Project description:Starvation induces liver autophagy, which is thought to provide nutrients for use by other organs and thereby maintain whole-body homeostasis. Here we demonstrate that O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) transferase (OGT) is required for glucagon-stimulated liver autophagy and metabolic adaptation to starvation. Genetic ablation of OGT in mouse livers reduces autophagic flux and the production of glucose and ketone bodies. Upon glucagon-induced calcium signaling, calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) phosphorylates OGT, which in turn promotes O-GlcNAc modification and activation of Ulk proteins by potentiating AMPK-dependent phosphorylation. These findings uncover a signaling cascade by which starvation promotes autophagy through OGT phosphorylation and establish the importance of O-GlcNAc signaling in coupling liver autophagy to nutrient homeostasis.
Project description:Kampo, a system of traditional Japanese therapy utilizing mixtures of herbal medicine, is widely accepted in the Japanese medical system. Kampo originated from traditional Chinese medicine, and was gradually adopted into a Japanese style. Although its effects on a variety of diseases are appreciated, the underlying mechanisms remain mostly unclear. Using a quantitative tf-LC3 system, we conducted a high-throughput screen of 128 kinds of Kampo to evaluate the effects on autophagy. The results revealed a suppressive effect of Shigyakusan/TJ-35 on autophagic activity. TJ-35 specifically suppressed dephosphorylation of ULK1 and TFEB, among several TORC1 substrates, in response to nutrient deprivation. TFEB was dephosphorylated by calcineurin in a Ca2+ dependent manner. Cytosolic Ca2+ concentration was increased in response to nutrient starvation, and TJ-35 suppressed this increase. Thus, TJ-35 prevents the starvation-induced Ca2+ increase, thereby suppressing induction of autophagy.
Project description:Autophagy is a key lysosomal degradative mechanism allowing a prosurvival response to stresses, especially nutrient starvation. Here we investigate the mechanism of autophagy induction in response to sulfur starvation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We found that sulfur deprivation leads to rapid and widespread transcriptional induction of autophagy-related (ATG) genes in ways not seen under nitrogen starvation. This distinctive response depends mainly on the transcription activator of sulfur metabolism Met4. Consistently, Met4 is essential for autophagy under sulfur starvation. Depletion of either cysteine, methionine or SAM induces autophagy flux. However, only SAM depletion can trigger strong transcriptional induction of ATG genes and a fully functional autophagic response. Furthermore, combined inactivation of Met4 and Atg1 causes a dramatic decrease in cell survival under sulfur starvation, highlighting the interplay between sulfur metabolism and autophagy to maintain cell viability. Thus, we describe a pathway of sulfur starvation-induced autophagy depending on Met4 and involving SAM as signaling sulfur metabolite.
Project description:Nutrient deprivation is a major trigger of autophagy, a conserved quality control and recycling process essential for cellular and tissue homeostasis. In a high-content image-based screen of the human ubiquitome, we here identify the E3 ligase Pellino 3 (PELI3) as a crucial regulator of starvation-induced autophagy. Mechanistically, PELI3 localizes to autophagic membranes, where it interacts with the ATG8 proteins through an LC3-interacting region (LIR). This facilitates PELI3-mediated ubiquitination of ULK1, driving ULK1's subsequent proteasomal degradation. PELI3 depletion leads to an aberrant accumulation and mislocalization of ULK1 and disrupts the early steps of autophagosome formation. Genetic deletion of Peli3 in mice impairs fasting-induced autophagy in the liver and enhances starvation-induced hepatic steatosis by reducing autophagy-mediated clearance of lipid droplets. Notably, PELI3 expression is decreased in the livers of patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), suggesting its role in hepatic steatosis development in humans. The findings suggest that PELI3-mediated control of autophagy plays a protective role in liver health.
Project description:Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) produce many cytokines including IFNβ, TNFα, and IL6, strongly inhibit DNA synthesis, but induce apoptosis of a small number of hepatocytes. In vivo administration of LPS (up to 10 mg/mL) causes modest inflammation and weight loss in rats but not mortality. We determined whether LPS-stimulated HSCs instigate mechanisms of hepatocyte survival. Rats received 10 mg/kg LPS (i.p.) and determinations were made at 6 h. In vitro, HSCs were treated with 100 ng/mL LPS till 24 h. The medium was transferred to hepatocytes, and determinations were made at 0-12 h. Controls were HSC-conditioned medium or medium-containing LPS. LPS treatment of rats caused autophagy in hepatocytes, a physiological process for clearance of undesirable material including injured or damaged organelles. This was accompanied by activation of c-Jun NH2 terminal kinase (JNK) and apoptosis of ~4-5% of hepatocytes. In vitro, LPS-conditioned HSC medium (LPS/HSC) induced autophagy in hepatocytes but apoptosis of only ~10% of hepatocytes. While LPS/HSC stimulated activation of JNK (associated with cell death), it also activated NFkB and ERK1/2 (associated with cell survival). LPS-stimulated HSCs produced IFNβ, and LPS/HSC-induced autophagy in hepatocytes and their apoptosis were significantly inhibited by anti-IFNβ antibody. Blockade of autophagy, on the other hand, strongly augmented hepatocyte apoptosis. While LPS-stimulated HSCs cause apoptosis of a subpopulation of hepatocytes by producing IFNβ, they also induce cell survival mechanisms, which may be of critical importance in resistance to liver injury during endotoxemia.
