ATP-coupled transport of vesicular stomatitis virus G protein between the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi

The temperature and ATP dependence of transport of the vesicular stomatitis virus strain ts045 G protein from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to an early Golgi compartment containing mannosidase I was studied in the mutant Chinese hamster ovary cell clone 15B. Appearance of G protein containing the Man5GlcNAc2 oligosaccharide species occurred after a shift to the permissive temperature with a lag period of 5 min and without detectable formation of the intermediate Man7GlcNAc2 and Man6GlcNAc2 species. Two biochemically distinct transport steps were detected during transport from the ER to the Golgi. An initial step is temperature sensitive, thermoreversible, and requires a high threshold of cellular ATP for maximal rate of transport (80% of the normal cellular ATP pool). Export from the ER is inhibited at 65% of the normal cellular ATP pool. Prolonged incubation at reduced levels of cellular ATP or at the restrictive temperature resulted in the accumulation of G protein in either the Man8GlcNAc2 species or the Man7GlcNAc2 and Man6GlcNAc2 species, respectively. Reversal of the temperature-sensitive block is ATP coupled. A second step is insensitive to incubation at the restrictive temperature and proceeds efficiently when the cellular ATP pool is reduced to 20% of the control. G protein accumulates at this intermediate step during prolonged incubation at 15 degrees C. The data suggest a functional division of processes required for transport of protein between the ER and Golgi compartments. The two steps may reflect the export (budding) and delivery (fusion) of proteins through vesicular trafficking between the ER and Golgi.     

Role for adenosine triphosphate in regulating the assembly and transport of vesicular stomatitis virus G protein trimers

We have characterized the process by which the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) G protein acquires its final oligomeric structure using density-gradient centrifugation in mildly acidic sucrose gradients. The mature wild-type VSV G protein is a noncovalently associated trimer. Trimers are assembled from newly synthesized G monomers with a t1/2 of 6-8 min. To localize the site of trimerization and to correlate trimer formation with steps in transport between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi complex, we examined the kinetics of assembly of the temperature-sensitive mutant VSV strain, ts045. At the nonpermissive temperature (39 degrees C), ts045 G protein is not transported from the ER. The phenotypic defect that inhibited export from the ER at the nonpermissive temperature was found to be the accumulation of ts045 G protein in an aggregate. After being shifted to the permissive temperature (32 degrees C), the ts045 G protein aggregate rapidly dissociated (t1/2 less than 1 min) to monomeric G protein which subsequently trimerized with the same kinetics as the wild-type G protein. Only trimers were transported to the Golgi complex. Kinetic studies, as well as the finding that trimerization occurred under conditions which block ER to Golgi transport (at both 15 and 4 degrees C), showed that trimers were formed in the ER. Depletion of cellular ATP inhibited both the dissociation of the aggregated intermediate of ts045 G protein as well as the formation of stable trimers. The results indicate that oligomerization of G protein occurs in several steps, is sensitive to cellular ATP, and is required for transport from the ER.     

Identification of an intermediate compartment involved in protein transport from endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi apparatus

We have studied the role of a previously described tubulovesicular compartment near the cis-Golgi apparatus in endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-to-Golgi protein transport by light and immunoelectron microscopy in Vero cells. The compartment is defined by a 53-kDa transmembrane protein designated p53. When transport of the vesicular stomatitis virus strain ts045 G protein was arrested at 39.5 degrees C, the G protein accumulated in the ER but had access to the p53 compartment. At 15 degrees C, the G protein was exported from the ER into the p53 compartment which formed a compact structure composed of vesicular and tubular profiles in close proximity to the Golgi. Upon raising the temperature to 32 degrees C, the G protein migrated through the Golgi apparatus while the p53 compartment resumed its normal structure again. These results establish the p53 compartment as the 15 degrees C intermediate of the ER-to-Golgi protein transport pathway.     

