Acidification of morphologically distinct endosomes in mutant and wild- type Chinese hamster ovary cells

In the preceding paper (Yamashiro, D. J., and F. R. Maxfield. 1987. 2721), we have shown that there is rapid acidification of endosomal compartments to pH 6.3 by 3 min in wild-type Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. In contrast, early acidification of endosomes is markedly reduced in the CHO mutants, DTF 1-5-4 and DTF 1-5- 1. Since these CHO mutants are pleiotropically defective in endocytosis (Robbins, A. R., S. S. Peng, and J. L. Marshall. 1983. 1071; Robbins, A. R., C. Oliver, J. L. Bateman, S. S. Krag, C. J. Galloway, and I. Mellman. 1984. ), our results are consistent with a requirement for proper acidification of early endocytic compartments in many pH-regulated endocytic processes. In this paper, by measuring the pH of morphologically distinct endosomes using fluorescence microscopy and digital image analysis, we have determined in which of the endocytic compartments the defective acidification occurs. We found that the acidification of both the para- Golgi recycling endosomes and lysosomes was normal in the CHO mutants DTG 1-5-4 and DTF 1-5-1. The mean pH of large endosomes containing either fluorescein-labeled alpha 2-macroglobulin or fluorescein- isothiocyanate dextran was only slightly less acidic in the mutant cells than in wild-type cells. However, when we examined the pH of individual large (150-250 nm) endosomes, we found that there was an increased number of endosomes with a pH greater than 6.5 in the CHO mutants when compared with wild-type cells. Heterogeneity in the acidification of large endosomes was also seen in DTF 1-5-1 by a combined null point pH method and digital image analysis technique. In addition, both CHO mutants showed a marked decrease in the acidification of the earliest endosomal compartment, a diffusely fluorescent compartment comprised of small vesicles and tubules. We suggest that the defect in endosome acidification is most pronounced in the early, small vesicular, and tubular endosomes and that this defect partially carries over to the large endosomes that are involved in the sorting and processing of ligands. The proper step-wise acidification of the different endosomes along the endocytic pathway may have an important role in the regulation of endocytic processes.

Related papers:

title: Kinetics of endosome acidification in mutant and wild-type Chinese hamster ovary cells
abstract: Acidification of endocytic compartments is necessary for the proper sorting and processing of many ligands and their receptors. Robbins and co-workers have obtained Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell mutants that are pleiotropically defective in endocytosis and deficient in ATP- dependent acidification of endosomes isolated by density centrifugation (Robbins, A. R., S. S. Peng, and J. L. Marshall. 1983. 1071; Robbins, A. R., C. Oliver, J. L. Bateman, S. S. Krag, C. J. Galloway, and I. Mellman. 1984. ). In this and the following paper (Yamashiro, D. J., and F. R. Maxfield. 1987. 2733) we describe detailed studies of endosome acidification in the mutant and wild-type CHO cells. Here we describe a new microspectrofluorometry method based on changes in fluorescein fluorescence when all cellular compartments are equilibrated to the same pH value. Using this method we measured the pH of endocytic compartments during the first minutes of endocytosis. We found in wild- type CHO cells that after 3 min, fluorescein-labeled dextran (F-Dex) was in endosomes having an average pH of 6.3. By 10 min, both F-Dex and fluorescein-labeled alpha 2-macroglobulin (F-alpha 2M) had reached acidic endosomes having an average pH of 6.0 or below. In contrast, endosome acidification in the CHO mutants DTG 1-5-4 and DTF 1-5-1 was markedly slowed. The average endosomal pH after 5 min was 6.7 in both mutant cell lines. At least 15 min was required for F-Dex and F-alpha 2M to reach an average pH of 6.0 in DTG 1-5-4. Acidification of early endocytic compartments is defective in the CHO mutants DTG 1-5-4 and DTF 1-5-1, but pH regulation of later compartments on both the recycling pathway and lysosomal pathway is nearly normal. The properties of the mutant cells suggest that proper functioning of pH regulatory mechanisms in early endocytic compartments is critical for many pH-mediated processes of endocytosis.

title: Failure to release iron from transferrin in a Chinese hamster ovary cell mutant pleiotropically defective in endocytosis
abstract: A Chinese hamster ovary cell mutant defective in the receptor-mediated endocytosis of several unrelated ligands (Robbins, A. R., S. S. Peng, and J. L. Marshall, 1983, 1071) failed to accumulate iron provided in the form of diferric transferrin. Analysis of the steps of the transferrin cycle indicated that binding and internalization of transferrin proceeded normally in mutant cells. However, the mutant appeared unable to dissociate iron from transferrin, as evidenced by release of diferric transferrin from the mutant versus apotransferrin from the parent. Uptake of ferric ions from the growth medium was enhanced in the mutant.

