C. elegans-based screen identifies lysosome-damaging alkaloids that induce STAT3-dependent lysosomal cell death

Lysosomes are degradation and signaling centers within the cell, and their dysfunction impairs a wide variety of cellular processes. To understand the cellular effect of lysosome damage, we screened natural small-molecule compounds that induce lysosomal abnormality using Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) as a model system. A group of vobasinyl-ibogan type bisindole alkaloids (ervachinines A-D) were identified that caused lysosome enlargement in C. elegans macrophage-like cells. Intriguingly, these compounds triggered cell death in the germ line independently of the canonical apoptosis pathway. In mammalian cells, ervachinines A-D induced lysosomal enlargement and damage, leading to leakage of cathepsin proteases, inhibition of autophagosome degradation and necrotic cell death. Further analysis revealed that this ervachinine-induced lysosome damage and lysosomal cell death depended on STAT3 signaling, but not RIP1 or RIP3 signaling. These findings suggest that lysosome-damaging compounds are promising reagents for dissecting signaling mechanisms underlying lysosome homeostasis and lysosome-related human disorders.

Lysosome: The Story Beyond the Storage

Abstract Since Christian de Duve first described the lysosome in the 1950s, it has been generally presented as a membrane-bound compartment containing acid hydrolases that enables the cell to degrade molecules without being digested by autolysis. For those working on the field of lysosomal storage disorders, the lack of one such hydrolase would lead to undegraded or partially degraded substrate storage inside engorged organelles disturbing cellular function by yet poorly explored mechanisms. However, in recent years, a much more complex scenario of lysosomal function has emerged, beyond and above the cellular "digestive" system. Knowledge on how the impairment of this organelle affects cell functioning may shed light on signs and symptoms of lysosomal disorders and open new roads for therapy.