Accumulation of glucosylceramide in the absence of the beta-glucosidase GBA2 alters cytoskeletal dynamics.

Autor: Diana Raju, Sophie Schonauer, Hussein Hamzeh, Kevin C Flynn, Frank Bradke, Katharina Vom Dorp, Peter Dörmann, Yildiz Yildiz, Christian Trötschel, Ansgar Poetsch, Bernadette Breiden, Konrad Sandhoff, Heinz G Körschen, Dagmar Wachten
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: PLoS Genetics, Vol 11, Iss 3, p e1005063 (2015)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1553-7390
1553-7404
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005063
Popis: Glycosphingolipids are key elements of cellular membranes, thereby, controlling a variety of cellular functions. Accumulation of the simple glycosphingolipid glucosylceramide results in life-threatening lipid storage-diseases or in male infertility. How glucosylceramide regulates cellular processes is ill defined. Here, we reveal that glucosylceramide accumulation in GBA2 knockout-mice alters cytoskeletal dynamics due to a more ordered lipid organization in the plasma membrane. In dermal fibroblasts, accumulation of glucosylceramide augments actin polymerization and promotes microtubules persistence, resulting in a higher number of filopodia and lamellipodia and longer microtubules. Similar cytoskeletal defects were observed in male germ and Sertoli cells from GBA2 knockout-mice. In particular, the organization of F-actin structures in the ectoplasmic specialization and microtubules in the sperm manchette is affected. Thus, glucosylceramide regulates cytoskeletal dynamics, providing mechanistic insights into how glucosylceramide controls signaling pathways not only during sperm development, but also in other cell types.
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