dGRASP localization and function in the early exocytic pathway in Drosophila S2 cells

The de novo model for Golgi stack biogenesis predicts that membrane exiting the ER at transitional ER (tER) sites contains and recruits all the necessary molecules to form a Golgi stack, including the Golgi matrix proteins, p115, GM130, and GRASP65/55. These proteins leave the tER sites faster than Golgi transmembrane resident enzymes, suggesting that they act as a template nucleating the formation of the Golgi apparatus. However, the localization of the Golgi matrix proteins at tER sites is only shown under conditions where exit from the ER is blocked. Here, we show in Drosophila S2 cells, that dGRASP, the single Drosophila homologue of GRASP65/55, localizes both to the Golgi membranes and the tER sites at steady state and that the myristoylation of glycine 2 is essential for the localization to both compartments. Its depletion for 96 h by RNAi gave an effect on the architecture of the Golgi stacks in 30% of the cells, but a double depletion of dGRASP and dGM130 led to the quantitative conversion of Golgi stacks into clusters of vesicles and tubules, often featuring single cisternae. This disruption of Golgi architecture was not accompanied by the disorganization of tER sites or the inhibition of anterograde transport. This shows that, at least in Drosophila, the structural integrity of the Golgi stacks is not required for efficient transport. Overall, dGRASP exhibits a dynamic association to the membrane of the early exocytic pathway and is involved in Golgi stack architecture.     

Regulation of microtubule-dependent recycling at the trans-Golgi network by Rab6A and Rab6A'

The small GTPase rab6A but not the isoform rab6A' has previously been identified as a regulator of the COPI-independent recycling route that carries Golgi-resident proteins and certain toxins from the Golgi to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The isoform rab6A' has been implicated in Golgi-to-endosomal recycling. Because rab6A but not A', binds rabkinesin6, this motor protein is proposed to mediate COPI-independent recycling. We show here that both rab6A and rab6A' GTP-restricted mutants promote, with similar efficiency, a microtubule-dependent recycling of Golgi resident glycosylation enzymes upon overexpression. Moreover, we used small interfering RNA mediated down-regulation of rab6A and A' expression and found that reduced levels of rab6 perturbs organization of the Golgi apparatus and delays Golgi-to-ER recycling. Rab6-directed Golgi-to-ER recycling seems to require functional dynactin, as overexpression of p50/dynamitin, or a C-terminal fragment of Bicaudal-D, both known to interact with dynactin inhibit recycling. We further present evidence that rab6-mediated recycling seems to be initiated from the trans-Golgi network. Together, this suggests that a recycling pathway operates at the level of the trans-Golgi linking directly to the ER. This pathway would be the preferred route for both toxins and resident Golgi proteins.     

Breaking the COPI monopoly on Golgi recycling

The unexpected discovery of a transport pathway from the Golgi to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) independent of COPI coat proteins sheds light on how Golgi resident enzymes and protein toxins gain access to the ER from as far as the trans Golgi network. This new pathway provides an explanation for how membrane is recycled to allow for an apparent concentration of anterograde cargo at distinct stages of the secretory pathway. As signal-mediated COPI-dependent recycling also involves the concentration of resident proteins into retrograde COPI vesicles, the main bulk of lipids must be recycled, possibly through a COPI-independent pathway.     

Protein sorting in the Golgi complex: shifting paradigms

The paradigms for transport along the biosynthetic route have changed dramatically over the past 15 years. Unlike the situation 15 years ago, the current paradigm involves sorting signals practically at every step of the pathway. In particular, at the exit from the Golgi complex, apical, basolateral and lysosomal targeting signals result in the generation of a variety of routes. Furthermore, it is now quite clear that not all sorting in the biosynthetic route occurs in the Golgi complex or the Trans Golgi Network (TGN). Sorting may occur distally to the Golgi, in recycling endosomes or in budded tubulosaccular structures, or it may occur proximally to the Golgi complex, at the exit from the ER. Several adaptors are candidates to sort apical and basolateral proteins but only AP1B and AP4 are currently involved. Progress is fast and future work should elucidate many of the open questions.     

