• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.12
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• pp.827-832
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• 2008

Many age-dependent neurodegenerative diseases are associated with the accumulation of abnormally folded proteins within neurons. One of the major proteolytic pathways in the cell is the autophagy pathway, which targets cytoplasmic contents and organelles to the lysosomes for bulk degradation under various physiological and stressful conditions. Although the importance of autophagy in cellular physiology is well appreciated, its precise roles in neurodegeneration remain largely unclear. Recent studies indicate that components of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) are important in the autophagy pathway. Reduced activity of some ESCRT subunits leads to the accumulation of autophagosomes and failure to clear intracellular protein aggregates. Interestingly, rare mutations in CHMP2B, an ESCRT-III subunit, are associated with frontotemporal dementia linked to chromosome 3 (FTD3). Mutant CHMP2B proteins seem to disrupt the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes in cell culture models. These findings suggest a potential mechanism for the pathogenesis of FTD3 and possibly other neurodegenerative diseases as well.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2023

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), which accounts for approximately 90% of oral cancers, has a high rate of local recurrence and a poor prognosis despite improvements in treatment. Exosomes released from OSCC cells promote cell proliferation and metastasis. Although it is clear that the biogenesis of exosomes is mediated by the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) machinery, the gene expression pattern of ESCRT, depending on the cell type, remains elusive. The exosomal release from the human OSCC cell lines, HSC-3 and HSC-4, and their corresponding gefitinib-resistant sub-cell lines, HSC-3/GR and HSC-4/GR, was assessed by western blot and flow cytometry. The levels of ESCRT machinery proteins, including Hrs, Tsg101, and Alix, and whole-cell ubiquitination were evaluated by western blot. We observed that the basal level of exosomal release was higher in HSC-3/GR and HSC-4/GR cells than in HSC-3 and HSC-4 cells, respectively. Long-term gefitinib exposure of each cell line and its corresponding gefitinib-resistant sub-cell line differentially induced the expression of the ESCRT machinery. Furthermore, whole-cell ubiquitination and autophagic flux were shown to be increased in gefitinib-treated HSC-3 and HSC-4 cells. Our data indicate that the expression patterns of the ESCRT machinery genes are differentially regulated by the characteristics of cells, such as intracellular energy metabolism. Therefore, the expression patterns of the ESCRT machinery should be considered as a key factor to improve the treatment strategy for OSCC.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.168-178
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• 2021

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) forms a monolayer sheet separating the retina and choroid in vertebrate eyes. The polarized nature of RPE is maintained by distributing membrane proteins differentially along apico-basal axis. We found the distributions of these proteins differ in embryonic, post-natal, and mature mouse RPE, suggesting developmental regulation of protein trafficking. Thus, we deleted tumor susceptibility gene 101 (Tsg101), a key component of endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT), in embryonic and mature RPE to determine whether ESCRT-mediated endocytic protein trafficking correlated with the establishment and maintenance of RPE polarity. Loss of Tsg101 severely disturbed the polarity of RPE, which forms irregular aggregates exhibiting non-polarized distribution of cell adhesion proteins and activation of epidermal growth factor receptor signaling. These findings suggest that ESCRT-mediated protein trafficking is essential for the development and maintenance of RPE cell polarity.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.80-89
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• 2011

3D structures of STAM1 UIM-ubiquitin complex were presented to predict and analyze the interaction between UIM and ubiquitin. To generate the protein-peptide complex structure, the RosettaDock method was used with and without NMR restraints. High resolution complex structure was acquired successfully and evaluated electrostatic interaction in the protein-peptide binding with several charged residues at the binding site. From docking results, the Rosettadock method could be useful to acquire essential information of protein-protein or protein-peptide interaction with minimal biological evidences.