Phosphoproteins and protein kinases of the Golgi apparatus membrane

Incubation of a highly purified fraction derived from rat liver Golgi apparatus with [gamma-32P]ATP results in phosphorylation of several endogenous phosphoproteins. One phosphoprotein with an apparent Mr of 48,300 is radiolabeled to an apparent extent at least 5-fold higher than any other phosphoprotein as part of either the Golgi apparatus or highly purified rat liver fractions derived from the rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, plasma membrane, coated vesicles, cytosol, and total homogenate. Approximately 70% of the 48.3-kDa phosphoprotein appears to be a specific extrinsic Golgi membrane protein with the phosphorylated amino acid being threonine. The protein kinase which phosphorylates the 48.3-kDa protein is an intrinsic Golgi membrane protein and is dependent on Mg2+, independent of Ca2+, calmodulin, and cAMP, and is inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide. Preliminary evidence suggests that there are also intrinsic membrane protein kinases in the Golgi apparatus which are dependent on Ca2+ and cAMP. The physiological role of the above phosphoproteins and protein kinases is not known.     

A 102 kDa subunit of a Golgi-associated particle has homology to beta subunits of trimeric G proteins.

We have identified a 102 kDa protein, p102, which is found on the cytoplasmic face of Golgi membranes, exocytic transport vesicles and in the cytosol. A monoclonal antibody that cross-reacts with p102 is able to immunoprecipitate a 500-600 kDa protein complex containing p102 and additional subunits. The composition of this p102-containing protein complex resembles that of the Golgi coatomer complex, which constitutes the coat of non-clathrin coated vesicles. One of the subunits of the p102 complex reacts with a monoclonal antibody that detects beta-COP, a subunit of the Golgi coatomer complex. Like beta-COP, p102 exists in a brefeldin A-sensitive association with Golgi membranes. The sequence of p102 contains an N-terminal domain composed of six repeats which are similar to those found in the beta subunit of trimeric G proteins and other regulatory proteins. We suggest that p102 may be involved in regulating membrane traffic in the constitutive exocytic pathway.     

A microtubule-binding protein associated with membranes of the Golgi apparatus

A monoclonal antibody (M3A5), raised against microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2), recognized an antigen associated with the Golgi complex in a variety of non-neuronal tissue culture cells. In double immunofluorescence studies M3A5 staining was very similar to that of specific Golgi markers, even after disruption of the Golgi apparatus organization with monensin or nocodazole. M3A5 recognized one band of Mr approximately 110,000 in immunoblots of culture cell extracts; this protein, designated 110K, was enriched in Golgi stack fractions prepared from rat liver. The 110K protein has been shown to partition into the aqueous phase by Triton X-114 extraction of a Golgi-enriched fraction and was eluted after pH 11.0 carbonate washing. It is therefore likely to be a peripheral membrane protein. Proteinase K treatment of an isolated Golgi stack fraction resulted in complete digestion of the 110K protein, both in the presence and absence of Triton X-100. A the 110K protein is accessible to protease in intact vesicles in vitro, it is presumably located on the cytoplasmic face of the Golgi membrane in vivo. The 110K protein was able to interact specifically with taxol-polymerized microtubules in vitro. These results suggest that the 110K protein may serve to link the Golgi apparatus to the microtubule network and so may belong to a novel class of proteins: the microtubule-binding proteins.     

