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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 275, Issue 43, 33806-33813, October 27, 2000
From the
Received for publication, March 28, 2000, and in revised form, August 10, 2000
Annexins are calcium-binding proteins with a wide
distribution in most polarized and nonpolarized cells that participate
in a variety of membrane-membrane interactions. At the cell surface, annexin VI is thought to remodel the spectrin cytoskeleton to facilitate budding of coated pits. However, annexin VI is also found in
late endocytic compartments in a number of cell types, indicating an
additional important role at later stages of the endocytic pathway.
Therefore overexpression of annexin VI in Chinese hamster ovary cells
was used to investigate its possible role in endocytosis and
intracellular trafficking of low density lipoprotein (LDL) and
transferrin. While overexpression of annexin VI alone did not alter
endocytosis and degradation of LDL, coexpression of annexin VI and LDL
receptor resulted in an increase in LDL uptake with a concomitant
increase of its degradation. Whereas annexin VI showed a wide
intracellular distribution in resting Chinese hamster ovary cells, it
was mainly found in the endocytic compartment and remained associated
with LDL-containing vesicles even at later stages of the endocytic
pathway. Thus, data presented in this study suggest that after
stimulating endocytosis at the cell surface, annexin VI remains bound
to endocytic vesicles to regulate entry of ligands into the
prelysosomal compartment.
Annexins are a family of highly conserved proteins, which are
characterized by their Ca2+-dependent binding
to phospholipids (1). Each annexin consists of a conserved core domain
with four or eight repeats (70 amino acids) and a nonconserved, short,
NH2-terminal domain. More than 10 different family members,
several of which exist as multiple isoforms, have been described in
higher vertebrates (2). Since annexins are expressed in many tissues
and are located in the same cellular compartments, the understanding of
the distinct physiological role of each annexin still remains elusive
(1, 3). In recent years, the involvement of annexins in membrane traffic has emerged as one of their predominant functions (1, 4).
Several annexins including annexin I, II, IV, VI, VII, and XIIIb have
been directly implicated in different steps of the intracellular
trafficking pathways (5-14) and, despite some controversy, essentially
due to the variety of cells and antibodies used, they are all
associated with the endocytic compartment.
The enrichment of annexin VI in rat liver endosomes (12, 13), its
polarized localization in the apical endosomes in rat hepatocytes (14)
and WIF-B cells (15), and the colocalization with lgp120, a
prelysosomal marker in normal rat kidney cells (15), indicate a
potential role for annexin VI in the endocytic pathways of polarized
and nonpolarized cells.
In support of this hypothesis, annexin VI has been found to bind
However, the possible involvement of annexin VI in fusion events in the
late endocytic pathway is not completely understood (15, 19). The
complex intracellular distribution of annexin VI in the various cell
types analyzed (1-3, 12-15, 20) indicate an additional role of
annexin VI, which may be responsible for the triggering of transient
interactions with other structures that may regulate the entrance and
the trafficking of different ligands.
In order to investigate the influence of annexin VI on endocytic
processes, we studied the effect of overexpression of annexin VI in
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)1
cells on LDL and transferrin (Tf) uptake and intracellular processing. Here we report that parallel overexpression of annexin VI and the LDL
receptor increases the internalization and degradation of LDL. When
cotransfected with the Tf receptor, annexin VI moderately stimulates
endocytosis but has no effect on the recycling of Tf. In contrast,
overexpression of annexin II does not facilitate a stimulatory effect
on the endocytosis of both ligands. Cellular subfractionation and
immunofluorescence analysis suggest that annexin VI enters the
prelysosomal compartment while being associated with LDL-containing
endocytic vesicles. These findings indicate that intracellular stores
of annexin VI have the ability to respond to so far unknown signals
(e.g. ligand, cytokines, calcium) (21) and then concentrate
in endosomal vesicles directed to the prelysosomal compartment.
