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The Journal of Neuroscience, October 1, 2000, 20(19):7334-7344
Biogenesis of Regulated Exocytotic Carriers in Neuroendocrine
Cells
Benjamin A.
Eaton,
Michael
Haugwitz,
Dana
Lau, and
Hsiao-Ping H.
Moore
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California
at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-3200
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ABSTRACT |
Ca2+-triggered exocytosis is a hallmark of
neurosecretory granules, but the cellular pathway leading to the
assembly of these regulated exocytotic carriers is poorly understood.
Here we used the pituitary AtT-20 cell line to study the biogenesis of
regulated exocytotic carriers involved in peptide hormone secretion. We show that immature secretory granules (ISGs) freshly budded from the
trans-Golgi network (TGN) exhibit characteristics of
unregulated exocytotic carriers. During a subsequent maturation period
they undergo an important switch to become regulated exocytotic
carriers. We have identified a novel sorting pathway responsible for
this transition. The SNARE proteins, VAMP4 and synaptotagmin IV (Syt IV), enter ISGs initially but are sorted away during maturation. Sorting is achieved by vesicle budding from the ISGs, because it can be
inhibited by brefeldin A (BFA). Inhibition of this sorting pathway with
BFA arrested the maturing granules in a state that responded poorly to
stimuli, suggesting that the transition to regulated exocytotic
carriers requires the removal of a putative inhibitor. In support of
this, we found that overexpression of Syt IV reduced the
stimulus-responsiveness of maturing granules. We conclude that
secretory granules undergo a switch from unregulated to regulated
secretory carriers during biogenesis. The existence of such a switch
may provide a mechanism for cells to modulate their secretory
activities under different physiological conditions.
Key words:
regulated exocytosis; secretory granules; membrane
remodeling; organelle biogenesis; SNARE proteins; protein sorting
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INTRODUCTION |
Peptide hormones destined for
regulated secretion are packaged into secretory granules that bud from
the trans-Golgi network (TGN). These immature secretory
granules then undergo a series of ill-defined "maturation" steps
that ultimately transform them into mature secretory granules (MSGs).
MSGs are regulated exocytotic carriers with distinctive morphology and
peptide contents. Recent studies have focused on those maturation
processes that impart the characteristic contents and morphology to
MSGs. Several constitutively secreted proteins are incorporated into
immature secretory granules (ISGs) but become removed during the
maturation process (Grimes and Kelly, 1992 ; De Lisle and Bansal, 1996 ;
Castle et al., 1997 ). This pathway, named "the constitutive-like"
secretory pathway, also mediates the unregulated release of a fraction
of newly synthesized peptides from hormone-secreting cells (Kuliawat
and Arvan, 1992 ; Fernandez et al., 1997 ). In addition, a fraction of
lysosomal hydrolases and endosomal endopeptidases escapes sorting at
the TGN and subsequently is sorted away from the ISGs (Dittie et
al., 1997 ; Kuliawat et al., 1997 ; Klumperman et al., 1998 ). ISGs also differ from MSGs in their size and density. Homotypic fusion between ISGs has been demonstrated and is likely to contribute to the increase
in size as ISGs mature (Tooze et al., 1991 ; Urbe et al., 1998 ). It is
thought that, after granule-granule fusion, soluble contents condense,
and excess membranes are removed by vesicle budding (Burgess and Kelly,
1987 ). In this way the MSGs acquire their higher density and larger
size after maturation.
Little is known about how MSGs acquire their function as regulated
exocytotic carriers and how granule maturation influences this key
property. We are interested in this question particularly because the
secretory pattern of a cell can undergo dynamic changes in response to
physiological conditions. For instance, tumors often secrete autocrine
growth factors in an unregulated manner to enhance their growth. In the
case of neuroendocrine tumors, this hypersecretion has been shown to
result from dysregulation at the level of newly formed secretory
granules (Fernandez et al., 1997 ). To begin to address this question,
we have examined the exocytotic behavior of granules during maturation.
Our data indicate that a key step in maturation involves the transition of the granule membrane from an unregulated exocytotic state to a
regulated exocytotic state. In addition, we have uncovered an ADP
ribosylation factor (ARF)-mediated sorting pathway that is responsible
for functional remodeling of the granule membrane. Several trafficking
proteins, including vesicle-associated membrane protein-4 (VAMP4) and
Synaptotagmin IV (Syt IV), enter the regulated pathway but are removed
from the ISGs along this pathway. We provide experimental evidence for
the importance of Syt IV as a switch between regulated and unregulated
secretion during granule maturation. Modulation of this pathway may
provide a mechanism for cells to change their secretory patterns under
changing physiological conditions.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Antisera and reagents
Rabbit anti-porcine adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) antibody
was generated as described (Moore et al., 1983 ) except that antibodies
were eluted from the affinity column with 0.1 M glycine, pH
2.0, and neutralized with volume of 1 M Tris,
pH 9.5. Anti-rat Syt IV polyclonal antiserum was a gift of Dr. Harvey
Herschman (University of California Los Angeles). Anti-Syt I monoclonal
antibody 48 was from Dr. L. Reichardt (University of California San
Francisco). Anti-VAMP2 monoclonal antibody 69.1 was obtained from
Synaptic Systems (Gottingen, Germany). Anti-FLAG monoclonal antibody
(M2), M2-coupled beads, 8-Br-cAMP, sodium nitroferricyanide (SNF),
thrombin, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), and iodoacetamide were
obtained from Sigma (St. Louis, MO) and anti-FLAG polyclonal antisera
from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Santa Cruz, CA). Brefeldin A (BFA) was
purchased from Alexis (San Diego, CA),
Na2[35S]SO4
from ICN Biochemicals (Costa Mesa, CA), and "Immunoprecipitin" (Staphylococcus aureus) and protein A-agarose beads from
Life Technologies (Gaithersburg, MD). Glutathione Sepharose 4B
beads and pGEX-KG vector were from Amersham Pharmacia (Piscataway,
NJ), and secondary antibodies were from Kirkegaard and Perry
Laboratories (Gaithersburg, MD).
Cell culture and secretion assays
AtT-20 cells were maintained and secretion assays were
performed, as described (Fernandez et al., 1997 ). Where indicated, BFA
was added to the chase medium at 5 µg/ml. Regulated secretion was
induced by the addition of 8-Br-cAMP (5 mM) in DMEM for
2-3 hr. To trigger secretion in 15 min, we used a combination
of high KCl (50 mM) and sodium nitroferricyanide (1 mM) in DMEM (abbreviated as SNF treatment). Samples were
immunoprecipitated with anti-ACTH antibodies. Beads containing the
immunoprecipitates were washed sequentially with NDET buffer
[containing 1% Nonidet P-40, 0.4% deoxycholate, 1 mg/ml of
pepstatin, and (in mM) 66 EDTA, 10 Tris, pH 7.4, and 0.1 PMSF], Urea Buffer (5 M urea in 10 mM HEPES,
pH 7.4), and H2O.
Quantitation. Medium and cell extract samples were
analyzed by 15% SDS-PAGE, followed by exposure to a PhosphorImager
cassette (Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, CA) for 1-3 d. The intensity
of sulfate-labeled prohormone proopiomelanocortin (POMC) peptides was
quantified with the ImageQuant program (Molecular Dynamics). Unless
otherwise indicated, the total radioactivity in POMC and POMC-derived
peptides recovered in all media plus cell extract samples was set as
100%. Because the anti-ACTH antibodies used in the immunoprecipitation
experiments did not recognize N-terminal fragments, the total label was
corrected for the loss of these fragments. By acetone precipitation we
have determined the amount of radioactivity incorporated into
N-terminal fragments to be 1.8 times that incorporated into mature ACTH
(data not shown). This ratio was used to calculate the amount of
radioactivity that was lost in immunoprecipitation and was added to the
total. Then the amount of secreted or stored peptides at a specific
chase time was calculated as the percentage of corrected total label.
