PKD2 regulates autophagy and forms a protein complex with BECN1 at the primary cilium of hypothalamic neuronal cells

Camila García-Navarrete, Catalina Kretschmar, Jorge Toledo, Karla Gutiérrez, María Paz Hernández-Cáceres, Mauricio Budini, Valentina Parra, Patricia V. Burgos, Sergio Lavandero, Eugenia Morselli, Daniel Peña-Oyarzún*, Alfredo Criollo

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The primary cilium, hereafter cilium, is an antenna-like organelle that modulates intracellular responses, including autophagy, a lysosomal degradation process essential for cell homeostasis. Dysfunction of the cilium is associated with impairment of autophagy and diseases known as “ciliopathies”. The discovery of autophagy-related proteins at the base of the cilium suggests its potential role in coordinating autophagy initiation in response to physiopathological stimuli. One of these proteins, beclin-1 (BECN1), it which is necessary for autophagosome biogenesis. Additionally, polycystin-2 (PKD2), a calcium channel enriched at the cilium, is required and sufficient to induce autophagy in renal and cancer cells. We previously demonstrated that PKD2 and BECN1 form a protein complex at the endoplasmic reticulum in non-ciliated cells, where it initiates autophagy, but whether this protein complex is present at the cilium remains unknown. Anorexigenic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons are ciliated cells that require autophagy to maintain intracellular homeostasis. POMC neurons are sensitive to metabolic changes, modulating signaling pathways crucial for controlling food intake. Exposure to the saturated fatty acid palmitic acid (PA) reduces ciliogenesis and inhibits autophagy in these cells. Here, we show that PKD2 and BECN1 form a protein complex in N43/5 cells, an in vitro model of POMC neurons, and that both PKD2 and BECN1 locate at the cilium. In addition, our data show that the cilium is required for PKD2-BECN1 protein complex formation and that PA disrupts the PKD2-BECN1 complex, suppressing autophagy. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanisms by which the cilium controls autophagy in hypothalamic neuronal cells.

Original languageEnglish
Article number167256
JournalBiochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Basis of Disease
Volume1870
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Medicine
  • Molecular Biology

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