SAC-1 ensures epithelial endocytic recycling by restricting ARF-6 activity

Arf6/ARF-6 is a crucial regulator of the endosomal phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) pool in endocytic recycling. To further characterize ARF-6 regulation, we performed an ARF-6 interactor screen in Caenorhabditis elegans and identified SAC-1, the homologue of the phosphoinositide phosphatase Sac1p in yeast, as a novel ARF-6 partner. In the absence of ARF-6, basolateral endosomes show a loss of SAC-1 staining in epithelial cells. Steady-state cargo distribution assays revealed that loss of SAC-1 specifically affected apical secretory delivery and basolateral recycling. PI(4,5)P2 levels and the endosomal labeling of the ARF-6 effector UNC-16 were significantly elevated in sac-1 mutants, suggesting that SAC-1 functions as a negative regulator of ARF-6. Further analyses revealed an interaction between SAC-1 and the ARF-6-GEF BRIS-1. This interaction outcompeted ARF-6(guanosine diphosphate [GDP]) for binding to BRIS-1 in a concentration-dependent manner. Consequently, loss of SAC-1 promotes the intracellular overlap between ARF-6 and BRIS-1. BRIS-1 knockdown resulted in a significant reduction in PI(4,5)P2 levels in SAC-1-depleted cells. Interestingly, the action of SAC-1 in sequestering BRIS-1 is independent of SAC-1’s catalytic activity. Our results suggest that the interaction of SAC-1 with ARF-6 curbs ARF-6 activity by limiting the access of ARF-6(GDP) to its guanine nucleotide exchange factor, BRIS-1.