Acidification Of Compartments Research Articles

Enterovirus D68 capsid formation and stability requires acidic compartments.

The respiratory picornavirus enterovirus D68 is a causative agent of acute flaccid myelitis, a childhood paralysis disease identified in the last decade. Poliovirus, another picornavirus associated with paralytic disease, is a fecal-oral virus that survives acidic environments when passing from host to host. Here, we follow up on our previous work showing a requirement for acidic intracellular compartments for maturation cleavage of poliovirus particles. Enterovirus D68 requires acidic vesicles for an earlier step, assembly, and maintenance of viral particles themselves. These data have strong implications for the use of acidification blocking treatments to combat enterovirus diseases.

Genomic identification, annotation, and comparative analysis of Vacuolar-type ATP synthase subunits in Diaphorinacitri.

The hemipteran insect Diaphorina citri, or Asian citrus psyllid, is a vector for Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the bacterium causing citrus greening disease, or Huanglongbing (HLB). Millions of citrus trees have been destroyed, and every grove in Florida, USA, has been directly affected by this disease. In eukaryotes, vacuolar-type ATP synthase (V-ATPase) is an abundant heterodimeric enzyme that serves the cell with essential compartment acidification through the active processes that transport protons across the membrane. Fifteen putative V-ATPase genes in the D. citri genome were manually curated. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that D. citri V-ATPase subunits share domains and motifs with other insects, including the V-ATPase-A superfamily domain. Phylogenetic analysis separates D. citri V-ATPase subunits into expected clades with orthologous sequences. Annotation of the D. citri genome is a critical step towards developing directed pest management strategies to reduce the spread of HLB throughout the citrus industry.

MiR-1 sustains muscle physiology by controlling V-ATPase complex assembly.

Muscle function requires unique structural and metabolic adaptations that can render muscle cells selectively vulnerable, with mutations in some ubiquitously expressed genes causing myopathies but sparing other tissues. We uncovered a muscle cell vulnerability by studying miR-1, a deeply conserved, muscle-specific microRNA whose ablation causes various muscle defects. Using Caenorhabditis elegans, we found that miR-1 represses multiple subunits of the ubiquitous vacuolar adenosine triphosphatase (V-ATPase) complex, which is essential for internal compartment acidification and metabolic signaling. V-ATPase subunits are predicted miR-1 targets in animals ranging from C. elegans to humans, and we experimentally validated this in Drosophila. Unexpectedly, up-regulation of V-ATPase subunits upon miR-1 deletion causes reduced V-ATPase function due to defects in complex assembly. These results reveal V-ATPase assembly as a conserved muscle cell vulnerability and support a previously unknown role for microRNAs in the regulation of protein complexes.

RAVE and Rabconnectin-3 Complexes as Signal Dependent Regulators of Organelle Acidification.

The yeast RAVE (Regulator of H+-ATPase of Vacuolar and Endosomal membranes) complex and Rabconnectin-3 complexes of higher eukaryotes regulate acidification of organelles such as lysosomes and endosomes by catalyzing V-ATPase assembly. V-ATPases are highly conserved proton pumps consisting of a peripheral V1 subcomplex that contains the sites of ATP hydrolysis, attached to an integral membrane Vo subcomplex that forms the transmembrane proton pore. Reversible disassembly of the V-ATPase is a conserved regulatory mechanism that occurs in response to multiple signals, serving to tune ATPase activity and compartment acidification to changing extracellular conditions. Signals such as glucose deprivation can induce release of V1 from Vo, which inhibits both ATPase activity and proton transport. Reassembly of V1 with Vo restores ATP-driven proton transport, but requires assistance of the RAVE or Rabconnectin-3 complexes. Glucose deprivation triggers V-ATPase disassembly in yeast and is accompanied by binding of RAVE to V1 subcomplexes. Upon glucose readdition, RAVE catalyzes both recruitment of V1 to the vacuolar membrane and its reassembly with Vo. The RAVE complex can be recruited to the vacuolar membrane by glucose in the absence of V1 subunits, indicating that the interaction between RAVE and the Vo membrane domain is glucose-sensitive. Yeast RAVE complexes also distinguish between organelle-specific isoforms of the Vo a-subunit and thus regulate distinct V-ATPase subpopulations. Rabconnectin-3 complexes in higher eukaryotes appear to be functionally equivalent to yeast RAVE. Originally isolated as a two-subunit complex from rat brain, the Rabconnectin-3 complex has regions of homology with yeast RAVE and was shown to interact with V-ATPase subunits and promote endosomal acidification. Current understanding of the structure and function of RAVE and Rabconnectin-3 complexes, their interactions with the V-ATPase, their role in signal-dependent modulation of organelle acidification, and their impact on downstream pathways will be discussed.