Materials--
1,1'-Dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyane
(DiI) was purchased from Molecular Probes, Inc. (Leiden, The
Netherlands). Ham's F-12 medium, L-glutamine, PBS, fetal
calf serum, trypsin, penicillin, and streptomycin were from Life
Technologies, Inc. BSA, glycine, horseradish peroxidase (HRP),
transferrin, paraformaldehyde were purchased from Sigma.
[125I]Iodine was from Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, and
heparin was from Roche Molecular Biochemicals. Mowiol® 4-88 was
purchased from Calbiochem. Low density lipoprotein (density
1.025-1.050 g/ml) was prepared from plasma of normolipidemic donors by
two sequential density gradient ultracentrifugations in KBr gradients (22). Before experiments, LDL was dialyzed extensively against PBS and
stored at 4 °C until use. Fluorescent labeled LDL was prepared by
incorporation of DiI as described (23). Purified bovine liver annexin
VI (24) was purchased from Biodesign International.
Antibodies--
Four different antibodies to annexin VI were
used: the affinity-purified rabbit anti-annexin VI antibody (14), a
rabbit anti-annexin VI antibody raised against glutathione
S-transferase-annexin VI, a rabbit anti-annexin VI (1CO908)
(from Biodesign International) (25), and the affinity-purified sheep
anti-annexin VI antibody (AB3718) raised against a synthetic peptide
corresponding to amino acids 1-11 of the N terminus of rat annexin VI
(MAKIAQGAMYR) (26) (Abimed, Darmstadt, Germany). Polyclonal anti-Rab5
and anti-Rab4 were from Santa Cruz Technology, Inc. (Santa Cruz, CA),
anti-c-Myc antibody (9E10) was from Invitrogen (27), monoclonal
anti-dynamin was from Transduction Laboratories, and anti-Lamp1
(UH1) was from the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank (University of
Iowa). Monoclonal anti-transferrin receptor (B3/25) was from Roche
Molecular Biochemicals. Monoclonal anti-annexin II (H28) (28) was
kindly provided by Dr. V. Gerke (University of Münster). Rabbit
anti-LDL receptor (LDLR) (29) was a gift from Dr. J. Herz
(University of Texas, Dallas). Secondary antibodies (HRP or
fluorescently labeled) were purchased from Jackson ImmunoResearch
(Dianova, Hamburg, Germany).
Cell Culture--
CHO cells were grown in Ham's F-12
supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, L-glutamine (2 mM), penicillin (100 units/ml), and streptomycin (100 µg/ml) at 37 °C, 5% CO2. The annexin
VI-overexpressing CHO cell line CHOanx6 was grown in the presence of 1 mg/ml G418. 48 h prior to incubation with radioactive ligands,
1 × 105 cells/well were plated on 12-well plates.
Cells were transfected after 24 h and incubated with the various
ligands the following day.
Recombinant DNA--
A rat annexin VI cDNA clone was
isolated from a rat liver cDNA library (Fisher rats,
Uni-ZapTM XR, Stratagene) and subcloned into pGEMT
(Promega). The coding region was polymerase chain reaction-amplified
and generated a 2.0-kilobase pair annexin VI cDNA fragment (26)
that was cloned into a mammalian expression vector (pcDNA3.1+;
Invitrogen) to generate pcDNAanx6. DNA sequence analysis using a
Dye Terminator Cycle Sequencing reaction kit (PerkinElmer Life
Sciences) together with T7, SP6 (Promega), and internal annexin VI
primers confirmed the full-length and wild type rat annexin VI cDNA
sequence in pcDNAanx6. All cloning procedures were performed
according to standard protocols (30). The expression vectors encoding
the human LDL receptor (pCMVhLDLR), human Tf receptor (pcD-TFR) (31), and human Rab5 (mRab5pF) (32) were kindly provided by Dr. F. Schnieders
and Dr. T. Jentsch (University of Hamburg). The expression vector for
human annexin II (pCMV5-EX-AII) (33) was a gift from Dr. V. Gerke.
