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S H Low

Publications and source records attributed to S H Low.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Identification of discrete classes of endosome-derived small vesicles as a major cellular pool for recycling membrane proteins.

Vesicles carrying recycling plasma membrane proteins from early endosomes have not yet been characterized. Using Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with the facilitative glucose transporter, GLUT4, we identified two classes of discrete, yet similarly sized, small vesicles that are derived from early endosomes. We refer to these postendosomal vesicles as endocytic small vesicles or ESVs. One class of ESVs contains a sizable fraction of the pool of the transferrin receptor, and the other contains 40% of the total cellular pool of GLUT4 and is enriched in the insulin-responsive aminopeptidase (IRAP). The ESVs contain cellubrevin and Rab4 but are lacking other early endosomal markers, such as EEA1 or syntaxin13. The ATP-, temperature-, and cytosol-dependent formation of ESVs has been reconstituted in vitro from endosomal membranes. Guanosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate and neomycin, but not brefeldin A, inhibit budding of the ESVs in vitro. A monoclonal antibody recognizing the GLUT4 cytoplasmic tail perturbs the in vitro targeting of GLUT4 to the ESVs without interfering with the incorporation of IRAP or TfR. We suggest that cytosolic proteins mediate the incorporation of recycling membrane proteins into discrete populations of ESVs that serve as carrier vesicles to store and then transport the cargo from early endosomes, either directly or indirectly, to the cell surface.

Aminopeptidases↗
PubMed2001

Singapore Chinese Health Study: development, validation, and calibration of the quantitative food frequency questionnaire.

This report describes the development and validation/calibration of a structured food frequency questionnaire for use in a large-scale cohort study of diet and health in Chinese men and women aged 45-74 years in Singapore, the development of a food composition database for analysis of the dietary data, and the results of the dietary validation/calibration study. The present calibration study comparing estimated intakes from 24-hour recalls with those from the food frequency questionnaires revealed correlations of 0.24-0.79 for energy and nutrients among the Singapore Chinese, which are comparable to the correlation coefficients reported in calibration studies of other populations. We also report on the nutritional profiles of Singapore Chinese on the basis of results of 1,880 24-hour dietary recalls conducted on 1,022 (425 men and 597 women) cohort subjects. Comparisons with age-adjusted corresponding values for US whites and blacks show distinct differences in dietary intakes between the Singapore and US populations. The Singapore cohort will be followed prospectively to identify dietary associations with cancer risk and other health outcomes.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Intracellular redirection of plasma membrane trafficking after loss of epithelial cell polarity.

In polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney epithelial cells, components of the plasma membrane fusion machinery, the t-SNAREs syntaxin 2, 3, and 4 and SNAP-23, are differentially localized at the apical and/or basolateral plasma membrane domains. Here we identify syntaxin 11 as a novel apical and basolateral plasma membrane t-SNARE. Surprisingly, all of these t-SNAREs redistribute to intracellular locations when Madin-Darby canine kidney cells lose their cellular polarity. Apical SNAREs relocalize to the previously characterized vacuolar apical compartment, whereas basolateral SNAREs redistribute to a novel organelle that appears to be the basolateral equivalent of the vacuolar apical compartment. Both intracellular plasma membrane compartments have an associated prominent actin cytoskeleton and receive membrane traffic from cognate apical or basolateral pathways, respectively. These findings demonstrate a fundamental shift in plasma membrane traffic toward intracellular compartments while protein sorting is preserved when epithelial cells lose their cell polarity.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Isoflavone levels in soy foods consumed by multiethnic populations in Singapore and Hawaii.

