Elisabeth Corcelle-Termeau

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) contributes to tissue involution, degenerative diseases, and cancer therapy. Its investigation has, however, been hindered by the lack of sensitive methods. Here, we characterize and validate the detection of galectin puncta at leaky lysosomes as a highly sensitive and easily manageable assay for LMP. LGALS1/galectin-1 and LGALS3/galectin-3 are best suited for this purpose due to their widespread expression, rapid translocation to leaky lysosomes and availability of high-affinity antibodies. Galectin staining marks individual leaky lysosomes early during lysosomal cell death and is useful when defining whether LMP is a primary or secondary cause of cell death. This sensitive method also reveals that cells can survive limited LMP and confirms a rapid formation of autophagic structures at the site of galectin puncta. Importantly, galectin staining detects individual leaky lysosomes also in paraffin-embedded tissues allowing us to demonstrate LMP in tumor xenografts in mice treated with cationic amphiphilic drugs and to identify a subpopulation of lysosomes that initiates LMP in involuting mouse mammary gland. The use of ectopic fluorescent galectins renders the galectin puncta assay suitable for automated screening and visualization of LMP in live cells and animals. Thus, the lysosomal galectin puncta assay opens up new possibilities to study LMP in cell death and its role in other cellular processes such as autophagy, senescence, aging, and inflammation.

Aberrant ErbB2 receptor tyrosine kinase activation in breast cancer is strongly linked to an invasive disease. The molecular basis of ErbB2-driven invasion is largely unknown. We show that cysteine cathepsins B and L are elevated in ErbB2 positive primary human breast cancer and function as effectors of ErbB2-induced invasion in vitro. We identify Cdc42-binding protein kinase beta, extracellular regulated kinase 2, p21-activated protein kinase 4, and protein kinase C alpha as essential mediators of ErbB2-induced cysteine cathepsin expression and breast cancer cell invasiveness. The identified signaling network activates the transcription of cathepsin B gene (CTSB) via myeloid zinc finger-1 transcription factor that binds to an ErbB2-responsive enhancer element in the first intron of CTSB. This work provides a model system for ErbB2-induced breast cancer cell invasiveness, reveals a signaling network that is crucial for invasion in vitro, and defines a specific role and targets for the identified serine-threonine kinases.

Abstract Degradation of signaling proteins is one of the most powerful tumor-suppressive mechanisms by which a cell can control its own growth. Here, we identify RHOA as the molecular target by which autophagy maintains genomic stability. Specifically, inhibition of autophagosome degradation by the loss of the v-ATPase a3 (TCIRG1) subunit is sufficient to induce aneuploidy. Underlying this phenotype, active RHOA is sequestered via p62 (SQSTM1) within autolysosomes and fails to localize to the plasma membrane or to the spindle midbody. Conversely, inhibition of autophagosome formation by ATG5 shRNA dramatically increases localization of active RHOA at the midbody, followed by diffusion to the flanking zones. As a result, all of the approaches we examined that compromise autophagy (irrespective of the defect: autophagosome formation, sequestration, or degradation) drive cytokinesis failure, multinucleation, and aneuploidy, processes that directly have an impact upon cancer progression. Consistently, we report a positive correlation between autophagy defects and the higher expression of RHOA in human lung carcinoma. We therefore propose that autophagy may act, in part, as a safeguard mechanism that degrades and thereby maintains the appropriate level of active RHOA at the midbody for faithful completion of cytokinesis and genome inheritance. Cancer Res; 73(14); 4311–22. ©2013 AACR.

AbstractMacroautophagy is a catabolic process that maintains cellular homeostasis and protects cells against various external stresses including starvation. Except for the identification of the Akt-mTORC1 pathway as a major negative regulator, little is known about signaling networks that control macroautophagy under optimal growth conditions. Therefore, we screened a human kinome siRNA library for siRNAs that increase the number of autophagosomes in normally growing MCF-7 human breast carcinoma cells, and identified 10 kinases as regulators of constitutive macroautophagy. Further analysis of these kinases with respect to the autophagic flux, kinase signaling and endolysosomal function identified WNK2 as a positive regulator of autophagosome maturation and nine others as macroautophagy inhibitors. The depletion of MK2, PACSIN1, DAPK2, CDKL3 and SCYL1 functioned upstream of Akt-mTORC1 pathway, whereas CSNK1A1, BUB1, PKLR and NEK4 suppressed autophagosome formation downstream or independent of mTORC1. Importantly, all identified kinases except for BUB1 regulated macroautophagy also in immortalized MCF-10A breast epithelial cells. The kinases identified here shed light to the complex regulation of macroautophagy and open new possibilities for its pharmacological manipulation.

