Analysis of terminal sugar moieties and species-specificities of acrosome reaction-inducing substance in Xenopus (ARISX)

The acrosome reaction of Xenopus sperm is triggered by the acrosome reaction-inducing substance in Xenopus (ARISX), an oviductal pars recta-derived, sugar-rich substance decorated on the entire surface of the vitelline envelope (VE) during ovulation. Here we addressed the functional importance of the sugar moiety in ARISX. Among various lectins examined, soybean agglutinin and Dolichos biflorus agglutinin were shown to abolish the acrosome reaction-inducing activity of ARISX present in pars recta extract or on the VE, indicating the importance of the terminal alpha-N-acetylgalactosamine residue for the function of ARISX. Consistently, the acrosome reaction-inducing activity was not affected by proteinase K digestion, in spite of the simultaneous shift of ARISX to a smaller molecular weight. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopic examinations showed that ARISX was distributed as two types of structures on VE; thick fiber-like materials and thin filamentous materials, and that a new structure appeared on the fertilization envelope instead of the thin filamentous materials. Sperm from several amphibian species were subjected to an in vitro assay during induction of the acrosome reaction with ARISX. The resulting limited population of sperm from a non-Xenopus species underwent acrosome reaction, implying a weak species-specificity of ARISX.     

Role for Btg1 and Btg2 in growth arrest of WEHI-231 cells through arginine methylation following membrane immunoglobulin engagement

Engagement of membrane Ig (mIg) on WEHI-231 murine B lymphoma cells, a cell line model representative of primary immature B cells, results in growth arrest and subsequent apoptosis. Of the several dozen genes upregulated greater than two-fold by anti-IgM treatment through DNA microarray analysis, we focused on B cell translocation gene 1 (Btg1) and Btg2, member of Btg/Tob family of proteins. WEHI-231 cells were infected with the Btg1/EGFP or Btg2/EGFP retroviral vectors, and those expressing either Btg1 or Btg2 accumulated in G1 phase at significantly higher proportions than that seen for cells expressing control vector. Btg1 or Btg2 bound to protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) 1 via the box C region, an interaction required for anti-IgM-induced growth inhibition. The arginine methyltransferase inhibitor AdOx partially abrogated growth inhibition induced by Btg1, Btg2, or anti-IgM. The Btg1- or Btg2-induced growth inhibition was also abrogated in PRMT1-deficient cells via introduction of small interference RNA. In addition, we observed anti-IgM-induced arginine methylation of two proteins, a 28-kDa and a 36-kDa protein. Methylation, detected by a monoclonal antibody specific for asymmetric, but not symmetric methyl residues, was observed as early as 1 h-2 h after stimulation and was sustained for up to 24 h. The anti-IgM-induced p36 arginine methylation was abrogated in the PRMT1-deficient cells, suggesting that PRMT1 induces p36 methylation. Together, these results suggest that anti-IgM-induced growth inhibition is mediated via upregulation of Btg1 and Btg2, resulting in the activation of arginine methyltransferase activity and culminating in growth inhibition of WEHI-231 cells.     

A novel inhibitor of ceramide trafficking from the endoplasmic reticulum to the site of sphingomyelin synthesis

Ceramide produced at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is transported to the lumen of the Golgi apparatus for conversion to sphingomyelin (SM). N-(3-Hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-3-phenylpropyl)dodecanamide (HPA-12) is a novel analog of ceramide. Metabolic labeling experiments showed that HPA-12 inhibits conversion of ceramide to SM, but not to glucosylceramide, in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Cultivation of cells with HPA-12 significantly reduced the content of SM. HPA-12 did not inhibit the activity of SM synthase. The inhibition of SM formation by HPA-12 was abrogated when the Golgi apparatus was made to merge with the ER by brefeldin A. Moreover, HPA-12 inhibited redistribution of a fluorescent analog of ceramide, N-(4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-pentanoyl)-d-erythro-sphingosine (C(5)-DMB-Cer), from intracellular membranes to the Golgi region. Among four stereoisomers of the drug, (1R,3R)-HPA-12, which resembles natural ceramide stereochemically, was found to be the most active, although (1R,3R)-HPA-12 did not affect ER-to-Golgi trafficking of protein. Interestingly, (1R,3R)-HPA-12 inhibited conversion of ceramide to SM little in mutant cells defective in an ATP- and cytosol-dependent pathway of ceramide transport. These results indicated that (1R,3R)-HPA-12 inhibits ceramide trafficking from the ER to the site of SM synthesis, possibly due to an antagonistic interaction with a ceramide-recognizing factor(s) involved in the ATP- and cytosol-dependent pathway.     

