Mammalian Retromer Is an Adaptable Scaffold for Cargo Sorting from Endosomes

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E-Commerce: Sorting Out the Environmental Consequences

The environmental effects of e‐commerce may be described in terms of first‐, second‐, and third‐order effects. Data for these effects are scarce, partly because research on environmental effects of e‐commerce and e‐business is still in its infancy, although it is evolving very rapidly. Until now, positive environmental consequences of e‐commerce have generally been coincidental. Two crucial questions that must be addressed are (1) How do we improve our understanding and management of the environmental effects of e‐commerce? and (2) Which approaches are best suited to the development of sustainable e‐solutions? Three approaches to developing sustainable e‐commerce solutions are discussed: the extension of environmental performance measurement and management to e‐commerce activities, the use of new cooperative forms of innovation management, and the provision of customer choice. Finally, an outlook on future research demands is presented. The technology itself (information and communication technologies, Internet) does not determine sustainability, but rather its design, use, and regulation does.     

Analysis of Articulation Between Clathrin and Retromer in Retrograde Sorting on Early Endosomes

Clathrin and retromer have key functions for retrograde trafficking between early endosomes and the trans -Golgi network (TGN). Previous studies on Shiga toxin suggested that these two coat complexes operate in a sequential manner. Here, we show that the curvature recognition subunit component sorting nexin 1 (SNX1) of retromer interacts with receptor-mediated endocytosis-8 (RME-8) protein, and that RME-8 and SNX1 colocalize on early endosomes together with a model cargo of the retrograde route, the receptor-binding B-subunit of Shiga toxin (STxB). RME-8 has previously been found to bind to the clathrin uncoating adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) Hsc70, and we now report that depletion of RME-8 or Hsc70 affects retrograde trafficking at the early endosomes–TGN interface of STxB and the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor, an endogenous retrograde cargo protein. We also provide evidence that retromer interacts with the clathrin-binding protein hepatocyte growth factor-regulated tyrosine kinase substrate (Hrs) not only via SNX1, as previously published (Chin Raynor MC, Wei X, Chen HQ, Li L. Hrs interacts with sorting nexin 1 and regulates degradation of epidermal growth factor receptor. J Biol Chem 2001;276:7069–7078), but also via the core complex component Vps35. Hrs codistributes at the ultrastructural level with STxB on early endosomes, and interfering with Hrs function using antibodies or mild overexpression inhibits retrograde transport. Our combined data suggest a model according to which the functions in retrograde sorting on early endosomes of SNX1/retromer and clathrin are articulated by RME-8, and possibly also by Hrs.     

Numb Localizes at Endosomes and Controls the Endosomal Sorting of Notch after Asymmetric Division in Drosophila

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Highlights? Numb relocalizes from the cortex to sorting endosomes at cytokinesis ? Numb is not essential for the internalization of Notch and Sanpodo ? Numb inhibits the recycling of Notch and Sanpodo ? Recycling inhibition in one daughter cell imposes directionality to Notch signaling     

Recycling Endosome Tubule Morphogenesis from Sorting Endosomes Requires the Kinesin Motor KIF13A

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Sorting Out of Presumptive Stomach Cells of the Starfish Embryo

Presumptive stomach cells of the starfish embryo are shown to sort out and to occupy a position in the endoderm of the reconstructed embryo. A new method is introduced to specifically mark these cells by staining the embryo with a fluorescent dye, 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (1,8-ANS).     

Sorting Signals That Mediate Traffic of Chitin Synthase III between the TGN/Endosomes and to the Plasma Membrane in Yeast

Traffic of the integral yeast membrane protein chitin synthase III (Chs3p) from the trans-Golgi network (TGN) to the cell surface and to and from the early endosomes (EE) requires active protein sorting decoded by a number of protein coats. Here we define overlapping signals on Chs3p responsible for sorting in both exocytic and intracellular pathways by the coats exomer and AP-1, respectively. Residues 19DEESLL24, near the N-terminal cytoplasmically-exposed domain, comprise both an exocytic di-acidic signal and an intracellular di-leucine signal. Additionally we show that the AP-3 complex is required for the intracellular retention of Chs3p. Finally, residues R374 and W391, comprise another signal responsible for an exomer-independent alternative pathway that conveys Chs3p to the cell surface. These results establish a role for active protein sorting at the trans-Golgi en route to the plasma membrane (PM) and suggest a possible mechanism to regulate protein trafficking.     

