Autophagy Is Required for Maturation of Surfactant-Containing Lamellar Bodies in the Lung and Swim Bladder.

ABSTRACT: Autophagy is an intracellular degradation system, but its physiological functions in vertebrates are not yet fully understood. Here, we show that autophagy is required for inflation of air-filled organs: zebrafish swim bladder and mouse lung. In wild-type zebrafish swim bladder and mouse lung type II pulmonary epithelial cells, autophagosomes are formed and frequently fuse with lamellar bodies. The lamellar body is a lysosome-related organelle that stores a phospholipid-containing surfactant complex that lines the air-liquid interface and reduces surface tension. We find that autophagy is critical for maturation of the lamellar body. Accordingly, atg-deficient zebrafish fail to maintain their position in the water, and type-II-pneumocyte-specific Fip200-deficient mice show neonatal lethali

SUBMITTER: Morishita H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7770497 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature