The conserved FER-CIP4 homology (FCH) domain is found in the pombe Cdc15 homology (PCH) protein family members, including formin-binding protein 17 (FBP17). However, the amino acid sequence homology extends beyond the FCH domain. We have termed this region the extended FC (EFC) domain. We found that FBP17 coordinated membrane deformation with actin cytoskeleton reorganization during endocytosis. The EFC domains of FBP17, CIP4, and other PCH protein family members show weak homology to the Bin-amphiphysin-Rvs (BAR) domain. The EFC domains bound strongly to phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and deformed the plasma membrane and liposomes into narrow tubules. Most PCH proteins possess an SH3 domain that is known to bind to dynamin and that recruited and activated neural Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP) at the plasma membrane. FBP17 and/or CIP4 contributed to the formation of the protein complex, including N-WASP and dynamin-2, in the early stage of endocytosis. Furthermore, knockdown of endogenous FBP17 and CIP4 impaired endocytosis. Our data indicate that PCH protein family members couple membrane deformation to actin cytoskeleton reorganization in various cellular processes.

Using the tip-growing pollen tube of Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum as a model to investigate endocytosis mechanisms, we show that phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase 6 (PIP5K6) regulates clathrin-dependent endocytosis in pollen tubes. Green fluorescent protein-tagged PIP5K6 was preferentially localized to the subapical plasma membrane (PM) in pollen tubes where it apparently converts phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) to phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P 2 ]. RNA interference-induced suppression of PIP5K6 expression impaired tip growth and inhibited clathrin-dependent endocytosis in pollen tubes. By contrast, PIP5K6 overexpression induced massive aggregation of the PM in pollen tube tips. This PM abnormality was apparently due to excessive clathrin-dependent membrane invagination because this defect was suppressed by the expression of a dominant-negative mutant of clathrin heavy chain. These results support a role for PI(4,5)P 2 in promoting early stages of clathrin-dependent endocytosis (i.e., membrane invagination). Interestingly, the PIP5K6 overexpression-induced PM abnormality was partially suppressed not only by the overexpression of PLC2, which breaks down PI(4,5)P 2 , but also by that of PI4Kb1, which increases the pool of PI4P. Based on these observations, we propose that a proper balance between PI4P and PI(4,5)P 2 is required for clathrin-dependent endocytosis in the tip of pollen tubes.

No abstract

The in vitro protein folding activity of an FKBP (FK506 binding protein, abbreviated to MTFK) from a thermophilic archaeon, Methanococcus thermolithotrophicus, was investigated. MTFK exhibited FK506 sensitive PPIase (peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase) activity which accelerated the speed of ribonuclease T1 refolding, which is rate-limited by isomerization of two prolyl peptide bonds. In addition, MTFK suppressed the aggregation of folding intermediates and elevated the final yield of rhodanese refolding. We called this activity of MTFK the chaperone activity. The chaperone activity of MTFK was also inhibited by FK506. Alignment of the amino acid sequences of MTFK with human FKBP12 showed that MTFK has two insertion sequences, consisting of 13 and 44 amino acids, at the N- and C-termini, respectively [Furutani, M., Iida, T., Yamano, S., Kamino, K., and Maruyama, T. (1998) J. Bacteriol. 180, 388-394]. To study the relationship between chaperone and PPIase activities of MTFK, mutant MTFKs with deletions of these insertion sequences or with amino acid substitutions were created. Their PPIase and chaperone activities were measured using a synthetic oligopeptide and denatured rhodanese as the substrates, respectively. The far-UV circular dichroism spectra of the wild type and the mutants were also analyzed. The results suggested that (1) the PPIase activity did not correlate with chaperone activity, (2) both insertion sequences were required for MTFK to take a proper conformation, and (3) the insertion sequence (44 amino acids) in the C-terminus was important for the chaperone activity.

Epoxy resins are important thermosetting resins widely used in industrial applications. Though imidazoles as curing agents have attracted particular attention because of their high reactivity in chain polymerizations with epoxides, polymerization of a liquid epoxy resin containing imidazoles proceeds gradually even at room temperature. This makes it difficult to use such mixtures as one-component materials for industrial applications. To improve the shelf life of the mixutures, we have developed a very simple and powerful thermal latent curing agent, a 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)imidazole derivative (1), having an intramolecular hydrogen bond between the phenolic hydroxyl group and the nitrogen atom of the imidazole ring, leading to suppression of reactivity of 1 toward epoxy resins at room temperature. It was confirmed that high reactivity of 1 toward epoxy resins at 150 °C was based on breakage of the intramolecular hydrogen, whereas the epoxy resin composition showed long-term storage stability at room temperature.