Non-lysosomal degradation of misfolded human lysozymes with and without an asparagine-linked glycosylation site.

Human lysozyme is a monomeric secretory protein composed of 130 amino acid residues, with four intramolecular disulfide bonds and no oligosaccharides. In this study, a mutant protein, [Ala128] lysozyme, which cannot fold because it lacks a disulfide bond, Cys6-Cys128, was expressed in mouse fibroblasts and was found to be mostly degraded in the cells, whereas the control wild-type lysozyme was quantitatively secreted into the media. The degradation of [Ala128]lysozyme was independent of the transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus. The degradation was greatly inhibited by incubation of cells at 15 degrees C, but was minimally affected by treatment of cells with the lysosomotropic agent, chloroquine, implying a non-lysosomal process. Additional mutations (Gly48-->Ser or Met29-->Thr) were created to make asparagine-linked (N-linked) glycosylation site in the [Ala128]lysozyme, and the resultant double mutants, [Ser48, Ala128]lysozyme and [Thr29, Ala128]lysozyme, were analyzed with respect to their intracellular degradation. These mutant proteins were susceptible to N-linked glycosylation, and were degraded in a similar manner to that of [Ala128] lysozyme, except that the onset of degradation of [Ser48, Ala128]lysozyme and [Thr29, Ala128] lysozyme, but not of [Ala128]lysozyme, was preceded by a lag period of up to 60 min. Furthermore, the degradative double mutants, [Ser48, Ala128]lysozyme and [Thr29, Ala128]lysozyme, were glycosylated post-translationally as well as co-translationally. These observations suggest that there is some interaction between the mechanisms of glycosylation and degradation.     

Folding mechanism of mutant human lysozyme C77/95A with increased secretion efficiency in yeast.

A mutant human lysozyme C77/95A, in which Cys77 and Cys95 are replaced with alanine, has been characterized by 8-fold greater secretion in yeast (Taniyama, Y., Yamamoto, Y., Nakao, M., Kikuchi, M., and Ikehara, M. (1988) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 152, 962-967) and almost the same three-dimensional structure as wild-type human lysozyme (Inaka, K., Taniyama, Y., Kikuchi, M., Morikawa, K., and Matsushima, M. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 12599-12603). To clarify the molecular features of C77/95A and the reason for its increased secretion in yeast, the stabilities of the mutant C77/95A and the wild-type proteins were examined by guanidine hydrochloride denaturation, and the unfolding-refolding kinetics were determined from circular dichroism and fluorescence stopped-flow measurements. Equilibrium experiments showed that the delta G of unfolding of C77/95A in water was 5.8 kcal/mol less stable than that of the wild-type protein at pH 4.0 and 10 degrees C. The unfolding rate of C77/95A was 4 orders of magnitude faster than that of the wild-type protein whereas the two proteins shared similar refolding rates. The slowly refolding phase of the wild-type protein disappeared in C77/95A, indicating that the disulfide bond affects this phase. These observations show that the disulfide bond Cys77-Cys95 contributes to the stabilization of the folded form of human lysozyme by suppressing the unfolding rate and that the increase in the unfolding rate, or the disappearance of the slowly refolding phase in vitro, could correlate with the increase in secretion efficiency in vivo.     

A study on the intracellular transport of prothrombin, albumin and transferrin in rat

The intracellular transport of prothrombin in rat has been studied and compared with the transport of albumin and transferrin. The proteins were immunoisolated from plasma samples after pulse labelling with [3H]leucine and the secretion kinetics were determined. The half-times for secretion (t1/2) were approx. 30, 53 and 75 min for albumin, prothrombin and transferrin, respectively, whereas the minimal transit time for prothrombin was approx. 30 min, and those for albumin and transferrin 15-20 min. After injection of vitamin K-1 into warfarin-treated rats, the accumulated prothrombin precursor was gamma-carboxylated and secreted with a t1/2 of 37 min. This indicates that the gamma-carboxylation of prothrombin in rough endoplasmic reticulum cannot account for the delay in the transport of prothrombin as compared to albumin. Comparison of the incorporation of [3H]leucine and [3H]glucosamine into plasma prothrombin and transferrin suggested that transferrin is secreted randomly from an intracellular pool, whereas prothrombin is transported in a more orderly sequence. Moreover, treatment of rough microsomes with 0.05% sodium deoxycholate indicated that prothrombin is more tightly associated with the membranes of rough endoplasmic reticulum than albumin and transferrin.     

