The ERD2 gene, which encodes the yeast HDEL (His-Asp-Glu-Leu) receptor, is essential for growth. SED5, when present in multiple copies, enables cells to grow in the absence of Erd2p. Sequence analysis of SED5 reveals no significant homology with ERD2 or other known genes. Antibodies were raised to Sed5p which specifically recognize a 39-kD integral membrane protein. A stretch of hydrophobic residues at the COOH terminus is predicted to hold Sed5p on the cytoplasmic face of intracellular membranes. Cells that are depleted of Sed5p are unable to transport carboxypeptidase Y to the Golgi complex, and stop growing after a dramatic accumulation of ER membranes and vesicles. It is concluded that the SED5 gene is essential for growth and that Sed5p is required for ER to Golgi transport. When Sed5p is overexpressed the efficiency of ER to Golgi transport is reduced, vesicles accumulate, and cellular morphology is perturbed. Immunofluorescence studies reveal that the bulk of Sed5p is not found on ER membranes but on punctate structures throughout the cytoplasm, the number of which increases upon SED5 overexpression. It is suggested that Sed5p has an essential role in vesicular transport between ER and Golgi compartments and that it may itself cycle between these organelles (Hardwick, 1992).
The generation of transport vesicles at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) depends on cytosolic proteins, which, in the form of subcomplexes (Sec23p/Sec24p; Sec13p/Sec31p) are recruited to the ER membrane by GTP-bound Sar1p and form the coat protein complex II (COPII). Using affinity chromatography and two-hybrid analyses, it has been found that the essential COPII component Sec24p, but not Sec23p, binds to the cis-Golgi syntaxin Sed5p. Sec24p/Sed5p interaction in vitro was not dependent on the presence of [Sar1p.GTP]. The binding of Sec24p to Sed5p is specific; none of the other seven yeast syntaxins bound to this COPII component. Whereas the interaction site of Sec23p is within the N-terminal half of the 926-aa-long Sec24p (amino acid residues 56-549), Sed5p binds to the N- and C-terminal halves of the protein. Destruction by mutagenesis of a potential zinc finger within the N-terminal half of Sec24p leads to a nonfunctional protein that is still able to bind Sec23p and Sed5p. Sec24p/Sed5p binding might be relevant for cargo selection during transport-vesicle formation and/or for vesicle targeting to the cis-Golgi (Peng, 1999).
To fuse transport vesicles with target membranes, proteins of the SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors) complex must be located on both the vesicle (v-SNARE) and the target membrane (t-SNARE). In yeast, four integral membrane proteins, Sed5, Bos1, Sec22 and Bet1, each probably contribute a single helix to form the SNARE complex that is needed for transport from endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi. This generates a four-helix bundle, which ultimately mediates the actual fusion event. How the anchoring arrangement of the four helices affects their ability to mediate fusion is examined in this study. Two populations of phospholipid bilayer vesicles were reconstituted, with the individual SNARE proteins distributed in all possible combinations between them. Of the eight non-redundant permutations of four subunits distributed over two vesicle populations, only one results in membrane fusion. Fusion only occurs when the v-SNARE Bet1 is on one membrane and the syntaxin heavy chain Sed5 and its two light chains, Bos1 and Sec22, are on the other membrane where they form a functional t-SNARE. Thus, each SNARE protein is topologically restricted by design to function either as a v-SNARE or as part of a t-SNARE complex (Parlati, 2000).