Direct visualization of protein transport and processing in the living cell by microinjection of specific antibodies

We have prepared polyclonal antibodies to the cytoplasmic portion of the envelope glycoprotein G of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) by using synthetic peptides corresponding to either the 22 or 11 ultimate carboxy-terminal residues of the G as immunogens. When antibodies to the 22 residue peptide are microinjected into monolayer baby hamster kidney cells before or shortly after infection with wild-type VSV, G protein accumulates in large intracellular patches and little G is observed in the Golgi complex or at the cell surface. In contrast, when antibodies to the 11 residue peptide are injected, no such patches are observed and G protein is seen colocalized with the injected antibody at the endoplasmic reticulum, in the Golgi complex, in transport vesicles, and at the plasma membrane. Microinjection of these antibodies does not disturb the pathway or kinetics of G-protein transport. In cells infected with a temperature-sensitive mutant of VSV, 045, the glycoprotein accumulates in the endoplasmic reticulum at 39.8 degrees C, but rapidly moves through the Golgi apparatus and then to the cell surface after a temperature shift-down to 32 degrees C. Using rhodamine-coupled antibodies to the 11 residue peptide, a microscope stage equipped for precise temperature control, and a silicon intensifier target video camera, we can visualize by video light microscopy the synchronized exocytotic transport of the G protein directly in the living cell.     

Cell-free transfer of the vesicular stomatitis virus G protein from an endoplasmic reticulum compartment of baby hamster kidney cells to a rat liver Golgi apparatus compartment for Man8-9 to Man5 processing.

We report the reconstitution of the transfer of a membrane glycoprotein (vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein, VSV-G protein) from endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi apparatus and its subsequent Man8-9GlcNAc2 to Man5GlcNAc2 processing in a completely cell-free system. The acceptor was Golgi apparatus from rat liver immobilized on nitrocellulose. The endoplasmic reticulum donor was from homogenates of VSV-G-infected BHK cells. Nucleoside triphosphate plus cytosol-dependent transfer and processing of radiolabeled VSV-G protein was observed with donor from BHK cells infected at 37 degrees C with wild-type VSV or at the permissive temperature of 34 degrees C with the ts045 mutant. With Golgi apparatus as acceptor, specific transfer at 37 degrees C in the presence of nucleoside triphosphate was eightfold that at 4 degrees C or in the absence of ATP. About 40% of the VSV-G protein transferred was processed to the Man5GlcNAc2 form. Processing was specific for cis Golgi apparatus fractions purified by preparative free-flow electrophoresis. Fractions derived from the trans Golgi apparatus were inactive in processing. With the ts045 temperature-sensitive mutant, transfer and processing were much reduced even in the complete system when microsomes were from cells infected with mutant virus and incubated at the restrictive temperature of 39.5 degrees C but were able to proceed at the permissive temperature of 34 degrees C. Thus, Man8-9GlcNAc2 to Man5GlcNAc2 processing of VSV-G protein occurs following transfer in a completely cell-free system using immobilized intact Golgi apparatus or cis Golgi apparatus cisternae as the acceptor and shows temperature sensitivity, donor specificity, requirement for ATP, and response to inhibitors similar to those exhibited by transfer and processing of VSV-G protein in vivo.     

Two steps in the intracellular transport of IgD are sensitive to energy depletion

The secretory pathway of murine IgD can be dissected by the use of carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), which inhibits two distinct steps of intracellular transport. The newly synthesized IgD that accumulates at the first step contains high mannose type oligosaccharides which are partially trimmed. The IgD arrested at this step is less processed than the IgD arrested by treatment with monensin. The properties of this biosynthetic intermediate are consistent with inhibition of Ig passage from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex. A second CCCP-sensitive step exists in the biosynthesis of IgD, and is characterized by delta-chains that are resistant to endoglycosidase H and contain galactose. This indicates that this second step occurs during or after the passage through the trans-Golgi compartment. The galactose-containing oligosaccharides of the delta-chains arrested at this step do not contain fucose (as do mature, secreted delta-chains). Fucosylation is not inhibited by CCCP, nor is the secretion of fucose-containing delta-chains. These results show that terminal sugars are added to secretory IgD in at least two transport compartments, separable by their sensitivity to CCCP. The inhibition of the secretory pathway at both steps is reversible; upon removal of the drug the arrested IgD is processed normally and is secreted. The sensitivity to CCCP probably reflects transport steps that are sensitive to even partial depletion of ATP, because treatments with other inhibitors of oxidative phosphorylation yield similarly arrested Ig molecules. Thus, by using the protonophore CCCP, we demonstrate two energy-requiring steps in IgD transport which seem to be at two transitions in the secretory pathway. One step is during the passage from the endoplasmic reticulum to the mid-Golgi compartment and the other step is during Ig passage through the trans-Golgi, or subsequent transport to the cell surface.     