title: Mutant Chinese hamster ovary cells pleiotropically defective in receptor-mediated endocytosis
abstract: Populations of Chinese hamster ovary cells selected for resistance to diphtheria toxin were found to be highly enriched for mutants deficient in the uptake of lysosomal hydrolases via the mannose 6-phosphate receptor. One doubly defective mutant, DTF 1-5-1, exhibited increased resistance to Sindbis virus, although it was able to bind and internalize virus normally. Normal production of virus was obtained when, subsequent to virus binding, the mutant was exposed for 2 min to acidic pH. Similarly, a shift to acidic pH increased the sensitivity of DTF 1-5-1 to diphtheria toxin 12-fold. Decreased uptake of lysosomal hydrolases by the mutant correlated with decreased mannose 6-phosphate receptor activity at the cell surface; results of lactoperoxidase- catalyzed iodination indicated that the surface-associated receptor was present but inactive on DTF 1-5-1. Total mannose 6-phosphate receptor activity was also decreased in the mutant and this decrease was reflected by increased secretion of lysosomal hydrolases. The phenotype of DTF 1-5-1 resembles in many ways that of cells treated with ammonia. We suggest that the defect in DTF 1-5-1 stems from an inability to deliver virus, diphtheria toxin, and lysosomal hydrolases to an acidic compartment. Other ligands may be endocytosed through a different pathway since the defect of DTF 1-5-1 did not decrease the endocytosis of ricin, modeccin, or Pseudomonas toxin and had minimal effects on uptake and degradation of low density lipoprotein.

title: A single mutation in Chinese hamster ovary cells impairs both Golgi and endosomal functions
abstract: A Chinese hamster ovary cell mutant DTG 1-5-4, was selected for pleiotropic defects in receptor-mediated endocytosis by methods previously described (Robbins, A. R., S. S. Peng, and J. L. Marshall, 1983, 1071). DTG 1-5-4 exhibited increased resistance to modeccin, Pseudomonas toxin, diphtheria toxin, Sindbis virus, and vesicular stomatitis virus, as well as decreased uptake via the mannose 6-phosphate receptor. Fluorescein-dextran-labeled endosomes isolated from DTG 1-5-4 were deficient in ATP-dependent acidification in vitro. Endocytosis and endosome acidification were both restored in revertants of DTG 1-5-4 and in hybrids of DTG 1-5-4 with DTF 1-5-1, another endocytosis mutant exhibiting decreased ATP-dependent endosome acidification. Both DTG 1-5-4 and DTF 1-5-1 were blocked at two stages of infection with Sindbis virus: at low multiplicities of infecting virus, resistance reflected a block in viral penetration into the cytoplasm, but at higher multiplicities of infection the block was in virus release. Like endocytosis, release of Sindbis virus was increased in revertants of DTG 1-5-4 and in DTG 1-5-4 X DTF 1-5-1 hybrids. Decreased release of virus from DTG 1-5-4 correlated with defects in some of the Golgi apparatus-associated steps of Sindbis glycoprotein maturation: proteolytic processing of the precursor pE2, galactosylation, and transport to the cell surface all were inhibited. In contrast, mannosylation, fucosylation, and acylation of the Sindbis glycoproteins, and galactosylation of vesicular stomatitis virus and cellular glycoproteins occurred to similar respective extents in mutant and parent. Electron microscopic examination of Sindbis-infected DTG 1- 5-4 showed a remarkable accumulation of nucleocapsids bound to cisternae adjacent to the Golgi apparatus; virions were observed in the lumina of some of these cisternae. That the alterations in both endocytosis and Golgi-associated steps of viral maturation result from a single genetic lesion indicates that these processes are dependent on a common biochemical mechanism. We suggest that endocytic and secretory pathways may share a common component involved in ion transport.

title: Kinetics of endosome acidification detected by mutant and wild‐type Semliki Forest virus.
abstract: The fusogenic properties of Semliki Forest virus (SFV) and its mutants were used to follow the kinetics of acidification during the endocytic uptake of virus by BHK‐21 cells. It has previously been shown that the low pH of endocytic vacuoles triggers a conformational change in the SFV spike glycoprotein, activating membrane fusion and initiating virus infection. This conformational alteration was here shown to occur in endosomes and to follow the same time course as the intracellular fusion reaction, demonstrating that fusion occurs rapidly after virus exposure to endosome acidity. The kinetics of endosome acidification were monitored using wild type (wt) SFV and fus‐1, an SFV mutant with a lower fusion pH threshold. The results presented here demonstrated that wt and mutant virus were internalized with a t1/2 of 10 min, and that endosomes were acidified to the wt threshold of pH 6.2 with a t1/2 of 15 min. In contrast, endosome pH reached the fus‐1 threshold of 5.3 with a much longer t1/2 of 45 min. The subsequent degradation of SFV in lysosomes had a t1/2 of 90 min. It was found that after the initial uptake of virus from the plasma membrane, its transit through the endocytic pathway, exposure to endosome acidity and eventual delivery to lysosomes were markedly asynchronous.

