Lysosomal cell death at a glance Aits, Sonja; Jäättelä, Marja
Journal of cell science,
2013-May-01, Volume:
126, Issue:
Pt 9
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Lysosomes serve as the cellular recycling centre and are filled with numerous hydrolases that can degrade most cellular macromolecules. Lysosomal membrane permeabilization and the consequent leakage ...of the lysosomal content into the cytosol leads to so-called "lysosomal cell death". This form of cell death is mainly carried out by the lysosomal cathepsin proteases and can have necrotic, apoptotic or apoptosis-like features depending on the extent of the leakage and the cellular context. This article summarizes our current knowledge on lysosomal cell death with an emphasis on the upstream mechanisms that lead to lysosomal membrane permeabilization.
Acquired therapy resistance is one of the prime obstacles for successful cancer treatment. Partial resistance is often acquired already during an early face of tumor development when genetic changes ...causing defects in classical caspase-dependent apoptosis pathway provide transformed cells with a growth advantage by protecting them against various apoptosis inducing stimuli including transforming oncogenes themselves and host immune system. Apoptosis defective cells are further selected during tumor progression and finally by apoptosis inducing treatments. Another form of resistance, multidrug resistance, arises during cancer treatment when cancer cells with effective efflux of cytotoxic agents escape the therapy. Remarkably, induction of lysosomal membrane permeabilization has recently emerged as an effective way to kill apoptosis resistant cancer cells and some lysosome targeting drugs can also re-sensitize multidrug resistant cells to classical chemotherapy. In this review, we highlight recent data on lysosomal cell death pathways and their implications for the future treatment of apoptosis defective and multidrug resistant aggressive tumors.
The lysosomes have definitely polished their status inside the cell. Being discovered as the last resort of discarded cellular biomass, the steady rising of this versatile signaling organelle is ...currently ongoing. This review discusses the recent data on the unconventional functions of lysosomes, focusing mainly on the less studied lysosomes residing in the cellular periphery. We emphasize our discussion on the emerging paths the lysosomes have taken in promoting cancer progression to metastatic disease. Finally, we address how the altered cancerous lysosomes in metastatic cancers may be specifically targeted and what are the pending questions awaiting for elucidation.
Lysosomes, with their arsenal of degradative enzymes are increasingly becoming an area of interest in the field of oncology. The changes induced in this compartment upon transformation are numerous ...and whereas most are viewed as pro-oncogenic the same processes also render cancer cells susceptible to lysosomal death pathways. This review will provide an overview of the pro- and anti-oncogenic potential of this compartment and how these might be exploited for cancer therapy, with special focus on lysosomal death pathways.
The human heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) family contains at least eight homologous chaperone proteins. Endoplasmatic reticulum and mitochondria have their specific Hsp70 proteins, whereas the ...remaining six family members reside mainly in the cytosol and nucleus. The requirement for multiple highly homologous although different Hsp70 proteins is still far from clear, but their individual and tissue-specific expression suggests that they are assigned distinct biological tasks. This concept is supported by the fact that mice knockout for different Hsp70 genes display remarkably discrete phenotypes. Moreover, emerging data suggest that individual Hsp70 proteins can bring about non-overlapping and chaperone-independent functions essential for growth and survival of cancer cells. This review summarizes our present knowledge of the individual members of human Hsp70 family and elaborate on the functional differences between the cytosolic/nuclear representatives.
Lysosomal membrane permeabilization and subsequent leakage of lysosomal hydrolases into the cytosol are considered as the major hallmarks of evolutionarily conserved lysosome-dependent cell death. ...Contradicting this postulate, new sensitive methods that can detect a minimal lysosomal membrane damage have demonstrated that lysosomal leakage does not necessarily equal cell death. Notably, cells are not only able to survive minor lysosomal membrane permeabilization, but some of their normal functions actually depend on leaked lysosomal hydrolases. Here we discuss emerging data suggesting that spatially and temporally controlled lysosomal leakage delivers lysosomal hydrolases to specific subcellular sites of action and controls at least three essential cellular processes, namely mitotic chromosome segregation, inflammatory signaling, and cellular motility.
Cancer cells generate large quantities of cytoplasmic protons as byproducts of aberrantly activated aerobic glycolysis and lactate fermentation. To avoid potentially detrimental acidification of the ...intracellular milieu, cancer cells activate multiple acid-removal pathways that promote cytosolic alkalization and extracellular acidification. Accumulating evidence suggests that in addition to the well-characterized ion pumps and exchangers in the plasma membrane, cancer cell lysosomes are also reprogrammed for this purpose. On the one hand, the increased expression and activity of the vacuolar-type H+−ATPase (V-ATPase) on the lysosomal limiting membrane combined with the larger volume of the lysosomal compartment increases the lysosomal proton storage capacity substantially. On the other hand, enhanced lysosome exocytosis enables the efficient release of lysosomal protons to the extracellular space. Together, these two steps dynamically drive proton flow from the cytosol to extracellular space. In this perspective, we provide mechanistic insight into how lysosomes contribute to the rewiring of pH homeostasis in cancer cells.
Lysosomes as targets for cancer therapy Fehrenbacher, Nicole; Jäättelä, Marja
Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.),
04/2005, Volume:
65, Issue:
8
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Tumor invasion and metastasis are associated with altered lysosomal trafficking and increased expression of the lysosomal proteases termed cathepsins. Emerging experimental evidence suggests that ...such alterations in lysosomes may form an "Achilles heel" for cancer cells by sensitizing them to death pathways involving lysosomal membrane permeabilization and the release of cathepsins into the cytosol. Here, we highlight recent results on cancer-related changes in the composition and function of lysosomes, focusing on possible implications for the development of novel cancer therapeutics that target tumor cell lysosomes.
pH gradient reversal fuels cancer progression Zheng, Tianyu; Jäättelä, Marja; Liu, Bin
The international journal of biochemistry & cell biology,
August 2020, 2020-08-00, Volume:
125
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
pH gradient reversal refers to intracellular alkalization and extracellular acidification commonly seen in malignant tumors. To meet their high anabolic demand, cancer cells rewire their glucose ...metabolism from oxidative phosphorylation to lactate fermentation, which results in the excessive generation of protons. To avoid lethal cytosolic acidification, lactate-fermenting cancer cells activate multiple acid removal pathways leading to the acidification of the extracellular space. This acidification is often further intensified by the defective capacity of the disorganized tumor vasculature to dilute protons away from the cancer tissue. The cancer-specific proton equilibrium with highly alkaline cytosol and acidic extracellular space is emerging as a fundamental driving force for cancer growth. Here, we discuss how cancer cells establish and maintain reversed pH gradient, how pH gradient reversal fuels cancer progression, and how these mechanisms can be targeted in cancer therapy.
The plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells forms the essential barrier to the extracellular environment, and thus plasma membrane disruptions pose a fatal threat to cells. Here, using invasive breast ...cancer cells we show that the Ca
- and phospholipid-binding protein annexin A7 is part of the plasma membrane repair response by enabling assembly of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) III. Following injury to the plasma membrane and Ca
flux into the cytoplasm, annexin A7 forms a complex with apoptosis linked gene-2 (ALG-2) to facilitate proper recruitment and binding of ALG-2 and ALG-2-interacting protein X (ALIX) to the damaged membrane. ALG-2 and ALIX assemble the ESCRT III complex, which helps excise and shed the damaged portion of the plasma membrane during wound healing. Our results reveal a novel function of annexin A7 - enabling plasma membrane repair by regulating ESCRT III-mediated shedding of injured plasma membrane.
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