Effects of hypertonic and sodium-free medium on transport of a membrane glycoprotein along the secretory pathway in cultured mammalian cells

Incubation of cultured cells in hypertonic medium and sodium-free medium have been shown to block transport at two different stages along the endocytic pathway. To determine the effects of these treatments on the exocytic pathway, we studied the transport of the membrane glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV-G) in cells infected with tsO45 mutant virus. This mutant synthesizes a VSV-G that accumulates in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) when cells are incubated at 39.5 degrees C. In addition, VSV-G accumulates in the post-ER pre-Golgi compartment when cells are incubated at 15 degrees C and in the trans-Golgi network (TGN) when cells are incubated at 18 degrees C. Upon transfer of cells to 32 degrees C in control medium, VSV-G exits each of these compartments and is transported to the cell surface. Incubation in sodium-free medium at 32 degrees C did not block transport from any of these three compartments. In contrast, incubation in hypertonic medium blocked export from the ER, transport from the pre-Golgi compartment to the Golgi complex, and transport from the TGN to the cell surface. Our results, in combination with previous studies, suggest that hypertonic medium blocks at least five distinct transport steps; the three exocytic steps described here, endocytosis from the cell surface, and transport of cell surface proteins into the Golgi complex. This raises the possibility that vesicular transport in different parts of the cell shares common elements that are inhibited by this treatment.     

Reconstitution of transport of vesicular stomatitis virus G protein from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex using a cell-free system

Transport of the vesicular stomatitis virus-encoded glycoprotein (G protein) between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the cis Golgi compartment has been reconstituted in a cell-free system. Transfer is measured by the processing of the high mannose (man GlcNAc2) ER form of G protein to the man5GlcNAc5 form by the cis Golgi enzyme alpha-mannosidase I. G protein is rapidly and efficiently transported to the Golgi complex by a process resembling that observed in vivo. G protein is trimmed from the high mannose form to the man5GlcNAc2 form without the appearance of the intermediate man GlcNAc2 oligosaccharide species, as is observed in vivo. G protein is found in a sealed membrane-bound compartment before and after incubation. Processing in vitro is sensitive to detergent, and the Golgi alpha-mannosidase I inhibitor 1-deoxymannorjirimycin. Transport between the ER and Golgi complex in vitro requires the addition of a high speed supernatant (cytosol) of cell homogenates, and requires energy in the form of ATP. Efficient reconstitution of export of protein from the ER requires the preparation of homogenates from mitotic cell populations in which the nuclear envelope, ER, and Golgi compartments have been physiologically disassembled before cell homogenization. These results suggest that the high efficiency of transport observed here may require reassembly of functional organelles in vitro.     

Endoplasmic reticulum stress reduces the export from the ER and alters the architecture of post-ER compartments

In eukaryotic cells several physiologic and pathologic conditions generate the accumulation of unfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), leading to ER stress. To restore normal function, some ER transmembrane proteins sense the ER stress and activate coordinated signalling pathways collectively called the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR). Little is known on how the UPR relates to post-ER compartments and to the export from the ER of newly synthesized proteins. Here, we report that the ER stress response induced by either thapsigargin or nitric oxide modifies the dynamics of the intracellular distribution of ERGIC-53 and GM130, two markers of the ER Golgi Intermediate Compartment and of the cis-Golgi, respectively. In addition, induction of ER stress alters the morphology of the ERGIC and the Golgi complex and interferes with the reformation of both compartments. Moreover, ER stress rapidly reduces the transport to the Golgi complex of the temperature sensitive mutant of the Vesicular Stomatitis Virus G Glycoprotein (VSV-G) fused with the Green Fluorescent Protein (ts045G), without apparently decreasing the amount of the protein competent for export. Interestingly, a parallel rapid reduction of the number of Sec31 labelled fluorescent puncta on the ER membranes does occur, thus suggesting that the ER stress alters the ER export and the dynamic of post-ER compartments by rapidly targeting the formation of COPII-coated transport intermediates.     