The golden mussel proteome and its response to niclosamide: Uncovering rational targets for control or elimination

The Asian invasive species Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857), known as the golden mussel, causes great economic and environmental damage due to its fixative capacity and accelerated proliferation. Molecular studies for the control of larval and adult forms are of great economic, scientific and technological interest. Here, we first report on the compositional analysis of the L. fortunei proteome obtained through shotgun analysis using LC-MS/MS. Among those 2790 proteins identified, many of them related to secretory processes and membrane receptors. Our second approach consisted in exposing the mollusc to the molluscicide niclosamide to evaluate the induced proteomic alterations. Exposure to niclosamide at 0.25 mg/L for 24 h resulted in a pronounced differential abundance of proteins when compared to those obtained when exposure was reduced to 4 h at 2.3 mg/L. In total, 342 proteins were found differentially expressed in the responsive individuals as revealed by label-free quantitative proteomics. Regarding the affected cell processes were: cell division and differentiation, cytoskeletal organization and compartment acidification (upregulated), and energy metabolism (downregulated). Our findings constitute the first inventory of the expressed proteome of the golden mussel and have the potential to contribute with a more rational proposition of molecular targets for control and monitoring of this species. SignificanceWith the recent availability of transcriptomic and genomic data applied to L. fortunei the timing is right to interrogate its putative gene repertoire using proteomic techniques. These have the potential to validate the existence of the predicted genes, infer their relative abundance and quantify their levels as a response to environmental stressors or various agents. Here we provided an inventory of the golden mussel proteome and evaluated its response to the molluscicide niclosamide. The obtained results open new avenues for intervention aimed at its control or elimination, particularly by targeting the various cellular processes that were uncovered.

Distinct Mycobacterium marinum phosphatases determine pathogen vacuole phosphoinositide pattern, phagosome maturation, and escape to the cytosol.

The causative agent of tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and its close relative Mycobacterium marinum manipulate phagocytic host cells, thereby creating a replication-permissive compartment termed the Mycobacterium-containing vacuole (MCV). The phosphoinositide (PI) lipid pattern is a crucial determinant of MCV formation and is targeted by mycobacterial PI phosphatases. In this study, we establish an efficient phage transduction protocol to construct defined M.marinum deletion mutants lacking one or three phosphatases, PtpA, PtpB, and/or SapM. These strains were defective for intracellular replication in macrophages and amoebae, and the growth defect was complemented by the corresponding plasmid-borne genes. Fluorescence microscopy of M.marinum-infected Dictyostelium discoideum revealed that MCVs harbouring mycobacteria lacking PtpA, SapM, or all three phosphatases accumulate significantly more phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate (PtdIns3P) compared with MCVs containing the parental strain. Moreover, PtpA reduced MCV acidification by blocking the recruitment of the V-ATPase, and all three phosphatases promoted bacterial escape from the pathogen vacuole to the cytoplasm. In summary, the secreted M.marinum phosphatases PtpA, PtpB, and SapM determine the MCV PI pattern, compartment acidification, and phagosomal escape.

Regulation of sterile α- and armadillo motif (SARM) containing protein expression in Pam2CSK4- and Pam3CSK4-activated mouse macrophage cell line (RAW264.7) requires TLR9.

