ABSTRACT
Cholesterol and sphingomyelin (SM) associate in raft domains and are metabolically coregulated. One aspect of coordinate regulation occurs in the Golgi apparatus where oxysterol binding protein (OSBP) mediates sterol-dependent activation of ceramide transport protein (CERT) activity and SM synthesis. Because CERT transfer activity is dependent on its phosphatidylinositol 4 phosphate [PtdIns(4)P]-specific pleckstrin homology domain, we investigated whether OSBP activation of CERT involved a Golgi-associated PtdIns 4-kinase (PI4K). Cell fractionation experiments revealed that Golgi/endosome-enriched membranes from 25-hydroxycholesterol-treated Chinese hamster ovary cells had increased activity of a sterol-sensitive PI4K that was blocked by small interfering RNA silencing of OSBP. Consistent with this sterol-requirement, OSBP silencing also reduced the cholesterol content of endosome/trans-Golgi network (TGN) fractions containing PI4KIIα. PI4KIIα, but not PI4KIIIß, was required for oxysterol-activation of SM synthesis and recruitment of CERT to the Golgi apparatus. However, neither PI4KIIα nor PI4KIIIß expression was required for 25-hydroxycholesterol-dependent translocation of OSBP to the Golgi apparatus. The presence of OSBP, CERT, and PI4KIIα in the TGN of oxysterol-stimulated cells suggests that OSBP couples sterol binding or transfer activity with regulation of PI4KIIα activity, leading to CERT recruitment to the TGN and increased SM synthesis.