Sphingomyelin is an essential cellular lipid that traffics between plasma membrane and intracellular organelles until directed to lysosomes for SMPD1 (sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 1)-mediated degradation. Inactivating mutations in the SMPD1 gene result in Niemann-Pick diseases type A and B characterized by sphingomyelin accumulation and severely disturbed tissue homeostasis. Here, we report that sphingomyelin overload disturbs the maturation and closure of autophagic membranes. Niemann-Pick type A patient fibroblasts and SMPD1-depleted cancer cells accumulate elongated and unclosed autophagic membranes as well as abnormally swollen autophagosomes in the absence of normal autophagosomes and autolysosomes. The immature autophagic membranes are rich in WIPI2, ATG16L1 and MAP1LC3B but display reduced association with ATG9A. Contrary to its normal trafficking between plasma membrane, intracellular organelles and autophagic membranes, ATG9A concentrates in transferrin receptor-positive juxtanuclear recycling endosomes in SMPD1-deficient cells. Supporting a causative role for ATG9A mistrafficking in the autophagy defect observed in SMPD1-deficient cells, ectopic ATG9A effectively reverts this phenotype. Exogenous C12-sphingomyelin induces a similar juxtanuclear accumulation of ATG9A and subsequent defect in the maturation of autophagic membranes in healthy cells while the main sphingomyelin metabolite, ceramide, fails to revert the autophagy defective phenotype in SMPD1-deficient cells. Juxtanuclear accumulation of ATG9A and defective autophagy are also evident in tissues of smpd1-deficient mice with a subsequent inability to cope with kidney ischemia-reperfusion stress. These data reveal sphingomyelin as an important regulator of ATG9A trafficking and maturation of early autophagic membranes.

Microtubule-disturbing drugs inhibit lysosomal trafficking and induce lysosomal membrane permeabilization followed by cathepsin-dependent cell death. To identify specific trafficking-related proteins that control cell survival and lysosomal stability, we screened a molecular motor siRNA library in human MCF7 breast cancer cells. SiRNAs targeting four kinesins (KIF11/Eg5, KIF20A, KIF21A, KIF25), myosin 1G (MYO1G), myosin heavy chain 1 (MYH1) and tropomyosin 2 (TPM2) were identified as effective inducers of non-apoptotic cell death. The cell death induced by KIF11, KIF21A, KIF25, MYH1 or TPM2 siRNAs was preceded by lysosomal membrane permeabilization, and all identified siRNAs induced several changes in the endo-lysosomal compartment, i.e. increased lysosomal volume (KIF11, KIF20A, KIF25, MYO1G, MYH1), increased cysteine cathepsin activity (KIF20A, KIF25), altered lysosomal localization (KIF25, MYH1, TPM2), increased dextran accumulation (KIF20A), or reduced autophagic flux (MYO1G, MYH1). Importantly, all seven siRNAs also killed human cervix cancer (HeLa) and osteosarcoma (U-2-OS) cells and sensitized cancer cells to other lysosome-destabilizing treatments, i.e. photo-oxidation, siramesine, etoposide or cisplatin. Similarly to KIF11 siRNA, the KIF11 inhibitor monastrol induced lysosomal membrane permeabilization and sensitized several cancer cell lines to siramesine. While KIF11 inhibitors are under clinical development as mitotic blockers, our data reveal a new function for KIF11 in controlling lysosomal stability and introduce six other molecular motors as putative cancer drug targets.

