Diabetes mellitus and exocrine pancreatic dysfunction in perk-/- mice reveals a role for translational control in secretory cell survival

The protein kinase PERK couples protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to polypeptide biosynthesis by phosphorylating the alpha subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (eIF2alpha), attenuating translation initiation in response to ER stress. PERK is highly expressed in mouse pancreas, an organ active in protein secretion. Under physiological conditions, PERK was partially activated, accounting for much of the phosphorylated eIF2alpha in the pancreas. The exocrine and endocrine pancreas developed normally in Perk-/- mice. Postnatally, ER distention and activation of the ER stress transducer IRE1alpha accompanied increased cell death and led to progressive diabetes mellitus and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. These findings suggest a special role for translational control in protecting secretory cells from ER stress.

Polarized monolayers formed by epithelial cells on a permeable and translucent support

An epithelial cell line (MDCK) was used to prepare monolayers which, in vitro, develop properties of transporting epithelia. Monolayers were formed by plating cells at high densities (10(6) cells/cm2) on collagen-coated nylon cloth disks to saturate the area available for attachment, thus avoiding the need for cell division. An electrical resistance developed within 4-6 h after plating and achieved a steady-state value of 104 +/- 1.8 omega-cm2 after 24 h. Mature monolayers were morphologically and functionally polarized. They contained junctional complexes composed of desmosomes and tight junctions with properties similar to those of "leaky" epithelia. Monolayers were capable of maintaining a spontaneous electrical potential sensitive to amiloride, produced a net water flux from the apical to basal side, and discriminated between Na+ and Cl- ions. The MDCK permeability barrier behaves as a "thin" membrane with negatively charged sites. It has: (a) a linear conductance/concentration relationship; (b) an asymmetric instantaneous current/voltage relationship; (c) a reduced ability to discriminate between Na+ and Cl- caused by lowering the pH; and (d) a characteristic pattern of ionic selectivity which suggests that the negatively charged sites are highly hydrates and of medium field strength. Measurements of Na+ permeability of electrical and tracer methods ruled out exchange diffusion as a mechanism for ion permeation and the lack of current saturation in the I/deltapsi curves does not support the involvement of carriers. The discrimination between Na+ and Cl- was severely but reversibly decreased at low pH, suggesting that Na+-specific channels which exclude Cl- contain acidic groups dissociated at neutral pH. Bound Ca++ ions are involved in maintaining the integrity of the junctions in MDCK monolayers as was shown by a reversible drop of resistance and opening of the junctions in Ca++-free medium containing EGTA. Several other epithelial cell lines are capable of developing a significant resistance under the conditions used to obtain MDCK monolayers.

Hydrolysis of GTP on rab11 is required for the direct delivery of transferrin from the pericentriolar recycling compartment to the cell surface but not from sorting endosomes

Rab11 is a small GTP-binding protein that in cultured mammalian cells has been shown to be concentrated in the pericentriolar endosomal recycling compartment and to play a key role in passage of the recycling transferrin receptor through that compartment [Ullrich, O., Reinsch, S., Urbé, S., Zerial, M. & Parton, R. G. (1996) J. Cell Biol. 135, 913-924]. To obtain insights into the site(s) of action of rab11 within the recycling pathway, we have now compared the effects on recycling at 37 degreesC of overexpression of wild-type rab11 and various mutant forms of this protein in cells that had been loaded with transferrin at either 37 degreesC or 16 degreesC. We show that incubation at 16 degreesC blocks passage of endocytosed transferrin into the recycling compartment and that, whereas the rab11 dominant negative mutant form (S25N) inhibits transferrin recycling after interiorization at either temperature, the wild-type rab11 and constitutively active mutant (Q70L) have no inhibitory effect on the recycling of molecules that were interiorized at 16 degreesC. This differential inhibitory effect shows that two distinct pathways for recycling are followed by the bulk of the transferrin molecules interiorized at the two different temperatures. The incapacity of the constitutively active form of rab11 (Q70L) to inhibit recycling of molecules interiorized at 16 degreesC is consistent with their recycling taking place directly from sorting endosomes, in a process that does not require hydrolysis of GTP on rab11. The fact that the dominant negative (S25N) form of rab11 inhibits recycling of molecules interiorized at both temperatures indicates that activation of rab11 by GTP is required for exit of transferrin from sorting endosomes, regardless of whether this exit is toward the recycling compartment or directly to the plasma membrane.

