scholarly journals Conformational change and localization of calpactin I complex involved in exocytosis as revealed by quick-freeze, deep-etch electron microscopy and immunocytochemistry.

1990 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Nakata ◽  
K Sobue ◽  
N Hirokawa

Calpactin I complex, a calcium-dependent phospholipid-binding protein, promotes aggregation of chromaffin vesicles at physiological micromolar calcium ion levels. Calpactin I complex was found to be a globular molecule with a diameter of 10.7 +/- 1.7 (SD) nm on mica. When liposomes were aggregated by calpactin, quick-freeze, deep-etching revealed fine thin strands (6.5 +/- 1.9 [SD] nm long) cross-linking opposing membranes in addition to the globules on the surface of liposomes. Similar fine strands were also observed between aggregated chromaffin vesicles when they were mixed with calpactin in the presence of Ca2+ ion. In cultured chromaffin cells, similar cross-linking short strands (6-10 nm) were found between chromaffin vesicles and the plasma membrane after stimulation with acetylcholine. Plasma membranes also revealed numerous globular structures approximately 10 nm in diameter on their cytoplasmic surface. Immunoelectron microscopy on frozen ultrathin sections showed that calpactin I was closely associated with the inner face of the plasma membranes and was especially conspicuous between plasma membranes and adjacent vesicles in chromaffin cells. These in vivo and in vitro data strongly suggest that calpactin I complex changes its conformation to cross-link vesicles and the plasma membrane after stimulation of cultured chromaffin cells.

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 2660-2671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna A. Huhtakangas ◽  
Christopher J. Olivera ◽  
June E. Bishop ◽  
Laura P. Zanello ◽  
Anthony W. Norman

Abstract The steroid hormone 1α,25(OH)2-vitamin D3 (1,25D) regulates gene transcription through a nuclear receptor [vitamin D receptor (VDR)] and initiation of rapid cellular responses through a putative plasma membrane-associated receptor (VDRmem). This study characterized the VDRmem present in a caveolae-enriched membrane fraction (CMF), a site of accumulation of signal transduction agents. Saturable and specific [3H]-1,25D binding in vitro was found in CMF of chick, rat, and mouse intestine; mouse lung and kidney; and human NB4 leukemia and rat ROS 17/2.8 osteoblast-like cells; in all cases the 1,25D KD binding dissociation constant = 1–3 nm. Our data collectively support the classical VDR being the VDRmem in caveolae: 1) VDR antibody immunoreactivity was detected in CMF of all tissues tested; 2) competitive binding of [3H]-1,25D by eight analogs of 1,25D was significantly correlated between nuclei and CMF (r2 = 0.95) but not between vitamin D binding protein (has a different ligand binding specificity) and CMF; 3) confocal immunofluorescence microscopy of ROS 17/2.8 cells showed VDR in close association with the caveolae marker protein, caveolin-1, in the plasma membrane region; 4) in vivo 1,25D pretreatment reduced in vitro [3H]-1,25D binding by 30% in chick and rat intestinal CMF demonstrating in vivo occupancy of the CMF receptor by 1,25D; and 5) comparison of [3H]-1,25D binding in VDR KO and WT mouse kidney tissue showed 85% reduction in VDR KO CMF and 95% reduction in VDR KO nuclear fraction. This study supports the presence of VDR as the 1,25D-binding protein associated with plasma membrane caveolae.


1994 ◽  
Vol 126 (6) ◽  
pp. 1421-1431 ◽  
Author(s):  
A L Hitt ◽  
T H Lu ◽  
E J Luna

We have cloned and sequenced ponticulin, a 17,000-dalton integral membrane glycoprotein that binds F-actin and nucleates actin assembly. A single copy gene encodes a developmentally regulated message that is high during growth and early development, but drops precipitously during cell streaming at approximately 8 h of development. The deduced amino acid sequence predicts a protein with a cleaved NH2-terminal signal sequence and a COOH-terminal glycosyl anchor. These predictions are supported by amino acid sequencing of mature ponticulin and metabolic labeling with glycosyl anchor components. Although no alpha-helical membrane-spanning domains are apparent, several hydrophobic and/or sided beta-strands, each long enough to traverse the membrane, are predicted. Although its location on the primary sequence is unclear, an intracellular domain is indicated by the existence of a discontinuous epitope that is accessible to antibody in plasma membranes and permeabilized cells, but not in intact cells. Such a cytoplasmically oriented domain also is required for the demonstrated role of ponticulin in binding actin to the plasma membrane in vivo and in vitro (Hitt, A. L., J. H. Hartwig, and E. J. Luna. 1994. Ponticulin is the major high affinity link between the plasma membrane and the cortical actin network in Dictyostelium. J. Cell Biol. 126:1433-1444). Thus, ponticulin apparently represents a new category of integral membrane proteins that consists of proteins with both a glycosyl anchor and membrane-spanning peptide domain(s).