Macroautophagy/autophagy is a central component of the cytoprotective cellular stress response. To enlighten stress-induced autophagy signaling, we screened a human kinome siRNA library for regulators of autophagic flux in MCF7 human breast carcinoma cells and identified the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase PRKDC/DNA-PKcs as a positive regulator of basal and DNA damage-induced autophagy. Analysis of autophagy-regulating signaling cascades placed PRKDC upstream of the AMP-dependent protein kinase (AMPK) complex and ULK1 kinase. In normal culture conditions, PRKDC interacted with the AMPK complex and phosphorylated its nucleotide-sensing γ1 subunit PRKAG1/AMPKγ1 at Ser192 and Thr284, both events being significantly reduced upon the activation of the AMPK complex. Alanine substitutions of PRKDC phosphorylation sites in PRKAG1 reduced AMPK complex activation without affecting its nucleotide sensing capacity. Instead, the disturbance of PRKDC-mediated phosphorylation of PRKAG1 inhibited the lysosomal localization of the AMPK complex and its starvation-induced association with STK11 (serine/threonine kinase 11). Taken together, our data suggest that PRKDC-mediated phosphorylation of PRKAG1 primes AMPK complex to the lysosomal activation by STK11 in cancer cells thereby linking DNA damage response to autophagy and cellular metabolism.Abbreviations: AXIN1: axin 1; 3-MA: 3-methyladenine; 5-FU: 5-fluorouracil; AA mutant: double alanine mutant (S192A, T284A) of PRKAG1; ACACA: acetyl-CoA carboxylase alpha; AICAR: 5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide; AMPK: AMP-activated protein kinase; ATG: autophagy-related; ATM: ataxia telangiectasia mutated; ATR: ATM serine/threonine kinase; AV: autophagic vacuole; AVd: degradative autophagic vacuole; AVi: initial autophagic vacuole; BECN1: beclin 1; BSA: bovine serum albumin; CBS: cystathionine beta-synthase; CDK7: cyclin dependent kinase 7; CDKN1A: cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 1A; EGFP: enhanced green fluorescent protein; GAPDH: glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; GST: glutathione S transferase; H2AX/H2AFX: H2A.X variant histone; HBSS: Hanks balanced salt solution; IP: immunopurification; IR: ionizing radiation; MAP1LC3/LC3: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3; MAP3K9: mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 9; mRFP: monomeric red fluorescent protein; mCh: mCherry; MCM7: minichromosome maintenance complex component 7; MTORC1: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase complex 1; NHEJ: non-homologous end joining; NRBP2: nuclear receptor binding protein 2; NTC: non-targeting control; NUAK1: NUAK family kinase 1; PBS: phosphate-buffered saline; PIK3AP1: phosphoinositide-3-kinase adaptor protein 1; PIK3CA: phosphatidylinositol-4,5-biphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha; PIKK: phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinase; PRKAA: protein kinase AMP-activated catalytic subunit alpha; PRKAB: protein kinase AMP-activated non-catalytic subunit beta; PRKAG: protein kinase AMP-activated non-catalytic subunit gamma; PRKDC: protein kinase, DNA-activated, catalytic subunit; RLuc: Renilla luciferase; RPS6KB1: ribosomal protein S6 kinase B1; SQSTM1: sequestosome 1; STK11/LKB1: serine/threonine kinase 11; TP53: tumor protein p53; TSKS: testis specific serine kinase substrate; ULK1: unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1; WIPI2: WD repeat domain, phosphoinositide interacting 2; WT: wild type.

Cellular membranes are formed from different lipids in various amounts and proportions depending on the subcellular localization. The lipid composition of membranes is sensitive to changes in the cellular environment, and its alterations are linked to several diseases. Lipids not only form lipid-lipid interactions but also interact with other biomolecules, including proteins. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are a powerful tool to study the properties of cellular membranes and membrane-protein interactions on different timescales and resolutions. Over the last few years, software and hardware for biomolecular simulations have been optimized to routinely run long simulations of large and complex biological systems. On the other hand, high-throughput techniques based on lipidomics provide accurate estimates of the composition of cellular membranes at the level of subcellular compartments. Lipidomic data can be analyzed to design biologically relevant models of membranes for MD simulations. Similar applications easily result in a massive amount of simulation data where the bottleneck becomes the analysis of the data. In this context, we developed LipidDyn, a Python-based pipeline to streamline the analyses of MD simulations of membranes of different compositions. Once the simulations are collected, LipidDyn provides average properties and time series for several membrane properties such as area per lipid, thickness, order parameters, diffusion motions, lipid density, and lipid enrichment/depletion. The calculations exploit parallelization, and the pipeline includes graphical outputs in a publication-ready form. We applied LipidDyn to different case studies to illustrate its potential, including membranes from cellular compartments and transmembrane protein domains. LipidDyn is available free of charge under the GNU General Public License from https://github.com/ELELAB/LipidDyn.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, thus the search for new cancer therapies is of utmost importance. Ursolic acid is a naturally occurring pentacyclic triterpene with a wide range of pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory and anti-neoplastic effects. The latter has been assigned to its ability to promote apoptosis and inhibit cancer cell proliferation by poorly defined mechanisms. In this report, we identify lysosomes as the essential targets of the anti-cancer activity of ursolic acid. The treatment of MCF7 breast cancer cells with ursolic acid elevates lysosomal pH, alters the cellular lipid profile, and causes lysosomal membrane permeabilization and leakage of lysosomal enzymes into the cytosol. Lysosomal membrane permeabilization precedes the essential hallmarks of apoptosis placing it as an initial event in the cascade of effects induced by ursolic acid. The disruption of the lysosomal function impairs the autophagic pathway and likely partakes in the mechanism by which ursolic acid kills cancer cells. Furthermore, we find that combining treatment with ursolic acid and cationic amphiphilic drugs can significantly enhance the degree of lysosomal membrane permeabilization and cell death in breast cancer cells.