Actin microfilaments play a critical role in endocytosis at the apical but not the basolateral surface of polarized epithelial cells

Treatment with cytochalasin D, a drug that acts by inducing the depolymerization of the actin cytoskeleton, selectively blocked endocytosis of membrane bound and fluid phase markers from the apical surface of polarized MDCK cells without affecting the uptake from the basolateral surface. Thus, in MDCK cell transformants that express the VSV G protein, cytochalasin blocked the internalization of an anti-G mAb bound to apical G molecules, but did not reduce the uptake of antibody bound to the basolateral surface. The selective effect of cytochalasin D on apical endocytosis was also demonstrated by the failure of the drug to reduce the uptake of 125I-labeled transferrin, which occurs by receptor-mediated endocytosis, via clathrin-coated pits, almost exclusively from the basolateral surface. The actin cytoskeleton appears to play a critical role in adsorptive as well as fluid phase apical endocytic events, since treatment with cytochalasin D prevented the apical uptake of cationized ferritin, that occurs after the marker binds to the cell surface, as well as uptake of Lucifer yellow, a fluorescent soluble dye. Moreover, the drug efficiently blocked infection of the cells with influenza virus, when the viral inoculum was applied to the apical surface. On the other hand, it did not inhibit the basolateral uptake of Lucifer yellow, nor did it prevent infection with VSV from the basolateral surface, or with influenza when this virus was applied to monolayers in which the formation of tight junctions had been prevented by depletion of calcium ions. EM demonstrated that cytochalasin D leads to an increase in the number of coated pits in the apical surface where it suppresses the pinching off of coated vesicles. In addition, in drug-treated cells cationized ferritin molecules that were bound to microvilli were not cleared from the microvillar surface, as is observed in untreated cells. These findings indicate that there is a fundamental difference in the process by which endocytic vesicles are formed at the two surfaces of polarized epithelial cells and that the integrity and/or the polymerization of actin filaments are required at the apical surface. Actin filaments in microvilli may be part of a mechanochemical motor that moves membrane components along the microvillar surface towards intermicrovillar spaces, or provides the force required for converting a membrane invagination or pit into an endocytic vesicle within the cytoplasm.

A preliminary study of growth hormone in the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND

Cardiac hypertrophy is a physiologic response that allows the heart to adapt to an excess hemodynamic load. We hypothesized that inducing cardiac hypertrophy with recombinant human growth hormone might be an effective approach to the treatment of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which compensatory cardiac hypertrophy is believed to be deficient.

METHODS

Seven patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and moderate-to-severe heart failure were studied at base line, after three months of therapy with human growth hormone, and three months after the discontinuation of growth hormone. Standard therapy for heart failure was continued throughout the study. Cardiac function was evaluated with Doppler echocardiography, right-heart catheterization, and exercise testing.

RESULTS

When administered at a dose of 14 IU per week, growth hormone doubled the serum concentrations of insulin-like growth factor I. Growth hormone increased left-ventricular-wall thickness and reduced chamber size significantly. Consequently, end-systolic wall stress (a function of both wall thickness and chamber size) fell markedly (from a mean [+/-SE] of 144+/-11 to 85+/-8 dyn per square centimeter, P<0.001). Growth hormone improved cardiac output, particularly during exercise (from 7.4+/-0.7 to 9.7+/-0.9 liters per minute, P=0.003), and enhanced ventricular work, despite reductions in myocardial oxygen consumption (from 56+/-6 to 39+/-5 ml per minute, P=0.005) and energy production (from 1014+/-100 to 701+/-80 J per minute, P=0.002). Thus, ventricular mechanical efficiency rose from 9+/-2 to 21+/-5 percent (P=0.006). Growth hormone also improved clinical symptoms, exercise capacity, and the patients' quality of life. The changes in cardiac size and shape, systolic function, and exercise tolerance were partially reversed three months after growth hormone was discontinued.

