bims-nocaut 2022-07-24 papers

Issue of 2022–07–24
three papers selected by
Quentin Frenger, University of Strasbourg

Acta Pharm Sin B. 2022 Apr;12(4): 1688-1706

Pharmacological modulation of autophagy for Alzheimer's disease therapy: Opportunities and obstacles.

Zhiqiang Deng, Yu Dong, Xiaoting Zhou, Jia-Hong Lu, Zhenyu Yue.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prevalent and deleterious neurodegenerative disorder characterized by an irreversible and progressive impairment of cognitive abilities as well as the formation of amyloid β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the brain. By far, the precise mechanisms of AD are not fully understood and no interventions are available to effectively slow down progression of the disease. Autophagy is a conserved degradation pathway that is crucial to maintain cellular homeostasis by targeting damaged organelles, pathogens, and disease-prone protein aggregates to lysosome for degradation. Emerging evidence suggests dysfunctional autophagy clearance pathway as a potential cellular mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of AD in affected neurons. Here we summarize the current evidence for autophagy dysfunction in the pathophysiology of AD and discuss the role of autophagy in the regulation of AD-related protein degradation and neuroinflammation in neurons and glial cells. Finally, we review the autophagy modulators reported in the treatment of AD models and discuss the obstacles and opportunities for potential clinical application of the novel autophagy activators for AD therapy.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Autophagy; Autophagy modulators; Genetic modulation; LC3-associated phagocytosis; Microglial autophagy; Neuroinflammation; Neuronal autophagy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2021.12.009

PLoS Pathog. 2022 Jul 20. 18(7): e1010736

TBK1 is part of a galectin 8 dependent membrane damage recognition complex and drives autophagy upon Adenovirus endosomal escape.

Noémie Pied, Coralie F Daussy, Zoé Denis, Jessica Ragues, Muriel Faure, Richard Iggo, Mario P Tschan, Benoit Roger, Fabienne Rayne, Harald Wodrich.

Intracellular pathogens cause membrane distortion and damage as they enter host cells. Cells perceive these membrane alterations as danger signals and respond by activating autophagy. This response has primarily been studied during bacterial invasion, and only rarely in viral infections. Here, we investigate the cellular response to membrane damage during adenoviral entry. Adenoviruses and their vector derivatives, that are an important vaccine platform against SARS-CoV-2, enter the host cell by endocytosis followed by lysis of the endosomal membrane. We previously showed that cells mount a locally confined autophagy response at the site of endosomal membrane lysis. Here we describe the mechanism of autophagy induction: endosomal membrane damage activates the kinase TBK1 that accumulates in its phosphorylated form at the penetration site. Activation and recruitment of TBK1 require detection of membrane damage by galectin 8 but occur independently of classical autophagy receptors or functional autophagy. Instead, TBK1 itself promotes subsequent autophagy that adenoviruses need to take control of. Depletion of TBK1 reduces LC3 lipidation during adenovirus infection and restores the infectivity of an adenovirus mutant that is restricted by autophagy. By comparing adenovirus-induced membrane damage to sterile lysosomal damage, we implicate TBK1 in the response to a broader range of types of membrane damage. Our study thus highlights an important role for TBK1 in the cellular response to adenoviral endosome penetration and places TBK1 early in the pathway leading to autophagy in response to membrane damage.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1010736

Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2022 ;12 892610

Interaction Between Autophagy and Porphyromonas gingivalis-Induced Inflammation.

Sen Kang, Anna Dai, Huiming Wang, Pei-Hui Ding.

Autophagy is an immune homeostasis process induced by multiple intracellular and extracellular signals. Inflammation is a protective response to harmful stimuli such as pathogen microbial infection and body tissue damage. Porphyromonas gingivalis infection elicits both autophagy and inflammation, and dysregulation of autophagy and inflammation promotes pathology. This review focuses on the interaction between autophagy and inflammation caused by Porphyromonas gingivalis infection, aiming to elaborate on the possible mechanism involved in the interaction.

Keywords: Porphyromonas gingivalis; autophagy; inflammation; macroautophagy; xenophagy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2022.892610