Martina Schneider

Drosophila Stardust is a partner of Crumbs in the control of epithelial cell polarity

The polarized architecture of epithelial cells depends on the highly stereotypic distribution of cellular junctions and other membrane-associated protein complexes. In epithelial cells of the Drosophila embryo, three distinct domains subdivide the lateral plasma membrane. The most apical one comprises the subapical complex (SAC). It is followed by the zonula adherens (ZA) and, further basally, by the septate junction. A core component of the SAC is the transmembrane protein Crumbs, the cytoplasmic domain of which recruits the PDZ-protein Discs Lost into the complex. Cells lacking crumbs or the functionally related gene stardust fail to organize a continuous ZA and to maintain cell polarity. Here we show that stardust provides an essential component of the SAC. Stardust proteins colocalize with Crumbs and bind to the carboxy-terminal amino acids of its cytoplasmic tail. We introduce two different Stardust proteins here: one MAGUK protein, characterized by a PDZ domain, an SH3 domain and a guanylate kinase domain; and a second isoform comprising only the guanylate kinase domain. The Stardust proteins represent versatile candidates as structural and possibly regulatory constituents of the SAC, a crucial element in the control of epithelial cell polarity.

Scavenger Receptor Class B Type I (SR-BI) Is Involved in Vitamin E Transport across the Enterocyte

Although cellular uptake of vitamin E was initially described as a passive process, recent studies in the liver and brain have shown that SR-BI (scavenger receptor class B type I) is involved in this phenomenon. As SR-BI is expressed at high levels in the intestine, the present study addressed the involvement of SR-BI in vitamin E trafficking across enterocytes. Apical uptake and efflux of the main dietary forms of vitamin E were examined using Caco-2 TC-7 cell monolayers as a model of human intestinal epithelium. (R,R,R)-γ-tocopherol bioavailability was compared between wild-type mice and mice overexpressing SR-BI in the intestine. The effect of vitamin E on enterocyte SR-BI mRNA levels was measured by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. Concentration-dependent curves for vitamin E uptake were similar for (R,R,R)-α-, (R,R,R)-γ-, and dl-α-tocopherol. (R,R,R)-α-tocopherol transport was dependent on incubation temperature, with a 60% reduction in absorption at 4 °C compared with 37 °C (p < 0.05). Vitamin E flux in enterocytes was directed from the apical to the basal side, with a relative 10-fold reduction in the transfer process when measured in the opposite direction (p < 0.05). Co-incubation with cholesterol, γ-tocopherol, or lutein significantly impaired α-tocopherol absorption. Anti-human SR-BI antibodies and BLT1 (a chemical inhibitor of lipid transport via SR-BI) blocked up to 80% of vitamin E uptake and up to 30% of apical vitamin E efflux (p < 0.05), and similar results were obtained for (R,R,R)-γ-tocopherol. SR-BI mRNA levels were not significantly modified after a 24-h incubation of Caco-2 cells with vitamin E. Finally, (R,R,R)-γ-tocopherol bioavailability was 2.7-fold higher in mice overexpressing SR-BI than in wild-type mice (p < 0.05). The present data show for the first time that vitamin E intestinal absorption is, at least in part, mediated by SR-BI.

Dystroglycan is required for polarizing the epithelial cells and the oocyte in Drosophila.

The transmembrane protein Dystroglycan is a central element of the dystrophin-associated glycoprotein complex, which is involved in the pathogenesis of many forms of muscular dystrophy. Dystroglycan is a receptor for multiple extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules such as Laminin, agrin and perlecan, and plays a role in linking the ECM to the actin cytoskeleton; however, how these interactions are regulated and their basic cellular functions are poorly understood. Using mosaic analysis and RNAi in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, we show that Dystroglycan is required cell-autonomously for cellular polarity in two different cell types, the epithelial cells (apicobasal polarity) and the oocyte (anteroposterior polarity). Loss of Dystroglycan function in follicle and disc epithelia results in expansion of apical markers to the basal side of cells and overexpression results in a reduced apical localization of these same markers. In Dystroglycan germline clones early oocyte polarity markers fail to be localized to the posterior, and oocyte cortical F-actin organization is abnormal. Dystroglycan is also required non-cell-autonomously to organize the planar polarity of basal actin in follicle cells, possibly by organizing the Laminin ECM. These data suggest that the primary function of Dystroglycan in oogenesis is to organize cellular polarity; and this study sets the stage for analyzing the Dystroglycan complex by using the power of Drosophila molecular genetics.

