Relationship between endosomes and lysosomes

2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 476-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Luzio ◽  
B. M. Mullock ◽  
P. R. Pryor ◽  
M. R. Lindsay ◽  
D. E. James ◽  
...  

Delivery of endocytosed macromolecules to lysosomes occurs by means of direct fusion of late endosomes with lysosomes. This has been formally demonstrated in a cell-free content mixing assay using late endosomes and lysosomes from rat liver. There is evidence from electron microscopy studies that the same process occurs in intact cells. The fusion process results in the formation of hybrid organelles from which lysosomes are reformed. The discovery of the hybrid organelle has opened up three areas of investigation: (i) the mechanism of direct fusion of late endosomes and lysosomes, (ii) the mechanism of re-formation of lysosomes from the hybrid organelle, and (iii) the function of the hybrid organelle. Fusion has analogies with homotypic vacuole fusion in yeast. It requires syntaxin 7 as part of the functional trans-SNARE [SNAP receptor, where SNAP is soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF) attachment protein] complex and the release of lumenal calcium to achieve membrane fusion. Reformation of lysosomes from the hybrid organelle occurs by a maturation process involving condensation of lumenal content and probably removal of some membrane proteins by vesicular traffic. Lysosomes may thus be regarded as a type of secretory granule, storing acid hydrolases in between fusion events with late endosomes. The hybrid organelle is predicted to function as a ‘cell stomach’, acting as a major site of hydrolysis of endocytosed macromolecules.

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 452-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Jeschke ◽  
Albert Haas

Phagosomes mature into phagolysosomes by sequential fusion with early endosomes, late endosomes, and lysosomes. Phagosome-with-lysosome fusion (PLF) results in the delivery of lysosomal hydrolases into phagosomes and in digestion of the cargo. The machinery that drives PLF has been little investigated. Using a cell-free system, we recently identified the phosphoinositide lipids (PIPs) phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI(3)P) and phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI(4)P) as regulators of PLF. We now report the identification and the PIP requirements of four distinct subreactions of PLF. Our data show that (i) PI(3)P and PI(4)P are dispensable for the disassembly and activation of (phago)lysosomal soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors, that (ii) PI(3)P is required only after the tethering step, and that (iii) PI(4)P is required during and after tethering. Moreover, our data indicate that PI(4)P is needed to anchor Arl8 (Arf-like GTPase 8) and its effector homotypic fusion/vacuole protein sorting complex (HOPS) to (phago)lysosome membranes, whereas PI(3)P is required for membrane association of HOPS only. Our study provides a first link between PIPs and established regulators of membrane fusion in late endocytic trafficking.


1992 ◽  
Vol 118 (6) ◽  
pp. 1321-1332 ◽  
Author(s):  
B W Wattenberg ◽  
T J Raub ◽  
R R Hiebsch ◽  
P J Weidman

An assay designed to measure the formation of functional transport vesicles was constructed by modifying a cell-free assay for protein transport between compartments of the Golgi (Balch, W. E., W. G. Dunphy, W. A. Braell, and J. E. Rothman. 1984. Cell. 39:405-416). A 35-kD cytosolic protein that is immunologically and functionally indistinguishable from alpha SNAP (soluble NSF attachment protein) was found to be required during vesicle formation. SNAP, together with the N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF) have previously been implicated in the attachment and/or fusion of vesicles with their target membrane. We show that NSF is also required during the formation of functional vesicles. Strikingly, we found that after vesicle formation, the NEM-sensitive function of NSF was no longer required for transport to proceed through the ensuing steps of vesicle attachment and fusion. In contrast to these functional tests of vesicle formation, SNAP was not required for the morphological appearance of vesicular structures on the Golgi membranes. If SNAP and NSF have a direct role in transport vesicle attachment and/or fusion, as previously suggested, these results indicate that these proteins become incorporated into the vesicle membranes during vesicle formation and are brought to the fusion site on the transport vesicles.


1998 ◽  
Vol 140 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara M. Mullock ◽  
Nicholas A. Bright ◽  
Clare W. Fearon ◽  
Sally R. Gray ◽  
J. Luzio

Using a cell-free content mixing assay containing rat liver endosomes and lysosomes in the presence of pig brain cytosol, we demonstrated that after incubation at 37°C, late endosome–lysosome hybrid organelles were formed, which could be isolated by density gradient centrifugation. ImmunoEM showed that the hybrids contained both an endocytosed marker and a lysosomal enzyme. Formation of the hybrid organelles appeared not to require vesicular transport between late endosomes and lysosomes but occurred as a result of direct fusion. Hybrid organelles with similar properties were isolated directly from rat liver homogenates and thus were not an artifact of cell-free incubations. Direct fusion between late endosomes and lysosomes was an N-ethylmaleimide–sensitive factor– dependent event and was inhibited by GDP-dissociation inhibitor, indicating a requirement for a rab protein. We suggest that in cells, delivery of endocytosed ligands to an organelle where proteolytic digestion occurs is mediated by direct fusion of late endosomes with lysosomes. The consequences of this fusion to the maintenance and function of lysosomes are discussed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 4015-4027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viviane Poupon ◽  
Abigail Stewart ◽  
Sally R. Gray ◽  
Robert C. Piper ◽  
J. Paul Luzio