An intrinsic membrane glycoprotein of the golgi apparatus with O-linked N-acetylglucosamine facing the cytosol

We have recently described the occurrence of integral membrane glycoproteins in rat liver smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum with O-N-acetylglucosamine facing the cytosolic and luminal sides of the membrane (Abeijon, C., and Hirschberg, C. B. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 1010-1014). We now report that integral membrane glycoproteins with cytosolic facing O-N-acetylglucosamine also occur in membranes of rat liver Golgi apparatus. This was determined following incubation of vesicles from the Golgi apparatus, which were sealed and of the same membrane topographical orientation as in vivo, with UDP-[14C]galactose and saturating amounts of bovine milk galactosyltransferase. This enzyme does not enter the lumen of the vesicles and specifically catalyzes the addition of galactose, in a beta 1-4 linkage, to terminal N-acetylglucosamine. Under these conditions, galactose was transferred to a glycoprotein of molecular mass of 92 kDa. This protein was insoluble in sodium carbonate, pH 11.5, conditions under which integral membrane proteins remain membrane bound and was insensitive to treatment with peptide:N-glycosidase F. beta Elimination and chromatography showed that radiolabeled galactose was part of a disaccharide which was characterized as Gal beta 1-4GlcNAcitol. This glycoprotein is specific of the Golgi apparatus membrane. Intrinsic membrane glycoproteins with this unusual carbohydrate membrane orientation thus occur in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus of rat liver.     

Ultrastructural immunocytochemical localization of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase regulatory subunits in rat parotid acinar cells

Polyclonal antibodies to types I and II regulatory (R) subunits of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (cA-PK) were utilized in a post-embedding immunogold-labeling procedure to localize these proteins in rat parotid acinar cells. Both RI and RII were present in the nuclei, cytoplasm, rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), Golgi apparatus, and secretory granules. In the nuclei, gold particles were mainly associated with the heterochromatin. In the cytoplasm, the label was principally found in areas of RER. Most gold particles were located between adjacent RER cisternae or over their membranes and attached ribosomes; occasional particles were also present over the cisternal spaces. Labeling of the Golgi apparatus was significantly greater than background, although it was slightly lower than that over the RER cisternae. In secretory granules, gold particles were present over the granule content; no preferential localization to the granule membrane was observed. Morphometric analysis revealed equivalent labeling intensities for RI and RII in the cytoplasm-RER compartment. Labeling intensities for RII in the nuclei and secretory granules were about 50% greater than in the cytoplasm-RER, and 3 to 4-fold greater than values for RI in these two compartments. Electrophoresis and autoradiography of the postnuclear parotid-tissue fraction, the contents of purified secretory granules and saliva collected from the main excretory duct, after photoaffinity labeling with [32P]-8-azido-cyclic AMP, revealed the presence of R subunits. Predominantly RII was present in the granule contents and saliva, while both RII and RI were present in the cell extracts. Additionally, R subunits were purified from saliva by affinity chromatography on agarose-hexane-cyclic AMP. These findings confirm the localization of cA-PK in parotid cell nuclei and establish the acinar secretory granules as the source of the cyclic AMP-binding proteins in saliva.     

Similarities of the Golgi apparatus membrane and the plasma membrane in rat liver cells.

A Golgi apparatus-rich fraction and a plasma membrane-rich fraction were isolated from a common homogenate of rat liver. Their respective buovant densities, appearances in the electron microscope and 5'-nucleotidase and UDP-galactose ovalbumin galactosyltransferase activities were in accord with published data on separately isolated Golgi apparatus-rich and plasma membrane-rich fractions. Contamination by endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria was low. Gel electrophoresis of the membrane proteins of the Golgi apparatus-rich and plasma membrane-rich fractions (separately and mixed) showed a close similarity. After Neville's demonstration that electrophoretic patterns of membrane protein subunits from different subcellular fractions are easily distinguishable, the present work demonstrates an unusually close relationship between the Golgi apparatus membrane and the cell membrane. It is possible that membrane similarity may be mediated by the transfer of membrane-bound vesicles from the Golgi apparatus to the cell membrane.     

Is cytochrome P-450 transported from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus in rat hepatocytes?

