Effects of hypertonic and sodium-free medium on transport of a membrane glycoprotein along the secretory pathway in cultured mammalian cells

Impact of interorganelle coordination between the conventional early secretory pathway and autophagy in cellular homeostasis and stress response

The conventional early secretory pathway and autophagy are two essential interconnected cellular processes that are crucial for maintaining cellular homeostasis. The conventional secretory pathway is an anabolic cellular process synthesizing and delivering proteins to distinct locations, including different organelles, the plasma membrane, and the extracellular media. On the other hand, autophagy is a catabolic cellular process that engulfs damaged organelles and aberrant cytosolic constituents into the double autophagosome membrane. After fusion with the lysosome and autolysosome formation, this process triggers digestion and recycling. A growing list of evidence indicates that these anabolic and catabolic processes are mutually regulated. While knowledge about the molecular actors involved in the coordination and functional cooperation between these two processes has increased over time, the mechanisms are still poorly understood. This review article summarized and discussed the most relevant evidence about the key molecular players implicated in the interorganelle crosstalk between the early secretory pathway and autophagy under normal and stressful conditions.

In Vivo Toxicity and In Vitro Solubility Assessment of Pre-Treated Struvite as A Potential Alternative Phosphorus Source in Animal Feed

Apart from using as fertilizer for plants, the application of struvite may be expanded to animal feed industries through proper pre-treatment. This study aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of using pre-treated struvite (microwave irradiated struvite (MS) and incinerated struvite (IS)) in animal feeds. For safety assessment, an in vivo toxicity experiment using thirty female Sprague Dawley rats (average body weight (BW) of 200 ± 10 g) was conducted. The rats were randomly divided into five groups, including a control. Based on the BW, MS and IS were applied daily by oral administration with 1 and 10 mg kg^-1-BW (MS1 and MS10; IS1 and IS10) using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a vehicle. A series of jar tests were conducted for four hours to check the solubility of the MS and IS at different pH (pH 2, 4, and 5) and compared to a commercial P source (monocalcium phosphate, MCP, control). The toxicity experiment results showed no significant differences among the treatments in BW and organ (liver, kidney, heart, and lung) weight of rats (p > 0.05). There were no adverse effects on blood parameters and the histopathological examination showed no inflammation in the organ tissues in MS and IS treated groups compared to the control. In an in vitro solubility test, no significant difference was observed in ortho-phosphate (O-P) solubility from the MCP and MS at pH 2 and 4 (p > 0.05), while O-P solubility from MS at pH 5 to 7 was higher than MCP and found to be significantly different (p < 0.05). O-P solubility from IS was the lowest among the treatments and significantly different from MCP and MS in all the experiments (p < 0.05). The results of this study not only suggest that the struvite pre-treated as MS could be a potential alternative source of P in animal feed but also motivate further studies with more stringent designs to better examine the potential of struvite application in diverse fields.

Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 Modulates Hyperosmotic-Induced Urea Transporter A1 Relocation in the Inner Medullary Collecting Duct Cells

AIM

Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) regulates urine concentration by mediating the vasopressin-induced aquaporin 2 expression and water permeability, although it is unknown whether GSK3 also mediates the accumulation of the urea transporter A1 (UT-A1). The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of GSK3 on UT-A1 distribution.

METHODS

Mouse inner medullary collecting duct 3 cells were transfected with UT-A1-GFP construct. The stable transfected cells were cultured under hypertonic conditions, treated with GSK3 inhibitor lithium chloride, GSK3 activator, lysosome or proteasome inhibitor. The expression levels of UT-A1, GSK3, and phospho-GSK3 were analyzed using western blot. The interaction between UT-A1 and the Golgi apparatus was examined using confocal immunofluorescence microscope. The UT-A1 trafficking was examined using the biotinylation of surface membranes.

RESULTS

UT-A1 dissociated away from the Golgi apparatus and translocated to the plasma membrane under hypertonic-NaCl and NaCl plus urea stimulation. This movement was accompanied by the increased phosphorylation of GSK3 and its localization on the cellular membrane. Moreover, these results were duplicated by treating the cells with the GSK3 inhibitor, and by contrast, were partially reversed by the GSK3 activator. Treating cells with a lysosome or proteasome inhibitor failed to attenuate the effects of hypertonic stimulus, indicating that the loss of UT-A1 from the Golgi was not due to degradation.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that GSK3 may in part modulate the hypertonic-induced intracellular UT-A1 redistribution and its accumulation on the plasma membrane, which may constitute another mechanism by which GSK3 modulates urine concentration.

