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tGolgin-1 (p230, golgin-245) modulates Shiga-toxin transport to the Golgi and Golgi motility towards the microtubule-organizing centre.

tGolgin-1 (trans-Golgi p230, golgin-245) is a member of a family of large peripheral membrane proteins that associate with the trans-Golgi network (TGN) via a C-terminal GRIP domain. Some GRIP-domain proteins have been implicated in endosome-to-TGN transport but no function for tGolgin-1 has been described. Here, we show that tGolgin-1 production is required for efficient retrograde distribution of Shiga toxin from endosomes to the Golgi. Surprisingly, we also found an indirect requirement for tGolgin-1 in Golgi positioning. In HeLa cells depleted of tGolgin-1, the normally centralized Golgi and TGN membranes were displaced to the periphery, forming 'mini stacks'. These stacks resembled those in cells with disrupted microtubules or dynein-dynactin motor, in that they localized to endoplasmic-reticulum exit sites, maintained their secretory capacity and cis-trans polarity, and were relatively immobile by video microscopy. The mini stacks formed concomitant with a failure of pre-Golgi elements to migrate along microtubules towards the microtubule-organizing centre. The requirement for tGolgin-1 in Golgi positioning did not appear to reflect direct binding of tGolgin-1 to motile pre-Golgi membranes, because distinct Golgi and tGolgin-1-containing TGN elements that formed after recovery of HeLa cells from brefeldin-A treatment moved independently toward the microtubule-organizing centre. These data demonstrate that tGolgin-1 functions in Golgi positioning indirectly, probably by regulating retrograde movement of cargo required for recruitment or activation of dynein-dynactin complexes on newly formed Golgi elements.

Autoantigens↗

Interdependence of filamentous actin and microtubules for asymmetric cell division.

Asymmetric cell divisions are crucial to the generation of cell fate diversity. They contribute to unequal distribution of cellular factors to the daughter cells. Asymmetric divisions are characterized by a 90 degrees rotation of the mitotic spindle. There is increasing evidence that a tight cooperation between cortical, filamentous actin and astral microtubules is indispensable for successful spindle rotation. Over the past years, the dynactin complex has emerged as a key candidate to mediate actin/microtubule interaction at the cortex. This review discusses our current understanding of how spindle rotation is accomplished by the interplay of filamentous actin and microtubules in a variety of experimental systems.

Actins↗

Colocalization of dynactin subunits P150Glued and P50 with melanosomes in normal human melanocytes.

Melanocytic dendrites consist of a central core of microtubules (MT) and a subcortical actin network. In previous reports we showed the presence of MT-associated motor proteins kinesin and cytoplasmic dynein on the melanosomal surface, forming a link with MT (Vancoillie et al. J Invest Dermatol 2000;114:421-429; Vancoillie et al. Br J Dermatol 2000;143:258-306). We could also demonstrate the association of kinectin, the kinesin receptor, with melanosomes. The interaction of cytoplasmic dynein with its cargoes is thought to be indirectly mediated by dynactin, a complex that binds to the dynein intermediate chain. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the in vitro expression of dynactin subunits P150Glued and P50 in normal human epidermal melanocytes, keratinocytes, and dermal fibroblasts by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and northern blot analysis. In an attempt to gain an insight into the subcellular localization of dynactin, immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy (IEM) studies were performed. The two isoforms of P150Glued and P50 are expressed in all studied skin cells. Immunofluorescence staining shows punctate distributions for P150Glued and P50 in melanocytes. P150Glued shows a clear centrosomal staining and accentuation in the dendrite tips. P50 is also accentuated in the perinuclear area and dendrite tips. Immunofluorescence double-labeling with a melanosome marker showed apparent colocalization of both P150Glued and P50 with melanosomes. By IEM, P50 is detected on the surface of the majority of melanosomes in melanocytes. The colocalization of different subunits of the dynactin complex with melanosomes is consistent with the earlier finding of cytoplasmic dynein association with melanosomes and supports the hypothesis that this complex could form a link between cytoplasmic dynein and the melanosomal membrane.