title: Kinetics and temperature dependence of exposure of endocytosed material to proteolytic enzymes and low pH: Evidence for a maturation model for the formation of lysosomes
abstract: The temperature dependence of acidification of internalized dextran by Swiss 3T3 cells was determined using dual fluorescence flow cytometry. Essentially no acidification was observed at 11°C; acidification was limited to pH 6–6.5 at temperatures between 13°C and 17°C. In contrast, a rapid drop to pH 6–6.5 followed by acidification to pH 5–5.5 was observed at temperatures above 19°C. These results confirm the biphasic nature of the acidification process ( (1984) 98:1757–1762). The timing of exposure of material internalized by fluid‐phase endocytosis to lysosomal enzymes was determined for Swiss 3T3 cells by using a fluorogenic substrate specific for Cathepsin B. Hydrolysis of the substrate, as measured by both fluorometry and flow cytometry, began within minutes of its addition to cells at 37°C, and was inhibited by coincubation with leupeptin, a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme, or by weak bases, which raise the pH of acidic compartments. At temperatures between 13° and 21°C, the rate of hydrolysis was reduced to 31–44% of that at 37°C. Thus, in contrast to previous reports, exposure of endocytosed material to at least one lysosomal enzyme is not inhibited below 20°C; the reduction in hydrolysis rate may be explained by the temperature effects on the efficiency of the enzyme. The results for acidification and proteolysis are consistent with, but do not prove, a maturation model for the formation of lysosomes. We suggest that at lower temperatures, part of the maturation involving recycling and/or concentration of the contents of the endosome is inhibited. This causes the endosome to remain as a mildly acidic, low‐density organelle containing lysosomal enzymes.

title: High-resolution kinetics of transferrin acidification in BALB/c 3T3 cells: exposure to pH 6 followed by temperature-sensitive alkalinization during recycling.
abstract: The kinetics of acidification of diferric human transferrin in BALB/c mouse 3T3 cells were determined by flow cytometry using a modification of the fluorescein-rhodamine fluorescence ratio technique. For cells labeled at 0 degrees C and warmed to 37 degrees C, the minimum pH observed was 6.1 +/- 0.2, occurring 5 min after warmup. This step was followed by a slower alkalinization to the pH of the external medium, occurring with a half-time of 5 min. Warmup to 24 degrees C or 17 degrees C resulted in slowing of the time of onset of acidification such that the minimum pH was 6.3 +/- 0.2, attained 15 and 25 min after warmup, respectively; the alkalinization step was completely blocked. The limited acidification observed for transferrin corresponds to the initial phase of acidification normally observed for other (nonrecycled) ligands. Since transferrin is not further acidified, the results confirm the existence of two phases of acidification during endocytosis. Measurements of transferrin dissociation at neutral pH after exposure to mildly acidic pH support the conclusion that the transferrin cycle may be completed without exposure of transferrin to a pH below 6. The mildly acidic pH of the endocytic compartments involved in recycling may play a role in regulating enzymatic processing of endocytosed material.

title: Weak bases and ionophores rapidly and reversibly raise the pH of endocytic vesicles in cultured mouse fibroblasts
abstract: It has been shown that endocytic vesicles in BALB/c 3T3 cells have a pH of 5.0 (Tycko and Maxfield, Cell, 28:643-651). In this paper, a method for measuring the effect of various agents, including weak bases and ionophores, on the pH of endocytic vesicles is presented. The method is based on the increase in fluorescein fluorescence with 490-nm excitation as the pH is raised above 5.0. Intensities of cells were measured using a microscope spectrofluorometer after internalization of fluorescein-labeled alpha 2-macroglobulin by receptor-mediated endocytosis. The increase in endocytic vesicle pH was determined from the increase in fluorescence after addition of various concentrations of the test agents. The following agents increased endocytic vesicle pH above 6.0 at the indicated concentrations: monensin (6 microM), FCCP (10 microM), chloroquine (140 microM), ammonia (5 mM), methylamine (10 mM). The ability of many of these agents to raise endocytic vesicle pH may account for many of their effects on receptor-mediated endocytosis. Dansylcadaverine caused no effect on vesicle pH at 1 mM. The observed increases in vesicle pH were rapid (1-2 min) and could be reversed by removal of the perturbant. This reversibility indicates that the vesicles themselves contain a mechanism for acidification. The increase in vesicle pH due to these treatments can be observed visually using an SIT video camera. Using this method, it is shown that endocytic vesicles become acidic at very early times (i.e., within 5-7 min of continuous uptake at 37 degrees C).

