scholarly journals Dynamic measurement of cytosolic pH and [NO3−] uncovers the role of the vacuolar transporter AtCLCa in cytosolic pH homeostasis

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (26) ◽  
pp. 15343-15353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsa Demes ◽  
Laetitia Besse ◽  
Paloma Cubero-Font ◽  
Béatrice Satiat-Jeunemaitre ◽  
Sébastien Thomine ◽  
...  

Ion transporters are key players of cellular processes. The mechanistic properties of ion transporters have been well elucidated by biophysical methods. Meanwhile, the understanding of their exact functions in cellular homeostasis is limited by the difficulty of monitoring their activity in vivo. The development of biosensors to track subtle changes in intracellular parameters provides invaluable tools to tackle this challenging issue. AtCLCa (Arabidopsis thalianaChloride Channel a) is a vacuolar NO3−/H+exchanger regulating stomata aperture inA.thaliana. Here, we used a genetically encoded biosensor, ClopHensor, reporting the dynamics of cytosolic anion concentration and pH to monitor the activity of AtCLCa in vivo inArabidopsisguard cells. We first found that ClopHensor is not only a Cl−but also, an NO3−sensor. We were then able to quantify the variations of NO3−and pH in the cytosol. Our data showed that AtCLCa activity modifies cytosolic pH and NO3−. In an AtCLCa loss of function mutant, the cytosolic acidification triggered by extracellular NO3−and the recovery of pH upon treatment with fusicoccin (a fungal toxin that activates the plasma membrane proton pump) are impaired, demonstrating that the transport activity of this vacuolar exchanger has a profound impact on cytosolic homeostasis. This opens a perspective on the function of intracellular transporters of the Chloride Channel (CLC) family in eukaryotes: not only controlling the intraorganelle lumen but also, actively modifying cytosolic conditions.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsa Demes ◽  
Laetitia Besse ◽  
Béatrice Satiat-Jeunemaitre ◽  
Sébastien Thomine ◽  
Alexis De Angeli

AbstractIon transporters are key players of cellular processes. The mechanistic properties of ion transporters have been well elucidated by biophysical methods. Meanwhile the understanding of their exact functions in the whole cell homeostasis is limited by the difficulty to monitor their activity in vivo. The development of biosensors to track subtle changes in intracellular parameters provides an invaluable key to tackle this challenging issue. Here, we adapted the use of a dual biosensor using guard cells as experimental model to visualize the impact on the cytosol of anion transport from intracellular compartments. To image the activity of AtCLCa, a vacuolar NO3-/H+ exchanger regulating stomata aperture in Arabidopsis thaliana, we expressed a genetically encoded biosensor, ClopHensor allowing monitoring the dynamics of cytosolic anion concentration and pH. We first show that ClopHensor is not only a Cl- but also a NO3- sensor. We were then able to unravel and quantify the variations of NO3- and pH in the cytosol. Our data show that AtCLCa activity modifies cytosolic pH and NO3-, demonstrating that the transport activity of a vacuolar exchanger has a profound impact on cytosolic homeostasis. We propose that a major function of this endomembrane transporter is to adjust cytosolic conditions to cellular needs. This opens a novel perspective on the function of intracellular transporters of the CLC family in eukaryotes: not only controlling the intra organelle lumen but also actively modifying cytosolic conditions.SignificanceIntracellular transporters are key actors in cell biological processes. Their disruption causes major physiological defects. The role of intracellular ion transporters is usually seen through an “intra organelle” lens, meanwhile their potential action on cytosolic ion homeostasis is still a black box. The case of a plant CLC is used as a model to uncover the missing link between the regulation of conditions inside the vacuole and inside the cytosol. The development of an original live imaging workflow to simultaneously measure pH and anion dynamics in the cytosol reveals the role of an Arabidopsis thaliana CLC, AtCLCa, in the modification of cytosolic pH. Our data highlight an unsuspected function of endomembrane transporters in the regulation of cytosolic pH.


2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 868-873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Talamillo ◽  
Jonatan Sánchez ◽  
Rosa Barrio

SUMOylation, a reversible process used as a ‘fine-tuning’ mechanism to regulate the role of multiple proteins, is conserved throughout evolution. This post-translational modification affects several cellular processes by the modulation of subcellular localization, activity or stability of a variety of substrates. A growing number of proteins have been identified as targets for SUMOylation, although, for many of them, the role of SUMO conjugation on their function is unknown. The use of model systems might facilitate the study of SUMOylation implications in vivo. In the present paper, we have compiled what is known about SUMOylation in Drosophila melanogaster, where the use of genetics provides new insights on SUMOylation's biological roles.


2017 ◽  
Vol 234 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Zhang ◽  
XiaoXin Zhang ◽  
Xuejing Zhang ◽  
Yu Lu ◽  
Lei Li ◽  
...  

