Unfolding of newly made retinol-binding protein by dithiothreitol. Sensitivity to retinoids

Maternal Inheritance of a Recessive RBP4 Defect in Canine Congenital Eye Disease

Maternally skewed transmission of traits has been associated with genomic imprinting and oocyte-derived mRNA. We report canine congenital eye malformations, caused by an amino acid deletion (K12del) near the N terminus of retinol-binding protein (RBP4). The disease is only expressed when both dam and offspring are deletion homozygotes. RBP carries vitamin A (retinol) from hepatic stores to peripheral tissues, including the placenta and developing eye, where it is required to synthesize retinoic acid. Gestational vitamin A deficiency is a known risk factor for ocular birth defects. The K12del mutation disrupts RBP folding in vivo, decreasing its secretion from hepatocytes to serum. The maternal penetrance effect arises from an impairment in the sequential transfer of retinol across the placenta, via RBP encoded by maternal and fetal genomes. Our results demonstrate a mode of recessive maternal inheritance, with a physiological basis, and they extend previous observations on dominant-negative RBP4 alleles in humans.

Lecithin:retinol acyltransferase is critical for cellular uptake of vitamin A from serum retinol-binding protein

Vitamin A (all-trans-retinol) must be adequately distributed within the mammalian body to produce visual chromophore in the eyes and all-trans-retinoic acid in other tissues. Vitamin A is transported in the blood bound to retinol-binding protein (holo-RBP), and its target cells express an RBP receptor encoded by the Stra6 (stimulated by retinoic acid 6) gene. Here we show in mice that cellular uptake of vitamin A from holo-RBP depends on functional coupling of STRA6 with intracellular lecithin:retinol acyltransferase (LRAT). Thus, vitamin A uptake from recombinant holo-RBP exhibited by wild type mice was impaired in Lrat(-/-) mice. We further provide evidence that vitamin A uptake is regulated by all-trans-retinoic acid in non-ocular tissues of mice. When in excess, vitamin A was rapidly taken up and converted to its inert ester form in peripheral tissues, such as lung, whereas in vitamin A deficiency, ocular retinoid uptake was favored. Finally, we show that the drug fenretinide, used clinically to presumably lower blood RBP levels and thus decrease circulating retinol, targets the functional coupling of STRA6 and LRAT to increase cellular vitamin A uptake in peripheral tissues. These studies provide mechanistic insights into how vitamin A is distributed to peripheral tissues in a regulated manner and identify LRAT as a critical component of this process.

Minimally stable nanoparticle-based colorimetric assay for simple, rapid, and sensitive antibody structure and activity evaluation

A gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric antibody structure and activity evaluation method is developed without using complicated and expensive instrumentation. In this assay, a minimum number of antibodies to stabilize nanoparticles are conjugated to gold nanoparticles to prepare minimally stable nanoparticle probes, and the addition of salt rapidly induced particle aggregation and a color change of the solution from red to blue (25-min assay time). It is found that the solution color change is affected by the degree of structural denaturation of antibodies, and the conformational change of antibodies affects the modification of antibodies to nanoparticles and particle stability. Importantly, the colorimetric method can be applied to different types of antibodies (IgG, IgA, and IgM) and it shows comparable or better structural sensitivity than conventional circular dichroism spectroscopy. Moreover, immunoassay results show that these structural changes of antibodies are highly correlated with their antigen-binding activities. Rapid particle aggregation and high structural sensitivity are achieved in this assay because particles are modified with a minimum number of antibodies to stabilize particles in solution. This nanoparticle-based colorimetric method could be useful in evaluating the structural and activity changes of an array of antibodies in an easy, rapid, and sensitive manner.

Oxidative folding and assembly with transthyretin are sequential events in the biogenesis of retinol binding protein in the endoplasmic reticulum

