Asami Makino

Spatial and Functional Heterogeneity of Sphingolipid-rich Membrane Domains

Little is known about the organization of lipids in biomembranes. Lipid rafts are defined as sphingolipid- and cholesterol-rich clusters in the membrane. Details of the lipid distribution of lipid rafts are not well characterized mainly because of a lack of appropriate probes. Ganglioside GM1-specific protein, cholera toxin, has long been the only lipid probe of lipid rafts. Recently it was shown that earthworm toxin, lysenin, specifically recognizes sphingomyelin-rich membrane domains. Binding of lysenin to sphingomyelin is accompanied by the oligomerization of the toxin that leads to pore formation in the target membrane. In this study, we generated a truncated lysenin mutant that does not oligomerize and thus is non-toxic. Using this mutant lysenin, we showed that plasma membrane sphingomyelin-rich domains are spatially distinct from ganglioside GM1-rich membrane domains in Jurkat T cells. Like T cell receptor activation and cross-linking of GM1, cross-linking of sphingomyelin induced calcium influx and ERK phosphorylation in the cell. However, unlike CD3 or GM1, cross-linking of sphingomyelin did not induce significant protein tyrosine phosphorylation. Combination of lysenin and sphingomyelinase treatment suggested the involvement of G-protein-coupled receptor in sphingomyelin-mediated signal transduction. These results thus suggest that the sphingomyelin-rich domain provides a functional signal cascade platform that is distinct from those provided by T cell receptor or GM1. Our study therefore elucidates the spatial and functional heterogeneity of lipid rafts.

A Lipid-Specific Toxin Reveals Heterogeneity of Sphingomyelin-Containing Membranes

Little is known about the heterogenous organization of lipids in biological membranes. Sphingomyelin (SM) is a major plasma membrane lipid that forms lipid domains together with cholesterol and glycolipids. Using SM-specific toxin, lysenin, we showed that in cultured epithelial cells the accessibility of the toxin to SM is different between apical and basolateral membranes. Apical membranes are highly enriched with glycolipids. The inhibitory role of glycolipids in the binding of lysenin to SM was confirmed by comparing the glycolipid-deficient mutant melanoma cell line with its parent cell. Model membrane experiments indicated that glycolipid altered the local density of SM so that the affinity of the lipid for lysenin was decreased. Our results indicate that lysenin recognizes the heterogenous organization of SM in biomembranes and that the organization of SM differs between different cell types and between different membrane domains within the same cell. Isothermal titration calorimetry suggests that lysenin binding to SM is presumably the result of a SM-lysenin complex formation of specific stoichiometry, thus supporting the idea of the existence of small condensed lipid complexes consisting of just a few lipid molecules in living cells.

Ceramide and its interconvertible metabolite sphingosine function as indispensable lipid factors involved in survival and dendritic differentiation of cerebellar Purkinje cells

Abstract: Ceramide generated from sphingomyelin has emerged as a new but conserved type of biologically active lipid. We previously found that endogenous sphingolipids are required for the normal growth of cultured cerebellar Purkinje neurons and that sphingomyelin is present abundantly in the somatodendritic region of these cells. To gain further insight into a potential role of the sphingomyelin/ceramide pathway, we investigated the effects of depletion of sphingolipids on the phenotypic growth and survival of immature Purkinje cells and the ability of ceramide or other sphingolipids to antagonize these effects. Inhibition of ceramide synthesis by ISP‐1, a specific inhibitor of serine palmitoyltransferase, decreased cellular levels of sphingolipids. This treatment resulted in a decrease in cell survival accompanied by an induction of apoptotic cell death and aberrant dendritic differentiation of Purkinje cells with no detectable changes in other cerebellar neurons. Cell‐permeable ceramides, sphingosine, or sphingomyelin overcame these abnormalities more effectively than other sphingolipids when added simultaneously with ISP‐1. Exposure to bacterial sphingomyelinase in turn enhanced cell survival and dendritic branching complexity of Purkinje cells at different optimal concentrations. Furthermore, cell‐permeable ceramide acted synergistically with the neurotrophin family, which has been previously shown to support Purkinje cell survival. These observations suggest that ceramide is a requisite for the survival and the dendritic differentiation of Purkinje cells.