MicroRNAs (MiRNAs) play important regulatory roles in many cellular processes. MiR-143 is highly enriched in the mouse ovary, but its roles and underlying mechanisms are not well understood. In the current study, we show that miR-143 is located in granulosa cells of primary, secondary and antral follicles. To explore the specific functions of miR-143, we transfected miR-143 inhibitor into primary cultured granulosa cells to study the loss of function of miR-143 and the results showed that miR-143 silencing significantly increased estradiol production and steroidogenesis-related gene expression. Moreover, our in vivo and in vitro studies showed that follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) significantly decreased miR-143 expression. This function of miR-143 is accomplished by its binding to the 3’-UTR of KRAS mRNA. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that miR-143 acts as a negative regulating molecule mediating the signaling pathway of FSH and affecting estradiol production by targeting KRAS. MiR-143 also negatively acts in regulating granulosa cells proliferation and cell cycle-related genes expression. These findings indicate that miR-143 plays vital roles in FSH-induced estradiol production and granulosa cell proliferation, providing a novel mechanism that involves miRNA in regulating granulosa cell functions.


1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (2) ◽  
pp. C650-C657 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. W. Reenstra ◽  
K. Yurko-Mauro ◽  
A. Dam ◽  
S. Raman ◽  
S. Shorten

We have previously shown [B. Illek, H. Fischer, G. F. Santos, J. H. Widdicombe, T. E. Machen, and W. W. Reenstra, Am. J. Physiol. 268 (Cell Physiol. 37): C886-C893, 1995] that genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, activates the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channel in NIH/3T3 cells that have been stably transfected with an expression vector for the CFTR (NIH-CFTR cells). In this study, we present evidence suggesting that both genistein and the serine/threonine protein phosphatase (PPase) inhibitor calyculin A activate the CFTR by inhibiting PPase activity. As measured by 125I efflux, genistein and calyculin A stimulate the CFTR to approximately 50% of the maximal activity with forskolin. Neither agonist increases CFTR activity at saturating forskolin concentrations, but genistein and calyculin A have an additive effect on CFTR activity. Forskolin, but neither genistein nor calyculin A, stimulates protein kinase A(PKA) activity. The PKA inhibitor H-89 inhibits CFTR activation and in vivo phosphorylation by all three agonists. Proteolytic digestion of in vivo phosphorylated CFTR suggests that the CFTR is phosphorylated on the same sites during stimulation with genistein and forskolin but on different sites stimulation with calyculin A. The data suggest that genistein and calyculin A inhibit different PPase activities, allowing CFTR phosphorylation and partial stimulation, by a basal PKA activity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyuan He ◽  
Yan Chen ◽  
Daisy Guiza Beltran ◽  
Maia Kelly ◽  
Bin Ma ◽  
...  

Abstract Protein tyrosine O-sulfation (PTS) plays a crucial role in extracellular biomolecular interactions that dictate various cellular processes. It also involves in the development of many human diseases. Regardless of recent progress, our current understanding of PTS is still in its infancy. To promote and facilitate relevant studies, a generally applicable method is needed to enable efficient expression of sulfoproteins with defined sulfation sites in live mammalian cells. Here we report the engineering, in vitro biochemical characterization, structural study, and in vivo functional verification of a tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase mutant for the genetic encoding of sulfotyrosine in mammalian cells. We further apply this chemical biology tool to cell-based studies on the role of a sulfation site in the activation of chemokine receptor CXCR4 by its ligand. Our work will not only facilitate cellular studies of PTS, but also paves the way for economical production of sulfated proteins as therapeutic agents in mammalian systems.


1999 ◽  
Vol 276 (5) ◽  
pp. C995-C1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Charles O’Neill

Research over the past 25 years has identified specific ion transporters and channels that are activated by acute changes in cell volume and that serve to restore steady-state volume. The mechanism by which cells sense changes in cell volume and activate the appropriate transporters remains a mystery, but recent studies are providing important clues. A curious aspect of volume regulation in mammalian cells is that it is often absent or incomplete in anisosmotic media, whereas complete volume regulation is observed with isosmotic shrinkage and swelling. The basis for this may lie in an important role of intracellular Cl− in controlling volume-regulatory transporters. This is physiologically relevant, since the principal threat to cell volume in vivo is not changes in extracellular osmolarity but rather changes in the cellular content of osmotically active molecules. Volume-regulatory transporters are also closely linked to cell growth and metabolism, producing requisite changes in cell volume that may also signal subsequent growth and metabolic events. Thus, despite the relatively constant osmolarity in mammals, volume-regulatory transporters have important roles in mammalian physiology.