title: Chloroquine inhibits lysosomal enzyme pinocytosis and enhances lysosomal enzyme secretion by impairing receptor recycling
abstract: Adsorptive pinocytosis of acid hydrolases by fibroblasts depends on phosphomannosyl recognition markers on the enzymes and high-affinity pinocytosis receptors on the cell surface. In this study, beta- glucuronidase binding to the cell surface of attached fibroblasts was found to be saturable and inhibitable by mannose-6-phosphate (Man-6-P). Dissociation of cell-bound beta-glucuronidase occurred very slowly at neutral pH, but was greatly accelerated by lowering the pH below 6.0, or by exposure to Man-6-P. Comparison of the maximal cell surface binding and the observed rate of enzyme pinocytosis suggests that the pinocytosis receptors are replaced or reused about every 5 min. Enzyme pinocytosis was not affected by inhibition of new protein synthesis for several hours, suggesting a large pool of internal receptors and/or reuse of internalized receptors. Chloroquine treatment of normal human fibroblasts had three effects: (a) greatly enhanced secretion of newly synthesized acid hydrolases bearing the recognition marker for uptake, (b) depletion of enzyme-binding sites from the cell surface, and (c) inhibition of pinocytosis of exogenous enzyme. Only the third effect was seen in I-cell disease fibroblasts, which were also less sensitive than control cells to this effect. These observations are consistent with a model for transport of acid hydrolases that proposes that delivery of newly synthesized acid hydrolases to lysosomes requires the phosphomannosyl recognition marker on the enzymes, and intracellular receptors that segregate receptor-bound enzymes into vesicles for transport to lysosomes. This model explains how chloroquine, which raises intralysosomal pH, can disrupt both the intracellular pathway for newly synthesized acid hydrolases, and the one for uptake of exogenous enzyme by cell surface pinocytosis receptors.

title: pH and the recycling of transferrin during receptor-mediated endocytosis.
abstract: At pH 5.4 apotransferrin (iron-free transferrin) binds to cell-surface transferrin receptors to the same extent and with the same affinity as does diferric transferrin at pH 7.0. Apotransferrin is quickly dissociated from its receptor when the pH is raised to 7.0. These and other results strongly support a simple model that explains the cycling of transferrin during a single cycle of receptor-mediated endocytosis. Diferric transferrin binds to cell-surface receptors, and the transferrin-receptor complex is endocytosed. The pH of the endocytic vesicle is lowered to 5.5 or below; this causes dissociation of iron from the transferrin-receptor complex, but apotransferrin remains bound to its receptor. The iron remains within the cell, and the apotransferrin-receptor complex is recycled to the cell surface. Upon encountering the neutral pH of the medium, apotransferrin is dissociated from the cell.

title: The Effect of pH upon Human Transferrin: Selective Labelling of the Two Iron‐binding Sites
abstract: The influence of pH changes upon the iron‐binding properties of transferrin was investigated in the absence of chelating agents. The effects were demonstrated by spectrophotometry, gel filtration, and by studies of the intermolecular transfer of 59Fe from transferrin to conalbumin.

title: The entry of diphtheria toxin into the mammalian cell cytoplasm: evidence for lysosomal involvement
abstract: Lysosomotropic amines, such as ammonium chloride, are known to protect cells from the cytotoxic effects of diphtheria toxin. These drugs are believed to inhibit the transport of the toxin from a receptor at the cell exterior into the cytoplasm where a fragment of the toxin arrests protein synthesis. We studied the effects of lysosomotropic agents on the cytotoxic process to better understand how the toxin enters the cytoplasm. The cytotoxic effects of diphtheria toxin were not inhibited by antitoxin when cells were preincubated at 37 degrees C with toxin and ammonium chloride, exposed to antitoxin at 4 degrees C, washed to relieve the ammonium chloride inhibition, and finally warmed to 37 degrees C. The antigenic determinants of the toxin were, therefore, either altered or sheltered. It is likely that the combination of ammonium chloride and a low temperature trapped the toxin in an intracellular vesicle from which the toxin could proceed to the cytoplasm. Because lysosomotropic amines raise the pH within acidic intracellular vesicles, such as lysosomes, they could trap the toxin within such a vesicle if an acidic environment were necessary for the toxin to penetrate into the cytoplasm. We simulated acidic conditions which the toxin might encounter by exposing cells with toxin bound to their surface to acidic medium. We then measured the effects of lysosomotropic amines on the activity of the toxin to see if the acidic environment substituted for the function normally inhibited by the drugs. The drugs no longer protected the cells. This suggests that exposing the toxin to an acidic environment, such as that found within lysosomes, is an important step in the penetration of diphtheria toxin into the cytoplasm.

