Natalie Porat-Shliom

Clathrin-independent endocytosis: a unique platform for cell signaling and PM remodeling.

There is increasing interest in endocytosis that occurs independently of clathrin coats and the fates of membrane proteins internalized by this mechanism. The appearance of clathrin-independent endocytic and membrane recycling pathways seems to vary with different cell types and cargo molecules. In this review we focus on studies that have been performed using HeLa and COS cells as model systems for understanding this membrane trafficking system. These endosomal membranes contain signaling molecules including H-Ras, Rac1, Arf6 and Rab proteins, and a lipid environment rich in cholesterol and PIP(2) providing a unique platform for cell signaling. Furthermore, activation of some of these signaling molecules (H-Ras, Rac and Arf6) can switch the constitutive form of clathrin-independent endocytosis into a stimulated one, associated with PM ruffling and macropinocytosis.

Discovery of New Cargo Proteins that Enter Cells through Clathrin-Independent Endocytosis

Clathrin‐independent endocytosis (CIE) allows internalization of plasma membrane proteins lacking clathrin‐targeting sequences, such as the major histocompatibility complex class I protein (MHCI), into cells. After internalization, vesicles containing MHCI fuse with transferrin‐containing endosomes generated from clathrin‐dependent endocytosis. In HeLa cells, MHCI is subsequently routed to late endosomes or recycled back out to the plasma membrane (PM) in distinctive tubular carriers. Arf6 is associated with endosomal membranes carrying CIE cargo and expression of an active form of Arf6 leads to the generation of vacuolar structures that trap CIE cargo immediately after endocytosis, blocking the convergence with transferrin‐containing endosomes. We isolated these trapped vacuolar structures and analyzed their protein composition by mass spectrometry. Here we identify and validate six new endogenous cargo proteins (CD44, CD55, CD98, CD147, Glut1, and ICAM1) that use CIE to enter cells. CD55 and Glut1 appear to closely parallel the trafficking of MHCI, merging with transferrin endosomes before entering the recycling tubules. In contrast, CD44, CD98, and CD147 appear to directly enter the recycling tubules and by‐pass the merge with EEA1‐positive, transferrin‐containing endosomes. This divergent itinerary suggests that sorting may occur along this CIE pathway. Furthermore, the identification of new cargo proteins will assist others studying CIE in different cell types and tissues.

Multiple roles for the actin cytoskeleton during regulated exocytosis

Regulated exocytosis is the main mechanism utilized by specialized secretory cells to deliver molecules to the cell surface by virtue of membranous containers (i.e., secretory vesicles). The process involves a series of highly coordinated and sequential steps, which include the biogenesis of the vesicles, their delivery to the cell periphery, their fusion with the plasma membrane, and the release of their content into the extracellular space. Each of these steps is regulated by the actin cytoskeleton. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the involvement of actin and its associated molecules during each of the exocytic steps in vertebrates, and suggest that the overall role of the actin cytoskeleton during regulated exocytosis is linked to the architecture and the physiology of the secretory cells under examination. Specifically, in neurons, neuroendocrine, endocrine, and hematopoietic cells, which contain small secretory vesicles that undergo rapid exocytosis (on the order of milliseconds), the actin cytoskeleton plays a role in pre-fusion events, where it acts primarily as a functional barrier and facilitates docking. In exocrine and other secretory cells, which contain large secretory vesicles that undergo slow exocytosis (seconds to minutes), the actin cytoskeleton plays a role in post-fusion events, where it regulates the dynamics of the fusion pore, facilitates the integration of the vesicles into the plasma membrane, provides structural support, and promotes the expulsion of large cargo molecules.

Imaging cell biology in live animals: Ready for prime time

Time-lapse fluorescence microscopy is one of the main tools used to image subcellular structures in living cells. Yet for decades it has been applied primarily to in vitro model systems. Thanks to the most recent advancements in intravital microscopy, this approach has finally been extended to live rodents. This represents a major breakthrough that will provide unprecedented new opportunities to study mammalian cell biology in vivo and has already provided new insight in the fields of neurobiology, immunology, and cancer biology.

Intravital microscopy: a practical guide on imaging intracellular structures in live animals.

Intravital microscopy is an extremely powerful tool that enables imaging several biological processes in live animals. Recently, the ability to image subcellular structures in several organs combined with the development of sophisticated genetic tools has made possible extending this approach to investigate several aspects of cell biology. Here we provide a general overview of intravital microscopy with the goal of highlighting its potential and challenges. Specifically, this review is geared toward researchers that are new to intravital microscopy and focuses on practical aspects of carrying out imaging in live animals. Here we share the know-how that comes from first-hand experience, including topics such as choosing the right imaging platform and modality, surgery and stabilization techniques, anesthesia and temperature control. Moreover, we highlight some of the approaches that facilitate subcellular imaging in live animals by providing numerous examples of imaging selected organelles and the actin cytoskeleton in multiple organs.

Regulated exocytosis: novel insights from intravital microscopy.

Regulated exocytosis is a fundamental process that every secretory cell uses to deliver molecules to the cell surface and the extracellular space by virtue of membranous carriers. This process has been extensively studied using various approaches such as biochemistry, electrophysiology and electron microscopy. However, recent developments in time‐lapse light microscopy have made possible imaging individual exocytic events, hence, advancing our understanding of this process at a molecular level. In this review, we focus on intravital microscopy (IVM), a light microscopy‐based approach that enables imaging subcellular structures in live animals, and discuss its recent application to study regulated exocytosis. IVM has revealed differences in regulation and modality of regulated exocytosis between in vitro and in vivo model systems, unraveled novel aspects of this process that can be appreciated only in in vivo settings and provided valuable and novel information on its molecular machinery. In conclusion, we make the case for IVM being a mature technique that can be used to investigate the molecular machinery of several intracellular events under physiological conditions.