Generation of cell lines and production of anti-VAMP4
The GenBank database was searched, using BLAST with sequences
conserved between Saccharomyces cerevisiae SNC1p (amino
acids 31-70) and rodent VAMP2. One positive expressed sequence
tag (EST) from the database (accession number D86817) was used to
design an antisense primer (number 1;
5'-ccgccgctcgagtcaagtacggaatttcacaactataagaatgataatc-3') for a RACE
reaction from rat brain cDNA. The full-length product predicted a 16.4 kDa protein homologous to the recently published VAMP4 (Advani et al.,
1998 ). To facilitate epitope-tagging, we generated a vector pcDNAf,
which replaced the HindIII site of pcDNA3 (Invitrogen,
Carlsbad, CA) with a FLAG epitope, followed by unique
HindIII and BamHI cloning sites. The full-length
VAMP4 sequence was transferred to pcDNAf by PCR amplification by using Primer 1 and a sense primer (number 2;
5'-cgcgggggatccatgcctcccaagtttaag-3'). The resulting clone contained a
FLAG epitope (MDYKDDDDKL) at the N terminus of VAMP4 (pFLAG-VAMP4).
Stably transfected AtT-20 cells were generated (Chavez et al., 1994 ),
and colonies were screened by immunoblot and immunofluorescence with M2
antibody. The selected clone (AtT-20/FV4) exhibited moderate
levels of expression with cisternal staining patterns of the Golgi
region. We have found that, on isolation of the stable clone, a
fraction of cells lost expression of the transfected protein.
Therefore, we routinely assayed the expression of FLAG-VAMP4 by
indirect immunofluorescence.
Syt IV primers were designed from the published mouse sequence
(accession number U10355) and used in RT-PCR reactions with an AtT-20
cDNA library as the template. The PCR primers (sense primer,
5'-cgcgggaagcttatggctcctatcaccaccagc-3'; antisense primer, 5'-cgcgggctcgagaccatcacag-agcatgtgcca-3') contained
HindIII and XhoI sites to facilitate cloning into
pCDM8-FLAG, which allowed insertion of the FLAG epitope at the C
terminus. Cell lines were generated as above and screened by immunoblot
in the presence or absence of 6 mM sodium
butyrate. Clones that had inducible Syt IV expression were selected for
secretion assays (see Fig. 9), and those with constitutive Syt IV
expression (at fivefold lower level) were selected for localization
studies (see Fig. 8).
For production of antibodies a sequence encoding a cytosolic soluble
VAMP4 fragment was isolated by using the antisense primer (5'-ccgccgctcga-gttttattttgcatccacgccac-3') and was cloned into a
glutathione S-transferase fusion vector, pGEX-KG.
Bacterially produced protein was purified by binding to glutathione
beads, followed by cleavage with thrombin, and was used for injection into rabbits (Covance, Berkeley, CA). Tertiary bleeds from immunized animals were used.
RT-PCR
A cDNA library from AtT-20 cells was constructed with the
Uni-ZAP cDNA Synthesis Kit from Stratagene (La Jolla, CA). To prepare the library for PCR, we heated 500 µl of packaged library to 70°C for 10 min, followed by phenol/chloroform extraction. The extracted library was ethanol-precipitated and resuspended in water. For VAMP4,
one-tenth of the materials was used in a standard 100 µl PCR with
Primer 1 and Primer 2 (see above). One-half of the final reaction
product was run on a 1.5% agarose gel and stained with ethidium
bromide. As controls, these reactions were performed with the cDNA
library omitted or substituted with 20 ng of plasmid harboring either a
VAMP4 cDNA or a VAMP2 cDNA. For Syt IV, isoform primers were designed
from the published mouse sequence.
Immunofluorescence
Cells were fixed, permeabilized, and stained according to the
published procedure (Chavez et al., 1994 ). M2 antibody was used at 1:50
and anti-ACTH at 1:50. Staining was analyzed with a Zeiss Axiophot
microscope or a Sarastro 1000 confocal microscope (Molecular Dynamics,
San Jose, CA). Images from the Axiophot were generated by scanning 35 mm negatives via a SprintScan slide scanner (Eastman Kodak, New Haven,
CT) and colored and merged by using Adobe Photoshop 4.0 (Adobe Systems,
Mountainview, CA). Confocal images were merged by using ImageSpace
(Molecular Dynamics).
Immunoisolation of FLAG-VAMP4-containing organelles
Cells were pulse-labeled with
[35S]sulfate and chased for the
indicated times. For experiments including BFA, labeled material was
chased for 7 min to allow for the exit of labeled POMC from the
trans-Golgi before the addition of BFA. Chase was continued for 38 min in the presence of BFA before immunoabsorption. Cells were
lifted with EDTA and homogenized by eight passes through an EMBL cell
homogenizer (8.02 chamber, ball size 5) in Homogenization Buffer
[composed of (in mM) 250 sucrose, 10 HEPES, pH
6.9, 1 EDTA, and 1 EGTA] containing 0.1 mM PMSF
and 300 µg/ml of iodoacetamide. The homogenate was subjected to
centrifugation at 1300 × g for 5 min; the resulting
postnuclear supernatants (PNS; 0.8-1.2 mg/ml of protein) were
incubated at 4°C with anti-FLAG-coupled (M2) Sepharose beads (see
below for preparation) for 2 hr with gentle rotation. After
immunoabsorption, bead-bound materials were pelleted at 500 × g and washed three times in Homogenization Buffer, followed by lysis in 1% Triton X-100/PBS for 30 min at 4°C. Supernatants were
diluted twofold with H2O and then precipitated by
the addition of 4 volumes of ice-cold acetone. After 1 hr of incubation
at 20°C the precipitates were collected by centrifugation in a
Beckman GPR centrifuge at 3500 × g for 1 hr at 4°C.
The samples were subject to 15% SDS-PAGE and PhosphorImager analysis.
To reduce nonspecific binding, we first preincubated the beads for
immunoabsorption experiments for 30 min at 4°C with a high concentration of PNS (~3 mg/ml protein) prepared from untransfected cells supplemented with 0.5% BSA. In some experiments these
incubations also contained a competing FLAG peptide (1 µg of peptides
per 100 µl of stock M2 beads); the latter also was included in the immunoadsorption reaction. Organelle lysis during immunoabsorption procedures was monitored by immunoprecipitation of an aliquot of PNS,
using anti-ACTH either in the presence or absence of Triton X-100.
Values for immunoabsorption experiments were corrected for the number
of cells positive for FLAG-VAMP4 in the stable line (152 of 278 or
55%), the percentage of lysis in PNS (10-30%), and the
efficiency of immunoabsorption (58%). The efficiency of immunoabsorption was determined by immunoblot analysis of the percentage of total FLAG-VAMP4 recovered on M2 beads (see Fig. 3A).
Immunoblot
PNS prepared from unlabeled cells was subject to 15% SDS-PAGE
and transferred to nitrocellulose (Micron Separations, Westborough, MA). The blots were probed with anti-VAMP4 polyclonal antibodies (1:1000 dilution) or M2 antibody (1:200 dilution). Binding of antibodies was detected by using HRP-conjugated secondary antibodies, followed by the addition of HRP substrate (ECL, Amersham Pharmacia, Piscataway, NJ) and exposure to x-ray film.
Velocity and equilibrium gradient centrifugation
Golgi membranes were isolated from a 15 cm dish of wild-type
cells by velocity centrifugation according to Fernandez et al. (1997) .
Materials from the peak fraction were precipitated by trichloroacetic
acid and immunoblotted with a rabbit anti-Syt IV antiserum (see Fig.
