Biology subjects

Igbaria, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Igbaria, A..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Chaperone Complexes From The Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) And The Cytosol Inhibit wt-p53 By Activation The ER To Cytosol Signaling.

The Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) is an essential sensing organelle responsible for the folding and secretion of almost one-third of eukaryotic cells total proteins. The ER contains numerous enzymes and chaperones which assist in oxidative protein folding and other posttranslational modifications. However, environmental, chemical, and genetic insults often lead to protein misfolding in the ER, accumulating misfolded proteins, altering homeostasis, and causing ER stress. Recently, we reported a novel ER surveillance mechanism by which proteins from the secretory pathway are refluxed to the cytosol to relieve the ER of its content during stress. In cancer cells, the refluxed proteins gain new pro-survival functions, thereby increasing cancer cell fitness. We termed this phenomenon ER to CYtosol Signaling (or "ERCY"). In yeast, ERCYS is regulated by HLJ1 (an ER-resident tail-anchored HSP40 cochaperone). Here, we found that in mammalian cells, HLJ1 has five putative orthologs possessing J-domains facing the cytosol. Among those, DNAJB12 and DNAJB14 appear to be the most significant. Mechanistically, we found that DNAJB12 and DNAJB14 bind the cytosolic HSC70 and its cochaperone - SGTA - through their cytosolically localized J-domains to facilitate ER-protein reflux to the cytosol. Moreover, we found that DNAJB12 is necessary and sufficient to drive this phenomenon to increase AGR2 reflux and inhibit wt-p53 during ER stress. Thus, we concluded that targeting the DNAJB12/14-HSC70/SGTA axis is a promising strategy to inhibit ERCYS and impair cancer cell fitness.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Reflux of Endoplasmic Reticulum proteins to the cytosol yields inactivation of tumor suppressors

In the past decades many studies reported Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) resident proteins to localize to the cytosol but the mechanisms by which this occurs and whether these proteins exert cytosolic functions remain unknown. We found that select ER luminal proteins accumulate in the cytosol of glioblastoma cells isolated from mouse and human tumors. In cultured cells ER protein reflux to the cytosol occurs upon proteostasis perturbation. As such we investigated whether refluxed proteins gain new functions in the cytosol thus providing advantage to tumor cells. Using the ER luminal protein AGR2 as a model, we showed that it is refluxed to the cytosol where it binds and inhibits the tumor suppressor p53. We named this phenomenon ER to Cytosol Signaling (ERCYS) as an ER surveillance mechanism conserved in Eukaryotes to relieve the ER from its contents upon stress and to provide selective advantage to tumor cells through gain-of-cytosolic functions.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Chaperone-Mediated Reflux of Secretory Proteins to the Cytosol During Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

Diverse perturbations to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) functions compromise the proper folding and structural maturation of secretory proteins. To study secretory pathway physiology during such \"ER stress\", we employed an ER-targeted, redox-responsive, green fluorescent protein--eroGFP--that reports on ambient changes in oxidizing potential. Here we find that diverse ER stress agents cause properly folded, ER-resident eroGFP (and other ER luminal proteins) to \"reflux\" back to the reducing environment of the cytosol as intact, folded proteins. By utilizing eroGFP in a comprehensive genetic screen in S. cerevisiae, we show that ER protein reflux during ER stress requires specific chaperones and co-chaperones residing in both the ER and the cytosol. Chaperone-mediated ER protein reflux does not require E3 ligase activity, and proceeds even more vigorously when these ER-associated degradation (ERAD) factors are crippled, suggesting that reflux may work in parallel with ERAD. In summary, chaperone-mediated ER-protein reflux may be a conserved protein quality control process that evolved to maintain secretory pathway homeostasis during ER protein-folding stress.\n\nSIGNIFICANCEApproximately one third of eukaryotic proteins are synthesized on ribosomes attached to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. Many of these polypeptides co- or post-translationally translocate into the ER, wherein they fold and mature. An ER quality-control system proofreads these proteins by facilitating their folding and modification, while eliminating misfolded proteins through ER-associated degradation (ERAD). Yet, the fate of many secretory proteins during ER stress is not completely understood. Here, we uncovered an ER-stress induced \"protein reflux\" system that delivers intact, folded ER luminal proteins back to the cytosol without degrading them. We found that ER protein reflux works in parallel to ERAD and requires distinct ER-resident and cytosolic chaperones and co-chaperones.

cell biology↗