Transfections--
The DNA used for transfections was purified
with the plasmid purification kit from Qiagen. 2-3 × 105 cells were transfected with 1 µg of DNA and the
FUGENETM 6 Transfection Reagent (Roche Molecular
Biochemicals) according to the instructions of the manufacturer.
Control cells were transfected with pCMVSPORT-
To generate stable annexin VI-overexpresing cells, 1 × 106 CHO cells were transfected with 10 µg of
pcDNAanx6 and the FUGENETM 6 Transfection Reagent
(Roche Molecular Biochemicals). G418 (1 mg/ml) was added 24 h
after transfection, and 2 weeks after transfection G418-resistant
colonies were isolated and examined for expression of annexin VI by
Western blotting and immunofluorescence.
Immunoblot Analysis--
For Western blotting, cells were
solubilized in 1% Triton X-100, 50 mM Tris, 2 mM CaCl2, and 80 mM NaCl. 50 µg
of cell protein or 500 ng of purified annexin VI were resolved by 10%
SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (34) and transferred to
ProtranR Nitrocellulose membranes (Schleicher and
Schüll). Annexin VI was detected using polyclonal sheep (Abimed)
and three different rabbit anti-annexin VI antibodies. Recombinant
human LDL receptor expression was analyzed with the rabbit anti-LDLR
antibody. Annexin II, Rab5 (data not shown), Rab4, and dynamin
expression was confirmed with the antibodies described above. After
incubation with peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies, the
reaction product was finally detected using the ECL system (Amersham
Pharmacia Biotech).
Radioactive Labeling of Ligands--
LDL was radiolabeled with
[125I]Iodine by the iodine monochloride method (35).
Transferrin and HRP were iodinated by the IODO-GEN method (36).
Reproducibly 93-97% of the radiolabeled LDL was trichloroacetic
acid-precipitable. The protein content of LDL in five different labeled
preparations was 0.6 ± 0.1 mg/ml, and the specific radioactivity
was 180-300 cpm/ng. The specific radioactivity of Tf in three
different preparations was 250-300 cpm/ng, and the specific
radioactivity of HRP was 80-100 cpm/ng.
Internalization of Ligands and Fluid Phase Markers--
To
determine the internalization of 125I-LDL, 2-3 × 105 CHO cells were washed with PBS 24 h after
transfection and preincubated with serum-free medium (Ham's F-12, 1%
BSA) for 30 min at 37 °C. Cells were chilled on ice, and
125I-LDL was added at 4-5 µg/ml (in triplicate). Cells
were then incubated for 60 min or 24 h at 37 °C. 50-fold excess
of unlabeled LDL was added to every third sample prior to the
incubation to determine nonspecific uptake of 125I-LDL.
After internalization, cells were washed three times with ice-cold PBS
and subsequently with PBS/heparin (20 units/ml) to remove surface-bound
LDL. Cells were lysed with 1 ml of 0.1 N NaOH, and the
radioactivity was measured. An aliquot of the cell lysate was used to
determine the cell protein concentration (37).
For endocytosis of 125I-Tf and 125I-HRP, cells
were washed with PBS and incubated in Ham's F-12, 1% BSA for 30 min
at 37 °C. Cells were chilled on ice, and 125I-Tf (2-3
µg/ml) or 125I-HRP (5 µg/ml) was added (in triplicate).
A 50-fold excess of unlabeled Tf was added to every third sample. Cells
were then incubated at 37 °C for various times. To stop
internalization, cells were put on ice, and the medium was
removed. Cells were washed four times with ice-cold PBS followed by a
mild acid wash for 125I-Tf-incubated cells as described
earlier (38) and solubilized in 1 ml of 0.1 N NaOH. The
radioactivity and protein concentration were determined.
Analysis of 125I-LDL Degradation--
Cells were
incubated with 125I-LDL as described above for 2, 6, or
24 h at 37 °C. At each time point, 100 µl of medium
was removed, and 3 M ice-cold trichloroacetic acid was
added to a final concentration of 10%. The sample was vortexed
vigorously and incubated for 10 min on ice. After the addition of 250 µl of 0.7 M AgNO3 to remove free iodine (39),
the sample was vortexed again and then centrifuged, and the amount of
radioactivity in the remaining supernatant was determined. Cell lysates
for protein concentration were prepared as described above.