Blotting, Northern↗

Functional analysis of dynactin and cytoplasmic dynein in slow axonal transport.

The neuron moves protein and membrane from the cell body to the synapse and back via fast and slow axonal transport. Little is known about the mechanism of microtubule movement in slow axonal transport, although cytoplasmic dynein, the motor for retrograde fast axonal transport of membranous organelles, has been proposed to also slide microtubules down the axon. We previously showed that most of the cytoplasmic dynein moving in the anterograde direction in the axon is associated with the microfilaments and other proteins of the slow component b (SCb) transport complex. The dynactin complex binds dynein, and it has been suggested that dynactin also associates with microfilaments. We therefore examined the role of dynein and dynactin in slow axonal transport. We find that most of the dynactin is also transported in SCb, including dynactin, which contains the neuron-specific splice variant p135(Glued), which binds dynein but not microtubules. Furthermore, SCb dynein binds dynactin in vitro. SCb dynein, like dynein from brain, binds microtubules in an ATP-sensitive manner, whereas brain dynactin binds microtubules in a salt-dependent manner. Dynactin from SCb does not bind microtubules, indicating that the binding of dynactin to microtubules is regulated and suggesting that the role of SCb dynactin is to bind dynein, not microtubules. These data support a model in which dynactin links the cytoplasmic dynein to the SCb transport complex. Dynein then may interact transiently with microtubules to slide them down the axon at the slower rate of SCa.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗

Molecular characterization of the 50-kD subunit of dynactin reveals function for the complex in chromosome alignment and spindle organization during mitosis.

Dynactin is a multi-subunit complex which has been implicated in cytoplasmic dynein function, though its mechanism of action is unknown. In this study, we have characterized the 50-kD subunit of dynactin, and analyzed the effects of its overexpression on mitosis in living cells. Rat and human cDNA clones revealed p50 to be novel and highly conserved, containing three predicted coiled-coil domains. Immunofluorescence staining of dynactin and cytoplasmic dynein components in cultured vertebrate cells showed that both complexes are recruited to kinetochores during prometaphase, and concentrate near spindle poles thereafter. Overexpression of p50 in COS-7 cells disrupted mitosis, causing cells to accumulate in a prometaphase-like state. Chromosomes were condensed but unaligned, and spindles, while still bipolar, were dramatically distorted. Sedimentation analysis revealed the dynactin complex to be dissociated in the transfected cultures. Furthermore, both dynactin and cytoplasmic dynein staining at prometaphase kinetochores was markedly diminished in cells expressing high levels of p50. These findings represent clear evidence for dynactin and cytoplasmic dynein codistribution within cells, and for the presence of dynactin at kinetochores. The data also provide direct in vivo evidence for a role for vertebrate dynactin in modulating cytoplasmic dynein binding to an organelle, and implicate both dynactin and dynein in chromosome alignment and spindle organization.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Phosphorylation of Nlp by Plk1 negatively regulates its dynein-dynactin-dependent targeting to the centrosome.

When cells enter mitosis the microtubule (MT) network undergoes a profound rearrangement, in part due to alterations in the MT nucleating and anchoring properties of the centrosome. Ninein and the ninein-like protein (Nlp) are centrosomal proteins involved in MT organisation in interphase cells. We show that the overexpression of these two proteins induces the fragmentation of the Golgi, and causes lysosomes to disperse toward the cell periphery. The ability of Nlp and ninein to perturb the cytoplasmic distribution of these organelles depends on their ability to interact with the dynein-dynactin motor complex. Our data also indicate that dynactin is required for the targeting of Nlp and ninein to the centrosome. Furthermore, phosphorylation of Nlp by the polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) negatively regulates its association with dynactin. These findings uncover a mechanism through which Plk1 helps to coordinate changes in MT organisation with cell cycle progression, by controlling the dynein-dynactin-dependent transport of centrosomal proteins.

Cell Cycle Proteins↗

A splice variant of RILP induces lysosomal clustering independent of dynein recruitment.

