L’apoptose est une forme de mort cellulaire essentielle au développement et au maintien de l’homéostase chez les animaux multicellulaires. La machinerie apoptotiq ue requiert la participation des caspases, des protéases conservées dans l’évolution et celle des organelles cytoplasmiques. Les lysosomes subissent des ruptures partielles, labilisation de la membrane lysosomale (LML), qui entraînent l’activation des cathepsines dans le cytoplasme de cellules cancéreuses humaines en apoptose induite par la camptothecin (CPT), incluant les histiocytes humains U-937. Ces modifications lysosomales se manifestent tôt durant l’activation de l’apoptose, concomitamment avec la perméabilisation de la mitochondrie et l’activation des caspases. Une étude protéomique quantitative et comparative a permis d’identifier des changements précoces dans l’expression/localisation de protéines lysosomales de cellules U-937 en apoptose. Lors de deux expériences indépendantes, sur plus de 538 protéines lysosomales identifiées et quantifiées grâce au marquage isobarique iTRAQ et LC-ESIMS/ MS, 18 protéines augmentent et 9 diminuent dans les lysosomes purifiés de cellules en cours d’apoptose comparativement aux cellules contrôles. Les candidats validés par immuno-buvardage et microscopie confocale incluent le stérol-4-alpha-carboxylate 3- déhydrogénase, le prosaposin et la protéine kinase C delta (PKC-d). Des expériences fonctionnelles ont démontrées que la translocation de PKC-d aux lysosomes est requise pour la LML puisque la réduction de son expression par ARN interférents ou l’inhibition de son activité à l’aide du rottlerin empêche la LML lors de l’apoptose induite par la CPT. La translocation de PKC-d aux lysosomes conduit à la phosphorylation et l’activation de la sphingomyelinase acide lysosomale (ASM), et à l’accroissement subséquent du contenu en céramide (CER) à la membrane lysosomale. Cette accumulation de CER endogène aux lysosomes est un évènement critique pour la LML induite par la CPT car l’inhibition de l’activité de PKC-d ou de ASM diminue la formation de CER et la LML.Ces résultats révèlent un nouveau mécanisme par lequel la PKC-d active l’ASM qui conduit à son tour à l’accumulation de CER à la membrane lysosomale et déclenche la LML et l’activation de la voie lysosomale de l’apoptose induite par la CPT. En somme, ce mécanisme confirme l’importance du métabolisme des sphingolipides dans l’activation de la voie lysosomale de l’apoptose. / Apoptosis is a distinct form of regulated cell death which is essential for the development and homeostasis maintenance of multicellular animals. Apoptosis is an evolutionary conserved process involving a specific molecular pathway, known as the caspase cascade, and the different cytoplasmic organelles. A lysosomal pathway, characterized by partial rupture, labilization of lysosomal membranes (LML), and cathepsin activation in the cytoplasm, is evoked during camptothecin-induced apoptosis in human cancer cells, including human histiocytic lymphoma U-937 cells. These lysosomal events begin rapidly and simultaneously with mitochondrial permeabilization and caspase activation within 3 h after drug treatment. Comparative and quantitative proteome analyses were performed to identify early changes in lysosomal protein expression/localization from U-937 cells undergoing apoptosis. In two independent experiments, among a total of more than 538 proteins putatively identified and quantitated by iTRAQ isobaric labelling and LC-ESI-MS/MS, 18 proteins were found to be upregulated and 9 downregulated in lysosomes purified from early apoptotic compared to control cells. Protein expression was validated by Western blotting on enriched lysosome fractions, and protein localization confirmed by fluorescence confocal microscopy of representative protein candidates, whose functions are associated with lysosomal membrane fluidity and dynamics. These include sterol-4-alpha-carboxylate 3-dehydrogenase (NSDHL), prosaposin (PSAP) and protein kinase C delta (PKC-d). Functional experiments demonstrate that PKC-d translocation to lysosomes is required for LML, as silencing its expression with RNA interference or suppressing its activity with the inhibitor rottlerin prevents CPT-induced LLM. PKC-d translocation to lysosomes is associated with lysosomal acidic sphingomyelinase (ASM) phosphorylation and activation, which in turn leads to an increase of ceramide (CER) content at lysosomes. The accumulation of endogenous CER at lysosomes is a critical event for CPT-induced LLM as suppressing PKC-d or ASM activity reduces both CPT-mediated CER generation at lysosomes and CPT-induced LLM.These findings reveal a novel mechanism by which PKC-d mediates ASM phosphorylation/activation and CER accumulation at lysosomes in CPT-induced LLM, rapidly activating the lysosomal pathway of apoptosis after CPT treatment. Taken together, these results confirm the importance of sphingolipid metabolism in the activation of the lysosomal pathway of apoptosis.

