial cell types including bronchial, mammary, gastric, colonic and choroid plexus epithelium, as well as in mature cells of hematopoietic origin such as pumps are simultaneously expressed, whereas in corresponding tumors and leukemias SERCA3 expression is selectively down-regulated. SERCA3 expression is restored during the pharmacologically induced differentiation of various cancer and leukemia cell types. SERCA3 is a useful marker for the study of cell differentiation, and the loss of SERCA3 expression constitutes a previously unrecognized example of the remodeling of calcium homeostasis in tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bela Papp
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, UMR U976, Institut Saint-Louis, 75010 Paris, France
- Institut de Recherche Saint-Louis, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Université de Paris, 75010 Paris, France
- CEA, DRF-Institut Francois Jacob, Department of Hemato-Immunology Research, Hôpital Saint-Louis, 75010 Paris, France;
- Correspondence: or
| | - Sophie Launay
- EA481, UFR Santé, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 25000 Besançon, France;
| | - Pascal Gélébart
- Department of Clinical Science-Hematology Section, Haukeland University Hospital, University of Bergen, 5021 Bergen, Norway;
| | - Atousa Arbabian
- Laboratoire d’Innovation Vaccins, Institut Pasteur de Paris, 75015 Paris, France;
| | - Agnes Enyedi
- Second Department of Pathology, Semmelweis University, 1091 Budapest, Hungary;
| | - Jean-Philippe Brouland
- Institut Universitaire de Pathologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland;
| | - Edgardo D. Carosella
- CEA, DRF-Institut Francois Jacob, Department of Hemato-Immunology Research, Hôpital Saint-Louis, 75010 Paris, France;
| | - Homa Adle-Biassette
- AP-HP, Service d’Anatomie et Cytologie Pathologiques, Hôpital Lariboisière, 75010 Paris, France;
- Université de Paris, NeuroDiderot, Inserm UMR 1141, 75019 Paris, France
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De Loof A. Nature, Calcigender, Nurture: Sex-dependent differential Ca 2+ homeostasis as the undervalued third pillar. Commun Integr Biol 2019; 12:65-77. [PMID: 31143365 PMCID: PMC6527185 DOI: 10.1080/19420889.2019.1592419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2019] [Revised: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
After many years of sometimes heated discussions, the problem regarding the relative importance of two classical dogmas of the Nature (genes and sex-steroid hormones) versus Nurture (education, teaching-learning etc.) debate, is still awaiting a conclusive solution. Males and females differ in only a few (primordial) genes as is well documented by genomic analyses. However, their sex- and gender-specific behavior and physiology is nevertheless profoundly different, even if they grew up in a similar (educational) environment. By extending the “Calcigender-concept”, originally formulated in 2015, to the simplistic binary Nature versus Nurture concept, a novel framework showing that the sex-steroid hormone-dependent intracellular Calcium concentration is an important third factor may emerge. Although the principles of animal physiology and evolution strongly stress the fact that Nature is always dominant, Nurture can, to a limited extent, play a mitigating role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnold De Loof
- Functional Genomics and Proteomics Group, Department of Biology, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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De Loof A, Schoofs L. Flip-Flopping Retinal in Microbial Rhodopsins as a Template for a Farnesyl/Prenyl Flip-Flop Model in Eukaryote GPCRs. Front Neurosci 2019; 13:465. [PMID: 31133794 PMCID: PMC6515946 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Thirty years after the first description and modeling of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), information about their mode of action is still limited. One of the questions that is hard to answer is: how do the allosteric changes in the GPCR induced by, e.g., ligand binding in the end activate a G protein-dependent intracellular pathway (e.g., via the cAMP or the phosphatidylinositol signal pathways). Another question relates to the role of prenylation of G proteins. Today's "consensus model" states that protein prenylation is required for the assembly of GPCR-G protein complexes. Although it is well-known that protein prenylation is the covalent addition of a farnesyl- or geranylgeranyl moiety to the C terminus of specific proteins, e.g., α or γ G protein, the reason for this strong covalent binding remains enigmatic. The arguments for a fundamental role for prenylation of G proteins other than just being a hydrophobic linker, are gradually accumulating. We uncovered a dilemma that at first glance may be considered physiologically irrelevant, however, it may cause a true change in paradigm. The consensus model suggests that the only functional role of prenylation is to link the G protein to the receptor. Does the isoprenoid nature of the prenyl group and its exact site of attachment somehow matter? Or, are there valid arguments favoring the alternative possibility that a key role of the G protein is to guide the covalently attached prenyl group to - and it hold it in - a very specific location in between specific helices of the receptor? Our model says that the farnesyl/prenyl group - aided by its covalent attachment to a G protein -might function in GPCRs as a horseshoe-shaped flexible (and perhaps flip-flopping) hydrophobic valve for restricting (though not fully inhibiting) the untimely passage of Ca2+, like retinal does for the passage of H+ in microbial rhodopsins that are ancestral to many GPCRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnold De Loof
