An in vitro transport assay, established with a modified Shiga toxin B subunit (STxB) as a marker, has proved to be useful for the study of transport from the early/recycling endosome (EE/RE) to the trans-Golgi network (TGN). Here, we modified this assay to test antibodies to all known soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) that have been shown to localize in the Golgi and found that syntaxin 5, GS28, Ykt6, and GS15 antibodies specifically inhibited STxB transport. Because syntaxin 5, GS28, Ykt6, and GS15 exist as a unique SNARE complex, our observation indicates that these four SNAREs function as a complex in EE/RE-TGN transport. The importance of GS15 in EE/RE-TGN transport was further demonstrated by a block in recombinant STxB transport in HeLa cells when GS15 expression was knocked down by its small interfering iRNA. Morphological analyses showed that some GS15 and Ykt6 were redistributed from the Golgi to the endosomes when the recycling endosome was perturbed by SNX3-overexpression, suggesting that GS15 and Ykt6 might cycle between the endosomes and the Golgi apparatus. Further studies indicated that syntaxin 5 and syntaxin 16 exerted their role in EE/RE-TGN transport in an additive manner. The kinetics of inhibition exhibited by syntaxin 16 and syntaxin 5 antibodies is similar. INTRODUCTIONMammalian cells endocytose a variety of molecules. Some of them escape from the lysosomal degradative pathway and are instead delivered to the Golgi apparatus. Examples of these are some protein toxins such as cholera toxin, Shiga toxin, and ricin (Sandvig and van Deurs, 2002) as well as some endogenous proteins such as TGN38 (Ghosh et al., 1998;Mallet and Maxfield, 1999), mannose 6-phosphate receptor (Goda and Pfeffer, 1988), furin (Mallet and Maxfield, 1999), GLUT4 (Shewan et al., 2003), and some glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins (Nichols et al., 2001;Nichols, 2002). To date, several retrograde transport pathways in the endocytic route to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) have been identified. These include a well-studied pathway from the late endosome to the TGN taken by mannose 6-phosphate receptors (Goda and Pfeffer, 1988) and furin (Mallet and Maxfield, 1999), and a newly discovered direct pathway from the early/recycling endosome to the TGN taken by TGN38 (Ghosh et al., 1998;Mallet and Maxfield, 1999), GLUT4 (Shewan et al., 2003), and exogenously added Shiga toxin B subunit (Mallard et al., 1998). Similar transport from the late endosome (prevacuolar compartment) and the early/recycling endosome (post-Golgi compartment) to the TGN (late Golgi) has been described in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Bensen et al., 2001;Siniossoglou et al., 2001). Recently, GPI-anchored green fluorescent protein (GFP), CD59, and a fraction of cholera toxin B subunit have been found to accumulate in a discrete population of endosomes en route to the Golgi apparatus (Nichols, 2002). These endosomes are devoid of markers for classical early and recycling endosomes, but they do...

The precise cellular function of Arl1 and its effectors, the GRIP domain Golgins, is not resolved, despite our recent understanding that Arl1 regulates the membrane recruitment of these Golgins. In this report, we describe our functional study of Golgin-97. Using a Shiga toxin B fragment (STxB)-based in vitro transport assay, we demonstrated that Golgin-97 plays a role in transport from the endosome to the trans-Golgi network (TGN). The recombinant GRIP domain of Golgin-97 as well as antibodies against Golgin-97 inhibited the transport of STxB in vitro. Membrane-associated Golgin-97, but not its cytosolic pool, was required in the in vitro transport assay. The kinetic characterization of inhibition by anti-Golgin-97 antibody in comparison with anti-Syntaxin 16 antibody established that Golgin-97 acts before Syntaxin 16 in endosome-to-TGN transport. Knock down of Golgin-97 or Arl1 by their respective small interference RNAs (siRNAs) also significantly inhibited the transport of STxB to the Golgi in vivo. In siRNA-treated cells with reduced levels of Arl1, internalized STxB was instead distributed peripherally. Microinjection of Golgin-97 antibody led to the fragmentation of Golgi apparatus and the arrested transport to the Golgi of internalized Cholera toxin B fragment. We suggest that Golgin-97 may function as a tethering molecule in endosome-to-TGN retrograde traffic. INTRODUCTIONIn eukaryotic cells, different types of cargo (solutes, lipids, and membrane proteins, including receptors and their ligands) internalized from the plasma membrane follow several routes upon reaching the early/sorting endosome. They could recycle back to the plasma membrane directly via early/sorting endosome or indirectly via the recycling endosome, or travel further to the lysosome via the late endosome. Recently, there was evidence suggesting the existence of two retrograde transport pathways from endosomes to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) (Ghosh et al., 1998;Mallard et al., 1998;Mallet and Maxfield, 1999). One pathway, used by furin (Mallet and Maxfield, 1999) and mannose-6-phosphate receptor (M6PR) (Diaz and Pfeffer, 1998;Sincock et al., 2003), is from the late endosome to the TGN. The other one, used by TGN38 (Ghosh et al., 1998), Shiga Toxin B fragment (STxB) (Mallard et al., 1998) and likely GLUT4 (Shewan et al., 2003), proceeds via the early endosome (EE) and/or the recycling endosome (RE), without passing through late endosomes. In addition, the large cation-independent M6PR and the small cation-dependent MPR46 are recently shown to also use this EE/RE-TGN pathway, in addition to its well characterized late endosome-TGN route (Medigeshi and Schu, 2003;Lin et al., 2004). These endosome-TGN pathways could be used by other proteins such as P-selectin (Straley and Green, 2000), membrane-type matrix metalloproteinases (Kang et al., 2002;Zucker et al., 2002;Remacle et al., 2003; Wang et al., 2004a,b), copper transporters (Petris and Mercer, 1999;Petris et al., 2002), and VAMP4, a TGN SNARE (unpublished observations). In addition, ...

