Compartmentalisation and localisation of the translation initiation factor (eIF) 4F complex in normally growing fibroblasts

Previous observations of association of mRNAs and ribosomes with subcellular structures highlight the importance of localised translation. However, little is known regarding associations between eukaryotic translation initiation factors and cellular structures within the cytoplasm of normally growing cells. We have used detergent-based cellular fractionation coupled with immunofluorescence microscopy to investigate the subcellular localisation in NIH3T3 fibroblasts of the initiation factors involved in recruitment of mRNA for translation, focussing on eIF4E, the mRNA cap-binding protein, the scaffold protein eIF4GI and poly(A) binding protein (PABP). We find that these proteins exist mainly in a soluble cytosolic pool, with only a subfraction tightly associated with cellular structures. However, this "associated" fraction was enriched in active "eIF4F" complexes (eIF4E.eIF4G.eIF4A.PABP). Immunofluorescence analysis reveals both a diffuse and a perinuclear distribution of eIF4G, with the perinuclear staining pattern similar to that of the endoplasmic reticulum. eIF4E also shows both a diffuse staining pattern and a tighter perinuclear stain, partly coincident with vimentin intermediate filaments. All three proteins localise to the lamellipodia of migrating cells in close proximity to ribosomes, microtubules, microfilaments and focal adhesions, with eIF4G and eIF4E at the periphery showing a similar staining pattern to the focal adhesion protein vinculin

Organization of mammalian cytoplasm.

Although the role of macromolecular interactions in cell function has attracted considerable attention, important questions about the organization of cells remain. To help clarify this situation, we used a simple protocol that measures macromolecule release after gentle permeabilization for the examination of the status of endogenous macromolecules. Treatment of Chinese hamster ovary cells with saponin under carefully controlled conditions allowed entry of molecules of at least 800 kDa; however, there were minimal effects on internal cellular architecture and protein synthesis remained at levels comparable to those seen with intact cells. Most importantly, total cellular protein and RNA were released from these cells extremely slowly. The release of actin-binding proteins and a variety of individual cytoplasmic proteins mirrored that of total protein, while marker proteins from subcellular compartments were not released. In contrast, glycolytic enzymes leaked rapidly, indicating that cells contain at least two distinct populations of cytoplasmic proteins. Addition of microfilament-disrupting agents led to rapid and extensive release of cytoplasmic macromolecules and a dramatic reduction in protein synthesis. These observations support the conclusion that mammalian cells behave as highly organized, macromolecular assemblies (dependent on the actin cytoskeleton) in which endogenous macromolecules normally are not free to diffuse over large distances

Identification of a pore lining segment in gap junction hemichannels.

The ability of certain connexins to form open hemichannels has been exploited to study the pore structure of gap junction (hemi)channels. Cysteine scanning mutagenesis was applied to cx46 and to a chimeric connexin, cx32E(1)43, which both form patent hemichannels when expressed in Xenopus oocytes. The thiol reagent maleimido-butyryl-biocytin was used to probe 12 cysteine replacement mutants in the first transmembrane segment and two in the amino-terminal segment. Maleimido-butyryl-biocytin was found to inhibit channel activity with cysteines in two equivalent positions in both connexins: I33C and M34C in cx32E(1)43 and I34C and L35C in cx46. These two positions in the first transmembrane segment are thus accessible from the extracellular space and consequently appear to contribute to the pore lining. The data also suggest that the pore structure is complex and may involve more than one transmembrane segment

The transcriptome of the early life history stages of the California Sea Hare Aplysia californica

Aplysia californica is a marine opisthobranch mollusc used as a model organism in neurobiology for cellular analyses of learning and behavior because it possesses a comparatively small number of neurons of large size. The mollusca comprise the second largest animal phylum, yet detailed genetic and genomic information is only recently beginning to accrue. Thus developmental and comparative evolutionary biology as well as biomedical research would benefit from additional information on DNA sequences of Aplysia. Therefore, we have constructed a series of unidirectional cDNA libraries from different life stages of Aplysia. These include whole organisms from the egg, veliger, metamorphic, and juvenile stages as well as adult neural tissue for reference. Individual clones were randomly picked, and high-throughput, single pass sequence analysis was performed to generate 7971 sequences. Of these, there were 5507 quality-filtered ESTs that clustered into 1988 unigenes, which are annotated and deposited into GenBank. A significant number (497) of ESTs did not match existing Aplysia ESTs and are thus potentially novel sequences for Aplysia. GO and KEGG analyses of these novel sequences indicated that a large number were involved in protein binding and translation, consistent with the predominant biosynthetic role in development and the presence of stage-specific protein isoforms. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Compartmentalized MHC class I antigen processing enhances immunosurveillance by circumventing the law of mass action

MHC class I molecules function to display peptides generated from cellular and pathogen gene products for immune surveillance by CD8+ T cells. Cells typically express ∼100,000 class I molecules, or ∼1 per 30,000 cellular proteins. Given “one protein, one peptide” representation, immunosurveillance would be heavily biased toward the most abundant cell proteins. Cells use several mechanisms to prevent this, including the predominant use of defective ribosomal products (DRiPs) to generate peptides from nascent proteins and, as we show here, compartmentalization of DRiP peptide generation to prevent competition from abundant cytosolic peptides. This provides an explanation for the exquisite ability of T cells to recognize peptides generated from otherwise undetected gene products