Sed5p is the only syntaxin family member required for protein transport through the yeast Golgi and it is known to bind up to nine other SNARE proteins in vivo. In vitro binding experiments arte described in which ternary and quaternary Sed5p-containing SNARE complexes were identified. The formation of SNARE complexes among these endoplasmic reticulum- and Golgi-localized proteins requires Sed5p and is syntaxin-selective. In addition, Sed5p-containing SNARE complexes form selectively and this selectivity is mediated by Sed5p-containing intermediates that discriminate among subsequent binding partners. Although many of these SNAREs have overlapping distributions in vivo, the SNAREs that form complexes with Sed5p in vitro reflect their functionally distinct locales. Although SNARE-SNARE interactions are promiscuous and a single SNARE protein is often found in more than one complex, both the biochemical as well as genetic analyses reported here suggest that this is not a result of nonselective direct substitution of one SNARE for another. Rather the data are consistent with the existence of multiple (perhaps parallel) trafficking pathways where Sed5p-containing SNARE complexes play overlapping and/or distinct functional roles (Tsui, 2001).
The yeast SNARE Ykt6p has been implicated in several trafficking steps, including vesicular transport from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi, intra-Golgi transport, and homotypic vacuole fusion. The functional role of its mammalian homolog (Ykt6) has not been established. Using antibodies specific for mammalian Ykt6, it is revealed that it is found mainly in Golgi-enriched membranes. Three SNAREs, syntaxin 5, GS28, and Bet1, are specifically associated with Ykt6 as revealed by co-immunoprecipitation, suggesting that these four SNAREs form a SNARE complex. Double labeling of Ykt6 and the Golgi marker mannosidase II or the ER-Golgi recycling marker KDEL receptor suggests that Ykt6 is primarily associated with the Golgi apparatus. Unlike the KDEL receptor, Ykt6 does not cycle back to the peripheral ER exit sites. Antibodies against Ykt6 inhibit in vitro ER-Golgi transport of vesicular stomatitis virus envelope glycoprotein (VSVG) only when they are added before the EGTA-sensitive stage. ER-Golgi transport of VSVG in vitro is also inhibited by recombinant Ykt6. In the presence of antibodies against Ykt6, VSVG accumulates in peri-Golgi vesicular structures and is prevented from entering the mannosidase II compartment, suggesting that Ykt6 functions at a late stage in ER-Golgi transport. Golgi apparatus marked by mannosidase II is fragmented into vesicular structures in cells microinjected with Ykt6 antibodies. It is concluded that Ykt6 functions in a late step of ER-Golgi transport, and this role may be important for the integrity of the Golgi complex (Zhang, 2001).
Syntaxin-5 (Sed5) is the only syntaxin needed for transport into and across the yeast Golgi, raising the question of how a single syntaxin species could mediate vesicle transport in both the anterograde and the retrograde direction within the stack. Sed5 is known to combine with two light chains (Bos1 and Sec22) to form the t-SNARE needed to receive vesicles from the endoplasmic reticulum. However, the yeast Golgi contains several other potential light chains with which Sed5 could potentially combine to form other t-SNAREs. To explore the degree of specificity in the choice of light chains by a t-SNARE, a comprehensive examination was undertaken of the capacity of all 21 Sed5-based t-SNAREs that theoretically could assemble in the yeast Golgi to fuse with each of the 7 potential v-SNAREs also present in this organelle. Only one additional of these 147 combinations was fusogenic. This functional proteomic strategy thereby revealed a previously uncharacterized t-SNARE in which Sed5 is the heavy chain and Gos1 and Ykt6 are the light chains, and whose unique cognate v-SNARE is Sft1. Immunoprecipitation experiments confirmed the existence of this complex in vivo. Fusion mediated by this second Golgi SNAREpin is topologically restricted, and existing genetic and morphologic evidence implies that it is used for transport across the Golgi stack. From this study, together with the previous functional proteomic analyses that have tested 275 distinct quaternary SNARE combinations, it follows that the fusion potential and transport pathways of the yeast cell can be read out from its genome sequence according to the SNARE hypothesis with a predictive accuracy of about 99.6% (Parlati, 2002).
