Clionamines stimulate autophagy, inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis survival in macrophages, and target Pik1.

The pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) evades the innate immune system by interfering with autophagy and phagosomal maturation in macrophages, and, as a result, small molecule stimulation of autophagy represents a host-directed therapeutics (HDTs) approach for treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Here we show the marine natural product clionamines activate autophagy and inhibit Mtb survival in macrophages. A yeast chemical-genetics approach identified Pik1 as target protein of the clionamines.

A scalable Drosophila assay for clinical interpretation of human PTEN variants in suppression of PI3K/AKT induced cellular proliferation.

Gene variant discovery is becoming routine, but it remains difficult to usefully interpret the functional consequence or disease relevance of most variants. To fill this interpretation gap, experimental assays of variant function are becoming common place. Yet, it remains challenging to make these assays reproducible, scalable to high numbers of variants, and capable of assessing defined gene-disease mechanism for clinical interpretation aligned to the ClinGen Sequence Variant Interpretation (SVI) Working Group guidelines for 'well-established assays'.

MAPS: machine-assisted phenotype scoring enables rapid functional assessment of genetic variants by high-content microscopy.

Background: Genetic testing is widely used in evaluating a patient's predisposition to hereditary diseases. In the case of cancer, when a functionally impactful mutation (i.e.

Regulation of the early stages of endoplasmic reticulum inheritance during ER stress.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is one of the largest cytoplasmic organelles in eukaryotic cells and plays a role in many cellular processes, such as the production and quality control of secretory protein, lipid synthesis, and calcium homeostasis. The ER cannot be generated , and thus its proper inheritance during cell division is paramount to the health and survival of the daughter cells. Although previous work has uncovered the cytoskeletal components involved, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of the intricate steps of and the cytoplasmic and membrane-bound components involved in ER inheritance.

Sentinel interaction mapping - a generic approach for the functional analysis of human disease gene variants using yeast.

Advances in sequencing technology have led to an explosion in the number of known genetic variants of human genes. A major challenge is to now determine which of these variants contribute to diseases as a result of their effect on gene function. Here, we describe a generic approach using the yeast to quickly develop gene-specific assays that can be used to quantify the level of function of a genetic variant.

A Premalignant Cell-Based Model for Functionalization and Classification of Variants.

As sequencing becomes more economical, we are identifying sequence variations in the population faster than ever. For disease-associated genes, it is imperative that we differentiate a sequence variant as either benign or pathogenic, such that the appropriate therapeutic interventions or surveillance can be implemented. is a frequently mutated tumor suppressor that has been linked to the PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome.

Transfer of the Septin Ring to Cytokinetic Remnants in ER Stress Directs Age-Sensitive Cell-Cycle Re-entry.

During cell division, the inheritance of a functional endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is ensured by the endoplasmic reticulum stress surveillance (ERSU) pathway. Activation of ERSU causes the septin ring to mislocalize, which blocks ER inheritance and cytokinesis. Here, we uncover that the septin ring in fact translocates to previously utilized cell division sites called cytokinetic remnants (CRMs).

Mechanisms of PTPσ-Mediated Presynaptic Differentiation.

Formation of synapses between neurons depends in part on binding between axonal and dendritic cell surface synaptic organizing proteins, which recruit components of the developing presynaptic and postsynaptic specializations. One of these presynaptic organizing molecules is protein tyrosine phosphatase σ (PTPσ). Although the protein domains involved in adhesion between PTPσ and its postsynaptic binding partners are known, the mechanisms by which it signals into the presynaptic neuron to recruit synaptic vesicles and other necessary components for regulated transmitter release are not well understood.

Nursing the Follicles.

In a recent issue of Science, Lei and Spradling (2016) uncover how germ cells differentiate into oocytes in mouse embryos. Mouse germ cells form cysts, in which sister cells nurse the developing oocyte by donating their organelles and cytoplasmic materials.

A conserved endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein complex (EMC) facilitates phospholipid transfer from the ER to mitochondria.

Mitochondrial membrane biogenesis and lipid metabolism require phospholipid transfer from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to mitochondria. Transfer is thought to occur at regions of close contact of these organelles and to be nonvesicular, but the mechanism is not known. Here we used a novel genetic screen in S.

Polarization of the endoplasmic reticulum by ER-septin tethering.

Polarization of the plasma membrane (PM) into domains is an important mechanism to compartmentalize cellular activities and to establish cell polarity. Polarization requires formation of diffusion barriers that prevent mixing of proteins between domains. Recent studies have uncovered that the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of budding yeast and neurons is polarized by diffusion barriers, which in neurons controls glutamate signaling in dendritic spines.

Barriers to uniformity within the endoplasmic reticulum.

Differentiating the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) into different physical domains may help the ER spatially regulate its many functions. For example, ER sheets are highly decorated with ribosomes for protein synthesis, whereas tubules usually correspond to smooth ER. Hence, ER morphology may play direct roles in functional diversification within the ER.

Plasma membrane--endoplasmic reticulum contact sites regulate phosphatidylcholine synthesis.

Synthesis of phospholipids, sterols and sphingolipids is thought to occur at contact sites between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and other organelles because many lipid-synthesizing enzymes are enriched in these contacts. In only a few cases have the enzymes been localized to contacts in vivo and in no instances have the contacts been demonstrated to be required for enzyme function. Here, we show that plasma membrane (PM)--ER contact sites in yeast are required for phosphatidylcholine synthesis and regulate the activity of the phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase enzyme, Opi3.

Phosphatidic acid is a pH biosensor that links membrane biogenesis to metabolism.

Recognition of lipids by proteins is important for their targeting and activation in many signaling pathways, but the mechanisms that regulate such interactions are largely unknown. Here, we found that binding of proteins to the ubiquitous signaling lipid phosphatidic acid (PA) depended on intracellular pH and the protonation state of its phosphate headgroup. In yeast, a rapid decrease in intracellular pH in response to glucose starvation regulated binding of PA to a transcription factor, Opi1, that coordinately repressed phospholipid metabolic genes.

Identification of protein complexes with quantitative proteomics in S. cerevisiae.

Lipids are the building blocks of cellular membranes that function as barriers and in compartmentalization of cellular processes, and recently, as important intracellular signalling molecules. However, unlike proteins, lipids are small hydrophobic molecules that traffic primarily by poorly described nonvesicular routes, which are hypothesized to occur at membrane contact sites (MCSs). MCSs are regions where the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) makes direct physical contact with a partnering organelle, e.

A high-throughput method to globally study the organelle morphology in S. cerevisiae.

High-throughput methods to examine protein localization or organelle morphology is an effective tool for studying protein interactions and can help achieve an comprehensive understanding of molecular pathways. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with the development of the non-essential gene deletion array, we can globally study the morphology of different organelles like the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the mitochondria using GFP (or variant)-markers in different gene backgrounds. However, incorporating GFP markers in each single mutant individually is a labor-intensive process.