Mutants in three novel complementation groups inhibit membrane protein insertion into and soluble protein translocation across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We have isolated mutants that inhibit membrane protein insertion into the ER membrane of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The mutants were contained in three complementation groups, which we have named SEC70, SEC71, and SEC72. The mutants also inhibited the translocation of soluble proteins into the lumen of the ER, indicating that they pleiotropically affect protein transport across and insertion into the ER membrane. Surprisingly, the mutants inhibited the translocation and insertion of different proteins to drastically different degrees. We have also shown that mutations in SEC61 and SEC63, which were previously isolated as mutants inhibiting the translocation of soluble proteins, also affect the insertion of membrane proteins into the ER. Taken together our data indicate that the process of protein translocation across the ER membrane involves a much larger number of gene products than previously appreciated. Moreover, different translocation substrates appear to have different requirements for components of the cellular targeting and translocation apparatus.

Membrane-microfilament interactions in ascites tumor cell microvilli. Identification and isolation of a large microfilament-associated membrane glycoprotein complex

[14C]Glucosamine metabolic labeling and concanavalin A blots were used to identify four major glycoprotein species associated with ascites tumor cell microvillar microfilament cores and with a transmembrane complex containing actin. Phalloidin shift analysis of glucosamine-labeled microvilli showed that glycoproteins of 110-120, 80, 65, and 55 kDa are stably associated with the microfilament cores. Analysis of large (greater than 10(6) kDa) transmembrane complexes from microvillar membranes made under microfilament-depolymerizing conditions (Carraway, C. A. C., Jung, G., and Carraway, K. L. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 80, 430-434) revealed glycoproteins of the same Mr values, showing the same relative staining or labeling patterns as those observed with the microfilament cores. Gel filtration of high salt, high pH extracts of intact microvilli, microfilament cores, or transmembrane complexes showed that in all of these fractions the glycoproteins are associated in a very large, stable complex. The glycoprotein multimer was isolated essentially free of actin and other components by Sephacryl S-1000 chromatography of microvilli, microvillar membranes prepared at pH 11, microfilament cores, or transmembrane complex fractions in Triton X-100, 1 M KCl, glycine, pH 9.5. Purified glycoprotein complex bound actin when incubated under polymerizing conditions. The presence of the glycoprotein heteromultimer in both microfilament cores and transmembrane complex from isolated membranes and the association of the purified glycoprotein complex with actin are consistent with our hypothesis that the glycoprotein-containing transmembrane complex is an association site for microfilaments at the plasma membrane.

Possible existence of a light-inducible protein that inhibits sexual cell fusion in Dictyostelium discoideum

Sexual cell fusion is an initial step of macrocyst formation in Dictyostelium discoideum and requires environmental conditions such as darkness, plenty of water and the presence of calcium ions. We have been analyzing the mechanism of sexual cell fusion between HM1 and NC4, heterothallic strains in D. discoideum. Cells of these strains have been shown to be fusion competent when cultured in a liquid medium in darkness, but not so when cultured on agar plates or in a liquid medium in the light. Two cell-surface proteins, gp70 and gp138, have been identified as target molecules for fusion-blocking antibodies and therefore as relevant to sexual cell fusion. In the present study, gp70 was shown to be present in HM1 cells cultured in the light, and fusion incompetent. Intact HM1 cells cultured in the light were unable to absorb the fusion-blocking activity of antibodies against membrane components of fusion-competent HM1 cells, whose activity had been shown to be absorbed by gp70, but they did so after separation of proteins in the SDS-PAGE. In addition, fusion-competent HM1 cells were found to lose their fusion competence by subsequent cultivation in the light. This loss of competence was cycloheximide sensitive, indicating that de novo synthesis of proteins was necessary for this inhibition. From these results, we presume that light induces a protein that hinders the interaction of gp70 in HM1 cells with its receptor on the NC4 cell surface and thereby inhibits the sexual process between these strains.

