Prominin‐1 is a cell surface biomarker that allows the identification of stem and cancer stem cells from different organs. It is also expressed in several differentiated epithelial and non‐epithelial cells. Irrespective of the cell type, prominin‐1 is associated with plasma membrane protrusions. Here, we investigate its impact on the architecture of membrane protrusions using microvilli of Madin‐Darby canine kidney cells as the main model. Our high‐resolution analysis revealed that upon the overexpression of prominin‐1 the number of microvilli and clusters of them increased. Microvilli with branched and/or knob‐like morphologies were observed and stimulated by mutations in the ganglioside‐binding site of prominin‐1. The altered phenotypes were caused by the interaction of prominin‐1 with phosphoinositide 3‐kinase and Arp2/3 complex. Mutation of tyrosine 828 of prominin‐1 impaired its phosphorylation and thereby inhibited the aforementioned interactions abolishing altered microvilli. This suggests that the interplay of prominin‐1‐ganglioside membrane complexes, phosphoinositide 3‐kinase and cytoskeleton components regulates microvillar architecture. Lastly, the expression of prominin‐1 and its mutants modified the structure of filopodia emerging from fibroblast‐like cells and silencing human prominin‐1 in primary hematopoietic stem cells resulted in the loss of uropod‐associated microvilli. Altogether, these findings strengthen the role of prominin‐1 as an organizer of cellular protrusions.

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tains a relatively large extracellular domain and four hydrophobic membrane-spanning segments referred to as M1-M4, ending in a short extracellular carboxyl terminal domain. Three concentric rings can be distinguished in the AChR transmembrane (TM) region ( 1, 2 ): the M2 TM segments of all subunits outline the inner ring and form the walls of the ion channel proper; M1 and M3 constitute the middle ring; and the M4 segments form the outer ring, which is in closest contact with the AChR lipid microenvironment.One outstanding characteristic of the mature neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is the high density of AChR clusters at the postsynaptic membrane ( 3 ). Neural agrin, an extracellular proteoglycan, initiates the cascade of events in the AChR clustering process in the myotubes by fi rst activating MuSK (muscle-specifi c receptor tyrosine kinase), which subsequently induces the activation of several other intracellular enzymes. Finally, association of AChR with rapsyn, a cytoplasmic peripheral membrane protein colocalized with AChR in vivo, mediates binding to the cytoskeleton ( 3, 4 ), leading in turn to effi cient receptor clustering ( 5 ). Lipids have been postulated to be involved in AChR nanodomain organization and clustering, presumably at early, preinnervation stages of development ( 6 ). The plasma membrane organization of living cells is currently considered to be a mosaic of macroscopic and stable or transient and short-scale segregated domains (reviewed by Ref. 7 ). Lipid domains termed lipid "rafts" are highly enriched in both cholesterol (Chol) and sphingolipids.Abstract The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) is in intimate contact with the lipids in its native membrane. Here we analyze the possibility that it is the intrinsic properties of the AChR that determine its partition into a given lipid domain. Torpedo AChR or a synthetic peptide corresponding to the AChR ␥ M4 segment (the one in closer contact with lipids) was reconstituted into "raft "-containing model membranes. The distribution of the AChR was assessed by Triton X-100 extraction in combination with fl uorescence studies, and lipid analyses were performed on each sample. The infl uence of rapsyn, a peripheral protein involved in AChR aggregation, was studied. Raft -like domain aggregation was also studied using membranes containing the ganglioside GM1 followed by GM1 crosslinking. The ␥ M4 peptide displays a marked preference for raft -like domains. In contrast, AChR alone or in the presence of rapsyn or ganglioside aggregation exhibits no such preference for raft-like domains, but it does cause a signifi cant reduction in the total amount of these domains. The results indicate that the distribution of the AChR in lipid domains cannot be due exclusively to the intrinsic physicochemical properties of the protein and that there must be an external signal in native cell membranes that directs the AChR to a specifi c membrane domain. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) is a pentameric transmembrane glycoprotein composed of four dif...

The structural and functional properties of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR), the archetype molecule in the superfamily of Cys-looped ligand-gated ion channels, are strongly dependent on the lipids in the vicinal microenvironment. The influence on receptor properties is mainly exerted by the AChR-vicinal ("shell" or "annular") lipids, which occur in the liquid-ordered phase as opposed to the more disordered and "fluid" bulk membrane lipids. Fluorescence studies from our laboratory have identified discrete sites for fatty acids, phospholipids, and cholesterol on the AChR protein, and electron-spin resonance spectroscopy has enabled the establishment of the stoichiometry and selectivity of the shell lipid for the AChR and the disclosure of lipid sites in the AChR transmembrane region. Experimental evidence supports the notion that the interface between the protein moiety and the adjacent lipid shell is the locus of a variety of pharmacologically relevant processes, including the action of steroids and other lipids. I surmise that the outermost ring of M4 helices constitutes the boundary interface, most suitable to convey the signals from the lipid microenvironment to the rest of the transmembrane region, and to the channel inner ring in particular.