2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (22) ◽  
pp. 7686-7696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabea Verhaegh ◽  
Katrin Anne Becker ◽  
Michael J. Edwards ◽  
Erich Gulbins

Sphingosine is a long-chain sphingoid base that has been shown to have bactericidal activity against many pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. We have previously demonstrated that sphingosine is present in nasal, tracheal, and bronchial epithelial cells and constitutes a central element of the defense of the airways against bacterial pathogens. Here, using assorted lipid-binding and cell biology assays, we demonstrate that exposing P. aeruginosa and S. aureus cells to sphingosine results in a very rapid, i.e. within minutes, permeabilization of the bacterial plasma membrane, resulting in leakiness of the bacterial cells, loss of ATP, and loss of bacterial metabolic activity. These alterations rapidly induced bacterial death. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that the presence of the protonated NH2 group in sphingosine, which is an amino-alcohol, is required for sphingosine's bactericidal activity. We also show that the protonated NH2 group of sphingosine binds to the highly negatively–charged lipid cardiolipin in bacterial plasma membranes. Of note, this binding was required for bacterial killing by sphingosine, as revealed by genetic experiments indicating that E. coli or P. aeruginosa strains that lack cardiolipin synthase are resistant to sphingosine, both in vitro and in vivo. We propose that binding of sphingosine to cardiolipin clusters cardiolipin molecules in the plasma membrane of bacteria. This clustering results in the formation of gel-like or even crystal-like structures in the bacterial plasma membrane and thereby promotes rapid permeabilization of the plasma membrane and bacterial cell death.


2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 272
Author(s):  
N. Satake ◽  
A. K. Alhaider ◽  
W. V. Holt ◽  
P. F. Watson

In vitro production (IVP) of porcine embryos is currently suboptimal compared with IVP in species such as mice and cattle. In vitro fertilization (IVF) usually involves the co-culture of oocytes and spermatozoa in a medium droplet. Oocyte quality is the focus of many studies. In vivo, the quality of spermatozoa is as important as the oocyte, and females have many mechanisms to select the highest quality spermatozoa for their oocytes. Oviductal proteins have been shown to affect sperm motility of subpopulations within an ejaculate. The present study was carried out to investigate normal and polyspermic fertilization rates of spermatozoa exposed to oviductal epithelial apical plasma membrane (APM) proteins, a mixture of peripheral proteins extracted by 1 M NaCl from isolated oviductal apical plasma membranes, prior to co-culture with oocytes in IVF. Porcine oocytes were aspirated from ovaries and grade I quality oocytes (cumulus–oocyte complexes with a spherical shape, visible nucleus, even-density cytoplasm, and multiple layers of cumulus cells) were selected and matured for 48 h in TCM-199 supplemented with LH (0.5 �g mL-1), FSH (0.5 �g mL-1), and EGF (10 ng mL-1). Ejaculates were washed through a Percoll gradient to obtain a concentrated pellet. Spermatozoa were diluted in capacitation–fertilization medium in the presence or absence of APM proteins (100 �g mL-1), incubated for 10 min, and then co-cultured with oocytes for 6 h in modified Tween medium B with milk powder medium (Abeydeera and Day 1997 Theriogenology 48, 537–544) supplemented with BSA (0.4%) and sodium bicarbonate (5 mM). Presumptive zygotes were cultured in NCSU23 medium for a further 48 h. The oocytes/zygotes were then fixed and stained with propidium iodide for evaluation by confocal microscopy for fertilization and cleavage (n = 1235 oocytes). Fertilization rates were compared between treatments in a chi-squared test using the Mantel-Haenszel approach. The overall fertilization rate was significantly higher (78 vs. 86%) when spermatozoa were incubated in the presence of APM proteins (P < 0.05), and in the group of fertilized oocytes, polyspermic fertilization (47 vs. 21%) was significantly reduced when spermatozoa were exposed to APM proteins (P < 0.01). However, cleavage rates were not different. These results suggest that exposure of spermatozoa to APM proteins prior to IVF increases the fertilization rate and decreases the incidence of polyspermic penetration.


