SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Reticulum”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 595 records · Page 33Linked to original sources

PubMed1981

Transbilayer distribution of lipids in a population of sarcoplasmic-reticulum vesicles sealed with their cytoplasmic side outwards.

A population of sarcoplasmic-reticulum vesicles, all of which were sealed with their cytoplasmic side outwards, was obtained by density-gradient centrifugation after loading the vesicles with calcium oxalate. The calcium oxalate could subsequently be removed from the vesicles by the reverse action of the calcium-transport system. Measurements of the catalysed exchange of the phosphatidylcholine in the sarcoplasmic-reticulum cytoplasmic monolayer with an exogenous phosphatidylcholine pool suggested that phosphatidylcholine is symmetrically distributed across the sarcoplasmic-reticulum membrane. A similar result was obtained for phosphatidylethanolamine when sarcoplasmic-reticulum lipids were labelled with trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid. Further catalysed lipid-exchange reactions showed that the transverse movement of phosphatidylcholine across the membrane was exceedingly slow (t 1/2 greater than 15 days).

Animals↗

PubMed1983

Modulation of active Ca2+ uptake by the islet-cell endoplasmic reticulum.

The possible effects of calmodulin and cyclic AMP on active Ca2+ uptake by the islet-cell endoplasmic reticulum were investigated. Neither calmodulin nor cyclic AMP affected the rate of active Ca2+ uptake, or the steady-state filling capacity of the endoplasmic reticulum when measured in the absence of oxalate. Consistent with these results, calmodulin did not activate the Ca2+-stimulated ATPase activity associated with this cell fraction. During the course of these experiments., it was unexpectedly discovered that the rate of Ca2+ uptake, as well as the steady-state Ca2+ filling capacity of the endoplasmic reticulum, were markedly increased by unidentified factor(s) in the cytosol. This effect could be demonstrated by reconstitution of the membranes in cytosol, or by direct addition of fresh or dialysed cytosol to the Ca2+ uptake assays. The degree of activation by the cytosol indicates that the endoplasmic reticulum may play a prominent role in controlling beta-cell Ca2+ concentrations and that the unidentified activator(s) present in the cytosol may be involved in regulation of this function.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

GTP mobilization of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum of islets. Comparison with myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate.

The effect of the guanine nucleotide GTP on Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum of digitonin-permeabilized islets was investigated. maximal and half-maximal Ca2+ release were observed at 5 microM- and 2.5 microM-GTP respectively. GTP caused a rapid release of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum, which was complete within 1 min. GTP-induced Ca2+ release was structurally specific and required the hydrolysis of GTP. The combination of maximal concentrations of GTP (10 microM) and myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) (10 microM) resulted in an additive effect on Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum. GDP (100 microM), which inhibits GTP-induced Ca2+ release, did not affect IP3-induced Ca2+ release. Furthermore, GTP-induced Ca2+ release was not independent on submicromolar free Ca2+ concentrations, unlike IP3-induced Ca2+ release. These observations suggest that mechanistically GTP-induced Ca2+ release is different from IP3-induced Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Identification of signal sequence binding proteins integrated into the rough endoplasmic reticulum membrane.

An azidophenacyl derivative of a chemically synthesized consensus signal peptide has been prepared. The peptide, when photoactivated in the presence of rough or high-salt-stripped microsomes from pancreas, leads to inhibition of their activity in cotranslational processing of secretory pre-proteins translated from their mRNA in vitro. The peptide binds specifically with high affinity to components in the microsomal membranes from pancreas and liver, and photoreaction of a radioactive form of the azidophenacyl derivative leads to covalent linkage to yield two closely related radiolabelled proteins of Mr about 45,000. These proteins are integrated into the membrane, with large 30,000-Mr domains embedded into the phospholipid bilayer to which the signal peptide binds. A smaller, endopeptidase-sensitive, domain is exposed on the cytoplasmic surface of the microsomal vesicles. The specificity and selectivity of the binding of azidophenacyl-derivatized consensus signal peptide was demonstrated by concentration-dependent inhibition of photolabelling by the 'cold' synthetic consensus signal peptide and by a natural internal signal sequence cleaved and isolated from ovalbumin. The properties of the labelled 45,000-Mr protein-signal peptide complexes, i.e. mass, pI, ease of dissociation from the membrane by detergent or salts and immunological properties, distinguish them from other proteins, e.g. subunits of signal recognition particle, docking protein and signal peptidase, already known to be involved in targetting and processing of nascent secretory proteins at the rough endoplasmic reticulum membrane. Although the 45,000-Mr signal peptide binding protein displays properties similar to those of the signal peptidase, a component of the endoplasmic reticulum, the azido-derivatized consensus signal peptide does not interact with it. It is proposed that the endoplasmic reticulum proteins with which the azidophenacyl-derivatized consensus signal peptide interacts to yield the 45,000-Mr adducts may act as receptors for signals in nascent secretory pre-proteins in transduction of changes in the endoplasmic reticulum which bring about translocation of secretory protein across the membrane.