Fusion of transport vesicles with their target organelles involves specific membrane proteins -- SNAREs -- which form tight complexes bridging the membranes to be fused. Evidence from yeast and mammals indicates that Sec1 family proteins act as regulators of membrane fusion by binding to the target membrane SNAREs. In experiments with purified proteins, the ER to Golgi core SNARE fusion complex can be assembled on syntaxin Sed5p tightly bound to the Sec1-related Sly1p. Sly1p also binds to preassembled SNARE complexes in vitro and is found to be part of a vesicular/target membrane SNARE complex immunoprecipitated from yeast cell lysates. This is in marked contrast to the exocytic SNARE assembly in neuronal cells where high affinity binding of N-Sec1/Munc-18 to syntaxin 1A precludes core SNARE fusion complex formation. The kinetics of SNARE complex formation in vitro with either Sly1p-bound or free Sed5p is not significantly different. Importantly, several presumably nonphysiological SNARE complexes easily generated with Sed5p do not form when the syntaxin is first bound to Sly1p. This indicates for the first time that a Sec1 family member contributes to the specificity of SNARE complex assembly (Peng, 2002).
Cytosolic Sec1/munc18-like proteins (SM proteins) are recruited to membrane fusion sites by interaction with syntaxin-type SNARE proteins, constituting indispensable positive regulators of intracellular membrane fusion. The crystal structure is presented of the yeast SM protein Sly1p in complex with a short N-terminal peptide derived from the Golgi-resident syntaxin Sed5p. Sly1p folds, similarly to neuronal Sec1, into a three-domain arch-shaped assembly, and Sed5p interacts in a helical conformation predominantly with domain I of Sly1p on the opposite site of the nSec1/syntaxin-1-binding site. Sequence conservation of the major interactions suggests that homologs of Sly1p as well as the paralogous Vps45p group bind their respective syntaxins in the same way. Furthermore, indirect evidence is presented that nSec1 might be able to contact syntaxin 1 in a similar fashion. The observed Sly1p-Sed5p interaction mode therefore indicates how SM proteins can stay associated with the assembling fusion machinery in order to participate in late fusion steps (Bracher, 2002).
SLY1 is an essential gene for vesicular transport between the ER and the early Golgi apparatus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It encodes a hydrophilic Sec1/Munc18 family protein that binds to the t-SNAREs. The amount of Sly1 protein that coprecipitates with the t-SNARE Sed5 is much reduced in a temperature-sensitive sly1(ts) mutant yeast compared with the wildtype. The mutant Sly1(ts) protein has a reduced binding activity to Sed5. In the wildtype, a detectable amount of Sly1 was found in the complex between Sed5 and the v-SNARE Bet1. In vitro formation of this complex on different membranes in yeast lysate is enhanced by the addition of recombinant Sly1. These results indicate that binding of Sly1 to Sed5 enhances trans-SNARE complex formation (Kosodo, 2002).
Syntaxins are a family of vesicular transport receptors that are involved in membrane traffic through both the constitutive and regulated secretory pathways. Syntaxins 1A/B,2,3, and 4 are principally associated with the plasma membrane. Two of the syntaxins, 1A and 1B, have been suggested to be the docking receptors for synaptic vesicles with the presynaptic membrane. The most distant member of the family, syntaxin 5, has been found in the Golgi region and has significant homology (35% identity) with Sed5p, an essential protein in yeast that is required for vesicular transport from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi stack. Evidence that syntaxin 5 performs an analogous function in ER to Golgi transport in mammalian cells. Transient expression of an hemagglutinin-tagged full-length clone of syntaxin 5 and a truncated mutant lacking the transmembrane domain inhibits the transport of vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein to the Golgi stack. Under these conditions, vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein accumulates in pre-Golgi intermediates, which were strongly enriched in syntaxin 5. These results suggest that syntaxin 5 is the functional mammalian homologue of Sed5p and provides evidence for its role in regulating the potential targeting and/or fusion of carrier vesicles following export from the ER (Dascher, 1994).
