The fate of free cholesterol released after endocytosis of low-density lipoproteins remains obscure. Here we report that late endosomes have a pivotal role in intracellular cholesterol transport. We find that in the genetic disease Niemann-Pick type C (NPC), and in drug-treated cells that mimic NPC, cholesterol accumulates in late endosomes and sorting of the lysosomal enzyme receptor is impaired. Our results show that the characteristic network of lysobisphosphatidic acid-rich membranes contained within multivesicular late endosomes regulates cholesterol transport, presumably by acting as a collection and distribution device. The results also suggest that similar endosomal defects accompany the anti-phospholipid syndrome and NPC.

SCG10 is a neuronal growth-associated protein that is concentrated in the growth cones of developing neurons. SCG10 shows a high degree of sequence homology to the ubiquitous phosphoprotein stathmin, which has been recently identified as a factor that destabilizes microtubules by increasing their catastrophe rate. Whereas stathmin is a soluble cytosolic protein, SCG10 is membrane-associated, indicating that the protein acts in a distinct subcellular compartment. Identifying the precise intracellular distribution of SCG10 as well as the mechanisms responsible for its specific targeting will contribute to elucidating its function. The main structural feature distinguishing the two proteins is that SCG10 contains an NH 2 -terminal extension of 34 amino acids. In this study, we have examined the intracellular distribution of SCG10 in PC12 cells and in transfected COS-7 cells and the role of the NH 2 -terminal domain in membrane-binding and intracellular targeting. SCG10 was found to be localized to the Golgi complex region. We show that the NH 2 -terminal region (residues 1-34) was necessary for membrane targeting and Golgi localization. Fusion proteins consisting of the NH 2 -terminal 34 amino acids of SCG10 and the related protein stathmin or the unrelated protein, ␤-galactosidase, accumulated in the Golgi, demonstrating that this sequence was sufficient for Golgi localization. Biosynthetic labeling of transfected COS-7 cells with [ 3 H]palmitic acid revealed that two cysteine residues contained within the NH 2 -terminal domain were sites of palmitoylation.