Affinity Labels↗

PubMed1992

Reversible translocation of cytidylyltransferase between cytosol and endoplasmic reticulum occurs within minutes in whole cells.

Addition of oleic acid to Krebs II cells induced a rapid incorporation of [3H]choline into phosphatidylcholine, since 500 microM of the fatty acid stimulated choline incorporation by 5-fold over the control after 5 min of incubation. In fact, a noticeable increase in phosphatidylcholine labelling could be monitored immediately after 1 min of cell incubation with [3H]choline, at which time 50% of cytosolic cytidylyltransferase activity (EC 2.7.7.15), the regulatory enzyme of phosphatidylcholine synthesis, was translocated on to membranes. Non-esterified [3H]oleic acid content was also increased in the same range of time in the particulate fraction. Subcellular fractionation indicated that endoplasmic reticulum was the unique binding site for cytidylyltransferase even after 1 min of incubation. Also, [3H]oleic acid accumulated mainly in the same internal membrane. Addition of exogenous albumin to cells prelabelled with [3H]oleic acid induced the release of 50% of membrane-bound cytidylyltransferase activity within 1 min, together with a decrease in unesterified oleic acid in the same membrane. Although total depletion of oleic acid was obtained, total release of membrane-bound cytidylyltransferase was not. The remaining minor pool of membrane-bound cytidylyltransferase was not affected by cell incubation with dibutyryl cyclic AMP, suggesting that this pool was neither regulated by fatty acid nor modulated by cyclic-AMP-dependent protein phosphorylation. Addition of [3H]oleic acid directly to an homogenate led to a less specific accumulation of the fatty acid in the endoplasmic reticulum, but cytidylyltransferase remained exclusively associated with this membrane. We concluded that in vivo translocation of cytidylyltransferase provoked by oleic acid concerns one specific pool of the enzyme distinct from the enzyme firmly bound to endoplasmic reticulum, but other factor(s) than fatty acid seem to be required to explain the specificity of endoplasmic reticulum for cytidylyltransferase binding.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Quantification of apolipoprotein B-48 and B-100 in rat liver endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi fractions.

We have developed a method for measurement of apolipoprotein (apo) B-48 and apo B-100 in blood and subcellular fractions of rat liver based on SDS/PAGE followed by quantitative immunoblotting using 125I-Protein A. Standard curves were prepared in each assay using apo B prepared from total rat lipoproteins by extraction with tetramethylurea. Subcellular fractions (rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi fractions) were prepared from rat liver and separated into membrane and cisternal-content fractions. For quantification, membrane fractions were solubilized in Triton X-100, and the apo B was immunoprecipitated before separation by SDS/PAGE and immunoblotting. Content fractions were concentrated by ultrafiltration and separated by SDS/PAGE without immunoprecipitation. Quantification of apo B in subcellular fractions and detection of apo B by immunoblotting yielded consistent results. In all fractions apo B-48 was the major form, accounting for approximately three-quarters of the total apo B. By using marker enzymes as internal standards, it was calculated that all of the apo B was recovered in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi fractions, with approximately 80% of each form of apo B in the endoplasmic reticulum. More than 90% of the apo B of the rough- and smooth-endoplasmic-reticulum fractions was membrane-bound, whereas approx. 33 and 15% of the apo B of the cis-enriched Golgi fractions and trans-enriched Golgi fractions respectively were membrane-bound.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Ion channels in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of striated muscle.