The Golgi apparatus mediates intracellular transport of not only secretory and lysosomal proteins but also membrane proteins. As a typical marker membrane protein for endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of rat hepatocytes, we have selected phenobarbital (PB)-inducible cytochrome P- 450 (P-450[PB]) and investigated whether P-450(PB) is transported to the Golgi apparatus or not by combining biochemical and quantitative ferritin immunoelectron microscopic techniques. We found that P-450(PB) was not detectable on the membrane of Golgi cisternae either when P-450 was maximally induced by phenobarbital treatment or when P-450 content in the microsomes rapidly decreased after cessation of the treatment. The P-450 detected biochemically in the Golgi subcellular fraction can be explained by the contamination of the microsomal vesicles derived from fragmented ER membranes to the Golgi fraction. We conclude that when the transfer vesicles are formed by budding on the transitional elements of ER, P-450 is completely excluded from such regions and is not transported to the Golgi apparatus, and only the membrane proteins destined for the Golgi apparatus, plasma membranes, or lysosomes are selectively collected and transported.     

A novel 115-kD peripheral membrane protein is required for intercisternal transport in the Golgi stack

We have used an in vitro Golgi protein transport assay dependent on high molecular weight (greater than 100 kD) cytosolic and/or peripheral membrane proteins to study the requirements for transport from the cis- to the medial-compartment. Fractionation of this system indicates that, besides the NEM-sensitive fusion protein (NSF) and the soluble NSF attachment protein (SNAP), at least three high molecular weight protein fractions from bovine liver cytosol are required. The activity from one of these fractions was purified using an assay that included the second and third fractions in a crude state. The result is a protein of 115-kD subunit molecular mass, which we term p115. Immunodepletion of the 115-kD protein from a purified preparation with mAbs removes activity. Peptide sequence analysis of tryptic peptides indicates that p115 is a "novel" protein that has not been described previously. Gel filtration and sedimentation analysis indicate that, in its native state, p115 is a nonglobular homo-oligomer. p115 is present on purified Golgi membranes and can be extracted with high salt concentration or alkaline pH, indicating that it is peripherally associated with the membrane. Indirect immunofluorescence indicates that p115 is associated with the Golgi apparatus in situ.     

Plant Golgi-associated vesicles contain a novel alpha-actinin-like protein

By using Western blotting, immunofluorescence and immunogold labeling, a novel alpha-actinin-like protein was found in pollen and pollen tubes of Lilium davidii, a model system for cytoskeleton and Golgi apparatus study of plant. As measured by Western blotting, the molecular mass of the a-actinin-like protein was about 80 kDa. Under confocal laser scanning microscopy after immunofluorescence labeling, the distribution of the alpha-actinin-like protein appeared punctated in the cytoplasm of the pollen and pollen tubes. When double labeled, the protein was co-localized with Golgi 58K protein. In addition, some fraction of the alpha-actinin-like protein was found to co-distribute with F-actin bundles in the pollen tubes. Additional studies with immuno-gold labeling and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the alpha-actinin-like protein bound mainly to the membranes of Golgi-associated vesicles. When the pollen tubes were treated with Brefeldin A (BFA), the a-actinin-like proteins were dispersed into the cytoplasm, and the growth of pollen tubes was inhibited. After BFA was removed, the protein was reversibly recovered on the Golgi apparatus. These results suggest that the novel alpha-actinin-like protein is a BFA-sensitive protein on the membranes of Golgi-associated vesicles, and may participate in Golgi-associated vesicles budding and/or sorting, together with actin microfilaments.     

Characterization of a novel giant scaffolding protein, CG-NAP, that anchors multiple signaling enzymes to centrosome and the golgi apparatus.

