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Vesicular roles of Arp2/3 nucleation-promoting factors
Dostál, Vojtěch ; Libusová, Lenka (advisor) ; Malínský, Jan (referee) ; Befekadu, Asfaw (referee)
F-actin is involved in key aspects of vesicular traffic, such as membrane deformation, tubulation and vesicle motion. Branching of F-actin is mediated by Arp2/3 but this complex must first be activated by so-called nucleation-promoting factors (NPFs). These factors play an essential role in the decision where and when branched actin should form on the membrane surface. The thesis focuses on the mechanisms which underlie localization and activation of NPFs, especially in terms of the phosphoinositide composition of the vesicle membranes. I show that one of the NPFs, the WASH complex, does not exclusively depend on the retromer complex for its membrane anchoring, as previously theorized. Rather, its understudied subunit SWIP enables the complex to independently bind to the membrane. I also present data showing that the WASH complex has essential roles in maintaining lysosomal function. Additionally, I elucidate the function of another NPF known as WHAMM in the ERGIC compartment, showing that it depends on the presence of myotubularin 9 for its ability to form membrane tubules. The thesis improves our understanding of the interface between the actin cytoskeleton and intracellular membrane system.
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The role of the WASH complex in endolysosomal homeostasis
Beránková, Pavla ; Libusová, Lenka (advisor) ; Rösel, Daniel (referee)
The WASH (WASP and SCAR homologue) complex is an actin nucleation promoting factor essential for endosomal cargo sorting. Upon WASH complex depletion, endosomal cargoes are mislocalized and the endolysosomal system collapses. Here, we employed high-speed vesicle tracking and real-time rescue experiments to test the effect of WASH complex depletion on endolysosomal homeostasis. We found that large lysosome-like vacuoles emerge in knockout cell lines of individual WASH complex subunits, although the overall dynamics of the lysosomal network does not substantially change. Follow-up experiments revealed that the WASH complex does not act directly on the vacuoles during their rescue. Overall, the data indicate that the emergence of vacuoles in WASH complex knockouts is a secondary process that depends on the WASH complex indirectly.
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Characterization of WASH complex member protein SWIP
Humhalová, Tereza ; Libusová, Lenka (advisor) ; Lánský, Zdeněk (referee)
WASH complex regulates actin dynamics on endosomes by activating the Arp2/3 complex, which subsequently induces generation of branched actin patches. WASH complex is required for proper recycling of many important transmembrane proteins. Although the general physiological function of WASH complex is known, the role of its single subunits have not yet been adequately specified. This work focuses on one of these subunits - protein SWIP. This protein maintains vesicular localization of some WASH complex subunits in the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum and a point mutation in its sequence causes a severe neurodegenerative disease - autosomal recessive intellectual disorder (ARID). Our results show that SWIP truncation results in its inability to incorporate into WASH complex. However, the C-terminal part of SWIP is able to localize onto intracellular vesicles, which are not WASH complex positive. We have also studied the impact of ARID-causing SWIP mutation, and we show, that it does neither change the protein's ability to bind the complex nor the overall localization of WASH complex.
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