Effect of calcium cyanamide, ammonium bicarbonate and lime mixture, and ammonia water on survival of Ralstonia solanacearum and microbial community

The inorganic nitrogenous amendments calcium cyanamide (CC), ammonia water (AW), and a mixture of ammonium bicarbonate with lime (A+L) are popularly used as fumigants to control soil-borne disease in China. However, it is unclear which of these fumigants is more effective in controlling R. solanacearum. This present study compared the efficiencies of the three nitrogenous amendments listed above at four nitrogen levels in suppressing the survival of R. solanacearum in soil. The CC showed the best ability to suppress R. solanacearum due to its highest capacity to increase soil and NO2(-) contents and pH. However, AW was more suitable to controlling bacterial wilt caused by R. solanacearum because it had a lower cost and its application rate of 0.25 g N kg(-1) soil could effectively suppress the survival of R. solanacearum. Additionally, soil microbial activity and community populations were restored to their initial state four weeks after the application of each fumigant, indicating that the three fumigants had few detrimental impacts on soil microbial activity and community structure with an exception of the suppression of R. solanacearum. The present study provides guidance for the selection of a suitable alkaline nitrogenous amendment and its application rate in controlling bacterial wilt.

Alteration of Golgi Structure by Stress: A Link to Neurodegeneration?

The Golgi apparatus is well-known for its role as a sorting station in the secretory pathway as well as for its role in regulating post-translational protein modification. Another role for the Golgi is the regulation of cellular signaling by spatially regulating kinases, phosphatases, and GTPases. All these roles make it clear that the Golgi is a central regulator of cellular homeostasis. The response to stress and the initiation of adaptive responses to cope with it are fundamental abilities of all living cells. It was shown previously that the Golgi undergoes structural rearrangements under various stress conditions such as oxidative or osmotic stress. Neurodegenerative diseases are also frequently associated with alterations of Golgi morphology and many stress factors have been described to play an etiopathological role in neurodegeneration. It is however unclear whether the stress-Golgi connection plays a role in neurodegenerative diseases. Using a combination of bioinformatics modeling and literature mining, we will investigate evidence for such a tripartite link and we ask whether stress-induced Golgi arrangements are cause or consequence in neurodegeneration.

Sublethal responses to ammonia exposure in the endangered delta smelt; Hypomesus transpacificus (Fam. Osmeridae)

The delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) is an endangered pelagic fish species endemic to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary in Northern California, which acts as an indicator of ecosystem health in its habitat range. Interrogative tools are required to successfully monitor effects of contaminants upon the delta smelt, and to research potential causes of population decline in this species. We used microarray technology to investigate genome-wide effects in fish exposed to ammonia; one of multiple contaminants arising from wastewater treatment plants and agricultural runoff. A 4-day exposure of 57-day old juveniles resulted in a total ammonium (NH(4)(+)-N) median lethal concentration (LC50) of 13 mg/L, and a corresponding un-ionized ammonia (NH(3)) LC50 of 147 μg/L. Using the previously designed delta smelt microarray we assessed altered gene transcription in juveniles exposed to 10mg/L NH(4)(+)-N from this 4-day exposure. Over half of the responding genes were associated with membrane integrity and function, however, neurological and muscular function was also affected. Amongst the notable pathways affected by ammonium exposure, directly associated with cellular membranes, are energy metabolism through oxidative phosphorylation, cellular responses to environmental stimuli, highlighted through signal transduction and molecular interactions, cellular processes encompassing transport and catabolism, along with cell motility, development, communication and cell death. To assess these impacts further, key genes were selected as potential biomarkers and investigated using quantitative PCR analysis on fish exposed to 2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/L NH(4)(+)-N. Quantitative PCR results indicate biphasic responses, pivoting around the estimated no-observed effect concentration (NOEC; 5.0mg/L NH(4)(+)-N) and below. Genes significantly affected by ammonia exposure include claudin-10, Keratin-15, Septin-3, Transmembrane protein 4, superfamily 4 (membrane), Tropomyosin, Myosin light chain, Calmodulin (muscular), Tubulin cofactor beta (neurological), Sirtuin-6 (development), and Rhesus associated type C glycoprotein 1 (gill- and skin-specific ammonium transporter). The quantitation of the ammonium transporter may highlight the capacity of delta smelt to contend with elevated levels of ammonia, the peak response of which may be indicative of short-term thresholds of tolerance. Our study supports the notion that exposure to ammonia results in cell membrane destabilization, potentially affecting membrane permeability, enhancing uptake and thus synergistic effects of multiple-contaminant exposure.