The small GTPase Rab7 controls fusion and transport of late endocytic compartments. A critical mediator is the Rab7 effector RILP that recruits the minus-end dynein-dynactin motor complex to these compartments. We identified a natural occurring splice variant of RILP (RILPsv) lacking only 27 amino acids encoded by exon VII. Both variants bind Rab7, prolong its GTP-bound state, and induce clustering of late endocytic compartments. However, RILPsv does not recruit the dynein-dynactin complex, implicating exon VII in motor recruitment. Clustering might still occur via dimerization, since both RILP and RILPsv are able to form hetero- and homo-dimers. Moreover, both effectors compete for Rab7 binding but with different outcome for dynein-dynactin recruitment and transport. Hence, RILPsv provides an extra dimension to the control of vesicle fusion and transport by the small GTPase Rab7.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

Dynein and dynactin are localized to astral microtubules and at cortical sites in mitotic epithelial cells.

The mitotic spindle is often positioned in a characteristic location during development, for example to enable the proper segregation of developmental determinants [1,2]. When epithelial cells divide, the mitotic spindle is often positioned parallel to the plane of the epithelium, so that both daughter cells contribute to the epithelium [3]. The mechanisms by which mitotic spindles are positioned have not been characterized in great detail, but evidence is accumulating that in some systems the dynein-dynactin microtubule motor complex plays a role [4-6]. Dynein has yet not been localized to cortical sites where it could bind to microtubules and exert a force that might orient the mitotic spindle, however [7,8]. Here, we report that in mitotic polarized epithelial cells, the dynein-dynactin complex accumulates, from prometaphase onwards, along astral microtubules and at cortical spots, into which many of the astral microtubules dock. The spots are assembled at the lateral plasma membrane, in the region below the tight junctions. Their formation is inhibited by cytochalasin D, and under these conditions the spindles do not orient properly. This novel localization of the dynein-dynactin complex is consistent with a role for the complex in the positioning of the mitotic spindle. We also show that, during prophase, the motor complex colocalizes with the nuclear envelope, consistent with it having a role in separating the centrosomes that are associated with the nuclear envelope.

Animals↗

Asymmetric cell divisions promote stratification and differentiation of mammalian skin.

The epidermis is a stratified squamous epithelium forming the barrier that excludes harmful microbes and retains body fluids. To perform these functions, proliferative basal cells in the innermost layer periodically detach from an underlying basement membrane of extracellular matrix, move outward and eventually die. Once suprabasal, cells stop dividing and enter a differentiation programme to form the barrier. The mechanism of stratification is poorly understood. Although studies in vitro have led to the view that stratification occurs through the delamination and subsequent movement of epidermal cells, most culture conditions favour keratinocytes that lack the polarity and cuboidal morphology of basal keratinocytes in tissue. These features could be important in considering an alternative mechanism, that stratification occurs through asymmetric cell divisions in which the mitotic spindle orients perpendicularly to the basement membrane. Here we show that basal epidermal cells use their polarity to divide asymmetrically, generating a committed suprabasal cell and a proliferative basal cell. We further demonstrate that integrins and cadherins are essential for the apical localization of atypical protein kinase C, the Par3-LGN-Inscuteable complex and NuMA-dynactin to align the spindle.

Animals↗

Null mutants of the neurospora actin-related protein 1 pointed-end complex show distinct phenotypes.

