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In the present study we describe the characterization and localization of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4-binding sites in human platelet membranes. Specific binding sites for Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 have been identified on mixed, plasma and intracellular membranes from neuraminidase-treated platelets using highly purified carrier-free [32P]Ins(1,3,4,5)P4. The displacement of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 from these sites by Ins(1,4,5)P3 and InsP6 occurs at greater than two orders of magnitude higher concentrations and with Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 at about 40-fold higher concentrations than with Ins(1,3,4,5)P4. The membranes were further separated by free-flow electrophoresis into plasma and intracellular membranes. The Ins(1,3,4,5)P4-binding sites separated with plasma membranes, and showed similar affinities and specificities as mixed membranes, whereas Ins(1,4,5)P3-binding sites were predominantly in the intracellular membranes. These results suggest a predominantly plasma membrane location for putative Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 receptors in human platelets.

1. Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 binding sites were studied in cerebellar and hepatic microsomes from rat, and in bovine adrenal-cortical microsomes. 2. At pH 7.0, all three tissues showed specific binding, with Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 being the most potent competing ligand of those tested [which included Ins(1,4,5)P3, Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 and InsP6] and Scatchard analysis suggested two sites; a site with high affinity and high specificity [Kd (1-6) x 10(-9) M] and a site with low affinity and low specificity [Kd (2-6) x 10(-7) M]. 3. At pH 5.5, cerebellar and bovine adrenal microsomes showed similar binding properties: two affinities with a similar specificity for Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 as at pH 7.0. 4. However, when assayed in a low-ionic strength acetate-based buffer at pH 5.0, cerebellar microsomes retain specific Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 binding sites, whereas bovine adrenal and hepatic microsomal binding sites lose much of their specificity, as InsP6 and Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 are equally as potent as Ins(1,3,4,5)P4. 5. Pi (25 mM), which is frequently included in Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 binding assays, had a small inhibitory effect on binding of cerebellar and adrenal microsomes at pH 5.5, but a large effect at pH 7.0, so that a considerable decrease occurs in the amount of specific binding at pH 5.5 compared with that at pH 7.0, if Pi is omitted from the binding assay. 6. Cerebellar and adrenal microsomes were used in a ligand-displacement mass assay (conducted under near-physiological conditions, at pH 7.0) on extracts of cerebral-cortex slices stimulated with agonists, and both preparations faithfully detected the increases in Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 that occurred, implying that Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 is the principal ligand on these binding sites in intact cells. 7. Apparent contradictions in the literature with regard to Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 binding sites in neuronal and peripheral tissues can be largely accounted for by the data, and the properties of the binding sites detected at physiological pH are consistent with the possibility that they are putative receptors for the proposed second-messenger role for Ins(1,3,4,5)P4.

1. In electroporated L1210 cells, Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 causes Ca2+ release, owing to its conversion into Ins(1,4,5)P3, but this does not happen in cells permeabilized by digitonin treatment [Cullen, Irvine, Drøbak & Dawson (1989) Biochem. J. 259, 931-933]. 2. If the assay medium is subjected to electroporation by using a commercially available electroporation apparatus and then the cells are added and permeabilized with digitonin, the cells behave as if they had been electroporated. 3. Electroporation causes the release of high concentrations of Al3+ into the experimental medium, and addition of these concentrations of Al3+ into the experimental medium mimics the effect of electroporation on the conversion of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 into Ins(1,4,5)P3. 4. It is concluded that the difference between electroporated and digitonin-permeabilized L1210 cells in this experimental system can be attributed to dissolution of Al3+ from the electroporation cuvette. Al3+ contamination may thus be a serious problem when using this apparatus.