The crystal structure of a mutant human lysozyme C77/95A with increased secretion efficiency in yeast

The three-dimensional structure of a mutant human lysozyme, C77/95A, in which residues Cys77 and Cys95 were replaced by alanine, was determined at 1.8-A resolution by x-ray crystallography. The properties of this mutant protein have been well characterized with respect to its thermal stability and secretion efficiency in a yeast expression system. The overall three-dimensional structure of C77/95A was found to be essentially identical to that of the wild-type human lysozyme, although the coordinates were shifted by more than 0.5 A and the thermal factors of the main-chain atoms were increased in the vicinity of residue 77. The reduction in thermal stability of this mutant has been previously explained by an increase in entropy of the unfolded state. In addition, a packing defect (cavity) produced by the removal of the disulfide bond was detected in the three-dimensional structure of C77/95A. This cavity can also be a reason why the stability of the protein is reduced because the free energy of the folded state could be expected to increase. The increased secretion efficiency cannot be due mainly to the three-dimensional structure, but may possibly be related to some event in the pathway of protein secretion. One of the possibilities might involve molecular flexibilities in the secondary or tertiary structure for lack of one of the disulfide bonds.     

Intracellular transport of the transmembrane glycoprotein G of vesicular stomatitis virus through the Golgi apparatus as visualized by electron microscope radioautography

The intracellular migration of G protein in vesicular stomatitis virus-infected cells was visualized by light and electron microscope radioautography after a 2-min pulse with [3H]mannose followed by nonradioactive chase for various intervals. The radioactivity initially (at 5-10 min) appeared predominantly in the endoplasmic reticulum, and the [3H]mannose-labeled G protein produced was sensitive to endoglycosidase H. Silver grains were subsequently (at 30-40 min) observed over the Golgi apparatus, and the [3H]mannose-labeled G protein became resistant to endoglycosidase H digestion. Our data directly demonstrate the intracellular transport of a plasmalemma-destined transmembrane glycoprotein through the Golgi apparatus.     

Intracellular accumulation of antithrombin Morioka (C95R), a novel mutation causing type I antithrombin deficiency

Antithrombin (AT) is a major plasma protease inhibitor with three intramolecular disulfide bonds, and its deficiency is associated with increased venous thrombosis. Recently, we found a novel missense mutation named AT Morioka (C95R), which causes the loss of one of the three disulfide bonds. In this study, we prepared Chinese hamster ovary cells stably overexpressing wild type or mutant AT and examined the intracellular fate of the ATs. In pulse-chase experiments, newly synthesized wild type AT was secreted into the medium with a half-life of approximately 1.5 h. In contrast, most of the mutant type AT was not secreted during the chase period of 9 h and, surprisingly, was not degraded in the cells. The kinetics of the secretion suggests that the mutant was secreted about 50 times more slowly into the medium. Most of the mutant AT in the cells had high mannose type oligosaccharides, suggesting that it was retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In addition, half of the mutant AT existed in a dimeric form with an intermolecular disulfide bond. On immunoelectron microscopy, the mutant AT was found to have accumulated in variously sized structures surrounded by a single membrane in the cytoplasm. Immunogold particles exhibiting calnexin immunoreactivity were detected on the membranes. Ribosomes were attached to some of the small structures that had accumulated the mutant AT. Further, we prepared Chinese hamster ovary cells stably overexpressing another mutant AT in which two cysteine residues at 21 and 95, responsible for disulfide bond formation, were substituted for arginines. In pulse-chase experiments, the mutant AT (C21C,C95R) was secreted faster than that of AT Morioka (C95R) into the medium. These results suggest that AT Morioka remained for a long time in ER without being degraded and accumulated in newly formed membrane structures derived from the ER. The dimerization of AT Morioka (C95R) through Cys-21 seems to be critical for its intracellular accumulation.     

Evidence for difference in the roles of two cysteine residues involved in disulfide bond formation in the folding of human lysozyme