Very-long-chain fatty acid-containing phospholipids accumulate in fatty acid synthase temperature-sensitive mutant strains of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe fas2/lsd1

Fission yeast lsd1 strains show aberrant mitosis with a lsd phenotype, large and small daughter nuclei, and a very thick septum, the phenotypic expression being temperature-sensitive. The lsd1(+) gene is the homologue of the budding yeast FAS2 gene encoding the fatty acid synthase alpha-subunit as reported previously (S. Saitoh, K. Takahashi, K. Nabeshima, Y. Yamashita, Y. Nakaseko, A. Hirata, M. Yanagida, J. Cell Biol. 134 (1996) 949--961). In this paper, lsd1 is considered to represent fas2. Here, three fas2 strains were investigated and found to have missense point mutations at different sites in the gene encoding the alpha-subunit of fatty acid synthase. The mutation affected only slightly the enzymatic activities monitored in vitro. Unexpectedly, abnormal phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, both of which contain a very-long-chain fatty acyl residue (1-melissoyl-2-oleolyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and 1-melissoyl-2-oleolyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine), accumulated in fas2 strains in a temperature-sensitive manner. Rescue of the fas2 strains by addition of palmitate to the medium at restrictive temperature was accompanied by disappearance of these abnormal phospholipids. Accumulation of these lipids in membranes may cause alteration of various cellular functions.     

Cutting edge: Gln22 of mouse MD-2 is essential for species-specific lipopolysaccharide mimetic action of taxol

MD-2 associates with the extracellular domain of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and greatly enhances LPS signaling via TLR4. Taxol, which mimics the action of LPS on murine macrophages, induces signals via mouse TLR4-MD-2, but not via human TLR4-MD-2. Here we investigated the molecular basis for this species-specific action of Taxol. Expression of mouse MD-2 conferred both LPS and Taxol responsiveness on human embryonic kidney 293 cells expressing mouse TLR4, whereas expression of human MD-2 conferred LPS responsiveness alone, suggesting that MD-2 is responsible for the species-specificity as to Taxol responsiveness. Furthermore, mouse MD-2 mutants, in which Gln(22) was changed to other amino acids, showed dramatically reduced ability to confer Taxol responsiveness, although their ability to confer LPS responsiveness was not affected. These results indicated that Gln(22) of mouse MD-2 is essential for Taxol signaling but not for LPS signaling.     

Genetic evidence for ATP-dependent endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi apparatus trafficking of ceramide for sphingomyelin synthesis in Chinese hamster ovary cells

LY-A strain is a Chinese hamster ovary cell mutant resistant to sphingomyelin (SM)-directed cytolysin and has a defect in de novo SM synthesis. Metabolic labeling experiments with radioactive serine, sphingosine, and choline showed that LY-A cells were defective in synthesis of SM from these precursors, but not syntheses of ceramide (Cer), glycosphingolipids, or phosphatidylcholine, indicating a specific defect in the conversion of Cer to SM in LY-A cells. In vitro experiments showed that the specific defect of SM formation in LY-A cells was not due to alterations in enzymatic activities responsible for SM synthesis or degradation. When cells were treated with brefeldin A, which causes fusion of the Golgi apparatus with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), de novo SM synthesis in LY-A cells was restored to the wild-type level. Pulse-chase experiments with a fluorescent Cer analogue, N-(4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a, 4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-pentanoyl)-D-erythro-sphingosine (C5-DMB-Cer), revealed that in wild-type cells C5-DMB-Cer was redistributed from intracellular membranes to the Golgi apparatus in an intracellular ATP-dependent manner, and that LY-A cells were defective in the energy-dependent redistribution of C5-DMB-Cer. Under ATP-depleted conditions, conversion of C5-DMB-Cer to C5-DMB-SM and of [3H]sphingosine to [3H]SM in wild-type cells decreased to the levels in LY-A cells, which were not affected by ATP depletion. ER-to-Golgi apparatus trafficking of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored or membrane-spanning proteins in LY-A cells appeared to be normal. These results indicate that the predominant pathway of ER-to-Golgi apparatus trafficking of Cer for de novo SM synthesis is ATP dependent and that this pathway is almost completely impaired in LY-A cells. In addition, the specific defect of SM synthesis in LY-A cells suggests different pathways of Cer transport for glycosphingolipids versus SM synthesis.     