8A). For Figure 8C, ISGs and MSGs were isolated by using a modified protocol of Tooze et al. (1991) . Velocity
centrifugation was performed by using a linear sucrose gradient
prepared from 0.3 M (5.3 ml) to 1.2 M (5.3 ml) sucrose in 10 mM
HEPES-KOH, pH 7.2. PNS from one 15 cm dish of radiolabeled Syt
IV-expressing cells was pooled with unlabeled PNS from one 15 cm dish
of FLAG-VAMP4-expressing cells. One-half of the pooled PNS (1 ml) was
loaded onto the gradient and centrifuged at 25,000 rpm in a Beckman
SW41 rotor, with the brake applied at the end of 15 min. Fractions (1.3 ml) were collected from the top after the initial load fraction was
discarded. Fractions enriched in ISGs (1, 2) or MSGs (5, 6) were
pooled, diluted to 6 ml with cold water, and loaded onto a second
gradient. Equilibrium centrifugation was performed by using a linear
sucrose gradient prepared from 0.5 M (16 ml) to
1.8 M (16 ml) sucrose in 10 mM HEPES-KOH, pH 7.2. The gradient was
centrifuged for 12-16 hr at 25,000 rpm in a Beckman SW28 rotor.
Fractions (1.1 ml) were collected from the top after the initial load
fraction was discarded. Aliquots from fractions ( for Syt IV
and VAMP4 blots, for Syt I and VAMP2 blots) were subjected
to acetone precipitation, followed by SDS-PAGE/PhosphorImager or
immunoblot analysis.
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RESULTS |
Newly formed secretory granules are poorly responsive to
secretagogues but acquire stimulus-responsiveness during maturation
We have shown previously that the POMC is sulfated in the TGN of
AtT-20 cells. Its synchronous labeling and rapid transport to
post-Golgi compartments provide powerful tools for studying secretory
granule biogenesis (Dumermuth and Moore, 1998 ). Kinetic analysis has
established that the half-time for transport of
[35S]sulfate pulse-labeled POMC from the
TGN to nascent granules is ~3 min (Fernandez et al., 1997 ) (data not
shown). On packaging in ISGs, POMC is converted proteolytically to
mature ACTH by the prohormone convertase PC1 (Benjannet et al., 1991 ;
Thomas et al., 1991 ; Zhou et al., 1993 ; Schmidt and Moore, 1995 ). ACTH
is the final product stored in MSGs for regulated exocytosis.
We first examined the time course with which granules acquire full
stimulus-responsiveness. Cells were pulse-labeled with [35S]sulfate for 5 min and chased for 15 min (five half-times) to allow for transport of labeled POMC from the
TGN to ISGs. Then the cells were chased further to allow granule
maturation to proceed. At different chase times the secretory response
of granules was determined by applying a test stimulus and analyzing
the secreted materials by immunoprecipitation. To resolve the time
course better, we needed a fast-acting secretagogue. We found that
AtT-20 cells responded quickly to a combination of sodium
nitroferricyanide (a NO donor) plus high
[K+] (depolarization) consistent with a
role for NO (Brunetti et al., 1993 ) and depolarization (Gumbiner and
Kelly, 1982 ) in regulated secretion of ACTH from pituitary cells. This
combination of secretagogues, herein referred to as SNF stimulation,
thus was used in this kinetic experiment. Figure
1A shows quantitation
of the "stimulation index," which is the fold of stimulated
secretion in response to SNF. For mature ACTH a steady increase was
observed during maturation: the stimulation index was 1.6 after a 15 min chase and increased to 2.7 after a 2 hr chase (Fig.
1A, filled bars). Thus, freshly budded
granules are only marginally responsive to secretagogues. They gain the
ability to undergo regulated exocytosis during an ~45 min maturation
period.

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Figure 1.
Development of responsiveness of
granules to secretory stimuli during maturation. AtT-20 cells were
pulse-labeled for 5 min with [35S]sulfate and
chased for 15 min to 2 hr (Chase 1). Then the secretory response of
granules was tested by a 15 min exposure (Chase 2) to SNF. Parallel
cultures were kept unstimulated as controls. Samples were
immunoprecipitated with anti-ACTH and analyzed by SDS-PAGE and
PhosphorImager. A, Plot of the stimulation index as a
function of chase time. The ratios of secretion during Chase 2 from
SNF-stimulated to unstimulated cells were calculated and
plotted as a function of Chase 1 length. Open bars, Fold
of stimulation of labeled POMC; filled bars, fold of
stimulation of labeled ACTH. Increasing the chase time led to an
increase in the fold of stimulation for ACTH, but not for POMC.
B, Plot of the rate of unstimulated secretion as a
function of chase time. The sum of labeled POMC, intermediate forms,
and ACTH secreted from unstimulated cells at each time point was
calculated. Then this amount was normalized to the total label that was
recovered from the medium and cell extracts, and it was expressed as
the percentage of label secreted per minute. In unstimulated cells
the secretory rate peaked between 10 and 30 min after the pulse and
then declined to a low level during subsequent chases. The data
represent the average of two experiments.
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We also quantitated the stimulation index of unprocessed POMC as a
function of time. Because conversion of POMC to ACTH in the ISG is
time-dependent, POMC provides a marker of young granules, whereas ACTH
provides a marker for older granules. The secretion of POMC was not
affected significantly by SNF (Fig. 1A, open bars); the stimulation index was 1.4 at 15 min of chase and stayed between 1.2 and 1.4 during subsequent chases. These data further confirmed that
older granules are more responsive to stimuli than young granules.
During the critical period in which granules became responsive to SNF,
there was also a dramatic change in the rate of unstimulated secretion
(Fig. 1B). This unregulated secretion peaked at
~20-30 min after the pulse label and declined to a low level during
subsequent chases. Because this secretory phase occurs after POMC has
been packaged into ISGs (t1/2 ~3
min), it could represent secretion from both the constitutive and the
constitutive-like pathways. Supporting the latter argument, some of the
materials secreted during this period had undergone the proteolytic
event characteristic of ISGs (data not shown). These data show that
granules gain responsiveness to secretory stimuli during a critical
period of maturation that coincides with a phase of unstimulated
secretion from the ISGs.
VAMP4 marks a novel vesicular sorting pathway during granule
membrane remodeling
The acquisition of competence for regulated exocytosis suggests
that functional remodeling of the granule membrane must occur during
maturation. Because this change takes place during a period of high
trafficking activity (e.g., unstimulated secretion from the ISGs), we
hypothesize that it may involve vesicle-mediated sorting of membrane
components away from the ISGs. To investigate this possibility, we
sought to identify membrane proteins that may serve as specific markers
of this putative sorting pathway. We focused on the VAMP family of
trafficking proteins because its members constitute a major group of
vesicle proteins controlling membrane fusion. Members of the VAMP
family were screened for ones that are expressed in AtT-20 cells and
that show the expected pattern of localization, i.e., present in
proximal parts of the regulated secretory pathway but absent from
mature granules. In the initial screen we found that only VAMP4 met
these criteria.
VAMP4 is expressed in AtT-20 cells, as shown by specific RT-PCR
amplification with isoform-specific primers (Fig.
2A), and also by
immunoblot using a rabbit antiserum generated against purified
recombinant cytosolic fragment of rat VAMP4 (Fig. 2B, lane 1). Preimmune sera did not generate a signal (data not
shown). In preliminary studies we found that the anti-VAMP4 antiserum did not recognize native antigens. To facilitate localization studies,
we constructed an N-terminal FLAG-tagged VAMP4 expression plasmid and
generated a stable AtT-20 cell line expressing this construct (referred
to as the FV4 cell line). Lysate from this cell line showed an
additional band immunoreactive toward both anti-VAMP4 and
anti-FLAG monoclonal antibody M2 (Fig. 2B,
lanes 2, 3); this exogenous FLAG-VAMP4 was expressed at an
approximately fivefold higher level than the endogenous protein.
Indirect immunofluorescence analysis of FV4 cells with anti-FLAG M2
antibody showed that FLAG-VAMP4 was found in the juxtanuclear region
of the cell body (Fig. 2Ca-Cc, arrowheads), but it was
absent from process tips where mature secretory granules concentrated
in AtT-20 cells (arrows). Confocal analysis demonstrated
that the staining in the cell body exhibited cisternal patterns and was
colocalized precisely with POMC/ACTH, with very little punctate or cell
surface staining (Fig. 2Cd-Cf, arrowheads). In brefeldin
A-treated (BFA) cells, FLAG-VAMP4 staining no longer exhibited the
characteristic cisternal pattern and instead collapsed to a condensed
structure near the microtubuloorganizing center (MTOC) region
(data not shown), a behavior characteristic of TGN proteins. In
transfected HeLa cells and CHO cells FLAG-VAMP4 also was found to be
colocalized precisely with the TGN marker TGN38 (data not shown). The
same staining pattern was observed regardless of the expression levels,
suggesting that the TGN localization is not an artifact of
overexpression. These data suggest that VAMP4 is associated with
regulated secretory marker in the early part of the pathway (the TGN),
but it is not found on the mature secretory organelles.

