Mapping two functional domains of clathrin light chains with monoclonal antibodies.

The two forms of clathrin light chains (LCA and LCB) or clathrin-associated proteins (CAP1 and CAP2) have presented an immunochemical paradox. Biochemically similar, both possess two known functional parameters: binding the clathrin heavy chain and mediating the action of an uncoating ATPase. All previously reported anti-CAP mAbs, however, react specifically with only CAP1 (Brodsky, F. M., 1985, J. Cell Biol., 101:2047-2054; Kirchhausen, T., S. C. Harrison, P. Parham, and F. M. Brodsky, 1983, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 80:2481-2485). Four new anti-CAP mAbs are reported here: two, C-7H12 and C-6C1, react with both forms; two others, C-10B2 and C-4E5, react only with the lower form. Sandwich ELISAs indicated that C-10B2, C-4E5, C-6C1, and C-7H12 react with distinct epitopes. Monoclonal antibodies C-10B2 and C-4E5 immunoprecipitate clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs) and react with CAP2 epitopes accessible to chymotrypsin on the vesicle. These mAbs inhibit phosphorylation of CAP2 by endogenous CCV casein kinase II. In contrast, C-6C1 and C-7H12 react with epitopes that are relatively insensitive to chymotrypsin. CAP peptide fragments containing these epitopes remain bound to reassembled cages or CCVs after digestion. Immunoprecipitation and ELISAs demonstrate that C-7H12 and C-6C1 react with unbound CAPs but not with CAPs bound to triskelions or CCVs. The data indicate that the CAPs consist of at least two discernible structural domains: a nonconserved, accessible domain that is relevant to the phosphorylation of CAP2 and a conserved, inaccessible domain that mediates the binding of CAPs to CCVs.

Clathrin-associated proteins contain bound nucleotide.

Clathrin-associated proteins purified from bovine brain exhibited an ultraviolet spectrum with absorbance maximum at 256 nm and were found to contain tightly bound nucleotide. This nucleotide was identified as AMP and/or ADP by thin-layer and high-performance liquid chromatographic analyses. The phosphorylation state of the bound nucleotide varied with storage conditions, suggesting that exchange with ATP might occur while a molar ratio of two nucleotides per protein molecule is maintained. This nucleotide binding site may play a role in the functions of clathrin-associated proteins.

Brain clathrin complex: II. Immunofluorescent correlation and biochemical affinity for actin.

The interaction of clathrin with cytoskeletal proteins was studied cytochemically by immunofluorescent staining and biochemically by the binding of actin to clathrin on the surfaces of polystyrene particles. Using a cytoskeletal-disrupting agent, the linear arrangement of clathrin lattices along actin fibers was altered. As a result of cell retraction, the fluorescent dots of clathrin redistributed, conforming to the new cellular shape. Cytoplasmic areas, largely devoid of fluorescent dots, were observed at the cell's periphery. In vitro, the native clathrin complex (clathrin plus clathrin-associated proteins (CAPs)) bound up to 1 mol of actin, but when the clathrin polypeptide was separated from accompanying proteins it bound up to 2 mol of actin from solution. It appears that clathrin's molecular lattices have an affinity for arrays of actin microfilaments, following them closely, and that clathrin lattices display lateral mobility during cytoplasmic reorganization.

Brain clathrin light chain 2 can be phosphorylated by a coated vesicle kinase.

A protein kinase activity was observed in coated vesicles, prepared from bovine brain, that had clathrin-associated protein 2 (CAP2, also known as clathrin light chain 2) as its principal substrate. Coated vesicles were purified by sucrose density gradient centrifugation followed by Sephacryl S-1000 column chromatography, and all buffers utilized in these procedures contained a mixture of proteolysis inhibitors to maintain CAP2 kinase activity. Incubation of vesicles with [gamma-32P]ATP in the presence of 7 microM polylysine resulted in an overall increase in the incorporation of phosphate. NaDodSO4/PAGE revealed that the principal recipient of this additional phosphate was CAP2 (Mr 33,000), the faster-migrating component of the clathrin coat-associated proteins, whereas CAP1 (Mr 36,000) was not phosphorylated. A number of other proteins, in the Mr 140,000 and 100,000 regions, were phosphorylated to a lesser extent. Polyarginine and polyethylenimine also supported CAP2 phosphorylation, but arginine and lysine were ineffective. The phosphorylated protein was identified as CAP2 because addition of exogenous CAPs resulted in increased incorporation of label into Mr 33,000 polypeptides and because heat treatment of labeled vesicles followed by ultracentrifugation resulted in recovery of labeled Mr 33,000 protein in the supernatant. Phosphorylation of CAP2 may play a regulatory role in clathrin coat/coated vesicle functions.

