Trafficking of tail-anchored proteins: transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the plasma membrane and sorting between surface domains in polarised epithelial cells

2002 ◽  
Vol 115 (8) ◽  
pp. 1689-1702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Bulbarelli ◽  
Teresa Sprocati ◽  
Massimo Barberi ◽  
Emanuela Pedrazzini ◽  
Nica Borgese

Tail-anchored (TA) proteins, which are defined by an N-terminal cytosolic region and a C-terminal transmembrane domain (TMD), provide useful models for studying the role of the TMD in sorting within the exo-endocytic system. Previous work has shown that a short TMD is required to keep ER-resident TA proteins from escaping to downstream compartments of the secretory pathway. To investigate the role of the TMD in TA protein sorting, we used model constructs, which consisted of GFP linked at its C-terminus to the tail region of cytochrome b(5) with TMDs of differing length or hydrophobicity. Expression of these constructs in CV-1 cells demonstrated that the feature determining exit from the ER is hydrophobicity and that if exit occurs, at least a part of the protein reaches the cell surface. To investigate which pathway to the surface is followed by plasma-membrane-directed TA constructs, we expressed the TA constructs in polarised Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells. The constructs with 22 and 25 residue TMDs were localised basolaterally, but addition at the C-terminus of a 20-residue peptide containing an N-glycosylation site resulted in glycosylation-dependent relocation of∼50% of the protein to the apical surface. This result suggests that TA proteins may reach the basolateral surface without a signal or that our constructs contain a weak basolateral determinant that is recessive to the apical information carried by the glycan. To assess the effect of the TMDs of endogenous TA proteins, GFP was linked to the tails of syntaxin 3 and 4, which localise to the apical and basolateral surface, respectively, of MDCK cells. The two GFP fusion proteins showed a different surface distribution, which is consistent with a role for the two syntaxin TMDs in polarised sorting.

2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (8) ◽  
pp. 3720-3730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Séverine Carrère-Kremer ◽  
Claire Montpellier-Pala ◽  
Laurence Cocquerel ◽  
Czeslaw Wychowski ◽  
François Penin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Although biological and biochemical data have been accumulated on most hepatitis C virus proteins, the structure and function of the 63-amino-acid p7 polypeptide of this virus have never been investigated. In this work, sequence analyses predicted that p7 contains two transmembrane passages connected by a short hydrophilic segment. The C-terminal transmembrane domain of p7 was predicted to function as a signal sequence, which was confirmed experimentally by analyzing the translocation of a reporter glycoprotein fused at its C terminus. The p7 polypeptide was tagged either with the ectodomain of CD4 or with a Myc epitope to study its membrane integration, its subcellular localization, and its topology. Alkaline extraction studies confirmed that p7 is an integral membrane polypeptide. The CD4-p7 chimera was detected by immunofluorescence on the surface of nonpermeabilized cells, indicating that it is exported to the plasma membrane. However, pulse-chase analyses showed that only approximately 20% of endoglycosidase H-resistant CD4-p7 was detected after long chase times, suggesting that a large proportion of p7 stays in an early compartment of the secretory pathway. Finally, by inserting a Myc epitope in several positions of p7 and analyzing the accessibility of this epitope on the plasma membrane of HepG2 cells, we showed that p7 has a double membrane-spanning topology, with both its N and C termini oriented toward the extracellular environment. Altogether, these data indicate that p7 is a polytopic membrane protein that could have a functional role in several compartments of the secretory pathway.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Bernabé-Rubio ◽  
Minerva Bosch-Fortea ◽  
Esther García ◽  
Jorge Bernardino de la Serna ◽  
Miguel A. Alonso

AbstractThe primary cilium is a specialized plasma membrane protrusion that harbors receptors involved in important signaling pathways. Despite its central role in regulating cellular behavior, the biogenesis of the primary cilium is not fully understood. In fact, the source of the ciliary membrane remains a mystery in cell types that assemble their primary cilium entirely at the cell surface, such as polarized renal epithelial cells. After cytokinesis, the remnant of the midbody of these cells moves to the center of the apical surface, where it licenses the centrosome for ciliogenesis through an unidentified mechanism. Here, to investigate the origin of the ciliary membrane and the role of the midbody remnant, we analyzed membrane compaction and lipid dynamics at the microscale and nanoscale in living renal epithelial MDCK cells. We found that a specialized patch made of condensed membranes with restricted lipid lateral mobility surrounds the midbody remnant. This patch accompanies the remnant on its journey towards the centrosome and, once the two structures have met, the remnant delivers part of membranes of the patch to build the ciliary membrane. In this way, we have determined the origin of the ciliary membrane and the contribution of the midbody remnant to primary cilium formation in cells whose primary cilium is assembled at the plasma membrane.


