scholarly journals The Atg2-Atg18 complex tethers pre-autophagosomal membranes to the endoplasmic reticulum for autophagosome formation

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (41) ◽  
pp. 10363-10368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuya Kotani ◽  
Hiromi Kirisako ◽  
Michiko Koizumi ◽  
Yoshinori Ohsumi ◽  
Hitoshi Nakatogawa

The biogenesis of double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes, which sequester and transport intracellular material for degradation in lysosomes or vacuoles, is a central event in autophagy. This process requires a unique set of factors called autophagy-related (Atg) proteins. The Atg proteins assemble to organize the preautophagosomal structure (PAS), at which a cup-shaped membrane, the isolation membrane (or phagophore), forms and expands to become the autophagosome. The molecular mechanism of autophagosome biogenesis remains poorly understood. Previous studies have shown that Atg2 forms a complex with the phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P)-binding protein Atg18 and localizes to the PAS to initiate autophagosome biogenesis; however, the molecular function of Atg2 remains unknown. In this study, we show that Atg2 has two membrane-binding domains in the N- and C-terminal regions and acts as a membrane tether during autophagosome formation in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. An amphipathic helix in the C-terminal region binds to membranes and facilitates Atg18 binding to PI3P to target the Atg2-Atg18 complex to the PAS. The N-terminal region of Atg2 is also involved in the membrane binding of this protein but is dispensable for the PAS targeting of the Atg2-Atg18 complex. Our data suggest that this region associates with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and is responsible for the formation of the isolation membrane at the PAS. Based on these results, we propose that the Atg2-Atg18 complex tethers the PAS to the ER to initiate membrane expansion during autophagosome formation.

2008 ◽  
Vol 182 (4) ◽  
pp. 685-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth L. Axe ◽  
Simon A. Walker ◽  
Maria Manifava ◽  
Priya Chandra ◽  
H. Llewelyn Roderick ◽  
...  

Autophagy is the engulfment of cytosol and organelles by double-membrane vesicles termed autophagosomes. Autophagosome formation is known to require phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI(3)P) and occurs near the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), but the exact mechanisms are unknown. We show that double FYVE domain–containing protein 1, a PI(3)P-binding protein with unusual localization on ER and Golgi membranes, translocates in response to amino acid starvation to a punctate compartment partially colocalized with autophagosomal proteins. Translocation is dependent on Vps34 and beclin function. Other PI(3)P-binding probes targeted to the ER show the same starvation-induced translocation that is dependent on PI(3)P formation and recognition. Live imaging experiments show that this punctate compartment forms near Vps34-containing vesicles, is in dynamic equilibrium with the ER, and provides a membrane platform for accumulation of autophagosomal proteins, expansion of autophagosomal membranes, and emergence of fully formed autophagosomes. This PI(3)P-enriched compartment may be involved in autophagosome biogenesis. Its dynamic relationship with the ER is consistent with the idea that the ER may provide important components for autophagosome formation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 3350-3355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sho W. Suzuki ◽  
Hayashi Yamamoto ◽  
Yu Oikawa ◽  
Chika Kondo-Kakuta ◽  
Yayoi Kimura ◽  
...  

During autophagosome formation, autophagosome-related (Atg) proteins are recruited hierarchically to organize the preautophagosomal structure (PAS). Atg13, which plays a central role in the initial step of PAS formation, consists of two structural regions, the N-terminal HORMA (from Hop1, Rev7, and Mad2) domain and the C-terminal disordered region. The C-terminal disordered region of Atg13, which contains the binding sites for Atg1 and Atg17, is essential for the initiation step in which the Atg1 complex is formed to serve as a scaffold for the PAS. The N-terminal HORMA domain of Atg13 is also essential for autophagy, but its molecular function has not been established. In this study, we searched for interaction partners of the Atg13 HORMA domain and found that it binds Atg9, a multispanning membrane protein that exists on specific cytoplasmic vesicles (Atg9 vesicles). After the Atg1 complex is formed, Atg9 vesicles are recruited to the PAS and become part of the autophagosomal membrane. HORMA domain mutants, which are unable to interact with Atg9, impaired the PAS localization of Atg9 vesicles and exhibited severe defects in starvation-induced autophagy. Thus, Atg9 vesicles are recruited to the PAS via the interaction with the Atg13 HORMA domain. Based on these findings, we propose that the two distinct regions of Atg13 play crucial roles in distinct steps of autophagosome formation: In the first step, Atg13 forms a scaffold for the PAS via its C-terminal disordered region, and subsequently it recruits Atg9 vesicles via its N-terminal HORMA domain.


eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shintaro Maeda ◽  
Chinatsu Otomo ◽  
Takanori Otomo

An enigmatic step in de novo formation of the autophagosome membrane compartment is the expansion of the precursor membrane phagophore, which requires the acquisition of lipids to serve as building blocks. Autophagy-related 2 (ATG2), the rod-shaped protein that tethers phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P)-enriched phagophores to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), is suggested to be essential for phagophore expansion, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that human ATG2A is a lipid transfer protein. ATG2A can extract lipids from membrane vesicles and unload them to other vesicles. Lipid transfer by ATG2A is more efficient between tethered vesicles than between untethered vesicles. The PI3P effectors WIPI4 and WIPI1 associate ATG2A stably to PI3P-containing vesicles, thereby facilitating ATG2A-mediated tethering and lipid transfer between PI3P-containing vesicles and PI3P-free vesicles. Based on these results, we propose that ATG2-mediated transfer of lipids from the ER to the phagophore enables phagophore expansion.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shintaro Maeda ◽  
Chinatsu Otomo ◽  
Takanori Otomo

AbstractAn enigmatic step in de novo formation of the autophagosome membrane compartment is the expansion of the precursor membrane phagophore, which requires the acquisition of lipids to serve as building blocks. Autophagy-related 2 (ATG2), the rod-shaped protein that tethers phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P)-enriched phagophores to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), is suggested to be essential for phagophore expansion, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that human ATG2A is a lipid-transferring protein. ATG2A can extract lipids from membrane vesicles and unload them to other vesicles. Lipid transfer by ATG2A is more efficient between its tethered vesicles than between untethered vesicles. The PI3P effectors WIPI4 and WIPI1 associate ATG2A stably to PI3P-containing vesicles, thereby facilitating ATG2A-mediated tethering and lipid transfer between PI3P-containing vesicles and PI3P-free vesicles. Based on these results, we propose that ATG2-mediated transfer of lipids from the ER to the phagophore enables phagophore expansion.


2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 1414-1417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon G. Pfisterer ◽  
Daniela Bakula ◽  
Alice Cezanne ◽  
Horst Robenek ◽  
Tassula Proikas-Cezanne

Macroautophagy (autophagy hereafter) is an evolutionarily highly conserved catabolic process activated by eukaryotes in order to counteract cellular starvation. Autophagy leads to bulk degradation of cytoplasmic content in the lysosomal compartment, thereby clearing the cytoplasm and generating nutrients and energy. Upon autophagy initiation, cytoplasmic material becomes sequestered in newly formed double-membrane vesicles termed ‘autophagosomes’ that subsequently acquire acidic hydrolases for content destruction. The de novo biogenesis of autophagosomes often occurs at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and, in many cases, in close proximity to lipid droplets (LDs), intracellular neutral lipid storage reservoirs. LDs are targets of autophagic destruction, but have recently also been shown to contribute to autophagosome formation. In fact, some autophagy-related (Atg) proteins, such as microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3), Atg2 and Atg14L, functionally contribute to both LD and autophagosome biogenesis. In the present paper, we discuss Atg proteins, including members of the human WD-repeat protein interacting with phosphoinositides (WIPI) family that co-localize prominently with LC3, Atg2 and Atg14L to conceivably integrate LD and autophagosome dynamics.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (17) ◽  
pp. 3647-3653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junling Zhao ◽  
Kasun Kodippili ◽  
Yongping Yue ◽  
Chady H. Hakim ◽  
Lakmini Wasala ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Kazuaki Matoba ◽  
Nobuo N Noda