Phospholipase A(2) antagonists inhibit nocodazole-induced Golgi ministack formation: evidence of an ER intermediate and constitutive cycling

Evidence has been presented both for and against obligate retrograde movement of resident Golgi proteins through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) during nocodazole-induced Golgi ministack formation. Here, we studied the nocodazole-induced formation of ministacks using phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) antagonists, which have been shown previously to inhibit brefeldin A-stimulated Golgi-to-ER retrograde transport. Examination of clone 9 rat hepatocytes by immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy revealed that a subset of PLA(2) antagonists prevented nocodazole-induced ministack formation by inhibiting two different trafficking pathways for resident Golgi enzymes; at 25 microM, retrograde Golgi-to-ER transport was inhibited, whereas at 5 microM, Golgi-to-ER trafficking was permitted, but resident Golgi enzymes accumulated in the ER. Moreover, resident Golgi enzymes gradually redistributed from the juxtanuclear Golgi or Golgi ministacks to the ER in cells treated with these PLA(2) antagonists alone. Not only was ER-to-Golgi transport of resident Golgi enzymes inhibited in cells treated with these PLA(2) antagonists, but transport of the vesicular stomatitis virus G protein out of the ER was also prevented. These results support a model of obligate retrograde recycling of Golgi resident enzymes during nocodazole-induced ministack formation and provide additional evidence that resident Golgi enzymes slowly and constitutively cycle between the Golgi and ER.     

The Golgi apparatus maintains its organization independent of the endoplasmic reticulum

Under artificial conditions Golgi enzymes have the capacity to rapidly accumulate in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). These observations prompted the idea that Golgi enzymes constitutively recycle through the ER. We have tested this hypothesis under physiological conditions through use of a procedure that captures Golgi enzymes in the ER. In the presence of rapamycin, which induces a tight association between FKBP (FK506-binding protein) and FRAP (FKBP-rapamycin-associated protein), an FKBP-tagged Golgi enzyme can be trapped when it visits the ER by an ER-retained protein fused to FRAP. We find that although FKBP-ERGIC-53 of the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC) rapidly cycles through the ER (30 min), FKBP-Golgi enzyme chimeras remain stably associated with Golgi membranes. We also demonstrate that Golgi dispersion upon nocodazole treatment mainly occurs through a mechanism that does not involve the recycling of Golgi membranes through the ER. Our findings suggest that the Golgi apparatus, as defined by its collection of resident enzymes, exists independent of the ER.     

Recycling of Golgi-resident Glycosyltransferases through the ER Reveals a Novel Pathway and Provides an Explanation for Nocodazole-induced Golgi Scattering

During microtubule depolymerization, the central, juxtanuclear Golgi apparatus scatters to multiple peripheral sites. We have tested here whether such scattering is due to a fragmentation process and subsequent outward tracking of Golgi units or if peripheral Golgi elements reform through a novel recycling pathway. To mark the Golgi in HeLa cells, we stably expressed the Golgi stack enzyme N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-2 (GalNAc-T2) fused to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) or to an 11–amino acid epitope, VSV-G (VSV), and the trans/TGN enzyme β1,4-galactosyltransferase (GalT) fused to GFP. After nocodazole addition, time-lapse microscopy of GalNAc-T2–GFP and GalT–GFP revealed that scattered Golgi elements appeared abruptly and that no Golgi fragments tracked outward from the compact, juxtanuclear Golgi complex. Once formed, the scattered structures were relatively stable in fluorescence intensity for tens of minutes. During the entire process of dispersal, immunogold labeling for GalNAc-T2–VSV and GalT showed that these were continuously concentrated over stacked Golgi cisternae and tubulovesicular Golgi structures similar to untreated cells, suggesting that polarized Golgi stacks reform rapidly at scattered sites. In fluorescence recovery after photobleaching over a narrow (FRAP) or wide area (FRAP-W) experiments, peripheral Golgi stacks continuously exchanged resident proteins with each other through what appeared to be an ER intermediate. That Golgi enzymes cycle through the ER was confirmed by microinjecting the dominant-negative mutant of Sar1 (Sar1p^dn) blocking ER export. Sar1p^dn was either microinjected into untreated or nocodazole-treated cells in the presence of protein synthesis inhibitors. In both cases, this caused a gradual accumulation of GalNAc-T2–VSV in the ER. Few to no peripheral Golgi elements were seen in the nocodazole-treated cells microinjected with Sar1p^dn. In conclusion, we have shown that Golgi-resident glycosylation enzymes recycle through the ER and that this novel pathway is the likely explanation for the nocodazole-induced Golgi scattering observed in interphase cells.     

