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Bei der Teilung einer Zelle werden das Genom und die Zellbestandteile zwischen zwei Tochterzellen aufgeteilt. Dies erfordert verschiedene fein aufeinander abgestimmte Vorgänge. Unter anderem ist eine proteinreiche Struktur beteiligt, die 1891 entdeckt wurde: der Mittelkörper. In vorliegender Arbeit wurden gezielt gekennzeichnete Mittelkörperproteine analysiert und verschiedene Phasen des Transports unterschieden. Es erfolgten erstmals Messungen unter Nutzung der ZF1-Methode. Zudem wird anhand der ZF1-Technik nachgewiesen, dass im Rahmen der Zellteilung die Trennung der interzellulären Brücke zu beiden Seiten des Mittelkörpers stattfindet, woraufhin dieser nach extrazellulär abgegeben wird und über einen der Phagozytose ähnlichen und von Aktin abhängigen Mechanismus von einer Tochterzelle oder unverwandten Nachbarzelle aufgenommen wird.
Protein kinase D1 deletion in adipocytes enhances energy dissipation and protects against adiposity
(2019)
Adaptation to alterations in nutrient availability ensures the survival of organisms. In vertebrates, adipocytes play a decisive role in this process due to their ability to store large amounts of excess nutrients and release them in times of food deprivation. In todays western world, a rather unlimited excess of nutrients leads to high-caloric food consumption in humans. Nutrient overload together with a decreased energy dissipation result in obesity as well as associated diseases such as insulin resistance, diabetes, and liver steatosis. Obesity causes a hormonal imbalance, which in combination with altered nutrient levels can aberrantly activate G-protein coupled receptors utilizing diacylglycerol (DAG) as secondary messenger. Protein kinase D (PKD) 1 is a DAG effector integrating multiple hormonal and nutritional inputs. Nevertheless, its physiological role in adipocytes has not been investigated so far. In this thesis, evidence is provided that the deletion of PKD1 in adipocytes suppresses lipogenesis as well as the accumulation of triglycerides. Furthermore, PKD1 depletion results in increased mitochondrial biogenesis as well as decoupling activity. Moreover, PKD1 deletion promotes the expression of the β3-adrenergic receptor (ADRB3) in a CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP)-α and δ-dependent manner. This results in elevated expression levels of beige markers in adipocytes in the presence of a β-agonist. Contrarily, adipocytes expressing a constitutive active form of PKD1 present a reversed phenotype. Additionally, PKD1 regulates adipocyte metabolism in an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-dependent manner by suppressing its activity through phosphorylation of AMPK α1/α2 subunits. Thus, PKD1 deletion results in an enhanced activity of the AMPK complex. Consistent with the in vitro findings, mice lacking PKD1 in adipocytes demonstrate a resistance to high-fat diet-induced obesity due to an elevated energy expenditure caused by trans-differentiation of white into beige adipocytes. Moreover, deletion of PKD1 in murine adipocytes improves systemic insulin sensitivity and ameliorates liver steatosis. Finally, PKD1 levels positively correlate with HOMA-IR as well as insulin levels in human subjects. Furthermore, inhibition of PKD1 in human adipocytes leads to metabolic alterations, which are comparable to the alterations seen in their murine counterparts. Taken together, these data demonstrate that PKD1 suppresses energy dissipation, drives lipogenesis, and adiposity. Therefore, increased energy dissipation induced by several complementary mechanisms upon PKD1 deletion might represent an attractive strategy to treat obesity and its related complications.
Platelets are continuously produced from megakaryocytes (MK) in the bone marrow by a cytoskeleton-driven process of which the molecular regulation is not fully understood.
As revealed in this thesis, MK/ platelet-specific Profilin1 (Pfn1) deficiency results in micro- thrombocytopenia, a hallmark of the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) in humans, due to accelerated platelet turnover and premature platelet release into the bone marrow. Both Pfn1-deficient mouse platelets and platelets isolated from WAS patients contained abnormally organized and hyper-stable microtubules. These results reveal an unexpected function of Pfn1 as a regulator of microtubule organization and point to a previously unrecognized mechanism underlying the platelet formation defect in WAS patients.
