Phosphatidate phosphatase,a key regulator of lipid homeostasis

Yeast Pah1p phosphatidate phosphatase (PAP) catalyzes the penultimate step in the synthesis of triacylglycerol. PAP plays a crucial role in lipid homeostasis by controlling the relative proportions of its substrate phosphatidate and its product diacylglycerol. The cellular amounts of these lipid intermediates influence the synthesis of triacylglycerol and the pathways by which membrane phospholipids are synthesized. Physiological functions affected by PAP activity include phospholipid synthesis gene expression, nuclear/endoplasmic reticulum membrane growth, lipid droplet formation, and vacuole homeostasis and fusion. Yeast lacking Pah1p PAP activity are acutely sensitive to fatty acid-induced toxicity and exhibit respiratory deficiency. PAP is distinguished in its cellular location, catalytic mechanism, and physiological functions from Dpp1p and Lpp1p lipid phosphate phosphatases that utilize a variety of substrates that include phosphatidate. Phosphorylation/dephosphorylation is a major mechanism by which Pah1p PAP activity is regulated. Pah1p is phosphorylated by cytosolic-associated Pho85p–Pho80p, Cdc28p-cyclin B, and protein kinase A and is dephosphorylated by the endoplasmic reticulum-associated Nem1p–Spo7p phosphatase. The dephosphorylation of Pah1p stimulates PAP activity and facilitates the association with the membrane/phosphatidate allowing for its reaction and triacylglycerol synthesis. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Phospholipids and Phospholipid Metabolism.     

Substrate specificity,plasma membrane localization,and lipid modification of the aldehyde dehydrogenase ALDH3B1

The accumulation of reactive aldehydes is implicated in the development of several disorders. Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) detoxify aldehydes by oxidizing them to the corresponding carboxylic acids. Among the 19 human ALDHs, ALDH3A2 is the only known ALDH that catalyzes the oxidation of long-chain fatty aldehydes including C16 aldehydes (hexadecanal and trans-2-hexadecenal) generated through sphingolipid metabolism. In the present study, we have identified that ALDH3B1 is also active in vitro toward C16 aldehydes and demonstrated that overexpression of ALDH3B1 restores the sphingolipid metabolism in the ALDH3A2-deficient cells. In addition, we have determined that ALDH3B1 is localized in the plasma membrane through its C-terminal dual lipidation (palmitoylation and prenylation) and shown that the prenylation is required particularly for the activity toward hexadecanal. Since knockdown of ALDH3B1 does not cause further impairment of the sphingolipid metabolism in the ALDH3A2-deficient cells, the likely physiological function of ALDH3B1 is to oxidize lipid-derived aldehydes generated in the plasma membrane and not to be involved in the sphingolipid metabolism in the endoplasmic reticulum.     

Surfactant phospholipid metabolism

Pulmonary surfactant is essential for life and is composed of a complex lipoprotein-like mixture that lines the inner surface of the lung to prevent alveolar collapse at the end of expiration. The molecular composition of surfactant depends on highly integrated and regulated processes involving its biosynthesis, remodeling, degradation, and intracellular trafficking. Despite its multicomponent composition, the study of surfactant phospholipid metabolism has focused on two predominant components, disaturated phosphatidylcholine that confers surface-tension lowering activities, and phosphatidylglycerol, recently implicated in innate immune defense. Future studies providing a better understanding of the molecular control and physiological relevance of minor surfactant lipid components are needed. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Phospholipids and Phospholipid Metabolism.     

Arv1 Regulates PM and ER Membrane Structure and Homeostasis But is Dispensable for Intracellular Sterol Transport

The pan‐eukaryotic endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane protein Arv1 has been suggested to play a role in intracellular sterol transport. We tested this proposal by comparing sterol traffic in wild‐type and Arv1‐deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We used fluorescence microscopy to track the retrograde movement of exogenously supplied dehydroergosterol (DHE) from the plasma membrane (PM) to the ER and lipid droplets and high performance liquid chromatography to quantify, in parallel, the transport‐coupled formation of DHE esters. Metabolic labeling and subcellular fractionation were used to assay anterograde transport of ergosterol from the ER to the PM. We report that sterol transport between the ER and PM is unaffected by Arv1 deficiency. Instead, our results indicate differences in ER morphology and the organization of the PM lipid bilayer between wild‐type and arv1Δ cells suggesting a distinct role for Arv1 in membrane homeostasis. In arv1Δ cells, specific defects affecting single C‐terminal transmembrane domain proteins suggest that Arv1 might regulate membrane insertion of tail‐anchored proteins involved in membrane homoeostasis .     

Protein tyrosine phosphatase PTP1B in cell adhesion and migration

Cell migration requires a highly coordinated interplay between specialized plasma membrane adhesion complexes and the cytoskeleton. Protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation modifications regulate many aspects of the integrin-cytoskeleton interdependence, including their coupling, dynamics, and organization to support cell movement. The endoplasmic reticulum-bound protein tyrosine phosphatase PTP1B has been implicated as a regulator of cell adhesion and migration. Recent results from our laboratory shed light on potential mechanisms, such as Src/FAK signaling through Rho GTPases and integrin-cytoskeletal coupling.     

The plant-unique cis-element that mediates signaling from multiple endoplasmic reticulum stress sensors

The accumulation of unfolded proteins in the ER lumen induces intracellular signaling mediated by the ER stress sensor protein IRE1. Our recent study identified a new common cis-element of ER stress-responsive genes (such as rice BiP paralogs and WRKY45) that were regulated via an IRE1-dependent pathway. ER stress-responsive cis-elements had been expected to be conserved between plants and mammals. However, contrary to expectations, sequences of the plant cis-element, pUPRE-II, were not identical to those of its mammalian counterpart. Additionally, pUPRE-II also interacted with another ER stress sensor protein and mediated multiple signaling pathways. Here, we provide a summary of the results that suggest the complicated mechanism underlying the regulation of ER stress-responsive gene expression in plants.     

Autophagy plays a protective role in endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated pancreatic β cell death

There is a growing evidence of the role of autophagy in pancreatic β cell homeostasis. During development of type 2 diabetes, β cells are required to supply the increased demand of insulin. In such a stage, β cells have to address high ER stress conditions that could lead to abnormal insulin secretion, and ultimately, β cell death and overt diabetes. In this study, we used insulin secretion-deficient β cells derived from fetal mice. These cells present an increased accumulation of polyubiquitinated protein aggregates and LC3B-positive puncta, when compared with insulinoma-derived β cell lines. We found that insulin secretion deficiency renders these cells hypersensitive to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated cell death. Chemical or shRNA-mediated inhibition of autophagy increased β cell death under ER stress. On the other hand, rapamycin treatment increased both autophagy and cell survival under ER stress. Insulin secretion-deficient β cells showed a marked reduction of the antiapoptotic protein BCL2, together with increased BAX expression and ERN1 hyperactivation upon ER stress induction. These results showed how insulin secretion deficiency in β cells may be contributing to ER stress-mediated cell death, and in this regard, we showed how the autophagic response plays a prosurvival role.