- Functional Genomics and Proteomics Group, Department of Biology, Zoological Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Liliane Schoofs
- Functional Genomics and Proteomics Group, Department of Biology, Zoological Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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De Loof A, Schoofs L. Mode of Action of Farnesol, the "Noble Unknown" in Particular in Ca 2+ Homeostasis, and Its Juvenile Hormone-Esters in Evolutionary Retrospect. Front Neurosci 2019; 13:141. [PMID: 30858798 PMCID: PMC6397838 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Accepted: 02/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Farnesol, the sesquiterpenoid precursor of insect juvenile hormones (JH) that itself has JH activity, existed already long before animals and their hormones came into being. Although it is omnipresent in all eukaryotes, this molecule remains a "noble unknown" in cell physiology. It is neither documented as a hormone nor as another type of signaling molecule. To date, its function as an intermediate in the synthesis of squalene-cholesterol-steroids in chordates/vertebrates, and of the insect/arthropod JHs, esters of farnesol, in the mevalonate biosynthetic pathway is assumed to be the only one. This assumption neglects that already two decades ago, farnesol has been shown to be a potent endogenous inhibitor of N-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in some mammalian cell types. The tandem mevalonate pathway and Ca2+ channels originated early in eukaryotic evolution, and has since been well conserved, "promoting" it as a ubiquitous player in Ca2+ homeostasis in all eukaryotes. This paper accentuates how this drastic change in thinking gained momentum after the discovery by Paroulek and Sláma that the huge amounts of JH I in male accessory glands of the Cecropia moth, are actually synthesized in these glands themselves and not in the corpora allata, the hitherto assumed unique synthesis site of such compounds. In addition, MAG-JHs have no hormonal- but an exocrine function. Here we hypothesize that MAG-JHs may function in protecting the spermatozoa against toxic Ca2+ concentrations, and in enabling their flagellum to undulate. They may do so by acting through membrane receptors. Our novel paradigm assigns to farnesol/JHs a function of flexible hydrophobic molecular valves for restricting untimely Ca2+-passage through some types of canonical Ca2+channels, using covalently bound farnesyl- or geranyl-geranyl group attachment as well as GPCRs-G proteins all containing a prenyl group. The high rotatable bond count, and their horseshoe-shape are instrumental to their valve function. In our paradigm, Met/Tai and Gce, to date generally thought to be the (only) functional (nuclear) receptors for JHs, are classified as probable Ca2+-sensitive transcription factors. Some theoretical and practical considerations for possible applications in a medical context will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnold De Loof
- Functional Genomics and Proteomics Group, Department of Biology, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Liliane Schoofs
- Functional Genomics and Proteomics Group, Department of Biology, KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Baluška F, Reber A. Sentience and Consciousness in Single Cells: How the First Minds Emerged in Unicellular Species. Bioessays 2019; 41:e1800229. [PMID: 30714631 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201800229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
A reductionistic, bottom-up, cellular-based concept of the origins of sentience and consciousness has been put forward. Because all life is based on cells, any evolutionary theory of the emergence of sentience and consciousness must be grounded in mechanisms that take place in prokaryotes, the simplest unicellular species. It has been posited that subjective awareness is a fundamental property of cellular life. It emerges as an inherent feature of, and contemporaneously with, the very first life-forms. All other varieties of mentation are the result of evolutionary mechanisms based on this singular event. Therefore, all forms of sentience and consciousness evolve from this original instantiation in prokaryotes. It has also been identified that three cellular structures and mechanisms that likely play critical roles here are excitable membranes, oscillating cytoskeletal polymers, and structurally flexible proteins. Finally, basic biophysical principles are proposed to guide those processes that underly the emergence of supracellular sentience from cellular sentience in multicellular organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- František Baluška
- Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Arthur Reber
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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De Loof A, Schoofs L. Intraluminal Farnesol and Farnesal in the Mealworm's Alimentary Canal: An Unusual Storage Site Uncovering Hidden Eukaryote Ca 2+-Homeostasis-Dependent "Golgicrine" Activities. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2019; 10:885. [PMID: 31920991 PMCID: PMC6930878 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2019.00885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2019] [Accepted: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Farnesol, the sesquiterpenoid precursor of the six presently known insect juvenile hormones (JHs) was for the first time chemically identified in 1961, not in JH synthesizing glands or whole body extracts, but in excrements of the mealworm Tenebrio molitor. This finding was thought to be irrelevant and remained unexplored. In 1970, it was reported that the fall to zero of the JH titer in both prediapausing adults and in last instar larvae of the Colorado potato beetle causes severe malfunctioning of the Golgi system in the fat body, among various other effects. This endomembrane system in the cytoplasm resides at the intersection of the secretory, lysosomal, and endocytic pathways and is required for the processing of secretory proteins. Why the Golgi needs farnesol-like endogenous sesquiterpenoids (FLS) for its proper functioning has also never been further investigated. In 1999, farnesol was found to be a natural endogenous ligand for particular types of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in mammalian cells, a finding that also remained undervalued. Only since 2014 more attention has been paid to the functional research of the "noble unknown" farnesol, in particular to its Ca2+-homeostasis-related juvenilizing and anti-apoptotic activities. Here, we introduce the term "Golgicrine activity" that addresses the secretory activity of the RER-Golgi system from its role in Ca2+-homeostasis rather than from its conventional role in mere protein secretion. Golgicrine activity attributes the so far forgotten role of farnesol-like sesquiterpenoids in proper Golgi functioning, and unites the endocrine, exocrine and enterocrine functions of these sesquiterpenoids. This out of the box view may open novel perspectives for the better understanding of particular inflammatory bowel diseases and of neurodegenerative diseases as well, because the early initiation of Alzheimer's disease may possibly result from malfunctioning of the mevalonate-farnesol-cholesterol biosynthetic pathway and thus might be a farnesol- and Ca2+-homeostasis-dependent Golgicrine issue.
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Only two sex forms but multiple gender variants: How to explain? Commun Integr Biol 2018; 11:e1427399. [PMID: 29497472 PMCID: PMC5824932 DOI: 10.1080/19420889.2018.1427399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2017] [Accepted: 01/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Are sex and gender interchangeable terms? In classical biology, both are sometimes but not always used on an equal basis for some groups of animals. However, for our own species the Homo sapiens, they are not. A major question is why are there only two types of gametes (sperm- and egg cells), two types of sex steroids, (androgens and estrogens in vertebrates, and two types of ecdysteroids in insects), while the reproduction-related behaviour of the gamete producers displays a much greater variability than just two prominent forms, namely heterosexual males and heterosexual females? It indicates that in addition to a few sex-determining genes ( = the first pillar), other factors play a role. A second possible pillar is the still poorly understood cognitive memory system in which electrical phenomena and its association with the plasma membrane membrane-cytoskeletal complex of cells play a major role (learning, imitation and imprinting). This paper advances a third pillar, that hitherto has been almost completely ignored, namely the cellular Ca2+-homeostasis system, more specifically its sex-specific differences. Differential male-female genetics- and hormone-based Ca2+-homeostasis with effects on gender-related processes has been named Calcigender before. It will be argued that it follows from the principles of Ca2+- physiology and homeostasis that all individuals of a sexually reproducing animal population have a personalized gender behaviour. Thus, subdividing gender-behaviours in hetero-, homo-, bi-, trans- etc. which all result from a differential use of the very same basic physiological principles, is too primitive a system that may yield false sociological interpretations.
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