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Figure 2.
Characterization of VAMP4 in AtT-20 cells.
A, RT-PCR analysis performed on AtT-20 cDNAs with
primers specific to VAMP4 (lane 2). Lane
1, Molecular weight standards; lane 3, negative
control performed with no added DNA template; lanes 4, 5, controls performed with plasmids harboring either a VAMP2
cDNA or a VAMP4 cDNA as the template. A single band of 426 bp was
observed only in reactions performed with either AtT-20 cDNAs or the
VAMP4 plasmid. Digestion of this product with HindIII
gave the predicted restriction pattern as deduced by the rat VAMP4
sequence. B, Immunoblot analysis of endogenous and
transfected VAMP4. PNS was prepared from wild-type AtT-20
(wt, lane 1) and cells stably transfected
with a FLAG-tagged VAMP4 plasmid (FV4, lanes 2, 3). Lysate (10 µg) was subject to SDS-PAGE and immunoblot
analysis with either polyclonal antisera against a soluble form of
recombinant rat VAMP4 (lanes 1, 2) or M2 monoclonal
antibody against the FLAG epitope (lane 3). The
anti-VAMP4 antisera recognized a single band of ~18 kDa in wild-type
cells and an additional band that also was recognized by the anti-FLAG
antibody in FLAG-VAMP4 transfected cells. C,
Colocalization of VAMP4 with ACTH immunoreactivities in the Golgi
region, but not in the process tips. AtT-20 cells stably transfected
with FLAG-VAMP4 were processed for indirect immunofluorescence. Fixed
and permeabilized cells were doubly stained with anti-FLAG M2
monoclonal antibody (Cb, Ce) and
anti-ACTH (Ca, Cd) polyclonal antibodies.
Ca-Cc, A representative field of cells visualized by an
Axiophot microscope, showing colocalization of staining patterns in the
cell body (arrowheads), but not in the process tips
(arrows) where MSGs accumulated. More than 50 cells were
examined, and all show similar patterns. Cd-Cf, Higher
resolution analysis of the staining patterns in the Golgi region by
confocal microscopy. Scale bar, 10 µm.
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Subcellular fractionation of FV4 cells on velocity gradients indicated
that VAMP4 was distributed not only in TGN but also in vesicular
fractions (data not shown), suggesting that it may be present on
post-Golgi organelles such as ISGs. To determine more precisely the
VAMP4 trafficking within the regulated pathway, we developed a
pulse-chase/immunoabsorption procedure. Briefly, FV4 cells were
pulse-labeled for 5 min with
[35S]sulfate and then chased for various
time periods to allow for labeling of granules at different stages of
maturity. Then the cells were homogenized, and FLAG-VAMP4-bearing
organelles were isolated by using anti-FLAG-coupled (M2) Sepharose
beads. Captured organelles were solubilized, and their contents of
labeled peptides were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and PhosphorImager
quantitation. We first demonstrated that FLAG-VAMP4-bearing organelles
could be isolated specifically on M2 beads (Fig.
3A). Immunoblot analysis of
bead-bound organelles that used anti-FLAG polyclonal antibodies showed
that 58% of the immunoreactivity present in the input PNS was
immunoisolated on M2 beads (Fig. 3A, lanes 1, 2).
The efficiency was increased to 80% when Triton X-100 was included
during the isolation procedure (Fig. 3A, lane
4), indicating that the binding of intact organelles to
beads was less efficient than the solubilized protein. Inclusion of a
peptide containing the FLAG epitope effectively competed away the
binding of FLAG-VAMP4 to beads (Fig. 3A, lane 3), demonstrating the specificity of the immunoabsorption
procedure.

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Figure 3.
Sorting of VAMP4 from the regulated
secretory pathway during granule maturation. A,
VAMP4-containing organelles could be immunoisolated on anti-FLAG beads
(M2 beads). Cells stably transfected with FLAG-VAMP4 were homogenized,
and the PNS was incubated with M2 beads. After washing, the organelles
bound to the beads were solubilized, and the amount of FLAG-VAMP4 was
determined by immunoblotting with polyclonal anti-FLAG antibodies.
Lane 1, An aliquot of PNS equivalent to one-half of the
amount used for immunoisolation was analyzed as the input. Lane
2, Material bound to M2 beads. Lane 3, Material
bound to M2 beads in the presence of a competing FLAG-containing
peptide (Pep). Lane 4, Material bound to
M2 beads when 1% Triton X-100 (TX) was included
during the immunoisolation procedure. The addition of the FLAG peptide
abolished binding, indicating that the capture of FLAG-VAMP4 by M2
beads was specific. Inclusion of Triton X-100 increased the recovery of
FLAG-VAMP4 on the beads. B, VAMP4 was present on the
TGN and on newly formed ISGs. FLAG-VAMP4 stably transfected cells
(FV4) or wild-type AtT-20 cells
(wt, as negative controls) were pulse-labeled with
[35S]sulfate for 5 min to label POMC in the TGN.
The cells either were harvested immediately (lanes 1-5)
or were chased for 15 min before homogenization to allow labeled POMC
to migrate into ISGs (lanes 6-10).
FLAG-VAMP4-containing organelles were immunoisolated with M2 beads as
described in A, and bead-bound material was eluted with
Triton X-100 and concentrated by acetone precipitation. Labeled POMC
products recovered from the beads were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and
PhosphorImager. Lanes 1, 2, 6, 7, An aliquot of PNS
( ) was analyzed as the input. Lanes 4, 9,
Material bound to the beads from FV4-transfected cells. Lanes 3, 8, Material bound to the beads from untransfected wild-type
cells. IM, Intermediate forms of POMC-processing
products. Specific capture of labeled POMC products by M2 beads was
observed with FV4-transfected cells at both time points, but not
with wild-type cells. The inclusion of FLAG peptides also
abolished the signals seen in FV4 cells (lanes 5, 10).
C, Association of VAMP4 with markers of the regulated
secretory pathway was dependent on chase times. A time course
experiment similar to B was performed to determine the
amount of labeled POMC/ACTH captured by M2 beads with increasing chase
times. Control values were obtained with wild-type cells or by
competition with FLAG peptides. Values are expressed as the percentage
of total input that was recovered on M2 beads after correction for
loading, lysis, immunoadsorption efficiency, and cell line expression
(see Materials and Methods). Each time point was performed at least
twice with similar results.
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Using this procedure, we have found that FLAG-VAMP4 is associated with
the TGN and newly formed ISGs (Fig. 3B). Pulse-labeled cells
were harvested immediately (labeled POMC in the TGN) or chased for 15 min (labeled POMC products in newly formed ISGs) before homogenization.
At both time points the labeled POMC products were captured by the M2
beads (Fig. 3B, lanes 4, 9), indicating the
association of VAMP4 with these two organelles. The observed binding
was specific, because inclusion of a competing FLAG peptide in the
absorption mix (Fig. 3B, lanes 5, 10) or mock
immunoabsorption with wild-type cells that had not been transfected
with FV4 (Fig. 3B, lanes 3, 8) showed little
binding. Importantly, the association of radiolabeled peptides with
VAMP4 diminished as the chase times extended beyond 15 min (quantitated
in Fig. 3C). At 0-15 min of chase, 47-60% of total
labeled POMC products was captured by M2 beads. By 45 min of chase, the
level dropped to 12.5%. Together, these data suggest that VAMP4 enters
the regulated pathway but is removed during the early stages of granule maturation.
