Link between Processes — Einstein scientists have discovered that nutrient deprivation links two key cellular processes, autophagy and ciliogenesis. (Autophagy involves degrading and recycling worn-out proteins and other molecules; ciliogenesis is the formation of cilia, the antennae-like structures that protrude from the cell surface.) A paper in the October 2 online issue of Nature from the laboratories of Drs. Ana Maria Cuervo and Peter Satir demonstrated a reciprocal relationship between autophagy and ciliogenesis. After nutrients were withheld, cell lines with compromised ciliogenesis experienced reduced ability to break down protein due to defective autophagy. The researchers found that the Hedgehog signaling pathway mediates the relationship between the two processes. These findings suggest that the pathology underlying certain ciliopathies—diseases caused by defects in the function or structure of cilia—may result from impaired activation of autophagy. Dr. Cuervo is professor of developmental & molecular biology, of anatomy & structural biology and of medicine and is the Robert and Renee Belfer Chair for the Study of Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Dr. Satir is distinguished university professor of anatomy & structural biology. The paper’s first author was Dr. Olatz Pampliega, a postdoc in the Cuervo lab.
Posted on: Wednesday, December 04, 2013