Intracellular protein transport between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi apparatus and within the Golgi apparatus is facilitated by COP (coat protein)-coated vesicles. Their existence in plant cellshas not yet been demonstrated, although the GTPbinding proteins required for coat formation have been identified. We have generated antisera against glutathione-S-transferase-fusion proteins prepared with cDNAs encoding the Arabidopsis Sec21p and Sec23p homologs (AtSec21p and AtSec23p, respectively). The former is a constituent of the COPI vesicle coatomer, and the latter is part of the Sec23/24p dimeric complex of the COPII vesicle coat. Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea) inflorescence homogenates were probed with these antibodies and demonstrated the presence of AtSec21p and AtSec23p antigens in both the cytosol and membrane fractions of the cell. The membrane-associated forms of both antigens can be solubilized by treatments typical for extrinsic proteins. The amounts of the cytosolic antigens relative to the membranebound forms increase after cold treatment, and the two antigens belong to different protein complexes with molecular sizes comparable to the corresponding nonplant coat proteins. Sucrose-densitygradient centrifugation of microsomal cell membranes from cauliflower suggests that, although AtSec23p seems to be preferentially associated with ER membranes, AtSec21p appears to be bound to both the ER and the Golgi membranes. This could be in agreement with the notion that COPII vesicles are formed at the ER, whereas COPI vesicles can be made by both Golgi and ER membranes. Both AtSec21p and AtSec23p antigens were detected on membranes equilibrating at sucrose densities equivalent to those typical for in vitro-induced COP vesicles from animal and yeast systems. Therefore, a further purification of the putative plant COP vesicles was undertaken.

Syntaxin 10 is a soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) protein localized to the trans-Golgi network (TGN), where two other members of the syntaxin family, syntaxins 6 and 16, also reside. The role of syntaxin 10 in regulating TGN protein traffic is not yet defined. Syntaxin 10 co-localizes well with syntaxins 6 and 16 at the TGN in interphase cells, and appears to interact with both syntaxin 6 and 16 as evidenced by co-immunoprecipitation analyses. However, unlike syntaxin 6 and 16, neither syntaxin 10 antibodies nor its cytosolic domain inhibits endosome-TGN transport of shiga toxin. Syntaxin 16 knockdown with small interfering RNA (siRNA) affects the TGN localization of syntaxin 6 but not syntaxin 10, and clearly inhibits endosome-TGN transport. On the other hand, knockdown of syntaxin 10 expressions had no significant effect on the TGN localization of syntaxin 6 and 16, and did not inhibit endosome-TGN transport. Unlike syntaxin 16, syntaxin 10 does not interact specifically with Vps45, the Sec1/Munc18 (SM) family member at the TGN. On the other hand, syntaxin 10 reciprocally co-immunoprecipitated endosomal syntaxin 12/13, and knockdown of syntaxin 10 expressions affects the surface expression of transferrin receptor (TfR) and seems to induce the formation of an immobile TfR pool. Therefore, in spite of its co-localization and possible interaction with syntaxin 16, syntaxin 10 is not part of the syntaxin 16-based SNARE complex involved in endosome-TGN transport, and may have a hitherto unrecognized function in the TGN-endosome boundary.

High-field 1H-n.m.r.-spectroscopic studies supported by chemical carbohydrate analyses show that skeletal keratan sulphates (KS-II) of bovine origin may be sub-classified into two groups. Keratan sulphate chains from articular and intervertebral-disc cartilage (KS-II-A) contain two structural features, namely alpha(1----3)-fucose and alpha(2----6)-linked N-acetyl-neuraminic acid residues, that are absent from keratan sulphates from tracheal or nasal-septum cartilage (KS-II-B).