The term vitamin E denotes a family of tocopherols and tocotrienols, plant lipids that are essential for vertebrate fertility and health. The principal form of vitamin E found in humans, RRR -␣ -tocopherol (TOH), is thought to protect cells by virtue of its ability to quench free radicals, and functions as the main lipid-soluble antioxidant. Regulation of vitamin E homeostasis occurs in the liver, where TOH is selectively retained while other forms of vitamin E are degraded. Through the action of tocopherol transfer protein (TTP), TOH is then secreted from the liver into circulating lipoproteins that deliver the vitamin to target tissues. Presently, very little is known regarding the intracellular transport of vitamin E. We utilized biochemical, pharmacological, and microscopic approaches to study this process in cultured hepatocytes. We observe that tocopherol-HDL complexes are efficiently internalized through scavenger receptor class B type I. Once internalized, tocopherol arrives within ‫ف‬ 30 min at intracellular vesicular organelles, where it colocalizes with TTP, and with a marker of the lysosomal compartment (LAMP1), before being transported to the plasma membrane in a TTP-dependent manner. We further show that intracellular processing of tocopherol involves a functional interaction between TTP and an ABC-type transporter.

Tocopherol transfer protein (TTP) regulates vitamin E status by facilitating the secretion of tocopherol from liver to circulating lipoproteins. Heritable mutations in the ttpA gene, encoding for TTP, result in ataxia with vitamin E deficiency (AVED) syndrome, typified by low vitamin E levels and a plethora of neurological disorders. The molecular mechanisms by which TTP facilitates tocopherol secretion are presently unknown. We recently showed that vitamin E is taken up by hepatocytes through an endocytic process and that, shortly following uptake, the vitamin is found primarily in lysosomes. We showed further that TTP is localized to late endocytic vesicles and that it facilitates the intracellular trafficking of tocopherol from lysosomes to the plasma membrane. To gain insight into the molecular mechanisms that underlie TTP actions, we studied the physiological impact of three naturally occurring heritable mutations in the ttpA gene (the R59W, R221W, and A120T substitutions). We found that these mutations impair the ability of TTP to facilitate the secretion of vitamin E from cells. Furthermore, the degree of impairment corresponded to the severity of the AVED pathology associated with each mutation. In cells that express mutated TTP proteins, vitamin E did not traffic to the plasma membrane and remained "trapped" in lysosomes. In addition, we observed that substitution mutations that cause the AVED syndrome impart a marked instability on the TTP protein. These observations suggest that the physiological role of TTP is anchored in its ability to direct vitamin E trafficking from the endocytic compartment to transport vesicles that deliver the vitamin to the site of secretion at the plasma membrane.

Many undomesticated legumes harbor nodule bacteria related to the soybean symbiont Bradyrhizobium elkanii, but little is known about their phylogenetic relationships or geographic distribution. Sequences of ribosomal genes (16S rRNA and partial 23S rRNA) and the nitrogenase K-subunit gene (nifD) were analyzed in 22 isolates of this group sampled from diverse legumes in Korea, Japan, the USA, Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama. Some strains from Asia and North America shared identical sequences for both ribosomal genes. However, pairs of strains with closely related nifD sequences were almost never found in different regions. The major exceptions involved North American isolates B. elkanii USDA 76 and USDA 94, which had nifD sequences highly similar to certain Korean strains. However, 16S rRNA sequences of USDA 76 and USDA 94 were closely related to Central American rather than Asian bradyrhizobia, implying that these strains are genetic mosaics combining sequences from distinct ancestral areas. Several other conflicts between rRNA and nifD tree topologies indicated that the genealogical histories of these loci have been influenced by recurrent lateral gene transfer events.

␣-Tocopherol (vitamin E) is an essential nutrient for all vertebrates. From the eight naturally occurring members of the vitamin E family, ␣-tocopherol is the most biologically active species and is selectively retained in tissues. The hepatic ␣-tocopherol transfer protein (TTP) preferentially selects dietary ␣-tocopherol and facilitates its transport through the hepatocyte and its secretion to the circulation. In doing so, TTP regulates body-wide levels of ␣-tocopherol. The mechanisms by which TTP facilitates ␣-tocopherol trafficking in hepatocytes are poorly understood. We found that the intracellular localization of TTP in hepatocytes is dynamic and responds to the presence of ␣-tocopherol. In the absence of the vitamin, TTP is localized to perinuclear vesicles that harbor CD71, transferrin, and Rab8, markers of the recycling endosomes. Upon treatment with ␣-tocopherol, TTP-and ␣-tocopherol-containing vesicles translocate to the plasma membrane, prior to secretion of the vitamin to the exterior of the cells. The change in TTP localization is specific to ␣-tocopherol and is time-and dose-dependent. The aberrant intracellular localization patterns of lipid binding-defective TTP mutants highlight the importance of protein-lipid interaction in the transport of ␣-tocopherol. These findings provide the basis for a proposed mechanistic model that describes TTP-facilitated trafficking of ␣-tocopherol through hepatocytes.Vitamin E is a plant-derived lipid that was discovered as a dietary component vital for female fertility in rodents (1) and for neuronal health in humans (2). Eight vitamin E forms are synthesized by plants, differing in the degree of methylation of the chromanol ring and the saturation of the isoprenoid side chain (3). Of the eight naturally occurring forms of vitamin E, ␣-tocopherol exhibits the most potent biological activity in preventing deficiency-induced reproductive failure in rodents (4, 5). ␣-Tocopherol's efficacy in scavenging free radicals (i.e. functioning as an antioxidant) is thought to underlie its critical roles in health (6 -8), but additional redox-independent actions have been recently proposed (9).The major regulator of vitamin E status is the ␣-tocopherol transfer protein (TTP), 2 and mutations in the TTPA gene cause heritable vitamin E deficiency. In humans, mutations in the TTPA gene cause systemic vitamin E deficiency accompanied by neurological compromise, primarily spinocerebellar ataxia (10 -17). Patients afflicted with this disorder (ataxia with vitamin E deficiency; OMIM 277460) present with debilitating neurodegeneration, the severity of which depends on the specific mutation's effect on TTP's biochemical activity (18,19). Lifelong vitamin E supplementation can delay or reverse disease progression, especially when patients are treated in earlier stages (20,21). Disruption of the TtpA gene in mice recapitulated the human ataxia with vitamin E deficiency disorder (22).TTP is expressed at high levels in parenchymal cells of the liver (23, 24), but low level expression has b...