MON-2, a Golgi protein, promotes longevity by upregulating autophagy through mediating inter-organelle communications

Autophagy. 2022 May;18(5):1208-1210. doi: 10.1080/15548627.2022.2039523. Epub 2022 Feb 19.

Abstract

The Golgi apparatus regulates the process of modification and subcellular localization of macromolecules, including proteins and lipids. Aberrant protein sorting caused by defects in the Golgi leads to various diseases in mammals. However, the role of the Golgi apparatus in organismal longevity remained largely unknown. By employing a quantitative proteomic approach, we demonstrated that MON-2, an evolutionarily conserved Arf-GEF protein implicated in Golgi-to-endosome trafficking, promotes longevity via upregulating macroautophagy/autophagy in C. elegans. Our data using cultured mammalian cells indicate that MON2 translocates from the Golgi to the endosome under starvation conditions, subsequently increasing autophagic flux by binding LGG-1/GABARAPL2. Thus, Golgi-to-endosome trafficking appears to be an evolutionarily conserved process for the upregulation of autophagy, which contributes to organismal longevity.

Keywords: Aging; C. elegans; Golgi; LGG-1/GABARAPL2; MON-2/MON2; autophagy; lifespan; proteomics.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Autophagy* / physiology
  • Caenorhabditis elegans
  • Endosomes / metabolism
  • Golgi Apparatus / metabolism
  • Longevity*
  • Mammals
  • Proteomics

Grants and funding

This work is funded by National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grants NRF-2019R1A3B2067745 from the Korean Government (Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology (S-J.V.L.). NRF-2017R1A5A1015366 (S.Y.P, S-J.V.L). Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) intramural grant (C.L).