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In vivo and in vitro assays, particularly reconstitution using artificial membranes, have established the role of synaptic soluble N-Ethylmaleimide-sensitive attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) VAMP2, Syntaxin-1A, and SNAP-25 in membrane fusion. However, using artificial membranes requires challenging protein purifications that could be avoided in a cell-based assay. Here, we developed a synthetic biological approach based on the generation of membrane cisternae by the integral membrane protein Caveolin in Escherichia coli and coexpression of SNAREs. Syntaxin-1A/SNAP-25/VAMP-2 complexes were formed and regulated by SNARE partner protein Munc-18a in the presence of Caveolin. Additionally, Syntaxin-1A/SNAP-25/VAMP-2 synthesis provoked increased length of E. coli only in the presence of Caveolin. We found that cell elongation required SNAP-25 and was inhibited by tetanus neurotoxin. This elongation was not a result of cell division arrest. Furthermore, electron and super-resolution microscopies showed that synaptic SNAREs and Caveolin coexpression led to the partial loss of the cisternae, suggesting their fusion with the plasma membrane. In summary, we propose that this assay reconstitutes membrane fusion in a simple organism with an easy-to-observe phenotype and is amenable to structure-function studies of SNAREs., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with the contents of this article., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Proteins of the Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) domain superfamily are essential in controlling the shape and dynamics of intracellular membranes. Here, we present evidence for the unconventional function of a member of the endophilin family of BAR and Src homology 3 domain-containing proteins, namely endophilin B2, in the perinuclear organization of intermediate filaments. Using mass spectrometry analysis based on capturing endophilin B2 partners in in situ pre-established complexes in cells, we unravel the interaction of endophilin B2 with plectin 1, a variant of the cytoskeleton linker protein plectin as well as with vimentin. Endophilin B2 directly binds the N-terminal region of plectin 1 via Src homology 3-mediated interaction and vimentin indirectly via plectin-mediated interaction. The relevance of these interactions is strengthened by the selective and drastic reorganization of vimentin around nuclei upon overexpression of endophilin B2 and by the extensive colocalization of both proteins in a meshwork of perinuclear filamentous structures. By generating mutants of the endophilin B2 BAR domain, we show that this phenotype requires the BAR-mediated membrane binding activity of endophilin B2. Plectin 1 or endophilin B2 knockdown using RNA interference disturbed the perinuclear organization of vimentin. Altogether, these data suggest that the endophilin B2-plectin 1 complex functions as a membrane-anchoring device organizing and stabilizing the perinuclear network of vimentin filaments. Finally, we present evidence for the involvement of endophilin B2 and plectin 1 in nuclear positioning in individual cells. This points to the potential importance of the endophilin B2-plectin complex in the biological functions depending on nuclear migration and positioning.

The ZEB1 transcription factor is best known as an inducer of epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMT) in cancer metastasis, acting through transcriptional repression of CDH1 (encoding E-cadherin) and the EMT-suppressing microRNA-200s (miR-200s). Here we analyze roles of the ZEB1 zebrafish orthologs, Zeb1a and Zeb1b, and of miR-200s in control of cell adhesion and morphogenesis during gastrulation and segmentation stages. Loss and gain of function analyses revealed that Zeb1 represses cdh1 expression to fine-tune adhesiveness of migrating deep blastodermal cells. Furthermore, Zeb1 acts as a repressor of epcam in the deep cells of the blastoderm and may contribute to control of epithelial integrity of enveloping layer cells, the outermost cells of the blastoderm. We found a similar ZEB1-dependent repression of EPCAM expression in human pancreatic and breast cancer cell lines, mediated through direct binding of ZEB1 to the EPCAM promoter. Thus, Zeb1 proteins employ several evolutionary conserved mechanisms to regulate cell-cell adhesion during development and cancer.

Bin/Amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) domain-containing proteins are essential players in the dynamics of intracellular compartments. The BAR domain is an evolutionarily conserved dimeric module characterized by a crescent-shaped structure whose intrinsic curvature, flexibility, and ability to assemble into highly ordered oligomers contribute to inducing the curvature of target membranes. Endophilins, diverging into A and B subgroups, are BAR and SH3 domain-containing proteins. They exert activities in membrane dynamic processes such as endocytosis, autophagy, mitochondrial dynamics, and permeabilization during apoptosis. Here, we report on the involvement of the third α-helix of the endophilin A BAR sequence in dimerization and identify leucine 215 as a key residue within a network of hydrophobic interactions stabilizing the entire BAR dimer interface. With the combination of N-terminal truncation retaining the high dimerization capacity of the third α-helices of endophilin A and leucine 215 substitution by aspartate (L215D), we demonstrate the essential role of BAR sequence-mediated dimerization on SH3 domain partnership. In comparison with wild type, full-length endophilin A2 heterodimers with one protomer bearing the L215D substitution exhibit very significant changes in membrane binding and shaping activities as well as a dramatic decrease of SH3 domain partnership. This suggests that subtle changes in the conformation and/or rigidity of the BAR domain impact both the control of membrane curvature and downstream binding to effectors. Finally, we show that expression, in mammalian cells, of endophilin A2 bearing the L215D substitution impairs the endocytic recycling of transferrin receptors.