CONCLUSIONS

Recombinant human growth hormone administered for three months to patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy increased myocardial mass and reduced the size of the left ventricular chamber, resulting in improvement in hemodynamics, myocardial energy metabolism, and clinical status.

Asymmetric budding of viruses in epithelial monlayers: a model system for study of epithelial polarity

Infection of two different lines of polarized epithelial cells grown as monolayers with several types of enveloped viruses results, for each virus type, in a characteristic asymmetric budding of virions. Influenza virus (WSN strain), simian virus 5, and Sendai virus bud exclusively from the free (apical) surface of the cells, while vesicular stomatitis virus acquires its envelope only from the basolateral plasma membrane. Because different viruses select specific domains of plasma membrane in the same cell type, virus-infected epithelial monolayers can provide an excellent model system for studies of the mechanisms that generate regional differences in the distribution of plasma membrane components of epithelial cells.

Dissociation of mammalian polyribosomes into subunits by puromycin

Hepatic ribosomes have been dissociated into biologically active subunits as follows. Polysomes were treated at 0 degrees C with puromycin at high ionic strength. This released most of the nascent polypeptide chains without dissociating the polysomes, which retained the mRNA and the tRNA moiety of peptidyl tRNA, but were unable to continue the translation of mRNA. The polysomes were then heated to 37 degrees C, when they dissociated completely into subunits. Similar treatment without puromycin resulted in only partial dissociation.

Synthesis and incorporation of myelin polypeptides into CNS myelin

The distribution of newly synthesized proteolipid protein (PLP, 23 kdaltons) and myelin basic proteins (MBPs, 14-21.5 kdaltons) was determined in microsomal and myelin fractions prepared from the brainstems o1 10-30 d-old rats sacrificed at different times after an intracranial injection of 35S-methionine. Labeled MBPs were found in the myelin fraction 2 min after the injection, whereas PLP appeared first in the rough microsomal fraction and only after a lag of 30 min in the myelin fraction. Cell-free translation experiments using purified mRNAs demonstrated that PLP and MBPs are synthesized in bound and free polysomes, respectively. A mechanism involving the cotranslational insertion into the ER membrane and subsequent passage of the polypeptides through the Golgi apparatus is consistent with the lag observed in the appearance of the in vivo-labeled PLP in the myelin membrane. Newly synthesized PLP and MBPs are not proteolytically processed, because the primary translation products synthesized in vitro had the same electrophoretic mobility and N-terminal amino acid sequence as the mature PLP and MBP polypeptides. It was found that crude myelin fractions are highly enriched in mRNAs coding for the MBPs but not in mRNA coding for PLP. This suggests that whereas the bound polysomes synthesizing PLP are largely confined to the cell body, free polysomes synthesizing MBPs are concentrated in oligodendrocyte processes involved in myelination, which explains the immediate incorporation of MBPs into the developing myelin sheath.

Ribosome-membrane interaction. Nondestructive disassembly of rat liver rough microsomes into ribosomal and membranous components

In a medium of high ionic strength, rat liver rough microsomes can be nondestructively disassembled into ribosomes and stripped membranes if nascent polypeptides are discharged from the bound ribosomes by reaction with puromycin. At 750 mM KCl, 5 mM MgCl(2), 50 mM Tris.HCl, pH 7 5, up to 85% of all bound ribosomes are released from the membranes after incubation at room temperature with 1 mM puromycin. The ribosomes are released as subunits which are active in peptide synthesis if programmed with polyuridylic acid. The ribosome-denuded, or stripped, rough microsomes (RM) can be recovered as intact, essentially unaltered membranous vesicles Judging from the incorporation of [(3)H]puromycin into hot acid-insoluble material and from the release of [(3)H]leucine-labeled nascent polypeptide chains from bound ribosomes, puromycin coupling occurs almost as well at low (25-100 mM) as at high (500-1000 mM) KCl concentrations. Since puromycin-dependent ribosome release only occurs at high ionic strength, it appears that ribosomes are bound to membranes via two types of interactions: a direct one between the membrane and the large ribosomal subunit (labile at high KCl concentration) and an indirect one in which the nascent chain anchors the ribosome to the membrane (puromycin labile). The nascent chains of ribosomes specifically released by puromycin remain tightly associated with the stripped membranes. Some membrane-bound ribosomes (up to 40%) can be nondestructively released in high ionic strength media without puromycin; these appear to consist of a mixture of inactive ribosomes and ribosomes containing relatively short nascent chains. A fraction ( approximately 15%) of the bound ribosomes can only be released from membranes by exposure of RM to ionic conditions which cause extensive unfolding of ribosomal subunits, the nature and significance of these ribosomes is not clear.

