Polarized distribution of endogenous Rac1 and RhoA at the cell surface.

Rac1 and RhoA regulate membrane ruffling and stress fiber formation. Both molecules appear to exert their control from the plasma membrane. In fibroblasts stimulated with platelet-derived growth factor or lysophosphatidic acid, the reorganization of the cytoskeleton begins at specific sites on the cell surface. We now report that endogenous Rac1 and RhoA also have a polarized distribution at the cell surface. Cell fractionation and immunogold labeling show that in quiescent fibroblasts both of these molecules are concentrated in caveolae, which are plasma membrane domains that are associated with actin-rich regions of the cell. Treatment of these cells with platelet-derived growth factor stimulated the recruitment of additional Rac1 and RhoA to caveolae fractions, while lysophosphatidic acid only caused the recruitment of RhoA. We could reconstitute the recruitment of RhoA using either whole cell lysates or purified caveolae. Surprisingly, pretreatment of the lysates with exoenzyme C3 shifted both resident and recruited RhoA from caveolae to noncaveolae membranes. The shift in location was not caused by inactivation of the RhoA effector domain. Moreover, chimeric proteins containing the C-terminal consensus site for Rac1 and RhoA prenylation were constitutively targeted to caveolae fractions. These results suggest that the polarized distribution of Rho family proteins at the cell surface involves an initial targeting of the protein to caveolae and a mechanism for retaining it at this site.

Targeting of protein kinase Calpha to caveolae.

Previously, we showed caveolae contain a population of protein kinase Calpha (PKCalpha) that appears to regulate membrane invagination. We now report that multiple PKC isoenzymes are enriched in caveolae of unstimulated fibroblasts. To understand the mechanism of PKC targeting, we prepared caveolae lacking PKCalpha and measured the interaction of recombinant PKCalpha with these membranes. PKCalpha bound with high affinity and specificity to caveolae membranes. Binding was calcium dependent, did not require the addition of factors that activate the enzyme, and involved the regulatory domain of the molecule. A 68-kD PKCalpha-binding protein identified as sdr (serum deprivation response) was isolated by interaction cloning and localized to caveolae. Antibodies against sdr inhibited PKCalpha binding. A 100-amino acid sequence from the middle of sdr competitively blocked PKCalpha binding while flanking sequences were inactive. Caveolae appear to be a membrane site where PKC enzymes are organized to carry out essential regulatory functions as well as to modulate signal transduction at the cell surface.

A role for caveolin in transport of cholesterol from endoplasmic reticulum to plasma membrane.

Caveolin is a 22-kDa membrane protein found associated with a coat material decorating the inner membrane surface of caveolae. A remarkable feature of this protein is its ability to migrate from caveolae directly to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) when membrane cholesterol is oxidized. We now present evidence caveolin is involved in transporting newly synthesized cholesterol from the ER directly to caveolae. MA104 cells and normal human fibroblasts transported new cholesterol to caveolae with a half-time of approximately 10 min. The cholesterol then rapidly flowed from caveolae to non-caveolae membrane. Cholesterol moved out of caveolae even when the supply of fresh cholesterol from the ER was interrupted. Treatment of cells with 10 microg/ml progesterone blocked cholesterol movement from ER to caveolae. Simultaneously, caveolin accumulated in the lumen of the ER, suggesting cholesterol transport is linked to caveolin movement. Caveolae fractions from cells expressing caveolin were enriched in cholesterol 3-4-fold, while the same fractions from cells lacking caveolin were not enriched. Cholesterol transport to the cell surface was nearly 4 times more rapid in cells expressing caveolin than in matched cells lacking caveolin.

Caveolin cycles between plasma membrane caveolae and the Golgi complex by microtubule-dependent and microtubule-independent steps.

Caveolin is a protein associated with the characteristic coats that decorate the cytoplasmic face of plasma membrane caveolae. Recently it was found that exposure of human fibroblasts to cholesterol oxidase (CO) rapidly induces caveolin to redistribute to the ER and then to the Golgi complex, and that subsequent removal of CO allows caveolin to return to the plasma membrane (Smart, E. J., Y.-S. Ying, P. A. Conrad, R. G. W. Anderson, J. Cell Biol. 1994, 127:1185-1197). We now present evidence that caveolin normally undergoes microtubule-dependent cycling between the plasma membrane and the Golgi. In cells that were treated briefly with nocodazole and then with a mixture of nocodazole plus CO, caveolin relocated from the plasma membrane to the ER and then to the ER/Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC), but subsequent movement to the Golgi was not observed. Even in the absence of CO, nocodazole caused caveolin to accumulate in the ERGIC. Nocodazole did not retard the movement of caveolin from the Golgi to the plasma membrane after removal of CO. Incubation of cells at 15 degrees followed by elevation of the temperature to 37 degrees caused caveolin to accumulate first in the ERGIC and then in the Golgi, before finally reestablishing its normal steady state distribution predominantly in plasma membrane caveolae. In cells released from a 15 degrees block, movement of caveolin from the Golgi to the plasma membrane was not inhibited by nocodazole. Taken together, these results imply that caveolin cycles constitutively between the plasma membrane and the Golgi by a multi-step process, one of which, ERGIC-to-Golgi transport, requires microtubules. This novel, bidirectional pathway may indicate roles for microtubules in the maintenance of caveolae, and for caveolin in shuttling fatty acids and cholesterol between the plasma membrane and the ER/Golgi system.