Concentrations and glucosidic conjugation patterns of isoflavones were determined in soy foods consumed by multiethnic populations in Singapore and Hawaii. Six raw and 11 cooked food groups traditionally consumed in Singapore and 8 food groups consumed in Hawaii were analyzed by reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography with diode array detection. Mean total isoflavone levels varied between 35 and 7500 ppm, with the lowest values found in soy milk and burgers and the highest levels observed in soybean and its seeds and in supplements. Total isoflavone levels and conjugation patterns varied as a function of soybean variety, storage conditions, and food processing. A large contribution to the differences in total isoflavone content between food groups was due to the water content in foods and to leaching of polar analytes into the water phase during boiling. Soy protein drinks and traditional soy foods were found to possess very similar isoflavone amounts considering usual serving sizes.

Beverages↗
PubMed1998

The SNARE machinery is involved in apical plasma membrane trafficking in MDCK cells.

We have investigated the controversial involvement of components of the SNARE (soluble N-ethyl maleimide-sensitive factor [NSF] attachment protein [SNAP] receptor) machinery in membrane traffic to the apical plasma membrane of polarized epithelial (MDCK) cells. Overexpression of syntaxin 3, but not of syntaxins 2 or 4, caused an inhibition of TGN to apical transport and apical recycling, and leads to an accumulation of small vesicles underneath the apical plasma membrane. All other tested transport steps were unaffected by syntaxin 3 overexpression. Botulinum neurotoxin E, which cleaves SNAP-23, and antibodies against alpha-SNAP inhibit both TGN to apical and basolateral transport in a reconstituted in vitro system. In contrast, we find no evidence for an involvement of N-ethyl maleimide-sensitive factor in TGN to apical transport, whereas basolateral transport is NSF-dependent. We conclude that syntaxin 3, SNAP-23, and alpha-SNAP are involved in apical membrane fusion. These results demonstrate that vesicle fusion with the apical plasma membrane does not use a mechanism that is entirely unrelated to other cellular membrane fusion events, but uses isoforms of components of the SNARE machinery, which suggests that they play a role in providing specificity to polarized membrane traffic.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Targeting of SNAP-23 and SNAP-25 in polarized epithelial cells.

SNAP-23 is the ubiquitously expressed homologue of the neuronal SNAP-25, which functions in synaptic vesicle fusion. We have investigated the subcellular localization of SNAP-23 in polarized epithelial cells. In hepatocyte-derived HepG2 cells and in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, the majority of SNAP-23 was present at both the basolateral and apical plasma membrane domains with little intracellular localization. This suggests that SNAP-23 does not function in intracellular fusion events but rather as a general plasma membrane t-SNARE. Canine SNAP-23 is efficiently cleaved by the botulinum neurotoxin E, suggesting that it is the toxin-sensitive factor previously found to be involved in plasma membrane fusion in MDCK cells. The localization of SNAP-25 in transfected MDCK cells was studied for comparison and was found to be identical to SNAP-23 with the exception that SNAP-25 was transported to the primary cilia protruding from the apical plasma membrane, which suggests that subtle differences in the targeting signals of both proteins exist. In contrast to its behavior in neurons, the distribution of SNAP-25 in MDCK cells remained unaltered by treatment with dibutyryl cAMP or forskolin, which, however, caused an increased growth of the primary cilia. Finally, we found that SNAP-23/25 and syntaxin 1A, when co-expressed in MDCK cells, do not stably interact with each other but are independently targeted to the plasma membrane and lysosomes, respectively.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

A conserved domain is present in different families of vesicular fusion proteins: a new superfamily.

We have analyzed conserved domains in t-SNAREs [soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF) attachment protein (SNAP) receptors in the target membrane], proteins that are believed to be involved in the fusion of transport vesicles with their target membrane. By using a sensitive computer method, the generalized profile method, we were able to identify a new homology domain that is common in the two protein families previously identified to act as t-SNAREs, the syntaxin and SNAP-25 (synaptosome-associated protein of 25 kDa) families, which therefore constitute a new superfamily. This homology domain of approximately 60 amino acids is predicted to form a coiled-coil structure. The significance of this homology domain could be demonstrated by a partial suppression of the coiled-coil properties of the domain profile. In proteins belonging to the syntaxin family, a single homology domain is located near the transmembrane domain, whereas the members of the SNAP-25 family possess two homology domains. This domain was also identified in several proteins that have been implicated in vesicular transport but do not belong to any of the t-SNARE protein families. Several new yeast, nematode, and mammalian proteins were identified that belong to the new superfamily. The evolutionary conservation of the SNARE coiled-coil homology domain suggests that this domain has a similar function in different membrane fusion proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

The mammalian homolog of yeast Sec13p is enriched in the intermediate compartment and is essential for protein transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus.

