Search

A significant increase in the induction of inducible nitric-oxide synthase (iNOS) protein expression and in the levels of nitrite plus nitrate was observed in rat aortic smooth muscle cells (RASMCs) stably transfected with catalase (RASMC-2C2) as compared with empty vector-transfected RASMC-V4 cells after exposure to cytokines and lipopolysaccharide. The increased expression of iNOS protein in the RASMC-2C2 cells was associated with a significant activation of nuclear transcription factor kappaB, one of the transcriptional regulators of iNOS expression. The induction of iNOS was also accompanied by increased protein tyrosine nitration in both cell types as revealed by immunocytochemical staining and high pressure liquid chromatography with on-line electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Nitrotyrosine formation was inhibited by 1400W, an iNOS inhibitor, by 4-(2-aminoethyl) benzenesulfonyl fluoride, an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase, and by the superoxide dismutase mimetic M40403, but not by the peroxidase inhibitor 4-aminobenzoic hydrazide. Electron microscopy using affinity-purified anti-nitrotyrosine antibodies revealed labeling at the cytosolic side of the rough endoplasmic reticulum membranes, in the nucleus, occasionally in mitochondria, and consistently within the fibrillar layer underneath the plasma membrane. Collectively, the data in this model system indicate that hydrogen peroxide, by inhibiting the activation of nuclear transcription factor kappaB, prevents iNOS expression, whereas superoxide contributes in a precise pattern of intracellular protein tyrosine nitration.

Exosomes are 60-100-nm membrane vesicles that are secreted into the extracellular milieu as a consequence of multivesicular body fusion with the plasma membrane. Here we determined the protein and lipid compositions of highly purified human B cell-derived exosomes. Mass spectrometric analysis indicated the abundant presence of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and class II, heat shock cognate 70, heat shock protein 90, integrin alpha 4, CD45, moesin, tubulin (alpha and beta), actin, G(i)alpha(2), and a multitude of other proteins. An alpha 4-integrin may direct B cell-derived exosomes to follicular dendritic cells, which were described previously as potential target cells. Clathrin, heat shock cognate 70, and heat shock protein 90 may be involved in protein sorting at multivesicular bodies. Exosomes were also enriched in cholesterol, sphingomyelin, and ganglioside GM3, lipids that are typically enriched in detergent-resistant membranes. Most exosome-associated proteins, including MHC class II and tetraspanins, were insoluble in 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonic acid (CHAPS)-containing buffers. Multivesicular body-linked MHC class II was also resistant to CHAPS whereas plasma membrane-associated MHC class II was solubilized readily. Together, these data suggest that recruitment of membrane proteins from the limiting membranes into the internal vesicles of multivesicular bodies may involve their incorporation into tetraspanin-containing detergent-resistant membrane domains.

UDP-galactose:ceramide galactosyltransferase (CGalT) transfers UDP-galactose to ceramide to form the glycosphingolipid galactosylceramide. Galactosylceramide is the major constituent of myelin and is also highly enriched in many epithelial cells, where it is thought to play an important role in lipid and protein sorting. Although the biochemical pathways of glycosphingolipid biosynthesis are relatively well understood, the localization of the enzymes involved in these processes has remained controversial. We here have raised antibodies against CGalT and shown by immunocytochemistry on ultrathin cryosections that the enzyme is localized to the endoplasmic reticulum and nuclear envelope but not to the Golgi apparatus or the plasma membrane. In pulse-chase experiments, we have observed that newly synthesized CGalT remains sensitive to endoglycosidase H, confirming the results of the morphological localization experiments. In protease protection assays, we show that the largest part of the protein, including the amino terminus, is oriented toward the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. CGalT enzyme activity required import of UDP-galactose into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum by a UDP-galactose translocator that is present in the Golgi apparatus of CHO cells but absent in CHOlec8 cells. Finally, we show that CGalT activity previously observed in Golgi membrane fractions in vitro, in the absence of UDP-glucose, is caused by UDP-glucose:ceramide glucosyltransferase. Therefore all galactosylceramide synthesis occurs by CGalT in vivo in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum.

We recently cloned IRS-4, a new member of the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) family. In this study we have characterized IRS-4 in human embryonic kidney 293 cells, where it was originally discovered. IRS-4 was the predominant insulin-elicited phosphotyrosine protein in these cells. Subcellular fractionation revealed that about 50% of IRS-4 was located in cellular membranes, and immunofluorescence indicated that IRS-4 was concentrated at the plasma membrane. Immunoelectron microscopy conclusively established that a large portion of the IRS-4 was located at the cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane in both the unstimulated and insulin-treated states. IRS-4 was found to be associated with two src homology 2 (SH2) domain-containing proteins, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and Grb2, the adaptor to the guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Ras. On the other hand, no significant association was detected with two other SH2 domain proteins, the SH2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 and phospholipase Cgamma. Insulin-like growth factor I acting through its receptor was as effective as insulin in eliciting tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-4, but interleukin 4 and epidermal growth factor were ineffective.

