Vesicular Trafficking Defects, Developmental Abnormalities, and Alterations in the Cellular Death Process Occur in Cell Lines that Over-Express Dictyostelium GTPase, Rab2, and Rab2 Mutants

Drosophila Rab2 controls endosome-lysosome fusion and LAMP delivery to late endosomes

Rab2 is a conserved Rab GTPase with a well-established role in secretory pathway function and phagocytosis. Here we demonstrate that Drosophila Rab2 is recruited to late endosomal membranes, where it controls the fusion of LAMP-containing biosynthetic carriers and lysosomes to late endosomes. In contrast, the lysosomal GTPase Gie/Arl8 is only required for late endosome-lysosome fusion, but not for the delivery of LAMP to the endocytic pathway. We also find that Rab2 is required for the fusion of autophagosomes to the endolysosomal pathway, but not for the biogenesis of lysosome-related organelles. Surprisingly, Rab2 does not rely on HOPS-mediated vesicular fusion for recruitment to late endosomal membranes. Our work suggests that Drosophila Rab2 is a central regulator of the endolysosomal and macroautophagic/autophagic pathways by controlling the major heterotypic fusion processes at the late endosome.

The Effect of Overexpressed DdRabS on Development, Cell Death, Vesicular Trafficking, and the Secretion of Lysosomal Glycosidase Enzymes

Rab GTPases are essential regulators of many cellular processes and play an important role in downstream signaling vital to proper cell function. We sought to elucidate the role of novel D. discoideum GTPase RabS. Cell lines over-expressing DdRabS and expressing DdRabS N137I (dominant negative (DN)) proteins were generated, and it was determined that DdRabS localized to endosomes, ER-Golgi membranes, and the contractile vacuole system. It appeared to function in vesicular trafficking, and the secretion of lysosomal enzymes. Interestingly, microscopic analysis of GFP-tagged DdRabS (DN) cells showed differential localization to lysosomes and endosomes compared to GFP-tagged DdRabS overexpressing cells. Both cell lines over-secreted lysosomal glycosidase enzymes, especially β-glucosidase. Furthermore, DdRabS overexpressing cells were defective in aggregation due to decreased cell–cell cohesion and sensitivity to cAMP, leading to abnormal chemotactic migration, the inability to complete development, and increased induced cell death. These data support a role for DdRabS in trafficking along the vesicular and biosynthetic pathways. We hypothesize that overexpression of DdRabS may interfere with GTP activation of related proteins essential for normal development resulting in a cascade of defects throughout these processes.

Role of inositol polyphosphates in programed cell death in Dictyostelium discoideum and its developmental life cycle

Programed cell death or apoptosis is a key developmental process that maintains tissue homeostasis in multicellular organisms. Inositol polyphosphates (InsPs) are key signaling molecules known to regulate a variety of cellular processes including apoptosis in such organisms. The signaling role of InsPs in unicellular organisms such as Dictyostelium discoideum (D. discoideum) is not well understood. We investigated whether InsPs also play any role in apoptosis in D. discoideum and whether InsPs-mediated apoptosis follows a mechanism similar to that present in higher multicellular eukaryotes. We measured known apoptotic markers in response to exogenously administered InsP₆, the major InsPs in the cell. We found that InsP₆ was able to cause cell death in D. discoideum cell culture in a dose- and time-dependent manner as determined by cytotoxicity assays. Fluorescence staining with acridine orange/ethidium bromide and flow cytometry results confirmed that the cell death in D. discoideum by InsP₆ was due to apoptotic changes. Poly(ADP-ribose) expression, a known apoptotic marker used in D. discoideum, was also increased following InsP₆ treatment suggesting a role for InsP₆-mediated apoptosis in this organism. InsP₆-mediated cell death was accompanied by production of reactive oxygen species and a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. Additionally, we studied the effects of InsP₆ on the developmental life cycle of D. discoideum, the process likely affected by apoptosis. In conclusion, our studies provide evidence that InsP₆-mediated cell death process is conserved in D. discoideum and plays an important signaling role in its developmental life cycle.