Autophagy is a cellular self-eating process critical for maintaining cellular homeostasis. During this process organelles and proteins are sequestered by the formation of a double-membrane vesicle, the autophagosome, and delivered to the lysosome for degradation and recycling. Modulation of autophagy has been highlighted as an attractive therapeutic avenue towards diseases associated with cellular dyshomeostasis, such as cancers. The membrane embedded protein, ATG9A, plays a pivotal role in autophagosome formation. It is shown to continuously traffic across different organelles, such as the plasma membrane, trans-Golgi network, endosomes, and autophagic membranes. Moreover, ATG9A trafficking is reported to be sensitive to the lipid composition of the membrane. Sphingolipids act as regulators of autophagy, and are altered in cancers. It has been demonstrated that sphingolipids can regulate ATG9A trafficking and autophagosome maturation. Recently, the structure of the membrane embedded portion of ATG9A was solved by cryo-EM, and it was revealed to exist in two distinct conformations. In addition, ATG9A was described as a phospholipid scramblase. Despite these recent advances, many aspects of the ATG9A function and dynamics as well as its exact role in autophagosome maturation, remain elusive. We are working with a cross-disciplinary approach, combining structural, cellular, and computational modeling methods to address open questions on how the lipid environment affects ATG9A structure, function, and dynamics. We investigate the effect of the membrane lipid composition on the structure, as well as the interconversion between ATG9A states. In addition, we identify putative binding motifs for certain classes of sphingolipids to elucidate the molecular details of their interaction with ATG9A. This will provide novel insights into the mechanisms underlying autophagosome formation by strengthening our understanding of the function and regulation of ATG9A in lipid environments.

Sphingomyelin is an essential cellular lipid that traffics between plasma membrane and intracellular organelles until directed to lysosomes for SMPD1 (sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 1)-mediated degradation. Inactivating mutations in the <i>SMPD1</i> gene result in Niemann-Pick diseases type A and B characterized by sphingomyelin accumulation and severely disturbed tissue homeostasis. Here, we report that sphingomyelin overload disturbs the maturation and closure of autophagic membranes. Niemann-Pick type A patient fibroblasts and <i>SMPD1</i>-depleted cancer cells accumulate elongated and unclosed autophagic membranes as well as abnormally swollen autophagosomes in the absence of normal autophagosomes and autolysosomes. The immature autophagic membranes are rich in WIPI2, ATG16L1 and MAP1LC3B but display reduced association with ATG9A. Contrary to its normal trafficking between plasma membrane, intracellular organelles and autophagic membranes, ATG9A concentrates in transferrin receptor-positive juxtanuclear recycling endosomes in SMPD1-deficient cells. Supporting a causative role for ATG9A mistrafficking in the autophagy defect observed in SMPD1-deficient cells, ectopic ATG9A effectively reverts this phenotype. Exogenous C12-sphingomyelin induces a similar juxtanuclear accumulation of ATG9A and subsequent defect in the maturation of autophagic membranes in healthy cells while the main sphingomyelin metabolite, ceramide, fails to revert the autophagy defective phenotype in <i>SMPD1</i>-deficient cells. Juxtanuclear accumulation of ATG9A and defective autophagy are also evident in tissues of <i>smpd1</i>-deficient mice with a subsequent inability to cope with kidney ischemia-reperfusion stress. These data reveal sphingomyelin as an important regulator of ATG9A trafficking and maturation of early autophagic membranes.