Retinol-binding protein (RBP) is secreted out of the cell in its ligand-bound holo-form. The apo-form of RBP is selectively retained within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by a mechanism that remains unknown. Using isolated microsomal system, we have recapitulated the biogenesis of RBP involving its oxidative folding and assembly with transthyretin in the ER. In addition to dissecting its pathway of disulfide oxidation, we have analyzed association of its early folding intermediates with ER-chaperones. Our results show that of the three intramolecular disulfides present in RBP (4-160, 70-174, and 120-129) the smallest loop (120-129) was most critical for RBP to fold. Its absence caused RBP to aggregate into an intermolecular disulfide-linked structure. After acquisition of the small loop, formation of one of the two big disulfides (4-160 or 70-174) was sufficient for RBP to acquire a folded state. Using cross-linking in intact microsomes and sedimentation on sucrose gradients, we show that newly synthesized RBP is associated with a complex of chaperones consisting of Grp94, BiP, PDI, and calnexin. The complex was constitutively present in the ER, independent of the presence of folding substrates. RBP dissociated from this complex coincident with the formation of one of the two big disulfide loops, whereas RBP mutant lacking both the large disulfides showed persistent association. While highlighting the matrix-like characteristics of ER in isolated microsomal system our results provide insight into RBP folding and assembly mechanisms that will aid our understanding of its complex secretion properties.

Lipocalins - a family portrait

Lipocalins are a widely distributed group of proteins whose common feature is the presence of six-or eight-stranded beta-barrel in their tertiary structure and highly conservative motifs short conserved region, (SCR) in their amino acid sequences. The presence of three SCRs is typical for kernel lipocalins, while outlier lipocalins have only one or two such regions. Owing to their ability to bind and transport small, hydrophobic molecules, lipocalins participate in the distribution of such substances. However, the physiological significance of lipocalins is not limited to transfer processes. They play an important role in the regulation of immunological and developmental processes, and are also involved in the reactions of organisms to various stress factors and in the pathways of signal transduction. Of special interest is the enzymatic activity found in a few members of the lipocalin family, as well as the interaction with natural membranes, both directly with lipids and through membrane-localized protein receptors.

Folding and dimerization of hepatitis C virus E1 and E2 glycoproteins in stably transfected CHO cells

The recombinant E1E2 heterodimer of the hepatitis C virus is a candidate for a subunit vaccine. Folding analysis of E1 and E2 glycoproteins, stably expressed in CHO cells, showed that E1 folding was faster and more efficient than E2. The oxidized DTT-resistant conformation of E1 was completed within 2 h post-synthesis, while E2 not only required up to 6 h but also generated non-native species. Calnexin was found to assist E1 folding, whereas no chaperone association was found with E2. The assembly of E1 and E2 was assessed by co-immunoprecipitation and sedimentation velocity analysis. We found that the formation of native E1E2 heterodimers paralleled E2 oxidation kinetics, suggesting that E2 completed its folding process after association with E1. Once formed, sedimentation of the native E1E2 heterodimers was consistent with the absence of additional associated factors. Taken together, our data strongly suggest that productive folding of the major HCV spike protein E2 is assisted by E1.

Regulation of hepatic retinol metabolism: perspectives from studies on vitamin A status

Liver vitamin A (retinol) is obtained from several sources and is subject to multiple fates. Lecithin:retinol acyltransferase (LRAT), a microsomal enzyme present in liver and several other retinol-metabolizing tissues, esterifies retinol that is associated with a cellular retinol-binding protein, CRBP or CRBP-II. Recent research has shown that LRAT mRNA expression and enzyme activity are regulated in a tissue-specific manner. In vitamin A-deficient liver, both LRAT mRNA and activity are significantly down-regulated as well as rapidly induced after the administration of vitamin A or its principal hormonal metabolite, retinoic acid (RA). In long-term feeding studies and the metabolic steady state, liver LRAT is expressed dose-dependently across a wide range of dietary vitamin A. Additionally, an RA-inducible cytochrome P450, P450RAI or CYP26, is down-regulated in liver during vitamin A deficiency and up-regulated dose-dependently by dietary vitamin A and exogenous RA. Based on these results, we propose that LRAT and CYP26 serve as two molecular mechanisms, coordinately regulated by all-trans-RA, to control the availability of retinol and RA, respectively. The LRAT reaction, besides providing a readily retrievable storage form of vitamin A, may regulate the availability of retinol to other pathways, while the CYP26 reaction may serve to prevent a detrimental "overshoot" of RA concentration. Moreover, retinoid metabolism in the liver is likely to be closely integrated with that in peripheral tissues through the rapid interorgan transfer and recycling of retinoids, affecting the whole-body economy of vitamin A.

