PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHT
Exploring ER-phagy: The endoplasmic reticulum’s recycling process
This publication highlight is part of the SBGrid/Meharry Medical College Communities Project, focused on science education and demonstrating how structural biology and preclinical science connect to medicine
Eukaryotic cells contain many organelles. Organelles are specialized structural compartments that carry out different functions to keep the cell healthy, similar to how organs keep the human body running smoothly. One of the biggest organelles is the endoplasmic reticulum, or ER. The ER works to synthesize proteins and lipids, and to maintain the cell’s calcium storage. The ER also plays a role in neurogenesis, or the formation of new neurons in the brain. In order to maintain a healthy generation of new neurons, the ER needs to be remodeled and ER proteins and lipids must be recycled to create new ones. This process is known as ER-phagy. ER-phagy is a form of autophagy. In a literal translation, ‘auto’ means self, and ‘phagy’ means eat, therefore autophagy translates to self-eating. The more formal definition of autophagy is the cellular process of degrading and recycling organelles, proteins, and macromolecules to maintain cell survival. ER-phagy refers to the recycling process taking place specifically within the ER. While we know that ER-phagy is regulated by different receptors, we are unclear on the precise way this is done. In the ER-phagy field, there are many unanswered questions surrounding how individual receptors are used to remodel the ER and what physiological responses are necessary for triggering those receptors.
SBGrid member J. Wade Harper from Harvard Medical School and colleagues set out to answer some of these major questions in their work titled, Combinatorial selective ER-phagy remodels the ER during neurogenesis. The authors used an induced neuron (iNeuron) system to study how the ER changes during the growth of neurons. They also analyzed proteins in the ER and monitored changes to these proteins during ER-phagy. They found that certain proteins in the ER are preferred targets for different parts of this process. They also observed ER-phagy happening specifically in axons and used cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) to capture the details of how the ER is broken down within these cells.
Read more in Nature.
By KeAndreya Morrison, Meharry Medical College
KeAndreya Morrison is a 4th year biomedical sciences Ph.D. Candidate at Meharry Medical College studying the relationship between host and pathogen through the lens of structural biology. KeAndreya is a Georgia native where she completed her bachelor’s degree in biology at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, GA.