Genomics, transcriptomics, and peptidomics of Daphnia pulex neuropeptides and protein hormones.

We report 43 novel genes in the water flea Daphnia pulex encoding 73 predicted neuropeptide and protein hormones as partly confirmed by RT-PCR. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry identified 40 neuropeptides by mass matches and 30 neuropeptides by fragmentation sequencing. Single genes encode adipokinetic hormone, allatostatin-A, allatostatin-B, allatotropin, Ala(7)-CCAP, CCHamide, Arg(7)-corazonin, DENamides, CRF-like (DH52) and calcitonin-like (DH31) diuretic hormones, two ecdysis-triggering hormones, two FIRFamides, one insulin, two alternative splice forms of ion transport peptide (ITP), myosuppressin, neuroparsin, two neuropeptide-F splice forms, three periviscerokinins (but no pyrokinins), pigment dispersing hormone, proctolin, Met(4)-proctolin, short neuropeptide-F, three RYamides, SIFamide, two sulfakinins, and three tachykinins. There are two genes for a preprohormone containing orcomyotropin-like peptides and orcokinins, two genes for N-terminally elongated ITPs, two genes (clustered) for eclosion hormones, two genes (clustered) for bursicons alpha, beta, and two genes (clustered) for glycoproteins GPA2, GPB5, three genes for different allatostatins-C (two of them clustered) and three genes for IGF-related peptides. Detailed comparisons of genes or their products with those from insects and decapod crustaceans revealed that the D. pulex peptides are often closer related to their insect than to their decapod crustacean homologues, confirming that branchiopods, to which Daphnia belongs, are the ancestor group of insects.

Formation of the bicoid morphogen gradient: an mRNA gradient dictates the protein gradient

The Bicoid (Bcd) protein gradient is generally believed to be established in pre-blastoderm Drosophila embryos by the diffusion of Bcd protein after translation of maternal mRNA, which serves as a strictly localized source of Bcd at the anterior pole. However, we previously published evidence that the Bcd gradient is preceded by a bcd mRNA gradient. Here, we have revisited and extended this observation by showing that the bcd mRNA and Bcd protein gradient profiles are virtually identical at all times. This confirms our previous conclusion that the Bcd gradient is produced by a bcd mRNA gradient rather than by diffusion. Based on our observation that bcd mRNA colocalizes with Staufen (Stau), we propose that the bcd mRNA gradient forms by a novel mechanism involving quasi-random active transport of a Stau-bcd mRNA complex through a nonpolar microtubular network, which confines the bcd mRNA to the cortex of the embryo.

Cloning and identification of an oxytocin/vasopressin-like receptor and its ligand from insects

