Biology subjects

Klausen, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Klausen, C..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Loss of Bbs8 leads to cystic kidney disease in mice and affects tubulin acetylation through HDAC2

Primary cilia dysfunction underlies a group of severe disorders known as ciliopathies. These include Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), which is caused by mutations in BBS genes encoding for components of ciliary protein complexes essential for the assembly and maintenance of primary cilia. As in most ciliopathies, a hallmark feature of BBS is the development of cystic kidney disease. However, the molecular mechanisms linking ciliary dysfunction to cystogenesis remain incompletely understood. Here, we show that Bbs8-/- mice develop late-onset cystic kidney disease accompanied by increased regulated cell death and fibrosis. While the number and length of cilia are not affected, loss of BBS8 reduces K40 acetylation of -tubulin within primary cilia, compromising ciliary stability. Notably, proteomic analysis revealed a significant upregulation of histone deacetylase HDAC2 in Bbs8-/- kidneys, which we confirmed in Bbs8-/- mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and in urine-derived renal epithelial cells (URECs) from a BBS8 patient. We further demonstrate the protein interaction between BBS8 and HDAC2, implicating a disrupted BBS8-HDAC2 regulatory axis in disease pathogenesis. Consistent with a role of excessive HDAC2 activity in the BBS8 deficient cells, pharmacological inhibition of HDAC2 restored tubulin acetylation in BBS8 urine-derived cells. Thus, modulation of HDAC2 activity may represent a strategy to alter ciliary stability in vivo which could explain positive effects of class I specific HDAC inhibitors in models of cystic kidney disease.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2024

BBSome-dependent ciliary Hedgehog signaling governs cell fate in the white adipose tissue

The primary cilium has emerged as critical in regulating whole-body energy metabolism, as reflected in the Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), where primary cilia dysfunction leads to obesity due to hyperphagia and white adipose tissue (WAT) remodeling. The regulation of cell fate and differentiation of adipocyte precursor cells (APCs) is key to maintaining WAT homeostasis during obesity. Using mice that recapitulated the BBS patient phenotype (Bbs8-/-), we demonstrate that primary cilia dysfunction reduces the stem-cell-like P1 APC subpopulation by inducing a phenotypic switch into a fibrogenic progenitor state, characterized by extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and upregulation of CD9. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed a direct transition of stem-cell-like P1 cells into fibrogenic progenitors, bypassing the committed P2 cells. Ectopic ciliary Hedgehog signaling upon loss of BBS8 emerged as a central driver of the molecular changes in Bbs8-/- APCs, altering differentiation into adipocytes and lipid uptake. These findings unravel a novel role for primary cilia in governing APC fate, determining the delicate balance between adipogenesis and fibrogenesis. The identified molecular mechanisms provide insights into potential therapeutic targets for obesity.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Nanobody-directed targeting of optogenetic tools reveals differential regulation of cilia length

Compartmentalization of cellular signaling forms the molecular basis of cellular behavior. The primary cilium constitutes a subcellular compartment that orchestrates signal transduction independent from the cell body. Ciliary dysfunction causes severe diseases, termed ciliopathies. Analyzing ciliary signaling and function has been challenging due to the lack of tools to temporarily manipulate and analyze ciliary signaling. Here, we describe a nanobodybased targeting approach for optogenetic tools that is applicable in vitro and in vivo and allows to specifically analyze ciliary signaling and function. Thereby, we overcome the loss of protein function observed after direct fusion to a ciliary targeting sequence. We functionally localized modifiers of cAMP signaling, i.e. the photo-activated adenylate cyclase bPAC and the light-activated phosphodiesterase LAPD, as well as the cAMP biosensor mlCNBD-FRET to the cilium. Using this approach, we studied the contribution of spatial cAMP signaling in controlling cilia length. Combining optogenetics with nanobody-based targeting will pave the way to the molecular understanding of ciliary function in health and disease.

cell biology↗