The endocytic recycling compartment maintains segregation of cargo after sorting in peripheral endosomes, and cargo is recycled by distinct pathways to the plasma membrane. In addition, tubular recycling endosomes can be generated from sorting endosomes and preferentially traffic clathrin-independent cargo.

Rabankyrin-5 (Rank-5) has been implicated as an effector of the small GTPase Rab5 and plays an important role in macropinocytosis. We have now identified Rank-5 as an interaction partner for the recycling regulatory protein EHD1. We have demonstrated this interaction by GST-pulldown, yeast two-hybrid assay, isothermal calorimetry, and co-immunoprecipitation and found that the binding occurs between the EH-domain of EHD1 and the NPFED motif of Rank-5. Similar to EHD1, we found that Rank-5 co-localizes and interacts with components of the retromer complex such as Vps26, suggesting a role for Rank-5 in retromer-based transport. Indeed, depletion of Rank-5 causes mislocalization of Vps26 and affects both the retrieval of mannose 6-phosphate receptor (M6PR) transport to the Golgi from endosomes and biosynthetic transport. Moreover, Rank-5 is required for normal retromer distribution, as over-expression of a wild-type Rank-5-siRNA-resistant construct rescues retromer mislocalization. Finally, we show that depletion of either Rank-5 or EHD1 impairs secretion of VSV-G. Overall, our data identify a new interaction between Rank-5 and EHD1, and novel endocytic regulatory roles that include retromer-based transport and secretion.

To identify novel genes and pathways associated with AMD, we performed microarray gene expression and linkage analysis which implicated the candidate gene, retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor alpha (RORA, 15q). Subsequent genotyping of 159 RORA single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a family-based cohort, followed by replication in an unrelated case-control cohort, demonstrated that SNPs and haplotypes located in intron 1 were significantly associated with neovascular AMD risk in both cohorts. This is the first report demonstrating a possible role for RORA, a receptor for cholesterol, in the pathophysiology of AMD. Moreover, we found a significant interaction between RORA and the ARMS2/HTRA1 locus suggesting a novel pathway underlying AMD pathophysiology.

The regulated intracellular transport of nutrient, adhesion, and growth factor receptors is crucial for maintaining cell and tissue homeostasis. Endocytosis, or endocytic membrane trafficking, involves the steps of intracellular transport that include, but are not limited to: internalization from the plasma membrane, sorting in early endosomes, transport to late endosomes/lysosomes followed by degradation, and/or recycling back to the plasma membrane via tubular recycling endosomes. In addition to regulating the localization of transmembrane receptor proteins, the endocytic pathway also controls the localization of non-receptor molecules. The non-receptor tyrosine kinase c-Src (Src), and its closely related family members Yes and Fyn, represent three proteins whose localization and signaling activities are tightly regulated by endocytic trafficking. Here, we provide a brief overview of endocytosis, Src function and its biochemical regulation. We will then concentrate on recent advances in understanding how Src intracellular localization is regulated and how its subcellular localization ultimately dictates downstream functioning. Since Src kinases are hyperactive in many cancers, it is essential to decipher the spatiotemporal regulation of this important family of tyrosine kinases.

Alzheimer's disease and other related neurodegenerative disorders known as tauopathies are characterized by the accumulation of abnormally phosphorylated and aggregated forms of the microtubule-associated protein tau. Several laboratories have identified a 17 kD proteolytic fragment of tau in degenerating neurons and in numerous cell culture models that is generated by calpain cleavage and speculated to contribute to tau toxicity. In the current study, we employed a Drosophila tauopathy model to investigate the importance of calpain-mediated tau proteolysis in contributing to tau neurotoxicity in an animal model of human neurodegenerative disease. We found that mutations that disrupted endogenous calpainA or calpainB activity in transgenic flies suppressed tau toxicity. Expression of a calpain-resistant form of tau in Drosophila revealed that mutating the putative calpain cleavage sites that produce the 17 kD fragment was sufficient to abrogate tau toxicity in vivo. Furthermore, we found significant toxicity in the fly retina associated with expression of only the 17 kD tau fragment. Collectively, our data implicate calpain-mediated proteolysis of tau as an important pathway mediating tau neurotoxicity in vivo.