A cell-free system that mimics the reassembly of Golgi stacks at the end of mitosis requires two ATPases, NSF and p97, to rebuild Golgi cisternae. Morphological studies now show that alpha-SNAP, a component of the NSF pathway, can inhibit the p97 pathway, whereas p47, a component of the p97 pathway, can inhibit the NSF pathway. Anti-syntaxin 5 antibodies and a soluble, recombinant syntaxin 5 inhibit both pathways, suggesting that this t-SNARE is a common component. Biochemical studies confirmed this, showing that p47 binds directly to syntaxin 5 and competes for binding with alpha-SNAP. p47 also mediates the binding of p97 to syntaxin 5 and so plays an analogous role to alpha-SNAP, which mediates the binding of NSF (Rabouille, 1998).
Syntaxins are thought to function during vesicular transport as receptors on the target membrane and to contribute to the specificity of membrane docking and fusion by interacting with vesicle-associated receptors. Syntaxin 5 (Syn5) has been shown to be an integral component of endoplasmic reticulum-derived transport vesicles. This pool, but not the target, Golgi-associated Syn5 pool, is essential for the assembly of vesicular-tubular pre-Golgi intermediates and the delivery of cargo to the Golgi. The requirement for vesicle-associated Syn5 in transport suggests a reevaluation of the basis for operation of the early secretory pathway (Rowe, 1998).
How do secretory proteins and other cargo targeted to post-Golgi locations traverse the Golgi stack? Immunoelectron microscopy experiments have established that a Golgi-restricted SNARE, GOS 28, is present in the same population of COPI vesicles as anterograde cargo marked by vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein, but is excluded from the COPI vesicles containing retrograde-targeted cargo (marked by KDEL receptor). GOS 28 and its partnering t-SNARE heavy chain, syntaxin 5, reside together in every cisterna of the stack. Taken together, these data raise the possibility that the anterograde cargo-laden COPI vesicles, retained locally by means of tethers, are inherently capable of fusing with neighboring cisternae on either side. If so, quanta of exported proteins would transit the stack in GOS 28-COPI vesicles via a bidirectional random walk, entering at the cis face and leaving at the trans face and percolating up and down the stack in between. Percolating vesicles carrying both post-Golgi cargo and Golgi residents up and down the stack would reconcile disparate observations on Golgi transport in cells and in cell-free systems (Orci, 2000).
The budding of vesicles from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that contains nascent proteins is regulated by COPII proteins. The mechanisms that regulate lipid-carrying pre-chylomicron transport vesicles (PCTVs) budding from the ER are unknown. To study the dependence of PCTV-ER budding on COPII proteins protein and PCTV budding were examined by using ER prepared from rat small intestinal mucosal cells prelabeled with 3H-oleate or 14C-oleate and 3H-leucine. Budded 3H-oleate-containing PCTVs were separated by sucrose density centrifugation and were revealed by electron microscopy as 142-500 nm vesicles. The results show the following: (1) Proteinase K treatment does not degrade the PCTV cargo protein, apolipoprotein B-48, unless Triton X-100 is added; (2) PCTV budding is dependent on cytosol and ATP; (3) the COPII proteins Sar1, Sec24 and Sec13/31 and the membrane proteins syntaxin 5 and rBet1 are associated with PCTVs; (4) isolated PCTVs are able to fuse with intestinal Golgi; (5) antibodies to Sar1 completely inhibit protein vesicle budding but increase the generation of PCTV; these changes are reversed by the addition of recombinant Sar1; (6) PCTVs formed in the absence of Sar1 do not contain the COPII proteins Sar1, Sec24 or Sec31 and do not fuse with the Golgi complex. Together, these findings suggest that COPII proteins may not be required for the exit of membrane-bound chylomicrons from the ER but that they or other proteins may be necessary for PCTV fusion with the Golgi (Siddiqi, 2003).