Traffic pattern of cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator through the early exocytic pathway

The pathway of transport of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) through the early exocytic pathway has not been examined. In contrast to most membrane proteins that are concentrated during export from the ER and therefore readily detectable at elevated levels in pre-Golgi intermediates and Golgi compartments, wild-type CFTR could not be detected in these compartments using deconvolution immunofluorescence microscopy. To determine the basis for this unusual feature, we analyzed CFTR localization using quantitative immunoelectron microscopy (IEM). We found that wild-type CFTR is present in pre-Golgi compartments and peripheral tubular elements associated with the cis and trans faces of the Golgi stack, albeit at a concentration 2-fold lower than that found in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). delta F508 CFTR, a mutant form that is not efficiently delivered to the cell surface and the most common mutation in cystic fibrosis, could also be detected at a reduced concentration in pre-Golgi intermediates and peripheral cis Golgi elements, but not in post-Golgi compartments. Our results suggest that the low level of wild-type CFTR in the Golgi region reflects a limiting step in selective recruitment by the ER export machinery, an event that is largely deficient in delta F508. We raise the possibility that novel modes of selective anterograde and retrograde traffic between the ER and the Golgi may serve to regulate CFTR function in the early secretory compartments.     

Cholesterol loading induces a block in the exit of VSVG from the TGN

Recent work from our laboratory demonstrated that increased cellular cholesterol content affects the structure of the Golgi apparatus. We have now investigated the functional consequences of the cholesterol-induced vesiculation of the Golgi apparatus and the role of actin for these changes. The results showed that cholesterol-induced vesiculation and dispersion of the Golgi apparatus is a reversible process and that reversal can be inhibited by cytochalasin D, an actin-disrupting reagent. Furthermore, electron microscopy revealed that jasplakinolide, which stabilizes actin filaments, prevented the dispersion, but not the vesiculation of the Golgi cisternae. Importantly, the different Golgi markers seemed to be separated even after vesiculation. To investigate whether transport through the different steps of the exocytic pathway was affected in cholesterol-treated cells, we visualized ER to plasma membrane transport by using ts045-VSVG-GFP. In COS-1 cells expressing ts045-VSVG-GFP increased cholesterol levels did not affect transport of VSVG into the vesiculated Golgi apparatus. However, increased levels of cholesterol resulted in retention of the nascent G protein in vesicles with the TGN-marker TGN46. Biotinylation of cell surface molecules to quantify arrival of VSVG at the plasma membrane confirmed that cholesterol treatment inhibited export of the VSVG protein. In conclusion, the data show that transport of VSVG into/through a vesiculated Golgi is feasible, but that cholesterol loading inhibits exit of VSVG from the vesicles containing TGN markers. Furthermore, the data illustrate the importance of actin filaments for Golgi structure.     

Cell-free systems to study vesicular transport along the secretory and endocytic pathways

Proteins bound for the cell surface, lysosomes, and secretory storage granules share a common pathway of intracellular transport. After their synthesis and translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum, these proteins traverse the secretory pathway by a series of vesicular transfers. Similarly, nutrient and signaling molecules enter cells by endocytosis, and move through the endocytic pathway by passage from one membrane-bound compartment to another. Little is known about the mechanisms by which proteins are collected into transport vesicles, or how these vesicles form, identify their targets, and subsequently fuse with their target membranes. An important advance toward our understanding these processes has come from the establishment of cell-free systems that reconstitute vesicular transfers in vitro. It is now possible to measure, in vitro, the transport of proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi, between Golgi cisternae, and the formation of transport vesicles en route from the trans Golgi network to the cell surface. Along the endocytic pathway, cell-free systems are available to study clathrin-coated vesicle formation, early endosome fusion, and the fusion of late endosomes with lysosomes. Moreover, the selective movement of receptors between late endosomes and the trans Golgi network has also been reconstituted. The molecular mechanisms of vesicular transport are now amenable to elucidation.     