Dynactin is a multisubunit complex that regulates the activities of cytoplasmic dynein, a microtubule-associated motor. Actin-related protein 1 (Arp1) is the most abundant subunit of dynactin, and it forms a short filament to which additional subunits associate. An Arp1 filament pointed-end--binding subcomplex has been identified that consists of p62, p25, p27, and Arp11 subunits. The functional roles of these subunits have not been determined. Recently, we reported the cloning of an apparent homologue of mammalian Arp11 from the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. Here, we report that N. crassa ro-2 and ro-12 genes encode the respective p62 and p25 subunits of the pointed-end complex. Characterization of Delta ro-2, Delta ro-7, and Delta ro-12 mutants reveals that each has a distinct phenotype. All three mutants have reduced in vivo vesicle trafficking and have defects in vacuole distribution. We showed previously that in vivo dynactin function is required for high-level dynein ATPase activity, and we find that all three mutants have low dynein ATPase activity. Surprisingly, Delta ro-12 differs from Delta ro-2 and Delta ro-7 and other previously characterized dynein/dynactin mutants in that it has normal nuclear distribution. Each of the mutants shows a distinct dynein/dynactin localization pattern. All three mutants also show stronger dynein/dynactin-membrane interaction relative to wild type, suggesting that the Arp1 pointed-end complex may regulate interaction of dynactin with membranous cargoes.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Pim-1 associates with protein complexes necessary for mitosis.

The proto-oncogene pim-1 is a serine/threonine kinase the over-expression of which promotes lymphoma formation. Neither the normal function of Pim-1 nor the biochemical mechanism for cancer development mediated by the gene has been delineated, although recent studies have provided compelling evidence that Pim-1 is involved in differentiation and cell survival. We now provide the first evidence that Pim-1 may be involved in the proliferative process. By confocal microscopy, we observed a dynamic redistribution of Pim-1 during the cell cycle, the protein moving from the nucleus and cytoplasm in interphase to the spindle poles during mitosis. From a computer search for putative substrates of Pim-1 that are located in the spindle poles, we discovered that the nuclear mitotic apparatus (NuMA) protein has two peptide sequences that contain preferred phosphorylation sites for Pim-1 kinase. Recombinant glutathione-S-transferase-Pim-1 also readily phosphorylates immunoprecipitated NuMA. By confocal microscopy and co-immunoprecipitation we showed the interaction of the Pim-1 and NuMA proteins in HeLa cells that had been arrested during mitosis with nocodazole. Pim-1 also appeared to interact with heterochromatin-associated protein 1beta (HP1beta) and the cytoplasmic proteins dynein and dynactin via complex formation with NuMA. In our studies, overexpressed wild-type-Pim-1-GFP (green fluorescent protein) fusion protein was found to co-localize in the spindle pole with NuMA during mitosis. In contrast, the 'kinase-dead' mut-Pim-1-GFP fusion protein did not co-localize with NuMA, and appeared to promote apoptosis. Further evidence for apoptotic cell death was the observed blebbing and fragmentation of the chromosomes and a decrease in the level of NuMA protein detected by confocal microscopy. These results strongly suggest that Pim-1 kinase plays a role, most likely by phosphorylation, in promoting complex formation between NuMA, HP1beta, dynein and dynactin, a complex that is necessary for mitosis.

3T3 Cells↗

Dynein and dynactin colocalize with AQP2 water channels in intracellular vesicles from kidney collecting duct.

We investigated whether the motor protein cytoplasmic dynein and dynactin, a protein complex thought to link dynein with vesicles, are present in rat renal collecting ducts and associated with aquaporin-2 (AQP2)-bearing vesicles. Immunoblotting demonstrated cytoplasmic dynein heavy and intermediate chains in kidney, with relative expression levels of inner medulla > outer medulla > cortex. In addition to being present in cytoplasmic fractions, dynein was abundant in membrane fractions enriched for intracellular vesicles. Dynactin was also abundant in membrane fractions enriched for intracellular vesicles. Furthermore, both dynactin and dynein were present in vesicles specifically immunoisolated using anti-AQP2 antibodies. Immunocytochemistry revealed labeling for dynein in the collecting duct principal cells with a pattern consistent with labeling of intracellular vesicles. Moreover, quantitative double immunogold labeling confirmed colocalization of AQP2 and dynein in the same vesicles at the electron microscopic level. Thus the microtubule-associated motor protein dynein and the associated dynactin complex are present in rat renal collecting duct principal cells and are associated with intracellular vesicles, including those bearing AQP2, consistent with the view that dynein and dynactin are involved in vasopressin-regulated trafficking of AQP2-bearing vesicles.