This review provides a summary of current concepts about the structure and single-channel properties of ryanodine receptor calcium release channels and counter ion channels that facilitate Ca2+ release and reuptake by the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Some recent results, obtained with single ryanodine receptor ion channels incorporated into lipid bilayers from terminal cisternae vesicles of rabbit skeletal muscle and sheep ventricular myocardium, are described. The ryanodine receptor is the major Ca2+ release channel in skeletal and cardiac muscle and has been studied in far greater detail than other sarcoplasmic reticulum ion channel proteins. Several ryanodine receptor genes have been cloned and sequenced, and isoforms of the protein have been detected in muscle and in endoplasmic reticulum of brain and many other tissues from mammals, lower vertebrates, nematodes and drosophila. The proteins from all species are tetramers of a peptide with a molecular mass of approximately equal to 560 kDa, containing approximately equal to 5000 amino acids, with a similar maximum single-channel conductance of 500-800 row S for monovalent cations at 250mM. Results presented here include: Ca2+ activation and adaptation of activity in skeletal ryanodine receptors with rapid changes in [Ca2+] controlled by perfusion; activation by FK506 and regulation of cooperative gating of skeletal ryanodine receptor channel activity by FK506-binding proteins; activation and block of cardiac ryanodine receptors by addition of reactive disulphides and by bilayer voltage. Effects of phosphorylation, calmodulin, triadin, calsequestrin and interactions with the alpha 1 subunit of the dihydropyridine receptor on ryanodine receptor activity are summarized. Potassium and chloride channels in skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum, are described.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Association between the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria of yeast facilitates interorganelle transport of phospholipids through membrane contact.

Membrane association between mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is probably a prerequisite for phospholipid translocation between these two organelles. This association was visualized by fluorescence microscopy and computer-aided three-dimensional reconstruction of electron micrographs from serial ultrathin sections of yeast cells. A mitochondria-associated membrane (MAM), which is a subfraction of the endoplasmic reticulum, was isolated and re-associated with mitochondria in vitro. In the reconstituted system, phosphatidylserine synthesized in MAM was imported into mitochondria independently of cytosolic factors, bivalent cations, ATP, and ongoing synthesis of phosphatidylserine. Proteolysis of mitochondrial surface proteins by treatment with proteinase K reduced the capacity to import phosphatidylserine. Phosphatidylethanolamine formed in mitochondria by decarboxylation of phosphatidylserine is exported to the endoplasmic reticulum where part of it is converted into phosphatidylcholine. In contrast with previous observations with permeabilized yeast cells [Achleitner, G., Zweytick, D., Trotter, P., Voelker, D. & Daum, G. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 29836-29842], export of phosphatidylethanolamine from mitochondria to the endoplasmic reticulum was shown to be energy-independent in the reconstituted yeast system.

Biological Transport↗

PubMed2000

Effects of elevated cytoplasmic calcium and protein kinase C on endoplasmic reticulum structure and function in HEK293 cells.

In human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells stably transfected with green fluorescent protein targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), elevation of intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) altered ER morphology, making it appear punctate. Electron microscopy revealed that these punctate structures represented circular and branched rearrangements of the endoplasmic reticulum, but did not involve obvious swelling or pathological fragmentation. Activation of protein kinase C with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), prevented the effects of ionomycin on ER structure without affecting the elevation of [Ca2+]i. These results suggest that protein kinase C activation alters cytoplasmic or ER components underlying the effects of high [Ca2+]i on ER structure. Treatment of HEK cells with PMA also reduced the size of the thapsigargin-sensitive Ca2+ pool and inhibited Ca2+ entry in response to thapsigargin. Thus, protein kinase C activation has multiple actions on the calcium storage and signalling function of the endoplasmic reticulum in HEK cells: (1) reduced intracellular Ca2+ storage capacity, (2) inhibition of capacitative Ca2+ entry, and (3) protection of the endoplasmic reticulum against the effects of high [Ca2+]i.

