Cyclic AMP promotes a peripheral distribution of melanosomes and stimulates melanophilin/Slac2-a and actin association.

Melanosomes are melanin-containing organelles that belong to a recently individualized group of lysosome-related organelles. Recently, numerous reports have dissected the molecular mechanisms that control melanosome transport, but nothing was known about the possible regulation of melanosome distribution by exogenous physiological stimulus. In the present report, we demonstrate that a physiological melanocyte-differentiating agent such as alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, through the stimulation of the cAMP pathway, induces a rapid centrifugal transport of melanosomes, leading to their accumulation at the dendrite tips of melanocytes. Interestingly, the small GTP binding proteins of the p21Rho family and one of their effectors, p160 Rho-associated kinase, but not PKA, play a key role in redistribution of melanosomes at the extremities of the dendrites. Further, we have investigated, at the molecular level, the effect of cAMP on the different proteins involved in the control of melanosome transport. We demonstrate that cAMP stimulates the expression of Rab27a and rapidly increases the interaction of the melanophilin/Slac2-a with actin. Thus, we propose that the stimulation of the interaction between melanophilin/Slac2-a and actin would allow the rapid accumulation of melanosomes in the actin-rich region of the dendrite extremities.

Characterization of the molecular defects in Rab27a, caused by RAB27A missense mutations found in patients with Griscelli syndrome.

Rab27a plays a pivotal role in the transport of melanosomes to dendrite tips of melanocytes and mutations in RAB27A, which impair melanosome transport cause the pigmentary dilution and the immune deficiency found in several patients with Griscelli syndrome (GS). Interestingly, three GS patients present single homozygous missense mutations in RAB27A, leading to W73G, L130P, and A152P transitions that affect highly conserved residues among Rab proteins. However, the functional consequences of these mutations have not been studied. In the present report, we evaluated the effect of overexpression of these mutants on melanosome, melanophilin, and myosin-Va localization in B16 melanoma cells. Then we studied several key parameters for Rab27a function, including GTP binding and interaction with melanophilin/myosin-Va complex, which links melanosomes to the actin network. Our results showed that Rab27a-L130P cannot bind GTP, does not interact with melanophilin, and consequently cannot allow melanosome transport on the actin filaments. Interestingly, Rab27a-W73G binds GTP but does not interact with melanophilin. Thus, Rab27a-W73G cannot support the actin-dependent melanosome transport. Finally, Rab27a-A152P binds both GTP and melanophilin. However, Rab27a-A152P does not allow melanosome transport and acts as a dominant negative mutant, because its overexpression, in B16 melanoma cells, mimics a GS phenotype. Hence, the interaction of Rab27a with melanophilin/myosin-Va is not sufficient to ensure a correct melanosome transport. Our results pointed to an unexpected complexity of Rab27a function and open the way to the search for new Rab27a effectors or regulators that control the transport of Rab27a-dependent vesicles.