Exosomes play a critical role in cell-to-cell communication by delivering cargo molecules to recipient cells. However, the mechanism underlying the generation of the exosomal multivesicular endosome (MVE) is one of the mysteries in the field of endosome research. Although sphingolipid metabolites such as ceramide and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) are known to play important roles in MVE formation and maturation, the detailed molecular mechanisms are still unclear. Here, we show that Rho family GTPases, including Cdc42 and Rac1, are constitutively activated on exosomal MVEs and are regulated by S1P signaling as measured by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based conformational changes. Moreover, we detected S1P signaling-induced filamentous actin (F-actin) formation. A selective inhibitor of Gβγ subunits, M119, strongly inhibited both F-actin formation on MVEs and cargo sorting into exosomal intralumenal vesicles of MVEs, both of which were fully rescued by the simultaneous expression of constitutively active Cdc42 and Rac1. Our results shed light on the mechanism underlying exosomal MVE maturation and inform the understanding of the physiological relevance of continuous activation of the S1P receptor and subsequent downstream G protein signaling to Gβγ subunits/Rho family GTPases-regulated F-actin formation on MVEs for cargo sorting into exosomal intralumenal vesicles.

α-Synuclein (α-Syn)-positive intracytoplasmic inclusions, known as Lewy bodies, are thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of Lewy body diseases, such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Although growing evidence suggests that cell-to-cell transmission of α-Syn is associated with the progression of PD and that extracellular α-Syn promotes formation of inclusion bodies, its precise mechanism of action in the extracellular space remains unclear. Here, as indicated by both conventional fractionation techniques and FRET-based protein-protein interaction analysis, we demonstrate that extracellular α-Syn causes expulsion of sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor subtype 1 (S1PR) from the lipid raft fractions. S1PR regulates vesicular trafficking, and its expulsion involved α-Syn binding to membrane-surface gangliosides. Consequently, the S1PR became refractory to S1P stimulation required for activating inhibitory G-protein (G) in the plasma membranes. Moreover, the extracellular α-Syn also induced uncoupling of the S1PR on internal vesicles, resulting in the reduced amount of CD63 molecule (CD63) in the lumen of multivesicular endosomes, together with a decrease in CD63 in the released exosomes from α-Syn-treated cells. Furthermore, cholesterol-depleting agent-induced S1PR expulsion from the rafts also resulted in S1PR uncoupling. Taken together, these results suggest that extracellular α-Syn-induced expulsion of S1PR from lipid rafts promotes the uncoupling of S1PR from G, thereby blocking subsequent G signals, such as inhibition of cargo sorting into exosomal vesicles in multivesicular endosomes. These findings help shed additional light on PD pathogenesis.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. The presence of α-synuclein (α-Syn)-positive intracytoplasmic inclusions, known as Lewy bodies, is the cytopathological hallmark of PD. Increasing bodies of evidence suggest that cell-to-cell transmission of α-Syn plays a role in the progression of PD. Although extracellular α-Syn is known to cause abnormal cell motility, the precise mechanism remains elusive. Here we show that impairment of platelet-derived growth factor-induced cell motility caused by extracellular α-Syn is mainly attributed to selective inhibition of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) signalling. Treatment of human neuroblastoma cells with recombinant α-Syn caused S1P type 1 (S1P1) receptor-selective uncoupling from inhibitory G-protein (Gi) as determined by both functional and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based structural analyses. By contrast, α-Syn caused little or no effect on S1P2 receptor-mediated signalling. Both wild-type and α-Syn(A53T), a mutant found in familiar PD, caused uncoupling of S1P1 receptor, although α-Syn(A53T) showed stronger potency in uncoupling. Moreover, S1P1 receptor-mediated β-arrestin signal was unaltered by α-Syn(A53T). These results suggest that exogenous α-Syn modulates S1P1 receptor-mediated signalling from both Gi and β-arrestin signals into β-arrestin-biased signal. These findings uncovered a novel function of exogenous α-Syn in the cells.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by α-synuclein (α-Syn)-positive intracytoplasmic inclusions, known as Lewy bodies. Although it is known that extracellular α-Syn is detected in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid, its physiological significance remains unclear. Here, we show that extracellular α-Syn suppresses platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced chemotaxis in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. The inhibitory effect was stronger in the mutant α-Syn(A53T), found in hereditary PD, and the degree of inhibition was time-dependent, presumably because of the oligomerization of α-Syn. PDGF-induced activation of Akt or Erk was not influenced by α-Syn(A53T). Further studies revealed that α-Syn(A53T) inhibited PDGF-induced Rac1 activation, whereas Cdc42 activation remained unaffected, resulting in unbalanced actin filament remodeling. These results shed light on the understanding of pathological as well as physiological functions of extracellular α-Syn in neuronal cells.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a pleiotropic lipid mediator involved in the regulation of immune cell trafficking and vascular permeability acting mainly through G-protein-coupled S1P receptors (S1PRs). However, mechanism underlying how S1PRs are coupled with G-proteins remains unknown. Here we have uncovered that palmitoylation of a prototypical subtype S1P1R is prerequisite for subsequent inhibitory G-protein (Gi) coupling. We have identified DHHC5 as an enzyme for palmitoylation of S1P1R. Under basal conditions, S1P1R was functionally associated with DHHC5 in the plasma membranes (PM) and was fully palmitoylated, enabling Gi coupling. Upon stimulation, the receptor underwent internalisation leaving DHHC5 in PM, resulting in depalmitoylation of S1P1R. We also revealed that while physiological agonist S1P-induced endocytosed S1P1R readily recycled back to PM, pharmacological FTY720-P-induced endocytosed S1P1R-positive vesicles became associated with DHHC5 in the later phase, persistently transmitting Gi signals there. This indicates that FTY720-P switches off the S1P signal in PM, while switching on its signal continuously inside the cells. We propose that DHHC5-mediated palmitoylation of S1P1R determines Gi coupling and its signalling in a spatio/temporal manner.