Human lysozyme is made up of 130 amino acid residues and has four disulfide bonds at Cys6-Cys128, Cys30-Cys116, Cys65-Cys81, and Cys77-Cys95. Our previous results using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae secretion system indicate that the individual disulfide bonds of human lysozyme have different functions in the correct in vivo folding and enzymatic activity of the protein (Taniyama, Y., Yamamoto, Y., Nakao, M., Kikuchi, M., and Ikehara, M. (1988) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 152, 962-967). In this paper, we report the results of experiments that were focused on the roles of Cys65 and Cys81 in the folding of human lysozyme protein in yeast. A mutant protein (C81A), in which Cys81 was replaced with Ala, had almost the same enzymatic activity and conformation as those of the native enzyme. On the other hand, another mutant (C65A), in which Cys65 was replaced with Ala, was not found to fold correctly. These results indicate that Cys81 is not a requisite for both correct folding and activity, whereas Cys65 is indispensable. The mutant protein C81A is seen to contain a new, non-native disulfide bond at Cys65-Cys77. The possible occurrence of disulfide bond interchange during our mapping experiments cannot be ruled out by the experimental techniques presently available, but characterization of other mutant proteins and computer analysis suggest that the intramolecular exchange of disulfide bonds is present in the folding pathway of human lysozyme in vivo.     

Evidence for intramolecular disulfide bond shuffling in the folding of mutant human lysozyme

Our previous results using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae secretion system suggest that intramolecular exchange of disulfide bonds occurs in the folding pathway of human lysozyme in vivo (Taniyama, Y., Yamamoto, Y., Kuroki, R., and Kikuchi, M. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 7570-7575). Here we report on the results of introducing an artificial disulfide bond in mutants with 2 cysteine residues substituting for Ala83 and Asp91. The mutant (C83/91) protein was not detected in the culture medium of the yeast, probably because of incorrect folding. Thereupon, 2 cysteine residues Cys77 and Cys95 were replaced with Ala in the mutant C83/91, because a native disulfide bond Cys77-Cys95 was found not necessary for correct folding in vivo (Taniyama, Y., Yamamoto, Y., Nakao, M., Kikuchi, M., and Ikehara, M. (1988) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 152, 962-967). The resultant mutant (AC83/91) was secreted as two proteins (AC83/91-a and AC83/91-b) with different specific activities. Amino acid and peptide mapping analyses showed that two glutathiones appeared to be attached to the thiol groups of the cysteine residues introduced into AC83/91-a and that four disulfide bonds including an artificial disulfide bond existed in the AC83/91-b molecule. The presence of cysteine residues modified with glutathione may indicate that the non-native disulfide bond Cys83-Cys91 is not so easily formed as a native disulfide bond. These results suggest that the introduction of Cys83 and Cys91 may act to suppress the process of native disulfide bond formation through disulfide bond interchange in the folding of human lysozyme.     

Role of disulfide bonds in folding and secretion of human lysozyme in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We examined folding and secretion of human lysozyme using four mutants each lacking two cysteines expressed in a yeast secretion system. Our results have revealed that the formation of the disulfide bond Cys6/Cys128 in human lysozyme is a prerequisite for correct folding in vivo in yeast. Substitution of Ala for Cys77 and Cys95 gave eight-fold greater secretion of a molecule with almost the same specific activity as that of the native enzyme. Substitutions of the other cysteines gave molecules that were secreted at a lower rate and had lower specific activities than the native enzyme. These are the first findings that the individual disulfide bonds of human lysozyme have different functions in folding and secretion in vivo.     

The effects of low temperatures on intracellular transport of newly synthesized albumin and haptoglobin in rat hepatocytes.

Isolated rat hepatocytes were pulse-labelled with [35S]methionine at 37 degrees C and subsequently incubated (chased) for different periods of time at different temperatures (37-16 degrees C). The time courses for the secretion of [35S]methionine-labelled albumin and haptoglobin were determined by quantitative immunoprecipitation of the detergent-solubilized cells and of the chase media. Both proteins appeared in the chase medium only after a lag period, the length of which increased markedly with decreasing chase temperature: from about 10 and 20 min at 37 degrees C to about 60 and 120 min at 20 degrees C for albumin and haptoglobin respectively. The rates at which the proteins were externalized after the lag period were also strongly affected by temperature, the half-time for secretion being 20 min at 37 degrees C and 200 min at 20 degrees C for albumin; at 16 degrees C no secretion could be detected after incubation for 270 min. Analysis by subcellular fractionation showed that part of the lag occurred in the endoplasmic reticulum and that the rate of transfer to the Golgi complex was very temperature-dependent. The maximum amount of the two pulse-labelled proteins in Golgi fractions prepared from cells after different times of chase decreased with decreasing incubation temperatures, indicating that the transport from the Golgi complex to the cell surface was less affected by low temperatures than was the transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex.     

