Maturing autophagosomes are transported towards the cell periphery

Abstract Autophagosome maturation comprises fusion with lysosomes and acidification. It is a critical step in the degradation of cytosolic protein aggregates that characterize many neurodegenerative diseases. In order to better understand this process, we studied intracellular trafficking of autophagosomes and aggregates of α-synuclein, which characterize Parkinson’s disease and other synucleinopathies. The autophagosomal marker LC3 and the aggregation prone A53T mutant of α-synuclein were tagged by fluorescent proteins and expressed in HEK293T cells and primary astrocytes. The subcellular distribution and movement of these vesicle populations were analyzed by (time-lapse) microscopy. Fusion with lysosomes was assayed using the lysosomal marker LAMP1; vesicles with neutral and acidic luminal pH were discriminated using the RFP-GFP “tandem fluorescence” tag. With respect to vesicle pH, we observed that neutral autophagosomes, marked by LC3 or synuclein, were located more frequently in the cell center, and acidic autophagosomes were observed more frequently in the cell periphery. Acidic autophagosomes were transported towards the cell periphery more often, indicating that acidification occurs in the cell center before transport to the periphery. With respect to autolysosomal fusion, we found that lysosomes preferentially moved towards the cell center whereas autolysosomes moved towards the cell periphery, suggesting a cycle where lysosomes are generated in the periphery and fuse to autophagosomes in the cell center. Unexpectedly, many acidic autophagosomes were negative for LAMP1, indicating that acidification does not require fusion to lysosomes. Moreover, we found both neutral and acidic vesicles positive for LAMP1, consistent with delayed acidification of the autolysosome lumen. Individual steps of aggregate clearance thus occur in dedicated cellular regions. During aggregate clearance, autophagosomes and autolysosomes form in the center and are transported towards the periphery during maturation. In this process, luminal pH could regulate the direction of vesicle transport.

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Maturing Autophagosomes are Transported Towards the Cell Periphery

Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology ◽

10.1007/s10571-021-01116-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anna Hilverling ◽

Eva M. Szegö ◽

Elisabeth Dinter ◽

Diana Cozma ◽

Theodora Saridaki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intracellular Trafficking ◽

Fluorescent Proteins ◽

Time Lapse ◽

Cell Periphery ◽

Microtubule Organizing Center ◽

Time Lapse Microscopy ◽

Organizing Center ◽

Acidic Vesicles ◽

Luminal Ph ◽

Autophagosome Maturation

AbstractAutophagosome maturation comprises fusion with lysosomes and acidification. It is a critical step in the degradation of cytosolic protein aggregates that characterize many neurodegenerative diseases. In order to better understand this process, we studied intracellular trafficking of autophagosomes and aggregates of α-synuclein, which characterize Parkinson’s disease and other synucleinopathies. The autophagosomal marker LC3 and the aggregation prone A53T mutant of α-synuclein were tagged by fluorescent proteins and expressed in HEK293T cells and primary astrocytes. The subcellular distribution and movement of these vesicle populations were analyzed by (time-lapse) microscopy. Fusion with lysosomes was assayed using the lysosomal marker LAMP1; vesicles with neutral and acidic luminal pH were discriminated using the RFP-GFP “tandem-fluorescence” tag. With respect to vesicle pH, we observed that neutral autophagosomes, marked by LC3 or synuclein, were located more frequently in the cell center, and acidic autophagosomes were observed more frequently in the cell periphery. Acidic autophagosomes were transported towards the cell periphery more often, indicating that acidification occurs in the cell center before transport to the periphery. With respect to autolysosomal fusion, we found that lysosomes preferentially moved towards the cell center, whereas autolysosomes moved towards the cell periphery, suggesting a cycle where lysosomes are generated in the periphery and fuse to autophagosomes in the cell center. Unexpectedly, many acidic autophagosomes were negative for LAMP1, indicating that acidification does not require fusion to lysosomes. Moreover, we found both neutral and acidic vesicles positive for LAMP1, consistent with delayed acidification of the autolysosome lumen. Individual steps of aggregate clearance thus occur in dedicated cellular regions. During aggregate clearance, autophagosomes and autolysosomes form in the center and are transported towards the periphery during maturation. In this process, luminal pH could regulate the direction of vesicle transport. Graphic Abstract (1) Transport and location of autophagosomes depend on luminal pH: Acidic autophagosomes are preferentially transported to the cell periphery, causing more acidic autophagosomes in the cell periphery and more neutral autophagosomes at the microtubule organizing center (MTOC). (2) Autolysosomes are transported to the cell periphery and lysosomes to the MTOC, suggesting spatial segregation of lysosome reformation and autolysosome fusion. (3) Synuclein aggregates are preferentially located at the MTOC and synuclein-containing vesicles in the cell periphery, consistent with transport of aggregates to the MTOC for autophagy.