Analysis of 125I-Transferrin Recycling--
Cells
were incubated with 125I-Tf for 60 min at 37 °C as
described above. A 50-fold excess of unlabeled Tf was added to every third sample prior to the incubation. After incubation cells were put
on ice, the medium was removed, and cells were washed four times with
ice-cold PBS. Cells were then incubated in Ham's F-12, 1% BSA at
37 °C, and the radioactivity released in the medium was
collected at various times. Cells were lysed in 1 ml of 0.1 N NaOH to determine cell protein concentration and the
amount of 125I-Tf remaining in the cells.
Immunofluorescence--
1 × 105 cells were
grown on chamberslides (Nunc). 24 h after transfection, cells were
washed with cold PBS and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde. For DiI-LDL
uptake experiments, the transfected cells were preincubated with
DiI-LDL (5 µg/ml) for 30 min at 4 °C, washed with PBS and
incubated for 5 min at 37 °C, fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde, and
incubated with antibodies (15). To visualize the primary antibodies, we
used immune adsorbed Cy3- or Cy2-conjugated F(ab')2 donkey
anti-rabbit, donkey anti-mouse F(ab')2 fragments,
or donkey anti-sheep F(ab')2 fragments. Samples were washed
extensively with PBS, and finally the chamberslides were mounted with
Mowiol®. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was performed using a
Leica TCS (Leica Lasertechnik, Heidelberg) instrument based on an
inverted Leitz DMIRBE microscope interfaced with an argon-krypton laser
adjusted at 488 and 568 nm. The images were converted to TIFF format
and processed with Corel Photo-Paint 7.
Subcellular Fractionation--
Early endosomes were prepared
according to the protocol described by Gorvel et al. (40).
Briefly, 4-6 × 107 CHOanx6 cells were used for each
gradient. To label early or late endosomes, radiolabeled LDL was
endocytosed for 5 or 120 min at 37 °C. Cells were washed twice with
PBS and then preincubated with Ham's F-12, 10 mM Hepes (pH
7.4) for 5 min at 37 °C. The medium was removed, and cells were
incubated in Ham's F-12, 10 mM Hepes containing 10-20
µg/ml 125I-LDL plus 0.5 mg/ml cold LDL for 5 or 120 min
at 37 °C. Cells were put on ice, washed two times with cold PBS,
0.5% BSA, and collected in homogenization buffer (250 mM
sucrose, 3 mM imidazole, pH 7.4, and protease inhibitors).
The cells were pelleted, resuspended in 2 ml of homogenization buffer,
and homogenized by 10 passages through a 22-gauge needle. Complete
homogenization was confirmed under the phase microscope. The homogenate
was centrifuged for 15 min at 4 °C at 3400 cpm in an Eppendorf
centrifuge. The postnuclear supernatant was brought to a final 40.2%
sucrose (w/v) concentration by adding 62% sucrose (3 mM
imidazole, pH 7.4) to postnuclear supernatant and loaded at the bottom
of an SW40 centrifugation tube (Beckman Ultraclear). Then 35% sucrose,
25% sucrose, and finally homogenization buffer were poured stepwise on
top of the postnuclear supernatant. The gradient was centrifuged for 90 min at 35,000 rpm, 4 °C in a swing out Beckman SW40 rotor. After
centrifugation, 1-ml fractions were collected from top to bottom, and
the radioactivity was determined. Aliquots of each fraction were
assayed for Overexpression and Subcellular Characterization of Annexin VI in
CHO Cells--
To study the role of annexin VI in the endocytic
pathways, rat annexin VI was overexpressed in CHO cells. These cells
contain only low amounts of endogenous annexin VI as judged by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (data not shown), Western blotting, and immunofluorescence with four different annexin VI antibodies. Fig. 1 shows a representative
Western blot demonstrating increased annexin VI expression in
transfected cells (Fig. 1, lanes 2 and
5) compared with endogenous annexin VI levels in
Annexin VI Does Not Affect the Recycling of Transferrin--
To
investigate the role of annexin VI in the endocytotic pathway of Tf, we
determined the uptake and recycling (Fig.
