Project description:iliopathies and retinal degenerative diseases are heterogeneous groups of genetic diseases. CFAP418 is a causative gene of both diseases, and its sequence is evolutionarily conserved. Here, we employ affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry and quantitative lipidomic, proteomic, and phosphoproteomic approaches to address the function of CFAP418 in retinas. We show CFAP418 unexpectedly binds to lipid metabolism precursor phosphatidic acid (PA) and mitochondrion-specific lipid cardiolipin but does not form a tight and static complex with proteins. Loss of Cfap418 leads to a widespread disruption of membrane lipid homeostasis and changes in protein-membrane association, which subsequently causes mitochondrial morphological and functional defects and membrane remodeling abnormalities in multiple vesicular trafficking pathways. The signaling of PA-binding protein kinase Ca is increased. Our results indicate that membrane lipid imbalance is a new pathological mechanism underlying inherited ciliopathies and retinal degenerations, which is associated with other known causative RAB28 and BBS genes.
Project description:Overcoming resistance to chemotherapies remains a major unmet need for cancers such as triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Therefore, mechanistic studies to provide insight for drug development are urgently needed to overcome TNBC therapy resistance. Recently, an important role of fatty acid β-Oxidation (FAO) in chemoresistance has been shown. But how FAO might mitigate tumor cell apoptosis by chemotherapy is unclearknown. Here, we show that elevated FAO activates STAT3 by acetylation via elevated acetyl-CoA. Acetylated STAT3 upregulates expression of long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase 4 (ACSL4), resulting in increased phospholipid synthesis. Elevating phospholipids in mitochondrial membranes leads to heightened mitochondrial integrity, which in turn overcomes chemotherapy-induced tumor cell apoptosis. Conversely, in both cultured tumor cells and xenograft tumors, enhanced cancer cell apoptosis by inhibiting ASCL4 or specifically targeting acetylated-STAT3 is associated with a reduction in phospholipids within mitochondrial membranes. This study demonstrates a critical mechanism underlying tumor cell chemoresistance.
Project description:This study was conducted to identify the genes involved in the synthesis of membrane-spanning lipids in Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus JW 200.