Arv1 promotes cell division by recruiting IQGAP1 and myosin to the cleavage furrow

Cell division is strictly regulated by a diversity of proteins and lipids to ensure proper duplication and segregation of genetic material and organelles. Here we report a novel role of the putative lipid transporter ACAT-related protein required for viability 1 (Arv1) during telophase. We observed that the subcellular localization of Arv1 changes according to cell cycle progression and that Arv1 is recruited to the cleavage furrow in early telophase by epithelial protein lost in neoplasm (EPLIN). At the cleavage furrow Arv1 recruits myosin heavy chain 9 (MYH9) and myosin light chain 9 (MYL9) by interacting with IQ-motif-containing GTPase-activating protein (IQGAP1). Consequently the lack of Arv1 delayed telophase-progression, and a strongly increased incidence of furrow regression and formation of multinuclear cells was observed both in human cells in culture and in follicle epithelial cells of egg chambers of Drosophila melanogaster in vivo. Interestingly, the cholesterol-status at the cleavage furrow did not affect the recruitment of either IQGAP1, MYH9 or MYL. These results identify a novel function for Arv1 in regulation of cell division through promotion of the contractile actomyosin ring, which is independent of its lipid transporter activity.     

ESCRT & Co

Components of the ESCRT (endosomal sorting complex required for transport) machinery mediate endosomal sorting of ubiquitinated membrane proteins. They are key regulators of biological processes important for cell growth and survival, such as growth‐factor‐mediated signalling and cytokinesis. In addition, enveloped viruses, such as HIV‐1, hijack and utilize the ESCRTs for budding during virus release and infection. Obviously, the ESCRT‐facilitated pathways require tight regulation, which is partly mediated by a group of interacting proteins, for which our knowledge is growing. In this review we discuss the different ESCRT‐modulating proteins and how they influence ESCRT‐dependent processes, for example, by acting as positive or negative regulators or by providing temporal and spatial control. A number of the interactors influence the classical ESCRT‐mediated process of endosomal cargo sorting, for example, by modulating the interaction between ubiquitinated cargo and the ESCRTs. Certain accessory proteins have been implicated in regulating the activity or steady‐state expression levels of the ESCRT components, whereas other interactors control the cellular localization of the ESCRTs, for example, by inducing shuttling between cytosol and nucleus or endosomes. In conclusion, the discovery of novel interactors has and will extend our knowledge of the biological roles of ESCRTs.     

Eicosanoids in human ventricular cerebrospinal fluid following severe brain injury

Recent evidence has shown that a variety of prostaglandins and leukotrienes can be produced in brain tissue after injury in animals. It has also been speculated that increases in brain prostaglandins occur in humans following injury. Ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples have been obtained from children with static lesions (controls) as well as children with acute brain injury and eicosanoids measured by immunologic techniques. Metabolites of prostacyclin (6-keto-PGF1 a) and thromboxane A2 (thromboxane B2) were the major eicosanoids found in CSF, and levels of these compounds were increased 3-10 times in acutely injured patients. Prostaglandin E2 was also found in lower amounts, although in one case its level was very high. Prostaglandin D2 was also present, but in low amounts. No leukotrienes were found in CSF samples that were purified by HPLC prior to immunoassay. Elevated levels of hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs) were observed in those samples stored frozen, but these metabolites were most probably due to autooxidation of arachidonic acid in CSF. Arachidonic acid concentration in CSF was typically found to be in the range of 10-200 ng/ml, but was found to be 5-10 fold higher in one severely injured patient. Thus, elevated free arachidonic acid and various oxygenated metabolites were observed in CSF following brain injury.     

ALIX and ESCRT-I/II function as parallel ESCRT-III recruiters in cytokinetic abscission

Cytokinetic abscission, the final stage of cell division where the two daughter cells are separated, is mediated by the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) machinery. The ESCRT-III subunit CHMP4B is a key effector in abscission, whereas its paralogue, CHMP4C, is a component in the abscission checkpoint that delays abscission until chromatin is cleared from the intercellular bridge. How recruitment of these components is mediated during cytokinesis remains poorly understood, although the ESCRT-binding protein ALIX has been implicated. Here, we show that ESCRT-II and the ESCRT-II–binding ESCRT-III subunit CHMP6 cooperate with ESCRT-I to recruit CHMP4B, with ALIX providing a parallel recruitment arm. In contrast to CHMP4B, we find that recruitment of CHMP4C relies predominantly on ALIX. Accordingly, ALIX depletion leads to furrow regression in cells with chromosome bridges, a phenotype associated with abscission checkpoint signaling failure. Collectively, our work reveals a two-pronged recruitment of ESCRT-III to the cytokinetic bridge and implicates ALIX in abscission checkpoint signaling.     

Elimination of the disulphide bridge in fragment B of diphtheria toxin: effect on membrane insertion, channel formation, and ATP binding

Active diphtheria toxin consists of two disulphide-linked fragments, termed A and B. Fragment B, which contains an internal disulphide bridge, facilitates translocation of the enzymatically active fragment A to the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. In this process cation-selective channels are formed. An in vitro translated full-length mutant lacking the internal disulphide bridge (A-58**) was functionally indistinguishable from its disulphide-containing counterpart (A-58) with respect to trypsin sensitivity, receptor binding, A-fragment translocation, and channel formation. In contrast, the B fragment of A-58** (B-36**) was slightly less trypsin resistant than the S-S-containing B fragment, B-36, and was approximately 300-fold less efficient than B-36 in permeabilizing cells. When first dialysed and then reconstituted with A fragment, B fragment without disulphide bridge yielded a less-active toxin than did wild-type B fragment. We conclude that the disulphide bridge in fragment B is not necessary for toxicity, as earlier believed, and that channel formation may play a role in membrane translocation.