The autophagic protein FYCO1 controls TNFRSF10/TRAIL receptor induced apoptosis and is inactivated by CASP8 (caspase 8)

Apoptosis is a tightly controlled cell death program executed by proteases, the so-called caspases. It plays an important role in tissue homeostasis and is often dysregulated in cancer. Here, we identified FYCO1, a protein that promotes microtubule plus end-directed transport of autophagic and endosomal vesicles as a molecular interaction partner of activated CASP8 (caspase 8). The absence of FYCO1 sensitized cells to basal and TNFSF10/TRAIL-induced apoptosis by receptor accumulation and stabilization of the Death Inducing Signaling Complex (DISC). Loss of FYCO1 resulted in impaired transport of TNFRSF10B/TRAIL-R2/DR5 (TNF receptor superfamily member 10b) to the lysosomes in TNFSF10/TRAIL-stimulated cells. More in detail, we show that FYCO1 interacted via its C-terminal GOLD domain with the CCZ1-MON1A complex, which is necessary for RAB7A activation and for the fusion of autophagosomal/endosomal vesicles with lysosomes. We demonstrated that FYCO1 is a novel and specific CASP8 substrate. The cleavage at aspartate 1306 resulted in the release of the C-terminal GOLD domain, inactivating FYCO1 function, and allowing for the progression of apoptosis. Furthermore, the lack of FYCO1 resulted in a stronger and prolonged formation of the TNFRSF1A/TNF-R1 signaling complex. Thus, FYCO1 limits the ligand-induced and steady-state signaling of TNFR-superfamily members, providing a control mechanism that fine-tunes both apoptotic and inflammatory answers. Abbreviations: AP: affinity purification; CHX: cycloheximide; co-IP: co-immunoprecipitation; CRISPR: clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats; DISC: death-inducing signaling complex; DR: death receptors; doxy: doxycycline; GEF: guanine nucleotide exchange factor; ind: inducible; KD: knockdown; KO: knockout; MS: mass spectrometry; shRNA: short hairpin RNA; siRNA: small interfering RNA; TIP: two-step co-immunoprecipitation; WB: western blot.