Members of the syntaxin gene family are components of protein complexes that regulate vesicle docking and/or fusion during transport of cargo through the secretory pathway of eukaryotic cells. Syntaxin 5 is specifically required for endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi transport. A protein from rat liver membranes has been cloned that forms a native complex with syntaxin 5. This protein is the mammalian homolog to yeast Sly1p, previously identified as a protein that genetically and biochemically interacts with the small GTPase Ypt1p and Sed5p, proteins involved in docking/fusion in the early secretory pathway of yeast. Using transient expression it has been found that overexpression of rat liver Sly1 (rSly1) can neutralize the dominant negative effects of excess syntaxin 5 on endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi transport. These results suggest that rSly1 functions to positively regulate syntaxin 5 function (Dascher, 1996).
The proposed cis-Golgi vesicle receptor syntaxin 5 is found in a complex with Golgi-associated SNARE of 28 kDa (GOS-28), rbet1, rsly1, and two novel proteins characterized in this study: rat sec22b and membrin, both are cytoplasmically oriented integral membrane proteins. The complex appears to recapitulate vesicle docking interactions of proteins originating from distinct compartments, since syntaxin 5, rbet1, and GOS-28 localize to Golgi membranes, whereas mouse sec22b and membrin accumulate in the endoplasmic reticulum. Protein interactions in the complex are dramatically rearranged by N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor. The complex consists of two or more subcomplexes with some members (rat sec22b and syntaxin 5) in common and others (rbet1 and GOS-28) mutually exclusively associated. It is proposed that these protein interactions determine vesicle docking/fusion fidelity between the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi (Hay, 1997).
SNAP receptor (SNARE) complexes bridge opposing membranes to promote membrane fusion within the secretory and endosomal pathways. Because only the exocytic SNARE complexes have been characterized in detail, the structural features shared by SNARE complexes from different fusion steps are not known. The subunit structure, assembly, and regulation is described of a quaternary SNARE complex, which appears to mediate an early step in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to Golgi transport. Purified recombinant syntaxin 5, membrin, and rbet1, three Q-SNAREs, assemble cooperatively to create a high affinity binding site for sec22b, an R-SNARE. The syntaxin 5 amino-terminal domain potently inhibits SNARE complex assembly. The ER/Golgi quaternary complex is remarkably similar to the synaptic complex, suggesting that a common pattern is followed at all transport steps, where three Q-helices assemble to form a high affinity binding site for a fourth R-helix on an opposing membrane. Interestingly, although sec22b binds to the combination of syntaxin 5, membrin, and rbet1, it can only bind if it is present while the others assemble; sec22b cannot bind to a pre-assembled ternary complex of syntaxin 5, membrin, and rbet1. Finally, the quaternary complex containing sec22b is demonstrated to be not only an in vitro entity, but is a bona fide species in living cells as well (Xu, 2000).
p115 tethers coat protein (COP)I vesicles to Golgi membranes. The acidic COOH-terminal domain of p115 links the Golgins, Giantin on COPI vesicles, to GM130 on Golgi membranes. A SNARE motif-related domain within p115 stimulates the specific assembly of endogenous Golgi SNAREpins containing the t-SNARE, syntaxin 5. p115 catalyzes the construction of a cognate GOS-28-syntaxin-5 (v-/t-SNARE) complex by first linking the SNAREs to promote their direct interaction. These events are essential for NSF-catalyzed reassembly of postmitotic Golgi vesicles and tubules into mature cisternae. Staging experiments reveal that the linking of Golgins precedes SNAREpin assembly. Thus, p115 coordinates sequential tethering and docking of COPI vesicles by first using long tethers (Golgins) and then short tethers (SNAREs) (Shorter, 2002).
Characterization of mammalian NSF (G274E) and Drosophila NSF (comatose) mutants reveals an evolutionarily conserved NSF activity distinct from ATPase-dependent SNARE disassembly that is essential for Golgi membrane fusion. Analysis of mammalian NSF function during cell-free assembly of Golgi cisternae from mitotic Golgi fragments reveals that NSF disassembles Golgi SNAREs during mitotic Golgi fragmentation. A subsequent ATPase-independent NSF activity restricted to the reassembly phase is essential for membrane fusion. NSF/alpha-SNAP catalyzes the binding of GATE-16 to GOS-28, a Golgi v-SNARE, in a manner that requires ATP but not ATP hydrolysis. GATE-16 is essential for NSF-driven Golgi reassembly and precludes GOS-28 from binding to its cognate t-SNARE, syntaxin-5. It is suggested that this occurs at the inception of Golgi reassembly to protect the v-SNARE and regulate SNARE function (Muller, 2002).