We next asked whether VAMP4 is sorted away from the ISGs by vesicle
budding. Because BFA has been shown to inhibit a variety of
ARF-mediated vesicle budding events (Peyroche et al., 1999 ), we tested
whether BFA interfered with VAMP4 removal from the regulated pathway.
The immunoabsorption experiments shown in Figure 3 were repeated,
except that after 7 min of chase (to allow entry of POMC into ISGs) BFA
was added to the cells and granule maturation was allowed to proceed in
the continued presence of BFA. Cells were harvested at 45 min of
chase and processed for immunoabsorption (Fig.
4). In BFA-treated cells, ~60% of
labeled ACTH was still captured by M2 beads after 45 min of chase (Fig.
4A, lanes 4-6, and quantitation in
4B), similar to the level before the addition of BFA
(see Fig. 3C). By contrast, the level of immunoabsorption in
control untreated cells dropped to ~10% after 45 min (Fig. 4A, lanes 1-3, 4B).
These data demonstrated a persistent association of VAMP4 with
secretory granule markers when granules were allowed to age in the
presence of BFA. Thus, an ARF-mediated vesicle budding event underlies
the VAMP4 sorting pathway, and BFA provides a useful reagent to block
this pathway.

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Figure 4.
Inhibition of VAMP4 sorting by BFA.
A, An immunoisolation experiment similar to Figure 3 was
performed by using FV4-transfected cells except that, after the
pulse-labeling, the cells were chased first for 7 min to allow labeled
POMC to reach ISGs before they were chilled on ice. Then BFA was added
to one plate; the cells were warmed to 37°C and chased in the
continued presence of BFA for a total of 45 min (lanes
4-6). A parallel dish was not treated with BFA as the
control (lanes 1-3). VAMP4-containing organelles were
immunoisolated, and POMC products bound to M2 beads were analyzed.
Lanes 1, 4, An aliquot of input PNS ( ).
Lanes 2, 5, Material bound to the beads. Lanes 3, 6, Material bound to the beads in the presence of competing
FLAG peptides. The increased amount of unprocessed POMC seen in
lane 4 as compared with lane 1
(corresponding to 24% of the total label) is attributable to material
remaining in the Golgi at the time of BFA addition (Fernandez et al.,
1997 ). B, Quantitation of data showing increased
association of VAMP4 with granule markers in BFA-treated cells. Only
mature ACTH was quantitated to avoid contributions from POMC trapped in
the TGN. This experiment was performed three times with similar
results.
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Interference of the VAMP4 pathway with BFA prevents ISGs from
acquiring the proper secretory behavior
VAMP4 is removed from ISGs (see Fig. 3C) during the
same time window as when granules acquire their stimulus-responsiveness (see Fig. 1). We therefore asked whether blocking the VAMP4 pathway by
BFA would lead to alterations in the secretory response of aged
granules (Fig. 5). Pulse-labeled cells
were chased first for 15 min to allow labeled POMC to enter ISGs. Then
BFA was added and the cells were allowed to chase for a maturation
period of 3 hr in the continuous presence of BFA (Chase 2). At the end
of the maturation period the cells were stimulated with 8-Br-cAMP for 3 hr (Chase 3) in the presence of BFA to induce regulated secretion.
8-Br-cAMP required longer treatment but induced an overall stronger
stimulatory response than SNF and thus was used in this experiment.
Granules that matured in the absence of BFA exhibited a strong
secretory response to the secretagogue (Fig. 5A, compare
lanes 3, 4 and 5, 6) and a concomitant
decrease of the intracellular ACTH pool (Fig. 5A, compare
lanes 7, 8 and 9, 10). In contrast, granules aged
in the presence of BFA failed to respond to 8-Br-cAMP stimulation. The
amount of labeled ACTH released into the medium was not significantly
different between stimulated and unstimulated cells (Fig.
5B, compare lanes 3, 4 and 5, 6), and very little depletion of intracellular stored ACTH was detected (Fig. 5B, compare lanes 7, 8 and
9, 10). These results were quantitated in Figure
5C. BFA affected granule maturation in two major respects.
First, granules aged in BFA were unable to undergo regulated
exocytosis. 8-Br-cAMP elicited a 5.72-fold stimulation of ACTH release
from control cells, whereas it elicited only a 0.94-fold stimulation
from BFA-treated cells. Second, granules aged in BFA exhibited a high
basal release rate. In control cells the rate of unstimulated release
dropped to ~3% during the late chase period (3-6 hr). In
BFA-treated cells the unstimulated secretion remained high during the
same 3-6 hr of chase; ~9% mature ACTH continued to be secreted in
the absence of stimulation. Therefore, granules aged in BFA appear to
be arrested in a state with high unstimulated release and poor
responsiveness to secretagogues. Note that, although BFA causes a high
rate of basal release, the amount of total label that was recovered at
the end of the 6 hr chase was not lower than in the controls. This is
attributable to the fact that BFA also inhibits constitutive-like
secretion, thus increasing the cellular contents of labeled hormone
(Fernandez et al., 1997 ).

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Figure 5.
Effects of BFA on the maturation of the exocytotic
behavior of granules. Duplicate cultures of wild-type cells were
pulse-labeled and chased in BFA-free DMEM for 15 min to allow for entry
of labeled POMC into ISGs (Chase 1, C1). Then BFA was
added during a subsequent 3 hr chase to test its effect on granule
maturation (Chase 2, C2). Afterward, the cells were
treated with 8-Br-cAMP for 3 hr to induce regulated secretion (Chase 3, C3). BFA was present throughout Chase 2 and Chase 3. Control cells were chased in the absence of BFA
(A) and compared with cells that were treated
with BFA (B). Lanes 1, 2, Labeled
POMC products secreted during Chase 2; lanes 3, 4,
labeled POMC products secreted during Chase 3 from unstimulated cells;
lanes 5, 6, labeled POMC products secreted during Chase
3 from stimulated cells. Lanes 7, 8, Extracts from
unstimulated cells; lanes 9, 10, extracts from
stimulated cells after Chase 3. As noted in Figure
4A, in BFA-treated cells some labeled POMC was
trapped in the TGN and was recovered as unprocessed POMC. In this
experiment this amount corresponded to <10% of the total label.
C, The results in B were quantitated, and
the amount of labeled ACTH that was secreted in response to 8-Br-cAMP
during Chase 3 was normalized to the amount of total label that was
recovered in all POMC and POMC-derived peptides. BFA-treated cells were
not responsive to 8-Br-cAMP and exhibited a higher rate of unstimulated
release of ACTH during Chase 3. The data represent the average of two
experiments.
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Very similar results also were obtained when SNF was used as a
secretagogue instead of 8-Br-cAMP (data not shown). In control cells
SNF induced a 3.7-fold stimulation of ACTH secretion above the
unstimulated level. By contrast, SNF elicited only a 1.38-fold of
stimulation from cells chased in the presence of BFA. Together, these
results support the notion that conversion of ISGs from an unregulated
to a regulated exocytotic state requires a BFA-sensitive trafficking event.
The effects of BFA are reversible and occur only during a critical
time window
If BFA exerts its effects on secretory activity by blocking the
VAMP4 pathway, one would expect that the time course of BFA inhibition
on granule maturation would mimic the kinetics of VAMP4 removal. We
therefore have analyzed the time window during which BFA exerts its
effects on the secretory behavior of the granule. Cells were
pulse-labeled and chased for varying periods of time (30 min-3 hr)
before the addition of BFA (Fig. 6). Then
the cells were chased in the presence of BFA for an additional 2 hr,
and their responses to 8-Br-cAMP stimulation were tested. When
cells were chased for 30 min before BFA treatment, subsequent
incubations resulted in granules that were only weakly responsive to
8-Br-cAMP (Fig. 6A, lanes 1-4).
