ELSO: new life for the life sciences in Europe.
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Biological Science Disciplines↗
Biomedical subjects
K Simons
Publications and source records attributed to K Simons.
Lipid rafts and signal transduction.
Signal transduction is initiated by complex protein-protein interactions between ligands, receptors and kinases, to name only a few. It is now becoming clear that lipid micro-environments on the cell surface -- known as lipid rafts -- also take part in this process. Lipid rafts containing a given set of proteins can change their size and composition in response to intra- or extracellular stimuli. This favours specific protein-protein interactions, resulting in the activation of signalling cascades.
Animals↗
A voice for European life scientists. An interview with Kai Simons, President of the European Life Science Organisation and Director of the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden.
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Biological Science Disciplines↗
Different properties of two isoforms of annexin XIII in MDCK cells.
Annexins form a family of proteins that are widely expressed and known to bind membranes in the presence of calcium. Two isoforms of the annexin XIII subfamily are expressed in epithelia. We previously reported that annexin XIIIb is apically localized in MDCK cells and that it is involved in raft-mediated delivery of apical proteins. We have now analyzed the properties of annexin XIIIa, which differs from annexin XIIIb by a deletion of 41 amino acids in the amino-terminal domain, and is distributed both apically and basolaterally. Annexin XIIIa binding to membranes is independent of calcium but requires its myristoyl amino-terminal modification, as observed with annexin XIIIb. Our biochemical and functional data show that annexin XIIIa behaves differently in the apical and in the basolateral compartments. Whereas annexin XIIIa apically can associate with rafts independently of calcium, the basolateral pool requires calcium for this. Annexin XIIIa, like annexin XIIIb, stimulates apical transport of influenza virus hemagglutinin but, in contrast, only annexin XIIIa inhibits basolateral transport of vesicular stomatitis virus G protein. Our results suggest that annexin XIIIa and XIIIb have specific roles in epithelial cells, and because of their structural similarities, these isoforms offer interesting tools for unravelling the functions of annexins.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Preschool vision screening: summary of a Task Force report. Behalf of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau and the National Eye Institute Task Force on Vision Screening in the Preschool Child.
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Age Factors↗
Acyl and alkyl chain length of GPI-anchors is critical for raft association in vitro.
We determined the acyl and alkyl chain composition of GPI-anchors isolated from MDCK and Fischer rat thyroid (FRT) cells. Both cell lines synthesize GPI-anchors containing C16/C18 or C18/C18 saturated acyl and alkyl chains. The GPI-anchored placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) expressed in both cells is raft-associated and PLAP purified from FRT cells is raft-associated in vitro when reconstituted into liposomes containing raft lipids. In contrast, the GPI-anchored variant surface glycoprotein from Trypanosoma brucei which contains C14 acyl and alkyl chains shows no significant raft association after reconstitution in vitro. These data indicate that the acyl and alkyl chain composition of GPI-anchors determines raft association.
Acylation↗
N-Glycans mediate the apical sorting of a GPI-anchored, raft-associated protein in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells.
Glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI)- anchored proteins are preferentially transported to the apical cell surface of polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. It has been assumed that the GPI anchor itself acts as an apical determinant by its interaction with sphingolipid-cholesterol rafts. We modified the rat growth hormone (rGH), an unglycosylated, unpolarized secreted protein, into a GPI-anchored protein and analyzed its surface delivery in polarized MDCK cells. The addition of a GPI anchor to rGH did not lead to an increase in apical delivery of the protein. However, addition of N-glycans to GPI-anchored rGH resulted in predominant apical delivery, suggesting that N-glycans act as apical sorting signals on GPI-anchored proteins as they do on transmembrane and secretory proteins. In contrast to the GPI-anchored rGH, a transmembrane form of rGH which was not raft-associated accumulated intracellularly. Addition of N-glycans to this chimeric protein prevented intracellular accumulation and led to apical delivery.
Animals↗
VIP17/MAL, a lipid raft-associated protein, is involved in apical transport in MDCK cells.
