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Lysosome-related organelles have versatile functions, including protein and lipid degradation, signal transduction and protein secretion. The molecular elucidation of rare congenital diseases affecting endosomal-lysosomal biogenesis has given insights into physiological functions of the innate and adaptive immune system. Here, we describe a previously unknown human primary immunodeficiency disorder and provide evidence that the endosomal adaptor protein p14, previously characterized as confining mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling to late endosomes, is crucial for the function of neutrophils, B cells, cytotoxic T cells and melanocytes. Combining genetic linkage studies and transcriptional profiling analysis, we identified a homozygous point mutation in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of p14 (also known as MAPBPIP), resulting in decreased protein expression. In p14-deficient cells, the distribution of late endosomes was severely perturbed, suggesting a previously unknown role for p14 in endosomal biogenesis. These findings have implications for understanding endosomal membrane dynamics, compartmentalization of cell signal cascades, and their role in immunity., Author(s): Georg Bohn [1]; Anna Allroth [1]; Gudrun Brandes [2]; Jens Thiel [3]; Erik Glocker [3]; Alejandro A Schaffer [4]; Chozhavendan Rathinam [1]; Nicole Taub [5]; David Teis [5]; Cornelia [...]

The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) cascade regulates proliferation, differentiation, and survival in multicellular organisms. Scaffold proteins regulate intracellular signaling by providing critical spatial and temporal specificity. The scaffold protein MEK1 (mitogen-activated protein kinase and ERK kinase 1) partner (MP1) is localized to late endosomes by the adaptor protein p14. Using conditional gene disruption of p14 in mice, we now demonstrate that the p14-MP1-MEK1 signaling complex regulates late endosomal traffic and cellular proliferation. This function its essential for early embryogenesis and during tissue homeostasis, as revealed by epidermis-specific deletion of p14. These findings show that endosomal p14-MP1-MEK1 signaling has a specific and essential function in vivo and, therefore, indicate that regulation of late endosomal traffic by extracellular signals is required to maintain tissue homeostasis.

Late endosomal/lysosomal adaptor and MAPK and mTOR activator (LAMTOR/Ragulator) is a scaffold protein complex that anchors and regulates multiprotein signaling units on late endosomes/lysosomes. To identify LAMTOR‐modulated endolysosomal proteins, primary macrophages were derived from bone marrow of conditional knockout mice carrying a specific deletion of LAMTOR2 in the monocyte/macrophage cell lineage. Affymetrix‐based transcriptomic analysis and quantitative iTRAQ‐based organelle proteomic analysis of endosomes derived from macrophages were performed. Further analyses showed that LAMTOR could be a novel regulator of foam cell differentiation. The lipid droplet formation phenotype observed in macrophages was additionally confirmed in MEFs, where lipidomic analysis identified cholesterol esters as specifically downregulated in LAMTOR2 knockout cells. The data obtained indicate a function of LAMTOR2 in lipid metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the multigram synthesis and in vivo efficacy studies of a donepezil–huprine hybrid that has been found to display a promising in vitro multitarget profile of interest for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Its synthesis features as the key step a novel multigram preparative chromatographic resolution of intermediate racemic huprine Y by chiral HPLC. Administration of this compound to transgenic CL4176 and CL2006 Caenorhabditis elegans strains expressing human Aβ42, here used as simplified animal models of AD, led to a significant protection from the toxicity induced by Aβ42. However, this protective effect was not accompanied, in CL2006 worms, by a reduction of amyloid deposits. Oral administration for 3 months to transgenic APPSL mice, a well-established animal model of AD, improved short-term memory, but did not alter brain levels of Aβ peptides nor cortical and hippocampal amyloid plaque load. Despite the clear protective and cognitive effects of AVCRI104P4, the lack of Aβ lowering effect in vivo might be related to its lower in vitro potency toward Aβ aggregation and formation as compared with its higher anticholinesterase activities. Further lead optimization in this series should thus focus on improving the anti-amyloid/anticholinesterase activity ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outcome of an infection depends on the balance between host resistance and bacterial virulence. Here, we show that the late endosomal adaptor p14 (also known as LAMTOR2) is one of the components for cellular host defense against the intracellular pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. During Salmonella infection, the complex of p14 and MP1 is required for the accurately timed transport of Salmonella through the endolysosomal system. Loss of p14 opens a time window that allows Salmonella to populate a replication niche, in which early and late antimicrobial effector systems, comprising NADPH phagocytic oxidase and inducible nitric oxide synthase, respectively, are inappropriately activated. Thus, p14 supports the accurate transport of Salmonella through the endolysosomal system, thereby limiting bacterial replication in both, professional phagocytes and in non-phagocytic cells in vitro, and helps mice to successfully battle Salmonella infection in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]