Extending the chase time to 1-2 hr before BFA addition led to a much
higher degree of regulated secretion and depletion of intracellular
ACTH (Fig. 6A, lanes 5-12). A summary of
these experiments is shown in Figure 6B. The addition
of BFA 15-30 min after the pulse label arrested the newly formed ISGs in a state of high unregulated secretion and low responsiveness to
secretagogues. The BFA-sensitive step occurred between 15 and 60 min
after budding of the ISGs from the TGN, a time window that coincided
with the removal of VAMP4 from the regulated pathway (see Fig.
3C). The close correlation in kinetics of VAMP4 removal and
passage of granules through the BFA block suggests that the two events
are interrelated. The finding that BFA added at late times did not
affect the exocytotic response of the granule (Fig. 6) also indicated
that BFA did not exert its effects by blocking regulated exocytosis
directly.

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Figure 6.
Time course of the BFA block to the acquisition of
stimulus-responsiveness by maturing granules. Duplicate cultures of
wild-type cells were pulse-labeled (P) and chased
in DMEM (Chase 1, C1) for increasing periods of time
before BFA addition. Then the cells were chased for 2 hr to allow the
granules to age in the presence of BFA. Their secretory responses were
tested by exposure to 8-Br-cAMP in DMEM for 3 hr in the continued
presence of BFA (Chase 2, C2). A, Cells
were chased for 30 min (lanes 1-4), 1 hr
(lanes 5-8), and 2 hr (lanes 9-12)
before BFA treatment. Lanes 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, Labeled
POMC products secreted during Chase 2 in the absence or presence of
8-Br-cAMP. Lanes 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, Corresponding
extracts from unstimulated or stimulated cells. B, The
response to secretagogues is plotted as a function of the chase time
before BFA addition. The amount of labeled ACTH secreted from
stimulated and unstimulated cells during Chase 2 was quantitated and
expressed as the percentage of labeled ACTH remaining within cells at
the start of Chase 2. Maturing granules passed through the BFA block
within 1 hr of chase. The data represent the average of two
experiments.
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It is possible that BFA induced irreversible changes to the ISG
membrane. We therefore investigated the reversibility of the BFA
effects on ISG membrane maturation (Fig.
7). Cells were pulse-labeled, chased for
15 min to allow ISG formation, and treated with BFA for 2 hr. Then BFA
was washed out of the cells during three subsequent 1 hr chase periods,
after which the secretory responses to 8-Br-cAMP were tested. The rate
of unstimulated release of mature ACTH during BFA treatment was
calculated as the percentage of total label that was secreted per hour
and compared with those during the washout periods. As shown in Figure
7A, secretion of ACTH increased transiently on removal of
BFA, peaking within 1 hr of BFA washout, and then declined to a low
level. Control mock-treated cells showed a very low level of secretion
during the same time period (Fig. 7A). This phasic secretion
after BFA washout is reminiscent of the transient secretion that
normally occurred during 15-60 min of chase (see Fig.
1B). Importantly, stimulus-dependent secretion of
labeled ACTH was observed in BFA washout cells (Fig. 7B).
The addition of 8-Br-cAMP induced a 6.6-fold of stimulated release of
ACTH, compared with 7.3-fold in mock-treated cells. This experiment indicates that the effects of BFA on membrane remodeling are mainly reversible.

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Figure 7.
Reversibility of the effects of BFA on granule
maturation. Duplicate cultures of wild-type cells were pulse-labeled
(P), chased in BFA-free DMEM for 15 min
(C1), and then treated for 2 hr with BFA
(C2). To test for reversibility, we washed BFA out of
the cells during the subsequent three 1 hr chases (C3,
C4, C5). Then regulated secretion was
induced with 8-Br-cAMP for 2.5 hr (C6). The
amount of labeled ACTH that was secreted during each period was
normalized to the total label recovered in all POMC and POMC-derived
peptides and was calculated as the percentage secreted per hour.
A, Unstimulated secretion during BFA treatment
(0-2 hr) and during the washout period (2-3 hr,
3-4 hr, 4-5 hr) is shown for treated cells (right
panel) and compared with control untreated cells
(left panel). On the removal of BFA a surge of
labeled ACTH was secreted. Then this secretory rate rapidly declined to
a low level similar to control cells. B, Stimulated
secretion of labeled ACTH after BFA washout. The amount of labeled ACTH
that was secreted during Chase 6 was normalized to labeled ACTH
remaining within the cells at the start of Chase 6. Granules regained
their ability to undergo regulated exocytosis after washout. The data
represent the average of two experiments.
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Synaptotagmin IV follows the trafficking patterns of VAMP4 and
modulates Ca2+-triggered exocytosis during granule
maturation
The above data suggest that granule membrane maturation may
require the removal of a key inhibitor of
Ca2+-triggered exocytosis from the ISG
membrane. Overexpression of VAMP4 itself had no effect on granule
membrane maturation, nor does it have detectable effects on
constitutive-like secretion or regulated secretion (data not shown).
This suggests that some other component(s) removed along the VAMP4
pathway may modulate Ca2+-triggered
exocytosis. Recently, Syt IV, a
Ca2+-independent member of the
synaptotagmin protein family, was shown to inhibit
Ca2+-triggered exocytosis of synaptic
vesicles by interacting with the calcium-sensing synaptotagmin I
(Littleton et al., 1999 ; Thomas et al., 1999 ). We therefore
investigated whether Syt IV played a role in the maturation of
secretory granules in AtT-20 cells. RT-PCR analysis with
isoform-specific primers demonstrated that a single product of the
correct size for Syt IV was amplified specifically (Fig.
8A, lanes 1, 2). Syt IV immunoreactivity also was detected on purified Golgi
membranes with a polyclonal antiserum specific for rat Syt IV (Fig.
8A, lane 3).

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Figure 8.
Synaptotagmin IV and VAMP4 share a similar
distribution and trafficking pattern in AtT-20 cells. A,
Syt IV is on Golgi membranes in AtT-20 cells. RT-PCR analysis that used
the AtT-20 cDNA library with Syt IV-specific primers showed the
presence of a single reaction product of the correct size (lane
1). Reactions performed in the absence of the template yielded
no product (lane 2). Immunoblot analysis of
Golgi-enriched fractions from a velocity gradient performed on
wild-type AtT-20 cells showed a band with the correct size that was
immunoreactive toward a Syt IV-specific antiserum (lane
3). B, Colocalization of Syt IV and ACTH
immunoreactivity in the Golgi region, but not at process tips
(arrowhead). Cells stably transfected with Syt IV-FLAG
were processed for double immunofluorescence with the anti-FLAG M2
antibody (left panel) and polyclonal ACTH
antibodies (middle panel). The phase
contrast image shows position of neurite and nucleus (right
panel). C, Localization of both Syt IV-FLAG and
FLAG-VAMP4 to ISGs. PNS from stably transfected Syt IV-FLAG or
FLAG-VAMP4 cells were pooled and subjected to velocity sucrose
gradient fractionation. Fractions enriched in ISGs (1, 2) were pooled
and subject to a second equilibrium sucrose gradient fractionation. The
fractions were analyzed by immunoblot analysis with anti-FLAG (to
detect Syt IV and VAMP4) or a monoclonal antibody against rat VAMP2.
The Input lane is equivalent to of total
PNS (10 µg of proteins). Fractions containing peak Syt IV and VAMP4
immunoreactivities coincided with a peak of VAMP2 at 1.13-1.14
gm/cm3 the characteristic density of immature
secretory granules (labeled ISGs). Only VAMP2 was
recovered in mature secretory granule fractions (labeled
MGs) with higher densities (>1.16). For comparison,
fractions from a velocity gradient enriched in MSGs (3, 4) also were
subjected to the same equilibrium gradient centrifugation, and the
resulting fractions were immunoblotted with an anti-Syt I monoclonal
antibody (bottom row). Syt I immunoreactivities were
found in both ISG and MSG fractions. This experiment was repeated twice
with similar results.