Actin depolymerization disrupts tight junctions via caveolae-mediated endocytosis

The tight junction (TJ) determines epithelial barrier function. Actin depolymerization disrupts TJ structure and barrier function, but the mechanisms of this effect remain poorly understood. The goal of this study was to define these mechanisms. Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein-, enhanced yellow fluorescent protein-, or monomeric red fluorescent protein 1-fusion proteins of beta-actin, occludin, claudin-1, ZO-1, clathrin light chain A1, and caveolin-1 were imaged by time-lapse multidimensional fluorescence microscopy with simultaneous measurement of transepithelial electrical resistance (TER). Actin depolymerization was induced with latrunculin A (LatA). Within minutes of LatA addition TER began to fall. This coincided with occludin redistribution and internalization. In contrast, ZO-1 and claudin-1 redistribution occurred well after maximal TER loss. Occludin internalization and TER loss, but not actin depolymerization, were blocked at 14 degrees C, suggesting that membrane traffic is required for both events. Inhibition of membrane traffic with 0.4 M sucrose also blocked occludin internalization and TER loss. Internalized occludin colocalized with caveolin-1 and dynamin II, but not with clathrin, and internalization was blocked by dominant negative dynamin II (K44A), but not by Eps15Delta95-295 expression. Inhibition of caveolae-mediated endocytosis by cholesterol extraction prevented both LatA-induced TER loss and occludin internalization. Thus, LatA-induced actin depolymerization causes TJ structural and functional disruption by mechanisms that include caveolae-mediated endocytosis of TJ components.

Lysosome associated membrane protein 1 (Lamp1) traffics directly from the TGN to early endosomes

The precise trafficking routes followed by newly synthesized lysosomal membrane proteins after exit from the Golgi are unclear. To study these events we created a novel chimera (YAL) having a lumenal domain comprising two tyrosine sulfation motifs fused to avidin, and the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of lysosome associated membrane protein 1 (Lamp1). The newly synthesized protein rapidly transited from the trans- Golgi Network (TGN) to lysosomes (t(1/2) approximately 30 min after a lag of 15-20 min). However, labeled chimera was captured by biotinylated probes endocytosed for only 5 min, indicating that the initial site of entry into the endocytic pathway was early endosomes. Capture required export of YAL from the TGN, and endocytosis of the biotinylated reagent, and was essentially quantitative within 2 h of chase, suggesting that all molecules were following an identical route. There was no evidence of YAL trafficking via the cell surface. Fusion of TGN-derived vesicles with 5 min endosomes could be recapitulated in vitro, but neither late endosomes nor lysosomes could serve as acceptor compartments. This suggests that contrary to previous conclusions, most if not all newly synthesized Lamp1 traffics from the TGN to early endosomes prior to delivery to late endosomes and lysosomes.

Ammonia and Nitrous Acid from Nitrogenous Amendments Kill the Microsclerotia of Verticillium dahliae

ABSTRACT This study examined the mechanisms by which nitrogenous amendments such as meat and bone meal kill the soilborne plant pathogen Verticillium dahliae. The effect of nitrogen products from the amendments on the survival of microsclerotia of V. dahliae was examined by solution bioassay and soil microcosm experiments. Ammonia and nitrous acid but not their ionized counterparts, ammonium and nitrite, were toxic to microsclerotia in bioassays. In microcosms, addition of meat and bone meal (2.5%) to an acidic loamy sand resulted in the accumulation of ammonia and death of microsclerotia within 2 weeks. At lower concentrations (0.5 and 1%), microsclerotia were killed after 2 weeks when nitrous acid accumulated (>0.03 mM). In an alkaline loam soil, microsclerotia survived at 3% meat and bone meal and neither ammonia nor nitrous acid accumulated. The toxicity of ammonia to the pathogen was verified by increasing the concentration of meat and bone meal to 4% or addition of urea (1,600 mg of N per kg) to the loam soil resulting in the accumulation of ammonia (>35 mM) and death of microsclerotia. The toxicity of nitrous acid was verified by adding ammonium sulfate fertilizer to an acidic sand soil. Inhibiting nitrification with dicyandiamide revealed that nitrous acid was generated as a result of the accumulation of nitrite and an acidic pH. Thus, levels to which the toxins accumulated and the effective concentration of amendment were dependent upon the soil examined. Of the two mechanisms identified, accumulation of nitrous acid is the more promising strategy to control plant diseases in acidic soil because it is more toxic than ammonia and is formed at lower concentrations of amendments.