Animals↗

Dazl can bind to dynein motor complex and may play a role in transport of specific mRNAs.

Male germ cell development includes mitotic and meiotic cell divisions that are followed by dramatic morphological changes resulting in the production of spermatozoa. Genetic evidence has indicated that the DAZ family genes are critical for successful male germ cell development in diverse animals as well as humans. In the present study, we investigated the cellular functions of Dazl in the mouse male germ cells. We identified a specific interaction of Dazl with the dynein light chain, a component of the dynein-dynactin motor complex. The subcellular distribution of Dazl was microtubule-dependent and a selected number of Dazl-bound mRNAs could accumulate in the perinuclear area. Based on these results, we propose that Dazl may play a role in transport of specific mRNAs via dynein motor complex. The Dazl-bound mRNAs may be stored at specific sites and would be available for future developmental processes. Our study revealed the presence of an active mRNA transport system in mouse male germ cells.

Animals↗

Cytoplasmic dynein and dynactin are required for the transport of microtubules into the axon.

Previous work from our laboratory suggested that microtubules are released from the neuronal centrosome and then transported into the axon (Ahmad, F.J., and P.W. Baas. 1995. J. Cell Sci. 108: 2761-2769). In these studies, cultured sympathetic neurons were treated with nocodazole to depolymerize most of their microtubule polymer, rinsed free of the drug for a few minutes to permit a burst of microtubule assembly from the centrosome, and then exposed to nanomolar levels of vinblastine to suppress further microtubule assembly from occurring. Over time, the microtubules appeared first near the centrosome, then dispersed throughout the cytoplasm, and finally concentrated beneath the periphery of the cell body and within developing axons. In the present study, we microinjected fluorescent tubulin into the neurons at the time of the vinblastine treatment. Fluorescent tubulin was not detected in the microtubules over the time frame of the experiment, confirming that the redistribution of microtubules observed with the experimental regime reflects microtubule transport rather than microtubule assembly. To determine whether cytoplasmic dynein is the motor protein that drives this transport, we experimentally increased the levels of the dynamitin subunit of dynactin within the neurons. Dynactin, a complex of proteins that mediates the interaction of cytoplasmic dynein and its cargo, dissociates under these conditions, resulting in a cessation of all functions of the motor tested to date (Echeverri, C.J., B.M. Paschal, K.T. Vaughan, and R.B. Vallee. 1996. J. Cell Biol. 132: 617-633). In the presence of excess dynamitin, the microtubules did not show the outward progression but instead remained near the centrosome or dispersed throughout the cytoplasm. On the basis of these results, we conclude that cytoplasmic dynein and dynactin are essential for the transport of microtubules from the centrosome into the axon.

Animals↗

Axonal dynactin p150Glued transports caspase-8 to drive retrograde olfactory receptor neuron apoptosis.

Olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) undergo caspase-mediated retrograde apoptosis after target removal (bulbectomy), in which axonal caspase-9 and caspase-3 activation leads to terminal apoptosis in ORN soma of the olfactory epithelium. Here, we show that caspase-8 can act as an initiator of ORN apoptosis after bulbectomy and also after synaptic instability is induced by NMDA-mediated excitotoxic death of ORN target neurons in the olfactory bulb. Caspase-8 and caspase-3 are sequentially activated within ORN presynaptic terminals, and caspase-8 complexes with dynactin p150Glued, (a retrograde motor protein) and is transported retrogradely, preceding axonal caspase-3 activation and apoptosis of ORN cell bodies. Focal in vivo inhibition of initiator caspase activation or microtubule-dependent transport (with Taxol) at the lesioned axon terminus results in a significant reduction in retrograde axonal caspase-8 and caspase-3 activation and inhibition of retrograde ORN death. Caspase-8 activation and retrograde transport after NMDA lesion is similarly reduced in mice null for p75, the low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor. The retrograde apoptosis of ORNs thus involves a novel mechanism that used p75 in the local activation of caspase-8. Once caspase-8 is maximally activated in the presynaptic terminal, it is transported retrogradely by the motor complex dynactin/dynein, a process that can be inhibited focally to inhibit ORN apoptosis after acute axonal lesion. These data have revealed a novel mechanism of retrograde apoptosis, in which caspase-8 complexes directly with axonal dynactin p150Glued to reveal a differential vulnerability of subpopulations of ORNs to undergo apoptosis after axonal damage and the loss of olfactory bulb target neurons.