An improved method for culturing cerebellar Purkinje cells with differentiated dendrites under a mixed monolayer setting

We report here a novel cell culture protocol which facilitates in vitro survival and dendritic differentiation of cerebellar Purkinje cells in a monolayer, mixed culture setting. We found that the type of culture medium is a critical factor for the maintenance of these cells. Purkinje cells present in the single cell suspension of embryonic rat cerebellum were best maintained in a medium based on Dulbeccos modified Eagles medium (DMEM)/F-12 without the addition of known neurotrophic factors. These cells maintained in DMEM/F-12-based media displayed an approximately 2.5-3.5-fold increase in survival compared with cells maintained in the widely used Basal Medium Eagles (BME)-based serum-free culture medium with the same supplements. This novel protocol permits not only enhanced survival but also accelerated, improved dendritic differentiation of these cells. Purkinje cells developed highly branched spiny dendrites by 14-16 days in vitro, which matches the time course of the dendritic growth of these cells in vivo. The Purkinje cells expressed metabotropic glutamate receptor 1alpha in the cell bodies and branched dendrites, and the intradendritic calcium concentration increased when trans-ACPD, a selective agonist of this receptor, was applied. This novel protocol allows the development of functional branched dendrites and therefore is useful for electrophysiological and ion-imaging studies on dendrites of Purkinje cells grown in vitro.

Novel lipogenic enzyme ELOVL7 is involved in prostate cancer growth through saturated long-chain fatty acid metabolism.

A number of epidemiologic studies have indicated a strong association between dietary fat intake and prostate cancer development, suggesting that lipid metabolism plays some important roles in prostate carcinogenesis and its progression. In this study, through our genome-wide gene expression analysis of clinical prostate cancer cells, we identified a novel lipogenic gene, ELOVL7, coding a possible long-chain fatty acid elongase, as overexpressed in prostate cancer cells. ELOVL7 expression is regulated by the androgen pathway through SREBP1, as well as other lipogenic enzymes. Knockdown of ELOVL7 resulted in drastic attenuation of prostate cancer cell growth, and it is notable that high-fat diet promoted the growth of in vivo tumors of ELOVL7-expressed prostate cancer. In vitro fatty acid elongation assay and fatty acid composition analysis indicated that ELOVL7 was preferentially involved in fatty acid elongation of saturated very-long-chain fatty acids (SVLFA, C20:0 approximately ). Lipid profiles showed that knockdown of ELOVL7 in prostate cancer cells affected SVLFAs in the phospholipids and the neutral lipids, such as cholesterol ester. Focusing on cholesterol ester as a source of de novo steroid synthesis, we show that ELOVL7 affected de novo androgen synthesis in prostate cancer cells. These findings suggest that EVOLV7 could be involved in prostate cancer growth and survival through the metabolism of SVLFAs and their derivatives, could be a key molecule to elucidate the association between fat dietary intake and prostate carcinogenesis, and could also be a promising molecular target for development of new therapeutic or preventive strategies for prostate cancers.

A Role for Sphingomyelin-Rich Lipid Domains in the Accumulation of Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-Bisphosphate to the Cleavage Furrow during Cytokinesis

ABSTRACT Cytokinesis is a crucial step in the creation of two daughter cells by the formation and ingression of the cleavage furrow. Here, we show that sphingomyelin (SM), one of the major sphingolipids in mammalian cells, is required for the localization of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) to the cleavage furrow during cytokinesis. Real-time observation with a labeled SM-specific protein, lysenin, revealed that SM is concentrated in the outer leaflet of the furrow at the time of cytokinesis. Superresolution fluorescence microscopy analysis indicates a transbilayer colocalization between the SM-rich domains in the outer leaflet and PIP2-rich domains in the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane. The depletion of SM disperses PIP2 and inhibits the recruitment of the small GTPase RhoA to the cleavage furrow, leading to abnormal cytokinesis. These results suggest that the formation of SM-rich domains is required for the accumulation of PIP2 to the cleavage furrow, which is a prerequisite for the proper translocation of RhoA and the progression of cytokinesis.

Cinnamycin (Ro 09-0198) Promotes Cell Binding and Toxicity by Inducing Transbilayer Lipid Movement

Cinnamycin is a unique toxin in that its receptor, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), resides in the inner layer of the plasma membrane. Little is known about how the toxin recognizes PE and causes cytotoxicity. We showed that cinnamycin induced transbilayer phospholipid movement in target cells that leads to the exposure of inner leaflet PE to the toxin. Model membrane studies revealed that cinnamycin induced transbilayer lipid movement in a PE concentration-dependent manner. Re-orientation of phospholipids was accompanied by an increase in the incidence of β-sheet structure in cinnamycin. When the surface concentration of PE was high, cinnamycin induced membrane re-organization such as membrane fusion and the alteration of membrane gross morphology. These results suggest that cinnamycin promotes its own binding to the cell and causes toxicity by inducing transbilayer lipid movement.