Evidence for the regulation of exocytic transport by protein phosphorylation

We investigated the effects of the protein phosphatase inhibitors okadaic acid and microcystin-LR upon transport of newly synthesized proteins through the exocytic pathway. Treatment of CHO cells with 1 microM okadaic acid rapidly inhibited movement of a marker protein (vesicular stomatitis virus G protein) from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi compartment. Both okadaic acid and microcystin-LR also inhibited transport in an in vitro assay reconstituting movement to the Golgi compartment, at concentrations equivalent to those required to inhibit phosphorylase phosphatase activity. Inhibition both in vivo and in vitro could be antagonized by protein kinase inhibitors, suggesting that protein phosphorylation was directly responsible for this effect. An early stage in the transport reaction associated with vesicle formation or targeting was inhibited by protein phosphorylation, which could be reversed by fractions enriched in protein phosphatase 2A. Protein kinase antagonists did not inhibit transport between sequential compartments of the exocytic pathway in vitro, suggesting that protein phosphorylation is not itself required for vesicular transport. During mitosis, vesicular transport is inhibited simultaneous to the activation of maturation-promoting factor. It is proposed that the inhibition caused by okadaic acid and microcystin-LR involves a similar mechanism to that responsible for the mitotic arrest of vesicular transport.     

Transport of the vesicular stomatitis glycoprotein to trans Golgi membranes in a cell-free system

Terminal steps in the transport of the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (G protein) in the Golgi stack have been reconstituted in a cell-free system. Incorporation of sialic acid into the oligosaccharide chains of G protein was used to monitor transport into the trans Golgi compartment. Transport-coupled sialylation required cytosol, ATP, an N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor extractable from Golgi membranes, and long chain acyl coenzyme A. The G protein receiving sialic acid in the cell-free system begins its in vitro transport bearing galactose residues acquired in vivo. Earlier reports (Balch, W. E., Dunphy, W. G., Braell, W. A., and Rothman, J. E. (1984a) Cell 39, 405-416) documented that transport of G protein into the medial (GlcNAc Transferase-containing) compartment is reconstituted under the same conditions. On the basis of the results reported here, it now appears that a more complete set of transport operations of the Golgi stack may be simultaneously reconstituted.     

Transport through the yeast endocytic pathway occurs through morphologically distinct compartments and requires an active secretory pathway and Sec18p/N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein.

Molecules travel through the yeast endocytic pathway from the cell surface to the lysosome-like vacuole by passing through two sequential intermediates. Immunofluorescent detection of an endocytosed pheromone receptor was used to morphologically identify these intermediates, the early and late endosomes. The early endosome is a peripheral organelle that is heterogeneous in appearance, whereas the late endosome is a large perivacuolar compartment that corresponds to the prevacuolar compartment previously shown to be an endocytic intermediate. We demonstrate that inhibiting transport through the early secretory pathway in sec mutants quickly impedes transport from the early endosome. Treatment of sensitive cells with brefeldin A also blocks transport from this compartment. We provide evidence that Sec18p/N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein, a protein required for membrane fusion, is directly required in vivo for forward transport early in the endocytic pathway. Inhibiting protein synthesis does not affect transport from the early endosome but causes endocytosed proteins to accumulate in the late endosome. As newly synthesized proteins and the late steps of secretion are not required for early to late endosome transport, but endoplasmic reticulum through Golgi traffic is, we propose that efficient forward transport in the early endocytic pathway requires delivery of lipid from secretory organelles to endosomes.     

Rab1b regulates vesicular transport between the endoplasmic reticulum and successive Golgi compartments

We report an essential role for the ras-related small GTP-binding protein rab1b in vesicular transport in mammalian cells. mAbs detect rab1b in both the ER and Golgi compartments. Using an assay which reconstitutes transport between the ER and the cis-Golgi compartment, we find that rab1b is required during an initial step in export of protein from the ER. In addition, it is also required for transport of protein between successive cis- and medial-Golgi compartments. We suggest that rab1b may provide a common link between upstream and downstream components of the vesicular fission and fusion machinery functioning in early compartments of the secretory pathway.     

The carboxyl-terminal valine is required for transport of glycoprotein CD8 alpha from the endoplasmic reticulum to the intermediate compartment

There is evidence that a carboxyl-terminal valine residue is an anterograde transport signal for type I transmembrane proteins. Removal of the signal would either delay glycosylation in the Golgi complex of proteins destined to recycle to the endoplasmic reticulum or determine accumulation in the endoplasmic reticulum of newly synthesized proteins destined for the plasma membrane. We used the human CD8 alpha glycoprotein to investigate the role of the carboxyl-terminal valine in the exocytic pathway. Using immunofluorescence light microscopy, metabolic labeling, and cell fractionation, we demonstrate that removal of the carboxyl-terminal valine residue delays transport of CD8 alpha from the endoplasmic reticulum to the intermediate compartment. Removal of the residue did not affect the other steps of the exocytic pathway or the folding/dimerization and glycosylation processes. Therefore, it is likely that this signal plays a role in the transport of CD8 alpha from the endoplasmic reticulum to the intermediate compartment either before or during the formation of the transport vesicles that drive the exit the protein from the endoplasmic reticulum.     