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Endogenous Syt IV was expressed at a low level and was not easily
detected by immunofluorescence with anti-rat Syt IV antiserum. To
facilitate localization studies, we attached a FLAG epitope to the C
terminus of this type I membrane protein and isolated an AtT-20 cell
line stably expressing this construct. Immunofluorescence microscopy
with the anti-FLAG M2 antibody shows that Syt IV-FLAG has a
similar staining pattern as VAMP4. Specifically, immunoreactivity was
detected in the Golgi region, which colocalized with POMC, but no
immunoreactivity was observed on mature secretory granules that
accumulated at the tip of neurites (Fig. 8B). In
transfected COS7 cells Syt IV was colocalized with the TGN marker
sialyltransferase (data not shown).
In preliminary studies we found that Syt IV-FLAG on intact membranes
failed to bind to M2 beads and thus could not be used in
immunoisolation experiments. We therefore used the gradient isolation
procedure developed by Tooze et al. (1991) to determine whether Syt IV
also was localized to ISGs. Briefly, Syt IV-FLAG-expressing cells were
mixed with FLAG-VAMP4-expressing cells and fractionated on a velocity
gradient. Pools of fractions from the velocity gradient then were
purified further on an equilibrium gradient that separates MSGs from
ISGs. An example of the equilibrium gradient separation of a
slow-migrating membrane pool (enriched in ISGs) from the velocity
gradient is shown in Figure 8C (top three rows).
Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that both Syt IV-FLAG and FLAG-VAMP4
peaked at the same fractions containing ISGs (equilibrium densities
between 1.13 and 1.14 gm/ml), but they were absent from MSGs
fractionating at higher densities (>1.16). By contrast, when these
same fractions were blotted with an anti-VAMP2 antibody, the endogenous
VAMP2 (a SNARE protein involved in regulated exocytosis of MSGs) was present on both ISGs and MSGs (Fig. 8C, third
row). For comparison, the distribution of endogenous synaptotagmin
I on the equilibrium gradient was examined by using a faster migrating
membrane pool (enriched in MSGs) from the velocity gradient (Fig.
8C, bottom row). The synaptotagmin I immunoreactivities were
found on both ISGs and MSGs, as expected. These data suggest that, like
VAMP4, Syt IV is present on nascent granules but becomes removed during the maturation process.
We reasoned that, if Syt IV indeed inhibits
Ca2+-triggered exocytosis of ISGs, then
overexpression of this protein should perturb the proper acquisition of
Ca2+-triggered exocytosis during
maturation. To control Syt IV expression, we isolated an inducible
AtT-20 cell line that expressed Syt IV-FLAG on butyrate treatment
(Grote and Kelly, 1996 ). Incubation of this cell line with 6 mM butyrate for 12 hr resulted in the specific expression
of a protein reactive to both the FLAG antibody and the Syt IV antibody
(Fig. 9A). Untransfected
wild-type cells expressed much lower levels of Syt IV and showed little
reactivity toward either antibody under these conditions. Wild-type
cells and Syt IV-FLAG cells were induced in the presence of butyrate
for 12 hr. Then the cells were pulse-labeled with
[35S]sulfate for 5 min and chased for an
additional 60 min before being stimulated with SNF. Control cells that
were not subjected to butyrate treatment were processed in parallel for
both cell types. In the absence of butyrate induction both transfected
and untransfected cells showed similar stimulation indexes (Fig.
9B, left bar); the stimulation index of Syt IV-FLAG cells
was 110% of the stimulation index of wild-type cells. By contrast,
when both cell types were treated with butyrate, a significant decrease was seen in regulated secretion from the Syt IV-FLAG cell line as
compared with wild-type cells (Fig. 9B, right bar); the
stimulation index of Syt IV-FLAG cells was 62% of the stimulation
index of wild-type cells. Induction of Syt IV expression had little
effect on constitutive/constitutive-like secretion during the 15-30
min chase, the rate of POMC processing, or POMC staining in the Golgi (data not shown). These data support a model in which Synaptotagmin IV
modulates Ca2+-triggered exocytosis of
maturing secretory granules in AtT-20 cells.

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Figure 9.
Synaptotagmin IV inhibits
Ca2+-triggered exocytosis in AtT-20 cells.
A, Twelve-well dishes containing either wild-type cells
(wt; lanes 1, 2, 5, 6) or
inducible Syt IV-FLAG cells (Syt IV; lanes 3, 4, 7, 8) were treated with 6 mM butyrate
(But) for 12 hr (lanes 2, 4, 6, 8) or
left untreated (lanes 1, 3, 5, 7) before
harvesting with 1× Sample Buffer. Then the samples were subjected to
immunoblot analysis by using either polyclonal antiserum against the
FLAG epitope (lanes 1-4) or polyclonal antiserum
against Syt IV (lanes 5-8). Specific expression of Syt
IV-FLAG is seen only in Syt IV cells that were treated with butyrate
(lanes 4, 8). B, Wild-type cells and Syt
IV cells were induced with butyrate before a 5 min pulse labeling with
[35S]sulfate. Next the cells were chased for 60 min in the continued presence of butyrate, and ACTH secretion was
stimulated by the addition of SNF for 15 min. Control cells were
processed in parallel except that they were not treated with
butyrate. Then the samples were subjected to SDS-PAGE and quantified by
using PhosphorImager analysis. The fold stimulation was determined as
described before, and the percentage of wild-type stimulation was
calculated as the ratio of the fold stimulation of Syt IV cells to that
of wild-type cells. The asterisk indicates
statistically significant differences between wild-type and Syt IV
cells (p = 0.01). Values for
But represent the average of two experiments
(n = 2) and the values for +But
represent the average of four experiments (n = 4).
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DISCUSSION |
The secretory state of ISGs changes as they mature
In this study we show that nascent secretory granules in AtT-20
cells are essentially stimulus-nonresponsive on budding from the TGN.
Stimulus-responsiveness develops only after a crucial maturation
period. At first sight, this appears to be in direct contradiction to
the numerous reports showing that ISGs are stimulus-responsive (Tooze
et al., 1991 ). However, close examination of the literature shows that
there is a quantitative difference in stimulus-dependent secretion on
granule maturation in all systems. In PC-12 cells the
secretion of [35S]sulfate-labeled
secretogranin II in response to a depolarizing stimulus was
three- to fourfold at 30 min of chase but increased to >30-fold at 4 hr of chase (Tooze et al., 1991 ). In the rat exocrine pancreas the
secretion of [35S]methionine-labeled
proteins in response to carbachol stimulation was approximately
threefold at 30-60 min but increased to >10-fold after 2 hr (Arvan
and Castle, 1987 ). Likewise, the stimulated release of
[35S]methionine-labeled peptidylglycine
-amidating monooxygenase, PAM-3, from AtT-20 cells increased from
approximately twofold at 1 hr to approximately eightfold at 4 hr
(Milgram et al., 1994 ). Although these studies cannot be compared
quantitatively because of the use of different radiolabels (and hence
cellular sites of incorporation) and secretagogues, a similar
qualitative trend was found in all systems. However, the basis for the
time-dependent increase in stimulation index was not investigated in
these previous studies.
In our study we have established first that the increase in stimulation
index corresponds to a period of granule maturation. This conclusion is
based on the fact that transport of POMC from the TGN to ISGs takes
place quickly (t1/2 ~3 min;
Fernandez et al., 1997 ), whereas changes in stimulation index occur
significantly later, between 15 min to 1 hr of chase (see Fig. 1). One
possible explanation is that the presence of constitutive-like vesicles (exhibiting characteristics of constitutive secretion) might have lowered the apparent "stimulation index." With increasing chase time periods this pool diminishes, but the granule pool remains; this
could result in an increase in the apparent stimulation index. The
experiments with BFA, however, do not support this explanation. BFA
reduces secretion from constitutive-like vesicles to 30-50% of the
control levels (De Lisle et al., 1996 ; Fernandez et al., 1997 ) (see
Fig. 5A,B, lanes 1, 2), but it does not affect
regulated exocytosis of MSGs (see Fig. 6A,
lanes 9-12). If the above explanation were correct, one
would expect the overall stimulation index to increase on BFA
treatment. On the contrary, we found that BFA dramatically reduced the
stimulation index from 5.72 to 0.94 (see Fig. 5C). An
alternative model we prefer is that granule maturation involves an
actual change in the fusion characteristics of granules. Newly formed
ISGs contain a mixture of vesicle trafficking proteins that confer on
them an intermediate behavior between those of constitutive and
regulated vesicles: secretion from these granules exhibits a lower
stimulation index than bona fide regulated granules and a high basal
secretory rate reminiscent of constitutive vesicles. A key aspect of
granule maturation, then, is further sorting of these vesicle
trafficking proteins from the ISG membrane. Such modifications are
crucial in the production of granules that exhibit tight regulation by secretagogues.