2A) of radiolabeled Tf in
transiently annexin VI-overexpressing CHO cells. Rab5, a member of the
Rab protein family that has been demonstrated to stimulate
receptor-mediated endocytosis (32, 42), served as a positive control.
Cells transfected only with annexin VI, annexin II, or Rab5 did not
demonstrate a significant alteration of Tf internalization (data not
shown). As expected (32, 42), cells coexpressing Rab5 together with the
Tf receptor endocytosed Tf slightly faster than Tf
receptor-expressing controls. Cotransfection of annexin II
together with the Tf receptor did not alter endocytosis of transferrin
compared with Tf receptor-transfected cells. Coexpression of annexin VI
and the Tf receptor revealed a modest stimulatory effect on Tf
internalization (1.5-1.8-fold) at the various time points (5-60 min)
(data not shown).
Subsequently, the recycling of Tf in controls and annexin
VI-transfected cells was examined. Overexpression of annexin VI, annexin II, and Rab5 did not affect Tf recycling (data not shown). As
observed by others (32), more than 40% of internalized Tf was recycled
in Tf receptor-overexpressing cells after 30 min (Fig. 2A).
In cells cotransfected with annexin VI and Tf receptor, the recycling
of Tf was not significantly increased compared with Tf
receptor-transfected controls (p > 0.05 for
t = 20, 30 min; Fig. 2A). Similar
results were obtained with Rab5 and annexin II, indicating that none of
those proteins significantly affected the rates of recycling of
transferrin (Fig. 2A).
In order to identify the intracellular localization of annexin VI and
Tf receptor, we then performed immunofluorescence experiments of cells
cotransfected with annexin VI and the human transferrin receptor. As
expected, overexpression of the Tf receptor shows some localization at
the cell surface, as well as a punctate staining of recycling vesicles
with a more intense labeling in the perinuclear Tf recycling
compartment (Fig. 2B). In contrast, overexpression of
annexin VI results in a wide diffuse staining throughout the cell.
Although annexin VI and the Tf receptor partially colocalize within the
cell, annexin VI is almost excluded from the recycling compartment of
the Tf receptor at the perinuclear region (Fig. 2B). These
results correlate with the functional analysis of Tf recycling in these
cells (Fig. 2A) and further suggest that annexin VI is not
involved in the trafficking of Tf recycling.
Annexin VI Stimulates Internalization and Degradation of
Low Density Lipoprotein--
The effect
of overexpression of annexin VI on the uptake (Fig. 3) and degradation
(Fig. 4) of LDL was studied. We first
determined the accumulation of radiolabeled LDL in transiently annexin
VI-overexpressing CHO cells (data not shown). Rab5 served again as a
positive control (32). Overexpression of annexin VI or Rab5 alone did
not result in a significant accumulation of 125I-LDL
compared with the control cells. Therefore, cotransfection of the above
proteins together with the human LDL receptor was performed, and the
accumulation of 125I-LDL after 24 h was compared with
cells that were transfected with the LDL receptor alone. LDLR
overexpression resulted in the 2.4-fold accumulation of LDL, whereas
cotransfection of LDLR together with annexin VI or Rab5 resulted in a
2.7-2.8-fold increase of 125I-LDL accumulation compared
with the
In addition, overexpression of annexin VI and Rab5 alone did not result
in a significant alteration of 125I-LDL degradation
compared with
In order to identify specific functions of annexins during the
receptor-dependent internalization of ligands, we then
compared internalization and degradation of LDL in annexin VI- and
annexin II-overexpressing CHO cells. Similarly to the experiments
described above annexin VI, annexin II, and Rab5 overexpression alone
did not result in a significant alteration of 125I-LDL
internalization (data not shown), which correlates with the observation
that Rab5 induces internalization of Tf only when coexpressed with the
Tf receptor (41). Although the effect of annexin VI on LDL uptake is
modest considering the vast overexpression of annexin VI in the
transfected cells (see Figs. 2, 5, and
7), coexpression of annexin VI and the LDL receptor significantly stimulated 125I-LDL internalization by 50% compared with
cells expressing the LDL receptor alone (p < 0.0005)
in seven independent experiments with triplicate samples. In contrast,
when annexin II was coexpressed with the LDL receptor, no significant
change in 125I-LDL endocytosis was observed. In these
experiments, coexpression of annexin VI and the LDL receptor increased
125I-LDL degradation by 70% compared with LDL
receptor-expressing cells (p < 0.003). Coexpression of
annexin II together with the LDL receptor did not significantly
increase the rate of 125I-LDL degradation compared with
LDLR-transfected controls.