Retinoid production and catabolism: role of diet in regulating retinol esterification and retinoic Acid oxidation

Retinoic acid (RA), a transcriptionally active metabolite of vitamin A (retinol), activates two families of nuclear retinoid receptors that have the potential to regulate the expression of a large number of genes. Although it may be presumed that the concentration of RA is closely regulated, the mechanisms underlying such regulation are not well understood. Our research has examined the expression and function of two enzymes, lecithin:retinol acyltransferase (LRAT) and a cytochrome P450, CYP26, in the liver and lung of rats and mice, over a wide range of vitamin A status or after treatment of vitamin A-deficient animals with exogenous RA. LRAT expression at both the mRNA and protein activity levels and CYP26 mRNA are regulated by dietary vitamin A in a steady-state model and are acutely regulated by RA in an acute repletion model. In the liver, the level of expression of LRAT and CYP26 is as follows: vitamin A deficient < vitamin A marginal < vitamin A adequate < vitamin A supplemented < RA treated. The regulation of LRAT shows strong tissue specificity (highly regulated in liver and lung but not in small intestine), whereas CYP26 is strongly regulated in the liver, lung, testis and intestine. RA may function as a signal of the body's vitamin A adequacy. The regulated expression of LRAT, CYP26 and other genes by RA may provide a sensitive response mechanism that overall serves to adjust the metabolism of vitamin A to maintain retinoid homeostasis and prevent retinoid excess.

Role of conserved residues in structure and stability: tryptophans of human serum retinol-binding protein, a model for the lipocalin superfamily

Serum retinol binding protein (RBP) is a member of the lipocalin family, proteins with up-and-down beta-barrel folds, low levels of sequence identity, and diverse functions. Although tryptophan 24 of RBP is highly conserved among lipocalins, it does not play a direct role in activity. To determine if Trp24 and other conserved residues have roles in stability and/or folding, we investigated the effects of conservative substitutions for the four tryptophans and some adjacent residues on the structure, stability, and spectroscopic properties of apo-RBP. Crystal structures of recombinant human apo-RBP and of a mutant with substitutions for tryptophans 67 and 91 at 1.7 A and 2.0 A resolution, respectively, as well as stability measurements, indicate that these relatively exposed tryptophans have little influence on structure or stability. Although Trp105 is largely buried in the wall of the beta-barrel, it can be replaced with minor effects on stability to thermal and chemical unfolding. In contrast, substitutions of three different amino acids for Trp24 or replacement of Arg139, a conserved residue that interacts with Trp24, lead to similar large losses in stability and lower yields of native protein generated by in vitro folding. The results and the coordinated nature of natural substitutions at these sites support the idea that conserved residues in functionally divergent homologs have roles in stabilizing the native relative to misfolded structures. They also establish conditions for studies of the kinetics of folding and unfolding by identifying spectroscopic signals for monitoring the formation of different substructures.

Disulfide bridge conformers of mature BMP are inhibitors for heterotopic ossification

Heterotopic ossification is a frequent complication in patients who have suffered head and neck traumas or undergone total hip replacement. Heterotopic ossification occurs when osteogenic precursor cells present at the ectopic site receive the necessary signal(s) to differentiate into osteoblasts. At the protein level, the key factors in differentiation of cells to the osteogenic lineage are BMPs. Stable BMP variants derived from the identical amino acid sequence but with different disulfide bridge configurations have been investigated and found to be capable of inhibiting ossification in vitro and in vivo in rodents. These findings provide a concept for the straightforward development of a novel class of BMP antagonists that could lead to new treatments for traumatically and genetically induced heterotopic ossification and also, possibly, for disorders in which other members of the TGF-beta superfamily are involved.

Disruption of disulfide bonds exhibits differential effects on trafficking of regulated secretory proteins

For several secretory proteins, it has been hypothesized that disulfide-bonded loop structures are required for sorting to secretory granules. To explore this hypothesis, we employed dithiothreitol (DTT) treatment in live pancreatic islets, as well as in PC-12 and GH(4)C(1) cells. In islets, disulfide reduction in the distal secretory pathway did not increase constitutive or constitutive-like secretion of proinsulin (or insulin). In PC-12 cells, DTT treatment caused a dramatic increase in unstimulated secretion of newly synthesized chromogranin B (CgB), presumably as a consequence of reducing the single conserved chromogranin disulfide bond (E. Chanat, U. Weiss, W. B. Huttner, and S. A. Tooze. EMBO J. 12: 2159-2168, 1993). However, in GH(4)C(1) cells that also synthesize CgB endogenously, DTT treatment reduced newly synthesized prolactin and blocked its export, whereas newly synthesized CgB was routed normally to secretory granules. Moreover, on transient expression in GH(4)C(1) cells, CgA and a CgA mutant lacking the conserved disulfide bond showed comparable multimeric aggregation properties and targeting to secretory granules, as measured by stimulated secretion assays. Thus the conformational perturbation of regulated secretory proteins caused by disulfide disruption leads to consequences in protein trafficking that are both protein and cell type dependent.

