Caveolae are abundant cell-surface organelles involved in lipid regulation and endocytosis. We used comparative proteomics to identify PTRF (also called Cav-p60, Cavin) as a putative caveolar coat protein. PTRF-Cavin selectively associates with mature caveolae at the plasma membrane but not Golgi-localized caveolin. In prostate cancer PC3 cells, and during development of zebrafish notochord, lack of PTRF-Cavin expression correlates with lack of caveolae, and caveolin resides on flat plasma membrane. Expression of PTRF-Cavin in PC3 cells is sufficient to cause formation of caveolae. Knockdown of PTRF-Cavin reduces caveolae density, both in mammalian cells and in the zebrafish. Caveolin remains on the plasma membrane in PTRF-Cavin knockdown cells but exhibits increased lateral mobility and accelerated lysosomal degradation. We conclude that PTRF-Cavin is required for caveola formation and sequestration of mobile caveolin into immobile caveolae.

Using quantitative light microscopy and a modified immunoelectron microscopic technique, we have characterized the entry pathway of the cholera toxin binding subunit (CTB) in primary embryonic fibroblasts. CTB trafficking to the Golgi complex was identical in caveolin-1null (Cav1−/−) mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and wild-type (WT) MEFs. CTB entry in the Cav1−/− MEFs was predominantly clathrin and dynamin independent but relatively cholesterol dependent. Immunoelectron microscopy was used to quantify budded and surface-connected caveolae and to identify noncaveolar endocytic vehicles. In WT MEFs, a small fraction of the total Cav1-positive structures were shown to bud from the plasma membrane (2% per minute), and budding increased upon okadaic acid or lactosyl ceramide treatment. However, the major carriers involved in initial entry of CTB were identified as uncoated tubular or ring-shaped structures. These carriers contained GPI-anchored proteins and fluid phase markers and represented the major vehicles mediating CTB uptake in both WT and caveolae-null cells.

Polymerase I and transcript release factor (PTRF)/Cavin is a cytoplasmic protein whose expression is obligatory for caveola formation. Using biochemistry and fluorescence resonance energy transfer–based approaches, we now show that a family of related proteins, PTRF/Cavin-1, serum deprivation response (SDR)/Cavin-2, SDR-related gene product that binds to C kinase (SRBC)/Cavin-3, and muscle-restricted coiled-coil protein (MURC)/Cavin-4, forms a multiprotein complex that associates with caveolae. This complex can constitutively assemble in the cytosol and associate with caveolin at plasma membrane caveolae. Cavin-1, but not other cavins, can induce caveola formation in a heterologous system and is required for the recruitment of the cavin complex to caveolae. The tissue-restricted expression of cavins suggests that caveolae may perform tissue-specific functions regulated by the composition of the cavin complex. Cavin-4 is expressed predominantly in muscle, and its distribution is perturbed in human muscle disease associated with Caveolin-3 dysfunction, identifying Cavin-4 as a novel muscle disease candidate caveolar protein.

Liver regeneration is an orchestrated cellular response that coordinates cell activation, lipid metabolism, and cell division. We found that caveolin-1 gene-disrupted mice (cav1-/- mice) exhibited impaired liver regeneration and low survival after a partial hepatectomy. Hepatocytes showed dramatically reduced lipid droplet accumulation and did not advance through the cell division cycle. Treatment of cav1-/- mice with glucose (which is a predominant energy substrate when compared to lipids) drastically increased survival and reestablished progression of the cell cycle. Thus, caveolin-1 plays a crucial role in the mechanisms that coordinate lipid metabolism with the proliferative response occurring in the liver after cellular injury.

The staggerer mice carry a deletion in the ROR␣ gene and have a prolonged humoral response, overproduce inflammatory cytokines, and are immunodeficient. Furthermore, the staggerer mice display lowered plasma apoA-I/-II, decreased plasma high density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides, and develop hypo-␣-lipoproteinemia and atherosclerosis. However, relatively little is known about ROR␣ in the context of target tissues, target genes, and lipid homeostasis. For example, ROR␣ is abundantly expressed in skeletal muscle, a major mass peripheral tissue that accounts for ϳ40% of total body weight and 50% of energy expenditure. This lean tissue is a primary site of glucose disposal and fatty acid oxidation. Consequently, muscle has a significant role in insulin sensitivity, obesity, and the blood-lipid profile. In particular, the role of ROR␣ in skeletal muscle metabolism has not been investigated, and the contribution of skeletal muscle to the ROR؊/؊ phenotype has not been resolved. We utilize ectopic dominant negative ROR␣ expression in skeletal muscle cells to understand the regulatory role of RORs in this major mass peripheral tissue. Exogenous dominant negative ROR␣ expression in skeletal muscle cells represses the endogenous levels of ROR␣ and -␥ mRNAs and ROR-dependent gene expression. Moreover, we observed attenuated expression of many genes involved in lipid homeostasis. Furthermore, we show that the muscle carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 and caveolin-3 promoters are directly regulated by ROR and coactivated by p300 and PGC-1. This study implicates RORs in the control of lipid homeostasis in skeletal muscle. In conclusion, we speculate that ROR agonists would increase fatty acid catabolism in muscle and suggest selective activators of ROR may have therapeutic utility in the treatment of obesity and atherosclerosis.Members of the nuclear hormone receptor (NR) 1 superfamily bind specific DNA elements and function as transcriptional regulators (1, 2). This group includes the "orphan NRs," which have no known ligands in the "classical sense." The orphan receptor, ROR/RZR (retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor), is closely related to Rev-erbA␣, RVR/Rev-erb␤/BD73, and the Drosophila orphan receptor, E75A, particularly in the DNA-binding domain and the putative ligand-binding domain. ROR, Rev-erbA␣, and RVR bind as monomers to an asymmetric (A/T) 6 RGGTCA motif. ROR functions as a constitutive transactivator of gene expression, and in contrast, Rev-erbA␣ and RVR do not activate transcription, mediate transcriptional repression, and can repress constitutive trans-activation from this motif by ROR␣ (3-9).Three ROR/RZR genes have been identified; ROR␣ encodes four ROR␣ isoforms ␣1, ␣2, ␣3, and RZR␣, which are alternatively spliced products of the ROR␣ gene and are predominantly expressed in blood, brain, skeletal muscle, and fat cells (8,10). ROR␤/RZR␤ is expressed specifically in the brain (11), and ROR␥ is found at high levels in skeletal muscle (12)(13)(14).Genetic studies have implicated ROR␣ in the ...