A novel 450-kDa coiled-coil protein, CG-NAP (centrosome and Golgi localized PKN-associated protein), was identified as a protein that interacted with the regulatory region of the protein kinase PKN, having a catalytic domain homologous to that of protein kinase C. CG-NAP contains two sets of putative RII (regulatory subunit of protein kinase A)-binding motif. Indeed, CG-NAP tightly bound to RIIalpha in HeLa cells. Furthermore, CG-NAP was coimmunoprecipitated with the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), when one of the B subunit of PP2A (PR130) was exogenously expressed in COS7 cells. CG-NAP also interacted with the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 1 in HeLa cells. Immunofluorescence analysis of HeLa cells revealed that CG-NAP was localized to centrosome throughout the cell cycle, the midbody at telophase, and the Golgi apparatus at interphase, where a certain population of PKN and RIIalpha were found to be accumulated. These data indicate that CG-NAP serves as a novel scaffolding protein that assembles several protein kinases and phosphatases on centrosome and the Golgi apparatus, where physiological events, such as cell cycle progression and intracellular membrane traffic, may be regulated by phosphorylation state of specific protein substrates.     

Colocalisation of the protein tyrosine phosphatases PTP-SL and PTPBR7 with beta4-adaptin in neuronal cells

The mouse gene Ptprr encodes the neuronal protein tyrosine phosphatases PTP-SL and PTPBR7. These proteins differ in their N-terminal domains, with PTP-SL being a cytosolic, membrane-associated phosphatase and PTPBR7 a type I transmembrane protein. In this study, we further explored the nature of the PTP-SL-associated vesicles in neuronal cells using a panel of organelle markers and noted a comparable subcellular distribution for PTP-SL and the beta4-adaptin subunit of the AP4 complex. PTP-SL, PTPBR7 and beta4-adaptin are localised at the Golgi apparatus and at vesicles throughout the cytoplasm. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that PTP-SL, PTPBR7 and beta4-adaptin are all endogenously expressed in brain. Interestingly, coexpression of PTP-SL and beta4-adaptin leads to an altered subcellular localisation for PTP-SL. Instead of the Golgi and vesicle-type staining pattern, still observable for beta4-adaptin, PTP-SL is now distributed throughout the cytoplasm. Although beta4-adaptin was found to interact with the phosphatase domain of PTP-SL and PTPBR7 in the yeast two-hybrid system, it failed to do so in transfected neuronal cells. Our data suggest that the tyrosine phosphatases PTP-SL and PTPBR7 may be involved in the formation and transport of AP4-coated vesicles or in the dephosphorylation of their transmembrane cargo molecules at or near the Golgi apparatus.     

HIP/PAP, a C-type lectin overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma, binds the RII alpha regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase and alters the cAMP-dependent protein kinase signalling.

HIP/PAP is a C-type lectin overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Pleiotropic biological activities have been ascribed to this protein, but little is known about the function of HIP/PAP in the liver. In this study, therefore, we searched for proteins interacting with HIP/PAP by screening a HCC cDNA expression library. We have identified the RII alpha regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) as a partner of HIP/PAP. HIP/PAP and RII alpha were coimmunoprecipitated in HIP/PAP expressing cells. The biological relevance of the interaction between these proteins was established by demonstrating, using fractionation methods, that they are located in a same subcellular compartment. Indeed, though HIP/PAP is a protein secreted via the Golgi apparatus we showed that a fraction of HIP/PAP escaped the secretory apparatus and was recovered in the cytosol. Basal PKA activity was increased in HIP/PAP expressing cells, suggesting that HIP/PAP may alter PKA signalling. Indeed, we showed, using a thymidine kinase-luciferase reporter plasmid in which a cAMP responsive element was inserted upstream of the thymidine kinase promoter, that luciferase activity was enhanced in HIP/PAP expressing cells. Thus our findings suggest a novel mechanism for the biological activity of the HIP/PAP lectin.     