Hormonal regulation of caveolae internalization.

Caveolae undergo a cyclic transition from a flat segment of membrane to a vesicle that then returns to the cell surface. Here we present evidence that this cycle depends on a population of protein kinase C-alpha (PKC-alpha) molecules that reside in the caveolae membrane where they phosphorylate a 90-kD protein. This cycle can be interrupted by treatment of the cells with phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate or agents that raise the concentration of diacylglycerol in the cell. Each of these conditions displaces PKC-alpha from caveolae, inhibits the phosphorylation of the 90-kD protein, and prevents internalization. Caveolae also contain a protein phosphatase that dephosphorylates the 90-kD once PKC-alpha is gone. A similar dissociation of PKC-alpha from caveolae and inhibition of invagination was observed when cells were treated with histamine. This effect was blocked by pyrilamine but not cimetidine, indicating the involvement of histamine H1 receptors. These findings suggest that the caveolae internalization cycle is hormonally regulated.

A detergent-free method for purifying caveolae membrane from tissue culture cells.

Current methods for purifying caveolae from tissue culture cells take advantage of the Triton X-100 insolubility of this membrane domain. To circumvent the use of detergents, we have developed a method that depends upon the unique buoyant density of caveolae membrane. The caveolae fractions that we obtain are highly enriched in caveolin. As a consequence we are able to identify caveolae-associated proteins that had previously gone undetected. Moreover, resident caveolae proteins that are soluble in Triton X-100 are retained during the isolation.

Caveolin moves from caveolae to the Golgi apparatus in response to cholesterol oxidation.

Caveolae are a membrane specialization used to internalize molecules by potocytosis. Caveolin, an integral membrane protein, is associated with the striated coat present on the cytoplasmic surface of the caveolae membrane. We now report that oxidation of caveolar cholesterol with cholesterol oxidase rapidly displaces the caveolin from the plasma membrane to intracellular vesicles that colocalize with Golgi apparatus markers. After the enzyme is removed from the medium, caveolin returns to caveolae. When untreated cells are gently homogenized, caveolin on the plasma membrane is accessible to both anti-caveolin IgG and trypsin. After cholesterol oxidase treatment, however, Golgi-associated caveolin is inaccessible to both of these molecules. Brefeldin A, which inhibits ER to Golgi trafficking, blocks the appearance of caveolin in the Golgi apparatus but does not prevent caveolin from leaving the plasma membrane. Indirect immunogold localization experiments show that in the presence of cholesterol oxidase caveolin leaves the plasma membrane and becomes associated with endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi compartments. Surprisingly, the loss of caveolin from the plasma membrane does not affect the number or morphology of the caveolae.

Purification and characterization of smooth muscle cell caveolae.

Plasmalemmal caveolae are a membrane specialization that mediates transcytosis across endothelial cells and the uptake of small molecules and ions by both epithelial and connective tissue cells. Recent findings suggest that caveolae may, in addition, be involved in signal transduction. To better understand the molecular composition of this membrane specialization, we have developed a biochemical method for purifying caveolae from chicken smooth muscle cells. Biochemical and morphological markers indicate that we can obtain approximately 1.5 mg of protein in the caveolae fraction from approximately 100 g of chicken gizzard. Gel electrophoresis shows that there are more than 30 proteins enriched in caveolae relative to the plasma membrane. Among these proteins are: caveolin, a structural molecule of the caveolae coat; multiple, glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored membrane proteins; both G alpha and G beta subunits of heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein; and the Ras-related GTP-binding protein, Rap1A/B. The method we have developed will facilitate future studies on the structure and function of caveolae.

Protein kinase C activators inhibit receptor-mediated potocytosis by preventing internalization of caveolae.