Cytosolic acidification as a signal mediating hyperosmotic stress responses in Dictyostelium discoideum

BACKGROUND

Dictyostelium cells exhibit an unusual response to hyperosmolarity that is distinct from the response in other organisms investigated: instead of accumulating compatible osmolytes as it has been described for a wide range of organisms, Dictyostelium cells rearrange their cytoskeleton and thereby build up a rigid network which is believed to constitute the major osmoprotective mechanism in this organism. To gain more insight into the osmoregulation of this amoeba, we investigated physiological processes affected under hyperosmotic conditions in Dictyostelium.

RESULTS

We determined pH changes in response to hyperosmotic stress using FACS or 31P-NMR. Hyperosmolarity was found to acidify the cytosol from pH 7.5 to 6.8 within 5 minutes, whereas the pH of the endo-lysosomal compartment remained constant. Fluid-phase endocytosis was identified as a possible target of cytosolic acidification, as the inhibition of endocytosis observed under hypertonic conditions can be fully attributed to cytosolic acidification. In addition, a deceleration of vesicle mobility and a decrease in the NTP pool was observed.

CONCLUSION

Together, these results indicate that hyperosmotic stress triggers pleiotropic effects, which are partially mediated by a pH signal and which all contribute to the downregulation of cellular activity. The comparison of our results with the effect of hyperosmolarity and intracellular acidification on receptor-mediated endocytosis in mammalian cells reveals striking similarities, suggesting the hypothesis of the same mechanism of inhibition by low internal pH.

Osmotically induced cell volume changes alter anterograde and retrograde transport, Golgi structure, and COPI dissociation

Physiological conditions that impinge on constitutive traffic and affect organelle structure are not known. We report that osmotically induced cell volume changes, which are known to occur under a variety of conditions, rapidly inhibited endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-to-Golgi transport in mammalian cells. Both ER export and ER Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC)-to-Golgi trafficking steps were blocked, but retrograde transport was active, and it mediated ERGIC and Golgi collapse into the ER. Extensive tubulation and relatively rapid Golgi resident redistribution were observed under hypo-osmotic conditions, whereas a slower redistribution of the same markers, without apparent tubulation, was observed under hyperosmotic conditions. The osmotic stress response correlated with the perturbation of COPI function, because both hypo- and hyperosmotic conditions slowed brefeldin A-induced dissociation of betaCOP from Golgi membranes. Remarkably, Golgi residents reemerged after several hours of sustained incubation in hypotonic or hypertonic medium. Reemergence was independent of new protein synthesis but required PKC, an activity known to mediate cell volume recovery. Taken together these results indicate the existence of a coupling between cell volume and constitutive traffic that impacts organelle structure through independent effects on anterograde and retrograde flow and that involves, in part, modulation of COPI function.

The effects of cytochalasin D and phorbol myristate acetate on the apical endocytosis of ricin in polarised Caco-2 cells

Apical endocytosis of 125I-ricin in Caco-2 cells was inhibited &gt; 95% by hypertonic and/or acid media, consistent with the major uptake route being clathrin-mediated. The presence of apical cell surface bound ricin-gold in clathrin coated pits and vesicles was observed by electron microscopy. An electron microscopic investigation in which ricin-gold bound to the apical surface was quantitated, showed that cytochalasin D, which inhibits apical but not basolateral endocytosis, prevented movement of ricin-gold along the microvillar surface. This was consistent with an actin bound mechanochemical motor within microvilli driving the movement of membranous components towards the cell body. Cytochalasin D also caused an increase in the number of coated pits observed at the apical cell surface relative to the number observed in untreated cells. Stimulation of apical endocytosis of ricin by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate showed the characteristics of being mediated by protein kinase C, was not due to an effect on ricin movement along the microvillar surface, and may be explained by increases in formation and pinching off of clathrin coated pits at the apical cell surface.