Apical proteins are sorted and delivered from the trans-Golgi network to the plasma membrane by a mechanism involving sphingolipid-cholesterol rafts. In this paper, we report the effects of changing the levels of VIP17/MAL, a tetraspan membrane protein localized to post-Golgi transport containers and the apical cell surface in MDCK cells. Overexpression of VIP17/MAL disturbed the morphology of the MDCK cell layers by increasing apical delivery and seemingly expanding the apical cell surface domains. On the other hand, expression of antisense RNA directed against VIP17/MAL caused accumulation in the Golgi and/or impaired apical transport of different apical protein markers, i.e., influenza virus hemagglutinin, the secretory protein clusterin (gp80), the transmembrane protein gp114, and a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein. However, antisense RNA expression did not affect the distribution of E-cadherin to the basolateral surface. Because VIP17/MAL associates with sphingolipid-cholesterol rafts, these data provide functional evidence that this protein is involved in apical transport and might be a component of the machinery clustering lipid rafts with apical cargo to form apical transport carriers.
Animals↗
Association of sterol- and glycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked proteins with Drosophila raft lipid microdomains.
In vertebrates, the formation of raft lipid microdomains plays an important part in both polarized protein sorting and signal transduction. To establish a system in which raft-dependent processes could be studied genetically, we have analyzed the protein and lipid composition of these microdomains in Drosophila melanogaster. Using mass spectrometry, we identified the phospholipids, sphingolipids, and sterols present in Drosophila membranes. Despite chemical differences between Drosophila and mammalian lipids, their structure suggests that the biophysical properties that allow raft formation have been preserved. Consistent with this, we have identified a detergent-insoluble fraction of Drosophila membranes that, like mammalian rafts, is rich in sterol, sphingolipids, and glycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked proteins. We show that the sterol-linked Hedgehog N-terminal fragment associates specifically with this detergent-insoluble membrane fraction. Our findings demonstrate that raft formation is preserved across widely separated phyla in organisms with different lipid structures. They further suggest sterol modification as a novel mechanism for targeting proteins to raft membranes and raise the possibility that signaling and polarized intracellular transport of Hedgehog are based on raft association.
Animals↗
Raft association of SNAP receptors acting in apical trafficking in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells.
We have investigated the relationships between the apical sorting mechanism using lipid rafts and the soluble N-ethyl maleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) machinery, which is involved in membrane docking and fusion. We first confirmed that anti-alpha-SNAP antibodies inhibit the apical pathway in Madin- Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells; in addition, we report that a recombinant SNAP protein stimulates the apical transport whereas a SNAP mutant inhibits this transport step. Based on t-SNARE overexpression experiments and the effect of botulinum neurotoxin E, syntaxin 3 and SNAP-23 have been implicated in apical membrane trafficking. Here, we show in permeabilized MDCK cells that antisyntaxin 3 and anti-SNAP-23 antibodies lower surface delivery of an apical reporter protein. Moreover, using a similar approach, we show that tetanus toxin-insensitive, vesicle-associated membrane protein (TI-VAMP; also called VAMP7), a recently described apical v-SNARE, is involved. Furthermore, we show the presence of syntaxin 3 and TI-VAMP in isolated apical carriers. Polarized apical sorting has been postulated to be mediated by the clustering of apical proteins into dynamic sphingolipid-cholesterol rafts. We provide evidence that syntaxin 3 and TI-VAMP are raft-associated. These data support a raft-based mechanism for the sorting of not only apically destined cargo but also of SNAREs having functions in apical membrane-docking and fusion events.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Influenza viruses select ordered lipid domains during budding from the plasma membrane.