Different effects of calnexin deletion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the secretion of two glycosylated amyloidogenic lysozymes

Both glycosylated amyloidogenic lysozymes I55T/G49N and D66H/G49N were expressed in wild-type and calnexin-disrupted Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The secretion amounts of mutant I55T/G49N were almost similar in both wild-type and calnexin-disrupted S. cerevisiae. In contrast, the secretion of mutant D66H/G49N greatly increased in calnexin-disrupted S. cerevisiae, while the secretion was very low in the wild-type strain. In parallel, the induction level of the molecular chaperones BiP and PDI located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) was investigated when these glycosylated amyloidogenic lysozymes were expressed in wild-type and calnexin-disrupted S. cerevisiae. The mRNA concentrations of BiP and PDI were evidently increased when mutant lysozyme D66H/G49N was expressed in calnexin-disrupted S. cerevisiae, while they were not so increased when I55T/G49N mutant was expressed. This observation indicates that the conformation of mutant lysozyme D66H/G49N was less stable in the ER, thus leading to the higher-level expression of ER molecular chaperones via the unfolded protein response pathway. This suggests that glycosylated amyloidogenic lysozyme I55T/G49N may have a relatively stable conformation in the ER, thus releasing it from the quality control of calnexin compared with mutant lysozyme D66H/G49N.     

Ligand-dependent regulation of intracellular protein transport: effect of vitamin a on the secretion of the retinol-binding protein

As a model of ligand-dependent protein secretion the biosynthesis, intracellular transport, and release of the retinol-binding protein (RBP) were studied in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes pulse-labeled with [35S]methionine. After various periods of chase RBP was isolated by immunoprecipitation and identified by SDS PAGE. Both normal and vitamin A-deficient hepatocytes synthesized RBP. The normal cells secreted the pulse-labeled RBP within 2 h. RBP synthesized by deficient cells was not secreted, and intracellular degradation of the protein appeared to be slow. Deficient cells could be induced to secrete RBP on the addition of retinol to the culture medium. This occurred also after protein synthesis had been blocked by cycloheximide. Since retinol induces the secretion of RBP, accumulated in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), it seems reasonable to conclude that the transport of RBP from the ER to the Golgi complex is regulated by retinol.     

Secretion in yeast of mutant human lysozymes with and without glutathione bound to cysteine 95

A mutant human lysozyme C77A, in which Cys-77 is replaced with Ala, was secreted by Saccharomyces cerevisiae as two proteins (C77A-a and C77A-b) with different specific activities. A peptide fragment from Val93 to Ala108 was obtained from C77A-a by pepsin digestion, and examined by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry and amino acid analysis. The results showed that glutathione was attached to the thiol group of Cys95 of the fragment through a disulfide linkage. This observation was confirmed by quantitative formation of free glutathionesulfonic acid from C77A-a by performic acid treatment. In contrast, there was no modification in the case of C77A-b. These results indicate that C77A-a contained a mixed disulfide with glutathione attached to cysteine residue 95. In C77A-b, there appears to be a free thiol of Cys95 surrounded by many side chains, which was not modified by iodoacetic acid under native conditions, suggesting that the attachment of glutathione occurs during folding. These findings further suggest that in the oxidation step of disulfide bond formation in human lysozyme secreted by yeast, mixed disulfides are formed with glutathione and that posttranslational modification with glutathione can occur even in a protein secreted by yeast.     

Novel blockade by brefeldin A of intracellular transport of secretory proteins in cultured rat hepatocytes

We examined the effect of brefeldin A, an antiviral antibiotic, on protein synthesis, intracellular processing, and secretion in primary culture of rat hepatocytes. The secretion was strongly blocked by the drug at 1 microgram/ml and higher concentrations, while the protein synthesis was maintained fairly well. Pulse-chase experiments with [35S]methionine demonstrated that brefeldin A completely blocked the proteolytic conversion of proalbumin to serum albumin up to 60 min of chase, although its conversion was observed as early as 20 min in the control cells. The drug also inhibited the terminal glycosylation of oligosaccharide chains of alpha 1-protease inhibitor and haptoglobin. These two modifications have been shown to occur at the trans region of the Golgi complex. The drug, however, had no effect on the proteolytic processing of the haptoglobin proform which takes place within the endoplasmic reticulum. Such an effect by brefeldin A is very similar with that induced by the carboxylic ionophore monensin. However, in contrast to evidence that monensin causes a delayed secretion of the unprocessed forms of these proteins, brefeldin A allowed the completely processed forms to be secreted after a prolonged accumulation of the unprocessed forms. Morphological observations demonstrated that the endoplasmic reticulum was markedly dilated by treatment with the drug at 10 micrograms/ml which continuously blocked the secretion. On the other hand, brefeldin A caused no inhibitory effect on the endocytic pathway as judged by cellular uptake and degradation of 125I-asialofetuin. These results indicate that brefeldin A is a unique agent which primarily impedes protein transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex by a mechanism different from those considered for other secretion-blocking agents so far reported.     

