Endocytotic pathways in the melanotroph of the rat pituitary

Seasonal plasticity of the pituitary pars intermedia of the one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius)

The pituitary pars intermedia of Camelus dromedarius is well developed and completely surrounds the pars nervosa. Two major groups of cells are present: endocrine (ec) and glial-like cells (glc). The ec group is composed of three morphologically distinct cell types. Type I, or polyhedral light cells (LC-I) and type II, or polyhedral dark cells (DC-II), have secretory granules of heterogeneous electron density whose size ranges from 170 to 300nm. Type III cells are elongated with homogeneous electron-dense secretory granules of 80-200nm. The glc make up an organized network, form follicles in the centrolobular zones and are positive for vimentin and S-100β immunolabelling. The nerve fibres penetrating the lobe are numerous, and can be classified into two types according to the membrane bound vesicles found in their endings (ne). Ultrastructural quantitative analysis revealed significant variations in PI elements between winter and summer seasons (F=8.014, p=0.006). DC-II cells characterized by developed biosynthetic machinery and a large pool of secretory granules storage are increased with the ne in winter. However, LC-I cells showing frequent cytoplasmic degranulation are predominant with glc in summer. Thus, important cellular remodelling occurs in the dromedary PI that may depend upon, or perhaps anticipate, external living conditions.

Recycling of the dense-core vesicle membrane protein phogrin in Min6 beta-cells

Phogrin (IA2-beta) is an integral membrane protein of dense-core vesicles in neuroendocrine cells. We have examined the recycling of endogenous phogrin following exocytosis in insulin secreting Min6 beta-cells by monitoring stimulus dependent-uptake of antibodies directed against the lumenal domain of the protein. While low levels of internalized phogrin accumulated in LAMP1-positive lysosomes, more than 35% of internalized phogrin recycled back to an insulin-positive compartment and could return to the cell surface during a second exocytic stimulation. The recycling phogrin transited a syntaxin 6-positive compartment but did not appear to go through the TGN38-positive trans Golgi network. The results suggest a model in which secretory membrane components can recycle from the endosomal system to immature secretory granules without interaction with the major portion of the TGN.

Retention and stimulus-dependent recycling of dense core vesicle content in neuroendocrine cells

We have used fluorescence imaging of individual exocytic events in combination with immunogold electron microscopy and FM1-43 photoconversion to study the stimulus-dependent recycling of dense core vesicle content in isolated rat pituitary lactotrophs. Secretory stimulation with high external [K+] resulted in 100 exocytic sites per cell that were labeled by extracellular antibodies against the peptide hormone prolactin. Morphological analysis demonstrated that the prolactin was retained and internalized in intact dense cores. Vesicles containing non-secreted, internalized prolactin did not colocalize with DiI-LDL that had been chased into lysosomes but did transiently colocalize with internalized transferrin. The recycling vesicles also trafficked through a syntaxin 6-positive compartment but not the TGN38-positive trans-Golgi. Recycling vesicles, which returned to the cell surface in a slow basal manner, could also be stimulated to undergo exocytosis with a high release probability during subsequent exocytic stimulation with external K+. These studies suggest a functional role for recycling vesicles that retain prolactin.

Plasminogen regulates pro-opiomelanocortin processing

BACKGROUND

Plasminogen-deficient mice exhibit behavioral differences in response to stress, including a markedly reduced acoustic startle reflex response compared with wild-type (WT) littermates. The acoustic startle reflex activates the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and is modulated by these hormones.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether plasminogen plays a role in the processing of hormones in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis.

METHODS

In this study the concentration of plasma, pituitary, and brain hypothalamic-pituitary axis hormones and precursor processing was examined in WT and plasminogen deficient (Plg-/-) mice before and after acoustic startle reflex testing.

RESULTS

Plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), beta-endorphin and alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone were elevated after acoustic startle reflex testing in both WT and (Plg-/-) mice. However, in the Plg-/- mice, beta-endorphin values were 43, 35, and 45% lower in the plasma, pituitary, and whole brain, respectively, compared with the WT mice. Plasmin readily degraded precursor peptides, the 23-kDa precursor, beta-lipotropin, and ACTH, when presented as purified proteins or as the secretory products of mouse pituitary cells (AtT-20). The precursor peptide, 23 kDa, for beta-endorphin and alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone was reduced in the pituitaries from the Plg-/- mice, and the mRNA for Plg was found in pituitaries from WT mice. Infusion of beta-endorphin and alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone into the brain of Plg-/- mice increased acoustic startle reflex.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study show that plasmin is involved in the processing of hormones derived from the pro-opiomelanocortin precursor in the intermediate pituitary. A deficiency of plasminogen reduces processing of beta-endorphin and alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone, and interferes with normal brain function.