We aimed to investigate the involvement of surface TLRs and endosomal TLRs in the regulation of SARM expression by TLR2 ligands (Pam2CSK4 and Pam3CSK4). Mouse macrophage cell line (RAW264.7) was treated with either Pam2CSK4 or Pam3CSK4 (TLR2 ligands) at a concentration of 100ng/ml. At indicated time points, the treated cells were lysed. The gene and protein expression of SARM were determined by RT-PCR and immunoblotting, respectively. For silencing of TLR9 function, the cells were transfected with TLR9 siRNAs before stimulation by these two TLR2 ligands RESULTS: The SARM expression was upregulated at both transcriptional and translational levels in time-dependent manner during activation of Pam2CSK4 and Pam3CSK4 in mouse macrophages. Blocking of ligand internalization by cytochalasin D showed interference effect with SARM expression. Moreover, our results also demonstrated that endosomal acidification and TLR9 were required for SARM expression suggesting the essential role of endosomal compartment acidification and TLR9 in regulating SARM expression. Our findings suggested the collaboration of TLR2-TLR9 at least in the regulation of SARM expression. However, the underlying mechanism that participated in these two TLRs cooperation is underinvestigated.

Regulation of vacuolar H+-ATPase in microglia by RANKL

Vacuolar H+-ATPases (V-ATPases) are large electrogenic proton pumps composed of numerous subunits that play vital housekeeping roles in the acidification of compartments of the endocytic pathway. Additionally, V-ATPases play specialized roles in certain cell types, a capacity that is linked to cell type selective expression of isoforms of some of the subunits. We detected low levels of the a3 isoform of the a-subunit in mouse brain extracts. Examination of various brain-derived cell types by immunoblotting showed a3 was expressed in the N9 microglia cell line and in primary microglia, but not in other cell types. The expression of a3 in osteoclasts requires stimulation by Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor κB-ligand (RANKL). We found that Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor κB (RANK) was expressed by microglia. Stimulation of microglia with RANKL triggered increased expression of a3. V-ATPases in microglia were shown to bind microfilaments, and stimulation with RANKL increased the proportion of V-ATPase associated with the detergent-insoluble cytoskeletal fraction and with actin. In summary, microglia express the a3-subunit of V-ATPase. The expression of a3 and the interaction between V-ATPases and microfilaments was modulated by RANKL. These data suggest a novel molecular pathway for regulating microglia.

Subunit Interactions and Requirements for Inhibition of the Yeast V1-ATPase

Disassembly of the yeast V-ATPase into cytosolic V(1) and membrane V(0) sectors inactivates MgATPase activity of the V(1)-ATPase. This inactivation requires the V(1) H subunit (Parra, K. J., Keenan, K. L., and Kane, P. M. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 21761-21767), but its mechanism is not fully understood. The H subunit has two domains. Interactions of each domain with V(1) and V(0) subunits were identified by two-hybrid assay. The B subunit of the V(1) catalytic headgroup interacted with the H subunit N-terminal domain (H-NT), and the C-terminal domain (H-CT) interacted with V(1) subunits B, E (peripheral stalk), and D (central stalk), and the cytosolic N-terminal domain of V(0) subunit Vph1p. V(1)-ATPase complexes from yeast expressing H-NT are partially inhibited, exhibiting 26% the MgATPase activity of complexes with no H subunit. The H-CT domain does not copurify with V(1) when expressed in yeast, but the bacterially expressed and purified H-CT domain inhibits MgATPase activity in V(1) lacking H almost as well as the full-length H subunit. Binding of full-length H subunit to V(1) was more stable than binding of either H-NT or H-CT, suggesting that both domains contribute to binding and inhibition. Intact H and H-CT can bind to the expressed N-terminal domain of Vph1p, but this fragment of Vph1p does not bind to V(1) complexes containing subunit H. We propose that upon disassembly, the H subunit undergoes a conformational change that inhibits V(1)-ATPase activity and precludes V(0) interactions.

The Availability of Surface GABAB Receptors Is Independent of γ-Aminobutyric Acid but Controlled by Glutamate in Central Neurons

The Availability of Surface GABAB Receptors Is Independent of γ-Aminobutyric Acid but Controlled by Glutamate in Central Neurons

Vacuolar and Plasma Membrane Proton Pumps Collaborate to Achieve Cytosolic pH Homeostasis in Yeast

Vacuolar proton-translocating ATPases (V-ATPases) play a central role in organelle acidification in all eukaryotic cells. To address the role of the yeast V-ATPase in vacuolar and cytosolic pH homeostasis, ratiometric pH-sensitive fluorophores specific for the vacuole or cytosol were introduced into wild-type cells and vma mutants, which lack V-ATPase subunits. Transiently glucose-deprived wild-type cells respond to glucose addition with vacuolar acidification and cytosolic alkalinization, and subsequent addition of K(+) ion increases the pH of both the vacuole and cytosol. In contrast, glucose addition results in an increase in vacuolar pH in both vma mutants and wild-type cells treated with the V-ATPase inhibitor concanamycin A. Cytosolic pH homeostasis is also significantly perturbed in the vma mutants. Even at extracellular pH 5, conditions optimal for their growth, cytosolic pH was much lower, and response to glucose was smaller in the mutants. In plasma membrane fractions from the vma mutants, activity of the plasma membrane proton pump, Pma1p, was 65-75% lower than in fractions from wild-type cells. Immunofluorescence microscopy confirmed decreased levels of plasma membrane Pma1p and increased Pma1p at the vacuole and other compartments in the mutants. Pma1p was not mislocalized in concanamycin-treated cells, but a significant reduction in cytosolic pH under all conditions was still observed. We propose that short-term, V-ATPase activity is essential for both vacuolar acidification in response to glucose metabolism and for efficient cytosolic pH homeostasis, and long-term, V-ATPases are important for stable localization of Pma1p at the plasma membrane.

Endomembrane proton pumps: connecting membrane and vesicle transport

pH-homeostasis in the endomembrane system requires the activity of proton-pumps. In animals, the progressive acidification of compartments along the endocytic and secretory pathways is critical for protein sorting and vesicle trafficking, and is achieved by the activity of the vacuolar H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase). Plants have an additional endomembrane pump, the vacuolar H(+)-pyrophosphatase (V-PPase), and previous research was largely focused on the respective functions of the two pumps in secondary active transport across the tonoplast. Recent approaches, including reverse genetics, have not only provided evidence that both enzymes play unique and essential roles but have also highlighted the important functions of the two proton pumps in endocytic and secretory trafficking.

Activity-dependent endocytic sorting of kainate receptors to recycling or degradation pathways.

Kainate receptors (KARs) play important roles in the modulation of neurotransmission and plasticity, but the mechanisms that regulate their surface expression and endocytic sorting remain largely unknown. Here, we show that in cultured hippocampal neurons the surface expression of GluR6-containing KARs is dynamically regulated. Furthermore, internalized KARs are sorted into recycling or degradative pathways depending on the endocytotic stimulus. Kainate activation causes a Ca2+- and PKA-independent but PKC-dependent internalization of KARs that are targeted to lysosomes for degradation. In contrast, NMDAR activation evokes a Ca2+-, PKA- and PKC-dependent endocytosis of KARs to early endosomes with subsequent reinsertion back into the plasma membrane. These results demonstrate that GluR6-containing KARs are subject to activity-dependent endocytic sorting, a process that provides a mechanism for both rapid and chronic changes in the number of functional receptors.

Determinants of [Cl-] in recycling and late endosomes and Golgi complex measured using fluorescent ligands.