CTP:phosphoethanolamine cytidylyltransferase (EC 2.7.7.14) (ethanolamine-phosphate cytidylyltransferase, ET) was recently purified to homogeneity from a post-microsomal supernatant of rat liver and subsequently used to raise a polyclonal antibody against the enzyme in rabbits (Vermeulen, P. S., Tijburg, L. B. M., Geelen, M. J. H., and van Golde, L. M. G. (1993) J. Biol. Chem 268, 7458-7464). In the present study, we used the affinity-purified antibody against ET for ultrastructural immunogold labeling studies on rat liver cryosections. Single-label experiments clearly demonstrated that ET label was not randomly distributed in hepatocytes. The ET label was concentrated in areas that contained cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum, whereas other cellular organelles (nuclei, mitochondria, and peroxisomes) were only marginally labeled for ET. Double-label experiments for ET and established markers for either soluble or integral endoplasmic reticulum proteins suggested a bimodal distribution of ET between the RER cisternae and the cytosolic space. Complementary single-label studies for ET and the soluble marker protein showed that the fraction of ET label that was present on RER cisternae was significantly greater than that of the soluble marker, supporting the idea of an uneven distribution. These immunoelectron microscopy studies strongly suggest that the cellular organization of ET differs considerably from that reported recently for the corresponding enzyme in the CDP-choline pathway, CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase (Wang, Y., Sweiter, T. D., Weinhold, P. A., and Kent, C. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 5899-5904).

To investigate the mechanism responsible for the inhibition of glucose transport by dibutyryl cAMP (Bt2cAMP), two different transporter isoforms (GLUT1 and GLUT4) and several GLUT1/4 chimeric transporters were expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells by using a Sindbis virus expression system. Bt2cAMP inhibited GLUT4-mediated 2-deoxy[3H]glucose (2DOG) uptake by 50% but was without effect on GLUT1-mediated uptake. When the subcellular distribution of GLUT4 was assessed by quantitative immunocytochemistry, neither the overall concentration of GLUT4 nor the regional distribution of GLUT-4 within the plasma membrane was found to be altered by Bt2cAMP. Thus, inhibition of 2DOG uptake by Bt2cAMP appears to be due to a decrease in transporter activity rather than a decrease in the number of transporters exposed at the plasma membrane. By using chimeric transporters, a region of GLUT4 necessary for the inhibitory effect of Bt2cAMP was localized to the last 29 amino acids in the COOH terminus. This intracellular region contains the site (Ser488) phosphorylated in vitro by cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cAdPK). Changing Ser488 to an Ala abolished phosphorylation of GLUT4; however, the inhibitory effect of Bt2cAMP on glucose transport was not diminished by this mutation. Therefore, phosphorylation of GLUT4 was not required for the inhibition. The effects of other nucleotides on GLUT4 transport activity were assessed to investigate the role of cAdPK. Uptake of 2DOG by GLUT4 was inhibited by 8-bromo-AMP, but not by 8-bromo-cAMP, suggesting that the inhibitory effect did not involve activation of cAdPK. Results consistent with this interpretation were obtained with CHO cells (line 10248), which express a cAdPK that is resistant to activation by cAMP. No difference in the concentrations of Bt2cAMP required to inhibit GLUT4-mediated transport was observed in normal CHO cells and 10248 cells. The results presented suggest that the inhibitory effects of Bt2cAMP could be mediated by direct binding of a nucleotide to GLUT4 at a site involving the intracellular COOH terminus of the transporter.

In muscle and adipocytes, glucose transport is regulated by the translocation of insulin regulatable glucose transporters (GLUT4) between an intracellular compartment and the cell surface. In these studies we have characterized the cellular compartments containing GLUT4 in rat skeletal muscle. Immunocytochemical studies showed that in unstimulated muscle, GLUT4 was not present in surface membranes. Tubulo-vesicular structures clustered in the trans Golgi reticulum were enriched in GLUT4. GLUT4 underwent translocation to the sarcolemma in response to combined stimulation with insulin and exercise. Using immunoisolation, the intracellular GLUT4 vesicles (IRGTV) were purified 300-fold over the cell homogenate. IRGTV from unstimulated muscle were not enriched in markers specific for the sarcolemma, transverse tubules, sarcoplasmic reticulum or mitochondria; this was confirmed using gel filtration chromatography. Insulin resulted in a 40% decrease in GLUT4 levels in IRGTV confirming that this represents the intracellular compartment of GLUT4. GLUT4 is a major component of the IRGTV, constituting at least 5% of total vesicle protein. A subset of polypeptides are also markedly enriched in the muscle IRGTV. In conclusion, these data suggest that translocation of GLUT4 from intracellular tubulo-vesicular structures is the major mechanism by which insulin and exercise regulate muscle glucose transport.