1993 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
X.R. Wu ◽  
T.T. Sun

Despite the fact that bladder epithelium has many interesting biological features and is a frequent site of carcinoma formation, relatively little is known about its biochemical differentiation. We have shown recently that a 47 kDa glycoprotein, uroplakin III (UPIII), in conjunction with uroplakins I (27 kDa) and II (15 kDa), forms the asymmetric unit membrane (AUM)--a highly specialized biomembrane characteristic of the apical surface of bladder epithelium. Deglycosylation and cDNA sequencing revealed that UPIII contains up to 20 kDa of N-linked sugars attached to a core protein of 28.9 kDa. The presence of an N-terminal signal peptide sequence and a single transmembrane domain located near the C terminus, plus the N-terminal location of all the potential N-glycosylation sites, points to a type I (N-exo/C-cyto) configuration. Thus the mass of the extracellular domain (20 kDa plus up to 20 kDa of sugar) of UPIII greatly exceeds that of its intracellular domain (5 kDa). Such an asymmetrical mass distribution, a feature shared by the other two major uroplakins, provides a molecular explanation as to why the luminal leaflet of AUM is almost twice as thick as the cytoplasmic one. The fact that of the three major proteins of AUM only UPIII has a significant cytoplasmic domain suggests that this molecule may play an important role in AUM-cytoskeleton interaction in terminally differentiated urothelial cells.


1999 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 1721-1732 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J. Francis ◽  
E.E. Jones ◽  
E.R. Levy ◽  
R.L. Martin ◽  
S. Ponnambalam ◽  
...  

The protein encoded by the Menkes disease gene (MNK) is localised to the Golgi apparatus and cycles between the trans-Golgi network and the plasma membrane in cultured cells on addition and removal of copper to the growth medium. This suggests that MNK protein contains active signals that are involved in the retention of the protein to the trans-Golgi network and retrieval of the protein from the plasma membrane. Previous studies have identified a signal involved in Golgi retention within transmembrane domain 3 of MNK. To identify a motif sufficient for retrieval of MNK from the plasma membrane, we analysed the cytoplasmic domain, downstream of transmembrane domain 7 and 8. Chimeric constructs containing this cytoplasmic domain fused to the reporter molecule CD8 localised the retrieval signal(s) to 62 amino acids at the C terminus. Further studies were performed on putative internalisation motifs, using site-directed mutagenesis, protein expression, chemical treatment and immunofluorescence. We observed that a di-leucine motif (L1487L1488) was essential for rapid internalisation of chimeric CD8 proteins and the full-length Menkes cDNA from the plasma membrane. We suggest that this motif mediates the retrieval of MNK from the plasma membrane into the endocytic pathway, via the recycling endosomes, but is not sufficient on its own to return the protein to the Golgi apparatus. These studies provide a basis with which to identify other motifs important in the sorting and delivery of MNK from the plasma membrane to the Golgi apparatus.


1987 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 1623-1635 ◽  
Author(s):  
G van Meer ◽  
E H Stelzer ◽  
R W Wijnaendts-van-Resandt ◽  
K Simons