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is the only known potentially modifiable risk factor for prostate cancer. Intake of dietary protein, especially from dairy products, might also be associated with risk and with circulating IGF-I, but it is not clear if amino acids play a role in these relationships. Moreover, investigations of circulating concentrations of metabolites might reveal novel risk factors for prostate cancer. This thesis investigates plasma concentrations of amino acids and other metabolites in relation to protein intake, IGF-I, and prostate cancer risk using data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). To characterise plasma metabolite profile in men consuming markedly different amounts and types of animal products (meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans), cross-sectional analyses of 392 men in the EPIC-Oxford sub-cohort were conducted. Of 21 amino acids, six varied significantly by diet group, and the metabolite profile of vegans was different from those of other diet groups owing to lower concentrations of several glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids. In a case-control study nested within EPIC, with a mean follow-up time of seven years, the relationship of plasma metabolites with risk of prostate cancer overall, by time to diagnosis, by tumour characteristics, and with risk of prostate cancer death, was investigated. Data from 1,077 matched sets suggested that seven metabolites, from various classes, were associated with risk of prostate cancer overall (p < 0.05). After correction for multiple testing, 12 glycerophospholipids were inversely associated with risk of advanced prostate cancer (the strongest OR_1SD = 0.54; 95%CI: 0.40-0.72). In multivariate analyses, including data from 1,593 matched sets, principal component analysis (PCA) and treelet transform (TT) were used to identify patterns in metabolite profile, five of which were associated with risk of more aggressive tumour sub-types (high grade, advanced and aggressive disease) and/or prostate cancer death. There was a ≈ 50% lower risk of advanced and high grade prostate cancer in men with metabolite profiles characterised by high glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids (for advanced OR_{TT, top vs bottom third} = 0:48; 95%CI: 0:31-0:74), with similar results for high grade and PCA). To investigate if associations between protein intake and circulating IGF-I may be mediated by plasma amino acid concentrations, cross-sectional analyses of amino acid concentrations with protein intake and IGF-I concentrations were carried out in 1,697 and 1,142 control participants, respectively, from the nested case-control study. Dairy protein intake was positively associated with concentrations of branched-chain amino acids and several other essential amino acids, while plant protein intake was strongly associated only with histidine. Serum IGF-I was positively associated with arginine and inversely with ornithine and certain amino acid ratios. In conclusion, men with different dietary habits with respect to the consumption of protein types have different amino acid and metabolite profiles, and metabolite concentrations may be associated with risk of more high-risk prostate cancer sub-types (high grade, advanced and aggressive disease) and prostate cancer death. Further large-scale studies are needed to determine if metabolites play a role in aetiology or are markers of sub-clinical prostate cancer.