1999 ◽  
Vol 112 (8) ◽  
pp. 1149-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Hayashi ◽  
S. Yonemura ◽  
T. Matsui ◽  
S. Tsukita

Ezrin/radixin/moesin (ERM) proteins are thought to play an important role in organizing cortical actin-based cytoskeletons through cross-linkage of actin filaments with integral membrane proteins. Recent in vitro biochemical studies have revealed that ERM proteins phosphorylated on their COOH-terminal threonine residue (CPERMs) are active in their cross-linking activity, but this has not yet been evaluated in vivo. To immunofluorescently visualize CPERMs in cultured cells as well as tissues using a mAb specific for CPERMs, we developed a new fixation protocol using trichloroacetic acid (TCA) as a fixative. Immunoblotting analyses in combination with immunofluorescence microscopy showed that TCA effectively inactivated soluble phosphatases, which maintained the phosphorylation level of CPERMs during sample processing for immunofluorescence staining. Immunofluorescence microscopy with TCA-fixed samples revealed that CPERMs were exclusively associated with plasma membranes in a variety of cells and tissues, whereas total ERM proteins were distributed in both the cytoplasm and plasma membranes. Furthermore, the amounts of CPERMs were shown to be regulated in a cell and tissue type-dependent manner. These findings favored the notion that phosphorylation of the COOH-terminal threonine plays a key role in the regulation of the cross-linking activity of ERM proteins in vivo.


1995 ◽  
Vol 133 (5) ◽  
pp. 626-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Voldstedlund ◽  
Jørgen Tranum-Jensen ◽  
Aase Handberg ◽  
Jørgen Vinten

Voldstedlund M. Tranum-Jensen J, Handberg A, Vinten J. Quantity of Na/K-ATPase and glucose transporters in the plasma membrane of rat adipocytes is reduced by in vivo triiodothyronine. Eur J Endocrinol 1995:133:626–34. ISSN 0804–4643 The expression of sodium-potassium pumps and glucose transporters in pure adipocyte plasma membranes from a hyperthyroid animal model was studied. Hyperthyroidism was induced by enteral administration of five doses of 90 μg of triiodothyronine every second day to 8-week-old rats. Following isolation of epididymal adipocytes, 3-O-methylglucose transport was measured and the number of Na/K-ATPase-(α1- and α2-isoforms) and glucose transporter (GLUT1 and GLUT4) molecules in sheets of adipocyte plasma membrane were determined by quantitative immunoelectron microscopy, using gold labelling. Maximal in vitro insulin stimulation of adipocytes increased the glucose transport rate and the amount of GLUT4 in the plasma membrane 15-fold, whereas the amount of α2 was unaffected, In adipocytes from hyperthyroid rats, mean adipocyte volume was decreased by 18% and the quantities of GLUT4 per unit area of plasma membrane (maximal insulin stimulation) and of α2 were decreased by 19% and 15% respectively. Thus, hypotrophia of fat tissue in the hyperthyroid state is associated with a decreased expression in the plasma membrane of the glucose transporter GLUT4 and the α2 -isoform of Na/K-ATPase. Marianne Voldstedlund, Department of Medical Physiology, The Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark


2013 ◽  
Vol 288 (20) ◽  
pp. 14332-14340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuta Asai ◽  
Tatsushi Ichikawa ◽  
Hironari Nomura ◽  
Michie Kobayashi ◽  
Yusuke Kamiyoshihara ◽  
...  

Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are Ca2+ sensors that regulate diverse biological processes in plants and apicomplexans. However, how CDPKs discriminate specific substrates in vivo is still largely unknown. Previously, we found that a potato StCDPK5 is dominantly localized to the plasma membrane and activates the plasma membrane NADPH oxidase (RBOH; for respiratory burst oxidase homolog) StRBOHB by direct phosphorylation of the N-terminal region. Here, we report the contribution of the StCDPK5 N-terminal variable (V) domain to activation of StRBOHB in vivo using heterologous expression system in Nicotiana benthamiana. Mutations of N-terminal myristoylation and palmitoylation sites in the V domain eliminated the predominantly plasma membrane localization and the capacity of StCDPK5 to activate StRBOHB in vivo. A tomato SlCDPK2, which also contains myristoylation and palmitoylation sites in its N terminus, phosphorylated StRBOHB in vitro but not in vivo. Functional domains responsible for activation and phosphorylation of StRBOHB were identified by swapping regions for each domain between StCDPK5 and SlCDPK2. The substitution of the V domain of StCDPK5 with that of SlCDPK2 abolished the activation and phosphorylation abilities of StRBOHB in vivo and relocalized the chimeric CDPK to the trans-Golgi network, as observed for SlCDPK2. Conversely, SlCDPK2 substituted with the V domain of StCDPK5 localized to the plasma membrane and activated StRBOHB. These results suggest that the V domains confer substrate specificity in vivo by dictating proper subcellular localization of CDPKs.


Oncogene ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiuna Zhang ◽  
Xiaoyu Jiang ◽  
Jie Yin ◽  
Shiying Dou ◽  
Xiaoli Xie ◽  
...  

AbstractRING finger proteins (RNFs) play a critical role in cancer initiation and progression. RNF141 is a member of RNFs family; however, its clinical significance, roles, and mechanism in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain poorly understood. Here, we examined the expression of RNF141 in 64 pairs of CRC and adjacent normal tissues by real-time PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemical analysis. We found that there was more expression of RNF141 in CRC tissue compared with its adjacent normal tissue and high RNF141 expression associated with T stage. In vivo and in vitro functional experiments were conducted and revealed the oncogenic role of RNF141 in CRC. RNF141 knockdown suppressed proliferation, arrested the cell cycle in the G1 phase, inhibited migration, invasion and HUVEC tube formation but promoted apoptosis, whereas RNF141 overexpression exerted the opposite effects in CRC cells. The subcutaneous xenograft models showed that RNF141 knockdown reduced tumor growth, but its overexpression promoted tumor growth. Mechanistically, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry indicated RNF141 interacted with KRAS, which was confirmed by Co-immunoprecipitation, Immunofluorescence assay. Further analysis with bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) and Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) pull-down assays showed that RNF141 could directly bind to KRAS. Importantly, the upregulation of RNF141 increased GTP-bound KRAS, but its knockdown resulted in a reduction accordingly. Next, we demonstrated that RNF141 induced KRAS activation via increasing its enrichment on the plasma membrane not altering total KRAS expression, which was facilitated by the interaction with LYPLA1. Moreover, KRAS silencing partially abolished the effect of RNF141 on cell proliferation and apoptosis. In addition, our findings presented that RNF141 functioned as an oncogene by upregulating KRAS activity in a manner of promoting KRAS enrichment on the plasma membrane in CRC.


1993 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-180
Author(s):  
Gunnar Johanson

This presentation addresses some aspects of the methodology, advantages and problems associated with toxicokinetic modelling based on in vitro data. By using toxicokinetic models, particularly physiologically-based ones, it is possible, in principle, to describe whole body toxicokinetics, target doses and toxic effects from in vitro data. Modelling can be divided into three major steps: 1) to relate external exposure (applied dose) of xenobiotic to target dose; 2) to establish the relationship between target dose and effect (in vitro data, e.g. metabolism in microsomes, partitioning in tissue homogenates, and toxicity in cell cultures, are useful in both steps); and 3) to relate external exposure to toxic effect by combining the first two steps. Extrapolations from in vitro to in vivo, between animal and man, and between high and low doses, can easily be carried out by toxicokinetic simulations. In addition, several factors that may affect the toxic response by changing the target dose, such as route of exposure and physical activity, can be studied. New insights concerning the processes involved in toxicity often emerge during the design, refinement and validation of the model. The modelling approach is illustrated by two examples: 1) the carcinogenicity of 1,3-butadiene; and 2) the haematotoxicity of 2-butoxyethanol. Toxicokinetic modelling is an important tool in toxicological risk assessment based on in vitro data. Many factors, some of which can, and should be, studied in vitro, are involved in the expression of toxicity. Successful modelling depends on the identification and quantification of these factors.


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