Cystic fibrosis bronchial epithelial cells are lipointoxicated by membrane palmitate accumulation

PLoS One. 2014 Feb 19;9(2):e89044. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0089044. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

The F508del-CFTR mutation, responsible for Cystic Fibrosis (CF), leads to the retention of the protein in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The mistrafficking of this mutant form can be corrected by pharmacological chaperones, but these molecules showed limitations in clinical trials. We therefore hypothesized that important factors in CF patients may have not been considered in the in vitro assays. CF has also been associated with an altered lipid homeostasis, i. e. a decrease in polyunsaturated fatty acid levels in plasma and tissues. However, the precise fatty acyl content of membrane phospholipids from human CF bronchial epithelial cells had not been studied to date. Since the saturation level of phospholipids can modulate crucial membrane properties, with potential impacts on membrane protein folding/trafficking, we analyzed this parameter for freshly isolated bronchial epithelial cells from CF patients. Interestingly, we could show that Palmitate, a saturated fatty acid, accumulates within Phosphatidylcholine (PC) in CF freshly isolated cells, in a process that could result from hypoxia. The observed PC pattern can be recapitulated in the CFBE41o(-) cell line by incubation with 100 µM Palmitate. At this concentration, Palmitate induces an ER stress, impacts calcium homeostasis and leads to a decrease in the activity of the corrected F508del-CFTR. Overall, these data suggest that bronchial epithelial cells are lipointoxicated by hypoxia-related Palmitate accumulation in CF patients. We propose that this phenomenon could be an important bottleneck for F508del-CFTR trafficking correction by pharmacological agents in clinical trials.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Cell Membrane / drug effects
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Cystic Fibrosis / genetics
  • Cystic Fibrosis / metabolism
  • Cystic Fibrosis / pathology*
  • Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator / genetics
  • Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator / metabolism
  • Epithelial Cells / metabolism*
  • Epithelial Cells / pathology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Palmitic Acid / isolation & purification
  • Palmitic Acid / metabolism
  • Palmitic Acid / toxicity*
  • Protein Transport / drug effects
  • Respiratory Mucosa / metabolism*
  • Respiratory Mucosa / pathology

Substances

  • CFTR protein, human
  • Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator
  • Palmitic Acid

Grants and funding

Funding provided by Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (http://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/); Vaincre La Mucoviscidose (http://www.vaincrelamuco.org/); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (http://www.cnrs.fr/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.