The role of COPII components in endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi transport, first identified in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has yet to be fully characterized in higher eukaryotes. A human cDNA whose predicted amino acid sequence showed 70% similarity to the yeast Sec13p has previously been cloned. Antibodies raised against the human SEC13 protein (mSEC13) recognized a cellular protein of 35 kDa in both the soluble and membrane fractions. Like the yeast Sec13p, mSEC13 exist in the cytosol in both monomeric and higher-molecular-weight forms. Immunofluorescence microscopy localized mSEC13 to the characteristic spotty ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC) in cells of all species examined, where it colocalized well with the KDEL receptor, an ERGIC marker, at 15 degrees C. Immunoelectron microscopy also localized mSEC13 to membrane structures close to the Golgi apparatus. mSEC13 is essential for ER-to-Golgi transport, since both the His6-tagged mSEC13 recombinant protein and the affinity-purified mSEC13 antibody inhibited the transport of restrictive temperature-arrested vesicular stomatitis virus G protein from the ER to the Golgi apparatus in a semi-intact cell assay. Moreover, cytosol immunodepleted of mSEC13 could no longer support ER-Golgi transport. Transport could be restored in a dose-dependent manner by a cytosol fraction enriched in the high-molecular-weight mSEC13 complex but not by a fraction enriched in either monomeric mSEC13 or recombinant mSEC13. As a putative component of the mammalian COPII complex, mSEC13 showed partially overlapping but mostly different properties in terms of localization, membrane recruitment, and dynamics compared to that of beta-COP, a component of the COPI complex.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Endoplasmic reticulum retention mediated by the transmembrane domain of type II membrane proteins Sec12p and glucosidase 1.

The yeast Sec12p, a type II protein localized to the yeast endoplasmic reticulum (ER), is similarly localized to the ER when expressed in mammalian cells. Replacing the transmembrane domain of the plasma membrane molecule dipeptidyl peptidase IV (D4) with that of Sec12p or the ER-localized enzyme glucosidase 1 resulted in the ER retention of the chimeric molecules, as assessed by immunocytochemical localization and the persistence of pulse-labeled proteins in the endoglycosidase H-sensitive form. Retention is not due to gross misfolding as these chimeras remained enzymatically active. Density gradient analysis revealed that the ER-localized chimeric molecules form high molecular weight oligomers quickly after synthesis. The type II transmembrane domain of ER proteins could therefore mediate retention in the ER.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Differential localization of syntaxin isoforms in polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney cells.

Syntaxins, integral membrane proteins that are part of the ubiquitous membrane fusion machinery, are thought to act as target membrane receptors during the process of vesicle docking and fusion. Several isoforms of the syntaxin family have been previously identified in mammalian cells, some of which are localized to the plasma membrane. We investigated the subcellular localization of these putative plasma membrane syntaxins in polarized epithelial cells, which are characterized by the presence of distinct apical and basolateral plasma membrane domains. Syntaxins 2, 3, and 4 were found to be endogenously present in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. The localization of syntaxins 1A, 1B, 2, 3, and 4 in stably transfected Madin-Darby canine kidney cell lines was studied with confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. Each syntaxin isoform was found to have a unique pattern of localization. Syntaxins 1A and 1B were present only in intracellular structures, with little or no apparent plasma membrane staining. In contrast, syntaxin 2 was found on both the apical and basolateral surface, whereas the plasma membrane localization of syntaxins 3 and 4 were restricted to the apical or basolateral domains, respectively. Syntaxins are therefore the first known components of the plasma membrane fusion machinery that are differentially localized in polarized cells, suggesting that they may play a central role in targeting specificity.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Retardation of a surface protein chimera at the cis Golgi.