Microtubule-dependent retrograde transport of proteins into the ER in the presence of brefeldin A suggests an ER recycling pathway

Characteristics of brefeldin A (BFA)-induced redistribution of Golgi proteins into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and its relationship to an ER retrieval pathway were investigated. Retrograde movement of Golgi proteins into the ER occurred via long, tubulovesicular processes extending out of the Golgi along microtubules. Microtubule-disrupting agents (i.e., nocodazole), energy poisons, and reduced temperatures inhibited this pathway. In BFA-treated cells Golgi proteins appeared to cycle between the ER and an intermediate compartment marked by a 53 kd protein. Addition of nocodazole disrupted this dynamic cycle by preferentially inhibiting retrograde movement, causing Golgi proteins to accumulate in the intermediate compartment. In the absence of BFA, such an ER cycling pathway appeared to be followed normally by the 53 kd protein but not by Golgi proteins, as revealed by temperature shift experiments. We propose that BFA induces the interaction of the Golgi with an intermediate "recycling" compartment that utilizes a microtubule-dependent pathway into the ER.     

Mechanisms regulating the sorting of soluble lysosomal proteins

Lysosomes are key regulators of many fundamental cellular processes such as metabolism, autophagy, immune response, cell signalling and plasma membrane repair. These highly dynamic organelles are composed of various membrane and soluble proteins, which are essential for their proper functioning. The soluble proteins include numerous proteases, glycosidases and other hydrolases, along with activators, required for catabolism. The correct sorting of soluble lysosomal proteins is crucial to ensure the proper functioning of lysosomes and is achieved through the coordinated effort of many sorting receptors, resident ER and Golgi proteins, and several cytosolic components. Mutations in a number of proteins involved in sorting soluble proteins to lysosomes result in human disease. These can range from rare diseases such as lysosome storage disorders, to more prevalent ones, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and others, including rare neurodegenerative diseases that affect children. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms that regulate the sorting of soluble proteins to lysosomes and highlight the effects of mutations in this pathway that cause human disease. More precisely, we will review the route taken by soluble lysosomal proteins from their translation into the ER, their maturation along the Golgi apparatus, and sorting at the trans-Golgi network. We will also highlight the effects of mutations in this pathway that cause human disease.     

Golgi dispersal during microtubule disruption: regeneration of Golgi stacks at peripheral endoplasmic reticulum exit sites.