In order to analyze single transfected cells, we incubated CHO cells
with DiI-labeled LDL for 5 min at 37 °C that were transfected with
either annexin VI, LDLR, or LDLR cotransfected with annexin VI (Fig.
5). Consistent with the previous findings annexin VI overexpressing
cells did not reveal any enhanced DiI-LDL uptake compared with the
neighboring nontransfected cells (Fig. 5, a-c). Similar
results were obtained with annexin II-overexpressing cells (data not
shown). The expression of the LDLR (Fig. 5, d-f) alone as
well as the overexpression of annexin VI together with the LDL receptor
(Fig. 5, g-h) resulted in massive accumulation of DiI-LDL
in the transfected cells. These results confirm that LDLR activity was
not affected in nontransfected neighboring cells.
Finally, in order to determine a possible stimulatory effect of annexin
VI on fluid phase endocytosis cells transfected with annexin VI,
annexin II, or Rab5 were incubated with radiolabeled HRP for 120 min at
37 °C. In three independent experiments with triplicate samples, the
amount of internalized 125I-HRP was determined. In these
experiments, overexpression of annexin VI (31.1 ± 16.7 ng of
HRP/mg of cell protein), annexin II (30.3 ± 14.6 ng/mg) or Rab5
(30.7 ± 14.9 ng/mg) did not significantly affect the accumulation
of 125I-HRP compared with Annexin VI Is Involved in the Trafficking of LDL to the
Prelysosomal Compartment--
The increased degradation of
125I-LDL in annexin VI- and LDLR-overexpressing cells (Fig.
4) indicates a potential role of annexin VI at later stages of the
endocytic pathway. Due to the bright diffuse staining throughout the
cell, it was difficult to characterize the intracellular location of
annexin VI overexpression by immunofluorescence. Therefore, the
intracellular location of annexin VI was analyzed using subcellular
fractionation by sucrose gradients of a stable annexin
VI-overexpressing CHO cell line.