Imaging analysis of subcellular correlation of androgen receptor and estrogen receptor alpha in single living cells using green fluorescent protein color variants

Androgen and estrogen act not only in a sex-specific manner but also interactively and synergistically. In the present study, to examine the possible interaction between androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor-alpha (ERalpha), we investigated the subcellular dynamics of AR and ERalpha fused with green fluorescent protein color variants in single living cells using time-lapse microscopy and the technique of fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. AR and ERalpha showed punctate colocalization in the nucleus with estrogen, but not androgen. N-terminal AR deletion mutant did not form a nuclear punctate pattern with either androgen or estrogen. In the presence of AR, but not ERalpha, N-terminal AR deletion mutant formed a punctate nuclear pattern with androgen. AR had different mobility depending on the ligand and the presence of ERalpha. On the other hand, AR had little effect on the stability of ERalpha. ERalpha mutant that does not bind coactivators did not alter the mobility of AR. Taken together, using an imaging technique, we clarified that possible homo/hetero dimerization between AR and ERalpha could be attributed to androgen-estrogen interaction in living cells.     

Loss of PGC-specific expression of the orphan nuclear receptor ERR-beta results in reduction of germ cell number in mouse embryos

Estrogen related receptor beta (ERR-beta) is an orphan nuclear receptor specifically expressed in a subset of extra-embryonic ectoderm of post-implantation embryos. ERR-beta is essential for placental development since the ERR-beta null mutants die at 10.5dpc due to the placenta abnormality. Here, we show that the ERR-beta is specifically expressed in primordial germ cells (PGC), obviously another important cell type for reproduction. Expression of the ERR-beta mRNA in embryonic germ cells started at E11.5 as soon as PGC reached genital ridges, and persisted until E15-E16 in both sexes. Immunostaining with anti-ERR-beta antibody revealed that the ERR-beta protein is exclusively expressed in germ cells in both male and female gonads from E11.5 to E16. 5. To study function of the ERR-beta in PGC, we complemented placental defects of the ERR-beta null mutants with wild-type tetraploid embryos, and analyzed germ cell development in the rescued embryos. It was found that development of gonad and PGC was not apparently affected, but number of germ cells was significantly reduced in male and female gonads, suggesting that the ERR-beta appears to be involved in proliferation of gonadal germ cells. The rescued embryos could develop to term and grow up to adulthood. The rescued ERR-beta null male were found to be fertile, but both male and female null mutants exhibited behavioural abnormalities, implying that the ERR-beta plays important roles in wider biological processes than previously thought.     

Isolation of intact vacuoles and proteomic analysis of tonoplast from suspension-cultured cells of Arabidopsis thaliana

A large number of proteins in the tonoplast, including pumps, carriers, ion channels and receptors support the various functions of the plant vacuole. To date, few proteins involved in these activities have been identified at the molecular level. In this study, proteomic analysis was used to identify new tonoplast proteins. A primary requirement of any organelle analysis by proteomics is that the purity of the isolated organelle needs to be high. Using suspension-cultured Arabidopsis cells (Arabidopsis Col-0 cell suspension), a method was developed for the isolation of intact highly purified vacuoles. No plasma membrane proteins were detected in Western blots of the isolated vacuole fraction, and only a few proteins from the Golgi and endoplasmic reticulum. The proteomic analysis of the purified tonoplast involved fractionation of the proteins by SDS-PAGE and analysis by LC-MS/MS. Using this approach, it was possible to identify 163 proteins. These included well-characterized tonoplast proteins such as V-type H+ -ATPases and V-type H+ -PPases, and others with functions reasonably expected to be related to the tonoplast. There were also a number of proteins for which a function has not yet been deduced.