Novel regulatory role of phosphorylated clathrin light chain beta in bovine brain coated vesicles.

The 50-kilodalton (kDa) assembly polypeptide of bovine brain clathrin coated vesicles (CCVs) is phosphorylated in a cyclic nucleotide- and Ca2+-independent manner and is dephosphorylated by a Mg2+-ATP-dependent CCV phosphatase. This report provides evidence for modulation of the phosphorylation reaction of the 50-kDa assembly polypeptide by phosphorylated clathrin light chain beta (pLC beta). In vitro, phosphorylated LC beta inhibits phosphorylation of the 50-kDa polypeptide in CCVs. Furthermore, incubation of previously phosphorylated 50-kDa polypeptide in CCVs with phosphorylated LC beta results in a rapid dephosphorylation of the 50-kDa assembly polypeptide. Both phenomena are time and concentration dependent. Monoclonal antibodies to LC beta prevent the modulatory effect of phosphorylated LC beta on the 50-kDa assembly polypeptide phosphorylation in CCVs. The results obtained indicate for the first time, to our knowledge, that phosphorylated LC beta has a modulatory role in CCVs. The data also suggest that phosphorylated LC beta promotes activation of a coated vesicle phosphatase.

Brain coated vesicle destabilization and phosphorylation of coat proteins.

Two basic polypeptides, bee venom melittin and poly-L-lysine, induced concentration-dependent destabilization of bovine brain coated vesicles. Ultrastructurally the changes observed were aggregation of clathrin coats and segregation of the vesicle membrane, concomitant with the appearance of elongated cisternae of various sizes. Changes in coated vesicle morphology induced by melittin and poly-L-lysine were concurrent with stimulation of phosphate incorporation in proteins of the coat lattice: Mr 33,000 and 100,000. Melittin-stimulated phosphorylation was Ca2+ sensitive and inhibited by EGTA. The initiation of vesicle membrane segregation by melittin, followed by fusion and formation of elongated membrane cisternae, paralleled an increase of endogenous phospholipase A2 activity. The data suggest that a correlation exists between the state of assembly of the coat proteins on coated vesicles and protein phosphorylation.

Phosphorylation characteristics of brain clathrin-coated vesicle endogenous proteins.

Clathrin-coated vesicles purified from bovine brain express protein kinase activity on two principal endogenous vesicle-associated substrates: a 50,000-Mr polypeptide (pp50) and clathrin-associated protein2 (CAP2; the faster-migrating clathrin light chain). Various exogenous substrates, e.g., casein, phosvitin, histone II, and histone III, also are phosphorylated. The pp50 protein kinase activity of clathrin-coated vesicles is not modulated by Ca2+, calmodulin, phosphatidylserine, or cyclic AMP. On the other hand, phosphorylation of the other endogenous substrates requires certain activators, including histone, polylysine, polyarginine, or polyethylenimine. Phosphate incorporation into pp50 was sensitive to divalent cations that inhibit sulfhydryl-dependent enzymes in the following order of potency: Zn2+ greater than Hg2+ greater than Cd2+, Cu2+, and Pb2+. Phosphate incorporation into CAP2 with polylysine present was insensitive to divalent cations. The alkylating agents dithiodinitrobenzene, phenacyl bromide, and N-ethylmaleimide inhibited phosphate incorporation into pp50 up to 90% without affecting incorporation into the other substrates. Vanadium pentoxide inhibited phosphorylation of CAP2 but had a minimal effect on pp50. CAP2 kinase activity was separated from the coated vesicle membrane and from dis-assembled clathrin triskelions, coeluting with the assembly polypeptide complex on a Sepharose 4B column. It retained phosphorylation properties similar to those of intact vesicles. These data imply that clathrin-coated vesicle kinases are elements of the coat proteins and may be involved in the assembly/disassembly of clathrin triskelions or interactions of coated vesicles with other cellular components.