title: Diphtheria toxin entry into cells is facilitated by low pH
abstract: At neutral pH, NH4Cl and chloroquine protected cells against diphtheria toxin. A brief exposure of the cells to low pH (4.5-5.5) at 37 degrees completely abolished this protection. When, to cells preincubated with diphtheria toxin and NH4Cl, neutralizing amounts of anti-diphtheria toxin were added before the pH was lowered, the toxic effect was considerably reduced, but it was not completely abolished. A much stronger toxic effect was seen when antibodies were added immediately after incubation at low pH. Upon a short incubation with diphtheria toxin at low pH, the rate of protein synthesis in the cells decreased much faster than when the normal pH was maintained. The data suggest that, at low pH, diphtheria toxin (or its A fragment) penetrates directly through the surface membrane of the cell. The possibility is discussed that, when the medium has a neutral pH, the entry of diphtheria toxin involves adsorptive endocytosis and reduction of the pH in the vesicles possibly by fusion with lysosomes. Low pH did not facilitate the entry of the closely related toxins abrin, ricin, and modeccin.

title: Evidence for both prelysosomal and lysosomal intermediates in endocytic pathways
abstract: Horseradish peroxidase (HRP), an enzyme internalized by fluid phase pinocytosis, has been used to study the process by which pinosome contents are delivered to lysosomes in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Pinosome contents were labeled by allowing cells to internalize HRP for 3-5 min. Following various chase times, cells were either processed for HRP and acid phosphatase (AcPase) cytochemistry or homogenized and fractionated in Percoll gradients. In Percoll gradients, pinosomes labeled by a 3-5 min HRP pulse behaved as a vesicle population more dense than plasma membrane and less dense than lysosomes. In pulse- chase experiments, internalized HRP was chased rapidly (3-6 min chase) to a density position intermediate between the "initial" pinocytic vesicle population and lysosomes. With longer chase periods, a progressive accumulation of HRP in more dense vesicles was observed. Correspondence between the HRP distribution and lysosomal marker distribution was reached after a approximately 1-h chase. By electron microscope cytochemistry of intact cells, the predominant class of HRP- positive vesicles after pulse uptakes or a 3-min chase period was characterized by a peripheral rim of reaction product and was AcPase negative. After 10-120-min chase periods, the predominant class of HRP- positive vesicles was characterized by luminal deposits and HRP activity was frequently observed in multivesicular bodies. HRP-positive vesicles after a 10- or 30-min chase were AcPase-positive. No HRP activity was detected in Golgi apparatus. Together these observations indicate that progressive processing of vesicular components of the vacuolar apparatus occurs at both a prelysosomal and lysosomal stage.

title: Acidification of endocytic compartments and the intracellular pathways of ligands and receptors
abstract: Several hormones, serum proteins, toxins, and viruses are brought into the cell by receptor‐mediated endocytosis. Initially, many of these molecules and particles are internalized into a common endocytic compartment via the clathrin‐coated pit pathway. Subsequently, the ligands and receptors are routed to several destinations, including lysosomes, the cytosol, or the plasma membrane. We have examined the mechanism by which sorting of internalized molecules occurs. A key step in the process is the rapid acidification of endocytic vesicles to a pH of 5.0–5.5 This acidification allows dissociation of several ligands from their receptors, the release of iron from transferring, and the penetration of diptheria toxin and some viral nucleocapsids into the cytoplasm. Transferrin, a ligand that cycles through the cell with its receptor, has been used as a marker for the recycling receptor pathway. We have found that in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells transferrin is rapidly segregated from other ligands and is routed to a complex‐of small vesicles and/or tubules near the Golgi apparatus. The pH of the transferrin‐containing compartment is approximately 6.4, indicating that it is not in continuity with the more acidic endocytic vesicles which contain ligands destined to be degraded in lysosomes.

title: Segregation of transferrin to a mildly acidic (pH 6.5) para-golgi compartment in the recycling pathway
abstract: To study the intracellular sorting of internalized ligands and receptors, we examined the pathways of two ligands: transferrin, which is recycled, and alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M), which is degraded. In CHO cells the two ligands rapidly segregate into different intracellular compartments. Within 5 min fluorescein-labeled transferrin (F-Tf) is found in a large round juxtanuclear structure. Rhodamine-labeled alpha 2M is found in a punctate pattern. Ultra-structural localization studies demonstrate that colloidal gold-alpha 2M is found predominantly in endocytic vesicles, while ferritin-transferrin is found in small vesicles and tubular structures in a region adjacent to the Golgi complex. Using image intensified fluorescence microscopy and digital image analysis, we determined that the F-Tf containing structure has a pH of 6.4 +/- 0.2, while endocytic vesicles containing F-alpha 2M have a pH of 5.4 +/- 0.1. Our study defines a mildly acidic compartment, distinct from endocytic vesicles, that is involved in the recycling of internalized components back to the cell surface.

title: Acidification of Endocytic Vesicles and Lysosomes
abstract: Living cells have developed extraordinarily sophisticated mechanisms for regulation of pH within the cytoplasm and inside organelles. The most widely studied example of this regulation is the proton pumping involved in formation of ATP by mitochondria (Mitchell, 1976). Other examples include the extrusion of H+ across the plasma membrane and the acidification of intracellular organelles such as lysosomes, endocytic vesicles, and secretory granules. The regulation of intracellular pH has been reviewed in detail by Roos and Boron (1981).