To study the intracellular transport of newly synthesized sphingolipids in epithelial cells we have used a fluorescent ceramide analog, N-6[7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl] aminocaproyl sphingosine (C6-NBD-ceramide; Lipsky, N. G., and R. E. Pagano, 1983, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 80:2608-2612) as a probe. This ceramide was readily taken up by filter-grown Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells from liposomes at 0 degrees C. After penetration into the cell, the fluorescent probe accumulated in the Golgi area at temperatures between 0 and 20 degrees C. Chemical analysis showed that C6-NBD-ceramide was being converted into C6-NBD-sphingomyelin and C6-NBD-glucosyl-ceramide. An analysis of the fluorescence pattern after 1 h at 20 degrees C by means of a confocal scanning laser fluorescence microscope revealed that the fluorescent marker most likely concentrated in the Golgi complex itself. Little fluorescence was observed at the plasma membrane. Raising the temperature to 37 degrees C for 1 h resulted in intense plasma membrane staining and a loss of fluorescence from the Golgi complex. Addition of BSA to the apical medium cleared the fluorescence from the apical but not from the basolateral plasma membrane domain. The basolateral fluorescence could be depleted only by adding BSA to the basal side of a monolayer of MDCK cells grown on polycarbonate filters. We conclude that the fluorescent sphingomyelin and glucosylceramide were delivered from the Golgi complex to the plasma membrane where they accumulated in the external leaflet of the membrane bilayer. The results also demonstrated that the fatty acyl labeled lipids were unable to pass the tight junctions in either direction. Quantitation of the amount of NBD-lipids delivered to the apical and the basolateral plasma membranes during incubation for 1 h at 37 degrees C showed that the C6-NBD-glucosylceramide was two- to fourfold enriched on the apical as compared to the basolateral side, while C6-NBD-sphingomyelin was about equally distributed. Since the surface area of the apical plasma membrane is much smaller than that of the basolateral membrane, both lipids achieved a higher concentration on the apical surface. Altogether, our results suggest that the NBD-lipids are sorted in MDCK cells in a way similar to their natural counterparts.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Linnemannstöns ◽  
Pradhipa Karuna M ◽  
Leonie Witte ◽  
Jeanette Clarissa Kittel ◽  
Adi Danieli ◽  
...  

Protein trafficking in the secretory pathway, for example the secretion of Wnt proteins, requires tight regulation. These ligands activate Wnt signaling pathways and are crucially involved in development and disease. Wnt is transported to the plasma membrane by its cargo receptor Evi, where Wnt/Evi complexes are endocytosed and sorted onto exosomes for long-range secretion. However, the trafficking steps within the endosomal compartment are not fully understood. The promiscuous SNARE Ykt6 folds into an auto-inhibiting conformation in the cytosol, but a portion associates with membranes by its farnesylated and palmitoylated C-terminus. Here, we demonstrate that membrane detachment of Ykt6 is essential for exosomal Wnt secretion. We identified conserved phosphorylation sites within the SNARE domain of Ykt6, which block Ykt6 cycling from the membrane to the cytosol. In Drosophila, Ykt6-RNAi mediated block of Wg secretion is rescued by wildtype but not phosphomimicking Ykt6. The latter accumulates at membranes, while wildtype Ykt6 regulates Wnt trafficking between the plasma membrane and multivesicular bodies. Taken together, we show that a regulatory switch in Ykt6 fine-tunes sorting of Wnts in endosomes.


2006 ◽  
Vol 172 (7) ◽  
pp. 1023-1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Paladino ◽  
Thomas Pocard ◽  
Maria Agata Catino ◽  
Chiara Zurzolo

The polarity of epithelial cells is dependent on their ability to target proteins and lipids in a directional fashion. The trans-Golgi network, the endosomal compartment, and the plasma membrane act as sorting stations for proteins and lipids. The site of intracellular sorting and pathways used for the apical delivery of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) are largely unclear. Using biochemical assays and confocal and video microscopy in living cells, we show that newly synthesized GPI-APs are directly delivered to the apical surface of fully polarized Madin–Darby canine kidney cells. Impairment of basolateral membrane fusion by treatment with tannic acid does not affect the direct apical delivery of GPI-APs, but it does affect the organization of tight junctions and the integrity of the monolayer. Our data clearly demonstrate that GPI-APs are directly sorted to the apical surface without passing through the basolateral membrane. They also reinforce the hypothesis that apical sorting of GPI-APs occurs intracellularly before arrival at the plasma membrane.


2001 ◽  
Vol 114 (7) ◽  
pp. 1331-1341 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.K. Criss ◽  
D.M. Ahlgren ◽  
T.S. Jou ◽  
B.A. McCormick ◽  
J.E. Casanova

The bacterial pathogen Salmonella typhimurium colonizes its animal hosts by inducing its internalization into intestinal epithelial cells. This process requires reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton of the apical plasma membrane into elaborate membrane ruffles that engulf the bacteria. Members of the Ρ family of small GTPases are critical regulators of actin structure, and in nonpolarized cells, the GTPase Cdc42 has been shown to modulate Salmonella entry. Because the actin architecture of epithelial cells is organized differently from that of nonpolarized cells, we examined the role of two ‘Rgr; family GTPases, Cdc42 and Rac1, in invasion of polarized monolayers of MDCK cells by S. typhimurium. Surprisingly, we found that endogenous Rac1, but not Cdc42, was activated during bacterial entry at the apical pole, and that this activation required the bacterial effector protein SopE. Furthermore, expression of dominant inhibitory Rac1 but not Cdc42 significantly inhibited apical internalization of Salmonella, indicating that Rac1 activation is integral to the bacterial entry process. In contrast, during basolateral internalization, both Cdc42 and Rac1 were activated; however, neither GTPase was required for entry. These findings, which differ significantly from previous observations in nonpolarized cells, indicate that the host cell signaling pathways activated by bacterial pathogens may vary with cell type, and in epithelial tissues may further differ between plasma membrane domains.