In contrast, Twinfilin2a (Twf2a) was established as a central regulator of platelet reactivity and turnover. Twf2a-deficient mice revealed an age-dependent macrothrombocytopenia that could be explained by a markedly decreased platelet half-life, likely due to the pronounced hyper-reactivity of \(Twf2a^{-/-}\) platelets. The latter was characterized by sustained integrin acti- vation and thrombin generation in vitro that translated into accelerated thrombus formation in vivo. To further elucidate mechanisms of integrin activation, Rap1-GTP-interacting adaptor molecule (RIAM)-null mice were generated. Despite the proposed critical role of RIAM for platelet integrin activation, no alterations in this process could be found and it was concluded that RIAM is dispensable for the activation of β1 and β3 integrins, at least in platelets. These findings change the current mechanistic understanding of platelet integrin activation.
Outside-in signaling by integrins and other surface receptors was supposed to regulate MK migration, but also the temporal and spatial formation of proplatelet protrusions. In this the- sis, phospholipase D (PLD) was revealed as critical regulator of actin dynamics and podo- some formation in MKs. Hence, the unaltered platelet counts and production in \(Pld1/2^{-/-}\) mice and the absence of a premature platelet release in the bone marrow of \(Itga2^{-/-}\) mice question the role of podosomes in platelet production and raise the need to reconsider the proposed inhibitory signaling by α2β1 integrins on proplatelet formation.
Non-muscle myosin IIA (NMMIIA) has been implicated as a downstream effector of the in- hibitory signals transmitted via α2β1 integrins. Besides Rho-GTPase signaling, also \(Mg^{2+}\) and transient receptor potential melastatin-like 7 (TRPM7) channel α-kinase are known regulators of NMMIIA activity. In this thesis, TRPM7 was identified as major regulator of \(Mg^{2+}\) homeostasis in MKs and platelets. Furthermore, decreased \([Mg^{2+}]_i\) led to deregulated NMMIIA activity and altered cytoskeletal dynamics that impaired thrombopoiesis and resulted in macrothrombocytopenia in humans and mice.
Im Rahmen dieser Doktorarbeit sollte anknüpfend an die Ergebnisse aus vo-rangegangenen Untersuchungen der AG Tessmer, das von Büchner et al. [1] vorgestellte Modell zur DNA-Schadenserkennung, welches im Speziellen auf Daten zu den Glykosylasen hTDG und hOGG1 basierte, auf seine Allgemein-gültigkeit für DNA-Glykosylasen untersucht werden. Das Modell beschreibt den Prozess der Schadenserkennung als eine notwendige Übereinstimmung der passiven Biegung am Schadensort mit dem aktiven BiegungswinkeI der scha-densspezifischen Glykosylase. Ein wesentlicher Bestandteil dieser Arbeit war zudem die Etablierung einer automatisierten Messsoftware zur objektiven Biegewinkelmessung an DNA-Strängen in rasterkraftmikroskopischen Aufnah-men. Dies wurde mit verschiedenen Bildverarbeitungsprogrammen sowie einer in MATLAB implementierten Messsoftware erreicht und das Programm zudem auf die Biegewinkelmessung von proteininduzierten Biegewinkeln erweitert. Zur Anwendung kam die Methode der automatisierten Biegewinkelmessung sowohl an rasterkraftmikroskopischen Aufnahmen der Glykosylase MutY gebunden an ungeschädigter DNA als auch an Aufnahmen von DNA mit und ohne Basen-schaden. Neben oxoG:A und G:A, den spezifischen MutY-Zielschäden, wurden auch andere Basenschäden wie beispielsweise oxoG:C und ethenoA:T vermes-sen und zudem die von der Glykosylase MutY an ungeschädigter DNA induzier-te Biegung mit den Biegewinkeln der jeweiligen Zielschäden verglichen. Die Übereinstimmung in den Konformationen der Zielschäden und der Reparatur-komplexe auch für die Glykosylase MutY (wie bereits für hTDG und hOGG1 in oben genannter Arbeit gezeigt) erlauben ein verbessertes Verständnis der Schadenssuche und -erkennung durch DNA-Glykosylasen, indem sie die All-gemeingültigkeit einer Biegungsenergie-basierten initialen Schadenserkennung durch DNA-Glykosylasen unterstützen. Die etablierte Messsoftware kann zu-künftig an weiteren DNA-Schäden und den entsprechenden Protein-DNA-Komplexen ihre Anwendung finden und kann somit durch die effektive Gewin-nung objektiver Daten in großer Menge zur Stützung des Modells beitragen.