Multiple exocytotic pathways in pancreatic beta cells

Ca2+-dependent exocytotic pathways in mouse pancreatic beta cells were investigated using both capacitance measurement and amperometric detection of vesicular contents. Serotonin was preloaded into large dense-core vesicles for the amperometry. Exocytosis was induced by rapid elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations using caged-Ca2+ compounds. Capacitance measurement revealed two major components of exocytosis, and only the slow component was accompanied by amperometric events reflecting quantal serotonin secretion. Moreover, the fast and slow exocytoses induced the two forms of endocytosis that were reported to follow the exocytoses of small-clear and large dense-core vesicles, respectively. Interestingly, we recorded two types of responses of quantal events: in the type-1 response, most quantal events occurred with a delay of 0.2 s and were rapidly exhausted with a time constant of 1.7 s, while, in the type-2 response, quantal events occurred with a delay of 2.5 s and were sustained. This suggests the existence of two pathways or modes of the exocytosis involving large dense-core vesicles. Thus, we have revealed three exocytotic pathways with divergent fusion kinetics in beta cells, which provide a new basis for the understanding of the physiology and pathology of beta cells.

Localization of integral membrane peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase in neuroendocrine cells

Peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase (PAM) catalyzes the amidation of glycine-extended peptides in neuroendocrine cells. At steady state, membrane PAM is accumulated in a perinuclear compartment. We examined the distribution of membrane PAM in stably transfected AtT-20 cells and compared its localization to markers for the trans-Golgi network (TGN), endosomes, and lysosomes. At the light microscopic level, the distribution of membrane PAM does not overlap extensively with lysosomal markers but does overlap with TGN38 and with SCAMP, a component of post-Golgi membranes involved in recycling pathways. By immunoelectron microscopy, membrane PAM is present in tubulovesicular structures which constitute the TGN; some of these PAM-containing tubulovesicular structures are more distal to the Golgi stacks and do not contain TGN38. While some POMC-derived peptides are present in tubulovesicular structures like those that contain membrane PAM, the majority of the POMC-derived peptides are present in secretory granules. There is little overlap between the steady state distribution of membrane PAM and internalized FITC-transferrin in the early endosomes. Few of the perinuclear PAM-containing structures are labeled with HRP or WGA-HRP even following long incubations. Therefore, membrane PAM is localized to perinuclear tubulovesicular structures which are partially devoid of TGN38 and are not all endosomal in origin.

Micromolar and submicromolar Ca2+ spikes regulating distinct cellular functions in pancreatic acinar cells

Agonists induce Ca2+ spikes, waves and oscillations initiating at a trigger zone in exocrine acinar cells via Ca2+ release from intracellular Ca2+ stores. Using a low affinity ratiometric Ca2+ indicator dye, benzothiazole coumarin (BTC), we found that high concentrations of agonists transiently increased Ca2+ concentrations to the micromolar range (>10 microM) in the trigger zone. Comparison with results obtained with a high affinity Ca2+ indicator dye, fura-2, indicated that fura-2 was in fact saturated with Ca2+ during the agonist-induced Ca2+ spikes in the trigger zone. We further revealed that the micromolar Ca2+ spikes were necessary for inducing exocytosis of zymogen granules investigated using capacitance measurements. In contrast, submicromolar Ca2+ spikes selectively gave rise to sequential activation of luminal and basal ion channels. These results suggest new functional diversity in Ca2+ spikes and a critical role for the micromolar Ca2+ spikes in exocytotic secretion from exocrine acinar cells. Our data also emphasize the value of investigating the Ca2+ signalling using low affinity Ca2+ indicators.

