Role of Hrs in maturation of autophagosomes in mammalian cells

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2007 Sep 7;360(4):721-7. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.06.105. Epub 2007 Jul 5.

Abstract

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved system responsible for the degradation of cellular components and contributes to the increasing of amino acid pool, organelle turnover, and elimination of intracellular bacteria. The molecular process of autophagy is still unclear. Here we demonstrate that Hrs, a master regulator in endosomal protein sorting, plays critical roles for the autophagic degradation of non-specific proteins and Streptococcus pyogenes. We found that Hrs containing FYVE domain is localized to autophagosomes. Hrs depletion resulted in a significant decrease in the number of mature autophagosomes (autophagolysosomes) detected by the co-localization of autophagosome marker LC3 and lysosome marker LAMP-1. In contrast, formation of the primary autophagosome, detected by LC3 immunoblotting and lysosomal degradation of non-specific proteins, were not significantly altered by Hrs depletion. Based on these results, we propose a novel function of Hrs, as a crucial player in the maturation of autophagosomes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Autophagy / physiology*
  • Base Sequence
  • Biomarkers
  • DNA Primers
  • Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport
  • Fluorescent Antibody Technique
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Hydrolysis
  • Lysosomes / metabolism
  • Phagosomes / metabolism
  • Phagosomes / physiology*
  • Phosphoproteins / metabolism
  • Phosphoproteins / physiology*
  • RNA Interference

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • DNA Primers
  • Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport
  • Phosphoproteins
  • hepatocyte growth factor-regulated tyrosine kinase substrate