Adipocytes are specialized cells found in vertebrates to ensure survival in terms of adaption to food deficit and abundance. However, their dysfunction accounts for the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases such as T2DM. Preliminary data generated by Mona Löffler suggested that PKD1 is involved in adipocyte function. Here, I show that PKD1 expression and activity is linked to lipid metabolism of murine adipocytes. PKD1 gene expression and activity was reduced in murine white adipose tissue upon fasting, a physiological condition which induces lipolysis. Isoproterenol-stimulated lipolysis in adipose tissue and 3T3-L1 adipocytes reduced PKD1 gene expression. Silencing ATGL in adipocytes inhibited isoproterenol-stimulated lipolysis, however, the β-adrenergic
stimulation of ATGL-silenced adipocytes lowered PKD1 expression levels as well. Adipose tissue of obese mice exhibited high PKD1 RNA levels but paradoxically lower protein levels of phosphorylated PKD1-Ser916. However, HFD generated a second
PKD1 protein product of low molecular weight in mouse adipose tissue. Furthermore, constitutively active PKD1 predominantly displayed nuclear localization in 3T3-L1 adipocytes containing many fat vacuoles. However, adipocytes
overexpressing non-functional PKD1 contained fewer lipid droplets and PKD1-KD was distributed in cytoplasm. Most importantly, deficiency of PKD1 in mouse adipose tissue caused expression of genes involved in adaptive thermogenesis such as UCP-1 and thus generated brown-like phenotype adipocytes. Thus, PKD1 is implicated in adipose tissue function and presents an interesting target for therapeutic approaches in the prevention of obesity and associated diseases.
G-protein- coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of membrane confined receptors and they transduce ligand binding to downstream effects. Almost 40% of the drugs in the world target GPCRs due to their function, albeit knowing less about their activation. Understanding their dynamic behaviour in basal and activated state could prove key to drug development in the future. GPCRs are known to exhibit complex molecular mobility patterns. A plethora of studies have been and are being conducted to understand the mobility of GPCRs. Due to limitations of imaging and spectroscopic techniques commonly used, the relevant timescales are hard to access. The most commonly used techniques are electron paramagnetic resonance or double electronelectron resonance, nuclear magnetic resonance, time-resolved fluorescence, single particle tracking and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. Among these techniques only fluorescence has the potential to probe live cells. In this thesis, I use different time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopic techniques to quantify diffusion dynamics / molecular mobility of β2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) in live cells. The thesis shows that β2-AR exhibits mobility over an exceptionally broad temporal range (nanosecond to second) that can be linked to its respective physiological scenario. I explain how β2-AR possesses surprisingly fast lateral mobility (~10 μm²/s) associated with vesicular transport in contrast to the prior reports of it originating from fluorophore photophysics and free fluorophores in the cytosol. In addition, β2-AR has rotational mobility (~100 μs) that makes it conform to the Saffman-Delbrück model of membrane diffusion unlike earlier studies. These contrasts are due to the limitations of the methodologies used. The limitations are overcome in this thesis by using different time-resolved fluorescence techniques of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), time-resolved anisotropy (TRA) and polarisation resolved fullFCS (fullFCS). FCS is limited to microsecond to the second range and TRA is limited to the nanosecond range. fullFCS complements the two techniques by covering the blind spot of FCS and TRA in the microsecond range. Finally, I show how ligand stimulation causes a decrease in lateral mobility which could be a hint at cluster formation due to internalisation and how β2-AR possesses a basal oligomerisation that does not change on activation. Thus, through this thesis, I show how different complementary fluorescence techniques are necessary to overcome limitations of each technique and to thereby elucidate functional dynamics of GPCR activation and how it orchestrates downstream signalling.