Potocytosis is an endocytic pathway that utilizes glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored membrane proteins and caveolae to concentrate and internalize small molecules. We now report that activators of protein kinase C are potent inhibitors of potocytosis. Activators such as phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) inhibit the internalization of receptors for 5-methyltetrahydrofolate but allow the internal receptor pool to return to the cell surface. PMA does not affect the clustering of the folate receptor but instead markedly reduces the number of caveolae. Exposure to PMA totally blocks the intracellular accumulation of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate without affecting receptor-independent uptake or the formation of polyglutamylated species of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate in the cytoplasm. These data suggest that PMA inhibits uptake by inactivating caveolae internalization.

Caveolin, a protein component of caveolae membrane coats.

Caveolae have been implicated in the transcytosis of macromolecules across endothelial cells and in the receptor-mediated uptake of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate. Structural studies indicate that caveolae are decorated on their cytoplasmic surface by a unique array of filaments or strands that form striated coatings. To understand how these nonclathrin-coated pits function, we performed structural analysis of the striated coat and searched for the molecular component(s) of the coat material. The coat cannot be removed by washing with high salt; however, exposure of membranes to cholesterol-binding drugs caused invaginated caveolae to flatten and the striated coat to disassemble. Antibodies directed against a 22 kd substrate for v-src tyrosine kinase in virus-transformed chick embryo fibroblasts decorated the filaments, suggesting that this molecule is a component of the coat. We have named the molecule caveolin. Caveolae represent a third type of coated membrane specialization that is involved in molecular transport.

Cholesterol controls the clustering of the glycophospholipid-anchored membrane receptor for 5-methyltetrahydrofolate.

The folate receptor is a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored membrane protein that mediates the delivery of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate to the cytoplasm of MA104 cells. Ordinarily the receptor is sequestered into numerous discrete clusters that are associated with an uncoated pit membrane specialization called a caveola. By using two different methodological approaches, we found that the maintenance of both receptor clusters and caveolae depends upon the presence of cholesterol in the membrane. These results suggest that cholesterol plays a critical role in maintaining the caveola membrane domain and modulates the interaction of GPI-anchored membrane proteins via their phospholipid anchors.

The glycophospholipid-linked folate receptor internalizes folate without entering the clathrin-coated pit endocytic pathway.

The folate receptor, also known as the membrane folate-binding protein, is maximally expressed on the surface of folate-depleted tissue culture cells and mediates the high affinity accumulation of 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid in the cytoplasm of these cells. Recent evidence suggests that this receptor recycles during folate internalization and that it is anchored in the membrane by a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol linkage. Using quantitative immunocytochemistry, we now show that (a) this receptor is highly clustered on the cell surface; (b) these clusters are preferentially associated with uncoated membrane invaginations rather than clathrin-coated pits; and (c) the receptor is not present in endosomes or lysosomes. This receptor appears to physically move in and out of the cell using a novel uncoated pit pathway that does not merge with the clathrin-coated pit endocytic machinery.

[Bronchiolo-alveolar cell carcinoma (clear cell adenocarcinoma)--report of 6 cases].

6 cases of bronchiolo-alveolar cell carcinoma proven surgically and histologically were studied. Under the microscope, it was shown that the columnar tumor cells lined the inner alveolar walls and the bronchiolar epithelium revealed malignant changes. Diagnosis of bronchiolo-alveolar cell carcinoma was established. Under the electron microscope, in addition to its adenocarcinomatous features, tongue-like protrusions were present on the cell surface and abundant round electron-dense granules were accumulated above the nuclei. These were in accordance with the characteristics of clear cell adenocarcinoma. In 4 cases, lamella bodies were present in a few tumor cells. It suggests that the clear cell adenocarcinoma be able to synthesize round electron-dense granules and lamella bodies.

Microscopic and submicroscopic studies on the peripheral nerve and the skeletal muscle of the female. cadaver found in the Han Tomb No.1.

The present paper deals with the microscopic and submicroscopic structures of the peripheral nerve of the lumbar plexus and the skeletal muscle of the m. psoas major of the ancient female cadaver buried about 2100 years ago, which was excavated from the Han Tomb No. 1 at Mawangdui (Mawangtui) near Changsha, Hunan Province. The connective tissues in the peripheral nerve and the skeletal muscle of the ancient cadaver were found well preserved. Under the electron microscope were observed the characteristic periodic bands of the collagenous fibrils as well as some axons and degenerated myelin sheath in the lumbar plexus. And in some of the better preserved nerve fibers, their axons and myelin sheaths are readily discernible. In the m. psoas major, cross striations are clearly visible in some muscle fibers. The remains of a blood vessel with only their connective tissues left were observed in the nerve of the lumbar plexus. Bacterial spores appeared in the two tissues.