Microtubule disruption has dramatic effects on the normal centrosomal localization of the Golgi complex, with Golgi elements remaining as competent functional units but undergoing a reversible "fragmentation" and dispersal throughout the cytoplasm. In this study we have analyzed this process using digital fluorescence image processing microscopy combined with biochemical and ultrastructural approaches. After microtubule depolymerization, Golgi membrane components were found to redistribute to a distinct number of peripheral sites that were not randomly distributed, but corresponded to sites of protein exit from the ER. Whereas Golgi enzymes redistributed gradually over several hours to these peripheral sites, ERGIC-53 (a protein which constitutively cycles between the ER and Golgi) redistributed rapidly (within 15 minutes) to these sites after first moving through the ER. Prior to this redistribution, Golgi enzyme processing of proteins exported from the ER was inhibited and only returned to normal levels after Golgi enzymes redistributed to peripheral ER exit sites where Golgi stacks were regenerated. Experiments examining the effects of microtubule disruption on the membrane pathways connecting the ER and Golgi suggested their potential role in the dispersal process. Whereas clustering of peripheral pre-Golgi elements into the centrosomal region failed to occur after microtubule disruption, Golgi-to-ER membrane recycling was only slightly inhibited. Moreover, conditions that impeded Golgi-to-ER recycling completely blocked Golgi fragmentation. Based on these findings we propose that a slow but constitutive flux of Golgi resident proteins through the same ER/Golgi cycling pathways as ERGIC-53 underlies Golgi Dispersal upon microtubule depolymerization. Both ERGIC-53 and Golgi proteins would accumulate at peripheral ER exit sites due to failure of membranes at these sites to cluster into the centrosomal region. Regeneration of Golgi stacks at these peripheral sites would re-establish secretory flow from the ER into the Golgi complex and result in Golgi dispersal.     

The role of ARF1 and rab GTPases in polarization of the Golgi stack

The organization and sorting of proteins within the Golgi stack to establish and maintain its cis to trans polarization remains an enigma. The function of Golgi compartments involves coat assemblages that facilitate vesicle traffic, Rab-tether-SNAP receptor (SNARE) machineries that dictate membrane identity, as well as matrix components that maintain structure. We have investigated how the Golgi complex achieves compartmentalization in response to a key component of the coat complex I (COPI) coat assembly pathway, the ARF1 GTPase, in relationship to GTPases-regulating endoplasmic reticulum (ER) exit (Sar1) and targeting fusion (Rab1). Following collapse of the Golgi into the ER in response to inhibition of activation of ARF1 by Brefeldin A, we found that Sar1- and Rab1-dependent Golgi reformation took place at multiple peripheral and perinuclear ER exit sites. These rapidly converged into immature Golgi that appeared as onion-like structures composed of multiple concentrically arrayed cisternae of mixed enzyme composition. During clustering to the perinuclear region, Golgi enzymes were sorted to achieve the degree of polarization within the stack found in mature Golgi. Surprisingly, we found that sorting of Golgi enzymes into their subcompartments was insensitive to the dominant negative GTP-restricted ARF1 mutant, a potent inhibitor of COPI coat disassembly and vesicular traffic. We suggest that a COPI-independent, Rab-dependent mechanism is involved in the rapid reorganization of resident enzymes within the Golgi stack following synchronized release from the ER, suggesting an important role for Rab hubs in directing Golgi polarization.     

Golgi matrix proteins interact with p24 cargo receptors and aid their efficient retention in the Golgi apparatus.

The Golgi apparatus is a highly complex organelle comprised of a stack of cisternal membranes on the secretory pathway from the ER to the cell surface. This structure is maintained by an exoskeleton or Golgi matrix constructed from a family of coiled-coil proteins, the golgins, and other peripheral membrane components such as GRASP55 and GRASP65. Here we find that TMP21, p24a, and gp25L, members of the p24 cargo receptor family, are present in complexes with GRASP55 and GRASP65 in vivo. GRASPs interact directly with the cytoplasmic domains of specific p24 cargo receptors depending on their oligomeric state, and mutation of the GRASP binding site in the cytoplasmic tail of one of these, p24a, results in it being transported to the cell surface. These results suggest that one function of the Golgi matrix is to aid efficient retention or sequestration of p24 cargo receptors and other membrane proteins in the Golgi apparatus.     

