Endocytosis and autophagy represent fundamental processes that are essential to the health of many cell types, including hepatocytes. Previous studies from our groups and others have identified cross-talk between endocytosis and autophagy: 1) specific compartments are shared between them;2) both contribute to cellular proteolysis and 3) both pathways require regulated trafficking of vesicles that interact in a dynamic manner, undergoing fission and fusion as part of their maturation process. Based on prior findings, we propose that dysfunction of the endocytic or autophagic trafficking pathways can have deleterious effects on normal liver function and contribute to the pathogenesis of hepatic disorders. The overall goal of this proposal is to characterize at the molecular level the functional interaction between the endocytic and the autophagic pathways and their contribution to cellular homeostasis. To this end we will: 1) mechanistically define vesicle- associated protein complexes that regulate motor recruitment and activity required for endocytic/autophagic vesicle processing by fission and fusion;2) determine the consequences of changes in membrane lipid composition on the interactions between endocytic and autophagic pathways and 3) characterize quantitatively the functional interplay between endocytosis and autophagy. We will use chemical and genetic manipulations in cultured hepatocyte cell lines and in rat and mouse liver combined with biochemical and morphological approaches to answer these questions. The complementary expertise of the two co-PIs, Dr. Allan Wolkoff (endocytosis and liver pathophysiology) and Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo (autophagy and cell biology) greatly enhances their ability to discover interactions between the endocytic and the autophagic pathways in liver and to study the consequences that failure in one of these pathways has on the other. The major significance of the proposed studies resides in the fact that alterations in endocytosis and autophagy have been observed in human diseases that include protein conformational disorders (e.g. alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency), cancer, metabolic disorders (e.g. diabetes, obesity) and infectious and immune diseases. However, incomplete knowledge regarding details of endocytosis and autophagy limits development of mechanism-based therapeutics. Successful completion of these studies will ultimately provide the tools needed to identify novel therapeutic targets to restore normal liver function or perhaps slow the functional decline associated with common liver disorders resulting from dysfunction of the endosome/lysosome system.

Public Health Relevance

This application was developed to elucidate major unknown mechanistic aspects of endocytosis and autophagy, fundamental yet complex processes essential to the health of liver cells. Successful completion of the proposed studies could provide novel therapeutic targets to restore normal liver function or perhaps slow the functional decline associated with common liver disorders.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DK098408-02
Application #
8633455
Study Section
Hepatobiliary Pathophysiology Study Section (HBPP)
Program Officer
Serrano, Jose
Project Start
2013-04-01
Project End
2017-03-31
Budget Start
2014-04-01
Budget End
2015-03-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
City
Bronx
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10461
Tekirdag, Kumsal; Cuervo, Ana Maria (2018) Chaperone-mediated autophagy and endosomal microautophagy: Joint by a chaperone. J Biol Chem 293:5414-5424
Kaushik, Susmita; Cuervo, Ana Maria (2018) The coming of age of chaperone-mediated autophagy. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 19:365-381
Amengual, Jaume; Guo, Liang; Strong, Alanna et al. (2018) Autophagy Is Required for Sortilin-Mediated Degradation of Apolipoprotein B100. Circ Res 122:568-582
Bejarano, Eloy; Murray, John W; Wang, Xintao et al. (2018) Defective recruitment of motor proteins to autophagic compartments contributes to autophagic failure in aging. Aging Cell :e12777
Gong, Zhenwei; Tasset, Inmaculada; Diaz, Antonio et al. (2018) Humanin is an endogenous activator of chaperone-mediated autophagy. J Cell Biol 217:635-647
Gomes, Luciana R; Menck, Carlos F M; Cuervo, Ana Maria (2017) Chaperone-mediated autophagy prevents cellular transformation by regulating MYC proteasomal degradation. Autophagy 13:928-940
Wijetunga, N A; Pascual, M; Tozour, J et al. (2017) A pre-neoplastic epigenetic field defect in HCV-infected liver at transcription factor binding sites and polycomb targets. Oncogene 36:2030-2044
Kaushik, Susmita; Cuervo, Ana Maria (2016) AMPK-dependent phosphorylation of lipid droplet protein PLIN2 triggers its degradation by CMA. Autophagy 12:432-8
Pampliega, Olatz; Cuervo, Ana Maria (2016) Autophagy and primary cilia: dual interplay. Curr Opin Cell Biol 39:1-7
Tasset, Inmaculada; Cuervo, Ana Maria (2016) Role of chaperone-mediated autophagy in metabolism. FEBS J 283:2403-13

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