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Loss-of-function mutations in seipin cause severe lipodystrophy, yet seipin's function in incompletely understood. Seipin is shown here to be important specifically for initiation of droplet formation, and a deletion mutant allows dissection of this function from maintenance of droplet morphology and vectorial droplet budding.

Background: Lipins are phosphatidic acid phosphatases. In yeast, lipin is activated by the Nem1p-Spo7p complex. There is controversy as to whether a mammalian Spo7p ortholog exists. Results: The metazoan Spo7p ortholog is now identified and shown to interact with lipins in yeast, nematodes, and mammalian cells. Conclusion: NEP1-R1 is the metazoan Spo7p ortholog. Significance: The lipin activation system is conserved in evolution.

The regulation of ATP-sensitive potassium (K ATP ) channel activity is complex and a multitude of factors determine their open probability. Physiologically and pathophysiologically, the most important of these are intracellular nucleotides, with a long-recognized role for glycolytically derived ATP in regulating channel activity. To identify novel regulatory subunits of the K ATP channel complex, we performed a two-hybrid protein-protein interaction screen, using as bait the mouse Kir6.2 C terminus. Screening a rat heart cDNA library, we identified two potential interacting proteins to be the glycolytic enzymes, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and triose-phosphate isomerase. The veracity of interaction was verified by co-immunoprecipitation techniques in transfected mammalian cells. We additionally demonstrated that pyruvate kinase also interacts with Kir6.2 subunits. The physiological relevance of these interactions is illustrated by the demonstration that native Kir6.2 protein similarly interact with GAPDH and pyruvate kinase in rat heart membrane fractions and that Kir6.2 protein co-localize with these glycolytic enzymes in rat ventricular myocytes. The functional relevance of our findings is demonstrated by the ability of GAPDH or pyruvate kinase substrates to directly block the K ATP channel under patch clamp recording conditions. Taken together, our data provide direct evidence for the concept that key enzymes involved in glycolytic ATP production are part of a multisubunit K ATP channel protein complex. Our data are consistent with the concept that the activity of these enzymes (possibly by ATP formation in the immediate intracellular microenvironment of this macromolecular K ATP channel complex) causes channel closure.K ATP channels act as metabolic sensors of a large diversity of cell types by directly coupling their energy metabolism to cellular excitability. This function serves as a crucial regulatory mechanism in the responses of various cell types to their metabolic demand. For example, K ATP channels mediate insulin release from pancreatic ␤ cells, control the firing rate of glucose-responsive neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus, and protect neurons during hypoxia. K ATP channels also have unique roles in the cardiovascular system. In the coronary vasculature, they participate in the maintenance of the coronary vascular tone, whereas in cardiac myocytes, K ATP channel modulation causes alterations in action potential duration and induction of arrhythmias during cardiac ischemia (1).The minimum requirement for the formation of a heterologously expressed K ATP channel appears to be the presence of two types of subunits, namely a pore-forming subunit (Kir6.x) belonging to the family of inward rectifying K ϩ channel subunits and a sulfonylurea receptor regulatory subunit, which is a member of the family of ABC-cassette proteins (2). However, ion channels are increasingly realized to be multisubunit macromolecular complexes (3-5). Recent evidence suggest that the K ATP channel pro...

BackgroundSeipin is required for the correct assembly of cytoplasmic lipid droplets. In the absence of the yeast seipin homolog Sei1p (formerly Fld1p), droplets are slow to bud from the endoplasmic reticulum, lack the normal component of proteins on their surface, are highly heterogeneous in size and shape, often bud into the nucleus, and promote local proliferation of the endoplasmic reticulum in which they become tangled. But the mechanism by which seipin catalyzes lipid droplet formation is still uncertain.ResultsSeipin prevents a localized accumulation of phosphatidic acid (PA puncta) at ER-droplet junctions. PA puncta were detected with three different probes: Opi1p, Spo20p(51–91) and Pah1p. A system of droplet induction was used to show that PA puncta were not present until droplets were formed; the puncta appeared regardless of whether droplets consisted of triacylglycerol or steryl ester. Deletion strains were used to demonstrate that a single phosphatidic acid-producing enzyme is not responsible for the generation of the puncta, and the puncta remain resistant to overexpression of enzymes that metabolize phosphatidic acid, suggesting that this lipid is trapped in a latent compartment. Suppression of PA puncta requires the first 14 amino acids of Sei1p (Nterm), a domain that is also important for initiation of droplet assembly. Consistent with recent evidence that Ldb16p and Sei1p form a functional unit, the PA puncta phenotype in the ldb16Δ sei1Δ strain was rescued by human seipin. Moreover, PA puncta in the sei1Δ strain expressing Sei1pΔNterm was suppressed by overexpression of Ldb16p, suggesting a functional interaction of Nterm with this protein. Overexpression of both Sei1p and Ldb16p, but not Sei1p alone, is sufficient to cause a large increase in droplet number. However, Ldb16p alone increases triacylglycerol accumulation in the ldb16Δ sei1Δ background.ConclusionWe hypothesize that seipin prevents formation of membranes with extreme curvature at endoplasmic reticulum/droplet junctions that would attract phosphatidic acid. While Ldb16p alone can affect triacylglycerol accumulation, proper droplet formation requires the collaboration of Sei1p and Ldb16.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12860-015-0075-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Summary TM4SF20 (transmembrane 4 L6 family 20) is a polytopic membrane protein that inhibits proteolytic processing of CREB3L1 (cAMP response element-binding protein 3-like 1), a membrane-bound transcription factor that blocks cell division and activates collagen synthesis. Here we report that ceramide stimulates CREB3L1 cleavage by inverting the orientation of TM4SF20 in membranes. In the absence of ceramide, the N-terminus of the 1st transmembrane helix of TM4SF20 is inserted into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen. This translocation requires TRAM2 (translocating chain-associated membrane protein 2), a membrane protein containing a putative ceramide-interacting domain. In the presence of ceramide, the N-terminus of the 1st transmembrane domain of TM4SF20 is exposed to cytosol. Consequently, the membrane topology of TM4SF20 is inverted, and this form of TM4SF20 stimulates CREB3L1 cleavage. In the presence of ceramide, translocation of TM4SF20 is TRAM2-independent. We designate this mechanism causing regulated inversion of the membrane topology as “regulated alternative translocation”.

clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00974870.

Metal pollutants are a global health risk due to their ability to contribute to a variety of diseases. Aluminum (Al), a ubiquitous environmental contaminant is implicated in anemia, osteomalacia, hepatic disorder, and neurological disorder. In this review, we outline how this intracellular generator of reactive oxygen species (ROS) triggers a metabolic shift towards lipogenesis in astrocytes and hepatocytes. This Al-evoked phenomenon is coupled to diminished mitochondrial activity, anerobiosis, and the channeling of α-ketoacids towards anti-oxidant defense. The resulting metabolic reconfiguration leads to fat accumulation and a reduction in ATP synthesis, characteristics that are common to numerous medical disorders. Hence, the ability of Al toxicity to create an oxidative environment promotes dysfunctional metabolic processes in astrocytes and hepatocytes. These molecular events triggered by Al-induced ROS production are the potential mediators of brain and liver disorders.