In the past fifteen years, ubiquitin has emerged as a central regulator of membrane protein trafficking. In this context, covalent attachment of this small protein to lysine residues of cargo proteins, a reversible modification termed ubiquitylation, provides a signal for their targeting to the vacuolar/lysosomal lumen where they are degraded, both in yeast and higher eukaryotes. Ubiquitylation is also used as a means of controlling the function of specific proteins in several trafficking machineries. The role of lipids - and in particular of membrane domains named lipid rafts - in controlling the intracellular trafficking of membrane proteins has also been the subject of intense investigation in recent years.<p>One of the membrane proteins of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae whose intracellular trafficking has been extensively studied is the general amino acid permease Gap1. Yet some aspects of the function of ubiquitin in the nitrogen-dependent control of this protein remain controversial. Moreover, the potential role of lipid rafts in regulating the functional properties and traffic of the Gap1 permease had not been investigated before this thesis work. <p>The first part of our work readdresses the role of Gap1 ubiquitylation, and more precisely of the modification of the permease with polyubiquitin chains linked through the lysine 63 of ubiquitin, in controlling the fate of this protein in the secretory pathway. Our observations indicate that nitrogen-induced ubiquitylation of newly synthesised Gap1 occurs in the trans-Golgi complex. However, contrary to the generally accepted view, this modification is not necessary for the permease to exit this compartment en route to the endosome but only for its subsequent targeting to the vacuolar lumen via the multivesicular body (MVB) pathway. Our results also provide evidence that K63-linked polyubiquitylation is important mostly at the late endosomal level, for proper sorting of Gap1 into the MVB pathway, whether the permease comes from the cell surface by endocytosis or directly from the secretory pathway. <p>In the second part of this work, we present a set of data providing novel insights into the controversial question of the exact nature of lipid rafts in yeast. We first showed that the Gap1 permease is associated with detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs) - the proposed biochemical equivalent of lipid rafts - when it is located at the cell surface. Our data further suggest that this may be true for most if not all yeast plasma membrane proteins. Moreover, we found that Gap1 production must be coupled to de novo synthesis of sphingolipids (SLs), major constituents of rafts, in order for the newly synthesised permease to be correctly folded, active, associated with DRMs, and stable at the cell surface. We propose a model where Gap1 would associate with newly synthesised SLs during its biogenesis and/or secretion, this association shaping the permease into its native conformation and ensuring its incorporation and stabilisation in specific lipid domains at the plasma membrane. Failure of Gap1 to acquire this lipidic microenvironment in turns leads to its ubiquitin-dependent degradation by a quality-control mechanism. This model might be valid for many other plasma membrane proteins and might account for their lateral distribution between distinct membrane domains. <p> / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

A leishmaniose é uma doença parasitária de ampla distribuição, para a qual se dispõe de um limitado arsenal terapêutico. Trabalhos recentes mostraram que tamoxifeno é eficaz no tratamento de leishmaniose experimental. Nesse trabalho, avaliamos a terapia combinada de tamoxifeno com os fármacos utilizados atualmente no tratamento desta enfermidade. A interação entre os fármacos mostrou-se aditiva, tanto in vitro como in vivo. Em paralelo, analisamos os efeitos de tamoxifeno na biossíntese de esfingolipídios em Leishmania, sendo identificada a redução da síntese de fosfatidilinositol e inositolfosforil ceramida (IPC) e acúmulo de ceramida acilada. A redução na biossíntese de IPC não pode ser atribuída a redução no transporte de inositol, mas provavelmente está relacionada à inibição da enzima IPC sintase. Estes resultados indicam novas estratégias para superar as deficiências encontradas no tratamento de leishmaniose utilizando tamoxifeno, um fármaco clinicamente bem conhecido que exerce ações em múltiplos alvos em Leishmania. / Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease with wide distribution and limited treatment. Recent reports demonstrate that tamoxifen is an effective drug for experimental leishmaniasis treatment. In this work, we evaluated the combined therapy of tamoxifen with current drugs used in leishmaniasis chemotherapy. The drug interaction was additive both, in vitro and in vivo. We also evaluated tamoxifen effect on in Leishmania sphingolipids biosynthesis. We found a reduction in phosphatidylinositol and inositol phosphorylceramide (IPC) synthesis and an accumulation of acilceramide. The reduction in IPC biosynthesis could not be assigned to the reduction observed in inositol transport, but probably is related to IPC synthase inhibition. These results show new strategies to circumvent shortcomings of leishmaniasis treatment using tamoxifen, a multitarget drug in Leishmania and widely used in the chemotherapy of breast cancer.