More than 20 years ago, an oxytocin/vasopressin-like peptide, CLITNCPRGamide, was isolated from the locust, Locusta migratoria [Proux JP, et al. (1987) Identification of an arginine vasopressin-like diuretic hormone from Locusta migratoria. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 149:180–186]. However, no similar peptide could be identified in other insects, nor could its prohormone be cloned, or its physiological actions be established. Here, we report that the recently sequenced genome from the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum contains a gene coding for an oxytocin/vasopressin-like peptide, identical to the locust peptide, which we named inotocin (for insect oxytocin/vasopressin-like peptide) and a gene coding for an inotocin G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). We cloned the Tribolium inotocin preprohormone and the inotocin GPCR and expressed the GPCR in CHO cells. This GPCR is strongly activated by low concentrations of inotocin (EC50, 5 × 10−9 M), demonstrating that it is the inotocin receptor. Quantitative RT-PCR (qPCR) showed that in adult Tribolium, the receptor is mainly expressed in the head and much less in the hindgut and Malpighian tubules, suggesting that the inotocin/receptor couple does not play a role in water homeostasis. Surprisingly, qPCR also showed that the receptor is 30× more expressed in the first larval stages than in adult animals. The inotocin/receptor couple can also be found in the recently sequenced genome from the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis but not in any other holometabolous insect with a completely sequenced genome (12 Drosophila species, the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae, the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti, the silk worm Bombyx mori, and the honey bee Apis mellifera), suggesting that this neuropeptide system is confined to basal holometabolous insects. Furthermore, we identified an oxytocin/vasopressin-like peptide and receptor in the recently sequenced genome from the water flea Daphnia pulex (Crustacea). To our knowledge, this is the first report on the molecular cloning of an oxytocin/vasopressin-like receptor and its ligand from arthropods.

Discovery of a Novel Insect Neuropeptide Signaling System Closely Related to the Insect Adipokinetic Hormone and Corazonin Hormonal Systems

Neuropeptides and their G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play a central role in the physiology of insects. One large family of insect neuropeptides are the adipokinetic hormones (AKHs), which mobilize lipids and carbohydrates from the insect fat body. Other peptides are the corazonins that are structurally related to the AKHs but represent a different neuropeptide signaling system. We have previously cloned an orphan GPCR from the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae that was structurally intermediate between the A. gambiae AKH and corazonin GPCRs. Using functional expression of the receptor in cells in cell culture, we have now identified the ligand for this orphan receptor as being pQVTFSRDWNAamide, a neuropeptide that is structurally intermediate between AKH and corazonin and that we therefore named ACP (AKH/corazonin-related peptide). ACP does not activate the A. gambiae AKH and corazonin receptors and, vice versa, AKH and corazonin do not activate the ACP receptor, showing that the ACP/receptor couple is an independent and so far unknown peptidergic signaling system. Because ACP is structurally intermediate between AKH and corazonin and the ACP receptor between the AKH and corazonin receptors, this is a prominent example of receptor/ligand co-evolution, probably originating from receptor and ligand gene duplications followed by mutations and evolutionary selection, thereby yielding three independent hormonal systems. The ACP signaling system occurs in the mosquitoes A. gambiae, Aedes aegypti, and Culex pipiens (Diptera), the silkworm Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera), the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera), the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis (Hymenoptera), and the bug Rhodnius prolixus (Hemiptera). However, the ACP system is not present in 12 Drosophila species (Diptera), the honeybee Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera), the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (Hemiptera), the body louse Pediculus humanus (Phthiraptera), and the crustacean Daphnia pulex, indicating that it has been lost several times during arthropod evolution. In particular, this frequent loss of hormonal systems is unique for arthropods compared with vertebrates.

Perlecan and Dystroglycan act at the basal side of the Drosophila follicular epithelium to maintain epithelial organization

Dystroglycan (Dg) is a widely expressed extracellular matrix (ECM) receptor required for muscle viability, synaptogenesis, basementmembrane formation and epithelial development. As an integral component of the Dystrophin-associated glycoprotein complex, Dg plays a central role in linking the ECM and the cytoskeleton. Disruption of this linkage in skeletal muscle leads to various types of muscular dystrophies. In epithelial cells, reduced expression of Dg is associated with increased invasiveness of cancer cells. We have previously shown that Dg is required for epithelial cell polarity in Drosophila, but the mechanisms of this polarizing activity and upstream/downstream components are largely unknown. Using the Drosophila follicle-cell epithelium (FCE) as a model system, we show that the ECM molecule Perlecan (Pcan) is required for maintenance of epithelial-cell polarity. Follicle cells that lack Pcan develop polarity defects similar to those of Dg mutant cells. Furthermore, Dg depends on Pcan but not on Laminin A for its localization in the basal-cell membrane, and the two proteins bind in vitro. Interestingly, the Dg form that interacts with Pcan in the FCE lacks the mucin-like domain, which is thought to be essential for Dg ligand binding activity. Finally, we describe two examples of how Dg promotes the differentiation of the basal membrane domain: (1) by recruiting/anchoring the cytoplasmic protein Dystrophin; and (2) by excluding the transmembrane protein Neurexin. We suggest that the interaction of Pcan and Dg at the basal side of the epithelium promotes basal membrane differentiation and is required for maintenance of cell polarity in the FCE.