Electrophysiological properties of developing phrenic motoneurons in the cat

1. Intracellular recordings were made in 427 phrenic motoneurons from kittens (in four stages of postnatal development, ranging from 2 to 14 wk) and in 72 motoneurons from adult cats. These experiments were performed to determine how the pattern of spontaneous discharge changes in phrenic motoneurons during development and how these changes might be influenced by alterations in the electrophysiological properties of these neurons. 2. The mean axonal conduction velocity increased significantly (P less than 0.0001) throughout this period of development, with the most rapid increase occurring between weeks 2 and 5 (18.5 +/- 5.4 and 32.4 +/- 5.6 m/s, respectively, mean +/- SD). 3. There was no change in the magnitude of the membrane potential, antidromic action potential, or positive overshoot; whereas there was a decrease in the half-width of the action potential from 2 (652 +/- 184 ms) to 14 (525 +/- 116 ms) wk postnatal. 4. The mean duration of the afterhyperpolarization (AHPdur) decreased from 69 +/- 20 ms at 2 wk to 60 +/- 16 ms by 9 wk, then increased to 66 +/- 18 ms by 14 wk of age and to 75 +/- 21 ms in the adult. The mean amplitude of the afterhyperpolarization (AHPamp) in the 2-wk-old group (4.9 +/- 1.8 mV) was larger than that at weeks 5 (3.9 +/- 1.7 mV) and 9 (3.9 +/- 1.6 mV), whereas the mean AHPamp of the adult (3.1 +/- 1.2 mV) was significantly smaller than the mean of any younger group. A significant negative correlation was found between AHPdur and axonal conduction velocity in all age groups studied, including the adult.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The postnatal growth of motoneurons at three levels of the cat neuraxis

The postnatal growth of motoneuron cell bodies located in the brainstem, cervical and lumbosacral spinal cord was investigated using retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase in kittens ages 2, 12, 30, 55, 82 and 114 postnatal days and in an adult. The motoneurons innervating an extrinsic tongue muscle, the genioglossus, reached their adult size by eight weeks after birth. In contrast, the phrenic motoneurons innervating the diaphragm achieved adult size by 12 weeks and the motoneurons innervating the medial gastrocnemius muscle continued to grow beyond the twelfth postnatal week. The sizes of these motoneurons relative to one another remained constant during periods of development.

Morphology of developing motoneurons innervating the medial gastrocnemius of the cat

The morphology of medial gastrocnemius (MG) motoneurons labeled by retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase was quantified in 5 postnatal ages (3 to 79-86 days) and in adults. A bimodal distribution of somal volumes was evident at birth which permitted separating the motoneurons into alpha and gamma subpopulations for analysis. There was a significant increase in the axial dimensions, surface area and volume calculated for both alpha and gamma cell bodies between each of the age-groups studied. A greater relative growth of the major over minor axis for the gammas produced a significant decrease in the form factor (i.e. greater eccentricity) between the youngest and oldest age-groups. The number of primary dendrites observed remained constant throughout postnatal development. The surface area of alpha somata more than tripled while that of the gammas doubled from 3 days to the adult. The mean somal volume of an alpha motoneuron at birth was only 17% of its adult value while the gamma cell bodies were 33% of their adult volume. A positive correlation was found for both alpha and gamma motoneurons when their somal surface area was plotted against postnatal age and weight. The rate of growth of the MG somal surface area is compared to the changes found in axonal conduction velocity and axonal diameter for MG in the literature.

Location of heme axial ligands in the cytochrome d terminal oxidase complex of Escherichia coli determined by site-directed mutagenesis