Lipid interaction with α-synuclein (αSyn) has been long implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, it has not been fully determined which lipids are involved in the initiation of αSyn aggregation in PD. Here exploiting genetic understanding associating the loss-of-function mutation in Synaptojanin 1 (SYNJ1), a phosphoinositide phosphatase, with familial PD and analysis of postmortem PD brains, we identified a novel lipid molecule involved in the toxic conversion of αSyn and its relation to PD. We first established a SYNJ1 knockout cell model and found SYNJ1 depletion increases the accumulation of pathological αSyn. Lipidomic analysis revealed SYNJ1 depletion elevates the level of its substrate phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3). We then employed Caenorhabditis elegans model to examine the effect of SYNJ1 defect on the neurotoxicity of αSyn. Mutations in SYNJ1 accelerated the accumulation of αSyn aggregation and induced locomotory defects in the nematodes. These results indicate that functional loss of SYNJ1 promotes the pathological aggregation of αSyn via the dysregulation of its substrate PIP3, leading to the aggravation of αSyn-mediated neurodegeneration. Treatment of cultured cell line and primary neurons with PIP3 itself or with PIP3 phosphatase inhibitor resulted in intracellular formation of αSyn inclusions. Indeed, in vitro protein–lipid overlay assay validated that phosphoinositides, especially PIP3, strongly interact with αSyn. Furthermore, the aggregation assay revealed that PIP3 not only accelerates the fibrillation of αSyn, but also induces the formation of fibrils sharing conformational and biochemical characteristics similar to the fibrils amplified from the brains of PD patients. Notably, the immunohistochemical and lipidomic analyses on postmortem brain of patients with sporadic PD showed increased PIP3 level and its colocalization with αSyn. Taken together, PIP3 dysregulation promotes the pathological aggregation of αSyn and increases the risk of developing PD, and PIP3 represents a potent target for intervention in PD.

Scientific Reports 6: Article number: 37810; published online: 25 November 2016; updated: 06 April 2018. The original version of this Article contained an error in the indexing of the author Shaymaa Mohamed Mohamed Badawy. This error has now been corrected.