Acetylcholine↗

The Rab7 effector protein RILP controls lysosomal transport by inducing the recruitment of dynein-dynactin motors.

Many intracellular compartments, including MHC class II-containing lysosomes, melanosomes, and phagosomes, move along microtubules in a bidirectional manner and in a stop-and-go fashion due to the alternating activities of a plus-end directed kinesin motor and a minus-end directed dynein-dynactin motor. It is largely unclear how motor proteins are targeted specifically to different compartments. Rab GTPases recruit and/or activate several proteins involved in membrane fusion and vesicular transport. They associate with specific compartments after activation, which makes Rab GTPases ideal candidates for controlling motor protein binding to specific membranes. We and others [7] have identified a protein, called RILP (for Rab7-interacting lysosomal protein), that interacts with active Rab7 on late endosomes and lysosomes. Here we show that RILP prevents further cycling of Rab7. RILP expression induces the recruitment of functional dynein-dynactin motor complexes to Rab7-containing late endosomes and lysosomes. Consequently, these compartments are transported by these motors toward the minus end of microtubules, effectively inhibiting their transport toward the cell periphery. This signaling cascade may be responsible for timed and selective dynein motor recruitment onto late endosomes and lysosomes.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

Role of the human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 PTAP motif in Gag targeting and particle release.

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) Gag is targeted to the plasma membrane for particle assembly and release. How HTLV-1 Gag targeting occurs is not well understood. The PPPY and PTAP motifs were previously shown to be involved in HTLV-1 particle release with PTAP playing a more subtle role in virus budding. These L domains function through the interaction with host cellular proteins normally involved in multivesicular body (MVB) morphogenesis. The plasma membrane pathway rather than the MVB pathway was found to be the primary pathway for HTLV-1 particle release in HeLa cells. Intriguingly, disruption of the PTAP motif led to a defect in the targeting of Gag from the plasma membrane to CD63-positive MVBs. Particles or particle buds were observed to be associated with MVBs by electron microscopy, implying that Gag targeting to the MVB resulted in particle budding. Blocking clathrin-dependent endocytosis was found not to influence localization of the HTLV-1 Gag PTAP mutant, indicating that Gag did not reach the MVBs through clathrin-dependent endocytosis. Our observations imply that the interaction between Gag and TSG101 is not required for Gag targeting to the MVB. Overexpression of dynamitin p50 increased particle release, suggesting that there was an increase in the intracellular transport of MVBs to the cell periphery by the utilization of the dynein-dynactin motor complex. Intriguingly, virus particle release with this mutant was reduced by 20-fold compared to that of wild type in HeLa cells, which is in marked contrast to the less-than-twofold defect observed for particle production of the HTLV-1 Gag PTAP mutant from 293T cells. These results indicate that the role of the PTAP motif in L domain function is cell type dependent.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

Genomic organization of the DCTN1-SLC4A5 locus encoding both NBC4 and p150(Glued).

In eukaryotes, it is rare for a single gene to encode two functionally unrelated proteins. p150(Glued) is a component of the dynactin heteromultimeric complex of proteins which is required for dynein-mediated vesicle and organelle transport by microtubules. NBC4 is an electrogenic sodium bicarbonate cotransporter, which regulates intracellular pH. Here we report that NBC4 and p150(Glued) are encoded by the same locus, DCTN1-SLC4A5. We have characterized the genomic organization of the human DCTN1-SLC4A5 locus which spans approximately 230 kilobases on chromosome 2p13 and contains 66 exons. This information should allow the study of potential genomic alterations of DCTN1-SLC4A5 in patients with diseases mapping to this genomic region.

5' Untranslated Regions↗