Interorganellar connectivity : From protein to lipid homeostasis

Interorganellar connectivity is fundamental for the maintenance of organellar and cellular functionality and viability. This is achieved and maintained by a complex network of signaling cascades, vesicle trafficking between organelles as well as by establishment of direct physical contact at membrane contact sites (MCS). These MCS are sites of close proximity between different organelles, formed by dedicated tethering machineries, that exist between virtually all organelles within a eukaryotic cell. MCS change in size, abundance and molecular architecture in response to metabolic cues and serve to exchange lipids, metabolites and ions. The nucleus-vacuolar junctions (NVJs), establishing contact between the perinuclear ER and the vacuole in yeast, also serve as platform for the biogenesis of a subpopulation of lipid droplets (LD), organelles that function as storage for neutral lipids and contribute to the detoxification of possibly harmful lipid species and aggregated proteins. While it is clear that interorganellar communication at MCS affects cellular functionality at multiple levels, we are just beginning to understand their contribution to cellular protein and lipid homeostasis and their dynamic remodeling in response to metabolic or proteostatic challenges. In Paper I, we identify a novel regulator and component of NVJs, which is essential for contact site formation as well as their expansion in response to glucose exhaustion, controlled by central glucose signaling pathways. In Paper II, we further characterize the role of this protein in ER protein homeostasis and establish it as a transmembrane chaperone that supports the biogenesis of a subset of ER transmembrane proteins, including Nvj1, the main tether of the NVJs, and several enzymes critical for lipid metabolism. Lack of this chaperone leads to aggregation and premature degradation of its substrates, resulting in severe proteostatic and lipid bilayer stress. In Paper III, we investigate the impact of di