The peripheral protein quality control (PPQC) checkpoint removes improperly folded proteins from the plasma membrane through a mechanism involving the E3 ubiquitin ligase CHIP (carboxyl terminus of Hsc70 interacting protein). PPQC limits the efficacy of some cystic fibrosis (CF) drugs, such as VX-809, that improve trafficking to the plasma membrane of misfolded mutants of the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), including F508del-CFTR, which retains partial functionality. We investigated the PPQC checkpoint in lung epithelial cells with F508del-CFTR that were exposed to VX-809. The conformation of the scaffold protein NHERF1 (Na(+)/H(+) exchange regulatory factor 1) determined whether the PPQC recognized "rescued" F508del-CFTR (the portion that reached the cell surface in VX-809-treated cells). Activation of the cytoskeletal regulator Rac1 promoted an interaction between the actin-binding adaptor protein ezrin and NHERF1, triggering exposure of the second PDZ domain of NHERF1, which interacted with rescued F508del-CFTR. Because binding of F508del-CFTR to the second PDZ of NHERF1 precluded the recruitment of CHIP, the coexposure of airway cells to Rac1 activator nearly tripled the efficacy of VX-809. Interference with the NHERF1-ezrin interaction prevented the increase of efficacy of VX-809 by Rac1 activation, but the actin-binding domain of ezrin was not required for the increase in efficacy. Thus, rather than mainly directing anchoring of F508del-CFTR to the actin cytoskeleton, induction of ezrin activation by Rac1 signaling triggered a conformational change in NHERF1, which was then able to bind and stabilize misfolded CFTR at the plasma membrane. These insights into the cell surface stabilization of CFTR provide new targets to improve treatment of CF.

The gene encoding protein kinase WNK2 was recently identified to be silenced by promoter hypermethylation in gliomas and meningiomas, suggesting a tumour-suppressor role in these brain tumours. Following experimental depletion in cell lines, WNK2 was further found to control GTP-loading of Rac1, a signalling guanosine triphosphatase involved in cell migration and motility. Here we show that WNK2 promoter methylation also occurs in 17.5% (29 out of 166) of adult gliomas, whereas it is infrequent in its paediatric forms (1.6%; 1 out of 66). Re-expression of WNK2 in glioblastoma cells presenting WNK2 gene silencing reduced cell proliferation in vitro, tumour growth in vivo and also cell migration and invasion, an effect correlated with reduced activation of Rac1. In contrast, when endogenous WNK2 was depleted from glioblastoma cells with unmethylated WNK2 promoter, changes in cell morphology, an increase in invasion and activation of Rac1 were observed. Together, these results validate the WNK2 gene as a recurrent target for epigenetic silencing in glia-derived brain tumours and provide first mechanistic evidence for a tumour-suppressing role of WNK2 that is related to Rac1 signalling and tumour cell invasion and proliferation.

Cellular models are important tools in various research areas related to colorectal biology and associated diseases. Herein, we review the most widely used cell lines and the different techniques to grow them, either as cell monolayer, polarized two-dimensional epithelia on membrane filters, or as three-dimensional spheres in scaffold-free or matrix-supported culture conditions. Moreover, recent developments, such as gut-on-chip devices or the ex vivo growth of biopsy-derived organoids, are also discussed. We provide an overview on the potential applications but also on the limitations for each of these techniques, while evaluating their contribution to provide more reliable cellular models for research, diagnostic testing, or pharmacological validation related to colon physiology and pathophysiology.

In cystic fibrosis, the most common disease-causing mutation is F508del, which causes not only intracellular retention and degradation of CFTR, but also defective channel gating and decreased membrane stability of the small amount that reaches the plasma membrane (PM). Thus, pharmacological correction of mutant CFTR requires targeting of multiple cellular defects in order to achieve clinical benefit. Although small-molecule compounds have been identified and commercialized that can correct its folding or gating, an efficient retention of F508del CFTR at the PM has not yet been explored pharmacologically despite being recognized as a crucial factor for improving functional rescue of chloride transport. In ongoing efforts to determine the CFTR interactome at the PM, we used three complementary approaches: targeting proteins binding to tyrosine-phosphorylated CFTR, protein complexes involved in cAMP-mediated CFTR stabilization at the PM, and proteins selectively interacting at the PM with rescued F508del-CFTR but not wt-CFTR. Using co-immunoprecipitation or peptide–pull down strategies, we identified around 400 candidate proteins through sequencing of complex protein mixtures using the nano-LC Triple TOF MS technique. Key candidate proteins were validated for their robust interaction with CFTR-containing protein complexes and for their ability to modulate the amount of CFTR expressed at the cell surface of bronchial epithelial cells. Here, we describe how we explored the abovementioned experimental datasets to build a protein interaction network with the aim of identifying novel pharmacological targets to rescue CFTR function in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. We identified and validated novel candidate proteins that were essential components of the network but not detected in previous proteomic analyses.

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