Project description:Lipid droplets (LDs) provide an "on-demand" source of fatty acids (FAs) that can be mobilized in response to fluctuations in nutrient abundance. Surprisingly, the amount of LDs increases during prolonged periods of nutrient deprivation. Why cells store FAs in LDs during an energy crisis is unknown. Our data demonstrate that mTORC1-regulated autophagy is necessary and sufficient for starvation-induced LD biogenesis. The ER-resident diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) selectively channels autophagy-liberated FAs into new, clustered LDs that are in close proximity to mitochondria and are lipolytically degraded. However, LDs are not required for FA delivery to mitochondria but instead function to prevent acylcarnitine accumulation and lipotoxic dysregulation of mitochondria. Our data support a model in which LDs provide a lipid buffering system that sequesters FAs released during the autophagic degradation of membranous organelles, reducing lipotoxicity. These findings reveal an unrecognized aspect of the cellular adaptive response to starvation, mediated by LDs.
Project description:IL-6, a pleiotropic cytokine, has been investigated for its role in regulating autophagy. Yet, its mechanism of action remains unclear. Here, we show that IL-6 exerted anti-autophagic effects on U937 cells through the STAT3 signaling pathway in vitro. The addition of IL-6 to starved U937 cells significantly activated the phosphorylation level of STAT3 (p-STAT3) at Tyr705 and reduced the protein levels of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 of type II (LC3-II) and Beclin 1. By immunoblotting, we also observed a positive correlation between the p-STAT3 level and Bcl-2 level. Furthermore, treatment with a STAT3 inhibitor, LLL12, or overexpression of a mutant form, STAT3Y705F, reversed the inhibitory effect of IL-6 on autophagy. Knockdown of Beclin 1 or Atg14 by siRNA and over-expression of Beclin 1 indicated the involvement of class III PI3K complex in IL-6-mediated inhibition of autophagy. Taken together, these data indicate that IL-6 inhibits starvation-induced autophagy and that p-STAT3 mediates the signal transduction from IL-6 to downstream proteins including Bcl-2 and Beclin1.
Project description:Starvation causes the accumulation of lipid droplets in the liver, a somewhat counterintuitive phenomenon that is nevertheless conserved from flies to humans. Much like fatty liver resulting from overfeeding, hepatic lipid accumulation (steatosis) during undernourishment can lead to lipotoxicity and atrophy of the liver. Here, we found that although surface populations of Astyanax mexicanus undergo this evolutionarily conserved response to starvation, the starvation-resistant cavefish larvae of the same species do not display an accumulation of lipid droplets upon starvation. Moreover, cavefish are resistant to liver atrophy during starvation, providing a unique system to explore strategies for liver protection. Using comparative transcriptomics between zebrafish, surface fish, and cavefish, we identified the fatty acid transporter slc27a2a/fatp2 to be correlated with the development of fatty liver. Pharmacological inhibition of slc27a2a in zebrafish rescues steatosis and atrophy of the liver upon starvation. Furthermore, down-regulation of FATP2 in Drosophila larvae inhibits the development of starvation-induced steatosis, suggesting the evolutionarily conserved importance of the gene in regulating fatty liver upon nutrition deprivation. Overall, our study identifies a conserved, druggable target to protect the liver from atrophy during starvation.
Project description:Starvation causes the accumulation of lipid droplets in the liver, a somewhat counterintuitive phenomenon that is nevertheless conserved from flies to humans. Much like fatty liver resulting from overfeeding, hepatic lipid accumulation (steatosis) during undernourishment can lead to lipotoxicity and atrophy of the liver. Here, we found that while surface populations of Astyanax mexicanus undergo this evolutionarily conserved response to starvation, the starvation-resistant cavefish larvae of the same species do not display an accumulation of lipid droplets upon starvation. Moreover, cavefish are resistant to liver atrophy during starvation, providing a unique system to explore strategies for liver protection. Using comparative transcriptomics between zebrafish, surface fish, and cavefish, we identified the fatty acid transporter slc27a2a/fatp2 to be correlated with the development of fatty liver. Pharmacological inhibition of slc27a2a in zebrafish rescues steatosis and atrophy of the liver upon starvation. Further, down-regulation of FATP2 in drosophila larvae inhibits the development of starvation-induced steatosis, suggesting the evolutionary conserved importance of the gene in regulating fatty liver upon nutrition deprivation. Overall, our study identifies a conserved, druggable target to protect the liver from atrophy during starvation.
Project description:Autophagy is an intracellular degradation system activated, across species, by starvation. Although accumulating evidence has shown that mammalian autophagy is involved in pathogenesis of several modern diseases, its physiological role to combat starvation has not been fully clarified. In this study, we analysed starvation-induced gluconeogenesis and ketogenesis in mouse strains lacking autophagy in liver, skeletal muscle or kidney. Autophagy-deficiency in any tissue had no effect on gluconeogenesis during starvation. Though skeletal muscle- and kidney-specific autophagy-deficiency did not alter starvation-induced increases in blood ketone levels, liver-specific autophagy-deficiency significantly attenuated this effect. Interestingly, renal as well as hepatic expression of HMG-CoA synthase 2 increased with prolonged starvation. Furthermore, during starvation, mice lacking autophagy both in liver and kidney showed even lower blood ketone levels and physical activity than mice lacking autophagy only in liver. Starvation induced massive lipid droplet formation in extra-adipose tissues including liver and kidney, which was essential for ketogenesis. Moreover, this process was impaired in the autophagy-deficient liver and kidney. These findings demonstrate that hepatic and renal autophagy are essential for starvation-induced lipid droplet formation and subsequent ketogenesis and, ultimately, for maintaining systemic energy homeostasis. Our findings provide novel biological insights into adaptive mechanisms to combat starvation in mammals.