Functions of chloroplastic adenylate kinases in Arabidopsis

Adenosine monophosphate kinase (AMK; adenylate kinase) catalyses the reversible formation of ADP by the transfer of one phosphate group from ATP to AMP, thus equilibrating adenylates. The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genome contains 10 genes with an adenylate/cytidylate kinase signature; seven of these are identified as putative adenylate kinases. Encoded proteins of at least two members of this Arabidopsis adenylate kinase gene family are targeted to plastids. However, when the individual genes are disrupted, the phenotypes of both mutants are strikingly different. Although absence of AMK2 causes only 30% reduction of total adenylate kinase activity in leaves, there is loss of chloroplast integrity leading to small, pale-looking plantlets from embryo to seedling development. In contrast, no phenotype for disruption of the second plastid adenylate kinase was found. From this analysis, we conclude that AMK2 is the major activity for equilibration of adenylates and de novo synthesis of ADP in the plastid stroma.     

Sorting pathway and molecular targeting signals for the Arabidopsis peroxin 3

Peroxin 3 (Pex3p) has been identified and characterized as a peroxisomal membrane protein in yeasts and mammals. We identified two putative homologs in Arabidopsis (AtPex3p, forms 1 and 2), both with an identical cluster of positively charged amino acid residues (RKHRRK) immediately preceding one of the two predicted transmembrane domains (TMD1). In transiently transformed Arabidopsis and tobacco BY-2 suspension-cultured cells, epitope-tagged AtPex3p (form 2) sorted post-translationally from the cytosol directly to peroxisomes, the first sorting pathway described for any peroxin in plants. TMD1 and RKHRRK were necessary for targeting form 2 to peroxisomes and sufficient for directing chloramphenicol acetyltransferase to peroxisomes in both cell types. The N and C termini of AtPex3p (form 2) extend into the peroxisomal matrix, different from mammal and yeast Pex3 proteins. Thus, two authentic peroxisomal membrane-bound Pex3p homologs possessing a membrane peroxisomal targeting signal, the first one defined for a plant peroxin and for any Pex3p homolog, exist in plant cells.     

Trafficking of Vacuolar Proteins: The Crucial Role of Arabidopsis Vacuolar Protein Sorting 29 in Recycling Vacuolar Sorting Receptor

The retromer is involved in recycling lysosomal sorting receptors in mammals. A component of the retromer complex in Arabidopsis thaliana, vacuolar protein sorting 29 (VPS29), plays a crucial role in trafficking storage proteins to protein storage vacuoles. However, it is not known whether or how vacuolar sorting receptors (VSRs) are recycled from the prevacuolar compartment (PVC) to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) during trafficking to the lytic vacuole (LV). Here, we report that VPS29 plays an essential role in the trafficking of soluble proteins to the LV from the TGN to the PVC. maigo1-1 (mag1-1) mutants, which harbor a knockdown mutation in VPS29, were defective in trafficking of two soluble proteins, Arabidopsis aleurain-like protein (AALP):green fluorescent protein (GFP) and sporamin:GFP, to the LV but not in trafficking membrane proteins to the LV or plasma membrane or via the secretory pathway. AALP:GFP and sporamin:GFP in mag1-1 protoplasts accumulated in the TGN but were also secreted into the medium. In mag1-1 mutants, VSR1 failed to recycle from the PVC to the TGN; rather, a significant proportion was transported to the LV; VSR1 overexpression rescued this defect. Moreover, endogenous VSRs were expressed at higher levels in mag1-1 plants. Based on these results, we propose that VPS29 plays a crucial role in recycling VSRs from the PVC to the TGN during the trafficking of soluble proteins to the LV.     

Sorting out the role of nitric oxide in cadmium-induced Arabidopsis thaliana programmed cell death

As a vital cell-signaling molecule, nitric oxide (NO) has been reported to regulate toxic metal responses in plants. Our recent report has suggested that caspase-3-like protease activation was detected in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) after Cd²⁺ treatment. NO contributed caspase-3-like protease activation in Cd²⁺ induced Arabidopsis thaliana programmed cell death (PCD), which was mediated by MPK6. It was first shown that NO promotes Cd²⁺-induced Arabidopsis PCD by promoting MPK6-mediated caspase-3-like activation. Our study contributed to the understanding of NO signaling pathway in Cd²⁺-induced Arabidopsis thaliana PCD. Although several studies have revealed that NO regulates plant PCD, compared with the study of signaling pathways involved in animal cell apoptosis, the mechanism of NO function still remains elusive and the molecular mechanisms of MAPK are far from clear in Cd²⁺-induced PCD. By using the fluorescence techniques and the Arabidopsis seedlings as the reference model, the subsequent researches have been performed to obtain comprehensive understanding of Cd²⁺-induced plant PCD.     