Controlled proteolysis of nascent polypeptides in rat liver cell fractions. I. Location of the polypeptides within ribosomes

Free ribosomes containing nascent polypeptide chains labeled in vitro were submitted to proteolysis at 0 degrees by a mixture of trypsin and chymotrypsin. Sucrose gradient analysis showed that polysome patterns are retained even after 24 hr of proteolysis in the cold, while messenger RNA-free ribosomes (generated progressively during in vitro incorporation) are, within 2 hr, completely dissociated into subunits by trypsin. Although ribosomes and subunits are not extensively degraded into smaller fragments during low temperature proteolysis, changes in the acrylamide gel electrophoresis pattern showed that most ribosomal proteins are accessible to and are partially degraded by the proteases. Ribosome-bound nascent polypeptides are partially resistant to proteolysis at 0 degrees , although they are totally digested at 37 degrees or when the ribosomal subunit structure is disrupted by other means. Radioactivity incorporated into nascent chains during incubation times shorter than 3 min was mostly resistant to digestion at 0 degrees . A larger fraction of the initial radioactivity became degraded in ribosomes which incorporated for longer times. In these ribosomes, the amount of radioactivity which was resistant to proteolysis was constant and independent of the initial value, which reflects the labeled length of the nascent chains. These results suggest that the growing end of the nascent polypeptide is resistant to digestion and is protected from proteolytic attack by the ribosomal structure. A pulse and chase experiment confirmed this suggestion, showing that the protected segment is located at the carboxy-terminal end of the nascent chain. The protected segment was contained in the large ribosomal subunit and had a length of approximately 39 amino acid residues, as estimated by chromatography on Sephadex G-50.

Proteins of rough microsomal membranes related to ribosome binding. I. Identification of ribophorins I and II, membrane proteins characteristics of rough microsomes

Rat liver rough microsomes (RM) contain two integral membrane proteins which are not found in smooth microsomes (SM) and appear to be related to the presence of ribosome-binding sites. These proteins, of molecular weight 65,000 and 63,000, were designated ribophorins I and II, respectively. They were not released from the microsomal membranes by alkali or acid treatment, or when the ribosomes were detached by incubation with puromycin in a high salt medium. The anionic detergent sodium deoxycholate caused solubilization of the ribophorins, but neutral detergents led to their recovery with the sedimentable ribosomes. Ribosomal aggregates containing both ribophorins, but few other membrane proteins, were obtained from RM treated with the nonionic detergent Kyro EOB (2.5 X10(-2) M) in a low ionic strength medium. Sedimentation patterns produced by these aggregates resembled those of large polysomes but were not affected by RNase treatment. The aggregates, however, were dispersed by mild trypsinization (10 microgram trypsin for 30 min at 0 degrees C), incubation with deoxycholate, or in a medium of high salt concentration. These treatments led to a concomitant degradation or release of the ribophorins. It was estimated, from the staining intensity of protein bands in acrylamide gels, that in the Kyro EOB aggregates there were one to two molecules of each ribophorin per ribosome. Sedimentable complexes without ribosomes containing both ribophorins could also be obtained by dissolving RM previously stripped of ribosomes by puromycin-KCl using cholate, a milder detergent than DOC. Electron microscope examination of the residue obtained from RM treated with Kyro EOB showed that the rapidly sedimenting polysome-like aggregates containing the ribophorins consisted of groups of tightly packed ribosomes which were associated with remnants of the microsomal membranes.