ER/Golgi intermediates acquire Golgi enzymes by brefeldin A-sensitive retrograde transport in vitro

Secretory proteins exit the ER in transport vesicles that fuse to form vesicular tubular clusters (VTCs) which move along microtubule tracks to the Golgi apparatus. Using the well-characterized in vitro approach to study the properties of Golgi membranes, we determined whether the Golgi enzyme NAGT I is transported to ER/Golgi intermediates. Secretory cargo was arrested at distinct steps of the secretory pathway of a glycosylation mutant cell line, and in vitro complementation of the glycosylation defect was determined. Complementation yield increased after ER exit of secretory cargo and was optimal when transport was blocked at an ER/Golgi intermediate step. The rapid drop of the complementation yield as secretory cargo progresses into the stack suggests that Golgi enzymes are preferentially targeted to ER/Golgi intermediates and not to membranes of the Golgi stack. Two mechanisms for in vitro complementation could be distinguished due to their different sensitivities to brefeldin A (BFA). Transport occurred either by direct fusion of preexisting transport intermediates with ER/Golgi intermediates, or it occurred as a BFA-sensitive and most likely COP I-mediated step. Direct fusion of ER/Golgi intermediates with cisternal membranes of the Golgi stack was not observed under these conditions.     

The capacity to retrieve escaped ER proteins extends to the trans-most cisterna of the Golgi stack

To explore how far into the Golgi stack the capacity to retrieve KDEL proteins extends, we have introduced an exogenous probe (the peptide YHPNSTCSEKDEL) into the TGN of living cells. For this purpose, a CHO cell line expressing a c-myc-tagged version of the transmembrane protein TGN38--which cycles between the TGN and the cell surface--was generated. The cells internalized peptides that were disulfide bonded to anti-myc antibodies and accumulated the peptide-antibody complexes in the TGN. Peptides released from these complexes underwent retrograde transport to the ER, as evidenced by the transfer of N-linked carbohydrate to their acceptor site. The KDEL-tagged glycopeptides (approximately 10% of the endocytosed load) behaved like endogenous ER residents: they stayed intracellular, and their oligosaccharide side chains remained sensitive to endoglycosidase H. An option thus exists to extract ER residents even at the most distant pole of the Golgi stack, suggesting that sorting of resident from exported ER proteins may occur in a multistage process akin to fractional distillation.     

Cisternal rab proteins regulate Golgi apparatus redistribution in response to hypotonic stress

We show that a physiological role of the extensively studied cisternal Golgi rab protein, rab6, is modulation of Golgi apparatus response to stress. Taking exposure of cells to hypotonic media as the best-known example of mammalian Golgi stress response, we found that hypotonic-induced tubule extension from the Golgi apparatus was sensitive to GDP-rab6a expression. Similarly, we found that Golgi tubulation induced by brefeldin A, a known microtubule-dependent process, was inhibited by GDP-restricted rab6a, rab6a', and rab33b, the most commonly studied cisternal rab proteins. These GDP-rab levels were sufficient to inhibit rab-induced redistribution of Golgi glycosyltransferases into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), also a microtubule-dependent process, and to depress Golgi membrane association of the GTP-conformer of rab6. Nocodazole-induced Golgi scattering, a microtubule-independent process, also was inhibited by GDP-rab6a expression. In comparison, we found similar GDP-rab expression levels had little inhibitory effect on another microtubule-independent process, constitutive recycling of Golgi resident proteins to the ER. We conclude that Golgi cisternal rabs, and in particular rab6a, are regulators of the Golgi response to stress and presumably the molecular targets of stress-activated signaling pathway(s). Moreover, we conclude that rab6a can regulate select microtubule-independent processes as well as microtubule-dependent processes.     

Nucleocytoplasmic traffic of proteins.

