Abstract
GTPases and lipid kinases regulate membrane traffic along the endocytic pathway by mechanisms that are not completely understood1,2,3,4. Fusion between early endosomes requires phosphatidyl-inositol-3-OH kinase (PI(3)K) activity5,6,7 as well as the small GTPase Rab5 (ref. 8). Excess Rab5–GTP complex restores endosome fusion when PI(3)K is inhibited5,9. Here we identify the early-endosomal autoantigen EEA1 (10–12) which binds the PI(3)K product phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate, as a new Rab5 effector that is required for endosome fusion. The association of EEA1 with the endosomal membrane requires Rab5–GTP and PI(3)K activity, and excess Rab5–GTP stabilizes the membrane association of EEA1 even when PI(3)K is inhibited. The identification of EEA1 as a direct Rab5 effector provides a molecular link between PI(3)K and Rab5, and its restricted distribution to early endosomes10 indicates that EEA1 may confer directionality to Rab5-dependent endocytic transport.
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Acknowledgements
We thank E. Rønning for technical assistance; D. Warren for help with the baculovirus system; N. Salmon and T. Nordeng for help with confocal microscopy; V. Rybin for providing the Rab5D136N–Rep1 complex; E. Kolpakova for anti-MBP antibodies; and H. McBride, S. Olsnes, K.Sandvig and B. Sönnichsen for comments on the manuscript. H.S. was supported by the Top Research Programme, the Research Council of Norway, the Norwegian Cancer Society and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. This work was supported by a European Community TMR grant (to H.S. and M.Z.).
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Simonsen, A., Lippe, R., Christoforidis, S. et al. EEA1 links PI(3)K function to Rab5 regulation of endosome fusion. Nature 394, 494–498 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/28879
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/28879
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