title: Microspectrofluorometry by digital image processing: measurement of cytoplasmic pH
abstract: An interface of our microspectrofluorometer with an image processing system performs microspectrofluorometric measurements in living cells by digital image processing. Fluorescence spectroscopic parameters can be measured by digital image processing directly from microscopic images of cells, and are automatically normalized for pathlength and accessible volume. Thus, an accurate cytoplasmic "map" of various spectroscopic parameters can be produced. The resting cytoplasmic pH of fibroblasts (3T3 cells) has been determined by measuring the ratio of fluorescein fluorescence exited by two successive wavelengths (489 and 452 nm). Fluorescein-labeled dextran microinjected into the cells is used as a pH indicator, since it is trapped in the cytoplasm but is excluded from the nucleus and other organelles. The average cytoplasmic pH is 6.83 (+/- 0.38). However, cytoplasmic pH exhibits a nonunimodal distribution, the lower mean pH being 6.74 (+/- 0.23). When 3T3 cells pinocytose medium containing fluorescein dextran, pinosomes peripheral to the nucleus exhibit a lower pH than those closer to the ruffling edge of the cell. The present image processing system is analyzed for linearity of detection, light scattering artifacts, signal to noise ratio, standard curves, and spatial resolution. The results obtained from digital image analysis are shown to be comparable to the results from standard microspectrofluorometry. We also discuss several other applications of this ratio imaging technique in cell biology.

title: Rapid acidification of endocytic vesicles containing asialoglycoprotein in cells of a human hepatoma line
abstract: Acidification of endocytic vesicles has been implicated as a necessary step in various processes including receptor recycling, virus penetration, and the entry of diphtheria toxin into cells. However, there have been few accurate pH measurements in morphologically and biochemically defined endocytic compartments. In this paper, we show that prelysosomal endocytic vesicles in HepG2 human hepatoma cells have an internal pH of approximately 5.4. We previously reported that similar vesicles in mouse fibroblasts have a pH of 5.0.) The pH values were obtained from the fluorescence excitation profile after internalization of fluorescein labeled asialo-orosomucoid (ASOR). To make fluorescence measurements against the high autofluorescence background, we developed digital image analysis methods for estimating the pH within individual endocytic vesicles or lysosomes. Ultrastructural localization with colloidal gold ASOR demonstrated that the pH measurements were made when ligand was in tubulovesicular structures lacking acid phosphatase activity. Biochemical studies with 125I-ASOR demonstrated that acidification precedes degradation by more than 30 min at 37 degrees C. At 23 degrees C ligand degradation ceases almost entirely, but endocytic vesicle acidification and receptor recycling continue. These results demonstrate that acidification of endocytic vesicles, which causes ligand dissociation, occurs without fusion of endocytic vesicles with lysosomes. Methylamine and monensin raise the pH of endocytic vesicles and cause a ligand-independent loss of receptors. The effects on endocytic vesicle pH are rapidly reversible upon removal of the perturbant, but the effects on cell surface receptors are slowly reversible with methylamine and essentially irreversible with monensin. This suggests that monensin can block receptor recycling at a highly sensitive step beyond the acidification of endocytic vesicles. Taken together with other direct and indirect estimates of endocytic vesicle pH, these studies indicate that endocytic vesicles in many cell types rapidly acidify below pH 5.5, a pH sufficiently acidic to allow receptor-ligand dissociation and the penetration of some toxin chains and enveloped virus nucleocapsids into the cytoplasm.

title: I-Cell Disease: Biochemical Studies
abstract: Six patients with I-cell disease (ICD) are studied. Multiple acid hydrolase deficiencies are demonstrated in cultured skin fibroblasts. These include βs-galactosidase (2% of normal), β-glucosaminidase (8% of normal), β-glucuronidase (7% of normal), α-ga-lactosidase (10% of normal), and arylsulfatase A (5% of normal). Acid hydrolases found not to be deficient include β-glucosidase and acid phosphatase.In brain and visceral organs, only β-galactosidase is deficient (27% of normal in brain; 11% of normal in liver).A nonspecific accumulation of lipids of all classes occurs in skin fibroblasts (2–3 times normal), but not in brain or visceral organs.No accumulation of acid mucopolysaccharides is demonstrated in skin fibroblasts or liver. I-cell disease may represent a unique opportunity for the study of control of intracellular levels of lysosomal enzymes.

title: Receptor-mediated endocytosis: coated pits, receptosomes and the Golgi
abstract: Many plasma proteins, hormones, viruses and toxins enter cells by a common pathway. After entry into receptosomes some ligands are delivered to the cytosol, some are carried on through Golgi elements to lysosomes and others are returned to the cell surface.