Biosynthesis of lysosomal hydrolases: their synthesis in bound polysomes and the role of co- and post-translational processing in determining their subcellular distribution

By in vitro translation of mRNA's isolated from free and membrane-bound polysomes, direct evidence was obtained for the synthesis of two lysosomal hydrolases, beta-glucuronidase of the rat preputial gland and cathespin D of mouse spleen, on polysomes bound to rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes. When the mRNA's for these two proteins were translated in the presence of microsomal membranes, the in vitro synthesized polypeptides were cotranslationally glycosylated and transferred into the microsomal lumen. Polypeptides synthesized in the absence of microsomal membranes were approximately 2,000 daltons larger than the respective unglycosylated microsomal polypeptides found after short times of labeling in cultured rat liver cells treated with tunicamycin. This strongly suggests that nascent chains of the lysosomal enzymes bear transient amino terminal signals which determine synthesis on bound polysomes and are removed during the cotranslational insertion of the polypeptides into the ER membranes. In the line of cultured rat liver cells used for this work, newly synthesized lysosomal hydrolases showed a dual destination; approximately 60 percent of the microsomal polypeptides detected after short times of labeling were subsequently processed proteolytically to lower molecular weight forms characteristic of the mature enzymes. The remainder was secreted from the cells without further proteolytic processing. As previously observed by other investigations in cultured fibroblasts (A. Gonzalez-Noriega, J.H. Grubbs, V. Talkad, and W.S. Sly, 1980, J Cell Biol. 85: 839-852; A. Hasilik and E.F. Neufeld, 1980, J. Biol. Chem., 255:4937-4945.) the lysosomotropic amine chloroquine prevented the proteolytic maturation of newly synthesized hydrolases and enhanced their section. In addition, unglycosylated hydrolases synthesized in cells treated with tunicamycin were exclusively exported from the cells without undergoing proteolytic processing. These results support the notions that modified sugar residues serve as sorting out signals which address the hydrolases to their lysosomal destination and that final proteolytic cleavage of hydrolase precursors take place within lysosome itself. Structural differences in the carbohydrate chains of intracellular and secreted precursors of cathespin D were detected from their differential sensitivity to digestion with endoglycosidases H and D. These observations suggest that the hydrolases exported into the medium follow the normal secretory route and that some of their oligosaccharides are subject to modifications known to affect many secretory glycoproteins during their passage through the Golgi apparatus.

Viral glycoproteins destined for apical or basolateral plasma membrane domains traverse the same Golgi apparatus during their intracellular transport in doubly infected Madin-Darby canine kidney cells

Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells can sustain double infection with pairs of viruses of opposite budding polarity (simian virus 5 [SV5] and vesicular stomatitis virus [VSV] or influenza and VSV), and we observed that in such cells the envelope glycoproteins of the two viruses are synthesized simultaneously and assembled into virions at their characteristic sites. Influenza and SV5 budded exclusively from the apical plasma membrane of the cells, while VSV emerged only from the basolateral surfaces. Immunoelectron microscopic examination of doubly infected MDCK cells showed that the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) and the VSV G glycoproteins traverse the same Golgi apparatus and even the same Golgi cisternae. This indicates that the pathways of the two proteins towards the plasma membrane do not diverge before passage through the Golgi apparatus and therefore that critical sorting steps must take place during or after passage of the glycoproteins through this organelle. After its passage through the Golgi, the HA accumulated primarily at the apical membrane, where influenza virion assembly occurred. A small fraction of HA did, however, appear on the lateral surface and was incorporated into the envelope of budding VSV virions. Although predominantly found on the basolateral surface, significant amounts of G protein were observed on the apical plasma membrane well before disruption of the tight junctions was detectable. Nevertheless, assembly of VSV virions was restricted to the basolateral domain and in doubly infected cells the G protein was only infrequently incorporated into the envelope of budding influenza virions. These observations indicate that the site of VSV budding is not determined exclusively by the presence of G polypeptides. Therefore, it is likely that, at least for VSV, other cellular or viral components are responsible for the selection of the appropriate budding domain.

