Increased expression of the small lysosomal gene SVIP in the Drosophila gut suppresses pathophysiological features associated with a high-fat diet.

Lysosomes are digestive organelles that are crucial for nutrient sensing and metabolism. Lysosome impairment is linked to a broad spectrum of metabolic disorders, underscoring their importance to human health. Thus, lysosomes are an attractive target for metabolic disease therapies. In previous work, we discovered a novel class of tubular lysosomes that are morphologically and functionally distinct from traditionally described vesicular lysosomes. Tubular lysosomes are present in multiple tissues, are broadly conserved from invertebrates to mammals, are more proficient at degrading autophagic cargo than vesicular lysosomes, and delay signs of tissue aging when induced ectopically. Thus, triggering tubular lysosome formation presents one mechanism to increase lysosome activity and, notably, overproduction of the small lysosomal protein, SVIP, is a robust genetic strategy for triggering lysosomal tubulation on demand. In this study, we examine whether SVIP overexpression in the fly gut can suppress pathophysiological phenotypes associated with an obesogenic high-fat diet. Indeed, our results indicate that increasing SVIP expression in the fly gut reduces lipid accumulation, suppresses body mass increase, and improves survival in flies fed a high-fat diet. Collectively, these data hint that increasing lysosomal activity through induction of tubular lysosomal networks, could be one strategy to combat obesity-related pathologies.