Calcium↗

PubMed1998

Effects of boldine on mouse diaphragm and sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles isolated from skeletal muscle.

The effects of boldine [(S)-2,9-dihydroxy-1,10-dimethoxyaporphine], a major alkaloid in the leaves and bark of boldo (Peumus boldus Mol.), on skeletal muscle were studied using mouse diaphragm and isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane vesicles. Boldine, at 10-200 microM, has little effect on the muscle-evoked twitches; however, the ryanodine-induced contracture was potentiated dose-dependently. At higher concentrations of 300 microM, boldine by itself induced muscle contracture of two phases, which were caused by the influx of extracellular Ca2+ and induction of Ca2+ release from the internal Ca2+ storage site, the sarcoplasmic reticulum, respectively. When tested with isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane vesicles, boldine dose-dependently induced Ca2+ release from actively loaded sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles isolated from skeletal muscle of rabbit or rat which was inhibited by ruthenium red, suggesting that the release was through the Ca2+ release channel, also known as the ryanodine receptor. Boldine also dose-dependently increased apparent [3H]-ryanodine binding with the EC50 value of 50 microM. In conclusion, we have shown that boldine could sensitize the ryanodine receptor and induce Ca2+ release from the internal Ca2+ storage site of skeletal muscle.

Animals↗

PubMed1971

Hormone-controlled synthesis of endoplasmic reticulum in barley aleurone cells.

The rate of synthesis of the endoplasmic reticulum in barley aleurone cells after treatment with gibberellic acid was determined by measurement of [(14)C]-choline incorporation into acid-insoluble material in a semipurified fraction containing the endoplasmic reticulum. 94% of the (14)C incorporated into this fraction is extractable by lipid solvents and only 9% is removed by procedures for nucleic acid extraction. Gibberellic acid increases the rate of synthesis of the endoplasmic reticulum 4- to 8-fold, starting about 4 hr after addition of the hormone (at about the same time as polysome formation). Abscisic acid inhibits this gibberellic acid-enhanced increase in the rate of synthesis of endoplasmic reticulum.

Carbon Isotopes↗

PubMed1981

A proton gradient controls a calcium-release channel in sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles from mammalian skeletal muscle have previously been shown to develop a proton gradient (alkaline inside) of 0.15-0.5 pH units during active Ca2+ uptake. We found that dissipation of this gradient by the proton ionophores gramicidin, nigericin, and carbonyl cyanide p-trichloromethoxyphenylhydrazone caused a rapid transient tension in skinned rabbit psoas muscle fibers. Increases, but not decreases, in medium pH of approximately 0.2 units over the range from pH 6.5 to pH 7.5 also elicited transient tensions. In isolated vesicles, physiological levels of Ca2+ (3.3 microM), inhibited pH-induced Ca2+ release. Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide blocked pH- and ionophore-induced Ca2+ release under conditions in which it could bind to sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins but did not inhibit Ca2+ uptake. We propose that a proton gradient generated across sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes during Ca2+ uptake maintains a Ca2+ release channel in a closed conformation and that dissipation of this gradient permits the Ca2+ release channel to open. We further propose that elevated myoplasmic Ca2+ also causes the Ca2+ channel to close, permitting Ca2+ uptake through Ca2+/Mg2+-ATPase to function effectively. As the proteolipids of sarcoplasmic reticulum bind dicyclohexylcarbodiimide under conditions in which Ca2+ release is blocked and as they have previously been shown to have Ca2+ ionophoric activity, we propose that the Ca2+-release channel either resides in the proteolipids or is controlled by H+ fluxes through the proteolipids.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Thapsigargin, a tumor promoter, discharges intracellular Ca2+ stores by specific inhibition of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2(+)-ATPase.