Die Degranulation von Mastzellen soll durch Glycosphingolipide, welche mit der Zellmembran wechselwirken inhibiert werden. Der Sphingosingrundkörper wurde in zehn-stufigen Synthese ausgehend von N-Boc-Serin, aufgebaut. Die anschließende Glycosylierung erfolgte nach der Trichloracetimidatmethode in sehr guten Ausbeuten und stellte den Schlüsselschritt dar. Durch die Variation von unter Anderem der Amidseitenkette, der Glycosylkopfgruppe und des Sphingosingrundkörpers wurde eine Vielzahl an Derivaten für das Screening im Degranulationsassay bereitgestellt. / The present dissertation covers the synthesis of glycosphingolipids which interact with the cell membrane in order to inhibit the degranulation of mast cells. The sphingosin body was synthesized in ten steps starting from N-Boc-Serin. The key step, the glycosylation was achieved using the trichloracetimidat method. The variation of the amid sidechain, the gylcosyl headgroup and the sphingosin body created a number of derivatives that were tested in the degranulation assay.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Modulation of sphingolipid-induced apoptosis is a potential mechanism to enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs. Ceramide is a pleiotropic, sphingolipid produced by cells in response to inflammatory cytokines, chemotherapeutic drugs and ionizing radiation. Ceramide is a potent activator of protein phosphatases, including protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) leading to dephosphorylation of substrates important in regulating mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis. Previous studies demonstrated that death associated protein kinase (DAPK) plays a role in ceramide-induced apoptosis via an unknown mechanism. The tumor suppressor DAPK is a calcium/calmodulin regulated serine/threonine kinase with an important role in regulating cytoskeletal dynamics. Auto-phosphorylation within the calmodulin-binding domain at serine308 inhibits DAPK catalytic activity. Dephosphorylation of serine308 by a hitherto unknown phosphatase enhances kinase activity and proteasomal mediated degradation of DAPK. In these studies, using a tandem affinity purification procedure coupled to LC-MS/MS, we have identified two holoenzyme forms of PP2A as DAPK interacting proteins. These phosphatase holoenzymes dephosphorylate DAPK at Serine308 in vitro and in vivo resulting in enhanced kinase activity of DAPK. The enzymatic activity of PP2A also negatively regulates DAPK protein levels by enhancing proteasomal-mediated degradation of the kinase, as a means to attenuate prolonged kinase activation. These studies also demonstrate that ceramide causes a caspase-independent cell detachment in HeLa cells, a human cervical carcinoma cell line. Subsequent to detachment, these cells underwent caspase-dependent apoptosis due to lack of adhesion, termed anoikis. Overexpression of wild type DAPK induced cell rounding and detachment similar to cells treated with ceramide; however, this effect was not observed following expression of a phosphorylation mutant, S308E DAPK. Finally, the endogenous interaction of DAPK and PP2A was determined to be required for ceramide-induced cell detachment and anoikis. Together these studies have provided exciting and essential new data regarding the mechanisms of cell adhesion and anoikis. These results define a novel cellular pathway initiated by ceramide-mediated activation of PP2A and DAPK to regulate inside-out signaling and promote anoikis.