The cytochrome d terminal oxidase complex is one of two terminal oxidases which are components of the aerobic respiratory chain of Escherichia coli. This membrane-bound enzyme catalyzes the two-electron oxidation of ubiquinol and the four-electron reduction of oxygen to water. Enzyme turnover generates proton and voltage gradients across the bilayer. The oxidase is a heterodimer containing 2 mol of protoheme IX and 1 or 2 mol of heme d per mol of complex. To explain the functional properties of the enzyme, a simple model has been proposed in which it is speculated that the heme prosthetic groups define two separate active sites on opposite sides of the membrane at which the oxidation of quinol and the reduction of water, respectively, are catalyzed. This paper represents an initial effort to define the axial ligands of each of the three or four hemes within the amino acid sequence of the oxidase subunits. Each of the 10 histidine residues has been altered by site-directed mutagenesis with the expectation that histidine residues are likely candidates for heme ligands. Eight of the 10 histidine residues are not essential for enzyme activity, and 2 appear to function as heme axial ligands. Histidine 186 in subunit I is required for the cytochrome b558 component of the enzyme. This residue is likely to be located near the periplasmic surface of the membrane. Histidine 19, near the amino terminus of subunit I also appears to be a heme ligand. It is concluded that two of the four or five expected heme axial ligands have been tentatively identified, although further work is required to confirm these conclusions. A minimum of two additional axial ligands must be residues other than histidine.

The nucleotide sequence of the cyd locus encoding the two subunits of the cytochrome d terminal oxidase complex of Escherichia coli

The cytochrome d terminal oxidase complex is one of two terminal oxidases in the aerobic respiratory chain of Escherichia coli. The enzyme is located in the cytoplasmic membrane where it oxidizes ubiquinol-8 in the bilayer and reduces oxygen to water. Enzyme turnover is coupled to the generation of a proton-motive force, resulting in electrogenic translocation across the membrane of one proton per electron passing through the system. The enzyme is an alpha beta heterodimer containing four hemes. The cyd locus, encoding both subunits, has previously been genetically mapped and cloned. This work describes an insertion and deletion analysis of cyd which indicates the direction of transcription, defines the coding regions, and suggests that cyd is an operon. In addition, the complete DNA sequence of the cyd gene is reported. Two open reading frames, separated by 18 base pairs, encode the two subunits of the oxidase complex. Hydropathy profiles of the deduced protein sequence indicate that subunits I and II are each likely to have multiple transmembrane elements. There are only 10 histidines in both subunits, several of which are likely to serve as heme axial ligands.

Olfactory tests as possible probes for detecting and monitoring Alzheimer's disease

One of the characteristics of Alzheimer's disease is the early loss of neurons in pathways involved in processing olfactory information. Olfactory function was assessed in subjects with Alzheimer's disease using a conventional Smell Identification Test and a simple three odor match-to-sample problem. The patients exhibited a diminished capacity to identify common odors but were severely impaired in their ability to use novel odors in a match-to-sample task. Subjects with Parkinson's disease had a severe deficit for identifying common odors with the majority scoring as anosmic. Multiple sclerosis was not accompanied by detectable changes in olfactory functioning. The results of the Alzheimer's group are similar to recent animal studies that have shown lesions of the piriform-entorhinal cortex produce a variety of memory deficits that are particularly acute in tasks involving novel odors.

Identification of the cydC locus required for expression of the functional form of the cytochrome d terminal oxidase complex in Escherichia coli

The aerobic respiratory chain of Escherichia coli contains two terminal oxidases which are differentially regulated. The cytochrome o complex predominates under growth conditions of high aeration, whereas the cytochrome d complex predominates when the oxygen tension is low. Either terminal oxidase will support aerobic growth. The goal of the work presented in this paper was to identify genes required for the expression of the functional form of the cytochrome d complex, other than the genes encoding the polypeptide components of the oxidase complex (cyd locus). A strain lacking the cytochrome o complex (cyo mutant strain) was mutagenized by using a lambda-Mu hybrid hopper bacteriophage, lambda placMu53, which inserts randomly into the chromosome and carries a kanamycin resistance marker. Strains were isolated and examined which were unable to grow aerobically, i.e., which lacked functional cytochrome d complex, and which could not be complemented by introduction of the cyd gene on F-prime episomes. One strain was selected for characterization. The phage insert was mapped to min 18.9 on the genetic linkage map, defining a new genetic locus, cydC. Evidence described in the text suggests that the gene product is probably required for the synthesis of the unique heme d component of the cytochrome d complex.