We have used the synchronized formation of a mixed cytoplasm upon heterokaryon formation as a model for investigating the cisternal-specific transport of resident proteins between neighboring Golgi apparatus. Rat NRK and hamster 15B cells were fused by UV-inactivated Sindbis virus and then incubated for various time periods in the presence of cycloheximide. The resident Golgi apparatus proteins, rat GIMPc and Golgp 125, were localized with species-specific monoclonal antibodies. Immunofluorescent colocalization of rat and hamster Golgi membrane proteins was observed with a t1/2 of 1.75 h at 37 degrees C. Colocalization of resident, but not transient, Golgi membrane protein was concomitant with formation of a large extended Golgi complex and was accompanied by the acquisition of endoglycosidase H resistance by preexisting Golgp 125. Dispersal of the extended Golgi complex by nocodazole revealed that colocalization of resident Golgi proteins was due to intermixing of proteins in the same Golgi element rather than overlapping of closely apposed Golgi structures. Incubation of the polykaryons at 20 degrees C inhibited both the colocalization of GIMPc and Golgp 125 and the formation of an extended Golgi complex. Little change in the number of cisternae/stack in cross sections of the Golgi apparatus was observed upon cell fusion, and in the extended Golgi complex the hamster resident protein remained localized to one side of the Golgi stack. Surprisingly, the morphological identity of the rat and hamster Golgi units appeared to be maintained in the heterokaryons. These results suggest that the intermixing of resident Golgi membrane proteins requires direct physical continuity between Golgi elements and that resident Golgi membrane proteins are preferentially excluded from the non-clathrin-coated transport vesicles budding from Golgi cisternae.     

Golgi membranes are absorbed into and reemerge from the ER during mitosis

Quantitative imaging and photobleaching were used to measure ER/Golgi recycling of GFP-tagged Golgi proteins in interphase cells and to monitor the dissolution and reformation of the Golgi during mitosis. In interphase, recycling occurred every 1.5 hr, and blocking ER egress trapped cycling Golgi enzymes in the ER with loss of Golgi structure. In mitosis, when ER export stops, Golgi proteins redistributed into the ER as shown by quantitative imaging in vivo and immuno-EM. Comparison of the mobilities of Golgi proteins and lipids ruled out the persistence of a separate mitotic Golgi vesicle population and supported the idea that all Golgi components are absorbed into the ER. Moreover, reassembly of the Golgi complex after mitosis failed to occur when ER export was blocked. These results demonstrate that in mitosis the Golgi disperses and reforms through the intermediary of the ER, exploiting constitutive recycling pathways. They thus define a novel paradigm for Golgi genesis and inheritance.     

Sorting of Golgi resident proteins into different subpopulations of COPI vesicles: a role for ArfGAP1.

We present evidence for two subpopulations of coatomer protein I vesicles, both containing high amounts of Golgi resident proteins but only minor amounts of anterograde cargo. Early Golgi proteins p24alpha2, beta1, delta1, and gamma3 are shown to be sorted together into vesicles that are distinct from those containing mannosidase II, a glycosidase of the medial Golgi stack, and GS28, a SNARE protein of the Golgi stack. Sorting into each vesicle population is Arf-1 and GTP hydrolysis dependent and is inhibited by aluminum and beryllium fluoride. Using synthetic peptides, we find that the cytoplasmic domain of p24beta1 can bind Arf GTPase-activating protein (GAP)1 and cause direct inhibition of ArfGAP1-mediated GTP hydrolysis on Arf-1 bound to liposomes and Golgi membranes. We propose a two-stage reaction to explain how GTP hydrolysis constitutes a prerequisite for sorting of resident proteins, yet becomes inhibited in their presence.     

Differential sorting and fate of endocytosed GPI-anchored proteins

In this paper, we studied the fate of endocytosed glycosylphosphatidyl inositol anchored proteins (GPI- APs) in mammalian cells, using aerolysin, a bacterial toxin that binds to the GPI anchor, as a probe. We find that GPI-APs are transported down the endocytic pathway to reducing late endosomes in BHK cells, using biochemical, morphological and functional approaches. We also find that this transport correlates with the association to raft-like membranes and thus that lipid rafts are present in late endosomes (in addition to the Golgi and the plasma membrane). In marked contrast, endocytosed GPI-APs reach the recycling endosome in CHO cells and this transport correlates with a decreased raft association. GPI-APs are, however, diverted from the recycling endosome and routed to late endosomes in CHO cells, when their raft association is increased by clustering seven or less GPI-APs with an aerolysin mutant. We conclude that the different endocytic routes followed by GPI-APs in different cell types depend on the residence time of GPI-APs in lipid rafts, and hence that raft partitioning regulates GPI-APs sorting in the endocytic pathway.