This work investigates the death and degradation of the second polar body of the nematode C. elegans in order to improve our understanding how pluripotent undifferentiated cells deal with dying cells. With the use of fluorescence microscopy this work demonstrates that both polar bodies loose membrane integrity early. The second polar body has contact to embryonic cells and gets internalized, dependent on the Rac1-ortholog CED-10.
The polar body gets degraded via LC3-associated phagocytosis. While lysosome recruitment depends on RAB-7, LC3 does not improve lysosome recruitment but still accelerates polar body degradation.
This work establishes the second polar body as a genetic model to study cell death and LC3-associated phagocytosis and has revealed further aspects of phagosome maturation and degradation.
Identification and characterization of TAT-5 interactors that regulate extracellular vesicle budding
(2021)
Cells from bacteria to man release extracellular vesicles (EV) such as microvesicles (MV) that carry signaling molecules like morphogens and miRNAs to control intercellular communication during health and disease. MV release also sculpts membranes, e.g. repairing damaged membranes to avoid cell death. HIV viruses also bud from the plasma membrane in a similar fashion. In order to determine the in vivo functions of MVs and regulate their release, we need to understand the mechanisms of MV release by plasma membrane budding (ectocytosis).
The conserved phospholipid flippase TAT-5 maintains the asymmetric localization of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) in the plasma membrane and was the only known inhibitor of ESCRT-mediated ectocytosis in C. elegans. Loss of TAT-5 lipid flipping activity increased the externalization of PE and accumulation of MVs. However, it was unclear how cells control TAT-5 activity to release the right amount of MVs at the right time, since no upstream regulators of TAT-5 were known.
To identify conserved TAT-5 regulators we looked for new proteins that inhibit MV release. To do so, we first developed a degradation-based technique to specifically label MVs. We tagged a plasma membrane reporter with the endogenous ZF1 degradation tag (degron) and expressed it in C. elegans embryos. This reporter is protected from degradation inside MVs, but is degraded inside the cell. Thus, the fluorescence is selectively maintained inside MVs, creating the first MV-specific reporter. We identified four MV release inhibitors associated with retrograde recycling, including the class III PI3Kinase VPS-34, Beclin1 homolog BEC-1, DnaJ protein RME-8, and the uncharacterized Dopey homolog PAD-1. We found that VPS-34, BEC-1, RME-8, and redundant sorting nexins are required for the plasma membrane localization of TAT-5, which is important to maintain PE asymmetry and inhibit MV release. Although we confirmed that PAD-1 and the GEF-like protein MON-2 are required for endosomal recycling, they only traffic TAT-5 in the absence of sorting nexin-mediated recycling. Instead, PAD-1 is specifically required for the lipid flipping activity of TAT-5 that inhibits MV release.
Thus, our work pinpoints TAT-5 and PE as key regulators of plasma membrane budding, further supporting the model that PE externalization drives ectocytosis. In addition, we uncovered redundant intracellular trafficking pathways, which affect organelle size and revealed new regulators of TAT-5 flippase activity. These newly identified ectocytosis inhibitors provide a toolkit to test the in vivo roles of MVs. In the long term, our work will help to identify the mechanisms that govern MV budding, furthering our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate disease-mediated EV release, membrane sculpting and viral budding.