Les acides gras saturés (AGS) altèrent la fonctionnalité des organites dans de nombreux types cellulaires. Il a été proposé que ce processus, également nommé lipointoxication, puisse être responsable de plusieurs pathologies humaines telles que le diabète de Type 2.Au niveau cellulaire, l'accumulation d'AGS est associée à une augmentation du taux de saturation des phospholipides (PL) membranaires, les composants majoritaires des membranes des organites, mais également du taux de céramides, impliqués dans l'induction de l'apoptose.Dans une première partie de ce travail, nous avons étudié, chez le modèle cellulaire simple Saccharomyces cerevisiae, la contribution relative des PL saturés et des céramides à la cytotoxicité des AGS. Nous avons pu démontrer que les céramides agissaient à des étapes précoces de la voie de sécrétion, alors que les PL saturés impactaient des étapes plus tardives en altérant en particulier la formation de vésicules de sécrétion.Parallèlement, nous avons également constaté que le taux d'AGS était significativement augmenté dans les PL membranaires des patients atteints d'une maladie génétique, la mucoviscidose. La mutation la plus fréquente responsable de cette maladie, résulte en la rétention de la protéine correspondante dans le réticulum endoplasmique. Des molécules pharmacologiques, capables de corriger le trafic de la protéine à sa destination finale ont été isolées in vitro, mais des limitations importantes ont pu être observées lors des tests cliniques. Nous proposons dans le présent manuscrit que la lipointoxication liée aux AGS pourrait être un écueil important à l'utilisation des correcteurs actuels pour le traitement de la mucoviscidose. / Saturated fatty acids (SFA) have been reported to alter organelle integrity in many cell types. This process, also known as lipotoxicity, has been proposed to be responsible for several human pathologies such as type 2 diabetes.At the cellular level, SFA accumulation is associated with an increase of the saturation rate of membrane phospholipids (PL), the major components of organelle membranes, and an increase of ceramides levels, implicated in apoptosis induction.In the first part of this work, we took advantage of a simple yeast-based model to study the relative contributions of saturated PL and ceramides to SFA cytotoxicity. We demonstrated that ceramides act early in the secretory pathway, while saturated PL impact the later steps, and particularly the formation of secretory vesicles.In parallel, we observed that SFA amounts were significantly increased in the membrane PL of cystic fibrosis (CF) patient cells. The most common mutation responsible for this genetic disease results in the retention of the corresponding protein in the endoplasmic reticulum. Pharmacological agents, which correct the mistrafficking of the protein, have been isolated in vitro, but they did not show significant improvements in clinical trials. We propose in the present manuscript, that SFA-related lipointoxication could be an important bottleneck for the use of these pharmacological agents in clinical trials.

La perméabilisation de la membrane mitochondriale externe (MOMP) est un évènement décisif lors de la balance entre la vie et la mort de la cellule. Les évènements biochimiques responsables de la MOMP ne sont pas encore complètement définis. Deux mécanismes majeurs et distincts ont été impliqués dans le contrôle de la MOMP: i) l'action des protéines de la famille de Bcl-2, qui peuvent directement s'insérer dans la membrane mitochondriale externe (OMM) et induire l'ouverture de pores; et ii) le pore de transition de perméabilité (PTP), un canal non sélectif de la membrane mitochondriale interne, qui induit un gonflement des mitochondries à la suite d'une ouverture prolongée, suivie d'une éventuelle rupture de la MOM. L'intérêt croissant pour la biologie de la mort cellulaire, entretenu par des contributions significatives d'études sur la levure dans la compréhension des mécanismes biologiques de base, ont amené l'eucaryote unicellulaire Saccharomyces cerevisiae sur le devant de la scène. La levure est dépourvue de certains régulateurs majeurs de l'apoptose, mais possède cependant des homologues des facteurs pro-apoptotiques mitochondriaux, ainsi que des orthologues des composantes moléculaires généralement attribuées au PTP, notamment le l'échangeur ADP/ATP (AAC) et la Porine (Por1). Ces caractéristiques de S. cerevisiae, ainsi que la disponibilité d'outils moléculaires et génétiques, ont fourni une excellente opportunité d'étudier les membres de la famille de Bcl-2 