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The Marginal Microtubule Coil in the Resting Blood Platelet Is a Dynamic Bipolar Array.

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v106.11.1653.1653 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 106 (11) ◽

pp. 1653-1653 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Joseph E. Italiano ◽

Jennifer L. Richardson ◽

Harald Schulze ◽

Ksenija Drabek ◽

Chloe Bulinski ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Platelet Activation ◽

Immunofluorescence Microscopy ◽

Blood Platelet ◽

Time Lapse ◽

Microtubule Dynamics ◽

Cell Periphery ◽

Structural Studies ◽

Time Lapse Microscopy ◽

Marginal Band ◽

Tyrosinated Tubulin

Abstract The discoid shape of the resting blood platelet is maintained by its marginal microtubule band. Structural studies have concluded that this band is composed of a single microtubule coiled 8-12 times around the cell periphery. To understand the dynamics of the microtubule coil, we took advantage of EB1 and EB3, proteins that highlight the ends of growing microtubules. Immunofluorescence microscopy with anti-EB1 revealed clear staining of numerous (8.7 +/− 2.0, range 4–12) comet-like dashes in the microtubule coil, suggesting the presence of several microtubule plus ends. Consistent with this observation, rhodamine-tubulin added to permeabilized platelets incorporates at multiple (7.9 +/−1.9) points throughout the microtubule coil. To visualize microtubule dynamics in platelets, we retrovirally directed megakaryocytes to express the microtubule plus-end marker EB3-GFP and isolated platelets released in these cultures. Fluorescence time-lapse microscopy of EB3-GFP-expressing resting platelets revealed multiple microtubule plus ends that grew in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. Antibodies that recognize tyrosinated tubulin, which preferentially label newly assembled microtubules and not stable microtubules, stain the microtubule coil. These results indicate that resting platelets contain a bipolar array of microtubules that undergoes continuous assembly. When EB3-GFP-expressing platelets are activated with thrombin, the number of polymerizing microtubules increases dramatically and the microtubules grow into filopodia. Collectively, these results suggest that the marginal band of the resting blood platelet is highly dynamic, bipolar, and contains multiple microtubule plus ends. These ends are amplified in platelet activation and point towards the active edges of the cells and the tips of filopodia.

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Depalmitoylated Ras traffics to and from the Golgi complex via a nonvesicular pathway

The Journal of Cell Biology ◽

10.1083/jcb.200502063 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 170 (2) ◽

pp. 261-272 ◽

Cited By ~ 209

Author(s):

J. Shawn Goodwin ◽

Kimberly R. Drake ◽

Carl Rogers ◽

Latasha Wright ◽

Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Surface ◽

Golgi Complex ◽

Intracellular Trafficking ◽

Time Course ◽

Time Lapse ◽

Ras Signaling ◽

Wild Type ◽

Time Lapse Microscopy ◽

Golgi Membranes ◽

Rapid Exchange

Palmitoylation is postulated to regulate Ras signaling by modulating its intracellular trafficking and membrane microenvironment. The mechanisms by which palmitoylation contributes to these events are poorly understood. Here, we show that dynamic turnover of palmitate regulates the intracellular trafficking of HRas and NRas to and from the Golgi complex by shifting the protein between vesicular and nonvesicular modes of transport. A combination of time-lapse microscopy and photobleaching techniques reveal that in the absence of palmitoylation, GFP-tagged HRas and NRas undergo rapid exchange between the cytosol and ER/Golgi membranes, and that wild-type GFP-HRas and GFP-NRas are recycled to the Golgi complex by a nonvesicular mechanism. Our findings support a model where palmitoylation kinetically traps Ras on membranes, enabling the protein to undergo vesicular transport. We propose that a cycle of depalmitoylation and repalmitoylation regulates the time course and sites of Ras signaling by allowing the protein to be released from the cell surface and rapidly redistributed to intracellular membranes.