α-Tocopherol Modulates Phosphatidylserine Externalization in Erythrocytes Relevance in Phospholipid Transfer Protein–Deficient Mice

Objective—The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of α-tocopherol, the main vitamin E isomer on phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure at the surface of circulating erythrocytes, and to determine consequences on erythrocyte properties. Methods and Results—In vitro α-tocopherol enrichment of isolated erythrocytes significantly decreased PS externalization as assessed by lower Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate labeling. Plasma phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) transfers vitamin E, and both α-and &ggr;-tocopherol accumulated in circulating erythrocytes from PLTP-deficient homozygous (PLTP−/−) mice as compared with wild-type mice. In agreement with in vitro studies, vitamin E–enriched erythrocytes from PLTP−/− mice displayed fewer externalized PS molecules than wild-type controls (−64%, P<0.05). The perturbation of phospholipid membrane asymmetry from PLTP−/− erythrocytes was accompanied by impairment of their procoagulant properties, with a 20% increase in clotting time as compared with wild-type controls (P<0.05). Less pronounced, however still significant, changes were observed in α-tocopherol content, procoagulant properties, and PS externalization in erythrocytes of PLTP-deficient heterozygotes. Finally, whole blood coagulation and circulating level of D-dimer, which reflects increased thrombus formation in vivo, were significantly decreased in PLTP−/− mice compared with wild-type mice. Conclusions—Vitamin E modifies PS externalization in circulating erythrocytes, thus modulating in vivo their PS-dependent procoagulant properties.

Gremlin-1 is an inhibitor of macrophage migration inhibitory factor and attenuates atherosclerotic plaque growth in ApoE-/- mice

Results: Gremlin-1 binds with high affinity to macrophage migration inhibitory factor and attenuates the progression of atherosclerosis. Conclusion: We describe a novel mechanism that regulates foam cell formation and plaque growth. Significance: The findings disclose a new mechanism for the regulation of plaque growth and may open novel therapeutic strategies to control the progression of atherosclerosis. Monocyte infiltration and macrophage formation are pivotal steps in atherosclerosis and plaque vulnerability. Gremlin-1/Drm is crucial in embryo-/organogenesis and has been shown to be expressed in the adult organism at sites of arterial injury and to inhibit monocyte migration. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate and characterize the role of Gremlin-1 in atherosclerosis. Here we report that Gremlin-1 is highly expressed primarily by monocytes/macrophages in aortic atherosclerotic lesions of ApoE−/− mice and is secreted from activated monocytes and during macrophage development in vitro. Gremlin-1 reduces macrophage formation by inhibiting macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a cytokine critically involved in atherosclerotic plaque progression and vulnerability. Gremlin-1 binds with high affinity to MIF (KD = 54 nm), as evidenced by surface plasmon resonance analysis and co-immunoprecipitation, and reduces MIF-induced release of TNF-α from macrophages. Treatment of ApoE−/− mice with a dimeric recombinant fusion protein, mGremlin1-Fc, but not with equimolar control Fc or inactivated mGremlin1-Fc, reduced TNF-α expression, the content of monocytes/macrophages of atherosclerotic lesions, and attenuated atheroprogression. The present data disclose that Gremlin-1 is an endogenous antagonist of MIF and define a role for Gremlin-1/MIF interaction in atherosclerosis.