dans un environnement contrôlé, ainsi que la contribution du PTP et de ses composantes à la mort cellulaire. Dans ce travail, la contribution des groupes thiol de l'AAC, leur oxydation, Por1, et la possible interaction entre ces deux protéines, ont été explorées au cours de la mort cellulaire de la levure induite par l'acide acétique. Nous avons observé que l'oxydation de Aac2p, notamment la formation de ponts disulfures, ne contribuait pas au programme de mort induit par l'acide acétique. Cette conclusion est soutenue par l'absence d'un profil particulier d'oxydation d'Aac2p. Néanmoins, il avait été précédemment démontré que l'AAC était requis pour la relocalisation du cytochrome c induite par l'acide acétique, et que son absence promouvait la survie des cellules de levure. Par contre, la délétion de Por1 diminue la viabilité de levures traitées par l'acide acétique. Il a été émis l'hypothèse que les deux protéines participent à la même voie de régulation de la mort cellulaire. Pour la tester, la relocalisation du cytochrome c a été mesurée dans des mitochondries isolées de cellules Δaac1/2/3, Δpor1 et Δaac1/2/3Δpor1 suite à l'exposition à l'acide acétique. Les données obtenues suggèrent que l'absence de Por1 n'affecte pas la relocalisation du cytochrome c pendant la mort cellulaire induite par l'acide acétique, mais pourrait être importante pour sa régulation. Quand à la fois AAC et Por1 sont absentes, les mitochondries de levure peuvent toujours relarguer le cytochrome c, suggérant l'existence d'un mécanisme indépendant de l'AAC. De plus, nous avons montré que les deux protéines ont des effets distincts dans les réponses cellulaires à différents stress. En effet, l'absence des AACs contribue à l'augmentation de la résistance au stress osmotique et de l'intégrité de la paroi cellulaire. Enfin, S.cerevisiae a été utilisé comme modèle pour étudier les aspects mécanistiques relatifs à la fonction des protéines de la famille de Bcl-2. Notamment, nous avons évalué le rôle des sphingolipides sur l'action du régulateur pro-apoptotique humain Bax. Nous avons montré que l'absence de Isc1p, une inositol phospholipase C qui dégrade les sphingolipides complexes en céramides chez la levure, favorise la viabilité de cellules de levures exprimant une forme active de Bax. Nous avons ensuite révélé que cet effet n'est pas associé à des modifications de l'activité de Bax. Il semblerait plutôt que cet effet soit lié aux conséquences cellulaires de l'action de Bax. / A decisive event in the cell’s life-or-death decision is the mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP). The biochemical events responsible for MOMP, are not entirely defined. Two major and distinct mechanisms have been implicated in the control of MOMP: i) the action of Bcl-2 family proteins, which can directly engage the outer mitochondria membrane (OMM) and induce the opening of pores; and ii) the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (PTP), an inner membrane unselective channel that induces mitochondria swelling upon long term openings, and eventual rupture of the OMM. The growing interest in cell death biology, fostered by the relevant contributions of yeast to the understanding of basic biological processes, brought the unicellular eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae into the scene. Yeast cells lack some of the major regulators of apoptosis but still possess homologues of mitochondrially enclosed pro-apoptotic factors, as well as orthologues of the molecular components generally ascribed to PTP, including the ADP/ATP carrier (AAC) and Porin (Por1). These particular features of S. cerevisiae, along with the availability of genetic and molecular tools, provided an excellent opportunity to study Bcl-2 family members in a “controlled” environment, or the contribution of the PTP and its components to cell death. In this work, the particular contribution of AAC’s thiol goups, its oxidation, Por1, and of a possible interaction between both proteins to acetic acid-induced yeast cell death, was explored. We observed that oxidative modifications of Aac2p, namely the crosslinking of thiols, do not contribute to the acetic acid-induced cell death program. Such idea is supported by the apparent absence of a particular Aac2p oxidation pattern. Nevertheless, the AAC was previously found to be required for acetic acid-induced cytochrome c release, and its absence promoted the survival of yeast cells. Deletion of Por1, on the other hand, decreased the viability of yeast cells treated with acetic acid. It was hypothesized that the two