Functional role of cysteine residues in the Na+/H+ exchanger effects of mutation of cysteine residues on targeting and activity of the Na+/H+ exchanger

We investigated the role of cysteine residues in activity and localization of the NHE1 isoform of the Na+/H+ exchanger. Each of the nine cysteine residues was mutated to serine or arginine. Mutation of the first serine (amino acid number 9) and serine number six (amino acid number 477) resulted in dramatic decreases in detectable activity of the Na+/H+ exchanger when transfected into AP-1 cells. Some other mutations resulted in minor decreases in activity of the protein. Confocal and light microscopy of mutant cells with decreased activity showed that the antiporter protein was mostly retained in an intracellular compartment which colocalized with the medial-Golgi cisternae. Smaller amounts of active protein still remained targeted to the plasma membrane in these mutants. Treatment of wild-type cells with DTT also caused the retention of the Na+/H+ exchanger to the same intracellular compartment. The results suggest that cysteines play an important role in intracellular folding and trafficking of the Na+/H+ exchanger.

Retinol-induced secretion of human retinol-binding protein in yeast

Retinol-binding protein (RBP) functions as a transporter for retinol (vitamin A) in plasma in higher eukaryotes. We have successfully expressed human RBP in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and its secretion was found to be induced by retinol also in this lower eukaryote. Reduced induction of secretion by retinol in a temperature-sensitive sec18-1 mutant that is blocked in secretion at the restricted temperature suggests that as in mammalian cells, RBP can be released from the endoplasmic reticulum upon addition of retinol. Thus, the molecular mechanism involved in retinol-dependent secretion of RBP appears to be conserved in yeast, and this points to yeast as a putative model system for studying retinol-regulated secretion of RBP. RBP purified from yeast was found to be indistinguishable from RBP purified from human plasma in several functional assays.

The enzymatic and non-enzymatic roles of protein-disulfide isomerase in apolipoprotein B secretion

Secretion of apolipoprotein B (apoB) from mammalian cells requires the presence of functional microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP). We previously reported that co-expressing the human intestinal form of apoB, B48, with both subunits of human MTP in oleate-treated Sf21 cells led to a dramatic induction of B48 secretion. Deletion mutagenesis studies showed that the cysteine-enriched amino terminus of apoB was necessary for the MTP responsiveness (Gretch, D. G., Sturley, S. L., Wang, L., Dunning, A., Grunwald, K. A. A., Wetterau, J. R., Yao, Z., Talmud, P., and Attie, A. D. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 8682-8691). We therefore hypothesized that the small subunit of MTP, protein-disulfide isomerase (PDI), plays a role in apoB secretion by facilitating correct disulfide bond formation. To determine whether the enzymatic activities of PDI are important for MTP-stimulated apoB secretion, the wild type PDI subunit was replaced with an active site mutant, mPDI (Cys36 --> Ser/Cys380 --> Ser), lacking both disulfide shuffling and redox activities. MTP containing mPDI was fully functional in promoting apoB and triglyceride secretion. Therefore, the shufflase and redox activities of PDI are not necessary for the function of MTP. Since PDI exists in large molar excess over the other subunit of MTP, the role of free PDI (independent of the MTP complex) was investigated. PDI or mPDI was co-expressed with B48 and B17, a fragment encompassing the amino-terminal 17% of apoB. Mutant PDI significantly and specifically reduced the accumulation of the B17 and B48 both intracellularly and in the culture medium. The reduction was partially eliminated by the protease inhibitor N-acetyl-leucyl-leucyl-norleucinal, consistent with rapid co- or post-translational degradation of apoB in the presence of mPDI. Treating the cells with oleate reversed the effect of mPDI on B48 secretion in a dose-dependent manner, but had no effect on B17.

IN CONCLUSION

1) the role of PDI in the MTP complex involves functions other than its known enzymatic activities; 2) one or both of the enzymatic activities of free PDI is/are important for the MTP-independent steps of apoB secretion; 3) oleate can affect apoB secretion at high physiological concentrations and compensate for the insufficiency of PDI activities.