title: Endocytosis and the recycling of plasma membrane
abstract: The study of endocytosis has traditionally focused on the contents of endocytic vacuoles, i.e., extracellular fluid, dissolved solutes, and macromolecules or particles which specifically or nonspecifically bind to the plasma membrane (PM). Substances that are endocytosed include important nutrients, toxins, effector molecules (growth factors, hormones, antibodies), enzymes, and pathogens. This article centers on the properties and dynamics of the endocytic vacuole membrane. In many instances we will stress observations on cultured mouse macrophages with which we are most familier. We will emphasize four points: (a) Movement of vesicles is rapid such that endocytosed membrane and contents move from one cellular compartment to another in seconds to minutes. (b) Vesicular movement requires the interiorization and flow of large amounts of PM) (c) In many instances, internalized PM must recycle or return intact to the cell surface. (d) During recycling, contents and membrane components can be sorted from one another; e.g., endocytosed contents can accumulate within the cell while the container (membrane) can move into and out of the cell after one or more fusion events with other endocytic vacuoles, lysosomes (Ly), or Golgi apparatus. While it has been difficult to obtain direct evidence, the literature is replete with examples in which rapid membrane flow and recycling readily explains the data. Two of the more striking examples derive from studies of pinocytosis in cultured ceils. Fibroblasts, for instance, interiorize the equivalent of 50% of their surface area and 5-10% of their cell volume during each hour of pinocytic activity. Yet, the overall dimensions of the cells and the vacuolar system remain constant throughout hours, even days, of endocytic activity. Since it is unlikely that internalized PM is rapidly degraded, it was proposed that

title: Intracellular site of asialoglycoprotein receptor-ligand uncoupling: Double-label immunoelectron microscopy during receptor-mediated endocytosis
abstract: In rats infused with asialoglycoprotein for 60 min, receptor-mediated endocytosis of the ligand occurred exclusively in hepatic parenchymal cells. We have used double-label immunoelectron microscopy on ultrathin cryosections of rat liver to identify the site at which the asialoglycoprotein receptor and its ligand dissociate following their common endocytosis. Asialoglycoprotein receptor, ligand and clathrin were identified and quantitated by the use of monospecific antibodies followed by gold-protein A complexes. Both receptor and ligand were found associated with the membrane of clathrin-coated vesicles close to the cell surface. We identified other vesicles that contained ligand accumulated within the lumen. The membranes of these latter vesicles contained little receptor, but receptor was concentrated in tubular extensions that were largely free of ligand. We call this organelle CURL (compartment of uncoupling of receptor and ligand). CURL vesicles appear to transform into secondary lysosomes, wherein the ligand is degraded. The tubular vesicles are, we propose, an intermediate in recycling the receptor to the cell surface.

title: Membranes of sorting organelles display lateral heterogeneity in receptor distribution
abstract: This study describes the distribution of an intrinsic membrane protein, the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGP-R) in the trans-Golgi reticulum and compartment of uncoupling receptor and ligand (CURL) of rat liver cells. Using quantitative immunogold electron microscopy and membrane length measurements, we showed lateral nonhomogeneity of receptors in the membranes of trans-Golgi reticulum and CURL, in particular in the membranes of secretory vesicles (identified by their content of albumin and very low density lipoprotein particles) and of CURL vesicles (endosomes), including multivesicular bodies. The characteristic tubulovesicular morphology of both sorting organelles defines the transition of receptor-rich tubular membrane and the receptor-poor limiting membrane of the attached vesicles. There was a direct relationship between the size of the secretory and CURL vesicles and the density of ASGP-Rs in their membranes. Receptor density in the smallest vesicles was similar to that found in adjacent continuous tubules. The larger the vesicles, the less receptor was detectable in their membranes. We propose that the receptor molecules are excluded from the vesicle membranes by dynamic lateral redistribution. Nonrandom receptor distribution in the CURL vesicle membranes was present even at the multivesicular body stage. These observations strongly suggest the existence of barriers to ASGP-R diffusion at the junctions of tubules and vesicles. In addition, our observations suggest that ASGP-Rs are transported to the plasma membrane via a mechanism other than the normal secretory pathway.

