The protein kinase PERK couples protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to polypeptide biosynthesis by phosphorylating the alpha subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (eIF2alpha), attenuating translation initiation in response to ER stress. PERK is highly expressed in mouse pancreas, an organ active in protein secretion. Under physiological conditions, PERK was partially activated, accounting for much of the phosphorylated eIF2alpha in the pancreas. The exocrine and endocrine pancreas developed normally in Perk-/- mice. Postnatally, ER distention and activation of the ER stress transducer IRE1alpha accompanied increased cell death and led to progressive diabetes mellitus and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. These findings suggest a special role for translational control in protecting secretory cells from ER stress.

SUMMARY Canonical Wnt signaling requires inhibition of Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 (GSK3) activity, but the molecular mechanism by which this is achieved remains unclear. Here we report that Wnt signaling triggers the sequestration of GSK3 from the cytosol into multivesicular bodies (MVBs), so that this enzyme becomes separated from its many cytosolic substrates. Endocytosed Wnt co-localized with GSK3 in acidic vesicles positive for endosomal markers. After Wnt addition, endogenous GSK3 activity decreased in the cytosol, and GSK3 became protected from protease treatment inside membrane-bounded organelles. Cryoimmuno electron microscopy showed that these corresponded to multivesicular bodies. Two proteins essential for MVB formation, HRS/Vps27 and Vps4, were required for Wnt signaling. The sequestration of GSK3 extended the half-life of many other proteins in addition to β-Catenin, including an artificial Wnt-regulated reporter protein containing GSK3 phosphorylation sites. We conclude that multivesicular endosomes are essential components of the Wnt signal transduction pathway.

Rab11 is a small GTP-binding protein that in cultured mammalian cells has been shown to be concentrated in the pericentriolar endosomal recycling compartment and to play a key role in passage of the recycling transferrin receptor through that compartment [Ullrich, O., Reinsch, S., Urbé, S. To obtain insights into the site(s) of action of rab11 within the recycling pathway, we have now compared the effects on recycling at 37°C of overexpression of wild-type rab11 and various mutant forms of this protein in cells that had been loaded with transferrin at either 37°C or 16°C. We show that incubation at 16°C blocks passage of endocytosed transferrin into the recycling compartment and that, whereas the rab11 dominant negative mutant form (S25N) inhibits transferrin recycling after interiorization at either temperature, the wildtype rab11 and constitutively active mutant (Q70L) have no inhibitory effect on the recycling of molecules that were interiorized at 16°C. This differential inhibitory effect shows that two distinct pathways for recycling are followed by the bulk of the transferrin molecules interiorized at the two different temperatures. The incapacity of the constitutively active form of rab11 (Q70L) to inhibit recycling of molecules interiorized at 16°C is consistent with their recycling taking place directly from sorting endosomes, in a process that does not require hydrolysis of GTP on rab11. The fact that the dominant negative (S25N) form of rab11 inhibits recycling of molecules interiorized at both temperatures indicates that activation of rab11 by GTP is required for exit of transferrin from sorting endosomes, regardless of whether this exit is toward the recycling compartment or directly to the plasma membrane.

The aldehydes introduced in this paper and the more appropriate concentrations for their general use as fixatives are: 4 to 6.5 per cent glutaraldehyde, 4 per cent glyoxal, 12.5 per cent hydroxyadipaldehyde, 10 per cent crotonaldehyde, 5 per cent pyruvic aldehyde, 10 per cent acetaldehyde, and 5 per cent methacrolein. These were prepared as cacodylateor phosphate-buffered solutions (0.1 to 0.2 M, pH 6.5 to 7.6) that, with the exception of glutaraldehyde, contained sucrose (0.22 to 0.55 M). After fixation of from 0.5 hour to 24 hours, the blocks were stored in cold (4°C) buffer (0.1 M) plus sucrose (0.22 ~). This material was used for enzyme histochemistry, for electron microscopy (both with and without a second fixation with 1 or 2 per cent osmium tetroxlde) after Epon embedding, and for the combination of the two techniques. After fixation in aldehyde, membranous differentiations of the cell were not apparent and the nuclear structure differed from that commonly observed with osmium tetroxide. A postfixation in osmium tetroxide, even after long periods of storage, developed an image that--notable in the case of glutaraldehyde--was largely indistinguishable from that of tissues fixed under optimal conditions with osmium tetroxide alone. Aliesterase, acetylcholinesterase, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, 5-nucleotidase, adenosine triphosphatase, and DPNH and TPNH diaphorase activities were demonstrable histochemically after most of the fixatives. Cytochrome oxidase, succlnic dehydrogenase, and glucose-6-phosphatase were retained after hydroxyaldipaldehyde and, to a lesser extent, after glyoxal fixation. The final product of the activity of several of the above-mentioned enzymes was localized in relation to the fine structure. For this purpose the double fixation procedure was used, selecting in each case the appropriate aldehyde.In this paper seven different organic substances are introduced as fixatives for electron microscopy and cytochemistry. The work, as a means of satisfying the requirements of each, has taken into consideration the difficulties experienced when combining the two fields (1, 2). At the present time, osmium tetroxide (3) and, to a lesser extent, potassium permanganate (4) are the fixatives of choice that are currently used in morphological studies with the electron microscope. These reagents provide excellent cytological fixation, and also add density to some of the reactive components of the cells. However, their use in cytochemistry is very limited since they are heavy metal-containing, oxidizing reagents that completely destroy enzymatic activities except after very short periods of fixation (5-9).

The mTOR Complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway regulates organismal growth in response to many environmental cues, including nutrients and growth factors1. Cell-based studies showed that mTORC1 senses amino acids through the Rag family of GTPases 2,3, but their importance in mammalian physiology is unknown. Here, we generated knock-in mice that express a constitutively active form of RagA (RagAGTP) from its endogenous promoter. RagAGTP/GTP mice develop normally, but fail to survive postnatal day 1. When delivered by Caesarian-section, fasted RagAGTP/GTP neonates die almost twice as rapidly as wild-type littermates. Within an hour of birth, wild-type neonates strongly inhibit mTORC1, which coincides with profound hypoglycaemia and a drop in plasma amino acid levels. In contrast, mTORC1 inhibition does not occur in RagAGTP/GTP neonates, despite identical reductions in blood nutrient levels. With prolonged fasting, wild-type neonates recover their plasma glucose levels, but RagAGTP/GTP mice remain hypoglycaemic until death, despite using glycogen at a faster rate. The glucose homeostasis defect correlates with the inability of fasted RagAGTP/GTP neonates to trigger autophagy and produce amino acids for de novo glucose production. Because profound hypoglycaemia does not inhibit mTORC1 in RagAGTP/GTP neonates, we hypothesized that the Rag pathway signals glucose as well as amino acid sufficiency to mTORC1. Indeed, mTORC1 is resistant to glucose deprivation in RagAGTP/GTP fibroblasts, and glucose, like amino acids, controls its recruitment to the lysosomal surface, the site of mTORC1 activation. Thus, the Rag GTPases signal glucose and amino acid levels to mTORC1, and play an unexpectedly key role in neonates in autophagy induction and thus nutrient homeostasis and viability.