Folding of the amino-terminal domain of apolipoprotein B initiates microsomal triglyceride transfer protein-dependent lipid transfer to nascent very low density lipoprotein

The initial assembly of apolipoprotein B100 (apoB) into lipoprotein particles occurs cotranslationally. To examine steps required to initiate this process, the intracellular folding and assembly of the amino-terminal 28% of apoB (apoB28) was examined using several criteria including nonreducing gel electrophoresis, sensitivity to dithiothreitol (DTT)-mediated reduction, and buoyant density gradient centrifugation. In hepatoma cells, after a 1-min pulse with radiolabeled amino acids, labeled apoB28 migrated during gel electrophoresis in the folded position and was resistant to reduction in vivo with 2 mM DTT. A similar rate and extent of folding was observed in Chinese hamster ovary cells, a microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP)-negative cell line that can neither lipidate nor efficiently secrete apoB28. Amino-terminal folding of apoB28 was essential for its subsequent intracellular lipidation as apoB28 synthesized in hepatoma cells under reducing conditions remained lipid poor (d > 1.25 g/ml) and was retained intracellularly. Upon DTT removal, reduced apoB28 underwent a process of rapid (t1/2 approximately 2 min) post-translational folding followed by a slower process of MTP-dependent lipidation. As with the cotranslational assembly pathway, post-translational lipidation of apoB28 displayed a strict dependence upon amino-terminal folding. We conclude that: 1) folding of the amino-terminal disulfide bonded domain of apoB is achieved prior to the completion of translation and is independent of MTP and events associated with buoyant lipoprotein formation and 2) domain-specific folding of apoBs amino-terminal region is required to initiate MTP-dependent lipid transfer to nascent apoB in the hepatic endoplasmic reticulum.

Intracellular protein transport to the thyrocyte plasma membrane: potential implications for thyroid physiology

We present a snapshot of developments in epithelial biology that may prove helpful in understanding cellular aspects of the machinery designed for the synthesis of thyroid hormones on the thyroglobulin precursor. The functional unit of the thyroid gland is the follicle, delimited by a monolayer of thyrocytes. Like the cells of most simple epithelia, thyrocytes exhibit specialization of the cell surface that confronts two different extracellular environments-apical and basolateral, which are separated by tight junctions. Specifically, the basolateral domain faces the interstitium/bloodstream, while the apical domain is in contact with the lumen that is the primary target for newly synthesized thyroglobulin secretion and also serves as a storage depot for previously secreted protein. Thyrocytes use their polarity in several important ways, such as for maintaining basolaterally located iodide uptake and T4 deiodination, as well apically located iodide efflux and iodination machinery. The mechanisms by which this organization is established, fall in large part under the more general cell biological problem of intracellular sorting and trafficking of different proteins en route to the cell surface. Nearly all exportable proteins begin their biological life after synthesis in an intracellular compartment known as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), upon which different degrees of difficulty may be encountered during nascent polypeptide folding and initial export to the Golgi complex. In these initial stages, ER molecular chaperones can assist in monitoring protein folding and export while themselves remaining as resident proteins of the thyroid ER. After export from the ER, most subsequent sorting for protein delivery to apical or basolateral surfaces of thyrocytes occurs within another specialized intracellular compartment known as the trans-Golgi network. Targeting information encoded in secretory proteins and plasma membrane proteins can be exposed or buried at different stages along the export pathway, which is likely to account for sorting and specific delivery of different newly-synthesized proteins. Defects in either burying or exposing these structural signals, and consequent abnormalities in protein transport, may contribute to different thyroid pathologies.

Degradation of distinct assembly forms of immunoglobulin M occurs in multiple sites in permeabilized B cells

Protein degradation is essential for quality control which retains and eliminates abnormal, unfolded, or partially assembled subunits of oligomeric proteins. The localization of this nonlysosomal pre-Golgi degradation to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has been mostly deduced from kinetic studies and carbohydrate analyses, while direct evidence for degradation within the ER has been provided by in vitro reconstitution of this process. In this article, we took advantage of the transport incompetence of permeabilized cells to directly demonstrate that the selective degradation of secretory IgM (sIgM) in B lymphocytes is transport-dependent. We show that, upon permeabilization of the plasma membrane with either streptolysin O or digitonin, sIgM is not degraded unless transport is allowed. Nevertheless, upon complete reduction of interchain disulfide bonds with thiols, the free mu heavy chains are degraded by a transport-independent quality control mechanism within the ER. This latter degradation is nonselective to the secretory heavy chain mus, and the membrane heavy chain mum, which is normally displayed on the surface of the B cell, is also eliminated. Moreover, the degradation of free mus is no longer restricted to B lymphocytes, and it takes place also in the ER of plasma cells which normally secrete polymers of sIgM. Conversely, when assembled with the light chain, the degradation is selective to sIgM, is restricted to B lymphocytes, and is a transport-dependent post-ER event.

