Tumor Susceptibility Gene 101 facilitates rapamycin-induced autophagic flux in neuron cells

Tumor Susceptibility Gene 101 (TSG101) is a member of endosomal sorting complexes responsible for endocytic pathway, which is associated with autophagic process. However, the role of TSG101 in autophagy remains unclear. To investigate the effect of TSG101 on the membrane-bound MAP1LC3-II, p62 and ubiquitinated protein levels in neuron cells, immunoblotting was used to evaluate the effects in cells silenced with siRNA against TSG101 and treated with autophagy inducer rapamycin. GFP-MAP1LC3 and tandem fluorescent-tagged LC3 (mTagRFP-mWasabi-MAP1LC3) reporter vectors were used to monitor autophagy in cells using confocal microcopy. The autophagic vacuoles were further validated with transmission electron microscopy. Our results showed that TSG101 expression was slightly increased in neuron cells when exposed to rapamycin. Depletion of TSG101 with siRNA lead to accumulation of MAP1LC3-II, GFP-MAP1LC3 puncta and autophagic vacuoles in the cells. Rapamycin-elevated MAP1LC3-II turnover and RFP+Wasabi− puncta were repressed in TSG101 silenced cells, indicating that TSG101 is involved in rapamycin-induced autophagic flux in cells. Moreover, silencing TSG101 reduced colocalization of Rab7, MAP1LC3 and cell viability, increased p62, ubiquitinated proteins in the neuron cells. Taken together, our results suggested that TSG101 might be required for amphisome formation to promote autophagic flux in neuron cells when exposed to rapamycin.