Chloride concentration ([Cl−]) was measured in defined organellar compartments using fluorescently labeled transferrin, α2-macroglobulin, and cholera toxin B-subunit conjugated with Cl−-sensitive and -insensitive dyes. In pulse-chase experiments, [Cl−] in Tf-labeled early/recycling endosomes in J774 cells was 20 mM just after internalization, increasing to 41 mM over ∼10 min in parallel to a drop in pH from 6.91 to 6.05. The low [Cl−] just after internalization (compared with 137 mM solution [Cl−]) was prevented by reducing the interior-negative Donnan potential. [Cl−] in α2-macroglobulin–labeled endosomes, which enter a late compartment, increased from 28 to 58 mM at 1–45 min after internalization, whereas pH decreased from 6.85 to 5.20. Cl− accumulation was prevented by bafilomycin but restored by valinomycin. A Cl− channel inhibitor slowed endosomal acidification and Cl− accumulation by ∼2.5-fold. [Cl−] was 49 mM and pH was 6.42 in cholera toxin B subunit–labeled Golgi complex in Vero cells; Golgi compartment Cl− accumulation and acidification were reversed by bafilomycin. Our experiments provide evidence that Cl− is the principal counter ion accompanying endosomal and Golgi compartment acidification, and that an interior-negative Donnan potential is responsible for low endosomal [Cl−] early after internalization. We propose that reduced [Cl−] and volume in early endosomes permits endosomal acidification and [Cl−] accumulation without lysis.

Mutations in the P. falciparum Digestive Vacuole Transmembrane Protein PfCRT and Evidence for Their Role in Chloroquine Resistance

The determinant of verapamil-reversible chloroquine resistance (CQR) in a Plasmodium falciparum genetic cross maps to a 36 kb segment of chromosome 7. This segment harbors a 13-exon gene, pfcrt, having point mutations that associate completely with CQR in parasite lines from Asia, Africa, and South America. These data, transfection results, and selection of a CQR line harboring a novel K76I mutation point to a central role for the PfCRT protein in CQR. This transmembrane protein localizes to the parasite digestive vacuole (DV), the site of CQ action, where increased compartment acidification associates with PfCRT point mutations. Mutations in PfCRT may result in altered chloroquine flux or reduced drug binding to hematin through an effect on DV pH.

Selective perturbation of apical membrane traffic by expression of influenza M2, an acid-activated ion channel, in polarized madin-darby canine kidney cells.

The function of acidification along the endocytic pathway is not well understood, in part because the perturbants used to modify compartmental pH have global effects and in some cases alter cytoplasmic pH. We have used a new approach to study the effect of pH perturbation on postendocytic traffic in polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. Influenza M2 is a small membrane protein that functions as an acid-activated ion channel and can elevate the pH of the trans-Golgi network and endosomes. We used recombinant adenoviruses to express the M2 protein of influenza virus in polarized MDCK cells stably transfected with the polymeric immunoglobulin (Ig) receptor. Using indirect immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy, M2 was found to be concentrated at the apical plasma membrane and in subapical vesicles; intracellular M2 colocalized partly with internalized IgA in apical recycling endosomes as well as with the trans-Golgi network marker TGN-38. Expression of M2 slowed the rate of IgA transcytosis across polarized MDCK monolayers. The delay in transport occurred after IgA reached the apical recycling endosome, consistent with the localization of intracellular M2. Apical recycling of IgA was also slowed in the presence of M2, whereas basolateral recycling of transferrin and degradation of IgA were unaffected. By contrast, ammonium chloride affected both apical IgA and basolateral transferrin release. Together, our data suggest that M2 expression selectively perturbs acidification in compartments involved in apical delivery without disrupting other postendocytic transport steps.

