The involvement of SigmaR1K142 degradation mediated by ERAD in neural senescence linked with CdCl2 exposure.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia worldwide. Due to its uncertain pathogenesis, there is currently no treatment available for AD. Increasing evidences have linked cellular senescence to AD, although the mechanism triggering cellular senescence in AD requires further exploration. To investigate the involvement of cellular senescence in AD, we explored the effects of cadmium chloride (CdCl2) exposure, one of the potential environmental risk factors for AD, on neuron senescence in vivo and in vitro. ß-amyloid (Aß) and tubulin-associated protein (tau) pathologies were found to be enhanced by CdCl2 exposure in the in vitro models, while p53/p21/Rb cascade-related neuronal senescence pathways were activated. Conversely, the use of melatonin, a cellular senescence inhibitor, or a cadmium ion chelator suppressed CdCl2-induced neuron senescence, along with the Aß and tau pathologies. Mechanistically, CdCl2 exposure activated the suppressor enhancer Lin-12/Notch 1-like (SEL1L)/HMG-CoA reductase degradation 1 (HRD1)-regulated endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD), which enhanced the ubiquitin degradation of sigma-1 receptor (SigmaR1) by specifically recognizing its K142 site, resulting in the activation of the p53/p21/Rb pathway via the induction of Ca2+ dyshomeostasis and mitochondrial dysfunction. In the in vivo models, the administration of the SigmaR1 agonist ANAVEX2-73 rescues neurobehavioral inhibition and alleviates cellular senescence and AD-like pathology in the brain tissue of CdCl2-exposed mice. Consequently, the present study revealed a novel senescence-associated regulatory route for the SEL1L/HRD1/SigmaR1 axis that affects the pathological progression of CdCl2 exposure-associated AD. CdCl2 exposure activated SEL1L/HRD1-mediated ERAD and promoted the ubiquitinated degradation of SigmaR1, activating p53/p21/Rb pathway-regulated neuronal senescence. The results of the present study suggest that SigmaR1 may function as a neuroprotective biomarker of neuronal senescence, and pharmacological activation of SigmaR1 could be a promising intervention strategy for AD therapy.

Rab7a-mTORC1 signaling-mediated cholesterol trafficking from the lysosome to mitochondria ameliorates hepatic lipotoxicity induced by aflatoxin B1 exposure.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a common contaminant in many foodstuffs and is considered a public health concern worldwide due to its hepatotoxicity caused by lipid metabolism disorders. However, the molecular mechanism underlying AFB1-induced lipotoxicity-dependent liver injury via regulating cholesterol metabolism remains unclear. We established a cholesterol trafficking disorder-mediated hepatic lipotoxicity model with AFB1 mixture exposure in vitro (HepaRG and HepG2 cells, 1.6 µM for 36 h) and in vivo (C57BL/6 mice, 3 mg kg-1, i.g., every other day for 6 weeks). In vitro, the interaction between lysosomal Niemann-Pick type C1 (NPC1) protein and mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO) regulated lipotoxicity induced by AFB1 mixture exposure, including lysosomal membrane permeabilization and mitochondria-dependent necroptosis. Moreover, the downregulation of lysosomal Ras-associated protein 7a (Rab7a) enhanced the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1)-mediated disorders of cholesterol trafficking from the lysosome to mitochondria. Furthermore, cholesterol trafficking disorder-mediated hepatic lipotoxicity induced by the low-dose level of AFB1 exposure was relieved by genetic or pharmaceutic activation of Rab7a to inhibit mTORC1 in vitro and ex vivo. In vivo, mTORC1 inhibitor (Torin1, 4 mg kg-1, i.p., every other day for 3 weeks) alleviated the cholesterol trafficking disorder-mediated hepatic lipotoxicity via upregulating the molecular machinery of lysosomes and mitochondria contact mediated by NPC1 and TSPO interaction in the low dose of AFB1 exposure. Altogether, our data suggested a novel mechanism that lysosomal Rab7a-mTORC1 signaling determined the cholesterol trafficking regulated by NPC1-TSPO from the lysosome to mitochondria, which promoted hepatic lipotoxicity via lysosomal quality control and mitochondria-dependent necroptosis signaling pathways in chemical mixture exposure.