Liver kinase B1 regulates hepatocellular tight junction distribution and function in vivo.

Liver kinase B1 (LKB1) and its downstream effector AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) play critical roles in polarity establishment by regulating membrane trafficking and energy metabolism. In collagen sandwich‐cultured hepatocytes, loss of LKB1 or AMPK impaired apical ABCB11 (Bsep) trafficking and bile canalicular formation. In the present study, we used liver‐specific (albumin‐Cre) LKB1 knockout mice (LKB1−/−) to investigate the role of LKB1 in the maintenance of functional tight junction (TJ) in vivo. Transmission electron microscopy examination revealed that hepatocyte apical membrane with microvilli substantially extended into the basolateral domain of LKB1−/− livers. Immunofluorescence studies revealed that loss of LKB1 led to longer and wider canalicular structures correlating with mislocalization of the junctional protein, cingulin. To test junctional function, we used intravital microscopy to quantify the transport kinetics of 6‐carboxyfluorescein diacetate (6‐CFDA), which is processed in hepatocytes into its fluorescent derivative 6‐carboxyfluorescein (6‐CF) and secreted into the canaliculi. In LKB1−/− mice, 6‐CF remained largely in hepatocytes, canalicular secretion was delayed, and 6‐CF appeared in the blood. To test whether 6‐CF was transported through permeable TJ, we intravenously injected low molecular weight (3 kDa) dextran in combination with 6‐CFDA. In wild‐type mice, 3 kDa dextran remained in the vasculature, whereas it rapidly appeared in the abnormal bile canaliculi in LKB1−/− mice, confirming that junctional disruption resulted in paracellular exchange between the blood stream and the bile canaliculus. Conclusion: LKB1 plays a critical role in regulating the maintenance of TJ and paracellular permeability, which may explain how various drugs, chemicals, and metabolic states that inhibit the LKB1/AMPK pathway result in cholestasis. (Hepatology 2016;64:1317‐1329)

Linking differences in membrane tension with the requirement for a contractile actomyosin scaffold during exocytosis in salivary glands

In all the major secretory organs regulated exocytosis is a fundamental process that is used for releasing molecules in the extracellular space. Molecules destined for secretion are packaged into secretory vesicles that fuse with the plasma membrane upon the appropriate stimulus. In exocrine glands, large secretory vesicles fuse with specialized domains of the plasma membrane, which form ductal structures that are in direct continuity with the external environment and exhibit various architectures and diameters. In a recent study, we used intravital microscopy to analyze in detail the dynamics of exocytic events in the salivary glands of live rodents under conditions that cannot be reproduced in in vitro or ex vivo model systems. We found that after the opening of the fusion pore large secretory vesicles gradually collapse with their limiting membranes being completely absorbed into the apical plasma membrane canaliculi within 40–60 sec. Moreover, we observed that this controlled collapse requires the contractile activity of actin and its motor myosin II, which are recruited onto the large secretory vesicles immediately after their fusion with the plasma membrane. Here we suggest that the actomyosin complex may be required to facilitate exocytosis in those systems, such as the salivary glands, in which the full collapse of the vesicles is not energetically favorable due to a difference in membrane tension between the large secretory vesicles and the canaliculi.

Intravital microscopy for imaging subcellular structures in live mice expressing fluorescent proteins.

Here we describe a procedure to image subcellular structures in live rodents that is based on the use of confocal intravital microscopy. As a model organ, we use the salivary glands of live mice since they provide several advantages. First, they can be easily exposed to enable access to the optics, and stabilized to facilitate the reduction of the motion artifacts due to heartbeat and respiration. This significantly facilitates imaging and tracking small subcellular structures. Second, most of the cell populations of the salivary glands are accessible from the surface of the organ. This permits the use of confocal microscopy that has a higher spatial resolution than other techniques that have been used for in vivo imaging, such as two-photon microscopy. Finally, salivary glands can be easily manipulated pharmacologically and genetically, thus providing a robust system to investigate biological processes at a molecular level. In this study we focus on a protocol designed to follow the kinetics of the exocytosis of secretory granules in acinar cells and the dynamics of the apical plasma membrane where the secretory granules fuse upon stimulation of the beta-adrenergic receptors. Specifically, we used a transgenic mouse that co-expresses cytosolic GFP and a membrane-targeted peptide fused with the fluorescent protein tandem-Tomato. However, the procedures that we used to stabilize and image the salivary glands can be extended to other mouse models and coupled to other approaches to label in vivo cellular components, enabling the visualization of various subcellular structures, such as endosomes, lysosomes, mitochondria, and the actin cytoskeleton.

Intravital Microscopy Reveals Differences in the Kinetics of Endocytic Pathways between Cell Cultures and Live Animals

Intravital microscopy has enabled imaging of the dynamics of subcellular structures in live animals, thus opening the door to investigating membrane trafficking under physiological conditions. Here, we sought to determine whether the architecture and the environment of a fully developed tissue influences the dynamics of endocytic processes. To this aim, we imaged endocytosis in the stromal cells of rat salivary glands both in situ and after they were isolated and cultured on a solid surface. We found that the internalization of transferrin and dextran, two molecules that traffic via distinct mechanisms, is substantially altered in cultured cells, supporting the idea that the three dimensional organization of the tissue and the cues generated by the surrounding environment strongly affect membrane trafficking events.