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) contributes to tissue involution, degenerative diseases, and cancer therapy. Its investigation has, however, been hindered by the lack of sensitive methods. Here, we characterize and validate the detection of galectin puncta at leaky lysosomes as a highly sensitive and easily manageable assay for LMP. LGALS1/galectin-1 and LGALS3/galectin-3 are best suited for this purpose due to their widespread expression, rapid translocation to leaky lysosomes and availability of high-affinity antibodies. Galectin staining marks individual leaky lysosomes early during lysosomal cell death and is useful when defining whether LMP is a primary or secondary cause of cell death. This sensitive method also reveals that cells can survive limited LMP and confirms a rapid formation of autophagic structures at the site of galectin puncta. Importantly, galectin staining detects individual leaky lysosomes also in paraffin-embedded tissues allowing us to demonstrate LMP in tumor xenografts in mice treated with cationic amphiphilic drugs and to identify a subpopulation of lysosomes that initiates LMP in involuting mouse mammary gland. The use of ectopic fluorescent galectins renders the galectin puncta assay suitable for automated screening and visualization of LMP in live cells and animals. Thus, the lysosomal galectin puncta assay opens up new possibilities to study LMP in cell death and its role in other cellular processes such as autophagy, senescence, aging, and inflammation.

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) contributes to tissue involution, degenerative diseases, and cancer therapy. Its investigation has, however, been hindered by the lack of sensitive methods. Here, we characterize and validate the detection of galectin puncta at leaky lysosomes as a highly sensitive and easily manageable assay for LMP. LGALS1/galectin-1 and LGALS3/galectin-3 are best suited for this purpose due to their widespread expression, rapid translocation to leaky lysosomes and availability of high-affinity antibodies. Galectin staining marks individual leaky lysosomes early during lysosomal cell death and is useful when defining whether LMP is a primary or secondary cause of cell death. This sensitive method also reveals that cells can survive limited LMP and confirms a rapid formation of autophagic structures at the site of galectin puncta. Importantly, galectin staining detects individual leaky lysosomes also in paraffin-embedded tissues allowing us to demonstrate LMP in tumor xenografts in mice treated with cationic amphiphilic drugs and to identify a subpopulation of lysosomes that initiates LMP in involuting mouse mammary gland. The use of ectopic fluorescent galectins renders the galectin puncta assay suitable for automated screening and visualization of LMP in live cells and animals. Thus, the lysosomal galectin puncta assay opens up new possibilities to study LMP in cell death and its role in other cellular processes such as autophagy, senescence, aging, and inflammation.

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) contributes to tissue involution, degenerative diseases, and cancer therapy. Its investigation has, however, been hindered by the lack of sensitive methods. Here, we characterize and validate the detection of galectin puncta at leaky lysosomes as a highly sensitive and easily manageable assay for LMP. LGALS1/galectin-1 and LGALS3/galectin-3 are best suited for this purpose due to their widespread expression, rapid translocation to leaky lysosomes and availability of high-affinity antibodies. Galectin staining marks individual leaky lysosomes early during lysosomal cell death and is useful when defining whether LMP is a primary or secondary cause of cell death. This sensitive method also reveals that cells can survive limited LMP and confirms a rapid formation of autophagic structures at the site of galectin puncta. Importantly, galectin staining detects individual leaky lysosomes also in paraffin-embedded tissues allowing us to demonstrate LMP in tumor xenografts in mice treated with cationic amphiphilic drugs and to identify a subpopulation of lysosomes that initiates LMP in involuting mouse mammary gland. The use of ectopic fluorescent galectins renders the galectin puncta assay suitable for automated screening and visualization of LMP in live cells and animals. Thus, the lysosomal galectin puncta assay opens up new possibilities to study LMP in cell death and its role in other cellular processes such as autophagy, senescence, aging, and inflammation.

