Intracellular transport in interphase and mitotic yeast cells

Expression, purification and characterization of a Kunitz-type protease inhibitor domain from human amyloid precursor protein homolog

The Kunitz-type protease inhibitor domain from a recently identified homolog of the Alzheimer amyloid precursor protein (APPH KPI) was expressed in yeast, purified and characterized. Its inhibition profile towards several serine proteases was studied and compared to that of APP KPI, the Kunitz domain from the Alzheimer amyloid precursor protein. APPH KPI was shown to inhibit proteases with trypsin-like specificity with an inhibitor profile resembling that of the APP KPI domain. The KPI domains from APP and APPH inhibited trypsin (Ki = 0.02 nM), and plasma kallikrein (Ki = 86 nM) with approximal equal affinity. In comparison to APP KPI (Ki = 82 nM) the KPI domain of the homolog, APPH KPI, (Ki = 8.8 nM) was a more potent inhibitor of glandular kallikrein. APPH KPI was a less potent inhibitor of chymotrypsin than APP KPI (Ki = 78 nM as compared to Ki = 6 nM), plasmin (Ki = 81 nM as compared to 42 nM), and factor XIa (Ki = 14 nM as compared to Ki = 0.7 nM). The affinity of factor XIa for APPH KPI is sufficiently high to allow for an interaction in the blood. It is, however, well possible that the physiological protease ligand for the receptor-like APPH protein has yet to be identified.

Uptake of endocytic markers into mitotic yeast cells

[3H]alpha-Factor and Lucifer yellow were used to measure receptor mediated and fluid-phase endocytosis in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, arrested in mitosis by depolymerization of the microtubules or due to a mutation preventing nuclear division (cdc16). Both processes continued at roughly the same level as during interphase. This shows that in yeast endocytosis is not interrupted during mitosis like in mammalian cells.

Protein transport and compartmentation in yeast

Many newly synthesized proteins must be translocated across one or more membranes to reach their destination in the individual organelles or membrane systems. Translocation, mostly requiring an energy source, a signal on the protein itself, loose conformation of the protein and the presence of cytosolic and/or membrane receptor-like proteins, is often accompanied by covalent modifications of transported proteins. In this review I discuss these aspects of protein transport via the classical secretory pathway and/or special translocation mechanisms in the unicellular eukaryotic organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Post-translational modifications in mitotic yeast cells

We have recently shown that secretion of invertase is not inhibited in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae during mitosis, but continues, as during interphase. This is in contrast with the mammalian cell, where membrane traffic stops at the onset of prometaphase. Here we extend our findings by showing that the bulk of the cell surface glycoproteins and mannans, as well as the yeast pheromone alpha-factor, traverse the secretory pathway during mitosis. We show that the mitotic cells are able to carry out several types of post-translational modification of secretory proteins. (a) The secretory protein invertase was oligomerized and extensively glycosylated, (b) the N-glycan cores of bulk-cell surface mannans were extended with outer chains, (c) some N-glycans were phosphorylated, (d) the protein-bound O-glycans were extended up to tetramannosides, (e) prepro-ka-factor was proteolytically processed to alpha-factor molecules. We conclude that the secretory pathway in yeast remains fully functional throughout the cell cycle.