During the budding of enveloped viruses from the plasma membrane, the lipids are not randomly incorporated into the envelope, but virions seem to have a lipid composition different from the host membrane. Here, we have analyzed lipid assemblies in three different viruses: fowl plague virus (FPV) from the influenza virus family, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), and Semliki Forest virus (SFV). Analysis of detergent extractability of proteins, cholesterol, phosphoglycerolipids, and sphingomyelin in virions showed that FPV contains high amounts of detergent-insoluble complexes, whereas such complexes are largely absent from VSV or SFV. Cholesterol depletion from the viral envelope by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin results in increased solubility of sphingomyelin and of the glycoproteins in the FPV envelope. This biochemical behavior suggests that so-called raft-lipid domains are selectively incorporated into the influenza virus envelope. The "fluidity" of the FPV envelope, as measured by the fluorescence polarization of diphenylhexatriene, was significantly lower than compared with VSV or SFV. Furthermore, influenza virus hemagglutinin incorporated into the envelope of recombinant VSV was largely detergent-soluble, indicating the depletion of raft-lipid assemblies from this membrane. The results provide a model for lipid selectivity during virus budding and support the view of lipid rafts as cholesterol-dependent, ordered domains in biological membranes.
Animals↗
Clusters of glycolipid and glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins in lymphoid cells: accumulation of actin regulated by local tyrosine phosphorylation.
Lateral cross-linking of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins and glycosphingolipids can trigger a signaling cascade which leads to activation of lymphoid cells. A possible explanation how the signal is transduced through the plasma membrane has arisen from the concept of raft sphingolipid-cholesterol microdomains in cell membranes. Cross-linking of GPI-anchored proteins, glycolipids and other raft components leads to the formation of stabilized membrane patches in the plasma membrane which enrich members of the Src-tyrosine kinase family. We have studied cellular responses to raft patch formation in the Jurkat T cell line and in particular changes in the actin cytoskeleton. We found that raft patches formed by GPI-anchored CD59 protein and the ganglioside GM1 accumulate filamentous actin. Most interestingly, we observed a strong accumulation of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins in raft patches, strongly supporting the view that they can function as centers of signal transduction. Using a Lck kinase-deficient variant of Jurkat cells and a specific Lck and Fyn tyrosine kinase inhibitor we found that enrichment of actin in raft patches is dependent on phosphotyrosine accumulation in the patches. These observations show a link between raft-mediated signaling and the interaction of actin cytoskeleton with raft membrane domains.
Actins↗
Natural history of amblyopia untreated owing to lack of compliance.
AIMS: A prospective study of the efficacy of amblyopia treatment in preschool children has recently been called for, requiring an untreated control group. The present study assessed data from patients with amblyopia untreated owing to lack of compliance, or with amblyopia risk factors, to determine outcome. METHODS: Longitudinal data were obtained from 18 4-6 year old patients who had initially been screened for amblyopia, strabismus, and/or bilateral refractive error, failed to comply with prescribed treatment, and in whom amblyopia was detected at a rescreening approximately a year later. The data from three previous studies comparing outcome of patients compliant and non-compliant with amblyopia treatment were also reanalysed. RESULTS: One child of the 18, who wore glasses sporadically, showed some improvement in visual acuity in the amblyopic eye. Otherwise, no child showed an improvement, and seven of the 17 (41%) for whom visual acuities were available at both screenings showed a deterioration of visual acuity in the amblyopic eye, including three who apparently developed amblyopia for the first time. A child with an ametropic risk factor for amblyopia whose visual acuity was not obtained at the first screening and who was largely non-compliant presented with amblyopia at the second screening. The reanalysed data from the three previous studies demonstrated a significantly poorer visual acuity outcome in the amblyopic eye in the non-compliant patient groups than in the compliant groups in each study. CONCLUSION: Preschool children with amblyopia or its risk factors are at risk of having the current amblyopia deteriorate, or of developing amblyopia, if not treated. These results raise questions about the ethical acceptability of a prospective study of amblyopia treatment at these ages.
Amblyopia↗
Dual-color visualization of trans-Golgi network to plasma membrane traffic along microtubules in living cells.