Gephyrin is required for the formation of clusters of the glycine receptor (GlyR) in the neuronal postsynaptic membrane. It can make trimers and dimers through its N- and C-terminal G and E domains, respectively. Gephyrin oligomerization could thus create a submembrane lattice providing GlyR-binding sites. We investigated the relationships between the stability of cell surface GlyR and the ability of gephyrin splice variants to form oligomers. Using truncated and full-length gephyrins we found that the 13-amino acid sequence (cassette 5) prevents G domain trimerization. Moreover, E domain dimerization is inhibited by the gephyrin central L domain. All of the gephyrin variants bind GlyR beta subunit cytoplasmic loop with high affinity regardless of their cassette composition. Coexpression experiments in COS-7 cells demonstrated that GlyR bound to gephyrin harboring cassette 5 cannot be stabilized at the cell surface. This gephyrin variant was found to deplete synapses from both GlyR and gephyrin in transfected neurons. These data suggest that the relative expression level of cellular variants influence the overall oligomerization pattern of gephyrin and thus the turnover of synaptic GlyR.

The biosynthesis and turnover of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) have been investigated in adipose 3T3-F442A cells labeled with [35S]methionine. Pulse-chase experiments, endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H treatment, and analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis have indicated that LPL is synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum as a glycoprotein of Mr = 55,500 bearing two N-oligosaccharide side chains of the high mannose-type. This precursor form of LPL is transported within 10 min to the Golgi apparatus, and this event is accompanied by the formation of a mature species of Mr = 58,000. Treatment of the Mr = 58,000 species with glycopeptidase F yielded a Mr = 51,000 protein similar to that observed after treatment of the Mr = 55,500 precursor form or after inhibition of N-glycosylation in tunicamycin-treated cells. The precursor form of LPL of Mr = 55,500 does not accumulate in the cells since, after a labeling period of 2 h, only the Mr = 58,000 species is detected. It is shown that only 20% of the newly synthesized molecules of Mr = 58,000 are constitutively secreted, whereas 80% are degraded, most likely in lysosomes, as indicated by the inhibitory effect of leupeptin upon the degradation process. Under heparin stimulation, quantitative secretion of the mature form of LPL takes place whereas the intracellular degradation is arrested. Heparin is able to mobilize intracellular LPL without changing the rate of LPL export from the endoplasmic reticulum to the cell surface. Sucrose gradient centrifugation of the material from intracellular cisternae shows that the Mr = 55,500 precursor form is present as a monomer (s = 4.1 S), whereas the Mr = 58,000 mature form is present as a homodimer (s = 6.8 S) to which LPL activity is associated. The results are interpreted as LPL being transiently stored under a dimeric form before its degradation. A sorting process of LPL in the Golgi apparatus, followed by its entry either mainly in a regulated pathway or in a constitutive pathway, is proposed.

Polyclonal antibodies have been raised in rabbits against homogeneous lipoprotein lipase (LPL) purified from the media of adipose 3T3-F442A cells. The antibody is able to inhibit the apolipoprotein C-II-dependent activity of LPL, to immunoprecipitate LPL under nondenaturating conditions from media and cellular extracts. A dot-blot immunoassay of secreted LPL is also described (range 0.1-0.7 milliunits). The secretion potential mu, taken as the ratio of total releasable activity or antigen to initial cellular activity or antigen, was determined. This was shown in cells treated with heparin and cycloheximide to be equal to 1 for LPL antigen but significantly greater than 1 for LPL activity assayed under standard conditions. No LPL was actually degraded within the cells. A dramatic enhancement of the intracellular activity was induced by a mere dilution of detergent-treated cell lysates with no change in LPL antigen. The total intracellular activity reached a plateau at a value which now became identical to that obtained in the medium of cells exposed to heparin and cycloheximide. The existence of an inhibitor of LPL activity has been excluded as well as that of an increase in the catalytic activity of LPL during its secretion, before or after exposure to heparin. Our results indicate a systematic underestimation of LPL intracellular activity and suggest that LPL is present within intracellular cisternae in a cryptic state. This potential activity can be fully unmasked in vitro. In agreement with other data (Vannier, C., and Ailhaud, G., (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 13206-13216), our results appear to exclude the existence of a reservoir of catalytically inactive LPL molecules within adipose cells.

The intracellular pathway and the activation of lipoprotein lipase have been examined in differentiated Ob17 cells. These adipose cells were previously shown to secrete lipoprotein lipase during exposure to heparin. Treatment of the cells with cycloheximide and heparin leads to enzyme depletion, as shown by activity measurement and immunofluorescence microscopy. The repletion phase has been studied in the presence of monensin or carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, ionophores known to affect the intracellular transport of membrane and secretory proteins. Monensin-treated cells synthesize fully active lipoprotein lipase. Under these conditions the antigen accumulates in the Golgi apparatus and the heparin-stimulated enzyme release is extensively reduced. Carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone-treated cells do not contain any enzyme activity but show detectable antigen which accumulates in the endoplasmic reticulum. Competition for binding to immobilized anti-lipoprotein lipase antibodies of mature and endoplasmic reticulum-sequestered antigens is observed. Carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone removal is rapidly followed by a transient burst of enzyme activity and a redistribution of the antigen in the different subcellular compartments. Therefore, the results show that the activation of lipoprotein lipase is an intracellular event taking place after the enzyme exits from the endoplasmic reticulum and before it reaches the trans-Golgi cisternae.