Two components of exocytosis and endocytosis in phaeochromocytoma cells studied using caged Ca2+ compounds

1. Changes in membrane capacitance evoked by the rapid photolysis of a caged Ca2+ compound, DM-nitrophen or nitrophenyl-EGTA, were investigated in undifferentiated PC12 cells. They were interpreted as representing exocytosis and endocytosis. 2. The Ca2+ jumps evoked two components of exocytosis. Slow exocytosis was selectively evoked with small increases in intracellular Ca2+ concentration between 5 and 10 microM, while fast exocytosis preceded the slow one at [Ca2+]i greater than 10 microM. 3. The release rates of the two components of exocytosis depended steeply on [Ca2+]i. A half-maximal release rate was achieved at 8 and 24 microM for the slow and fast exocytoses, respectively. 4. Prior Ca2+ rises did not augment the fast exocytosis. 5. The fast exocytosis was often followed by a rapid decrease in membrane capacitance, representing endocytosis, after a delay of 0.5-2 s. The speed and delay in the fast endocytosis were Ca2+ dependent. Amounts of the fast endocytosis tended to balance with those of the fast exocytosis evoked by the same Ca2+ jumps. 6. The slow exocytosis was followed by a sluggish endocytosis that was associated with large capacitance steps indicative of secretory processes involving large dense-core vesicles. The onset of the slow endocytosis exhibited a complex Ca2+ dependence. The amounts of the slow endocytosis appeared to parallel those of the slow exocytosis. Prior induction of the slow exocytosis gave rise to selective excess retrieval of membrane during the slow endocytosis. 7. These data indicate the existence of two distinct populations of secretory vesicles in PC12 cells. They seem to couple selectively with specific endocytotic mechanisms. Our data suggest that the two vesicles belong to two distinct secretory pathways.

The separation of exocytosis from endocytosis in rat melanotroph membrane capacitance records

1. Using the patch-clamp technique, we have monitored the secretory activity of single rat melanotrophs. Changes in membrane capacitance (Cm) were measured to detect small discrete femtofarad steps. These are believed to be due to interactions between single secretory organelles (granules) and plasmalemma. 2. A new approach was introduced to measure the amplitude of discrete steps in Cm. Records of Cm were converted into time derivatives, where discrete steps appeared as transients. A transient due to a 2 fF discrete step in Cm was easily distinguished from random noise, since the probability of such a transient being due to random noise was less than 0.01. To distinguish apparent steps from noise the computer-based analysis employed a threshold of 3 times the standard deviation of the noise time derivative (dCm/dt). A phase diagram was created by plotting dCm/dt versus Cm, from which the magnitude and direction of transients were determined. Transients due to 2 fF steps (equivalent to a signal-to-noise ratio of 1) were detected with a reliability of 100%, whereas steps of 1 fF were detected with a reliability of more than 60%. The amplitude of false steps detected by the program was less than 1 fF, and the frequency of false detections of 0.075 S-1 was equal for exocytotic and endocytotic events. 3. Electron microscopy was used to measure secretory organelle size and an immunogold technique was used to label the electron micrographs with an anti-adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) antibody. Secretory organelles in cultured and non-cultured cells were of similar diameter. All sizes of secretory granules appear to contain ACTH, since secretory organelles of similar diameter stained positively with the anti-ACTH antibodies. 4. Small discrete steps in Cm, recorded with the whole-cell configuration and loosely buffered cytosolic calcium, were similar to the estimated Cm of secretory organelles from morphological data. Thus, measured discrete steps in Cm reflect interactions between single organelle size and plasma membrane. Exocytotic and endocytotic steps were found to be of similar size. 5. To separate exocytosis from endocytosis in Cm records, we assumed that the rates of exocytosis and endocytosis were related to the respective frequencies of discrete steps in Cm. A relationship between the frequency of exocytotic, but not endocytotic events, and the rate of change in Cm was observed. Thus, under our experimental conditions, an increase in Cm could be explained by an increased rate of exocytosis in rat melanotrophs.

A triggered mechanism retrieves membrane in seconds after Ca(2+)-stimulated exocytosis in single pituitary cells

In neuroendocrine cells, cytosolic Ca2+ triggers exocytosis in tens of milliseconds, yet known pathways of endocytic membrane retrieval take minutes. To test for faster retrieval mechanisms, we have triggered short bursts of exocytosis by flash photolysis of caged Ca2+, and have tracked subsequent retrieval by measuring the plasma membrane capacitance. We find that a limited amount of membrane can be retrieved with a time constant of 4 s at 21-26 degrees C, and that this occurs partially via structures larger than coated vesicles. This novel mechanism may be arrested at a late step. Incomplete retrieval structures then remain on the cell surface for minutes until the consequences of a renewed increase in cytosolic [Ca2+] disconnect them from the cell surface in < 1 s. Our results provide evidence for a rapid, triggered membrane retrieval pathway in excitable cells.