Sec1/munc18-like proteins (SM proteins) and SNARE complexes are probably universally required for membrane fusion. However, the molecular mechanism by which they interact has only been defined for synaptic vesicle fusion where munc18 binds to syntaxin in a closed conformation that is incompatible with SNARE complex assembly. Sly1, an SM protein involved in Golgi and ER fusion, binds to a short, evolutionarily conserved N-terminal peptide of Sed5p and Ufe1p in yeast and of syntaxins 5 and 18 in vertebrates. In these syntaxins, the Sly1 binding peptide is upstream of a separate, autonomously folded N-terminal domain. These data suggest a potentially general mechanism by which SM proteins could interact with peptides in target proteins independent of core complex assembly and suggest that munc18 binding to syntaxin is an exception (Yamaguchi, 2002).
The subcellular localization, interacting partners, and function of GS15, a Golgi SNARE, remain to be established. Unlike proteins (Bet1 and the KDEL receptor) cycling between the Golgi and the intermediate compartment (IC, inclusive of the ER exit sites), GS15 is not redistributed into the IC upon incubation at 15 degrees C or when cells are treated with brefeldin A. Immuno-electron microscopy (immuno-EM) reveals that GS15 is mainly found in the medial-cisternae of the Golgi apparatus and adjacent tubulo-vesicular elements. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments suggest that GS15 exists in a distinct SNARE complex that contains SNAREs (syntaxin5, GS28, and Ykt6) that are implicated in both ER-to-Golgi and intra-Golgi transport but not with SNAREs involved exclusively in ER-to-Golgi traffic. Furthermore, components of COPI coat can be selectively coimmunoprecipitated with GS15 from Golgi extracts. Overexpression of mutant forms of GS15 affects the normal distribution of cis- and medial-Golgi proteins (GS28, syntaxin 5, and Golgi mannosidase II), whereas proteins of the trans-Golgi and TGN (Vti1-rp2/Vti1a and syntaxin 6) and Golgi matrix/scaffold (GM130 and p115) are less affected. When the level of GS15 is reduced by duplex 21-nt small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown approach, diverse markers of the Golgi apparatus are redistributed into small dotty and diffuse labeling, suggesting an essential role of GS15 in the Golgi apparatus (Y. Xu, 2002).
Sec1Munc18-like (SM) proteins functionally interact with soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNARE) in membrane fusion, but the mechanisms of these interactions differ. In vertebrates, SM proteins that mediate exocytosis (Munc18-1, 18-2, and 18c) bind to the closed conformation of syntaxins 1-4, which requires the N-terminal H(abc) domains and SNARE motifs of these syntaxins. In contrast, SM proteins that mediate Golgi and endoplasmic reticulum fusion (Sly1 and Vps45) bind only to short N-terminal sequences of syntaxins 5, 16, or 18, independently of their H(abc) domains and SNARE motifs. Munc18-1, Sly1, and Vps45 interact with cognate syntaxins via similar, autonomously folded N-terminal domains, but the syntaxin 5-binding surface of the Sly1 N-terminal domain is opposite the syntaxin 1-binding surface of the Munc18-1 N-terminal domain. In transfected cells, the N-terminal domain of Sly1 specifically disrupts the structure of the Golgi complex, supporting the notion that the interaction of Sly1 with syntaxin 5 is essential for fusion. These data, together with previous results, suggest that a relatively small N-terminal domain of SM proteins is dedicated to mechanistically distinct interactions with SNAREs, leaving the remaining large parts of SM proteins free to execute their as yet unknown function as effector domains (Dulubova, 2003).
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