Practical considerations regarding the use of streptolysin-O as a permeabilising agent for cells in the investigation of exocytosis

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Y. Larbi ◽  
Bastien D. Gomperts

Streptolysin-O is widely used in cell biological investigations in order to make large (>12 nm) pores in the plasma membrane and so to render the cytosol directly accessible to experimental manipulation. We have compared the effect of streptolysin-O commercially formulated (Murex Diagnostics) as a diagnostic reagent in pathology with two pure reagents (a conventional purified protein, and a recombinant protein generated in E.coli) on exocytotic secretion from mast cells. For mast cells permeabilised by streptolysin obtained from the commercial source, exocytosis (of β-D-N-acetylglucosaminidase) is dependent on provision of both Ca2+ and a guanine nucleotide. In contrast, for cells permeabilised by either of the two pure proteins, a substantial extent of Ca2+-independent exocytosis can be elicited. When the Murex material is subject to dialysis or ultrafiltration, some secretion can be induced in the absence of Ca2+, indicating a modulatory function of the low mol wt additives of formulation, mainly phosphate and cysteine. However, Ca2+-independent exocytosis is still manifest when the pure proteins are reconstituted with ultrafiltrates from the Murex material. These observations indicate that reagents used to permeabilise cells should be characterised thoroughly and used with great care. Confirmation that the cytolytic activity of the Murex material derives from a cholesterol directed factor was demonstrated by inhibition of exocytosis when red blood cell derived (and hence cholesterol containing) sonicated liposomes were provided.

1989 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 585-591
Author(s):  
A. Koffer ◽  
B.D. Gomperts

This study addresses the question of the role of cytoplasmic proteins in exocytosis from permeabilised rat mast cells. We have used two different methods of cell permeabilisation (ATP4- and streptolysin O) to regulate the size of the plasma membrane lesions, and thus to dictate the rate and extent of efflux of the cytosolic proteins, and compared the secretory response of the two preparations. We report evidence for the existence of two factors present in the cytosol, which affect the exocytotic mechanism in opposing manners. One of these is required for the maintenance of cell responsiveness; it is retained for more than 120 min by ATP4- -permeabilised cells but lost within 60 min from cells permeabilised by streptolysin O. The other factor, which leaks immediately from cells treated from streptolysin O, but only gradually from cells treated with ATP4-, has the effect of suppressing the affinity for both Ca2+ and guanine nucleotide in the exocytotic reaction.


1990 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
pp. 523-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Churcher ◽  
K M Kramer ◽  
B D Gomperts

Mast cells permeabilized by streptolysin O secrete histamine and lysosomal enzymes in response to provision of a dual effector system comprising Ca2+ and a guanine nucleotide (e.g., GTP-gamma-S2) at concentrations in the micromolar range. These are both necessary and together they are sufficient. There is no requirement for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and hence no obligatory phosphorylation reaction in the terminal stages of the exocytotic pathway. When exocytosis is induced by Ca2(+)-plus-GTP-gamma-S (i.e., no ATP) added at times after permeabilization (the permeabilization interval), cellular responsiveness declines so that there is no response to provision of the two effectors (both at 10(-5)M) if they are initially withheld and then added after 5 min. Here we show that this decline in responsiveness is characterized by a time-dependent reduction in the effective affinity for Ca2+. Affinity for Ca2+ and hence secretory competence can then be restored if ATP is added alongside the stimulus. Unlike cells stimulated to secrete at the time of permeabilization, exocytosis from cells that have undergone the cycle of permeabilization-induced refractoriness followed by ATP-induced restoration can be triggered by Ca2+ alone: after such conditioning there is no requirement for guanine nucleotide. In contrast, dependence on guanine nucleotide remains mandatory in cells that have been pretreated (i.e., before permeabilization) with okadaic acid (understood to be an inhibitor of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A) or phorbol myristate acetate (an activator of protein kinase C). These results indicate that obligatory dependence on guanine nucleotide is retained when the cells are treated under conditions conducive to maintained phosphorylation. It is concluded that the exocytotic mechanism of permeabilized mast cells is enabled by a dephosphorylation reaction and that the effector of the guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding protein (G epsilon) that mediates exocytosis is likely to be a protein phosphate.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 369-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. D. Gomperts ◽  
S. Cockcroft ◽  
T. W. Howell ◽  
O. Nüsse ◽  
P. E. R. Tatham