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (D4) and the alpha subunit of human chorionic gonadotrophin (alpha hcg) are plasma membrane and secretory proteins, respectively. In the course of studies to understand mechanisms involved in transport along the exocytotic pathway, the ectoplasmic domain of D4 was replaced by the mature polypeptide of alpha hcg, resulting in the membrane anchored chimera, D4 alpha hcg. Surprisingly, when transfected into Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) and Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, strong perinuclear Golgi staining was predominant, in addition to the expected surface staining. By following the biogenesis and transport of the molecule, it was established that newly synthesized D4 alpha hdg is eventually transported to the cell surface but only after a significant retardation in the Golgi apparatus. The compartment of retardation was identified as the early or cis Golgi, before the medial Golgi, where resistance to endoglycosidase (endo) H is conferred. As a result of the transport retardation of the chimera, we were able to document the appearance of an endo D sensitive intermediate, which is usually too transient to be apparent in normal cells. The retardation of this chimera in the cis Golgi complements our previous report in which the D4 molecule with its transmembrane domain replaced by that of aminopeptidase N resulted in retardation in the trans Golgi/trans Golgi network in MDCK and CHO cells [Low, S. H., Tang, B. L., Wong, S. H., & Hong, W. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 1985-1994).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Cell type differences in Golgi retention signals for transmembrane proteins.

The transmembrane domain of Golgi resident proteins such as beta-galactoside alpha 2,6-sialyltransferase (ST) and N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase 1 (NT) contain a Golgi retention signal which confers Golgi retention to reporter proteins appended to them in the appropriate context. Thus, chimeras of the cell surface protein dipeptidyl peptidase IV containing the transmembrane domain of ST and NT are retained in the Golgi apparatus in MDCK and COS cells, as assessed by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. Transfection of these chimeric constructs into CHO cells, however, results in their transport to vesicular structures which do not colocalize with that of an endogenous Golgi marker, mannosidase II. Furthermore, the staining pattern of these structures are not affected by brefeldin A. Biochemical analysis of the transgene products in pulse-chase experiments revealed that the chimeric proteins eventually become resistant to endoglycosidase H, suggesting that they are transported beyond the medial Golgi and therefore the vesicular structures are likely to be post-Golgi. The vesicular structures colocalized well with a lysosomal marker, cathepsin D, and also with internalized FITC-dextran chased into the lysosomal compartment. Monitoring the cell surface appearance of the chimeric protein suggests that the majority is transported directly to the lysosomal compartment. Golgi retention can be completely restored for ST and improved for NT by the inclusion of sequences flanking the transmembrane domain. Our results reflect cell type differences in the interpretation of the transmembrane domain Golgi retention signal, established that general Golgi retention of type II glycosyltransferases requires the hydrophilic flanking sequence as well as the transmembrane domain, and demonstrate that proteins which escape Golgi retention may be channeled to the lysosomal pathway.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Segregation of ERGIC53 and the mammalian KDEL receptor upon exit from the 15 degrees C compartment.