Differential effects of compartment deacidification on the targeting of membrane and soluble proteins to the vacuole in yeast

Lysosomal/vacuolar protein targeting is dependent on compartment acidification. In yeast, sorting of soluble vacuolar proteins such as carboxypeptidase Y is sensitive to acute changes in vacuolar pH. In contrast, the vacuolar membrane protein alkaline phosphatase is missorted only under conditions of chronic deacidification. We have undertaken a temporal analysis to define further the relationship between compartment acidification and sorting of soluble and membrane vacuolar proteins. Depletion of either the Vma3p or Vma4p subunits of the yeast vacuolar ATPase over time resulted in loss of vacuolar ATPase activity and vacuolar acidification. A kinetic delay in processing of carboxypeptidase Y occurred concomitant with these physiological changes while transport of alkaline phosphatase remained unaffected. Carboxypeptidase S, another vacuolar hydrolase that transits through the secretory pathway as an integral membrane protein, displayed a pH sensitivity similar to that of soluble vacuolar proteins. These results indicate that compartment acidification is tightly coupled to efficient targeting of proteins to the vacuole and that there may be multiple distinct mechanisms for targeting of vacuolar membrane proteins.

Antigen processing and presentation of vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein

Antigen processing and presentation is the complex series of steps involving numerous compartments of cells derived from multiple lineages. This collective process is central to the initiation of specific cellular immune responses. Internalization of foreign proteins or infectious agents, degradation of proteins to peptides, and transfer to 1a heterodimers which are then translocated to the cell surface, comprise the pathway. This can be blocked by drugs which interfere with compartment acidification (ammonium chloride, methylamine, chloroquine), protein synthesis (emetine), vesicle trafficking (brefeldin A), and microtubule metabolism (taxol, colchicine, nocadazole).

Mutations in the yeast vacuolar ATPase result in the mislocalization of vacuolar proteins.

The vacuolar ATPase of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae acidifies the vacuolar lumen and generates an electrochemical gradient across the vacuole membrane. We have investigated the role of compartment acidification of the vacuolar system in the sorting of vacuolar proteins. Strains with chromosomal disruptions of genes (delta vat) encoding the A (69 x 10(3) M(r)), B (57 x 10(3) M(r)) or c (16 x 10(3) M(r)) subunits of the vacuolar ATPase accumulate and secrete precursor forms of the soluble vacuolar hydrolases carboxypeptidase Y and proteinase A. A kinetic analysis suggests that these precursor proteins accumulate in, and are secreted from, the Golgi complex or post-Golgi vesicles. In addition, subcellular fractionation shows that vacuolar hydrolase-invertase hybrid proteins are inefficiently localized to the vacuole in delta vat strains. This result suggests that the vat mutations cause a steady-state defect in vacuolar protein sorting. The vat mutations also affect the sorting of vacuolar membrane proteins. Precursor forms of alkaline phosphatase are accumulated in vat mutant cells, but to a lesser extent than is seen for the soluble vacuolar hydrolases. This finding, coupled with the insensitivity of alkaline phosphatase to the ATPase inhibitor bafilomycin A1, suggests that vacuolar membrane protein sorting is less sensitive to changes in lumenal pH when compared with the targeting of soluble vacuolar proteins. These results indicate that acidification of the vacuolar system is important for efficient sorting of soluble proteins to the vacuole.

Compartment acidification is required for efficient sorting of proteins to the vacuole in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The vacuole of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains a proton-translocating ATPase that acidifies the vacuolar lumen and generates a pH gradient across the vacuole membrane. We have investigated the role of compartment acidification of the vacuolar system in the sorting of vacuolar proteins. Strains with chromosomal disruptions of the genes encoding the A, B, or c subunit of the vacuolar ATPase are unable to acidify their vacuoles. These vat mutant strains accumulate and secrete precursor forms of the soluble vacuolar hydrolases carboxypeptidase Y and proteinase A. The kinetics of secretion suggests that missorting occurs in the Golgi complex or in post-Golgi vesicles. The presence of mature forms of the vacuolar proteins within the cell indicates that vat mutations do not cause defects in zymogen processing. Precursor forms of the membrane-associated vacuolar hydrolase alkaline phosphatase are also accumulated in vat mutant cells but to a lesser extent, suggesting that sorting of vacuolar membrane proteins is less sensitive to changes in the lumenal pH. A similar type of missorting defect can be induced in wild-type cells at pH 7.5. These results indicate that acidification of the vacuolar system is important for efficient sorting of proteins to the vacuole.