Intracellular transport of proinsulin in pancreatic beta-cells. Structural maturation probed by disulfide accessibility

In pancreatic islets, formation of beta-secretory granule cores involves early proinsulin homohexamerization and subsequent insulin condensation. We examined proinsulin conformational maturation by monitoring accessibility of protein disulfide bonds. Proinsulin disulfides are intact immediately upon synthesis, but are > or = 90% sensitive to in vivo reduction with 2 mM dithiothreitol; wash out of dithiothreitol leads to reoxidation, proinsulin transport, and conversion to insulin. With t1/2 approximately 10 min, newly synthesized proinsulin becomes resistant to disulfide reduction, correlating with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) export. However, inhibition of ER export with brefeldin A blocks acquisition of resistance to reduction, and once proinsulin arrives in the Golgi, it resists reduction despite brefeldin treatment. Moreover, in vivo, resistance of proinsulin disulfides is overcome after increasing [dithiothreitol] > 10-fold, or in vitro, in islets lysed in a zinc-free, but not a zinc-containing, medium. Employing 30 mM dithiothreitol in vivo, a further decrease in disulfide accessibility is observed following proinsulin conversion to insulin. Incubation of islets with chloroquine or zinc enhances and diminishes accessibility of insulin disulfides, respectively. We hypothesize that two major conformational changes culminating in granule core formation, proinsulin hexamerization and insulin condensation, are sensitive to zinc and occur upon ER exit and arrival in immature secretory granules, respectively.

Enhanced folding and processing of a disulfide mutant of the human asialoglycoprotein receptor H2b subunit

Unfolded forms of the H2b subunit of the human asialoglycoprotein receptor, a galactose-specific C-type lectin, are degraded in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), whereas folded forms of the protein can mature to the cell surface (Wikström, L., and Lodish, H. F. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 14412-14416). There are eight cysteines in the exoplasmic domain of the protein, forming four disulfide bonds in the folded protein. We have constructed double cysteine to alanine mutants for each of the four disulfide bonds and examined the folding and metabolic fate of each of the mutants in transfected 3T3 fibroblasts. We find that mutation of the two cysteines nearest to the transmembrane region (C1) does not prevent proper folding of the protein, whereas mutations of the other three disulfides prevent proper folding of the protein and all of the mutant proteins are degraded in the ER. A normal (approximately 20%) fraction of the C1 mutant protein exists the endoplasmic reticulum and is processed in the Golgi complex, and it does so at a faster rate compared to the wild-type. Furthermore, the folded form of this mutant protein is more resistant to unfolding by dithiothreitol than the wild-type. The C1 mutant protein is expressed on the cell surface and can form a functional receptor with the H1 subunit with similar binding affinities for natural ligands as that of the wild-type receptor. The same fraction of newly made mutant and wild-type proteins (approximately 80%) remain in the ER, but the mutant protein is degraded more quickly. Thus, the presence of the C1 disulfide bond in the wild-type receptor both reduces the rate of protein folding and exit to the Golgi and slows the rate of ER degradation of the portion (approximately 80%) of the receptor that never folds properly.

Quality control in the secretory pathway

Whereas newly synthesized proteins that have acquired a properly folded and assembled structure are transported from the endoplasmic reticulum to their final destinations, incompletely folded and assembled proteins are, as a rule, retained and eventually degraded. The molecular mechanisms of this unique molecular sorting phenomenon, called 'quality control', have been illuminated by recent studies.

Disulfide bond formation and eukaryotic secretory productivity

The relationship between disulfide bond formation and the exit of proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum may prove critical to maximizing the productivity of eukaryotic expression systems. During the past year, manipulation of redox active foldase enzymes, global inhibition of disulfide formation with dithiothreitol, and removal of specific disulfides via site-directed mutagenesis have all been shown to result in surprising effects on the rate and efficiency of protein secretion in eukaryotic hosts.