Cystic fibrosis | EPFL Graph Search

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. Other signs and symptoms may include sinus infections, poor growth, fatty stool, clubbing of the fingers and toes, and infertility in most males. Different people may have different degrees of symptoms. Cystic fibrosis is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. It is caused by the presence of mutations in both copies of the gene for the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein. Those with a single working copy are carriers and otherwise mostly healthy. CFTR is involved in the production of sweat, digestive fluids, and mucus. When the CFTR is not functional, secretions which are usually thin instead b

Functional analysis of Bicc1 and novel interacting proteins in renal tubule cell metabolism and polycystic kidneys

Lucía Carolina Leal Esteban

Genetic disorders known as ciliopathies develop polycystic kidneys, including autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive polycystic kidney diseases (ADPKD and ARPKD). Several signaling pathways including the cAMP/PKA pathway are implicated in driving cystic growth. However, the mechanisms underlying cysts formation is still elusive. Renal cysts also arise in patients and in mouse models with mutations in the RNA-binding protein Bicaudal-C (Bicc1). Bicc1 binds specific mRNAs such as adenylate cyclase VI (AC6) mRNA for translational repression. Conducting a structure-function analysis, we demonstrated that Bicc1 self-polymerizes through its sterile alpha motif (SAM domain) to form cytoplasmic clusters, which specifically localize and silence bound mRNAs. Altered glucose and lipid metabolism also sustain cystic growth in polycystic kidneys, but the cause of these perturbations is unclear. Here, we found that Bicc1 is essential for normal expression of the gluconeogenic enzymes FBP1 and PEPCK specifically in kidneys, and to maintain euglycemia. In a proteomic interactome screen using a knock-in cell line, we found that TAP-tagged Bicc1 binds the C-Terminal to Lis-Homology domain (CTLH) complex, the mammalian orthologue of the glucose-induced degradation (Gid) complex that triggers degradation of FBP1 in S. cerevisiae. Bicc1 stimulates FBP1 expression in vitro in cultured murine inner medullary collecting duct (mIMCD3) cells, albeit independently of its interaction with the CTLH complex. Instead, Bicc1 and CTLH complex seem to mutually downregulate each other. Bicc1 interactome is also enriched with metabolic related proteins. Here we found that Bicc1 coimmunoprecipitates with rate-limiting metabolic enzymes and contributes to maintain their protein levels, and that deletion of Bicc1 significantly alters the renal metabolome while enhances autophagy. Altogether, these results implicate Bicc1 as an important metabolic regulator in the etiology of polycystic kidneys.

EPFL2017

The role of nicotinamide riboside metabolism in pancreatic beta cells

Angélique Satoko Cercillieux

Pancreatic beta cells play a major role in the regulation of glucose homeostasis by secreting insulin in response to elevated blood glucose levels. A gradual deterioration of functional beta cell mass and the chronic elevation of blood glucose levels are central to development of type 2 diabetes. While the etiologies of Type 2 diabetes and age-related metabolic complications are complex, they are often associated with a decline of intracellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). NAD+ levels are maintained through the balance between its synthesis from NAD+ precursors and its degradation by several families of enzymes, including the sirtuin family of protein deacetylases, the ADP-ribosyl transferase enzymes (ARTDs or PARPs) and cADP ribose hydrolases (CD38). NAD+ declines are mostly associated with increased NAD+ consumption, which can be counteracted by dietary supplementation of NAD+ precursors. However, our knowledge on how different tissues utilize and respond to different NAD+ precursors for NAD+ synthesis is still incomplete. This, in turn, limits our ability to provide therapeutic benefits in clinical settings. In this project, we aim to understand the relevance of a particular NAD+ precursor, nicotinamide riboside (NR), in beta cell physiology and its potential use to treat beta cell dysfunction. To do so, we have used mice that are deficient for nicotinamide riboside kinase 1 (NRK1), the first and rate-limiting enzyme for the transformation of NR into NAD+. We demonstrate that NRK1 whole body knockout mice exhibit impaired insulin secretion after a meal or upon glucose challenge when fed a high fat diet. However, NRK1 deficiency in beta cell was not the causality for beta cell failure as differences observed in the NRK1 whole body KO mice were not phenocopied in NRK1 beta cell specific KO mice. Aged NRK1 whole body KO mice also exhibited dysfunctional beta cells and significant loss of insulin content and beta cell mass. Furthermore, NRK1 deficiency exacerbates the decline of NAD+ bioavailability and mitochondria function with age, even promoting fibrosis in multiple tissues. Together, our data suggests that endogenous NR metabolism is critical in maintaining whole body NAD+ homeostasis and to protect against mitochondria dysfunction and stress-related cell responses in pancreatic beta cells.

EPFL2022

Role of Bicaudal-C in Left-Right Axis Formation and Kidney Morphogenesis

Charlotte Maisonneuve

The KH domain RNA binding protein Bicaudal-C is known to play a role in anterior-posterior (AP) patterning in Drosophila by acting on oskar mRNA. In mammals, its expression is induced at late gastrulation in the mesodermal layer of the ventral node. Renal cysts arise in mice and frogs lacking Bicaudal-C. Polycystic diseases and left-right (LR) axis malformations are frequently linked to cilia defects. However, a role for BicC in cilia function has not been demonstrated. Here, I report that targeted inactivation of BicC confirms a role in inducing polycystic kidney disease (PKD). In addition, this targeted mutation was found to randomize left-right (LR) asymmetry by disrupting the planar alignment of motile cilia required for cilia-driven fluid flow. Furthermore, depending on its SAM domain, BicC can uncouple Dvl2 signaling from the canonical Wnt pathway, which has been implicated in antagonizing planar cell polarity (PCP). The SAM domain is shown to concentrate BicC in cytoplasmic structures harboring RNA-processing bodies (P-bodies) and Dvl2. P-bodies are implicated degrading target mRNAs that are silenced by microRNAs. These results suggest a model whereby BicC links the orientation of cilia to PCP, possibly by regulating RNA silencing in P-bodies. In the kidney, BicC is localized in proximal tubules. The cystic phenotype is accompanied by increased levels of cAMP and of Adcy6 protein. BicC is proposed to inhibit target mRNA at the translation-initiation stage by regulating the assembly of miRNP/P-bodies.

EPFL2010