Subcellular distribution of the mannan-binding protein and its endogenous inhibitors in rat liver

The subcellular distribution of the mannan-binding protein from rat liver, a lectin specific for mannose and N-acetylglucosamine, was studied. Approximately 75% of the binding activity of the homogenate was recovered in microsomes, approximately 76% of which was accounted for by rough microsomes. Rough microsomes had the highest specific activity of binding, followed by the Golgi apparatus and smooth microsomes, whereas plasma membranes, lysosomes, mitochondria, and the soluble fraction had little or no binding activity. A topographical survey indicated that the binding protein was localized exclusively on the cisternal surface of microsomal vesicles. Thus, the binding protein of microsomal vesicles was protected from protease digestion and was released from the vesicles by mild detergent treatment. Competitive inhibitors, which presumably represent endogenous ligands of the binding protein, were found among subcellular fractions. More than 50% of the inhibitory activity of the homogenate was recovered in rough microsomes, while the highest specific activity of inhibition was found in lysosomes. The K_i values estimated for rough microsomes and lysosomes were 25.9 and 8.67 μg/ml, respectively. The distribution profiles of inhibitors were correlated roughly with those of the binding protein, resulting in masking of the binding activity in organelles up to the level of 86%. On the basis of the known localization and topology of the binding protein and endogenous inhibitors (ligands), possible physiological functions of the binding protein relevant to the transport of biosynthetic intermediates of glycoproteins from the rough endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus and from the Golgi apparatus to lysosomes were discussed.     

Immunofluorescent localization of 100K coated vesicle proteins

A family of coated vesicle proteins, with molecular weights of approximately 100,000 and designated 100K, has been implicated in both coat assembly and the attachment of clathrin to the vesicle membrane. These proteins were purified from extracts of bovine brain coated vesicles by gel filtration, hydroxylapatite chromatography, and preparative SDS PAGE. Peptide mapping by limited proteolysis indicated that the polypeptides making up the three major 100K bands have distinct amino acid sequences. When four rats were immunized with total 100K protein, each rat responded differently to the different bands, although all four antisera cross-reacted with the 100K proteins of human placental coated vesicles. After affinity purification, two of the antisera were able to detect a 100K band on blots of whole 3T3 cell protein and were used for immunofluorescence, double labeling the cells with either rabbit anti-clathrin or with wheat germ lectin as a Golgi apparatus marker. Both antisera gave staining that was coincident with anti-clathrin, with punctate labeling of the plasma membrane and perinuclear Golgi apparatus labeling. Thus, the 100K proteins are present on endocytic as well as Golgi-derived coated pits and vesicles. The punctate patterns were nearly identical with anti-100K and anti-clathrin, indicating that when vesicles become uncoated, the 100K proteins are removed as well as clathrin. One of the two antisera gave stronger plasma membrane labeling than Golgi apparatus labeling when compared with the anti-clathrin antiserum. The other antiserum gave stronger Golgi apparatus labeling. Although we have as yet no evidence that these two antisera label different proteins on blots of 3T3 cells, they do show differences on blots of bovine brain 100K proteins. This result, although preliminary, raises the possibility that different 100K proteins may be associated with different pathways of membrane traffic.     

Isolation of a vesicular intermediate in the cell-free transfer of membrane from transitional elements of the endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi apparatus cisternae of rat liver

