In HeLa cells, Shiga toxin B-subunit is transported from the plasma membrane to the endoplasmic reticulum, via early endosomes and the Golgi apparatus, circumventing the late endocytic pathway. We describe here that in cells derived from human monocytes, i.e., macrophages and dendritic cells, the B-subunit was internalized in a receptor-dependent manner, but retrograde transport to the biosynthetic/secretory pathway did not occur and part of the internalized protein was degraded in lysosomes. These differences correlated with the observation that the B-subunit associated with Triton X-100-resistant membranes in HeLa cells, but not in monocyte-derived cells, suggesting that retrograde targeting to the biosynthetic/secretory pathway required association with specialized microdomains of biological membranes. In agreement with this hypothesis we found that in HeLa cells, the B-subunit resisted extraction by Triton X-100 until its arrival in the target compartments of the retrograde pathway, i.e., the Golgi apparatus and the endoplasmic reticulum. Furthermore, destabilization of Triton X-100-resistant membranes by cholesterol extraction potently inhibited B-subunit transport from early endosomes to the trans-Golgi network, whereas under the same conditions, recycling of transferrin was not affected. Our data thus provide first evidence for a role of lipid asymmetry in membrane sorting at the interface between early endosomes and the trans-Golgi network.

Analysis of the lipid composition of influenza virus–infected cells provides support for the membrane raft-based biogenesis model.

We document a new dimension of surface recognition in which communication is controlled through the collective behavior of lipids. Membrane cholesterol induces a tilt in glycolipid receptor headgroup, resulting in loss of access for ligand binding. This property appears to organize erythrocyte blood group presentation and glycolipid receptor function during the activation of sperm fertility, suggesting that lipid 'allostery' is a means to regulate membrane recognition processes.