Selective release of content from microsomal vesicles without membrane disassembly. I. Permeability changes induced by low detergent concentrations

Rat liver rough microsomes treated with a series of desoxycholate (DOC) concentrations from 0.003 to 0.4% were analyzed by isopycnic sucrose density gradient centrifugation in media containing high or low salt concentrations. Tritium-labeled precursors administered in vivo were used as markers for ribosomes (orotic acid, 40 h), phospholipids (choline, 4 h), membrane proteins (leucine, 3 days), and completed secretory proteins of the vesicular cavity (leucine, 30 min). Within a narrow range of DOC concentrations (0.025-0.05%), the vesicular polypeptides were selectively released from the microsomes, while ribosomes, nascent polypeptides, and microsomal enzymes of the electron transport systems were unaffected. The detergent concentration which led to leakage of content was a function of the ionic strength and of the microsome concentration. At the lowest effective DOC concentration the microsomal membranes became reversibly permeable to macromoles as shown by changes in the density of the vesicles in Dextran gradients and by the extent of proteolysis by added proteases. Incubation of rough microsomes with proteases in the presence of 0.025% DOC also led to digestion of proteins from both faces of the microsomal membranes and to a lighter isopycnic density of the membrane vesicles.

Microtubule-acting drugs lead to the nonpolarized delivery of the influenza hemagglutinin to the cell surface of polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney cells

The synchronized directed transfer of the envelope glycoproteins of the influenza and vesicular stomatitis viruses from the Golgi apparatus to the apical and basolateral surfaces, respectively, of polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells can be achieved using temperature-sensitive mutant viruses and appropriate temperature shift protocols (Rindler, M. J., I. E. Ivanov, H. Plesken, and D. D. Sabatini, 1985, J. Cell Biol., 100:136-151). The microtubule-depolymerizing agents colchicine and nocodazole, as well as the microtubule assembly-promoting drug taxol, were found to interfere with the normal polarized delivery and exclusive segregation of hemagglutinin (HA) to the apical surface but not with the delivery and initial accumulation of G on the basolateral surface. Immunofluorescence analysis of permeabilized monolayers of influenza-infected MDCK cells treated with the microtubule-acting drugs demonstrated the presence of substantial amounts of HA protein on both the apical and basolateral surfaces. Moreover, in cells infected with the wild-type influenza virus, particles budded from both surfaces. Viral counts in electron micrographs showed that approximately 40% of the released viral particles accumulated in the intercellular spaces or were trapped between the cell and monolayer and the collagen support as compared to less than 1% on the basolateral surface of untreated infected cells. The effect of the microtubule inhibitors was not a result of a rapid redistribution of glycoprotein molecules initially delivered to the apical surface since a redistribution was not observed when the inhibitors were added to the cells after the HA was permitted to reach the apical surface at the permissive temperature and the synthesis of new HA was inhibited with cycloheximide. The altered segregation of the HA protein that occurs may result from the dispersal of the Golgi apparatus induced by the inhibitors or from the disruption of putative microtubules containing tracks that could direct vesicles from the trans Golgi apparatus to the cell surface. Since the vesicular stomatitis virus G protein is basolaterally segregated even when the Golgi elements are dispersed and hypothetical tracks disrupted, it appears that the two viral envelope glycoproteins are segregated by fundamentally different mechanisms and that the apical surface may be incapable of accepting vesicles carrying the G protein.

Controlled proteolysis of nascent polypeptides in rat liver cell fractions. II. Location of the polypeptides in rough microsomes

Rough microsomes were incubated in an in vitro amino acid-incorporating system for labeling the nascent polypeptide chains on the membrane-bound ribosomes. Sucrose density gradient analysis showed that ribosomes did not detach from the membranes during incorporation in vitro. Trypsin and chymotrypsin treatment of microsomes at 0 degrees led to the detachment of ribosomes from the membranes; furthermore, trypsin produced the dissociation of released, messenger RNA-free ribosomes into subunits. Electron microscopic observations indicated that the membranes remained as closed vesicles. In contrast to the situation with free polysomes, nascent chains contained in rough microsomes were extensively protected from proteolytic attach. By separating the microsomal membranes from the released subunits after proteolysis, it was found that nascent chains are split into two size classes of fragments when the ribosomes are detached. These were shown by column chromatography on Sephadex G-50 to be: (a) small (39 amino acid residues) ribosome-associated fragments and (b) a mixture of larger membrane-associated fragments excluded from the column. The small fragments correspond to the carboxy-terminal segments which are protected by the large subunits of free polysomes. The larger fragments associated with the microsomal membranes depend for their protection on membrane integrity. These fragments are completely digested if the microsomes are subjected to proteolysis in the presence of detergents. These results indicate that when the nascent polypeptides growing in the large subunits of membrane-bound ribosomes emerge from the ribosomes they enter directly into a close association with the microsomal membrane.