The mechanisms and carriers responsible for exocytic protein trafficking between the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and the plasma membrane remain unclear. To investigate the dynamics of TGN-to-plasma membrane traffic and role of the cytoskeleton in these processes we transfected cells with a GFP-fusion protein, vesicular stomatitis virus G protein tagged with GFP (VSVG3-GFP). After using temperature shifts to block VSVG3-GFP in the endoplasmic reticulum and subsequently accumulate it in the TGN, dynamics of TGN-to-plasma membrane transport were visualized in real time by confocal and video microscopy. Both small vesicles (<250 nm) and larger vesicular-tubular structures (>1.5 microm long) are used as transport containers (TCs). These TCs rapidly moved out of the Golgi along curvilinear paths with average speeds of approximately 0.7 micrometer/second. Automatic computer tracking objectively determined the dynamics of different carriers. Fission and fusion of TCs were observed, suggesting that these late exocytic processes are highly interactive. To directly determine the role of microtubules in post-Golgi traffic, rhodamine-tubulin was microinjected and both labeled cargo and microtubules were simultaneously visualized in living cells. These studies demonstrated that exocytic cargo moves along microtubule tracks and reveals that carriers are capable of switching between tracks.
Animals↗
VIP36 localisation to the early secretory pathway.
VIP36, an integral membrane protein previously isolated from epithelial MDCK cells, is an intracellular lectin of the secretory pathway. Overexpressed VIP36 had been localised to the Golgi complex, plasma membrane and endocytic structures suggesting post-Golgi trafficking of this molecule (Fiedler et al., 1994). Here we provide evidence that endogenous VIP36 is localised to the Golgi apparatus and the early secretory pathway of MDCK and Vero cells and propose that retention is easily saturated. High resolution confocal microscopy shows partial overlap of VIP36 with Golgi marker proteins. Punctate cytoplasmic structures colocalise with coatomer and ERGIC-53, labeling ER-Golgi intermediate membrane structures. Cycling of VIP36 is suggested by colocalisation with anterograde cargo trapped in pre-Golgi structures and modification of its N-linked carbohydrate by glycosylation enzymes of medial Golgi cisternae. Furthermore, after brefeldin A treatment VIP36 is segregated from resident Golgi proteins and codistributes with ER-Golgi recycling proteins.
1-Deoxynojirimycin↗
The differential miscibility of lipids as the basis for the formation of functional membrane rafts.
The formation of sphingolipid-cholesterol microdomains in cellular membranes has been proposed to function in sorting and transport of lipids and proteins as well as in signal transduction. An increasing number of cell biological and biochemical studies now supports this concept. Here we discuss the structural properties of lipids in a cell biological context. The sphingolipid-cholesterol microdomains or rafts are described as dispersed liquid ordered phase domains. These domains are dynamic assemblies to which specific proteins are selectively sequestered while others are excluded. The proteins associated to rafts can act as organizers and can modulate raft size and function.
Animals↗
Annexin XIIIb associates with lipid microdomains to function in apical delivery.
A member of the annexin XIII sub-family, annexin XIIIb, has been implicated in the apical exocytosis of epithelial kidney cells. Annexins are phospholipid-binding proteins that have been suggested to be involved in membrane trafficking events although their actual physiological function remains open. Unlike the other annexins, annexin XIIIs are myristoylated. Here, we show by immunoelectron microscopy that annexin XIIIb is localized to the trans-Golgi network (TGN), vesicular carriers and the apical cell surface. Polarized apical sorting involves clustering of apical proteins into dynamic sphingolipid-cholesterol rafts. We now provide evidence for the raft association of annexin XIIIb. Using in vitro assays and either myristoylated or unmyristoylated recombinant annexin XIIIb, we demonstrate that annexin XIIIb in its native myristoylated form stimulates specifically apical transport whereas the unmyristoylated form inhibits this route. Moreover, we show that formation of apical carriers from the TGN is inhibited by an anti-annexin XIIIb antibody whereas it is stimulated by myristoylated recombinant annexin XIIIb. These results suggest that annexin XIIIb directly participates in apical delivery.
Animals↗