The CMP-sialic acid transporter is localized in the medial-trans Golgi and possesses two specific endoplasmic reticulum export motifs in its carboxyl-terminal cytoplasmic tail

The addition of sialic acid to glycoproteins and glycolipids requires Golgi sialyltransferases to have access to their glycoconjugate substrates and nucleotide sugar donor, CMP-sialic acid. CMP-sialic acid is transported into the lumen of the Golgi complex through the CMP-sialic acid transporter, an antiporter that also functions to transport CMP into the cytosol. We localized the transporter using immunofluorescence and deconvolution microscopy to test the prediction that it is broadly distributed across the Golgi stack to serve the many sialyltransferases involved in glycoconjugate sialylation. The transporter co-localized with ST6GalI in the medial and trans Golgi, showed partial overlap with a medial Golgi marker and little overlap with early Golgi or trans Golgi network markers. Endoplasmic reticulum-retained forms of sialyltransferases did not redistribute the transporter from the Golgi to the endoplasmic reticulum, suggesting that transporter-sialyltransferase complexes are not involved in transporter localization. Next we evaluated the role of the transporter's N- and C-terminal cytoplasmic tails in its trafficking and localization. The N-tail was not required for either endoplasmic reticulum export or Golgi localization. The C-tail was required for endoplasmic reticulum export and contained di-Ile and terminal Val motifs at its very C terminus that function as independent endoplasmic reticulum export signals. Deletion of the last four amino acids of the C-tail (IIGV) eliminated these export signals and prevented endoplasmic reticulum export of the transporter. This form of the transporter supplied limited amounts of CMP-sialic acid to Golgi sialyltransferases but was unable to completely rescue the transporter defect of Lec2 Chinese hamster ovary cells.     

Surface expression of inward rectifier potassium channels is controlled by selective Golgi export

Traffic of integral membrane proteins along the secretory pathway is not simply a default process but can be selective. Such selectivity is achieved by sequence information within the cargo protein that recruits coat protein complexes to drive the formation of transport vesicles. A number of sequence motifs have been identified in the cytoplasmic domains of ion channels that regulate early trafficking events between the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi complex. Here, we demonstrate that the following trafficking step from the Golgi compartment to the plasma membrane can also be selective. The N-terminal domain of the inward rectifier potassium channel Kir2.1 contains specific sequence information that is necessary for its efficient export from the Golgi complex. Lack of this information results in accumulation of the protein within the Golgi and a significant decrease in cell surface expression. As similar results were obtained for the N terminus of another Kir channel subfamily member, Kir4.1, which could functionally substitute for the Kir2.1 N terminus, we propose a more general role of the identified N-terminal domains for post-Golgi trafficking of Kir channels.     

A di-acidic (DXE) code directs concentration of cargo during export from the endoplasmic reticulum.

Efficient export of vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G), a type I transmembrane protein, from the endoplasmic reticulum requires a di-acidic code (DXE) located in the cytosolic carboxyl-terminal tail (Nishimura, N., and Balch, W. E. (1997) Science 277, 556-558). Mutation of the DXE code by mutation to AXA did not prevent VSV-G recruitment to pre-budding complexes formed in the presence of the activated form of the Sar1 and the Sec23/24 complex, components of the COPII budding machinery. However, the signal was required at a subsequent concentration step preceding vesicle fission. By using green fluorescence protein-tagged VSV-G to image movement in a single cell, we found that VSV-G lacking the DXE code fails to be concentrated into COPII vesicles. As a result, the normal 5-10-fold increase in the steady-state concentration of VSV-G in downstream pre-Golgi intermediates and Golgi compartments was lost. These results demonstrate for the first time that inactivation of the DXE signal uncouples early cargo selection steps from concentration into COPII vesicles. We propose that two sequential steps are required for efficient export from the endoplasmic reticulum.