Proteolytic activation of fatty acid synthase signals pan-stress resolution.

Chronic stress and inflammation are both outcomes and major drivers of many human diseases. Sustained responsiveness despite mitigation suggests a failure to sense resolution of the stressor. Here we show that a proteolytic cleavage event of fatty acid synthase (FASN) activates a global cue for stress resolution in Caenorhabditis elegans. FASN is well established for biosynthesis of the fatty acid palmitate. Our results demonstrate FASN promoting an anti-inflammatory profile apart from palmitate synthesis. Redox-dependent proteolysis of limited amounts of FASN by caspase activates a C-terminal fragment sufficient to downregulate multiple aspects of stress responsiveness, including gene expression, metabolic programs and lipid droplets. The FASN C-terminal fragment signals stress resolution in a cell non-autonomous manner. Consistent with these findings, FASN processing is also seen in well-fed but not fasted male mouse liver. As downregulation of stress responses is critical to health, our findings provide a potential pathway to control diverse aspects of stress responses.

Modulating p38 MAPK signaling by proteostasis mechanisms supports tissue integrity during growth and aging.

The conserved p38 MAPK family is activated by phosphorylation during stress responses and inactivated by phosphatases. C. elegans PMK-1 p38 MAPK initiates innate immune responses and blocks development when hyperactivated. Here we show that PMK-1 signaling is enhanced during early aging by modulating the stoichiometry of non-phospho-PMK-1 to promote tissue integrity and longevity. Loss of pmk-1 function accelerates progressive declines in neuronal integrity and lysosome function compromising longevity which has both cell autonomous and cell non-autonomous contributions. CED-3 caspase cleavage limits phosphorylated PMK-1. Enhancing p38 signaling with caspase cleavage-resistant PMK-1 protects lysosomal and neuronal integrity extending a youthful phase. PMK-1 works through a complex transcriptional program to regulate lysosome formation. During early aging, the absolute phospho-p38 amount is maintained but the reservoir of non-phospho-p38 diminishes to enhance signaling without hyperactivation. Our findings show that modulating the stoichiometry of non-phospho-p38 dynamically supports tissue-homeostasis during aging without hyper-activation of stress response.

Non-Canonical Caspase Activity Antagonizes p38 MAPK Stress-Priming Function to Support Development.

Recent studies have revealed non-canonical activities of apoptotic caspases involving specific modulation of gene expression, such as limiting asymmetric divisions of stem-like cell types. Here we report that CED-3 caspase negatively regulates an epidermal p38 stress-responsive MAPK pathway to promote larval development in C. elegans. We show that PMK-1 (p38 MAPK) primes animals for encounters with hostile environments at the expense of retarding post-embryonic development. CED-3 counters this function by directly cleaving PMK-1 to promote development. Moreover, we found that CED-3 and PMK-1 oppose each other to balance developmental and stress-responsive gene expression programs. Specifically, expression of more than 300 genes is inversely regulated by CED-3 and PMK-1. Analyses of these genes showed enrichment for epidermal stress-responsive factors, including the fatty acid synthase FASN-1, anti-microbial peptides, and genes involved in lethargus states. Our findings demonstrate a non-canonical role for a caspase in promoting development by limiting epidermal stress response programs.

Coupled Caspase and N-End Rule Ligase Activities Allow Recognition and Degradation of Pluripotency Factor LIN-28 during Non-Apoptotic Development.

Recent findings suggest that components of the classical cell death machinery also have important non-cell-death (non-apoptotic) functions in flies, nematodes, and mammals. However, the mechanisms for non-canonical caspase substrate recognition and proteolysis, and the direct roles for caspases in gene expression regulation, remain largely unclear. Here we report that CED-3 caspase and the Arg/N-end rule pathway cooperate to inactivate the LIN-28 pluripotency factor in seam cells, a stem-like cell type in Caenorhabditis elegans, thereby ensuring proper temporal cell fate patterning. Importantly, the caspase and the E3 ligase execute this function in a non-additive manner. We show that CED-3 caspase and the E3 ubiquitin ligase UBR-1 form a complex that couples their in vivo activities, allowing for recognition and rapid degradation of LIN-28 and thus facilitating a switch in developmental programs. The interdependence of these proteolytic activities provides a paradigm for non-apoptotic caspase-mediated protein inactivation.

CED-3 caspase acts with miRNAs to regulate non-apoptotic gene expression dynamics for robust development in C. elegans.