L1210 lymphoma cells were permeabilized with digitonin, and the ability of Ins(2,4,5)P3 and Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 to mobilize intracellular Ca2+ was studied. At high doses of Ins(2,4,5)P3 Ca2+ was rapidly released from intracellular stores, and prior or subsequent addition of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 had no discernible effect. However, the Ca2(+)-mobilizing action of low (threshold or just above) concentrations of Ins(2,4,5)P3 was markedly enhanced by Ins(1,3,4,5)P4, which alone caused no mobilization of Ca2+; this phenomenon was shown not to be due to protection of Ins(2,4,5)P3 by the Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 against hydrolysis. The ability of the pre-addition of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 to enhance subsequent Ins(2,4,5)P3-induced Ca2+ mobilization was always seen whether or not the free Ca2+ concentration was low (pCa = 7) or high (pCa = 6). However, at low Ca2+, Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 could cause a further mobilization if added after the Ins(2,4,5)P3, whereas at higher Ca2+ values Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 was only able to affect Ca2+ if added before Ins(2,4,5)P3. These effects of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 were not, at the same concentration, mimicked by a random mixture of InsP4 isomers obtained by partial acid hydrolysis of phytic acid, by Ins(1,3,4)P3 or by Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5, and they were shown not to be due to enzymic generation of Ins(1,4,5)P3 from Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 by (a) the absence of any detectable production of Ins(1,4,5)P3 if radiolabelled Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 was used, or (b) the observation that Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 could mimic Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 provided that higher doses were used; this inositol phosphate, when added radiolabelled, yielded only trace quantities of D/L-Ins(1,4,5,6)P4, which itself does not mobilize Ca2+. We interpret these results overall to mean that in these cells there is a small proportion of the Ins(2,4,5)P3-mobilizable Ca2+ pools which can only be mobilized in the presence of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 [or at the least, Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 can help Ins(2,4,5)P3 to gain access to them]. The significance of this conclusion is discussed in the light of current concepts of the second messenger function of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4.

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.

Ras GTPases are binary switches, cycling between an inactive GDP-bound form and an active GTP-bound form at the membrane. They transduce signals into the cytoplasm via effector pathways that regulate cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. Ras activation is enhanced by guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs); deactivation is accelerated by GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs). Recently, new roles for Ca2+ and diacylglycerol (DAG) in the control of Ras cycling have emerged with the discovery of a series of novel GEFs and GAPs. These regulators of Ras cycling are likely to play a key role in the information processing of Ca2+ and DAG signals.

Early endosome-to-trans-Golgi network (TGN) transport is organized by the retromer complex. Consisting of cargo-selective and membrane-bound subcomplexes, retromer coordinates sorting with membrane deformation and carrier formation. Here, we describe four mammalian retromers whose membrane-bound subcomplexes contain specific combinations of the sorting nexins (SNX), SNX1, SNX2, SNX5, and SNX6. We establish that retromer requires a dynamic spatial organization of the endosomal network, which is regulated through association of SNX5/SNX6 with the p150glued component of dynactin, an activator of the minus-end directed microtubule motor dynein; an association further defined through genetic studies in C. elegans. Finally, we also establish that the spatial organization of the retromer pathway is mediated through the association of SNX1 with the proposed TGN-localized tether Rab6-interacting protein-1. These interactions describe fundamental steps in retromer-mediated transport and establish that the spatial organization of the retromer network is a critical element required for efficient retromer-mediated sorting.

Ca2+ is a universal second messenger that is critical for cell growth and is intimately associated with many Ras-dependent cellular processes such as proliferation and differentiation [1]. Ras is a small GTP binding protein that operates as a molecular switch regulating the control of gene expression, cell growth, and differentiation through a pathway from receptors to mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) [2]. A role for intracellular Ca2+ in the activation of Ras has been previously demonstrated, e.g., via the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase PYK2 [3] and by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) such as Ras-GRF [4]; however, there is no Ca2+-dependent mechanism for direct inactivation. An important advance toward greater understanding of the complex coordination within the Ras-signaling network is the spatio-temporal analysis of signaling events in vivo. Here, we describe the identification of CAPRI (Ca2+-promoted Ras inactivator), a Ca2+-dependent Ras GTPase-activating protein (GAP) that switches off the Ras-MAPK pathway following a stimulus that elevates intracellular Ca2+. Analysis of the spatio-temporal dynamics of CAPRI indicates that Ca2+ regulates the GAP by a fast C2 domain-dependent translocation mechanism.

Addition of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 at micromolar concentrations causes release of Ca2+ from electroporated L1210 cells, but not from digitonin-permeabilized cells. This was shown to be due to its conversion into Ins(1,4,5)P3, because only the electroporated cells convert Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 into Ins(1,4,5)P3. Thus electroporation appears to activate or expose an Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 3-phosphatase.

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins (1,4,5)P3)-stimulated Ca2+ release is inhibited by low concentrations of heparin (IC50 = 4.5 micrograms/ml). GTP-stimulated Ca2+ release is unaffected at a heparin concentration of 16 micrograms/ml. Addition of heparin after Ins (1,4,5)P3 causes the rapid re-uptake of Ins (1,4,5)P3-releasable Ca2+.