The secretory process is a coordinated cellular response, initiated by occupation of surface receptors and comprising an ordered sequence of biochemical steps subject to multiple controls. Conceptually we can divide the sequence into two main sections comprising early, receptor-mediated events leading to generation of intracellular second messengers, and later events leading to membrane fusion and exocytosis. With the discovery that occupation of Ca2+ mobilising receptors leads to activation of polyphosphoinositide phosphodiesterase (PPI-pde) through the mediation of a G-protein (Gp), all the early events can be ascribed to the plasma membrane. Investigation of the exocytotic stage of secretion has been simplified by the use of permeabilised cells in which the composition of the cytosol can be precisely controlled. We have used streptolysin-O, a bacterial cytolysin which generates protein-sized pores in the plasma membrane, to investigate the exocytotic mechanism of rat mast cells. We find that in addition to the activation of PPI-dpe, GTP also acts in concert with Ca2+ at, or close to, the exocytotic site. Exocytosis can occur after substantial depletion of cytosol lactate dehydrogenase and 3-phosphoglycerate kinase indicating that soluble cytosol proteins are unlikely to play any role. There is no absolute requirement for ATP or phosphorylating nucleotide in exocytosis though when present the effective affinities of the two obligatory effectors (i.e. Ca2+ and GTP) are substantially enhanced.


1990 ◽  
Vol 266 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Churcher ◽  
D Allan ◽  
B D Gomperts

Using rat mast cells permeabilized with streptolysin O we show that release of arachidonate generally occurs under similar but not identical conditions to those that cause exocytosis of beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (hexosaminidase). Thus, hexosaminidase secretion and arachidonate release both require provision of Ca2+ together with a guanine nucleotide but exocytosis occurs at lower concentrations of both effectors. The kinetics of both processes are similar, with a delay in onset only when ATP is present. Arachidonate release occurs largely from a pool of arachidonyl phosphatidylcholine which appears to represent less than 1% of the total phosphatidylcholine of the cells. Despite the general similarity of the conditions causing exocytosis and arachidonate release, our results show that under some circumstances it is possible to obtain exocytosis without measurable release of arachidonate and that therefore phospholipase A2 activation is not an essential precursor of secretion.


1987 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
T W Howell ◽  
S Cockcroft ◽  
B D Gomperts

Rat mast cells, pretreated with metabolic inhibitors and permeabilized by streptolysin-O, secrete histamine when provided with Ca2+ (buffered in the micromolar range) and nucleoside triphosphates. We have surveyed the ability of various exogenous nucleotides to support or inhibit secretion. The preferred rank order in support of secretion is ITP greater than XTP greater than GTP much greater than ATP. Pyrimidine nucleotides (UTP and CTP) are without effect. Nucleoside diphosphates included alongside Ca2+ plus ITP inhibit secretion in the order 2'-deoxyGDP greater than GDP greater than o-GDP greater than ADP approximately equal to 2'deoxyADP approximately equal to IDP. Secretion from the metabolically inhibited and permeabilized cells can also be induced by stable analogues of GTP (GTP-gamma-S greater than GppNHp greater than GppCH2p) which synergize with Ca2+ to trigger secretion in the absence of phosphorylating nucleotides. ATP enhances the effective affinity for Ca2+ and GTP analogues in the exocytotic process but does not alter the maximum extent of secretion. The results suggest that the presence of Ca2+ combined with activation of events controlled by a GTP regulatory protein provide a sufficient stimulus to exocytotic secretion from mast cells.


2001 ◽  
Vol 356 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jef A. PINXTEREN ◽  
Bastien D. GOMPERTS ◽  
Danise ROGERS ◽  
Scott E. PHILLIPS ◽  
Peter E. R. TATHAM ◽  
...  

Mast cells permeabilized by streptolysin O undergo exocytosis when stimulated with Ca2+ and guanosine 5′-[γ-thio]triphosphate but become progressively refractory to this stimulus if it is delayed. This run-down of responsiveness occurs over a period of 20–30min, during which the cells leak soluble and tethered proteins. We show here that withdrawal of ATP during the process of run-down is strongly inhibitory but that as little as 25μM ATP can extend responsiveness significantly; this effect is maximal at 50μM. When phosphatidylinositol transfer proteins (PITPs) are provided to cells at the time of permeabilization, run-down is retarded. We conclude that in the presence of ATP they convey substrates for phosphorylation that are essential for exocytosis and thus interact with the regulatory machinery. Furthermore, we show that PITPα and PITPβ have additive effects in this mechanism, suggesting that they are not functionally redundant. Alternatively, secretion from run-down cells can be inhibited by the aminoglycoside antibiotic neomycin, which is understood to bind to phosphoinositide headgroups, and by a PH (pleckstrin homology) domain polypeptide that binds phosphoinositides. The apparent displacement of neomycin by exogenous PITPs suggests that these proteins screen essential lipids. Secretion from run-down cells is also inhibited by 1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-methyl-rac-glycerol (AMG-C16), an inhibitor of protein kinase C. The lack of synergy between neomycin and AMG-C16 suggests that protein kinase C independently provides a second essential component through protein phosphorylation and that there are two independent phosphorylation pathways necessary for secretion competence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 318 (6) ◽  
pp. C1226-C1237
Author(s):  
Ann-Katrin Piper ◽  
Reece A. Sophocleous ◽  
Samuel E. Ross ◽  
Frances J. Evesson ◽  
Omar Saleh ◽  
...  

The ubiquitous calpains, calpain-1 and -2, play important roles in Ca2+-dependent membrane repair. Mechanically active tissues like skeletal muscle are particularly reliant on mechanisms to repair and remodel membrane injury, such as those caused by eccentric damage. We demonstrate that calpain-1 and -2 are master effectors of Ca2+-dependent repair of mechanical plasma membrane scrape injuries, although they are dispensable for repair/removal of small wounds caused by pore-forming agents. Using CRISPR gene-edited human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cell lines, we established that loss of both calpains-1 and -2 ( CAPNS1−/−) virtually ablates Ca2+-dependent repair of mechanical scrape injuries but does not affect injury or recovery from perforation by streptolysin-O or saponin. In contrast, cells with targeted knockout of either calpain-1 ( CAPN1−/−) or -2 ( CAPN2−/−) show near-normal repair of mechanical injuries, inferring that both calpain-1 and calpain-2 are equally capable of conducting the cascade of proteolytic cleavage events to reseal a membrane injury, including that of the known membrane repair agent dysferlin. A severe muscular dystrophy in a murine model with skeletal muscle knockout of Capns1 highlights vital roles for calpain-1 and/or -2 for health and viability of skeletal muscles not compensated for by calpain-3 ( CAPN3). We propose that the dystrophic phenotype relates to loss of maintenance of plasma membrane/cytoskeletal networks by calpains-1 and -2 in response to directed and dysfunctional Ca2+-signaling, pathways hyperstimulated in the context of membrane injury. With CAPN1 variants associated with spastic paraplegia, a severe dystrophy observed with muscle-specific loss of calpain-1 and -2 activity identifies CAPN2 and CAPNS1 as plausible candidate neuromuscular disease genes.


2005 ◽  
Vol 281 (5) ◽  
pp. 2506-2514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Li ◽  
Sirisha Asuri ◽  
John F. Rebhun ◽  
Ariel F. Castro ◽  
Nivanka C. Paranavitana ◽  
...  

Mast Cells ◽  
2005 ◽  
pp. 393-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Stassen ◽  
Angela Valeva ◽  
Iwan Walev ◽  
Edgar Schmitt
Keyword(s):  

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 731-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maaike Neeft ◽  
Marnix Wieffer ◽  
Arjan S. de Jong ◽  
Gabriela Negroiu ◽  
Corina H.G. Metz ◽  
...  

Griscelli syndrome type 2 (GS2) is a genetic disorder in which patients exhibit life-threatening defects of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) whose lytic granules fail to dock on the plasma membrane and therefore do not release their contents. The disease is caused by the absence of functional rab27a, but how rab27a controls secretion of lytic granule contents remains elusive. Mutations in Munc13-4 cause familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis subtype 3 (FHL3), a disease phenotypically related to GS2. We show that Munc13-4 is a direct partner of rab27a. The two proteins are highly expressed in CTLs and mast cells where they colocalize on secretory lysosomes. The region comprising the Munc13 homology domains is essential for the localization of Munc13-4 to secretory lysosomes. The GS2 mutant rab27aW73G strongly reduced binding to Munc13-4, whereas the FHL3 mutant Munc13-4Δ608-611 failed to bind rab27a. Overexpression of Munc13-4 enhanced degranulation of secretory lysosomes in mast cells, showing that it has a positive regulatory role in secretory lysosome fusion. We suggest that the secretion defects seen in GS2 and FHL3 have a common origin, and we propose that the rab27a/Munc13-4 complex is an essential regulator of secretory granule fusion with the plasma membrane in hematopoietic cells. Mutations in either of the two genes prevent formation of this complex and abolish secretion.


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