Endocytosis mediated by an atypical CUBAM complex modulates slit diaphragm dynamics in nephrocytes

The vertebrate endocytic receptor CUBAM, consisting of three cubilin monomers complexed with a single amnionless molecule, plays a major role in protein reabsorption in the renal proximal tubule. Here, we show that Drosophila CUBAM is a tripartite complex composed of Amnionless and two cubilin paralogues, Cubilin and Cubilin2, and that it is required for nephrocyte slit diaphragm (SD) dynamics. Loss of CUBAM-mediated endocytosis induces dramatic morphological changes in nephrocytes and promotes enlarged ingressions of the external membrane and SD mislocalisation. These phenotypes result in part from an imbalance between endocytosis, which is strongly impaired in CUBAM mutants, and exocytosis in these highly active cells. Of note, rescuing receptor-mediated endocytosis by Megalin/ LRP2 or Rab5 expression only partially restores SD positioning in CUBAM mutants, suggesting a specific requirement of CUBAM in SD degradation and/or recycling. This finding and the reported expression of CUBAM in podocytes suggest a possible unexpected conserved role for this endocytic receptor in vertebrate SD remodellingMinisterio de Economı́a, Industria y Competitividad and Ministerio de Ciencias e Innovación (BFU2016-79220P/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and PID2019-105492GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 to M.R.-G. and J.C.) and by internal funding from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory to S.D.R. Institutional support from the Fundación Ramón Areces to the Centro de Biologı́a Molecular Severo Ochoa is also acknowledge