title: Receptor-mediated endocytosis of asialoglycoproteins by rat hepatocytes: receptor-positive and receptor-negative endosomes
abstract: We have used combinations of subcellular fractionation, specific cytochemical tracers, and quantitative immunoadsorption to determine when, where, and in which intracellular structure internalized asialoglycoproteins (ASGPs) are segregated from their receptor. All membrane vesicles containing the receptor (R+ vesicles) were quantitatively immunoadsorbed from crude microsomes with Staphylococcus aureus cells and affinity-purified anti-ASGP receptor. Using this assay, we varied the time and temperature of exposure of perfused livers to 125I-asialoorosomucoid (125I-ASOR) and followed the movement of ligand from R+ to R- vesicles. After 2.5 min at 37 degrees C, 98% of the internalized ligand could be immunoadsorbed and thus was in R+ vesicles. Over the next 12 min of continuous 37 degrees C perfusion with 125I-ASOR, an increasing fraction of the ligand was not immunoadsorbed and therefore was present in R- vesicles. A maximum of 30% of the ligand could be found in R- vesicles (14-44 min). When livers were maintained at 16 degrees C, ligand was internalized but remained in R+ vesicles. Furthermore, ligand accumulating in R- vesicles at 37 degrees C remained there when livers were cooled to 16 degrees C. R- endosomes could be separated from R+ endosomes by flotation on sucrose density gradients and visualized by the presence of sequestered ASOR-horseradish peroxidase (ASOR-HRP). These structures resembled those labeled by ASOR-HRP in situ: R+ vesicles were relatively dense (1.12 g/cc), frequently tubular or spherical and small (100-nm diam), corresponding to the peripheral and internal tubular endosomes; R- structures were of lower density (1.09 g/cc), large (400- nm diam), and resembled internal multivesicular endosomes (MVEs). Endocytosed ASOR-HRP was found in both the peripheral and internal tubular endosomes in situ under conditions where 95% of the ligand was present in R+ vesicles by immunoadsorption, whereas MVEs containing ASOR-HRP were predominant in situ when ligand was found in R- vesicles and were often in continuity with the tubular internal endosomes. All of these results suggest that complete segregation of ligand and receptor occurs after arrival in the Golgi-lysosome region of the hepatocyte and that MVEs are R- and represent the final prelysosomal compartment.

title: Intracellular segregation of asialoglycoproteins and their receptor: a prelysosomal event subsequent to dissociation of the ligand-receptor complex
abstract: Rat hepatocytes in monolayer culture rapidly internalized asialoglycoproteins and the receptors to which they are bound. Subsequent to endocytosis, the receptor-ligand complex is dissociated within an acidic endosome (Harford, J., K. Bridges, G. Ashwell, and R. D. Klausner, 1983,  Harford, J., A. W. Wolkoff, G. Ashwell, and R. D. Klausner, 1983, ). Here we show that addition of the proton ionophore monensin to the cells after dissociation has occurred results in intracellular rebinding of ligand molecules. With increasing time inside the cell, the ability of ligand to reassociate with receptor progressively decreases consistent with a segregation of receptor and ligand. The combination of colchicine and cytochalasin B appears to retard the process of segregation. In contrast, removal of sodium from the medium, while inhibiting degradation of ligand, does not affect the decrease in monensin-mediated rebinding. Nonetheless, both sodium deprivation and treatment with colchicine plus cytochalasin B result in the ligand remaining in a low density, nonlysosomal subcellular fraction. Thus, segregation, like dissociation, appears to occur in a pre-lysosomal endocytic compartment. Perturbation of the endocytic pathway by reduced temperature (18 degrees C) was also explored. Our data are consistent with two temperature-sensitive steps: receptor-ligand dissociation is inhibited and there is an independent temperature-sensitive step involved in delivery of ligand to lysosomes. This second effect was localized as being beyond the point in the pathway sensitive to sodium deprivation.

title: Entry of Polypeptide Toxins into Animal Cells
abstract: During the last two decades it has become clear that a number of protein toxins are able to penetrate the membrane of cells and get access to targets in the cytosol. It was first thought that these proteins enter the cytosol from the external surface of the cell, but it now appears that at least the major part of the toxins enter the cytosol from intracellular vesicles that they reach through receptor-mediated endocytosis.

title: Penetration of semliki forest virus from acidic prelysosomal vacuoles
abstract: To identify and characterize the intracellular site from which the penetration of Semliki Forest virus (SFV) to the cytosolic compartment of the host cell occurs, we determined the time course and temperature dependence of nucleocapsid uncoating and infection in BHK-21 cells. At 37 degrees C the genome release to the cytosol was detected within 5-7 min after virus endocytosis, whereas delivery of the virus particles to secondary lysosomes occurred within 15-20 min. At temperatures of 15 degrees -20 degrees C virus particles were internalized by endocytosis, but they were not delivered to the secondary lysosomes. Nevertheless, at 20 degrees C nucleocapsid uncoating and infection occurred, indicating that secondary lysosomes are not required for SFV penetration. We conclude that the penetration reaction occurs in prelysosomal endocytic vacuoles (endosomes). As SFV penetration by membrane fusion requires a pH less than 6 and the presence of cholesterol in the target membrane, the data indicate that endosomes are acidic and contain cholesterol.

title: Acidification of the endocytic and exocytic pathways.
abstract: AND PERSPECTIVES 664 THE ORGANEL L ES OF THE EXOAND ENDOCYTIC PATHWAyS . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 665 The Endocytic Pathway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665 The Exocytic Pathways. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . ... . . . .. . . ... . ... 667 CHARACTERISTICS OF PROTON ATPases 667