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Microscopy quantification of microbial birth and death dynamics

10.1101/324269 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Samuel F. M. Hart ◽

David Skelding ◽

Adam J. Waite ◽

Justin Burton ◽

Li Xie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fluorescent Proteins ◽

Time Lapse ◽

Microbial Evolution ◽

Cell Counting ◽

Live Cells ◽

Nutrient Concentrations ◽

Death Rates ◽

Time Lapse Microscopy ◽

Wide Range ◽

Total Fluorescence

AbstractMicrobes live in dynamic environments where nutrient concentrations fluctuate. Quantifying fitness (birth and death) in a wide range of environments is critical for understanding microbial evolution as well as ecological interactions where one species alters the fitness of another. Here, using high-throughput time-lapse microscopy, we have quantified howSaccharomyces cerevisiaemutants incapable of synthesizing an essential metabolite grow or die in various concentrations of the required metabolite. We establish that cells normally expressing fluorescent proteins lose fluorescence upon death and that the total fluorescence in an imaging frame is proportional to the number of live cells even when cells form multiple layers. We validate our microscopy approach of measuring birth and death rates using flow cytometry, cell counting, and chemostat culturing. For lysine-requiring cells, very low concentrations of lysine are not detectably consumed and do not support cell birth, but delay the onset of death phase and reduce the death rate. In contrast, in low hypoxanthine, hypoxanthine-requiring cells can produce new cells, yet also die faster than in the absence of hypoxanthine. For both strains, birth rates under various metabolite concentrations are better described by the sigmoidal-shaped Moser model than the well-known Monod model, while death rates depend on the metabolite concentration and can vary with time. Our work reveals how time-lapse microscopy can be used to discover non-intuitive microbial dynamics and to quantify growth rates in many environments.

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Experience of using time-lapse microscopy in IVF and ICSI programs

Medical alphabet ◽

10.33667/2078-5631-2020-16-47-50 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 47-50

Author(s):

N. V. Saraeva ◽

N. V. Spiridonova ◽

M. T. Tugushev ◽

O. V. Shurygina ◽

A. I. Sinitsyna

Keyword(s):

Pregnancy Rate ◽

Embryo Transfer ◽

Selection Procedure ◽

Time Lapse ◽

Single Embryo Transfer ◽

Main Group ◽

Clinical Pregnancy ◽

Control Group ◽

Time Lapse Microscopy

In order to increase the pregnancy rate in the assisted reproductive technology, the selection of one embryo with the highest implantation potential it is very important. Time-lapse microscopy (TLM) is a tool for selecting quality embryos for transfer. This study aimed to assess the benefits of single-embryo transfer of autologous oocytes performed on day 5 of embryo incubation in a TLM-equipped system in IVF and ICSI programs. Single-embryo transfer following incubation in a TLM-equipped incubator was performed in 282 patients, who formed the main group; the control group consisted of 461 patients undergoing single-embryo transfer following a traditional culture and embryo selection procedure. We assessed the quality of transferred embryos, the rates of clinical pregnancy and delivery. The groups did not differ in the ratio of IVF and ICSI cycles, average age, and infertility factor. The proportion of excellent quality embryos for transfer was 77.0% in the main group and 65.1% in the control group (p = 0.001). In the subgroup with receiving eight and less oocytes we noted the tendency of receiving more quality embryos in the main group (р = 0.052). In the subgroup of nine and more oocytes the quality of the transferred embryos did not differ between two groups. The clinical pregnancy rate was 60.2% in the main group and 52.9% in the control group (p = 0.057). The delivery rate was 45.0% in the main group and 39.9% in the control group (p > 0.050).

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