Degradation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) via selective autophagy (ER‐phagy) is vital for cellular homeostasis. We identify FAM134A/RETREG2 and FAM134C/RETREG3 as ER‐phagy receptors, which predominantly exist in an inactive state under basal conditions. Upon autophagy induction and ER stress signal, they can induce significant ER fragmentation and subsequent lysosomal degradation. FAM134A, FAM134B/RETREG1, and FAM134C are essential for maintaining ER morphology in a LC3‐interacting region (LIR)‐dependent manner. Overexpression of any FAM134 paralogue has the capacity to significantly augment the general ER‐phagy flux upon starvation or ER‐stress. Global proteomic analysis of FAM134 overexpressing and knockout cell lines reveals several protein clusters that are distinctly regulated by each of the FAM134 paralogues as well as a cluster of commonly regulated ER‐resident proteins. Utilizing pro‐Collagen I, as a shared ER‐phagy substrate, we observe that FAM134A acts in a LIR‐independent manner and compensates for the loss of FAM134B and FAM134C, respectively. FAM134C instead is unable to compensate for the loss of its paralogues. Taken together, our data show that FAM134 paralogues contribute to common and unique ER‐phagy pathways.

Calcium (Ca2+) elevation is an essential secondary messenger in many cellular processes, including disease progression and adaptation to external stimuli, e.g., gravitational load. Therefore, mapping and quantifying Ca2+ signaling with a high spatiotemporal resolution is a key challenge. However, particularly on microgravity platforms, experiment time is limited, allowing only a small number of replicates. Furthermore, experiment hardware is exposed to changes in gravity levels, causing experimental artifacts unless appropriately controlled. We introduce a new experimental setup based on the fluorescent Ca2+ reporter CaMPARI2, onboard LED arrays, and subsequent microscopic analysis on the ground. This setup allows for higher throughput and accuracy due to its retrograde nature. The excellent performance of CaMPARI2 was demonstrated with human chondrocytes during the 75th ESA parabolic flight campaign. CaMPARI2 revealed a strong Ca2+ response triggered by histamine but was not affected by the alternating gravitational load of a parabolic flight.

Selective autophagy of the ER (ERphagy) is an important regulator of ER remodeling and critical to maintain cellular homeostasis upon environmental changes. ERphagy receptors link the ER with autophagic membrane thus regulating ERphagy flux. We recently showed that members of the FAM134 family play overlapping and distinct roles during stress-induced ERphagy. Yet the mechanisms on how they are activated remain largely unknown. In this study we analyzed mTOR-mediated dynamic phosphorylation of FAM134 as a trigger of FAM134-driven ERphagy. An unbiased screen of kinase inhibitors revealed CK2 to be essential for FAM134B- and FAM134C-driven ERphagy upon mTOR inhibition. Identified dynamic phosphorylation sites on FAM134C in cells were fitting with predicted CK2 targeting sites, indicating a direct regulatory role of CK2 in FAM134-driven ERphagy. Using super-resolution microscopy, we showed that activity of CK2 is essential for the formation of high-density clusters of FAM134B and FAM134C. Consistently, FAM134B and FAM134C proteins carrying point mutations of selected Serin residues, within their reticulon homology domain, are unable to form high-density clusters. In addition, we provide evidence that the ubiquitination machinery is required for ERphagy and that FAM134B and FAM134C clustering is activated by phospho-dependent ubiquitination. Treatment with CK2 inhibitor SGC-CK2-1 prevents Torin1-induced ERphagy flux as well as ubiquitination of FAM134 proteins and consistently, treatment with E1 inhibitor suppresses Torin1-induced ERphagy flux. Therefore, we propose CK2 dependent phosphorylation of ERphagy receptors precedes ubiquitin-dependent ERphagy flux activation.

No abstract