Preparations enriched in part-smooth (lacking ribosomes), part-rough (with ribosomes) transitional elements of the endoplasmic reticulum when incubated with ATP plus a cytosol fraction responded by the formation of blebbing profiles and approximately 60-nm vesicles. The 60-nm vesicles formed resembled closely transition vesicles in situ considered to function in the transfer of membrane materials between the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus. The transition elements following incubation with ATP and cytosol were resolved by preparative free-flow electrophoresis into fractions of differing electronegativity. The main fraction contained the larger vesicles of the transitional membrane elements, while a less electronegative minor shoulder fraction was enriched in the 60-nm vesicles. If the vesicles concentrated by preparative free-flow electrophoresis were from material previously radiolabeled with [3H]leucine and then added to Golgi apparatus immobilized to nitrocellulose, radioactivity was transferred to the Golgi apparatus membranes. The transfer was rapid (T1/2 of about 5 min), efficient (10-30% of the total radioactivity of the transition vesicle preparations was transferred to Golgi apparatus), and independent of added ATP but facilitated by cytosol. Transfer was specific and apparently unidirectional in that Golgi apparatus membranes were ineffective as donor membranes and endoplasmic reticulum vesicles were ineffective as recipient membranes. Using a heterologous system with transition vesicles from rat liver and Golgi apparatus isolated from guinea pig liver, coalescence of the small endoplasmic reticulum-derived vesicles with Golgi apparatus membranes was demonstrated using immunocytochemistry. Employed were polyclonal antibodies directed against the isolated rat transition vesicle preparations. When localized by immunogold procedures at the electron microscope level, regions of rat-derived vesicles were found fused with cisternae of guinea pig Golgi apparatus immobilized to nitrocellulose strips. Membrane transfer was demonstrated from experiments where transition vesicle membrane proteins were radioiodinated by the Bolton-Hunter procedure. Additionally, radiolabeled peptide bands not present initially in endoplasmic reticulum appeared following coalescence of the derived vesicles with Golgi apparatus. These bands, indicative of processing, required that both Golgi apparatus and transition vesicles be present and did not occur in incubated endoplasmic reticulum preparations or on nitrocellulose strips to which no Golgi apparatus were added.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Biosynthetic protein transport through the early secretory pathway

 Newly synthesized proteins destined for delivery to the cell surface are inserted cotranslationally into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and, after their correct folding, are transported out of the ER. During their transport to the cell surface, cargo proteins pass through the various cisternae of the Golgi apparatus and, in the trans-most cisternae of the stack, are sorted into constitutive secretory vesicles that fuse with the plasma membrane. Simultaneously with anterograde protein transport, retrograde protein transport occurs within the Golgi complex as well as from the Golgi back to the ER. Vesicular transport within the early secretory pathway is mediated by two types of non-clathrin coated vesicles: COPI- and COPII-coated vesicles. The formation of these carrier vesicles depends on the recruitment of cytosolic coat proteins that are thought to act as a mechanical device to shape a flattened donor membrane into a spherical vesicle. A general molecular machinery that mediates targeting and fusion of carrier vesicles has been identified as well. Beside a general overview of the various coat structures known today, we will discuss issues specifically related to the biogenesis of COPI-coated vesicles: (1) a possible role of phospholipase D in the formation of COPI-coated vesicles; (2) a functional role of a novel family of transmembrane proteins, the p24 family, in the initiation of COPI assembly; and (3) the direction COPI-coated vesicles may take within the early secretory pathway. Moreover, we will consider two alternative mechanisms of protein transport through the Golgi stack: vesicular transport versus cisternal maturation. Accepted: 24 October 1997     

A membrane glycoprotein, Sec12p, required for protein transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus in yeast

SEC12, a gene that is required for secretory, membrane, and vacuolar proteins to be transported from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus, has been cloned from a genomic library by complementation of a sec12 ts mutation. Genetic analysis has shown that the cloned gene integrates at the SEC12 locus and that a null mutation at the locus is lethal. The DNA sequence predicts a protein of 471 amino acids containing a hydrophobic stretch of 19 amino acids near the COOH terminus. To characterize the gene product (Sec12p) in detail, a lacZ-SEC12 gene fusion has been constructed and a polyclonal antibody raised against the hybrid protein. The antibody recognizes Sec12p as a approximately 70-kD protein that sediments in a mixed membrane fraction that includes endoplasmic reticulum. Sec12p is not removed from the membrane fraction by treatment at high pH and high salt and is not degraded by exogenous protease unless detergent is present. Glycosylation of Sec12p during biogenesis is indicated by an electrophoretic mobility shift of the protein that is influenced by tunicamycin and by imposition of an independent secretory pathway block. We suggest that Sec12p is an integral membrane glycoprotein with a prominent domain that faces the cytoplasm where it functions to promote protein transport to the Golgi apparatus. In the process of transport, Sec12p itself may migrate to the Golgi apparatus and function in subsequent transport events.     