Thapsigargin, a tumor-promoting sesquiterpene lactone, discharges intracellular Ca2+ in rat hepatocytes, as it does in many vertebrate cell types. It appears to act intracellularly, as incubation of isolated rat liver microsomes with thapsigargin induces a rapid, dose-dependent release of stored Ca2+. The thapsigargin-releasable pool of microsomal Ca2+ includes the pools sensitive to inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and GTP. Thapsigargin pretreatment of microsomes blocks subsequent loading with 45Ca2+, suggesting that its target is the ATP-dependent Ca2+ pump of endoplasmic reticulum. This hypothesis is strongly supported by the demonstration that thapsigargin causes a rapid inhibition of the Ca2(+)-activated ATPase activity of rat liver microsomes, with an identical dose dependence to that seen in whole cell or isolated microsome Ca2+ discharge. The inhibition of the endoplasmic reticulum isoform of the Ca2(+)-ATPase is highly selective, as thapsigargin has little or no effect on the Ca2(+)-ATPases of hepatocyte or erythrocyte plasma membrane or of cardiac or skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum. These results suggest that thapsigargin increases the concentration of cytosolic free Ca2+ in sensitive cells by an acute and highly specific arrest of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump, followed by a rapid Ca2+ leak from at least two pharmacologically distinct Ca2+ stores. The implications of this mechanism of action for the application of thapsigargin in the analysis of Ca2+ homeostasis and possible forms of Ca2+ control are discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Distinct processes mediate glycoprotein and glycopeptide export from the endoplasmic reticulum in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Protein and peptide export from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae endoplasmic reticulum was examined in vitro using the secretory protein pro-alpha-factor and a synthetic tripeptide containing the acceptor site for N-linked glycosylation as substrates. The release of both glycosylated pro-alpha-factor and glycotripeptide from the endoplasmic reticulum was dependent on cytosol, temperature, and ATP. Antibodies against two proteins essential for the formation of transport vesicles, Sec23p and p105, inhibited glyco-pro-alpha-factor exit from the endoplasmic reticulum but did not affect the release of the glycosylated tripeptide. Furthermore, in contrast to pro-alpha-factor, the exported glycopeptide was not associated with a membrane fraction and did not acquire Golgi-specific alpha(1-6)-linked mannose residues. We conclude that the glycosylated tripeptide leaves the yeast endoplasmic reticulum by a route different from the secretory pathway, possibly through an ATP-driven pump.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1994

Continuous network of endoplasmic reticulum in cerebellar Purkinje neurons.

Purkinje neurons in rat cerebellar slices injected with an oil drop saturated with 1,1'-dihexadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate [DiIC16(3) or DiI] to label the endoplasmic reticulum were observed by confocal microscopy. DiI spread throughout the cell body and dendrites and into the axon. DiI spreading is due to diffusion in a continuous bilayer and is not due to membrane trafficking because it also spreads in fixed neurons. DiI stained such features of the endoplasmic reticulum as densities at branch points, reticular networks in the cell body and dendrites, nuclear envelope, spines, and aggregates formed during anoxia nuclear envelope, spines, and aggregates formed during anoxia in low extracellular Ca2+. In cultured rat hippocampal neurons, where optical conditions provide more detail, DiI labeled a clearly delineated network of endoplasmic reticulum in the cell body. We conclude that there is a continuous compartment of endoplasmic reticulum extending from the cell body throughout the dendrites. This compartment may coordinate and integrate neuronal functions.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

ECA1 complements yeast mutants defective in Ca2+ pumps and encodes an endoplasmic reticulum-type Ca2+-ATPase in Arabidopsis thaliana.