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) contributes to tissue involution, degenerative diseases, and cancer therapy. Its investigation has, however, been hindered by the lack of sensitive methods. Here, we characterize and validate the detection of galectin puncta at leaky lysosomes as a highly sensitive and easily manageable assay for LMP. LGALS1/galectin-1 and LGALS3/galectin-3 are best suited for this purpose due to their widespread expression, rapid translocation to leaky lysosomes and availability of high-affinity antibodies. Galectin staining marks individual leaky lysosomes early during lysosomal cell death and is useful when defining whether LMP is a primary or secondary cause of cell death. This sensitive method also reveals that cells can survive limited LMP and confirms a rapid formation of autophagic structures at the site of galectin puncta. Importantly, galectin staining detects individual leaky lysosomes also in paraffin-embedded tissues allowing us to demonstrate LMP in tumor xenografts in mice treated with cationic amphiphilic drugs and to identify a subpopulation of lysosomes that initiates LMP in involuting mouse mammary gland. The use of ectopic fluorescent galectins renders the galectin puncta assay suitable for automated screening and visualization of LMP in live cells and animals. Thus, the lysosomal galectin puncta assay opens up new possibilities to study LMP in cell death and its role in other cellular processes such as autophagy, senescence, aging, and inflammation.

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) contributes to tissue involution, degenerative diseases, and cancer therapy. Its investigation has, however, been hindered by the lack of sensitive methods. Here, we characterize and validate the detection of galectin puncta at leaky lysosomes as a highly sensitive and easily manageable assay for LMP. LGALS1/galectin-1 and LGALS3/galectin-3 are best suited for this purpose due to their widespread expression, rapid translocation to leaky lysosomes and availability of high-affinity antibodies. Galectin staining marks individual leaky lysosomes early during lysosomal cell death and is useful when defining whether LMP is a primary or secondary cause of cell death. This sensitive method also reveals that cells can survive limited LMP and confirms a rapid formation of autophagic structures at the site of galectin puncta. Importantly, galectin staining detects individual leaky lysosomes also in paraffin-embedded tissues allowing us to demonstrate LMP in tumor xenografts in mice treated with cationic amphiphilic drugs and to identify a subpopulation of lysosomes that initiates LMP in involuting mouse mammary gland. The use of ectopic fluorescent galectins renders the galectin puncta assay suitable for automated screening and visualization of LMP in live cells and animals. Thus, the lysosomal galectin puncta assay opens up new possibilities to study LMP in cell death and its role in other cellular processes such as autophagy, senescence, aging, and inflammation.

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) contributes to tissue involution, degenerative diseases, and cancer therapy. Its investigation has, however, been hindered by the lack of sensitive methods. Here, we characterize and validate the detection of galectin puncta at leaky lysosomes as a highly sensitive and easily manageable assay for LMP. LGALS1/galectin-1 and LGALS3/galectin-3 are best suited for this purpose due to their widespread expression, rapid translocation to leaky lysosomes and availability of high-affinity antibodies. Galectin staining marks individual leaky lysosomes early during lysosomal cell death and is useful when defining whether LMP is a primary or secondary cause of cell death. This sensitive method also reveals that cells can survive limited LMP and confirms a rapid formation of autophagic structures at the site of galectin puncta. Importantly, galectin staining detects individual leaky lysosomes also in paraffin-embedded tissues allowing us to demonstrate LMP in tumor xenografts in mice treated with cationic amphiphilic drugs and to identify a subpopulation of lysosomes that initiates LMP in involuting mouse mammary gland. The use of ectopic fluorescent galectins renders the galectin puncta assay suitable for automated screening and visualization of LMP in live cells and animals. Thus, the lysosomal galectin puncta assay opens up new possibilities to study LMP in cell death and its role in other cellular processes such as autophagy, senescence, aging, and inflammation.

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) contributes to tissue involution, degenerative diseases, and cancer therapy. Its investigation has, however, been hindered by the lack of sensitive methods. Here, we characterize and validate the detection of galectin puncta at leaky lysosomes as a highly sensitive and easily manageable assay for LMP. LGALS1/galectin-1 and LGALS3/galectin-3 are best suited for this purpose due to their widespread expression, rapid translocation to leaky lysosomes and availability of high-affinity antibodies. Galectin staining marks individual leaky lysosomes early during lysosomal cell death and is useful when defining whether LMP is a primary or secondary cause of cell death. This sensitive method also reveals that cells can survive limited LMP and confirms a rapid formation of autophagic structures at the site of galectin puncta. Importantly, galectin staining detects individual leaky lysosomes also in paraffin-embedded tissues allowing us to demonstrate LMP in tumor xenografts in mice treated with cationic amphiphilic drugs and to identify a subpopulation of lysosomes that initiates LMP in involuting mouse mammary gland. The use of ectopic fluorescent galectins renders the galectin puncta assay suitable for automated screening and visualization of LMP in live cells and animals. Thus, the lysosomal galectin puncta assay opens up new possibilities to study LMP in cell death and its role in other cellular processes such as autophagy, senescence, aging, and inflammation.