Apolipoprotein[a] secretion from hepatoma cells is regulated in a size-dependent manner by alterations in disulfide bond formation

Apolipoprotein[a] (apo[a]) is a large disulfide linked glycoprotein synthesized by hepatocytes. We have examined the role of disulfide bond formation in the processing of apo[a] using human and rat hepatoma cells expressing apo[a] isoforms containing varying numbers of kringle 4 (K4) domains, following treatment with DTT. Hepatoma cells expressing 6- or 9-K4 isoforms revealed approximately 90% inhibition of apo[a] secretion following DTT treatment, although larger isoforms containing 13- or 17-K4 domains demonstrated continued secretion (up to 30% of control values), suggesting that a fraction of the larger isoforms is at least partially DTT resistant. Wash-out experiments demonstrated that these effects were completely reversible for all isoforms studied, with no enhanced degradation associated with prolonged intracellular retention. DTT treatment was associated with enhanced binding of apo[a] with the endoplasmic reticulum-associated chaperone proteins calnexin, calreticulin, and BiP, which was reversible upon DTT removal. The chemical chaperone 6-aminohexanoic acid, previously demonstrated by others to rescue defective apo[a] secretion associated with alterations in glycosylation, failed to alter the secretion of apo[a] following DTT treatment. The demonstration that DTT modulates apo[a] secretion in a manner influenced by both the type and number of K4 repeats extends understanding of the mechanisms that regulate its exit from the endoplasmic reticulum.     

Effect of EPS1 gene deletion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the secretion of foreign proteins which have disulfide bridges

Both amyloid-prone cystatin and unstable mutant C94A lysozyme were secreted in wild-type and Deltaeps1 Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Amyloid-prone cystatin secreted at much higher level in Deltaeps1 cells than that in wild-type yeast. In parallel, the secretion amount of disulfide bond disrupted mutant C94A lysozyme greatly increased in Deltaeps1 cells although that was apparently low in wild-type yeast cells compared with the secretion amount of wild-type lysozyme. It is interesting that neither the unstable mutant C94A lysozyme nor amyloid-prone cystatin secreted in Deltaeps1 cells maintained their specific activities. These observations lead to the supposition that yeast cells deficient for the protein disulfide isomerase-family-member EPS1 locus secrete more of labile disulfide-containing model proteins.     

Defective assembly and intracellular transport of mutant paramyxovirus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase proteins containing altered cytoplasmic domains.

The hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) integral membrane protein of paramyxoviruses is expressed at the cell surface as a tetramer consisting of a pair of disulfide-linked dimers. HN has a large C-terminal ectodomain, a 19-residue uncleaved signal-anchor domain, and a 17-residue N-terminal cytoplasmic tail. Various mutant HN genes were constructed to examine the role of residues flanking the signal-anchor domain, including the cytoplasmic tail, on assembly and intracellular transport of the HN glycoprotein. Expression of the altered genes showed that by 90 min after synthesis the majority of the mutant HN proteins were in a conformationally mature form as assayed by their reactivity with conformation-specific monoclonal antibodies. However, the mutant proteins showed varied endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi apparatus transport rates, ranging from that of wild-type HN (t1/2 approximately 90 min) to slowly transported molecules (t1/2 approximately 5 h) and to molecules in which transport was not detected. Pulse-chase experiments indicated that the altered HN molecules had a specific and transient interaction with the resident endoplasmic reticulum protein GRP78-BiP, and thus the altered HN molecules were not retained in the endoplasmic reticulum by a prolonged interaction with GRP78-BiP. Sucrose density gradient sedimentation analysis of the mutant HN molecules indicated that they all had an oligomeric form that differed from that of wild-type HN; most of the molecules were found as disulfide-linked dimers rather than as tetramers. These data suggest that the HN cytoplasmic tail may function in the assembly of the final transport-competent oligomeric form of HN and that mutant HN molecules with seemingly properly folded ectodomains are retained in the endoplasmic reticulum by an as yet unidentified mechanism. The possible role of the HN cytoplasmic tail as a signal for intracellular transport is discussed.     

Enthalpic destabilization of a mutant human lysozyme lacking a disulfide bridge between cysteine-77 and cysteine-95.

