Abstract. In simple epithelial cells, apical and basolateral proteins are sorted into separate vesicular carriers before delivery to the appropriate plasma membrane domains. To dissect the putative sorting machinery, we have solubilized Golgi-derived transport vesicles with the detergent CHAPS and shown that an apical marker, influenza haemagglutinin (HA), formed a large complex together with several integral membrane proteins. Remarkably, a similar set of CHAPS-insoluble proteins was found after solubilization of a total cellular membrane fraction. This allowed the cloning of a cDNA encoding one protein of this complex, VIP21 (Vesicular Integral-membrane Protein of 21 kD). The transiently expressed protein appeared on the Golgi-apparatus, the plasma membrane and vesicular structures. We propose that VIP21 is a component of the molecular machinery of vesicular transport.

The genetic basis for the biosynthesis of large polypeptide antibiotics such as nisin has not been explained so far. We show here that the structural gene epiA encoding the antibiotic epidermin from Staphylococcus epidermidis is located on a 54-kilobase plasmid and codes for a 52-amino-acid prepeptide, which is processed to the tetracyclic 21-peptide amide antibiotic. The mature sequence of epidermin corresponds to the C-terminal 22-peptide segment of pre-epidermin and contains the precursor amino acids Ser, Thr and Cys, from which the unusual amino-acid constituents are derived. The more lipophilic epidermin is cleaved at a hydrophilic turn between Arg-1 and Ile+1 from the N-terminal segment-30 to -1, which probably assumes a partially amphiphilic alpha-helix conformation. We propose that the N-terminus (-30 to -1) plays a cooperative role during modification reactions and prevents toxicity of the mature epidermin to the producing strain before the antibiotic is cleaved off and secreted.

Abstract. We have used an in vitro assay to follow the proteins transferred from a donor to an acceptor upon fusion of early endosomes. The acceptor was a purified early endosomal fraction immunoisolated on beads and the donor was a metabolically-labeled early endosomal fraction in suspension. In the assay, both fractions were mixed in the presence of unlabeled cytosol, and then the beads were retrieved and washed. The donor proteins transferred to the acceptor were identified by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. Approximately 50 major proteins were transferred and this transfer fulfilled all criteria established for endosome fusion in vitro. However, only a small subset of proteins was efficiently transferred, if donor endosomes were briefly sonicated to generate small (0.1 #m diam) vesicles before the assay. These include two acidic membrane proteins, and three alkaline peripheral proteins exposed on the cytoplasmic face of the membrane. Partial sequencing and Western blotting indicated that one of the latter components is annexin II, a protein known to mediate membrane-membrane interactions. Immunogold labeling of cryosections confirmed that annexin n is present on early endosomes in vivo. These data demonstrate that annexin II, together with the other four proteins we have identified, is a major component of fusogenic endosomal vesicles, suggesting that these proteins are involved in the binding and/or fusion process.

Annexin II is an abundant protein which is present in the cytosol and on the cytoplasmic face of plasma membrane and early endosomes. It is generally believed that this association occurs via Ca2+-dependent binding to lipids, a mechanism typical for the annexin protein family. Although previous studies have shown that annexin II is involved in early endosome dynamics and organization, the precise biological role of the protein is unknown. In this study, we found that approximately 50% of the total cellular annexin was associated with membranes in a Ca2+-independent manner. This binding was extremely tight, since it resisted high salt and, to some extent, high pH treatments. We found, however, that membrane-associated annexin II could be quantitatively released by low concentrations of the cholesterol-sequestering agents filipin and digitonin. Both treatments released an identical and limited set of proteins but had no effects on other membrane-associated proteins. Among the released proteins, we identified, in addition to annexin II itself, the cortical cytoskeletal proteins a-actinin, ezrin and moesin, and membrane-associated actin. Our biochemical and immunological observations indicate that these proteins are part of a complex containing annexin II and that stability of the complex is sensitive to cholesterol sequestering agents. Since annexin II is tightly membrane-associated in a cholesterol-dependent manner, and since it seems to interact physically with elements of the cortical actin cytoskeleton, we propose that the protein serves as interface between membranes containing high amounts of cholesterol and the actin cytoskeleton.