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) contributes to tissue involution, degenerative diseases, and cancer therapy. Its investigation has, however, been hindered by the lack of sensitive methods. Here, we characterize and validate the detection of galectin puncta at leaky lysosomes as a highly sensitive and easily manageable assay for LMP. LGALS1/galectin-1 and LGALS3/galectin-3 are best suited for this purpose due to their widespread expression, rapid translocation to leaky lysosomes and availability of high-affinity antibodies. Galectin staining marks individual leaky lysosomes early during lysosomal cell death and is useful when defining whether LMP is a primary or secondary cause of cell death. This sensitive method also reveals that cells can survive limited LMP and confirms a rapid formation of autophagic structures at the site of galectin puncta. Importantly, galectin staining detects individual leaky lysosomes also in paraffin-embedded tissues allowing us to demonstrate LMP in tumor xenografts in mice treated with cationic amphiphilic drugs and to identify a subpopulation of lysosomes that initiates LMP in involuting mouse mammary gland. The use of ectopic fluorescent galectins, which colocalize with endogenous galectins, renders the galectin puncta assay suitable for automated screening and visualization of LMP in live cells and animals. Thus, the lysosomal galectin puncta assay opens up new possibilities to study LMP in cell death and its role in other cellular processes such as autophagy, senescence, aging and inflammation.

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) contributes to tissue involution, degenerative diseases, and cancer therapy. Its investigation has, however, been hindered by the lack of sensitive methods. Here, we characterize and validate the detection of galectin puncta at leaky lysosomes as a highly sensitive and easily manageable assay for LMP. LGALS1/galectin-1 and LGALS3/galectin-3 are best suited for this purpose due to their widespread expression, rapid translocation to leaky lysosomes and availability of high-affinity antibodies. Galectin staining marks individual leaky lysosomes early during lysosomal cell death and is useful when defining whether LMP is a primary or secondary cause of cell death. This sensitive method also reveals that cells can survive limited LMP and confirms a rapid formation of autophagic structures at the site of galectin puncta. Importantly, galectin staining detects individual leaky lysosomes also in paraffin-embedded tissues allowing us to demonstrate LMP in tumor xenografts in mice treated with cationic amphiphilic drugs and to identify a subpopulation of lysosomes that initiates LMP in involuting mouse mammary gland. The use of ectopic fluorescent galectins renders the galectin puncta assay suitable for automated screening and visualization of LMP in live cells and animals. Thus, the lysosomal galectin puncta assay opens up new possibilities to study LMP in cell death and its role in other cellular processes such as autophagy, senescence, aging, and inflammation.

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) contributes to tissue involution, degenerative diseases, and cancer therapy. Its investigation has, however, been hindered by the lack of sensitive methods. Here, we characterize and validate the detection of galectin puncta at leaky lysosomes as a highly sensitive and easily manageable assay for LMP. LGALS1/galectin-1 and LGALS3/galectin-3 are best suited for this purpose due to their widespread expression, rapid translocation to leaky lysosomes and availability of high-affinity antibodies. Galectin staining marks individual leaky lysosomes early during lysosomal cell death and is useful when defining whether LMP is a primary or secondary cause of cell death. This sensitive method also reveals that cells can survive limited LMP and confirms a rapid formation of autophagic structures at the site of galectin puncta. Importantly, galectin staining detects individual leaky lysosomes also in paraffin-embedded tissues allowing us to demonstrate LMP in tumor xenografts in mice treated with cationic amphiphilic drugs and to identify a subpopulation of lysosomes that initiates LMP in involuting mouse mammary gland. The use of ectopic fluorescent galectins renders the galectin puncta assay suitable for automated screening and visualization of LMP in live cells and animals. Thus, the lysosomal galectin puncta assay opens up new possibilities to study LMP in cell death and its role in other cellular processes such as autophagy, senescence, aging, and inflammation.