The specificity of the inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate binding protein purified from porcine platelets [Cullen et al. (1995) Biochem. J. 305, 139–143] was examined using all the isomers of myo-inositol tetrakisphosphate. From the relative potencies of these compounds it appears that phosphorylation of the 1, 3 and 5 positions is essential for high affinity binding, that there is some tolerance of phosphorylation of the 6-hydroxyl, but none of a phosphate in the 2-position, and that phosphorylation of the 4-hydroxyl has very little influence. The binding of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 was not appreciably altered by physiological Mg2+ concentrations, and the pH dependence of binding under physiological conditions showed a decline from pH 5.5 to pH 9.0.

The group I family of pleckstrin homology (PH) domains are characterized by their inherent ability to specifically bind phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3)) and its corresponding inositol head-group inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (Ins(1,3,4,5)P(4)). In vivo this interaction results in the regulated plasma membrane recruitment of cytosolic group I PH domain-containing proteins following agonist-stimulated PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3) production. Among group I PH domain-containing proteins, the Ras GTPase-activating protein GAP1(IP4BP) is unique in being constitutively associated with the plasma membrane. Here we show that, although the GAP1(IP4BP) PH domain interacts with PtdIns(3,4, 5)P(3), it also binds, with a comparable affinity, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P(2)) (K(d) values of 0.5 +/- 0.2 and 0.8 +/- 0.5 microm, respectively). Intriguingly, whereas this binding site overlaps with that for Ins(1,3,4,5)P(4), consistent with the constitutive plasma membrane association of GAP1(IP4BP) resulting from its PH domain-binding PtdIns(4,5)P(2), we show that in vivo depletion of PtdIns(4,5)P(2), but not PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3), results in dissociation of GAP1(IP4BP) from this membrane. Thus, the Ins(1,3,4,5)P(4)-binding PH domain from GAP1(IP4BP) defines a novel class of group I PH domains that constitutively targets the protein to the plasma membrane and may allow GAP1(IP4BP) to be regulated in vivo by Ins(1,3,4,5)P(4) rather than PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3).

We previously reported the isolation of a rat cDNA clone encoding a protein with significant sequence homology to the B isoform of human myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate 3-kinase (IP3 3-kinase B); this protein was thus designated rat IP3 3-kinase B [Thomas, Brake, Luzio, Stanley and Banting (1994) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1220, 219–222]. However, no IP3 kinase isoform had been shown to generate the physiologically important isoform of inositol tetrakisphosphate, i.e. inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate. We now present direct evidence that the putative rat IP3 3-kinase B is genuinely an IP3 3-kinase. We also show that the enzyme exists both as a peripheral membrane protein tightly associated with the cytosolic face of the extended endoplasmic reticulum network, and as a cytosolic protein. Association of the IP3 3-kinase with membranes is not affected by treatment with brefeldin A, Na2CO3 (pH 11.5), 2 M NaCl, or alteration of [Ca2+]. However, treatment of isolated membranes with 4 M urea leads to dissociation of the kinase from the membrane, implying that membrane association involves specific, conformation-dependent protein–protein interactions. The fact that IP3 3-kinase B is localized exclusively to membranes of Ca2+ stores, is consistent with a model where this kinase plays a role in IP3-dependent Ca2+ release.

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are small GTP-binding proteins that function as regulators of eukaryotic vesicle trafficking. Cytohesin-1 is a member of a family of ARF guanine nucleotide-exchange factors that contain a C-terminal pleckstrin homology (PH) domain which has been proposed to bind the lipid second messenger phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3). Here we demonstrate that in vitro, recombinant cytohesin-1 binds, via its PH domain, the inositol head group of PIP3, inositol 1,3,4, 5-tetrakisphosphate (IP4), with an affinity greater than 200-fold higher than the inositol head group of either phosphatidylinositol 4, 5-bisphosphate or phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate. Moreover, addition of glycerol or diacetylglycerol to the 1-phosphate of IP4 does not alter the ability to interact with cytohesin-1, data which is entirely consistent with cytohesin-1 functioning as a putative PIP3 receptor. To address whether cytohesin-1 binds PIP3 in vivo, we have expressed a chimera of green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to the N terminus of cytohesin-1 in PC12 cells. Using laser scanning confocal microscopy we demonstrate that either EGF- or NGF-stimulation of transiently transfected PC12 cells results in a rapid translocation of GFP-cytohesin-1 from the cytosol to the plasma membrane. This translocation is dependent on the cytohesin-1 PH domain and occurs with a time course that parallels the rate of plasma membrane PIP3 production. Furthermore, the translocation requires the ability of either agonist to activate PI 3-kinase, since it is inhibited by wortmannin (100 nM), LY294002 (50 microM) and by coexpression with a dominant negative p85. This data therefore suggests that in vivo cytohesin-1 can interact with PIP3 via its PH domain.