Chaperone-mediated autophagy dysregulation during aging impairs hepatic fatty acid oxidation via accumulation of NCoR1

The landscape of malignant transition: Unraveling cancer cell-of-origin and heterogeneous tissue microenvironment

Understanding disease progression and sophisticated tumor ecosystems is imperative for investigating tumorigenesis mechanisms and developing novel prevention strategies. Here, we dissected heterogeneous microenvironments during malignant transitions by leveraging data from 1396 samples spanning 13 major tissues. Within transitional stem-like subpopulations highly enriched in precancers and cancers, we identified 30 recurring cellular states strongly linked to malignancy, including hypoxia and epithelial senescence, revealing a high degree of plasticity in epithelial stem cells. By characterizing dynamics in stem-cell crosstalk with the microenvironment along the pseudotime axis, we found differential roles of ANXA1 at different stages of tumor development. In precancerous stages, reduced ANXA1 levels promoted monocyte differentiation toward M1 macrophages and inflammatory responses, whereas during malignant progression, upregulated ANXA1 fostered M2 macrophage polarization and cancer-associated fibroblast transformation by increasing TGF-β production. Our spatiotemporal analysis further provided insights into mechanisms responsible for immunosuppression and a potential target to control evolution of precancer and mitigate the risk for cancer development.

LAMP2A-mediated neuronal hyperexcitability by enhancing NKAβ1 degradation underlies depression-induced allodynia

Painful physical symptoms in major depressive disorder (MDD) patients lead to poor outcomes during MDD treatment. Here, we report that decreased Na+/K+-ATPase β1 subunit (NKAβ1) expression in anterior cingulate cortex glutamatergic (ACCGlu) neurons promotes ion dyshomeostasis, leading to hyperactivity of ACCGlu-insular cortex circuits in chronic stress mice. This ultimately primes allodynia. Mechanistically, we reveal that chronic stress strengthens LAMP2A-driven chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) and subsequently promotes the degradation of NKAβ1. We further identify NKAβ1 as a CMA substrate. Accordingly, genetically LAMP2A loss in ACCGlu neurons reverses chronic-stress-induced neuronal hyperexcitability, subsequently ameliorating allodynia. Additionally, we develop a trans-activating transcription (TAT)-LAMP2A peptide that significantly alleviates depression-induced allodynia. Taken together, our results reveal a mechanistic connection between CMA and neuronal excitability. TAT-LAMP2A peptide intervention, by disturbing CMA-dependent NKAβ1 elimination, could be a potential pharmacological treatment for depression-induced allodynia and further facilitate the efficacy of antidepressant treatment.

Impaired chaperone-mediated autophagy leads to abnormal SORT1 (sortilin 1) turnover and CES1-dependent triglyceride hydrolysis

SORT1 (sortilin 1), a member of the the Vps10 (vacuolar protein sorting 10) family, is involved in hepatic lipid metabolism by regulating very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) secretion and facilitating the lysosomal degradation of CES1 (carboxylesterase 1), crucial for triglyceride (TG) breakdown in the liver. This study explores whether SORT1 is targeted for degradation by chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA), a selective protein degradation pathway that directs proteins containing KFERQ-like motifs to lysosomes via LAMP2A (lysosomal-associated membrane protein 2A). Silencing LAMP2A or HSPA8/Hsc70 with siRNA increased cytosolic SORT1 protein levels. Leupeptin treatment induced lysosomal accumulation of SORT1, unaffected by siLAMP2A co-treatment, indicating CMA-dependent degradation. Human SORT1 contains five KFERQ-like motifs (658VVTKQ662, 730VREVK734, 733VKDLK737, 734KDLKK738, and 735DLKKK739), crucial for HSPA8 recognition; mutating any single amino acid within these motifs decreased HSPA8 binding. Furthermore, compromised CMA activity resulted in elevated SORT1-mediated degradation of CES1, contributing to increased lipid accumulation in hepatocytes. Consistent with in vitro findings, LAMP2A knockdown in mice exacerbated high-fructose diet-induced fatty liver, marked by increased SORT1 and decreased CES1 levels. Conversely, LAMP2A overexpression promoted SORT1 degradation and CES1D accumulation, counteracting fasting-induced CES1D suppression through CMA activation. Our findings reveal that SORT1 is a substrate of CMA, highlighting its crucial role in directing CES1 to lysosomes. Consequently, disrupting CMA-mediated SORT1 degradation significantly affects CES1-dependent TG hydrolysis, thereby affecting hepatic lipid homeostasis.Abbreviations: APOB: apolipoprotein B; CES1: carboxylesterase 1; CMA: chaperone-mediated autophagy; HSPA8/Hsc70: heat shock protein family A (Hsp70) member 8; LAMP2A: lysosomal associated membrane protein 2A; LDL-C: low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol; PLIN: perilipin; SORT1: sortilin 1; TG: triglyceride; VLDL: very low-density lipoprotein; Vps10: vacuolar protein sorting 10.

Single-cell Landscape of Malignant Transition: Unraveling Cancer Cell-of-Origin and Heterogeneous Tissue Microenvironment

Understanding disease progression and sophisticated tumor ecosystems is imperative for investigating tumorigenesis mechanisms and developing novel prevention strategies. Here, we dissected heterogeneous microenvironments during malignant transitions by leveraging data from 1396 samples spanning 13 major tissues. Within transitional stem-like subpopulations highly enriched in precancers and cancers, we identified 30 recurring cellular states strongly linked to malignancy, including hypoxia and epithelial senescence, revealing a high degree of plasticity in epithelial stem cells. By characterizing dynamics in stem-cell crosstalk with the microenvironment along the pseudotime axis, we found differential roles of ANXA1 at different stages of tumor development. In precancerous stages, reduced ANXA1 levels promoted monocyte differentiation toward M1 macrophages and inflammatory responses, whereas during malignant progression, upregulated ANXA1 fostered M2 macrophage polarization and cancer-associated fibroblast transformation by increasing TGF-β production. Our spatiotemporal analysis further provided insights into mechanisms responsible for immunosuppression and a potential target to control evolution of precancer and mitigate the risk for cancer development.

Lipid droplets, autophagy, and ageing: A cell-specific tale

Lipid droplets are the essential organelle for storing lipids in a cell. Within the variety of the human body, different cells store, utilize and release lipids in different ways, depending on their intrinsic function. However, these differences are not well characterized and, especially in the context of ageing, represent a key factor for cardiometabolic diseases. Whole body lipid homeostasis is a central interest in the field of cardiometabolic diseases. In this review we characterize lipid droplets and their utilization via autophagy and describe their diverse fate in three cells types central in cardiometabolic dysfunctions: adipocytes, hepatocytes, and macrophages.