Publisher Correction: Retrograde trafficking of ß-dystroglycan from the plasma membrane to the nucleus.

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Retrograde trafficking of ß-dystroglycan from the plasma membrane to the nucleus.

ß-Dystroglycan (ß-DG) is a transmembrane protein with critical roles in cell adhesion, cytoskeleton remodeling and nuclear architecture. This functional diversity is attributed to the ability of ß-DG to target to, and conform specific protein assemblies at the plasma membrane (PM) and nuclear envelope (NE). Although a classical NLS and importin α/ß mediated nuclear import pathway has already been described for ß-DG, the intracellular trafficking route by which ß-DG reaches the nucleus is unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that ß-DG undergoes retrograde intracellular trafficking from the PM to the nucleus via the endosome-ER network. Furthermore, we provided evidence indicating that the translocon complex Sec61 mediates the release of ß-DG from the ER membrane, making it accessible for importins and nuclear import. Finally, we show that phosphorylation of ß-DG at Tyr890 is a key stimulus for ß-DG nuclear translocation. Collectively our data describe the retrograde intracellular trafficking route that ß-DG follows from PM to the nucleus. This dual role for a cell adhesion receptor permits the cell to functionally connect the PM with the nucleus and represents to our knowledge the first example of a cell adhesion receptor exhibiting retrograde nuclear trafficking and having dual roles in PM and NE.

Control of Cre recombination by regulatory elements from Xer recombination systems.

Site-specific recombination by the Cre recombinase takes place at a simple DNA site (loxP), requires no additional proteins and gives topologically simple recombination products. In contrast, cer and psi sites for Xer recombination contain approximately 150 bp of accessory sequences, require accessory proteins PepA, ArgR and ArcA, and the products are specifically linked to form a four-noded catenane. Here, we use hybrid sites consisting of accessory sequences of cer or psi fused to loxP to probe the function of accessory proteins in site-specific recombination. We show that PepA instructs Cre to produce four-noded catenane, but is not required for recombination at these hybrid sites. Mutants of Cre that require PepA and accessory sequences for efficient recombination were selected. PepA-dependent Cre gave products with a specific topology and displayed resolution selectivity. Our results reveal that PepA acts autonomously in the synapsis of psi and cer accessory sequences and is the main architectural element responsible for intertwining accessory site DNA. We suggest that accessory proteins can activate recombinases simply by synapsing the regulatory DNA sequences, thus bringing the recombination sites together with a specific geometry. This may occur without the need for protein-protein interactions between accessory proteins and the recombinases.