proteins could share the same pathway in the regulation of cell death. To test it, cytochrome c release was evaluated in mitochondria isolated from Δaac1/2/3, Δpor1 and Δaac1/2/3Δpor1 cells following acetic acid exposure. The data obtained suggest that absence of Por1 does not affect cytochrome c releaseduring acetic acid induced-death, but it may be important for its regulation. When both the AAC and Por1 were absent, yeast mitochondria could still release cytochrome c, raising the possibility of an AAC-independent mechanism. Furthermore, we found both proteins have distinct effects that regulate the cellular response to different stresses. Indeed, absence of the AACs somehow contributed to increased osmotic stress and cell wall resistance. Finally, S. cerevisiae was used as a model to study mechanistic aspects relative to the function of Bcl-2 family proteins. Namely, we assessed the role of sphingolipids in the action of the human pro-apoptotic regulator Bax. We found that absence of Isc1p, an inositol phospholipase C that degrades complex sphingolipids into ceramides in yeast, favored the viability of yeast cells expressing an active form of Bax. It was further revealed that this effect is not associated with changes to the action of Bax; rather, it might be related with the cellular consequences of Bax-action. A parallel with the effect of Uth1p absence in yeast cells expressing Bax suggests that the absence of Isc1p could affect the selective degradation of mitochondria by mitophagy, and thus produce a different cell death response. This work provides new insights into the physiological events underlying the contribution of mitochondrial proteins, previously associated with cell death responses, and sphingolipid metabolism to cell death induced by acetic acid and Bax, respectively. Once again, the yeast S. cerevisiae proved to be an excellent model for the research of cell life and death.

Verticillium longisporum ist ein bodenbürtiger, phytopathogener Pilz, der Pflanzen der Familie der Brassicaceen befällt. Er dringt durch die Wurzel ein und verbreitet sich in der Pflanze über das Xylem. In dieser Arbeit wurden die metabolischen Veränderungen in der Modellpflanze Arabidopsis thaliana während der Pflanzen-Pilz-Interaktion analysiert. Hierfür wurde die

Spinal Muscular Atrophy with Progressive Myoclonic Epilepsy (SMA-PME), Farber Lipogranulomatosis (FL), and a rare variant form of Neonatal Progeroid Syndrome (NPS) are three monogenetic rare disorders caused by pathogenic variation in genes encoding lipid modifying proteins. FL and SMA-PME are caused by loss of function mutations in ASAH1, encoding the acid ceramidase (aCDase) enzyme. It is not, however, known how aCDase deficiency can produce either the isolated neurological symptoms of SMA-PME or the predominantly systemic symptoms of FL. Further, a recently identified variant form of NPS has been attributed to variants in ANO6, encoding a dual function calcium-activated chloride channel and glycerophosphoserine (GPS) scramblase. Here, it is not known how ANO6 mutation causes the premature aging phenotype that defines NPS. To address these questions, I sought to elucidate pathogenic changes in lipid metabolism that associate clinical phenotype. I show here that the different patient mutations in ANO6 cause a non-physiological gain of channel function and either a loss or gain of scramblase function depending on the variant expressed. Both variants, however, alter GPS metabolic homeostasis suggesting a common mechanism of action. To provide in vivo insight, I characterized a novel mouse model based on our NPS patient genetics, showing extremely low penetrance of disease symptoms in terms of live births yet confirming that affected animals show impaired GPS metabolism in affected organs. Next, I characterized the clinical presentation of six new patients with SMA-PME and identified distinct sphingolipid metabolic fingerprints in FL and SMA-PME cells. I show that FL is defined by a hypometabolic sphingolipid phenotype with cellular and molecular features of a classic lysosomal storage disorder. By contrast, SMA-PME has a hypermetabolic sphingolipid phenotype with features of non-classic lysosomal trafficking disorders. To provide clinical insight, I assessed the potential of enzyme replacement therapy, demonstrating a rescue of sphingolipid metabolism in SMA-PME patient cells. Together, this thesis identified changes in the cellular and tissue lipid profiles of patients with ANO6-NPS, SMA-PME, or FL, elucidating some of the lipid-centric pathomechanisms of these diseases.