The small GTPase Rab11 plays an important role in the recycling of proteins to the plasma membrane as well as in polarised transport in epithelial cells and neurons. We generated conditional knockout mice deficient in Rab11a. Rab11a-deficient mice are embryonic lethal, and brain-specific Rab11a knockout mice show no overt abnormalities in brain architecture. In contrast, intestine-specific Rab11a knockout mice begin dying approximately 1 week after birth. Apical proteins in the intestines of knockout mice accumulate in the cytoplasm and mislocalise to the basolateral plasma membrane, whereas the localisation of basolateral proteins is unaffected. Shorter microvilli and microvillus inclusion bodies are also observed in the knockout mice. Elevation of a serum starvation marker was also observed, likely caused by the mislocalisation of apical proteins and reduced nutrient uptake. In addition, Rab8a is mislocalised in Rab11a knockout mice. Conversely, Rab11a is mislocalised in Rab8a knockout mice and in a microvillus atrophy patient, which has a mutation in the myosin Vb gene. Our data show an essential role for Rab11a in the localisation of apical proteins in the intestine and demonstrate functional relationships between Rab11a, Rab8a and myosin Vb in vivo.

Core fucosylation of the TCR is required for T-cell signaling and production of inflammatory cytokines and induction of colitis in mice. Levels of TCR core fucosylation are increased on T cells from intestinal tissues of patients with IBD; this process might be blocked as a therapeutic strategy.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) plays a role in the cascade of protein kinase activation in cultured cells. To investigate the involvement of MAP kinase in meiotic maturation, we measured MAP kinase activity, using myelin basic protein as a substrate, with histone H1 kinase activity, in mouse oocytes. MAP kinase activity was low 1 h after isolation from follicles (when oocytes lost their germinal vesicle), increased abruptly at 2 h, and remained high until the second metaphase (13 h after isolation from follicles). Histone H1 kinase activity increased gradually from 2 to 7 h after isolation. When immature oocytes were treated with puromycin, MAP kinase activity did not increase after isolation from follicles. In the presence of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, the treatment of immature oocytes with okadaic acid, a specific inhibitor of protein phosphatase 1 and 2A, induced germinal vesicle breakdown and activation of MAP kinase. These results suggest that MAP kinase is involved in the regulation of meiotic maturation, and that the activation of MAP kinase requires protein synthesis and is inhibited by the protein phosphatase during meiotic maturation in mouse oocytes.

Sobajima et al. identify the novel protein RELCH/KIAA1468 as a Rab11-binding protein and show that RELCH/KIAA1468 and Rab11 regulate OSBP-dependent nonvesicular cholesterol transport from recycling endosomes to the trans-Golgi network.

Fucosylation might be a biomarker of CSC-like cells in pancreatic cancer.