Immunocytochemical characterization of clathrin-associated proteins (CAPs). I. Neuronal distribution of CAPs, a component of clathrin-coated vesicles.

Clathrin-associated proteins (CAPs) elicited antibodies in rabbits that were affinity-purified using CAPs-conjugated CNBr-Sepharose 4B. Anti-CAPs IgG formed immunoprecipitates with CAPs and with the clathrin-CAPs complex. Indirect immunoperoxidase-labeling in sections of rat brain cortex using anti-CAPs and anti-clathrin IgG yielded similar staining patterns. Coated perinuclear cisternae and coated vesicles became stained and easily distinguished. Intense staining also was found in synaptic boutons with label between most synaptic vesicles and as a thick crust surrounding coated vesicles. The data demonstrate that clathrin and CAPs polypeptides are in identical subcellular locations.

Clathrin-coated vesicle subtypes in mammalian brain tissue: detection of polypeptide heterogeneity by immunoprecipitation with monoclonal antibodies.

A panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) was developed to identify polypeptides sorted in subtypes of brain coated vesicles (CVs) and to separate these by immunoprecipitation. The corresponding antigen of some of the mAbs elicited by CV components was present also in synaptosomal plasma membrane, synaptic vesicles, or microsomes. On immunoblots the mAbs reacted with constitutive brain CV proteins, with cargo molecules, and with a novel CV component that interacts with the actin cytoskeleton. Analysis of radioiodinated brain CVs immunoprecipitated with a tubulin antibody revealed that all brain CVs contained tubulin. The mAb A-7C11 recognized a 40-kilodalton (kDa) polypeptide on the clathrin coat and immunoprecipitated one-quarter of the total brain CVs. The mAb S-11D9 reacted with a 44-kDa antigen and immunoprecipitated 25% of the CVs. This antigen (44 kDa) was present in synaptic vesicles and synaptosomal membrane as well. Moreover, this mAb (S-11D9) reacted with a polypeptide of 56 kDa detected only in synaptosomal membrane. A mAb (C-10B2) that reacted with one of the clathrin light chains (LCb) immunoprecipitated 90% of the brain CVs. One of the mAbs immunoprecipitated a CV subtype that displayed a reversed ratio of the clathrin LCs (LCa greater than LCb). Each of the mAbs yielded different immunofluorescent staining patterns of vesicles in culture cell types that included nerve growth factor-differentiated PC12 cells, neuroblastoma cells, and Madin Darby bovine kidney cells. The data suggest that in brain tissue there is a heterogeneous population of CVs with different polypeptide compositions and subcellular distributions and that each of these subtypes performs a different role in nerve cells.

Immunocytochemical characterization of clathrin-associated proteins (CAPs). II. Immunolocalization of CAPs using selectively-absorbed IgG solutions.

Utilizing antibodies elicited by clathrin-associated proteins (CAPs) absorbed with three different antigenic states of CAPs, i.e., bound to clathrin (clathrin-CAPs complex), free in solution (CAPs) or partially cleaved by chymotrypsin (CAPs-subfragments), indicated that when CAPs are bound to clathrin an antigenic site (or sites) remain(s) unexposed and CAPs-subfragments lose antigenic sites as a result of limited proteolysis. IgG remaining in solution after absorption with CAPs-subfragments were directed against the chymotrypsin-sensitive, or accessible portions of CAPs, whereas IgG remaining after absorption with clathrin-CAPs complex were directed against the unexposed antigenic site(s) characteristic of the clathrin-CAPs complex. Immunocytochemical characterization of these selectively-absorbed IgG solutions suggests that CAPs detected during immunolocalization exist as a complex with clathrin.