Identification of a new Pyk2 target protein with Arf-GAP activity

Protein tyrosine kinase Pyk2 is activated by a variety of G-protein-coupled receptors and by extracellular signals that elevate intracellular Ca2+ concentration. We have identified a new Pyk2 binding protein designated Pap. Pap is a multidomain protein composed of an N-terminal alpha-helical region with a coiled-coil motif, followed by a pleckstrin homology domain, an Arf-GAP domain, an ankyrin homology region, a proline-rich region, and a C-terminal SH3 domain. We demonstrate that Pap forms a stable complex with Pyk2 and that activation of Pyk2 leads to tyrosine phosphorylation of Pap in living cells. Immunofluorescence experiments demonstrate that Pap is localized in the Golgi apparatus and at the plasma membrane, where it is colocalized with Pyk2. In addition, in vitro recombinant Pap exhibits strong GTPase-activating protein (GAP) activity towards the small GTPases Arf1 and Arf5 and weak activity towards Arf6. Addition of recombinant Pap protein to Golgi preparations prevented Arf-dependent generation of post-Golgi vesicles in vitro. Moreover, overexpression of Pap in cultured cells reduced the constitutive secretion of a marker protein. We propose that Pap functions as a GAP for Arf and that Pyk2 may be involved in regulation of vesicular transport through its interaction with Pap.

Determination of the membrane topology of the phenobarbital-inducible rat liver cytochrome P-450 isoenzyme PB-4 using site-specific antibodies

Fifteen peptides, ranging in length from 6 to 31 amino acids and corresponding in sequence to portions of the major phenobarbital-inducible form of rat liver cytochrome P-450 (P-450 PB-4), were previously synthesized chemically and used to prepare site-specific rabbit antibodies (Frey, A. B., D.J. Waxman, and G. Kreibich, 1985, J. Biol. Chem., 260:15253-15265). The antipeptide antibodies were affinity purified using Sepharose resins derivatized with the respective peptides and 14 preparations were obtained that in an ELISA assay showed affinities to immobilized P-450 judged to be adequate for binding studies on intact rat liver microsomes. The binding of these antibodies to rough microsomes from the livers of phenobarbital treated rats was assessed using 125I-labeled IgG and by immunoelectron microscopy employing protein A-gold as a marker. It was found that many of the antibodies bound to the cytoplasmic surface of the membrane but none bound to the luminal face of ruptured or inverted microsomal vesicles or to contaminating membranes of other organelles present in the preparations. These observations eliminate previously proposed models for the transmembrane disposition of P-450 that postulate the existence of multiple transmembrane domains and the exposure of several polar segments of the polypeptide on the luminal side of the membrane. The fact that an antibody raised to the first 31 residues of P-450 bound well to the purified P-450 but very poorly to rough microsomes, whereas an antibody to a peptide comprising residues 24-38 showed relatively strong binding to intact microsomes, is consistent with the proposal that the amino terminal segment of P-450 extending approximately to residue 20 is embedded in the phospholipid bilayer and the immediately following segment is exposed on the cytoplasmic surface of the membrane. All these results favor a model in which the cytochrome P-450 molecule is largely exposed on the cytoplasmic surface of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane to which it is anchored by its short amino terminal hydrophobic segment.

FRAP/mTOR is required for proliferation and patterning during embryonic development in the mouse

The FKBP-12-rapamycin associated protein (FRAP, also known as mTOR and RAFT-1) is a member of the phosphoinositide kinase related kinase family. FRAP has serine/threonine kinase activity and mediates the cellular response to mitogens through signaling to p70s6 kinase (p70(s6k)) and 4E-BP1, resulting in an increase in translation of subsets of cellular mRNAs. Translational up-regulation is blocked by inactivation of FRAP signaling by rapamycin, resulting in G(1) cell cycle arrest. Rapamycin is used as an immunosuppressant for kidney transplants and is currently under investigation as an antiproliferative agent in tumors because of its ability to block FRAP activity. Although the role of FRAP has been extensively studied in vitro, characterization of mammalian FRAP function in vivo has been limited to the immune system and tumor models. Here we report the identification of a loss-of-function mutation in the mouse FRAP gene, which illustrates a requirement for FRAP activity in embryonic development. Our studies also determined that rapamycin treatment of the early embryo results in a phenotype indistinguishable from the FRAP mutant, demonstrating that rapamycin has teratogenic activity.