Caveolar endocytosis and microdomain association of a glycosphingolipid analog is dependent on its sphingosine stereochemistry

We have previously shown that glycosphingolipid analogs are internalized primarily via caveolae in various cell types. This selective internalization was not dependent on particular carbohydrate headgroups or sphingosine chain length. Here, we examine the role of sphingosine structure in the endocytosis of BODIPY™-tagged lactosylceramide (LacCer) analogs via caveolae. We found that whereas the LacCer analog with the natural (d-erythro) sphingosine stereochemistry is internalized mainly via caveolae, the non-natural (l-threo) LacCer analog is taken up via clathrin-, RhoA-, and Cdc42-dependent mechanisms and largely excluded from uptake via caveolae. Unlike the d-erythro-LacCer analog, the l-threo analog did not cluster in membrane microdomains when added at higher concentrations (5–20 μm). In vitro studies using small unilamellar vesicles and giant unilamellar vesicles demonstrated that l-threo-LacCer did not undergo a concentration-dependent excimer shift in fluorescence emission such as that seen with BODIPY™-sphingolipids with natural stereochemistry. Molecular modeling studies suggest that in d-erythro-LacCer, the disaccharide moiety extends above and in the same plane as the sphingosine hydrocarbon chain, while in l-threo-LacCer the carbohydrate group is nearly perpendicular to the hydrocarbon chain. Together, these results suggest that the altered stereochemistry of the sphingosine group in l-threo-LacCer results in a perturbed structure, which is unable to pack closely with natural membrane lipids, leading to a reduced inclusion in plasma membrane microdomains and decreased uptake by caveolar endocytosis. These findings demonstrate the importance of the sphingolipid stereochemistry in the formation of membrane microdomains.

Visualization of the heterogeneous membrane distribution of sphingomyelin associated with cytokinesis, cell polarity, and sphingolipidosis

Sphingomyelin (SM) is a major sphingolipid in mammalian cells and is reported to form specific lipid domains together with cholesterol. However, methods to examine the membrane distribution of SM are limited. We demonstrated in model membranes that fluorescent protein conjugates of 2 specific SM‐binding toxins, lysenin (Lys) and equinatoxin II (EqtII), recognize different membrane distributions of SM; Lys exclusively binds clustered SM, whereas EqtII preferentially binds dispersed SM. Freeze‐fracture immunoelectron microscopy showed that clustered but not dispersed SM formed lipid domains on the cell surface. Glycolipids and the membrane concentration of SM affect the SM distribution pattern on the plasma membrane. Using derivatives of Lys and EqtII as SM distribution‐sensitive probes, we revealed the exclusive accumulation of SM clusters in the midbody at the time of cytokinesis. Interestingly, apical membranes of differentiated epithelial cells exhibited dispersed SM distribution, whereas SM was clustered in basolateral membranes. Clustered but not dispersed SM was absent from the cell surface of acid sphingomyelinase‐deficient Niemann‐Pick type A cells. These data suggest that both the SM content and membrane distribution are crucial for pathophysiological events bringing therapeutic perspective in the role of SM membrane distribution.—Makino, A., Abe, M., Murate, M., Inaba, T., Yilmaz, N., Hullin‐Matsuda, F., Kishimoto, T., Schieber, N. L., Taguchi, T., Arai, H., Anderluh, G., Parton, R. G., Kobayashi, T. Visualization of the heterogeneous membrane distribution of sphingomyelin associated with cytokinesis, cell polarity, and sphingolipidosis. FASEB J. 29, 477‐493 (2015). www.fasebj.org

Anti-bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate antibody accumulates acetylated LDL-derived cholesterol in cultured macrophages

Bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate (BMP), also called lysobisphosphatidic acid, is a phospholipid highly enriched in the internal membranes of multivesicular late endosomes, in which it forms specialized lipid domains. It has been suggested that BMP-rich membranes regulate cholesterol transport. Here, we examine the effects of an anti-BMP antibody on cholesterol metabolism and transport in two macrophage cell lines, RAW 264.7 and THP-1, during loading with acetylated low density lipoprotein (AcLDL). Anti-BMP antibody was internalized and accumulated in both macrophage cell types. Cholesterol staining with filipin and mass measurements indicate that AcLDL-stimulated accumulation of free cholesterol (FC) was enhanced in macrophages that had accumulated the antibody. Unlike the hydrophobic amine U18666A (3-β-[2-(diethylamino)ethoxy]androst-5-en-17-one), esterification of AcLDL-derived cholesterol by ACAT was not modified after anti-BMP treatment. AcLDL loading led to an increase of FC in the plasma membrane. This increase was further enhanced in anti-BMP-treated macrophages. However, cholesterol efflux to HDL was reduced in antibody-treated cells. These results suggest that the accumulation of anti-BMP antibody alters cholesterol homeostasis in AcLDL-loaded macrophages.