The VAMP4 pathway and its relationship to granule
membrane remodeling
One line of evidence supporting our model is that BFA inhibits
granule membrane remodeling and locks the granules in a
stimulus-insensitive secretory state (see Fig. 5). On washout of BFA,
normal remodeling resumes and the granules become stimulus-responsive
(see Fig. 7). Because BFA inhibits ARF exchange activities (Peyroche et al., 1999 ), these data suggest that granule membrane remodeling involves an ARF-mediated sorting pathway. In further support of this
model, we have found that the vesicle trafficking protein VAMP4 is
sorted from the ISG membrane in a BFA-sensitive manner (see Fig. 4).
Moreover, the kinetics of BFA-sensitive maturation of the exocytotic
behavior of granules (see Fig. 6) closely paralleled the kinetics of
BFA-sensitive removal of VAMP4 from the ISG (see Fig.
3C) both showing t1/2
~30 min. The simplest explanation for our data is that VAMP4 provides
a marker for the sorting pathway that is critical for remodeling the
secretory response of the granule. Our observation of a VAMP4 sorting
pathway from the ISG is unlikely an overexpression artifact. Because of
limitations of reagents that are usable for immunoisolation
experiments, we could analyze only the trafficking of exogenous
FLAG-VAMP4 protein that was expressed at an approximately fivefold
higher level than the endogenous protein (see Fig.
2B). However, recent immunoelectron microscopic
studies have shown that endogenous VAMP4 immunoreactivity in PC-12
cells was found on ISGs in addition to the TGN and endosomes (Steegmaier et al., 1999 ), consistent with our immunoisolation studies
of exogenous FLAG-VAMP4 in AtT-20 cells. At present it is unknown
whether constitutive-like secretion and granule membrane remodeling
result from the same or a different trafficking event and what role
VAMP4 plays in these processes.
It should be noted that, although nascent secretory granules exhibit
properties reminiscent of constitutive vesicles, they are not bona fide
constitutive carriers. The half-time for constitutive secretion of GAG
chains from the TGN to the cell surface is ~30 min or ~2% secreted
per minute (Fernandez et al., 1997 ). If granules aged in BFA behave as
true constitutive carriers, their contents would be secreted rapidly
and virtually nothing would remain in the cells after 6 hr of chase.
This is clearly not the case (see Fig. 5B, lanes
7-10). Instead, the unstimulated rate of ACTH secretion from
BFA-treated cells was significantly slower than constitutive secretion,
estimated to be ~0.1% per min.
Synaptotagmin IV inhibits
Ca2+-triggered exocytosis
Our studies have uncovered a key step during secretory granule
biogenesis that involves membrane sorting along the VAMP4 pathway. Because remodeling results in an increase in the exocytotic response of
granules to Ca2+, an attractive hypothesis
is that a key inhibitor of Ca2+-triggered
exocytosis is removed from the granule membrane during this process.
One candidate for this inhibitor is Syt IV, which recently has been
shown to inhibit Ca2+-triggered exocytosis
of synaptic vesicles in neurons as well as in PC-12 cells (Littleton et
al., 1999 ; Thomas et al., 1999 ). In support of this model we find that
Syt IV is expressed in AtT-20 cells and has a trafficking pattern
identical to VAMP4. Specifically, Synaptotagmin IV is found on the
Golgi and ISGs, but not on the mature granule, suggesting removal of
this protein during maturation (see Fig. 8). Furthermore,
overexpression of Syt IV during maturation reduces the ability of
granules to respond to SNF by ~40-50% (see Fig. 9) similar to what
is seen with BFA (~60% inhibition of SNF response; see Interference
of the VAMP4 Pathway in Results). Taken together, these data suggest
that removal of Syt IV via the VAMP4 pathway is a key step in the
biogenesis of Ca2+-responsive secretory
granules in AtT-20 cells. A working model for our findings is shown in
Figure 10.

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|
Figure 10.
Shown is a working model for granule membrane
remodeling during maturation (see Discussion).
|
|
Recently, Ibata et al. (2000) examined the subcellular distribution of
Syt IV in PC12 cells and cultured hippocampal neurons and found that
Syt IV was localized to the Golgi and the tips of neurites. However, in
contrast to the studies of Thomas et al. (1999) , they found that Syt IV
signals were not colocalized well with Syt I. Our finding that Syt IV
is present on ISGs, but not Syt I-containing MSGs in AtT-20 cells (see
Fig. 8C), is consistent with the results of Ibata et al.
(2000) . Because the Syt IV mRNA level is upregulated during perinatal
development and by depolarization, our data raised an interesting
possibility that Syt IV-containing ISGs may play a role in synaptic
growth during neuronal development and/or induction of synaptic plasticity.
Comparison with other systems
As discussed above, granule maturation generally involves an
increase in the stimulation index. There are, however, significant differences among cell types. In AtT-20 cells we observed a period between 15 and 30 min of chase during which very little regulated exocytosis could be induced from ISGs (see Fig. 1A).
In PC-12 and pancreatic islet cells, regulated exocytosis could be
detected as early as 10 min after vesicle budding from the TGN (Tooze
et al., 1991 ; Kuliawat and Arvan, 1992 ). These differences may reflect differences in membrane trafficking patterns because of differing physiological demands. For instance, most tumor cells exhibit a
relatively high level of constitutive and constitutive-like secretion:
~50% of pulse-labeled POMC was secreted from AtT-20 cells via the
constitutive and the constitutive-like pathway (Fernandez et al.,
1997 ), compared with <10% for secretogranin II in PC-12 cells or
proinsulin in islet cells (Tooze et al., 1991 ; Kuliawat and Arvan,
1992 ). Upregulation of the constitutive-like pathway may provide a
useful mechanism for tumors to enhance their secretion and stimulate
cell growth in an autocrine manner. In this regard it is interesting to
note that VAMP4 contains an acidic dileucine motif and an acidic
cluster motif at its N terminus, both of which are potential
phosphorylation sites. The presence of these motifs also suggests that
VAMP4 may be removed from the ISGs via an AP3 or PACS-mediated (Molloy
et al., 1998 ) mechanism. A better understanding of these trafficking
steps during granule maturation will help to elucidate how they are
regulated dynamically in different physiological states.
In summary, we have identified a pathway that functions to remove an
inhibitor of Ca2+-triggered exocytosis
during the maturation of secretory granules. Our identification of
VAMP4 as a marker of this sorting pathway should facilitate the future
study of granule membrane remodeling and its dynamic regulation in
different physiological states.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
Received May 30, 2000; revised July 18, 2000; accepted July 19, 2000.
This work was supported by grants from the Public Health Service (GM
35239), National Science Foundation (MCB-9983342), University of
California Cancer Research Coordinating Committee, and University of
California Faculty Research Grant (to H.-P.M.); a postdoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association (to M.H.); Molecular Cell Biology Predoctoral Training Grant (to B.A.E. and D.L.); and
Cancer Research Lab Training Grant (to B.A.E.). We thank Dr. Harvey
Herschman for the generous gift of the anti-synaptotagmin IV
antibodies, and we thank members of the Moore lab for helpful discussion.
Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Hsiao-Ping Moore, Department
of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley,
142 Life Sciences Addition #3200, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200. E-mail:
hpmoore{at}uclink4.berkeley.edu.
Dr. Eaton's present address: Department of Biochemistry Biophysics,
University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143.
Dr. Haugwitz's present address: Clontech, 1020 East Meadow Circle,
Palo Alto, CA 94303.
 |
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