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) contributes to tissue involution, degenerative diseases, and cancer therapy. Its investigation has, however, been hindered by the lack of sensitive methods. Here, we characterize and validate the detection of galectin puncta at leaky lysosomes as a highly sensitive and easily manageable assay for LMP. LGALS1/galectin-1 and LGALS3/galectin-3 are best suited for this purpose due to their widespread expression, rapid translocation to leaky lysosomes and availability of high-affinity antibodies. Galectin staining marks individual leaky lysosomes early during lysosomal cell death and is useful when defining whether LMP is a primary or secondary cause of cell death. This sensitive method also reveals that cells can survive limited LMP and confirms a rapid formation of autophagic structures at the site of galectin puncta. Importantly, galectin staining detects individual leaky lysosomes also in paraffin-embedded tissues allowing us to demonstrate LMP in tumor xenografts in mice treated with cationic amphiphilic drugs and to identify a subpopulation of lysosomes that initiates LMP in involuting mouse mammary gland. The use of ectopic fluorescent galectins renders the galectin puncta assay suitable for automated screening and visualization of LMP in live cells and animals. Thus, the lysosomal galectin puncta assay opens up new possibilities to study LMP in cell death and its role in other cellular processes such as autophagy, senescence, aging, and inflammation.

Recently, intranasal delivery of insulin as an alternative route of parenteral administration has been widely studied because it bears close resemblance to the ‘pulsatile’ pattern of endogenous insulin secretion during meal time. However, insulin is not well absorbed through nasal mucosa because of its large molecular size, hydrophilicity and low permeability through the membrane. This review describes the main barriers preventing nasal insulin absorption, and special attention is given to new approaches to improve the intranasal absorption of insulin, including the application of new safe absorption enhancers and the use of appropriate delivery systems. It seems that bioadhesive delivery systems or water-insoluble powders with absorption enhancers are the most promising methods for intranasal delivery of insulin.

Summary Autophagy is a central component of the cytoprotective cellular stress response. To enlighten stress-induced autophagy signaling, we screened a human kinome siRNA library for regulators of autophagic flux in MCF7 human breast carcinoma cells and identified the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs) as a positive regulator of basal and DNA damage-induced autophagy. Analysis of autophagy-regulating signaling cascades placed DNA-PKcs upstream of the AMP-dependent protein kinase (AMPK) and ULK1 kinase. In normal culture conditions, DNA-PKcs interacted with AMPK and phosphorylated its nucleotide-sensing γγ1 subunit at Ser-192 and Thr-284, both events being significantly reduced upon AMPK activation. Alanine substitutions of DNA-PKcs phosphorylation sites in AMPKγγ1 reduced AMPK activation without affecting its nucleotide sensing capacity. Instead, the disturbance of DNA-PKcs-mediated phosphorylation of AMPKγγ inhibited the lysosomal localization of the AMPK complex and its starvation-induced association with LKB1. Taken together, our data suggest that DNA-PKcs-mediated phosphorylation of AMPKγγ primes AMPK complex to the lysosomal activation by LKB1 thereby linking DNA damage response to autophagy and cellular metabolism.

Abstract Cellular membranes are formed from many different lipids in various amounts and proportions depending on the subcellular localization. The lipid composition of membranes is sensitive to changes in the cellular environment, and their alterations are linked to several diseases, including cancer. Lipids not only form lipid-lipid interactions but also interact with other biomolecules, including proteins, profoundly impacting each other. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are a powerful tool to study the properties of cellular membranes and membrane-protein interactions on different timescales and at varying levels of resolution. Over the last few years, software and hardware for biomolecular simulations have been optimized to routinely run long simulations of large and complex biological systems. On the other hand, high-throughput techniques based on lipidomics provide accurate estimates of the composition of cellular membranes at the level of subcellular compartments. The community needs computational tools for lipidomics and simulation data effectively interacting to better understand how changes in lipid compositions impact membrane function and structure. Lipidomic data can be analyzed to design biologically relevant models of membranes for MD simulations. Similar applications easily result in a massive amount of simulation data where the bottleneck becomes the analysis of the data to understand how membrane properties and membrane-protein interactions are changing in the different conditions. In this context, we developed LipidDyn , an in silico pipeline to streamline the analyses of MD simulations of membranes of different compositions. Once the simulations are collected, LipidDyn provides average properties and time series for several membrane properties such as area per lipid, thickness, diffusion motions, the density of lipid bilayers, and lipid enrichment/depletion. The calculations exploit parallelization and the pipelines include graphical outputs in a publication-ready form. We applied LipidDyn to different case studies to illustrate its potential, including membranes from cellular compartments and transmembrane protein domains. LipidDyn is implemented in Python and relies on open-source libraries. LipidDyn is available free of charge under the GNU General Public License from https://github.com/ELELAB/LipidDyn .