Mechanisms of ammonia and ammonium ion toxicity in animal cells: transport across cell membranes

A model for transport of ammonia and ammonium ions across cell membranes is presented. The model suggests that ammonium ions compete with potassium ions for inward transport, over the cytoplasmic membrane, via potassium transport proteins like the Na+/K(+)-ATPase and the Na+K+2Cl(-)-cotransporter. It also explains the difference between the ammonia/ammonium that is added to the cells and which is formed by the cells during metabolism of amino acids, especially glutamine and glutamate. The ammonium transport and subsequent events lead to predictable intracellular and extracellular pH (pHe) changes. Experiments which verified the model and the predicted consequences were performed by measurements of the pHe in concentrated cell suspensions. Addition of ammonium ions caused a time-dependent pHe increase which was inhibited by potassium ions. The test system is not per se specific for transport measurements but the effect of potassium ions on the pHe strongly favors our suggested model. Simple diffusion of ammonium ions would not be counteracted by potassium ions. The results show that ammonium ion transport in the murine myeloma cell line (Sp2/0-Ag14) used is inhibited by an excess of potassium ions. Results from experiments with specific inhibitors of suggested transport proteins were not conclusive. It is postulated that one important toxic effect of ammonia/ammonium is an increased demand for maintenance energy, caused by the need to maintain ion gradients over the cytoplasmic membrane. The results also suggest that potassium ions can be used to detoxify ammonia/ammonium in animal cell cultivations.

Clathrin and HA2 adaptors: effects of potassium depletion, hypertonic medium, and cytosol acidification

The effects of methods known to perturb endocytosis from clathrin-coated pits on the localization of clathrin and HA2 adaptors in HEp-2 carcinoma cells have been studied by immunofluorescence and ultrastructural immunogold microscopy, using internalization of transferrin as a functional assay. Potassium depletion, as well as incubation in hypertonic medium, remove membrane-associated clathrin lattices: flat clathrin lattices and coated pits from the plasma membrane, and clathrin-coated vesicles from the cytoplasm, as well as those budding from the TGN. In contrast, immunofluorescence microscopy using antibodies specific for the alpha- and beta-adaptins, respectively, and immunogold labeling of cryosections with anti-alpha-adaptin antibodies shows that under these conditions HA2 adaptors are aggregated at the plasma membrane to the same extent as in control cells. After reconstitution with isotonic K(+)-containing medium, adaptor aggregates and clathrin lattices colocalize at the plasma membrane as normally and internalization of transferrin resumes. Acidification of the cytosol affects neither clathrin nor HA2 adaptors as studied by immunofluorescence microscopy. However, quantitative ultrastructural observations reveal that acidification of the cytosol results in formation of heterogeneously sized and in average smaller clathrin-coated pits at the plasma membrane and buds on the TGN. Collectively, our observations indicate that the methods to perturb formation of clathrin-coated vesicles act by different mechanisms: acidification of the cytosol by affecting clathrin-coated membrane domains in a way that interferes with budding of clathrin-coated vesicles from the plasma membrane as well as from the TGN; potassium depletion and incubation in hypertonic medium by preventing clathrin and adaptors from interacting. Furthermore our observations show that adaptor aggregates can exist at the plasma membrane independent of clathrin lattices and raise the possibility that adaptor aggregates can form nucleation sites for clathrin lattices.

Role of vesicular traffic in the transport of surface transferrin receptor to the Golgi complex in cultured human cells

We have previously shown that transferrin receptor (TfR) recycles from the cell surface through the Golgi complex in K562 human leukemia cells. However, little is known about the transport pathway that carries these receptors to the Golgi complex. To learn more about this transport, we studied the effects of treatments that block specific types of vesicular traffic. K562 cells were cultured in test media and the transport of surface TfR to the Golgi complex was assessed by measuring the entry of asialo-TfR into the sialyltransferase compartment of the Golgi complex. Depletion of cellular potassium, which blocks formation of coated vesicles at the cell surface, stimulated asialo-TfR resialylation by 60% over controls, suggesting that coated vesicle formation is not the rate-limiting step in cell surface-to-Golgi transport. Similarly, culture in sodium-free medium, which blocks transport from endosomes to lysosomes, increased asialo-TfR resialylation by 40%, arguing that lysosomes do not lie on the transport pathway. In contrast, incubation of cells in hypertonic medium, which blocks many vesicular transport steps, inhibited TfR resialylation by 40%, confirming the importance of vesicular traffic in transport of asialo-TfR from the cell surface to the Golgi complex. These results are consistent with two possible pathways for cell surface-to-Golgi transport. Receptor could be transported via an endosomal intermediate, with the rate-limiting step occurring at a post-endosomal site. Alternatively, receptor could be transported directly to the Golgi via a pathway that does not involve endosomes.