To understand the role of disulfide bridges in protein stability, the thermodynamic changes in the denaturation of two mutant human lysozymes lacking a disulfide bridge between Cys-77 and Cys-95 (C77A and C77/95A) were analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). At pH 3.0 and 57 degrees C, the stabilities of both the C77A and C77/95A mutants were decreased about 4.6 kcal.mol-1 in Gibbs free energy change. Under the same conditions, the enthalpy changes (delta H) were 94.8 and 90.8 kcal.mol-1, respectively, which were smaller than that of the wild type (100.8 kcal.mol-1). The destabilization of the mutants was caused by enthalpic factors. Although X-ray crystallography indicated that the mutants preserve the wild-type tertiary structure, removal of the disulfide bridge increased the flexibility of the native state of the mutants. This was indicated both by an increase in the crystallographic thermal factors (B-factors) and by a decrease in the affinity of N-acetylglucosamine trimer [(NAG)3] observed using isothermal titration calorimetry (DTC) due to entropic effects. Thus, the effect of cross-linking on the stability of a protein is not solely explained by the entropy change in denaturation.     

The route of secretion of procollagen. The influence of alphaalpha''-bipyridyl, colchicine and antimycin A on the secretory process in embryonic-chick tendon and cartilage cells.

I. Embryonic-chick tendon cells were pulse-labelled for 4 min with [14C]proline and the 14C-labelled polypeptides were chased with unlabelled proline for up to 30 min. Isolation of subcellular fractions during the chase period and their subsequent analysis for bacterial collagenase-susceptible 14C-labelled peptides demonstrated the transfer of procollagen polypeptides from rough to smooth microsomal fractions and thence to the extracellular medium. Parallel analyses of Golgi-enriched fractions indicated the involvement of this organelle in the secretory pathway of procollagen. Sodium dodecylsulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of the 14C-labelled polypeptides present in the Golgi-enriched fractions demonstrated that the procollagen polypeptides were all present as disulphide-linked pro-gamma components. 2. When similar kinetic studies of the intracellular transport of procollagen were conducted with embryonic-chick cartilage cells almost identical results were obtained, but the rate of translocation of cartilage procollagen was significantly slower than that observed for tendon procollagen. 3. When hydroxylation of procollagen polypeptides was inhibited by alphaalpha'-bipyridyl, the nascent polypeptides accumulated in the rough microsomal fraction. 4. When cells were pulse-labelled for 4min with [14C)proline and the label was chased in the presence of colchicine, secretion of procollagen was inhibited and an intracellular accumulation of procollagen 14C-labelled polypeptides was observed in the Golgi-enriched fractions. 5. The energy-dependence of the intracellular transport of procollagen was demonstrated in experiments in which antimycin A was found to inhibit the transfer of procollagen polypeptides from rough to smooth endoplasmic reticulum. 6. It is concluded that procollagen follows the classical route of secretion taken by other extracellular proteins.     

Pulse-chase studies of the synthesis and intracellular transport of apolipoprotein B-100 in Hep G2 cells

The synthesis and secretion of apolipoprotein B-100 (apoB-100) have been studied in a human hepatoma cell line, the Hep G2 cells. The time needed for the synthesis of apoB-100 was estimated to be 14 min, which corresponds to a translation rate of approximately 6 amino acids/s. ApoB-100 was compared with albumin and alpha 2-macroglobulin as to the distribution between the membrane and the luminal content in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi apparatus. The results suggested that apoB-100 approximately followed the distribution of these secretory proteins in the Golgi, while the ratios between the percent membrane-bound apoB-100 and percent membrane-bound albumin or alpha 2-macroglobulin were 3-4:1 in the ER. This may suggest that apoB-100 occurs in a membrane-associated form in ER prior to the integration in the lipoproteins. Pulse-chase studies combined with subcellular fractionation was used to investigate the kinetics for the intracellular transfer of apoB-100. A 3-min pulse of [35S]methionine was followed by an increase in apoB-100 radioactivity in the ER during the first 10-15 min of chase. The following 10-15 min of chase were characterized by linear decrease in apoB-100 radioactivity with a decay rate of approximately 6%/min. The residence kinetics for apoB-100 in the ER differed from that of transferrin and probably also from that of albumin. By comparing the time for the pulse maximum in ER with that in the denser Golgi fractions the time needed for the transfer between ER and Golgi could be estimated to be 10 min. The time needed for the secretion of newly synthesized apoB-100 was estimated to be 30 min. This indicates that the transfer of the protein through the Golgi apparatus to the extracellular space requires 20 min.