To understand the structure, role, and regulation of individual Ca2+ pumps in plants, we have used yeast as a heterologous expression system to test the function of a gene from Arabidopsis thaliana (ECA1). ECA1 encoded a 116-kDa polypeptide that has all the conserved domains common to P-type Ca2+ pumps (EC 3.6.1.38). The amino acid sequence shared more identity with sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum (53%) than with plasma membrane (32%) Ca2+ pumps. Yeast mutants defective in a Golgi Ca2+ pump (pmr1) or both Golgi and vacuolar Ca2+ pumps (pmr1 pmc1 cnb1) were sensitive to growth on medium containing 10 mM EGTA or 3 mM Mn2+. Expression of ECA1 restored growth of either mutant on EGTA. Membranes were isolated from the pmr1 pmc1 cnb1 mutant transformed with ECA1 to determine if the ECA1 polypeptide (ECA1p) could be phosphorylated as intermediates of the reaction cycle of Ca2+-pumping ATPases. In the presence of [gamma-32P]ATP, ECA1p formed a Ca2+-dependent [32P]phosphoprotein of 106 kDa that was sensitive to hydroxylamine. Cyclopiazonic acid, a blocker of animal sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pumps, inhibited the formation of the phosphoprotein, whereas thapsigargin did not. Immunoblotting with an antibody against the carboxyl tail showed that ECA1p was associated mainly with the endoplasmic reticulum membranes isolated from Arabidopsis plants. The results support the model that ECA1 encodes an endoplasmic reticulum-type Ca2+ pump in Arabidopsis. The ability of ECA1p to restore growth of mutant pmr1 on medium containing Mn2+, and the formation of a Mn2+-dependent phosphoprotein suggested that ECA1p may also regulate Mn2+ homeostasis by pumping Mn2+ into endomembrane compartments of plants.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1998

Noninvasive measurement of the pH of the endoplasmic reticulum at rest and during calcium release.

The pH within individual organelles of the secretory pathway is believed to be an important determinant of their biosynthetic activity. However, little is known about the determinants and regulation of the pH in the secretory organelles, which cannot be readily accessed by [H+]-sensitive probes. We devised a procedure for the dynamic, noninvasive measurement of pH in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum in intact mammalian cells. A recombinant form of the B subunit of Shiga toxin, previously modified to include a carboxyl-terminal KDEL sequence and a pH-sensitive fluorophore, was used for a two-stage delivery strategy. Retrograde traffic of endogenous lipids was harnessed to target this protein to the Golgi complex, followed by retrieval to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by KDEL receptors. Immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy were used to verify the subcellular localization of the modified B fragment. Fluorescence ratio imaging and two independent calibration procedures were applied to determine the pH of the ER in situ. We found that the pH of the endoplasmic reticulum is near neutral and is unaffected during agonist-induced release of calcium. The ER was found to be highly permeable to H+ (equivalents), so that the prevailing [H+] is susceptible to alterations in the cytosolic pH. Plasmalemmal acid-base transporters were shown to indirectly regulate the endoplasmic reticulum pH.

Bacterial Toxins↗

PubMed1996

Ultrafast glycerophospholipid-selective transbilayer motion mediated by a protein in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane.

A relatively rapid transbilayer motion of phospholipids in the microsomal membrane seems to be required due to their asymmetric synthesis in the cytoplasmic leaflet. Marked discrepancies exist with regard to the rate and specificity of this flip-flop process. To reinvestigate this problem, we have used both spin-labeled and radioactively labeled long chain phospholipids with a new fast translocation assay. Identical results were obtained with both types of probes. Transbilayer motion of glycerophospholipids was found to be much more rapid than previously reported (half-time less than 25 s) and to occur identically for phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidylethanolamine. Such transport is nonvectorial and leads to a symmetric transbilayer distribution of phospholipids. In contrast, transverse diffusion of sphingomyelin was 1 order of magnitude slower. Phospholipid flip-flop appears to occur by a protein-mediated transport process displaying saturable and competitive behavior. Proteolysis, chemical modification, and competition experiments suggest that this transport process may be related to that previously described in the endoplasmic reticulum for short-chain phosphatidylcholine (Bishop, W. R., and Bell, R. M. (1985) Cell 42, 51-60). The relationship between phospholipid flip-flop and nonbilayer structures occurring in the endoplasmic reticulum was also investigated by 31P-NMR. Several conditions were found under which the 31P isotropic NMR signal previously attributed to nonbilayer structures is decreased or abolished, whereas transbilayer diffusion is unaffected, suggesting that the flip-flop process is independent of such structures. It is concluded that flip-flop in the endoplasmic reticulum is mediated by a bidirectional protein transporter with a high efficiency for glycerophospholipids and a low efficiency for sphingomyelin. In vivo, the activity of this transporter would be able to redistribute all changes in phospholipid composition due to biosynthetic processes between the two leaflets of the endoplasmic reticulum membranes within a time scale of seconds.

Animals↗