Abstract
IN epithelial Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells newly synthesized molecules are sorted in the trans-Golgi network and directly delivered to their apical and basolateral surface destinations1. Sorting is mediated by signals in the cytoplasmic domains of basolateral transmembrane proteins2–4 whereas gly-cosylphosphatidylinositol-linked proteins have apical sorting information in their glycolipid tails5,6. Signals for apical transmembrane proteins are thought to reside in their ectodomains, because truncated forms lacking the cytoplasmic tail and the membrane anchor are secreted apically7,8. Here we demonstrate that carbohydrates act as an apical targeting signal for secretory proteins. Growth hormone, which is non-glycosylated and secreted from both sides of MDCK cell layers9, is secreted from the apical side when gly-cosylated. Thus glycans not only play a general role in protein folding10 but also appear to function in protein sorting in biosynthetic traffic.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Wandinger-Ness, A., Bennet, M. K., Antony, C. & Simons, K. J. Cell Biol. 111, 987–1000 (1990).
Hunziker, W., Harter, C., Matter, K. & Mellman, I. Cell 66, 1–20 (1991).
Mostov, K. E., Harris, J. M. & Breitfeld, P. P. J. Cell Biol. 105, 2031–2036 (1987).
Matter, K. & Mellman, I. Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 6, 545–554 (1994).
Brown, D. A., Crise, B. & Rose, J. K. Science 245, 1499–1501 (1989).
Lisanti, M. P., Caras, I. W., Davitz, M. A. & Rodriguez-Boulan, E. J. Cell Biol. 109, 2145–2156 (1989).
Corbeil, D., Boileau, G., Lemay, G. & Crine, P. J. biol. Chem. 267, 2798–2801 (1992).
Vogel, L. K., Spiess, M., Sjöström, H. & Norén, O. J. biol. Chem. 267, 2794–2797 (1992).
Gottlieb, T. A. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 2100–2104 (1986).
Helenius, A. Molec. Biol. Cell 5, 253–265 (1994).
Green, R. F., Meiss, H. K. & Rodriguez-Boulan, E. J. J. Cell Biol. 89, 230–239 (1981).
Urban, J., Parczyk, K., Leutz, A., Kayne, M. & Kondor-Koch, C. J. Cell Biol. 105, 2735–2743 (1987).
Guan, J.-L., Machamer, C. E. & Rose, J. K. Cell 42, 489–496 (1985).
Balcarova-Ständer, J., Pfeiffer, S. E., Fuller, S. D. & Simons, K. EMBO J. 3, 2687–2694 (1984).
Kondor-Koch, C. B., Bravo, R., Fuller, S. D., Cutler, D. & Garoff, H. Cell 43, 297–306 (1985).
Cunningham, B. C., Mulkerrin, M. G. & Wells, J. A. Science 253, 545–548 (1991).
Chanat, E. & Huttner, W. B. J. Cell Biol. 115, 1505–1519 (1991).
Gonzalez, A., Nicovani, S. & Juica, F. J. biol. Chem. 268, 6662–6667 (1993).
Fiedler, K. & Simons, K. Cell 81, 1–20 (1995).
Musto, N. A. Expl Cell Res. 209, 271–276 (1993).
Kitagawa, Y. et al. Expl Cell Res. 213, 449–457 (1994).
Vogel, L. K., Suske, G., Beato, M., Norén, O. & Sjöström, H. FEBS Lett. 330, 293–296 (1993).
Meiss, H. K., Green, R. F. & Rodriguez-Boulan, E., Molec. cell. Biol. 2, 1287–1294 (1982).
Wagner, M., Morgans, C. & Koch-Brandt, C. Eur. J. Cell Biol. 67, 84–88 (1995).
Fiedler, K., Parton, R. G., Kellner, R., Etzold, T. & Simons, K. EMBO J. 13, 1729–1740 (1994).
Caplan, M. J. et al. Nature 329, 632–635 (1987).
Ragno, P. et al. Expl Cell Res. 203, 236–243 (1992).
Rodriguez-Boulan, E. & Powell, S. K. A. Rev. Cell Biol. 8, 395–427 (1992).
Casanova, J. E., Breitfeld, P. P., Ross, S. A. & Mostov, K. E. Science 248, 742–745 (1990).
Miller, A. D. & Rosman, G. M. Biotechniques 7, 980–990 (1989).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Scheiffele, P., Peränen, J. & Simons, K. N-glycans as apical sorting signals in epithelial cells. Nature 378, 96–98 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/378096a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/378096a0
This article is cited by
-
Neonatal Fc receptor is involved in the protection of fibrinogen after its intake in peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Journal of Translational Medicine (2018)
-
Organization and execution of the epithelial polarity programme
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology (2014)
-
The many routes of Golgi-dependent trafficking
Histochemistry and Cell Biology (2013)
-
Polarized sorting and trafficking in epithelial cells
Cell Research (2012)
-
Agonists that Increase [Ca2+]i Halt the Movement of Acidic Cytoplasmic Vesicles in MDCK Cells
The Journal of Membrane Biology (2011)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.