Characterization of the MAL2-positive compartment in oligodendrocytes

Exp Cell Res. 2009 Nov 15;315(19):3453-65. doi: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2009.08.003. Epub 2009 Aug 13.

Abstract

Oligodendrocytes (OLs), the myelin-producing cells of the central nervous system, segregate different surface subdomains at the plasma membrane as do other differentiated cells such as polarized epithelia and neurons. To generate the complex membrane system that characterizes myelinating OLs, large amounts of membrane proteins and lipids need to be synthesized and correctly targeted. In polarized epithelia, a considerable fraction of apical proteins are transported by an indirect pathway involving a detour to the basolateral membrane before being internalized and transported across the cell to the apical membrane by a process known as transcytosis. The apical recycling endosome (ARE) or its equivalent, the subapical compartment (SAC), of hepatocytes is an intracellular trafficking station involved in the transcytotic pathway. MAL2, an essential component of the machinery for basolateral-to-apical transcytosis, is an ARE/SAC resident protein. Here, we show that, after differentiation, murine oligodendrocyte precursor and human oligodendroglioma derived cell lines, Oli-neu and HOG, respectively, up-regulate the expression of MAL2 and accumulate it in an intracellular compartment, exhibiting a peri-centrosomal localization. In these oligodendrocytic cell lines, this compartment shares some of the main features of the ARE/SAC, such as colocalization with Rab11a, sensitivity to disruption of the microtubule cytoskeleton with nocodazole, and lack of internalized transferrin. Therefore, we suggest that the MAL2-positive compartment in oligodendrocytic cells could be a structure analogous to the ARE/SAC and might have an important role in the sorting of proteins and lipids for myelin assembly during oligodendrocyte differentiation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Polarity
  • Humans
  • Membrane Proteins / analysis*
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics
  • Mice
  • Myelin Sheath
  • Myelin and Lymphocyte-Associated Proteolipid Proteins
  • Oligodendroglia / chemistry*
  • Oligodendroglia / cytology
  • Oligodendroglioma / chemistry*
  • Oligodendroglioma / pathology
  • Protein Transport
  • Proteolipids / analysis*
  • Proteolipids / genetics
  • Up-Regulation
  • Vesicular Transport Proteins / analysis*
  • Vesicular Transport Proteins / genetics

Substances

  • MAL2 protein, human
  • MAL2 protein, mouse
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Myelin and Lymphocyte-Associated Proteolipid Proteins
  • Proteolipids
  • Vesicular Transport Proteins