Delivery of endocytosed macromolecules to mammalian cell lysosomes occurs by direct fusion of late endosomes with lysosomes, resulting in the formation of hybrid organelles from which lysosomes are reformed. The molecular mechanisms of this fusion are analogous to those of homotypic vacuole fusion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We report herein the major roles of the mammalian homolog of yeast Vps18p (mVps18p), a member of the homotypic fusion and vacuole protein sorting complex. When overexpressed, mVps18p caused the clustering of late endosomes/lysosomes and the recruitment of other mammalian homologs of the homotypic fusion and vacuole protein sorting complex, plus Rab7-interacting lysosomal protein. The clusters were surrounded by components of the actin cytoskeleton, including actin, ezrin, and specific unconventional myosins. Overexpression of mVps18p also overcame the effect of wortmannin treatment, which inhibits membrane traffic out of late endocytic organelles and causes their swelling. Reduction of mVps18p by RNA interference caused lysosomes to disperse away from their juxtanuclear location. Thus, mVps18p plays a critical role in endosome/lysosome tethering, fusion, intracellular localization and in the reformation of lysosomes from hybrid organelles.


2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (14) ◽  
pp. 2601-2611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Krämer ◽  
Christian Ungermann

Membrane fusion within the endomembrane system follows a defined order of events: membrane tethering, mediated by Rabs and tethers, assembly of soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF) attachment protein receptor (SNARE) complexes, and lipid bilayer mixing. Here we present evidence that the vacuolar HOPS tethering complex controls fusion through specific interactions with the vacuolar SNARE complex (consisting of Vam3, Vam7, Vti1, and Nyv1) and the N-terminal domains of Vam7 and Vam3. We show that homotypic fusion and protein sorting (HOPS) binds Vam7 via its subunits Vps16 and Vps18. In addition, we observed that Vps16, Vps18, and the Sec1/Munc18 protein Vps33, which is also part of the HOPS complex, bind to the Q-SNARE complex. In agreement with this observation, HOPS-stimulated fusion was inhibited if HOPS was preincubated with the minimal Q-SNARE complex. Importantly, artificial targeting of Vam7 without its PX domain to membranes rescued vacuole morphology in vivo, but resulted in a cytokinesis defect if the N-terminal domain of Vam3 was also removed. Our data thus support a model of HOPS-controlled membrane fusion by recognizing different elements of the SNARE complex.


2009 ◽  
Vol 284 (24) ◽  
pp. 16118-16125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Hickey ◽  
Christopher Stroupe ◽  
William Wickner

Yeast vacuole fusion requires soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs), the Rab GTPase Ypt7p, vacuolar lipids, Sec17p and Sec18p, and the homotypic fusion and vacuole protein sorting complex (HOPS). HOPS is a multisubunit protein with direct affinities for SNAREs, vacuolar lipids, and the GTP-bound form of Ypt7p; each of these affinities contributes to HOPS association with the organelle. Using all-purified components, we have reconstituted fusion, but the Rab Ypt7p was not required. We now report that phosphorylation of HOPS by the vacuolar kinase Yck3p blocks HOPS binding to vacuolar lipids, making HOPS membrane association and the ensuing fusion depend on the presence of Ypt7p. In accord with this finding in the reconstituted fusion reaction, the inactivation of Ypt7p by the GTPase-activating protein Gyp1–46p only blocks the fusion of purified vacuoles when Yck3p is present and active. Thus, although Ypt7p may contribute to other fusion functions, its central role is to bind HOPS to the membrane.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1271-1277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamilla M.E. Laidlaw ◽  
Rachel Livingstone ◽  
Mohammed Al-Tobi ◽  
Nia J. Bryant ◽  
Gwyn W. Gould

Trafficking within eukaryotic cells is a complex and highly regulated process; events such as recycling of plasma membrane receptors, formation of multivesicular bodies, regulated release of hormones and delivery of proteins to membranes all require directionality and specificity. The underpinning processes, including cargo selection, membrane fusion, trafficking flow and timing, are controlled by a variety of molecular mechanisms and engage multiple families of lipids and proteins. Here, we will focus on control of trafficking processes via the action of the SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) family of proteins, in particular their regulation by phosphorylation. We will describe how these proteins are controlled in a range of regulated trafficking events, with particular emphasis on the insulin-stimulated delivery of glucose transporters to the surface of adipose and muscle cells. Here, we focus on a few examples of SNARE phosphorylation which exemplify distinct ways in which SNARE machinery phosphorylation may regulate membrane fusion.


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