CD13, a receptor for human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E), was identified as a major component of the Triton X-100-resistant membrane microdomain in human fibroblasts. The incubation of living fibroblasts with an anti-CD13 antibody on ice gave punctate labeling that was evenly distributed on the cell surface, but raising the temperature to 37°C before fixation caused aggregation of the labeling. The aggregated labeling of CD13 colocalized with caveolin-1 in most cells. The HCoV-229E virus particle showed a binding and redistribution pattern that was similar to that caused by the anti-CD13 antibody: the virus bound to the cell evenly when incubated on ice but became colocalized with caveolin-1 at 37°C; importantly, the virus also caused sequestration of CD13 to the caveolin-1-positive area. Electron microscopy confirmed that HCoV-229E was localized near or at the orifice of caveolae after incubation at 37°C. The depletion of plasmalemmal cholesterol with methyl ␤-cyclodextrin significantly reduced the HCoV-229E redistribution and subsequent infection. A caveolin-1 knockdown by RNA interference also reduced the HCoV-229E infection considerably. The results indicate that HCoV-229E first binds to CD13 in the Triton X-100-resistant microdomain, then clusters CD13 by cross-linking, and thereby reaches the caveolar region before entering cells.Recent studies have revealed that the plasma membranes of cells contain microdomains with discrete molecular compositions. Rafts are sphingolipid-and cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains that are thought of as platforms for signal transduction (39, 40). Although there are still many controversies regarding how rafts exist in living cells, it is generally agreed that cholesterol is indispensable for their integrity and that the detergent-resistant membrane (DRM) fraction is the in vitro correlate of the raft. Because acyl chains of sphingolipids and glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins enriched in the DRM fraction are more highly saturated than those of glycerolipids in the bulk membrane, the raft domain is thought to show less fluidity than nonraft areas of the plasma membrane. However, it is difficult to capture rafts morphologically because their shape and size are likely to change dynamically (40).On the other hand, caveolae were first defined morphologically as invaginations of the plasma membrane (49). They are also susceptible to cholesterol depletion (31). Moreover, caveolin-1, -2, and -3, which were identified as major components of caveolae (31,35,44,47), are highly enriched in the DRM fraction (2,12,14,36). Several results suggest that many molecules are shared by rafts and caveolae but that at least several molecules that are enriched in the DRM fraction are not concentrated in caveolae (11). Thus, caveolae are not simply a stabilized form of rafts, but there should be a regulatory mechanism (as yet unknown) to control the molecular distribution between caveolae and rafts.It has been shown that cross-linked raft molecules, such as GPI-anchored proteins,...

authors request that the following correction be noted. On page 7927 in the Abstract, diazepam binding inhibitor [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50] is mentioned incorrectly and should read: ''Similarly, diazepam binding inhibitor 33-52 also stimulated CCK release and pancreatic secretion in a dosedependent manner although it was 100 times less potent than the whole peptide.'' Also, due to a printer's error, the corresponding author's address should read D-24105 Kiel. CorrectionProc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93 (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad.

Granin-family proteins, including chromogranin A and secretogranin III, are sorted to the secretory granules in neuroendocrine cells. We previously demonstrated that secretogranin III binds chromogranin A and targets it to the secretory granules in pituitary corticotrope-derived AtT-20 cells. However, secretogranin III has not been identified in adrenal chromaffin and PC12 cells, where chromogranin A is correctly sorted to the secretory granules. In this study, low levels of a large and noncleaved secretogranin III have been identified in PC12 cells and rat adrenal glands. Although the secretogranin III expression was limited in PC12 cells, when the FLAG-tagged secretogranin III lacking the secretory granule membrane-binding domain was expressed excessively, hemagglutinin-tagged chromogranin A was unable to target to the secretory granules at the tips and shifted to the constitutive secretory pathway. Secretogranin III was able to bind the aggregated form of chromogranin A, suggesting that a small quantity of secretogranin III is enough to carry a large quantity of chromogranin A. Furthermore, secretogranin III bound adrenomedullin, a major peptide hormone in chromaffin cells. Indeed, small interfering RNA-directed secretogranin III depletion impaired intracellular retention of chromogranin A and adrenomedullin, suggesting that they are constitutively released to the medium. We suggest that the sorting function of secretogranin III for chromogranin A is common in PC12 and chromaffin cells as well as in other endocrine cells, and a small amount of secretogranin III is able to sort chromogranin A aggregates together with adrenomedullin to secretory granules.

Sodefrin-like female-attracting pheromone was purified from the abdominal glands of male sword-tailed newts, Cynops ensicauda, by gel-filtration chromatography and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The final product comprises 10 amino acid residues with the sequence SILSKDAQLK which coincided with the sequence deduced from its precursor cDNA. This peptide was designated silefrin. The sequence of silefrin was different from that of sodefrin by two amino acid residues, with substitutions Leu for Pro and Gln for Leu at positions 3 and 8, respectively. Both native and synthetic silefrin exerted an equipotent activity in attracting conspecific females.z 2000 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

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