Fig. 6A shows the distribution
of annexin VI in fractions collected from a sucrose gradient (8-40%,
w/v) designed to separate early and late endosomal fractions from
plasma membrane and other membranes (40). Annexin VI was detected, by
Western blotting, all along the gradient, being most abundant in the
bottom region, where heavy membranes (e.g. plasma membranes)
are found. Dynamin, a GTP-binding protein that is found at the plasma
membrane and in clathrin-coated vesicles and that has recently been
described to interact with annexin VI (20), is present predominantly in the bottom fractions of this gradient (Fig. 6A). In
contrast, the early endosomal marker Rab4 peaks in the center fractions of the gradient (fractions 5-8). The prelysosomal content of the upper
fractions (fractions 3 and 4) was confirmed by their increased
To assess the possible involvement of annexin VI in the endocytic
pathway, we induced endocytosis by 125I-LDL administration
for 5 and 120 min (Fig. 6B). The identification of Rab4 and
dynamin in the same fractions in control cells (0 min) and after
120-min LDL administration (Fig. 6A) as well as the almost
identical profile of
To confirm the biochemical results, we compared the distribution of
annexin VI, by confocal microscopy, with Rab4, Rab5, LDLR, and Lamp1
(Fig. 7) in stably transfected CHO cells
overexpressing annexin VI. In control cells (0 min) and as mentioned
above, the pattern of distribution of annexin VI in CHO cells was
largely diffuse throughout the cell (Fig. 7, upper
panel). However, after the administration of LDL (120 min),
the staining becomes more punctate (vesicular) and more intense in the
perinuclear region of the cells (Fig. 7, lower
panel). In contrast, the intracellular distribution of the
other proteins Rab4, Rab5, LDLR, and Lamp1 is not affected in such a
manner after LDL administration (Fig. 7; compare upper and
lower panels at 0 and 120 min). Thus,
overexpression of annexin VI results in a ligand-induced trafficking of
annexin VI as a consequence of uptake and trafficking of ligands that use the receptor-mediated endocytosis pathway.
In this study, we have demonstrated that overexpression of annexin
VI together with the LDL receptor stimulates endocytosis of low density
lipoproteins, whereas fluid phase endocytosis and the recycling of
transferrin were not affected in annexin VI-overexpressing cells. After the internalization of LDL, the overall intracellular distribution of annexin VI proteins throughout the cell was shown to
redistribute in order to concentrate in late endosomal fractions. These
ligand-induced translocations of annexin VI correlate with recent
biochemical studies in smooth muscle cells, demonstrating that annexin
VI may undergo redistributions between different cellular compartments
in a calcium and concentration-dependent manner (43).
Most of our knowledge on annexins in membrane traffic is based on its
biochemical identification in isolated membrane fractions, cell-free
membrane fusion assays, and colocalization with endocytic markers, but
only a limited number of experiments have analyzed the function of
annexins using transfection systems (1, 3, 4). Overexpression of
annexin VI or Rab5 alone, which served as a positive control in our
experiments, did not alter LDL internalization rates, possibly
indicating that the low number of receptors on the cell surface are
rate-limiting in these cells. The necessity for high receptor
expression in this experimental approach was demonstrated in a number
of experiments for Rab5, a member of the Ras-related family of
small GTPases, which can stimulate Tf internalization when
cotransfected with the Tf receptor (32, 42). Since annexin VI does not
affect the fluid-phase endocytosis of HRP, it is unlikely that the
increase of LDL internalization occurs via
non-coated-pit-dependent mechanisms. Therefore, the stimulatory effect on ligand internalization rates in annexin VI- and
LDL receptor-overexpressing cells is most likely due to increased
internalization and budding of coated vesicles. These results correlate
with the partial localization of annexin VI at the plasma membrane in
transfected CHO cells, its co-purification with dynamin (20), and the
stimulatory effect of purified annexin VI on the detachment of coated
pits from purified plasma membranes in vitro (16, 17).
Although Smythe et al. (44) have questioned a role of
annexin VI in endocytosis in human A431 squamous carcinoma cells, these
findings could be explained by the development of an annexin
VI-independent mechanism to allow coated vesicle formation (17).
In contrast to the stimulatory effect of annexin VI on
receptor-mediated endocytosis, annexin VI does not seem to participate in the regulation of Tf receptor recycling. Neither overexpression of
annexin VI alone nor cotransfection with the Tf receptor significantly affected the rates of Tf recycling in CHO cells. Furthermore, immunofluorescence analysis demonstrates the absence of annexin VI in
the Tf receptor recycling compartment in these cells. Similar negative
results have also been described by Smythe et al. (44) and
indicate that annexin VI rather plays a specific role in the internalization but is not actively involved in the recycling of
endosomes to the cell surface. Consistent with these findings, only 2%
of the annexin VI was found in tubular endocytic structures in Lowicryl
sections of rat liver. When isolated fractions were examined by
electron microscopy, most of annexin VI was identified in the vacuolar
structures of the early/sorting endosomes (compartment of uncoupling of
receptor and ligands, or CURL) or in the vesicles of receptor-recycling
compartment but very little in the tubular extensions where receptors
for recycling concentrate (14). In addition, in normal rat kidney cells
little colocalization was detected between annexin VI and fluorescein
isothiocyanate-transferrin 30 min after internalization (15).