Genetic redundancy and pleiotropism have limited the discovery of functions associated with miRNAs and other regulatory mechanisms. To overcome this, we performed an enhancer screen for developmental defects caused by compromising both global miRISC function and individual genes in Caenorhabditis elegans. Among 126 interactors with miRNAs, we surprisingly found the CED-3 caspase that has only been well studied for its role in promoting apoptosis, mostly through protein activation. We provide evidence for a non-apoptotic function of CED-3 caspase that regulates multiple developmental events through proteolytic inactivation. Specifically, LIN-14, LIN-28, and DISL-2 proteins are known miRNA targets, key regulators of developmental timing, and/or stem cell pluripotency factors involved in miRNA processing. We show CED-3 cleaves these proteins in vitro. We also show CED-3 down-regulates LIN-28 in vivo, possibly rendering it more susceptible to proteasomal degradation. This mechanism may critically contribute to the robustness of gene expression dynamics governing proper developmental control.

Several conserved positively charged amino acids in OATP1B1 are involved in binding or translocation of different substrates.

OATP1B1 and 1B3 are related transporters mediating uptake of numerous compounds into hepatocytes. A putative model of OATP1B3 with a "positive binding pocket" containing conserved positively charged amino acids was predicted (Meier-Abt et al. J Membr Biol 208:213-227, 2005). Based on this model, we tested the hypothesis that these positive amino acids are important for OATP1B1 function. We made mutants and measured surface expression and uptake of estradiol-17ß-glucuronide, estrone-3-sulfate and bromosulfophthalein in HEK293 cells. Two of the mutants had low surface expression levels: R181K at 10% and R580A at 30% of wild-type OATP1B1. A lysine at position 580 (R580K) rescued the expression of R580A. Mutations of several amino acids resulted in substrate-dependent effects. The largest changes were seen for estradiol-17ß-glucuronide, while estrone-3-sulfate and bromosulfophthalein transport were less affected. The wild-type OATP1B1 K (m) value for estradiol-17ß-glucuronide of 5.35 ± 0.54 µM was increased by R57A to 30.5 ± 3.64 µM and decreased by R580K to 0.52 ± 0.18 µM. For estrone-3-sulfate the wild-type high-affinity K (m) value of 0.55 ± 0.12 µM was increased by K361R to 1.8 ± 0.47 µM and decreased by R580K to 0.1 ± 0.04 µM. In addition, R580K reduced the V (max) values for all three substrates to <25% of wild-type OATP1B1. Mutations at intracellular K90, H92 and R93 mainly affected V (max) values for estradiol-17ß-glucuronide uptake. In conclusion, the conserved amino acids R57, K361 and R580 seem to be part of the substrate binding sites and/or translocation pathways in OATP1B1.

Roles of rat renal organic anion transporters in transporting perfluorinated carboxylates with different chain lengths.

Perfluorinated carboxylates (PFCAs) are generally stable to metabolic and environmental degradation and have been found at low concentrations in environmental and biological samples. Renal clearance of PFCAs depends on chain length, species, and, in some cases, gender within species. While perfluoroheptanoate (C7) is almost completely eliminated renally in both male and female rats, renal clearance of perfluorooctanoate (C8) and perfluorononanoate (C9) is much higher in female rats. Perfluorodecanoate (C10) mainly accumulates in the liver for both genders. Therefore, we tested whether PFCAs with different chain lengths are substrates of rat renal transporters with gender-specific expression patterns. Inhibition of uptake of model substrates was measured for the basolateral organic anion transporter (Oat)1 and Oat3 and the apical Oat2, organic anion transporting polypeptide (Oatp)1a1, and Urat1 with 10microM PFCAs with chain lengths from 2 to 18 (C2-C18) carbons. Perfluorohexanoate (C6), C7, and C8 inhibited Oat1-mediated p-aminohippurate transport, with C7 being the strongest inhibitor. C8 and C9 were the strongest inhibitors for Oat3-mediated estrone-3-sulfate transport, while Oatp1a1-mediated estradiol-17beta-glucuronide uptake was inhibited by C9, C10, and perflouroundecanoate (C11), with C10 giving the strongest inhibition. No strong inhibitors were found for Oat2 or Urat1. Kinetic analysis was performed for the strongest inhibitors. Oat1 transported C7 and C8 with K(m) values of 50.5 and 43.2microM, respectively. Oat3 transported C8 and C9 with K(m) values of 65.7 and 174.5microM, respectively. Oatp1a1-mediated transport yielded K(m) values of 126.4 (C8), 20.5 (C9), and 28.5microM (C10). These results suggest that Oat1 and Oat3 are involved in renal secretion of C7-C9, while Oatp1a1 can contribute to the reabsorption of C8 through C10, with highest affinities for C9 and C10.