Isolation of a functional vesicular intermediate that mediates ER to Golgi transport in yeast

We have used an in vitro assay that reconstitutes transport from the ER to the Golgi complex in yeast to identify a functional vesicular intermediate in transit to the Golgi apparatus. Permeabilized yeast cells, which serve as the donor in this assay, release a homogeneous population of vesicles that are biochemically distinct from the donor ER fraction. The isolated vesicles, containing a post-ER/pre-Golgi form of the marker protein pro-alpha-factor, were able to bind to and fuse with exogenously added Golgi membranes. The ability to isolate fusion competent vesicles provides direct evidence that ER to Golgi membrane transport is mediated by a discrete population of vesicular carriers.     

Golgi and vacuolar membrane proteins reach the vacuole in vps1 mutant yeast cells via the plasma membrane

The Vps1 protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an 80-kD GTPase associated with the Golgi apparatus. Vps1p appears to play a direct role in the retention of late Golgi membrane proteins, which are mislocalized to the vacuolar membrane in its absence. The pathway by which late Golgi and vacuolar membrane proteins reach the vacuole in vps1 delta mutants was investigated by analyzing transport of these proteins in vps1 delta cells that also contained temperature sensitive mutations in either the SEC4 or END4 genes, which are required for a late step in secretion and the internalization step of endocytosis, respectively. Not only was vacuolar transport of a Golgi membrane protein blocked in the vps1 delta sec4-ts and vps1 delta end4-ts double mutant cells at the non-permissive temperature but vacuolar delivery of the vacuolar membrane protein, alkaline phosphatase was also blocked in these cells. Moreover, both proteins expressed in the vps1 delta end4- ts cells at the elevated temperature could be detected on the plasma membrane by a protease digestion assay indicating that these proteins are transported to the vacuole via the plasma membrane in vps1 mutant cells. These data strongly suggest that a loss of Vps1p function causes all membrane traffic departing from the late Golgi normally destined for the prevacuolar compartment to instead be diverted to the plasma membrane. We propose a model in which Vps1p is required for formation of vesicles from the late Golgi apparatus that carry vacuolar and Golgi membrane proteins bound for the prevacuolar compartment.     

NADH-activated cell-free transfer between Golgi apparatus and plasma membranes of rat liver.

This report concerns development of a cell-free system from rat liver to study transport of membrane constituents from the Golgi apparatus to the plasma membrane. Highly purified Golgi apparatus as donor and a mixture of sheets and vesicles as plasma membrane acceptor fractions were combined to analyze requirements for lipid and protein transport. In the reconstituted system, the Golgi apparatus donor was in suspension. To measure transfer, membrane constituents of the donor membranes were radiolabeled with [3H]acetate (lipids) or [3H]leucine (proteins). The plasma membrane vesicles were used as the acceptor and were unlabeled and immobilized on nitrocellulose for ease of recovery and analysis. The reconstituted cell-free transfer was dependent on temperature, but even at 37 degrees C, the amount of transfer did not increase with added ATP, was not specific for any particular membrane fraction or subfraction nor was it facilitated by cytosol. ATP was without effect both in the presence or absence of a cytosolic fraction capable of the support of cell-free transfer in other systems. In contrast to results with ATP, NADH added to the reconstituted system resulted in an increased amount of transfer. A further increase in transfer was obtained with NADH plus a mixture of ascorbate and dehydroascorbate to generate ascorbate free radical. The transfer of labeled membrane constituents from the Golgi apparatus to the plasma membrane supported by NADH plus ascorbate radical was stimulated by a cytosol fraction enriched in less than 10 kDa components. This was without effect in the absence of NADH/ascorbate radical or with ATP as the energy source. Specific transfer was inhibited by both N-ethylmaleimide and GTP gamma S. The findings point to the possibility of redox activities associated with the trans region of the Golgi apparatus as potentially involved in the transport of membrane vesicles from the Golgi apparatus to the cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane.