Lysosomes are dynamic organelles that receive and degrade macromolecules from the secretory, endocytic, autophagic and phagocytic membrane-trafficking pathways. Live-cell imaging has shown that fusion with lysosomes occurs by both transient and full fusion events, and yeast genetics and mammalian cell-free systems have identified much of the protein machinery that coordinates these fusion events. Many pathogens that hijack the endocytic pathways to enter cells have evolved mechanisms to avoid being degraded by the lysosome. However, the function of lysosomes is not restricted to protein degradation: they also fuse with the plasma membrane during cell injury, as well as having more specialized secretory functions in some cell types.

We have used RNA interference to knock down the AP-2 μ2 subunit and clathrin heavy chain to undetectable levels in HeLaM cells. Clathrin-coated pits associated with the plasma membrane were still present in the AP-2–depleted cells, but they were 12-fold less abundant than in control cells. No clathrin-coated pits or vesicles could be detected in the clathrin-depleted cells, and post-Golgi membrane compartments were swollen. Receptor-mediated endocytosis of transferrin was severely inhibited in both clathrin- and AP-2–depleted cells. Endocytosis of EGF, and of an LDL receptor chimera, were also inhibited in the clathrin-depleted cells; however, both were internalized as efficiently in the AP-2–depleted cells as in control cells. These results indicate that AP-2 is not essential for clathrin-coated vesicle formation at the plasma membrane, but that it is one of several endocytic adaptors required for the uptake of certain cargo proteins including the transferrin receptor. Uptake of the EGF and LDL receptors may be facilitated by alternative adaptors.

Previous studies provide evidence for an endocytic mechanism in mammalian cells that is distinct from both clathrin-coated pits and caveolae, and is not inhibited by overexpression of GTPase-null dynamin mutants. This mechanism, however, has been defined largely in these negative terms. We applied a ferro-fluid-based purification of endosomes to identify endosomal proteins. One of the proteins identified in this way was flotillin-1 (also called reggie-2). Here, we show that flotillin-1 resides in punctate structures within the plasma membrane and in a specific population of endocytic intermediates. These intermediates accumulate both glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked proteins and cholera toxin B subunit. Endocytosis in flotillin-1-containing intermediates is clathrin-independent. Total internal reflection microscopy and immuno-electron microscopy revealed that flotillin-1-containing regions of the plasma membrane seem to bud into the cell, and are distinct from clathrin-coated pits and caveolin-1-positive caveolae. Flotillin-1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) inhibited both clathrin-independent uptake of cholera toxin and endocytosis of a GPI-linked protein. We propose that flotillin-1 is one determinant of a clathrin-independent endocytic pathway in mammalian cells.

Retromer is a membrane-associated heteropentameric coat complex that functions in the endosome-to-Golgi retrieval of the cation-independent mannose-6-phosphate receptor, the Wntless protein and other membrane proteins of physiological significance. Retromer comprises two functional subcomplexes: the cargo-selective subcomplex is a trimer of the VPS35, VPS29, VPS26 proteins, whereas the sorting nexin proteins, Snx1 and Snx2 function to tubulate the endosomal membrane. Unlike the sorting nexins, which contain PtdIns3P-binding PX domains, the cargo-selective VPS35/29/26 complex has no lipid-binding domains and its recruitment to the endosomal membrane remains mechanistically uncharacterised. In this study we show that the VPS35/29/26 complex interacts with the small GTPase Rab7 and requires Rab7 for its recruitment to the endosome. We show that the Rab7K157N mutant that causes the peripheral neuropathy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, does not interact with the VPS35/29/26 complex, resulting in a weakened association with the membrane. We have also identified a novel retromer-interacting protein, TBC1D5, which is a member of the Rab GAP family of proteins that negatively regulates VPS35/29/26 recruitment and causes Rab7 to dissociate from the membrane. We therefore propose that recruitment of the cargo-selective VPS35/29/26 complex is catalysed by Rab7 and inhibited by the Rab-GAP protein, TBC1D5.

Clathrin has an established function in the generation of vesicles that transfer membrane and proteins around the cell [1][2][3][4] . The formation of clathrin-coated vesicles occurs continuously in nondividing cells 5 , but is shut down during mitosis 6 , when clathrin concentrates at the spindle apparatus 7,8 . Here we show that clathrin stabilises fibres of the mitotic spindle to aid congression of chromsomes. Clathrin bound the spindle directlyvia the N-terminal domain of clathrin heavy chain (CHC). Depletion of CHC using RNA interference prolonged mitosis; kinetochore fibres were destabilised leading to defective congression of chromosomes to the metaphase plate and persistent activation of the spindle checkpoint. Normal mitosis was rescued by clathrin triskelia but not the N-terminal domain of CHC indicating that stabilisation of kinetochore fibres was dependent on the unique structure of clathrin. The importance of clathrin for normal mitosis may be relevant to understanding human cancers that involve gene fusions of clathrin heavy chain. Keywordsclathrin; mitosis; mitotic spindle; endocytosis; cancer; cell divisionThe subcellular distribution of clathrin depended on the phase of the cell cycle [7][8][9] ( Supplementary Fig. S1). During interphase, GFP-tagged clathrin light chain a (GFP-LCa) in NRK cells was associated with the Golgi apparatus and numerous puncta representing clathrin-coated pits and vesicles 5 (Fig. 1a). But during metaphase, clathrin localised to kinetochore fibres of the mitotic spindle 10 and possibly interpolar microtubules, but not astral microtubules (Fig. 1a,b). Localisation of clathrin to kinetochore fibres was confirmed by chilling cells for 10 min at 4 °C to selectively disassemble microtubules not associated with kinetochores 11 ; after this treatment, clathrin in metaphase cells remained bound to the kinetochore fibres, indicating that these microtubules were a potential site of clathrin function (Fig. 1b). Similar changes in the distribution of clathrin were observed using other variants of the light chain tagged by GFP or by immunocytochemistry using a monoclonal antibody specific for CHC ( Supplementary Figs. S2,3).Two observations indicated that clathrin bound the mitotic spindle rather than membrane localised to this region. First, none of the major adaptor proteins which allow clathrin to coat membranes (AP-1, AP-2 and AP-3) 2,3 were found at the spindle apparatus ( Supplementary Fig. S4a-c). To test whether clathrin at the spindle was associated with membranes at all, we indiscriminately labelled intracellular membranes by incubating cells with the styryl dyeCorrespondence and requests for materials should be addressed to S.J. R. (sjr51@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk Fig. S4d). In cells at metaphase, none of these membranes were found at the spindle (Fig. 1c).The localisation of clathrin to the mitotic spindle was examined at higher resolution using immunoelectron microscopy. CHC and α-tubulin were immunolabelled with 15 nm and 10 nm colloidal gold-conjugated reagents, re...

We have cloned and characterized members of a novel family of proteins, the GGAs. These proteins contain an NH2-terminal VHS domain, one or two coiled-coil domains, and a COOH-terminal domain homologous to the COOH-terminal “ear” domain of γ-adaptin. However, unlike γ-adaptin, the GGAs are not associated with clathrin-coated vesicles or with any of the components of the AP-1 complex. GGA1 and GGA2 are also not associated with each other, although they colocalize on perinuclear membranes. Immunogold EM shows that these membranes correspond to trans elements of the Golgi stack and the TGN. GST pulldown experiments indicate that the GGA COOH-terminal domains bind to a subset of the proteins that bind to the γ-adaptin COOH-terminal domain. In yeast there are two GGA genes. Deleting both of these genes results in missorting of the vacuolar enzyme carboxypeptidase Y, and the cells also have a defective vacuolar morphology phenotype. These results indicate that the function of the GGAs is to facilitate the trafficking of proteins between the TGN and the vacuole, or its mammalian equivalent, the lysosome.

We have investigated the requirement for Ca2+ in the fusion and content mixing of rat hepatocyte late endosomes and lysosomes in a cell-free system. Fusion to form hybrid organelles was inhibited by 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy) ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA), but not by EGTA, and this inhibition was reversed by adding additional Ca2+. Fusion was also inhibited by methyl ester of EGTA (EGTA-AM), a membrane permeable, hydrolyzable ester of EGTA, and pretreatment of organelles with EGTA-AM showed that the chelation of lumenal Ca2+ reduced the amount of fusion. The requirement for Ca2+ for fusion was a later event than the requirement for a rab protein since the system became resistant to inhibition by GDP dissociation inhibitor at earlier times than it became resistant to BAPTA. We have developed a cell-free assay to study the reformation of lysosomes from late endosome–lysosome hybrid organelles that were isolated from the rat liver. The recovery of electron dense lysosomes was shown to require ATP and was inhibited by bafilomycin and EGTA-AM. The data support a model in which endocytosed Ca2+ plays a role in the fusion of late endosomes and lysosomes, the reformation of lysosomes, and the dynamic equilibrium of organelles in the late endocytic pathway.

Autophagy targets pathogens, damaged organelles and protein aggregates for lysosomal degradation. These ubiquitinated cargoes are recognised by specific autophagy receptors, which recruit LC3-positive membranes to form autophagosomes. Subsequently, autophagosomes fuse with endosomes and lysosomes, thus facilitating degradation of their content, however, the machinery that targets and mediates fusion of these organelles with autophagosomes remains to be established. Here we demonstrate that myosin VI, in concert with its adaptor proteins NDP52, optineurin, T6BP and Tom1, plays a crucial role in autophagy. We identify Tom1 as a myosin VI binding partner on endosomes and demonstrate that their loss reduces autophagosomal delivery of endocytic cargo and causes a block in autophagosome-lysosome fusion. We propose that myosin VI delivers endosomal membranes containing Tom1 to autophagosomes by docking to NDP52, T6BP and optineurin thereby promoting autophagosome maturation and thus driving fusion with lysosomes.