Abstract. The A2 chain of cholera toxin (CTX) contains a COOH-terminal Lys-Asp-Glu-Leu (KDEL) sequence. We have, therefore, analyzed by immunofluorescence and by subcellular fractionation in Vero cells whether CTX can be used to demonstrate a retrograde transport of KDEL proteins from the Golgi to the ER. Immunofluorescence studies reveal that after a pulse treatment with CTX, the CTX-A and B subunits (CTX-A and CTX-B) reach Golgi-like structures after 15-20 rain (maximum after 30 min). Between 30 and 90 min, CTX-A (but not CTX-B) appear in the intermediate compartment and in the ER, whereas the CTX-B are translocated to the lysosomes. Subcellular fractionation studies confirm these results: after CTX uptake for 15 min, CTX-A is associated only with endosomal and Golgi compartments. After 30 min, a small amount of CTX-A appears in the ER in a trypsin-resistant form, and after 60 min, a significant amount appears. CTX-A seems to be transported mainly in its oxidized form (CTX-A1-S-S-CTX-A2) from the Golgi to the ER, where it becomes slowly reduced to form free CTX A1 and CTX-A2, as indicated by experiments in which cells were homogenized 30 and 90 rain after the onset of CTX uptake in the presence of N-ethylmaleimide. Nocodazol applied after accumulation of CTX in the Golgi inhibits the appearance of CTX-A in the ER and delays the increase of 3', 5'cAMP, indicating the participation of microtubules in the retrograde Golgi-ER transport.S OON after the detection of the COOH-terminal KDEL sequence in resident soluble proteins of the ER as a retention signal (Munro and Pelham, 1986), it became evident that the KDEL sequence is a retrieval rather than a retention signal (Munro and Pelham, 1987;Pelham, 1989). This view was mainly based on the observation that expression of the lysosomal enzyme cathepsin D with a COOH-terminal KDEL sequence led to the retention of most of the chimeric protein in the ER, but the glycan structure of the protein indicated that it had traversed the cis-and medium-Golgi cisternae before returning to the ER. Immunofluorescence (Lewis and Pelham, 1992;Hsu et al., 1992;Tang et al., 1993;SOnnichsen et al., 1994) and immunoelectronmicroscopical studies (Tang et al., 1993;Griffiths et al., 1994) showed that under steadystate conditions, the KDEL receptor ERD2 exists mainly in Golgi-like structures, particularly in the cis-Golgi network. The affinity of the KDEL receptor for the KDEL motif is increased under the slightly acidic conditions prevailing in the Golgi cisternae and is decreased under the neutral pH conditions in the ER . From these observations, it was deduced that: KDEL proteins can escape from the ER, they are "picked up" by the KDEL receptor, they are transported back to the ER together with the receptor, and are finally released in the ER. Up to now, however, the manner in which the occupied KDEL receptor is recycled to the ER remained unclear. Brefeldin A (Lippincott-Schwartz et al., 1990) as well as overexpression of the KDEL receptor (Hsu et al., 1992;Townsley et al., 1993) led to...