Epithelia Polarity and Protein Trafficking Flashcards
What is polarity?
A difference in structure, composition or function between the two poles of a cell, such as apical/basolateral in an epithelial cell, axon/dendrites in a neuron.
In epithelial cells this also means location of a protein in a specific location (e.g., apical or basolateral) in the cellular membrane.
Are all cells polar?
Yes
What are the two distinct domains that epithelial cells develop?
Apical domain
Basolaterial domain
What are the steps taken to establish polarised epithelium?
1) Interactions between neighbouring cells and between cells and basement membrane
2) Adherens junctions form
3) Activation of small GTP proteins to form polarity complexes.
4) Formation of tight junctions
5) Positioning of the three protein polarity complexes (PAR / CRB / SCRIB)
What connects cells to basal lamina?
Hemidesmosomes
What is cell-cell interaction between?
Tight Junctions, Adherens Junction and Desmosomes
What occurs in order for the epithelial cells to form epithelium (e.g., during wound healing)?
Stem cells divide - new cells form contract with basal lamina though hemidesmosomes - then new cells form intercellular connections with neighbouring epithelial cells, helping to form an enlarged epithelium/fill gap.
What does the formation of adheren junctions initiate?
Epithelia formation
What makes the initial cell to cell contact in the formation of adherens junctions?
Nectin proteins
What does two e-cadherins on neighbouring cells form?
homodimer
What does the formation of a homodimer require?
Ca2+
What does the cytoplasmic tail of E-cadherin bind to?
Alpha Catenin
What links E-cadherin to actin cytoskeleton?
Alpha catenin
What does alpha catenin link to and what does the link form?
Alpha catenin links E-cadherin to actin cytoskeleton and also links nectin and cadherin complexes.
What are the small GTP binding proteins?
cdc42 and RAC1
what does aPKC do?
initiate enzyme activating and can phosphorylate target proteins
What are the three polarity complexes?
PAR (Partitioning defective)
CRB (Crumbs proteins)
SCRIB (Scribble proteins)
What are the three functions of a tight junction?
Barrier
Gate
Fence
What do tight junction components recruit?
Polarity protein complexes (PAR, CRB, SCRIB)
What is the position of PAR complex?
Apical near TJ
What is the positioning of the CRB complex?
Apical near TJ
What is the positioning of the SCRIB complex?
basolateral
What does the positioning of the protein polarity complexes create?
Polar epithelium
What has to be pulled apart for cell division?
Polarity complexes (then they are reformed so they have to be able to change rapidly)
If you inhibit the PAR complex what happens?
TJ falls apart
What does transcription of Snail, Zeb and Twist cause?
Reduction of Claudius, occludins and JAMS
What is Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT)?
The transition from high differentiated cells (epithelium) to undifferentiated cells (mesenchymals).
The epithelial–mesenchymal transition is a process by which epithelial cells lose their cell polarity and cell–cell adhesion, and gain migratory and invasive properties to become mesenchymal stem cells; these are multipotent stromal cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types. EMT is the process that causes cancer metastasis.
Do polarity complexes play a role in EMT?
Yes
What does TGF-beta bind to?
TGF receptor
What two things happen when TGF-beta binds to the TGF receptor?
Activation of SMAD proteins (transcription factor)
and
Downregulation of PAR complex
What does the activation of SMAD proteins cause?
Down-regulation of E-cadherin, occludins, ZOs and claudins
What two things cause EMT?
Down-regualtion of PAR complex and down-regualtion of E-cadherin, occludins, ZOs and claudins
What four things does a mutation in polarity complex proteins cause?
1) Decreased formation or lack of tight junctions so barrier, gate and fence function compromised
2) changes in cell-cell adhesion and cell movement
3) changes in location of apical and basolateral proteins
4) cancer
What happens when epithelia are fully polarised with AJ and TJ ?
inhibit cell division pathway and promotes differentiation (epithelia takes on specialised function)
Trafficking requires proteins that are…
In the right place and right form/orientation
What is meant by the topology of plasma membrane proteins?
The orientation with respect to the membrane
What alters protein trafficking pathways by increasing or reducing cell surface population disrupting ion transport and physiology?
Genetic polymorphisms or mutations
In Liddle’s syndrome ENaC endocytosis is inhibited causing what?
Severe hypertension
When is caused by very little deltaF508-CFTR reaching the apical membrane?
CF (cystic fibrosis)
What occurs in the ER?
production/protein synthesis
What occurs in the Golgi apparatus?
“post office” - proteins received from the ER are further processed and sorted for transport to their eventual destinations.
What is a hydrophobic signal sequence?
A particualr sequence (amino acid address label) that determines where a protein goes.
What do proteins in the secretory pathway contain to ensure they are taken to the correct location?
A hydrophobic signal sequence located at the N-terminus or further into the protein
What is the address label of proteins localised in the ER?
“KDEL”. Standing for lysine/aspartic acid/glutamic acid/leucine
Where can address labels send proteins?
Nucleus
ER
Mitochondria
Lysosomes
Peroxisome
What directs proteins to the ER?
Hydrophobic signal sequence
How does a hydrophobic signal sequence direct a protein to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for secretion out of the cell?
1) Protein Synthesis Begins: Translation starts at the ribosome, which produces the protein. The first part of this protein contains a signal sequence.
2) Signal Sequence Recognition: The signal sequence, typically a hydrophobic segment, is recognized by the signal recognition particle (SRP). The SRP binds to the signal sequence and temporarily halts further translation.
3) Targeting to the ER: The SRP then guides the ribosome-protein complex to the ER membrane, where it binds to the SRP receptor.
4) Translocation into the ER: Once docked, the ribosome is transferred to a protein channel called a translocon in the ER membrane. The SRP is released, and protein synthesis resumes, with the growing polypeptide being threaded through the translocon into the ER lumen.
5) Signal Sequence Cleavage: As the protein enters the ER, the signal sequence is cleaved off by a signal peptidase.
6) Protein Maturation and Completion: The protein continues to be synthesized and enters the ER lumen, where it may undergo additional folding, modification, and maturation. Once synthesis is complete, the ribosome dissociates.
7) Final Protein Processing: The cleaved signal sequence is degraded, and the mature protein is prepared for eventual secretion out of the cell.
Where is the N-terminus?
Extracellular (ER)
Where is the C-terminus?
Intracellular (cytosol)
How many transmembrane domains does the Na+/K+-ATPase alpha subunit have?
10
How many transmembrane domains does the CFTR have?
12
What type of environment is provided by a tranlocon?
Hydrophobic
What is the difference between the hydrophobic regions of a protein with 1 and 2 transmembrane domains?
In a protein with 2 transmembrane domains the start-transfer sequence is not cleaved off
What is the common feature between ENaC, CFTR and Na+K+-ATPase?
All glycosylated (N-linked) - means the addition of a sugar
What is the benefit of N-linked glycoslylation/addition of sugars?
Aids protein folding and stability
Allows ENaC to interact with extracellular matrix
What are the abnormalities in glycosylation linked to?
Cancer and Rheumatoid arthritis
What are the post translational modification in the ER?
N-linked Glycosylation
Addition of GPI anchors
Folding and assembly
What can glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) replace?
They may replace transmembrane domains