The dynamin Vps1 mediates Atg9 transport to the sites of autophagosome formation

Henning Arlt, Babu Raman, Yasmina Filali-Mouncef, Yan Hu, Alexandre Leytens, Ralph Hardenberg, Rodrigo Guimarães, Franziska Kriegenburg, Muriel Mari, Iwona I Smaczynska-de Rooij, Kathryn R Ayscough, Jörn Dengjel, Christian Ungermann, Fulvio Reggiori*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Autophagy is a key process in eukaryotes to maintain cellular homeostasis by delivering cellular components to lysosomes/vacuoles for degradation and reuse of the resulting metabolites. Membrane rearrangements and trafficking events are mediated by the core machinery of autophagy-related (Atg) proteins, which carry out a variety of functions. How Atg9, a lipid scramblase and the only conserved transmembrane protein within this core Atg machinery, is trafficked during autophagy remained largely unclear. Here, we addressed this question in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and found that retromer complex and dynamin Vps1 mutants alter Atg9 subcellular distribution and severely impair the autophagic flux by affecting two separate autophagy steps. We provide evidence that Vps1 interacts with Atg9 at Atg9 reservoirs. In the absence of Vps1, Atg9 fails to reach the sites of autophagosome formation, and this results in an autophagy defect. The function of Vps1 in autophagy requires its GTPase activity. Moreover, Vps1 point mutants associated with human diseases such as microcytic anemia and Charcot-Marie-Tooth are unable to sustain autophagy and affect Atg9 trafficking. Together, our data provide novel insights on the role of dynamins in Atg9 trafficking and suggest that a defect in this autophagy step could contribute to severe human pathologies.

Original languageEnglish
Article number104712
JournalThe Journal of Biological Chemistry
Volume299
Issue5
Number of pages18
ISSN0021-9258
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2023

Keywords

  • PAS
  • SNX
  • atg9
  • autophagosome
  • autophagy
  • dynamin
  • phagophore
  • retromer
  • sorting nexin
  • vps1

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