Antagonistic control of lysosomal fusion by Rab14 and the Lyst-related protein LvsB

While loss of the protein Lyst causes abnormal lysosomes in patients with Chediak-Higashi syndrome, the contribution of Lyst to lysosome biology is not known. Previously we found that the Dictyostelium ortholog of Lyst, LvsB, is a cytosolic protein that associates with lysosomes and post-lysosomes to prevent their inappropriate fusion. Here we provide three lines of evidence that indicate that LvsB contributes to lysosome function by antagonizing the function of DdRab14, a protein that promotes homotypic fusion among lysosomes. (1) Instead of restricting DdRab14 to lysosomes, cells that lack LvsB expand DdRab14 localization to include post-lysosomes. (2) Expression of activated DdRab14 phenocopies the loss of LvsB, causing inappropriate heterotypic fusion between lysosomes and post-lysosomes and their subsequent enlargement. (3) Conversely, expression of inactivated DdRab14 suppresses the phenotype of LvsB null cells and restores their lysosomal size and segregation from post-lysosomes. Our data suggest a scenario where LvsB binds to late lysosomes and promotes the inactivation of DdRab14. This inactivation allows the lysosomes to mature into post-lysosomes for eventual secretion. We propose that human Lyst may function similarly to regulate Rab-dependent fusion of lysosomal compartments.