Annexin II, the other member of the annexin family analyzed here, is
located at the plasma membrane and in the early endocytic compartment
in a number of cell types (1, 45, 46). It promotes the homotypic fusion
of early endosomal membranes in vitro (7) and has therefore
been implicated in early endocytic events. However, upon transient
transfection of annexin II constructs into CHO cells, we did not
observe any stimulatory effect on the LDL or transferrin endocytosis,
even when cotransfected with either the LDL or transferrin receptor.
Since annexin II forms a stable heterotetrameric protein complex with
p11, a protein of the S-100 family (47), limiting concentration of p11
protein in annexin II-transfected CHO cells could result in low amounts
of active annexin II2p112 complex.
When cotransfected with the LDL receptor, annexin VI also stimulates
the degradation of LDL. Sucrose gradient and immunofluorescence analysis indicate that annexin VI is recruited to early endosomes after
LDL internalization and most likely remains associated with LDL-containing vesicles entering the prelysosomal compartment. This
ligand-induced shift of annexin VI into late endosomal fractions suggests that annexin VI-mediated interactions with cytoskeleton proteins not only participate in the budding of coated pits but also
seem to play an important role during the delivery of ligands to
lysosomes. In a different experimental approach, microinjection of a
dominant negative annexin VI mutant not only reduced endocytosis of LDL
but also resulted in the mislocalization of LDL-positive vesicles (17),
indicating that transient interactions of annexin VI with the
cytoskeleton guide endocytic vesicles along intracellular routes to the
prelysosomal compartment. The partial localization of endogenous
annexin VI in prelysosomes of normal rat kidney fibroblasts and
polarized WIF-B hepatoma cells (15) further supports this observation.
At the cell surface, annexin VI is thought to interact with
membrane-bound spectrin and calpain to allow budding of clathrin-coated
vesicles (17, 18, 48). In addition, annexin VI has recently been
demonstrated to co-immunoprecipitate with dynamin, a GTPase essential
for endocytic vesicles pinching off the plasma membrane, in endocytic
and transferrin-positive vesicles (20). Therefore, similar annexin
VI-dependent mechanisms could play a role in directing
ligands from the cell surface to lysosomes.
We are grateful to W. Tauscher for excellent
technical assistance. We thank Dr. V. Gerke, Dr. T. Jentsch, Dr. F. Schnieders, and Dr. Braulke for generously providing antibodies,
recombinant plasmids, and technical advice.
*
This work was supported by the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft in the form of a Clinical Research Group (Gr
258/10-2), by Deutsche Akademischer Austauschdienst Grant 314-Al-e-dr,
and Acciones Integradas Grant EA 98-0007 (to C. E. and S. J.).The costs of publication of this
article were defrayed in part by the
payment of page charges. The article
must therefore be hereby marked
"advertisement" in
accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section
1734 solely to indicate this fact.
§
To whom correspondence should be addressed: Medizinische Kernklinik
und Poliklinik, Universitätskrankenhaus Eppendorf Martinistr. 52, D-20246 Hamburg, Germany. Tel.: 49-40-42803-5370; Fax:
49-40-42803-4592; E-mail: grewal@uke.uni-hamburg.de.
Published, JBC Papers in Press, August 11, 2000, DOI 10.1074/jbc.M002662200
The abbreviations used are:
CHO, Chinese hamster
ovary;
HRP, horseradish peroxidase;
LDL, low density lipoprotein;
LDLR, low density lipoprotein receptor;
PBS, phosphate-buffered saline;
Tf, transferrin;
DiI, 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyane;
BSA, bovine serum albumin.
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