ESCRT-mediated sorting and intralumenal vesicle concatenation in plants

In eukaryotic cells, compartments of the highly dynamic endomembrane system are acidified to varying degrees by the activity of vacuolar H(+)-ATPases (V-ATPases). In the Arabidopsis thaliana genome, most V-ATPase subunits are encoded by small gene families, thus offering potential for a multitude of enzyme complexes with different kinetic properties and localizations. We have determined the subcellular localization of the three Arabidopsis isoforms of the membrane-integral V-ATPase subunit VHA-a. Colocalization experiments as well as immunogold labeling showed that VHA-a1 is preferentially found in the trans-Golgi network (TGN), the main sorting compartment of the secretory pathway. Uptake experiments with the endocytic tracer FM4-64 revealed rapid colocalization with VHA-a1, indicating that the TGN may act as an early endosomal compartment. Concanamycin A, a specific V-ATPase inhibitor, blocks the endocytic transport of FM4-64 to the tonoplast, causes the accumulation of FM4-64 together with newly synthesized plasma membrane proteins, and interferes with the formation of brefeldin A compartments. Furthermore, nascent cell plates are rapidly stained by FM4-64, indicating that endocytosed material is redirected into the secretory flow after reaching the TGN. Together, our results suggest the convergence of the early endocytic and secretory trafficking pathways in the TGN.

Curved membranes are an essential feature of dynamic cellular structures, including endocytic pits, filopodia protrusions and most organelles. It has been proposed that specialized proteins induce curvature by binding to membranes through two primary mechanisms: membrane scaffolding by curved proteins or complexes; and insertion of wedge-like amphipathic helices into the membrane. Recent computational studies have raised questions about the efficiency of the helix-insertion mechanism, predicting that proteins must cover nearly 100% of the membrane surface to generate high curvature, an improbable physiological situation. Thus, at present, we lack a sufficient physical explanation of how protein attachment bends membranes efficiently. On the basis of studies of epsin1 and AP180, proteins involved in clathrin-mediated endocytosis, we propose a third general mechanism for bending fluid cellular membranes: protein-protein crowding. By correlating membrane tubulation with measurements of protein densities on membrane surfaces, we demonstrate that lateral pressure generated by collisions between bound proteins drives bending. Whether proteins attach by inserting a helix or by binding lipid heads with an engineered tag, protein coverage above ~20% is sufficient to bend membranes. Consistent with this crowding mechanism, we find that even proteins unrelated to membrane curvature, such as green fluorescent protein (GFP), can bend membranes when sufficiently concentrated. These findings demonstrate a highly efficient mechanism by which the crowded protein environment on the surface of cellular membranes can contribute to membrane shape change.

Down-regulation (degradation) of cell surface proteins within the lysosomal lumen depends on the function of the multivesicular body (MVB) sorting pathway. The function of this pathway requires the class E vacuolar protein sorting (Vps) proteins. Of the class E Vps proteins, both the ESCRT-I complex (composed of the class E proteins Vps23, 28, and 37) and Vps27 (mammalian hepatocyte receptor tyrosine kinase substrate, Hrs) have been shown to interact with ubiquitin, a signal for entry into the MVB pathway. We demonstrate that activation of the MVB sorting reaction is dictated largely through interactions between Vps27 and the endosomally enriched lipid species phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate via the FYVE domain (Fab1, YGL023, Vps27, and EEA1) of Vps27. ESCRT-I then physically binds to Vps27 on endosomal membranes via a domain within the COOH terminus of Vps27. A peptide sequence in this domain, PTVP, is involved in the function of Vps27 in the MVB pathway, the efficient endosomal recruitment of ESCRT-I, and is related to a motif in HIV-1 Gag protein that is capable of interacting with Tsg101, the mammalian homologue of Vps23. We propose that compartmental specificity for the MVB sorting reaction is the result of interactions of Vps27 with phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate and ubiquitin. Vps27 subsequently recruits/activates ESCRT-I on endosomes, thereby facilitating sorting of ubiquitinated MVB cargoes.