Summary Autophagy, which is an evolutionarily conserved intracellular degradation system, involves de novo generation of autophagosomes that sequester and deliver diverse cytoplasmic materials to the lysosome for degradation. Autophagosome formation is mediated by approximately 20 core autophagy-related (Atg) proteins, which collaborate to mediate complicated membrane dynamics during autophagy. To elucidate the molecular functions of these Atg proteins in autophagosome formation, many researchers have tried to determine the structures of Atg proteins by using various structural biological methods. Although not sufficient, the basic structural catalog of all core Atg proteins was established. In this review article, we summarize structural biological studies of core Atg proteins, with an emphasis on recently unveiled structures, and describe the mechanistic breakthroughs in autophagy research that have derived from new structural information.


2013 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 39-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hitoshi Nakatogawa

In autophagy, the autophagosome, a transient organelle specialized for the sequestration and lysosomal or vacuolar transport of cellular constituents, is formed via unique membrane dynamics. This process requires concerted actions of a distinctive set of proteins named Atg (autophagy-related). Atg proteins include two ubiquitin-like proteins, Atg12 and Atg8 [LC3 (light-chain 3) and GABARAP (γ-aminobutyric acid receptor-associated protein) in mammals]. Sequential reactions by the E1 enzyme Atg7 and the E2 enzyme Atg10 conjugate Atg12 to the lysine residue in Atg5, and the resulting Atg12–Atg5 conjugate forms a complex with Atg16. On the other hand, Atg8 is first processed at the C-terminus by Atg4, which is related to ubiquitin-processing/deconjugating enzymes. Atg8 is then activated by Atg7 (shared with Atg12) and, via the E2 enzyme Atg3, finally conjugated to the amino group of the lipid PE (phosphatidylethanolamine). The Atg12–Atg5–Atg16 complex acts as an E3 enzyme for the conjugation reaction of Atg8; it enhances the E2 activity of Atg3 and specifies the site of Atg8–PE production to be autophagy-related membranes. Atg8–PE is suggested to be involved in autophagosome formation at multiple steps, including membrane expansion and closure. Moreover, Atg4 cleaves Atg8–PE to liberate Atg8 from membranes for reuse, and this reaction can also regulate autophagosome formation. Thus these two ubiquitin-like systems are intimately involved in driving the biogenesis of the autophagosomal membrane.


2007 ◽  
Vol 282 (46) ◽  
pp. 33859-33867 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Haugstetter ◽  
Michael Andreas Maurer ◽  
Thomas Blicher ◽  
Martin Pagac ◽  
Gerhard Wider ◽  
...  

Disulfide bond formation in the endoplasmic reticulum is catalyzed by enzymes of the protein disulfide-isomerase family that harbor one or more thioredoxin-like domains. We recently discovered the transmembrane protein TMX3, a thiol-disulfide oxidoreductase of the protein disulfide-isomerase family. Here, we show that the endoplasmic reticulum-luminal region of TMX3 contains three thioredoxin-like domains, an N-terminal redox-active domain (named a) followed by two enzymatically inactive domains (b and b′). Using the recombinantly expressed TMX3 domain constructs a, ab, and abb′, we compared structural stability and enzymatic properties. By structural and biophysical methods, we demonstrate that the reduced a domain has features typical of a globular folded domain that is, however, greatly destabilized upon oxidization. Importantly, interdomain stabilization by the b domain renders the a domain more resistant toward chemical denaturation and proteolysis in both the oxidized and reduced form. In combination with molecular modeling studies of TMX3 abb′, the experimental results provide a new understanding of the relationship between the multidomain structure of TMX3 and its function as a redox enzyme. Overall, the data indicate that in addition to their role as substrate and co-factor binding domains, redox-inactive thioredoxin-like domains also function in stabilizing neighboring redox-active domains.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document