2008 ◽  
Vol 132 (6) ◽  
pp. 681-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinghuan Xiao ◽  
Andrew Prussia ◽  
Kuai Yu ◽  
Yuan-yuan Cui ◽  
H. Criss Hartzell

Human bestrophin-1 (hBest1), which is genetically linked to several kinds of retinopathy and macular degeneration in both humans and dogs, is the founding member of a family of Cl− ion channels that are activated by intracellular Ca2+. At present, the structures and mechanisms responsible for Ca2+ sensing remain unknown. Here, we have used a combination of molecular modeling, density functional–binding energy calculations, mutagenesis, and patch clamp to identify the regions of hBest1 involved in Ca2+ sensing. We identified a cluster of a five contiguous acidic amino acids in the C terminus immediately after the last transmembrane domain, followed by an EF hand and another regulatory domain that are essential for Ca2+ sensing by hBest1. The cluster of five amino acids (293–308) is crucial for normal channel gating by Ca2+ because all but two of the 35 mutations we made in this region rendered the channel incapable of being activated by Ca2+. Using homology models built on the crystal structure of calmodulin (CaM), an EF hand (EF1) was identified in hBest1. EF1 was predicted to bind Ca2+ with a slightly higher affinity than the third EF hand of CaM and lower affinity than the second EF hand of troponin C. As predicted by the model, the D312G mutation in the putative Ca2+-binding loop (312–323) reduced the apparent Ca2+ affinity by 20-fold. In addition, the D312G and D323N mutations abolished Ca2+-dependent rundown of the current. Furthermore, analysis of truncation mutants of hBest1 identified a domain adjacent to EF1 that is rich in acidic amino acids (350–390) that is required for Ca2+ activation and plays a role in current rundown. These experiments identify a region of hBest1 (312–323) that is involved in the gating of hBest1 by Ca2+ and suggest a model in which Ca2+ binding to EF1 activates the channel in a process that requires the acidic domain (293–308) and another regulatory domain (350–390). Many of the ∼100 disease-causing mutations in hBest1 are located in this region that we have implicated in Ca2+ sensing, suggesting that these mutations disrupt hBest1 channel gating by Ca2+.


2000 ◽  
Vol 149 (7) ◽  
pp. 1473-1484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela J. Plant ◽  
Frank Lafont ◽  
Sandra Lecat ◽  
Paul Verkade ◽  
Kai Simons ◽  
...  

Nedd4 is a ubiquitin protein ligase (E3) containing a C2 domain, three or four WW domains, and a ubiquitin ligase HECT domain. We have shown previously that the C2 domain of Nedd4 is responsible for its Ca2+-dependent targeting to the plasma membrane, particularly the apical region of epithelial MDCK cells. To investigate this apical preference, we searched for Nedd4-C2 domain-interacting proteins that might be involved in targeting Nedd4 to the apical surface. Using immobilized Nedd4-C2 domain to trap interacting proteins from MDCK cell lysate, we isolated, in the presence of Ca2+, a ∼35–40-kD protein that we identified as annexin XIII using mass spectrometry. Annexin XIII has two known isoforms, a and b, that are apically localized, although XIIIa is also found in the basolateral compartment. In vitro binding and coprecipitation experiments showed that the Nedd4-C2 domain interacts with both annexin XIIIa and b in the presence of Ca2+, and the interaction is direct and optimal at 1 μM Ca2+. Immunofluorescence and immunogold electron microscopy revealed colocalization of Nedd4 and annexin XIIIb in apical carriers and at the apical plasma membrane. Moreover, we show that Nedd4 associates with raft lipid microdomains in a Ca2+-dependent manner, as determined by detergent extraction and floatation assays. These results suggest that the apical membrane localization of Nedd4 is mediated by an association of its C2 domain with the apically targeted annexin XIIIb.


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