Proteins of rough microsomal membranes related to ribosome binding. II. Cross-linking of bound ribosomes to specific membrane proteins exposed at the binding sites

Two proteins (ribophorins I and II), which are integral components of rough microsomal membranes and appear to be related to the bound ribosomes, were shown to be exposed on the surface of rat liver rough microsomes (RM) and to be in close proximity to the bound ribosomes. Both proteins were labeled when intact RM were incubated with a lactoperoxidase iodinating system, but only ribophorin I was digested during mild trypsinization of intact RM. Ribophorin II (63,000 daltons) was only proteolyzed when the luminal face of the microsomal vesicles was made accessible to trypsin by the addition of sublytical detergent concentrations. Only 30--40% of the bound ribosomes were released during trypsinization on intact RM, but ribosome release was almost complete in the presence of low detergent concentrations. Very low glutaraldehyde concentrations (0.005--0.02%) led to the preferential cross-linking of large ribosomal subunits of bound ribosomes to the microsomal membranes. This cross-linking prevented the release of subunits caused by puromycin in media of high ionic strength, but not the incorporation of [3H]puromycin into nascent polypeptide chains. SDS-acrylamide gel electrophoresis of cross-linked samples a preferential reduction in the intensity of the bands representing the ribophorins and the formation of aggregates which did not penetrate into the gels. At low methyl-4-mercaptobutyrimidate (MMB) concentrations (0.26 mg/ml) only 30% of the ribosomes were cross-linked to the microsomal membranes, as shown by the puromycin-KCl test, but membranes could still be solubilized with 1% DOC. This allowed the isolation of the ribophorins together with the sedimentable ribosomes, as was shown by electrophoresis of the sediments after disruption of the cross-links by reduction. Experiments with RM which contained only inactive ribosomes showed that the presence of nascent chains was not necessary for the reversible cross-linking of ribosomes to the membranes. These observations suggest that ribophorins are in close proximity to the bound ribosomes, as may be expected from components of the ribosome-binding sites.

Signals for the incorporation and orientation of cytochrome P450 in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane

Cytochrome P450b is an integral membrane protein of the rat hepatocyte endoplasmic reticulum (ER) which is cotranslationally inserted into the membrane but remains largely exposed on its cytoplasmic surface. The extreme hydrophobicity of the amino-terminal portion of P450b suggests that it not only serves to initiate the cotranslational insertion of the nascent polypeptide but that it also halts translocation of downstream portions into the lumen of the ER and anchors the mature protein in the membrane. In an in vitro system, we studied the cotranslational insertion into ER membranes of the normal P450b polypeptide and of various deletion variants and chimeric proteins that contain portion of P450b linked to segments of pregrowth hormone or bovine opsin. The results directly established that the amino-terminal 20 residues of P450b function as a combined insertion-halt-transfer signal. Evidence was also obtained that suggests that during the early stages of insertion, this signal enters the membrane in a loop configuration since, when the amino-terminal hydrophobic segment was placed immediately before a signal peptide cleavage site, cleavage by the luminally located signal peptidase took place. After entering the membrane, the P450b signal, however, appeared to be capable of reorienting within the membrane since a bovine opsin peptide segment linked to the amino terminus of the signal became translocated into the microsomal lumen. It was also found that, in addition to the amino-terminal combined insertion-halt-transfer signal, only one other segment within the P450b polypeptide, located between residues 167 and 185, could serve as a halt-transfer signal and membrane-anchoring domain. This segment was shown to prevent translocation of downstream sequences when the amino-terminal combined signal was replaced by the conventional cleavable insertion signal of a secretory protein.