Forming Patterns in Development without Morphogen Gradients: Scattered Differentiation and Sorting Out

Few mechanisms provide alternatives to morphogen gradients for producing spatial patterns of cells in development. One possibility is based on the sorting out of cells that initially differentiate in a salt and pepper mixture and then physically move to create coherent tissues. Here, we describe the evidence suggesting this is the major mode of patterning in Dictyostelium. In addition, we discuss whether convergent evolution could have produced a conceptually similar mechanism in other organisms.A limited number of processes are thought to regulate the differentiation of specialized cell types and their organization to form larger scale structures, such as organs or limbs, during embryonic development. First, early embryological experiments revealed a patterning process that depends on special “organizing” regions in the embryo. This idea was encapsulated as “positional information” and led to the concept of morphogen gradients (Fig. 1) (Wolpert 1996). In addition, cytoplasmic determinants have been shown to direct development along different lines when they are partitioned unequally between daughter cells by asymmetric cell division (Betschinger and Knoblich 2004). Finally, short-range inductive signaling can specify cells at a local level and when reiterated produces highly ordered structures (Simpson 1990; Freeman 1997; Meinhardt and Gierer 2000).Open in a separate windowFigure 1.Alternative ways of patterning cells during development. (A) Patterning by “positional information”: A group of undifferentiated cells is patterned by a morphogen diffusing from a pre-established source, producing a concentration gradient. Cells respond according to the local morphogen concentration, becoming red, white, or blue. (B, C) Patterning without positional information: This is a two-step process in which different cell types first differentiate mixed up with each other, and then sort out. The initial differentiation can be controlled by strictly local interactions between the cells, as in lateral inhibition (B), or by a global signal to which cells respond with different sensitivities and whose concentration they regulate by negative feedback (C). Once sorting has occurred, the global inducer forms a reverse gradient, which could then convey positional information for further patterning events.The question then arises of whether evolution has devised any further global patterning mechanisms. One possibility that has been repeatedly considered, but not firmly established as a general mechanism, is based on sorting out. In this process, pattern is produced in two steps: (1) Different cell types are initially specified from a precursor pool independent of their position to produce a salt and pepper mixture and (2) the mixture of cell types is resolved into discrete tissues by the physical movement and sorting out of the cells (Fig. 1). Consequently, this mechanism does not involve positional information. However, it can actually provide the conditions under which positional signaling and morphogen gradients can arise, if the resolved tissues then act as sources and sinks for signal molecules.We first describe the powerful evidence that this alternative patterning process is used during the developmental cycle of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum, and then consider the possibility that this patterning strategy may be used more widely.     

Spatio-Temporal Cellular Dynamics of the Arabidopsis Flagellin Receptor Reveal Activation Status-Dependent Endosomal Sorting

The activity of surface receptors is location specific, dependent upon the dynamic membrane trafficking network and receptor-mediated endocytosis (RME). Therefore, the spatio-temporal dynamics of RME are critical to receptor function. The plasma membrane receptor FLAGELLIN SENSING2 (FLS2) confers immunity against bacterial infection through perception of flagellin (flg22). Following elicitation, FLS2 is internalized into vesicles. To resolve FLS2 trafficking, we exploited quantitative confocal imaging for colocalization studies and chemical interference. FLS2 localizes to bona fide endosomes via two distinct endocytic trafficking routes depending on its activation status. FLS2 receptors constitutively recycle in a Brefeldin A (BFA)–sensitive manner, while flg22-activated receptors traffic via ARA7/Rab F2b– and ARA6/Rab F1–positive endosomes insensitive to BFA. FLS2 endocytosis required a functional Rab5 GTPase pathway as revealed by dominant-negative ARA7/Rab F2b. Flg22-induced FLS2 endosomal numbers were increased by Concanamycin A treatment but reduced by Wortmannin, indicating that activated FLS2 receptors are targeted to late endosomes. RME inhibitors Tyrphostin A23 and Endosidin 1 altered but did not block induced FLS2 endocytosis. Additional inhibitor studies imply the involvement of the actin-myosin system in FLS2 internalization and trafficking. Altogether, we report a dynamic pattern of subcellular trafficking for FLS2 and reveal a defined framework for ligand-dependent endocytosis of this receptor.