2011 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 641-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily McMains ◽  
Evanna Gleason

Nitric oxide (NO) synthase-expressing neurons are found throughout the vertebrate retina. Previous work by our laboratory has shown that NO can transiently convert inhibitory GABAergic synapses onto cultured retinal amacrine cells into excitatory synapses by releasing Cl− from an internal store in the postsynaptic cell. The mechanism underlying this Cl− release is currently unknown. Because transport of Cl− across internal membranes can be coupled to proton flux, we asked whether protons could be involved in the NO-dependent release of internal Cl−. Using pH imaging and whole cell voltage-clamp recording, we addressed the relationship between cytosolic pH and cytosolic Cl− in cultured retinal amacrine cells. We found that NO reliably produces a transient decrease in cytosolic pH. A physiological link between cytosolic pH and cytosolic Cl− was established by demonstrating that shifting cytosolic pH in the absence of NO altered cytosolic Cl− concentrations. Strong buffering of cytosolic pH limited the ability of NO to increase cytosolic Cl−, suggesting that cytosolic acidification is involved in generating the NO-dependent elevation in cytosolic Cl−. Furthermore, disruption of internal proton gradients also reduced the effects of NO on cytosolic Cl−. Taken together, these results suggest a cytosolic environment where proton and Cl− fluxes are coupled in a dynamic and physiologically meaningful way.


Reproduction ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong-Fei Xia ◽  
Jing-Li Cao ◽  
Xiao-Hua Jin ◽  
Xu Ma

MiR199a was found to be differentially expressed in rat uteri between the prereceptive and receptive phase via microRNA (miRNA) microarray analysis in our previous study. However, the role of miR199a in rat embryo implantation remained unknown. In the study, northern blot results showed that the expression levels of miR199a were higher on gestation days 5 and 6 (g.d.5–6) in rat uteri than on g.d.3–4 and g.d.7–8. In situ localization of miR199a in rat uteri showed that miR199a was mainly localized in the stroma or decidua. The expression of miR199a was not significantly different in the uteri of pseudopregnant rats and evidently increased in the uteri of rats subjected to activation of delayed implantation and experimentally induced decidualization. Treatment with 17β-estradiol or both 17β-estradiol and progesterone significantly diminished miR199a levels. Gain of function of miR199a in endometrial stromal cells isolated from rat uteri inhibited cell proliferation and promoted cell apoptosis. Loss of function of miR199a displayed opposite roles on cell proliferation and apoptosis. Further investigation uncovered a significant inverse association between the expression of miR199a and growth factor receptor-bound protein 10 (Grb10), an imprinted gene, and miR199a could bind to the 3′UTR of Grb10 to inhibit Grb10 translation. In addition, in vivo analysis found that the immunostaining of GRB10 was attenuated in the stroma or decidua from g.d.4 to 6, contrary to the enhancement of miR199a. Collectively, upregulation of miR199a in rat uterus during the receptive phase is regulated by blastocyst activation and uterine decidualization. Enforced miR199a expression suppresses cell proliferation partially through targeting Grb10.


Author(s):  
Francis M. Kobia ◽  
Kristina Preusse ◽  
Quanhui Dai ◽  
Nicholas Weaver ◽  
Praneet Chaturvedi ◽  
...  

AbstractCooperative DNA binding is a key feature of transcriptional regulation. Here we examined the role of cooperativity in Notch signaling by CRISPR-mediated engineering of mice in which neither Notch1 nor Notch2 can homo- or heterodimerize, essential for cooperative binding to sequence paired sites (SPS) located near many Notch-regulated genes. While most known Notch-dependent phenotypes were unaffected in Notch1/2 dimer-deficient mice, a subset of tissues proved highly sensitive to loss of cooperativity. These phenotypes include heart development, compromising viability in combination with low gene dose, and the gut, developing ulcerative colitis in response to 1% DSS. The most striking phenotypes – gender imbalance and splenic marginal zone B cell lymphoma – emerged in combination with dose reduction or when challenged by chronic fur mite infestation. This study highlights the role of the environment in malignancy and colitis, and is consistent with Notch-dependent anti-parasite immune responses being compromised in the dimer deficient animals.HighlightsNotch dimerization has an in vivo role in contributing to intestinal homeostasisLoss of cooperativity can manifest as Notch gain or loss of function phenotypesMite infestation exacerbates all phenotypes, triggers MZB hyperproliferation in mutant animalsMite-infested mutant mice develop SMZL with age


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana M. Oliveira Paiva ◽  
Annemieke H. Friggen ◽  
Liang Qin ◽  
Roxanne Douwes ◽  
Remus T. Dame ◽  
...  

AbstractThe maintenance and organization of the chromosome plays an important role in the development and survival of bacteria. Bacterial chromatin proteins are architectural proteins that bind DNA, modulate its conformation and by doing so affect a variety of cellular processes. No bacterial chromatin proteins of C. difficile have been characterized to date.Here, we investigate aspects of the C. difficile HupA protein, a homologue of the histone-like HU proteins of Escherichia coli. HupA is a 10 kDa protein that is present as a homodimer in vitro and self-interacts in vivo. HupA co-localizes with the nucleoid of C. difficile. It binds to the DNA without a preference for the DNA G+C content. Upon DNA binding, HupA induces a conformational change in the substrate DNA in vitro and leads to compaction of the chromosome in vivo.The present study is the first to characterize a bacterial chromatin protein in C. difficile and opens the way to study the role of chromosomal organization in DNA metabolism and on other cellular processes in this organism.


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