Protein trafficking along the exocytotic pathway occurs by vesicular transport between successive membranous compartments. Transport from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi apparatus has been proposed to be bridged by a morphologically defined ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC). Using the subcellular dynamics of two markers for the ERGIC, the 53 kDa protein ERGIC53 and the mammalian KDEL receptor (KDEL-R), we have investigated the biochemical and physiological characteristics of ER-Golgi anterograde and retrograde transport. The KDEL-R at steady state is mainly confined to the perinuclear Golgi region while the ERGIC53 has a more elaborate distribution, including the ER. Both proteins can be colocalized to spotty structures distributed throughout the cytoplasm by incubating the cells at 15 degrees C. Upon returning the cells to 37 degrees C, the direction of transport for the two proteins diverged. KDEL-R was seen to emanate into tubular structures which eventually culminated in a focused, perinuclear staining. These dynamic changes are consistent with the anterograde transport process from the ER to the Golgi apparatus. ERGIC53, on the other hand, was distributed into an extended reticular network as well as the nuclear envelope, a staining pattern characteristic of the ER. With time, ERGIC53 was seen to return to the spotty structures again. The ER retrieval of ERGIC53 is consistent with the fact that the protein contains a dilysine motif which may function as an ER retrieval signal. The movement of ERGIC53 into the ER is not affected by microtubule disrupting agents, which inhibit the movement of KDEL-R to the Golgi. Both the processes are, however, sensitive to the alkylating agent N-ethylmaleimide. When reconstituted in vitro using digitonin permeabilized cells, the movement of ERGIC53 into the ER has a requirement for metabolic energy, is partially inhibited by the nonhydrolyzable guanine nucleotide analog GTP gamma S but could not be made to be cytosol dependent. These results documented the convergence of anterograde transport and retrograde transport at the 15 degrees C compartment and implied the existence of a segregation or a sorting process that would result in the segregation of proteins with different targeting signals in the structure.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Golgi retardation in Madin-Darby canine kidney and Chinese hamster ovary cells of a transmembrane chimera of two surface proteins.

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DDD) is a type II plasma membrane protein. Replacement of its transmembrane domain with that of another surface protein, aminopeptidase N, resulted in accumulation in the Golgi apparatus of Madin-Darby canine kidney cells and a delayed Golgi to surface transport in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The compartment of retardation was identified as post medial-Golgi, most likely to be the trans-Golgi/trans Golgi network (TGN). Compared to native DDD, the rate of endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi transport for the chimera was largely unchanged in both cell types. On the other hand, Golgi to surface transport was delayed by more than 2 h in CHO cells and essentially undetectable up to 22 h of chase in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. The decrease in the rate of Golgi to surface transport in CHO cells resulted in a significant accumulation of the fusion protein in the trans-Golgi/TGN. This phenomena is very unlikely to be due to any drastic conformational changes, as neither the enzyme activity nor the dimerization of the constructed molecule was affected. The findings of this study indicate that the transmembrane domain, in the context of its flanking sequences, is important for efficient Golgi to cell surface transport.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Cytosolic factors block antibody binding to the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail of the KDEL receptor.

The mammalian KDEL receptor is an extremely hydrophobic membrane protein. One of the longest stretches of hydrophilic sequence resides at the C-terminus. Various antibodies against a synthetic peptide corresponding to this region confirmed that the C-terminus is exposed to the cytoplasm. It was observed that antibody binding to the C-terminus of the KDEL receptor was diminished during immunofluorescence microscopy procedures which involved fixation prior to permeabilization as compared to when cells were permeabilized before fixation. Binding of both polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, as assessed by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy in digitonin permeabilized cells, was inhibited by preincubation with rat liver cytosol. This inhibition was not observed with antibody against another membrane protein (p28) with a cytoplasmically exposed epitope also residing in the Golgi/intermediate compartment. Rabbit reticulocyte lysate had a similar effect while Schizosaccharomyces pombe cytosol inhibited binding to a greater degree than Saccharomyces cerevisiae cytosol. This inhibition by cytosol was prevented by coincubation with the antibody and was dose-dependent on the cytosol. Inhibition did not occur on ice or at 15 degrees C, or when the cytosol was energy-depleted by apyrase treatment. Interestingly, pretreatment of permeabilized cells with N-ethylmaleimide or its addition into the incubation mixture abolished inhibition. N-ethylmaleimide-treated cytosol, however, remained inhibitory. The findings suggest the existence of cytosolic factor (s) which interacts specifically with the cytoplasmic C-terminus of the KDEL receptor, which are likely to be components of the KDEL protein retrieval machinery.

Animals↗