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Endocrinology Vol. 139, No. 4 2077-2084
Copyright © 1998 by The Endocrine Society


ARTICLES

Expression of the MAL Gene in the Thyroid: the MAL Proteolipid, a Component of Glycolipid-Enriched Membranes, Is Apically Distributed in Thyroid Follicles1

Fernando Martín-Belmonte, Leonor Kremer, Juan P. Albar, Mónica Marazuela and Miguel A. Alonso

Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (F.M.-B., M.A.A.), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Cantoblanco, 28049-Madrid, Spain; Departarment of Immunology and Oncology (L.K., J.P.A.), Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Cantoblanco, 28049-Madrid, Spain; and Department of Endocrinology (M.M.), Hospital de la Princesa, 28006-Madrid, Spain

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Miguel A. Alonso, Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa", Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049-Madrid, Spain. E-mail: maalonso{at}trasto.cbm.uam.es


    Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
The MAL proteolipid, an integral membrane protein expressed in T lymphocytes, polarized epithelial MDCK cells, and myelin-forming cells, has been identified as a component of internal glycolipid-enriched membrane (GEM) microdomains. On the basis of its ability to induce vesicle formation by ectopic expression, MAL has been recently proposed as a component of the machinery for GEM vesiculation. Taking into account the proposed role of GEMs in polarized transport, we have investigated the expression of the MAL gene in thyroid cells. Interestingly, MAL messenger RNA species were detected in the human thyroid, whereas they were undetectable in other endocrine glands tested. Moreover, epithelial FRT cells, a polarized rat cell line of thyroid origin, also expressed MAL transcripts. Immunohistochemical analysis of thyroid follicles, with a newly developed anti-MAL monoclonal antibody, indicates that MAL distribution is restricted to the apical zone of thyroid epithelial cells. Biochemical analyses, using FRT cells, indicate exclusive residence of MAL in GEM microdomains, and these analyses allowed the identification of MAL as a major protein component of the GEM fraction in this cell line. Our results are consistent with a role for MAL as a component of GEM microdomains in thyroid epithelial cells.


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
THYROID epithelial cells are polarized cells displaying two highly specialized plasma membrane subdomains. The free surface, the apical membrane, faces the lumen of the follicle, whereas the basolateral membrane faces the extracellular material of the basement membrane. Both membrane subdomains have different protein composition and play distinct roles in the gland (1). In polarized cells, the apical membrane has an unusually high concentration of glycolipids, which may protect the cells from the harsh extracellular environment frequently faced by this surface (2). It has been proposed that glycolipids and a number of apical membrane proteins, including glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins, use an apical pathway different from that of the majority of apical transmembrane proteins (3). According to this proposal, the self-association of glycolipids forming glycolipid-enriched membrane (GEM) microdomains creates an appropriate microenvironment compatible with only a selected set of molecules, while excluding others (3). In addition to the biophysical forces provided by glycolipid self-association, GEMs require a specialized protein-sorting machinery to be operative as a route of transport. This machinery would minimally consist of a set of proteins to achieve the processes of vesicle formation, cargo recruiting, targeting, and fusion to the apical surface (3). Although the glycolipid-based model of protein recruitment was initially postulated as a route of apical transport, more recently the confinement of proteins in GEMs has been extended as a general hypothesis to explain the recruitment of proteins involved in other cellular functions, including cell morphogenesis and cell signaling (4).

The MAL complementary DNA (cDNA), initially identified during a search for genes differentially expressed during human T-cell differentiation (5), encodes a 17-kDa integral membrane protein containing several hydrophobic domains. The MAL protein displays lipid-like properties that render MAL soluble in the organic solvents commonly used to extract cell lipids. This unusual feature allowed the assignment of MAL to the proteolipid group of proteins (6). More recently, in addition to T cells, MAL expression has been detected in polarized epithelial MDCK cells (MAL/VIP17) (7) and in myelin-forming cells (MAL/MVP17) (8, 9), and MAL has been found in the GEM fraction in all of these cell types (7, 8, 10). The copurification of MAL with apically destined proteins in MDCK cells has led to the proposal of MAL as a component of the transport machinery for the GEM-mediated apical pathway (7). Moreover, the extensive de novo vesiculation induced by ectopic expression of MAL in a heterologous cell system suggests that MAL might be involved in GEM vesiculation (11).

Taking into account the proposed role of MAL as a component of the machinery for the apical pathway of transport mediated by GEMs, we have investigated the expression of MAL in the thyroid. Here, we describe that, despite the tissue-restricted pattern of MAL gene expression, MAL transcripts are present in the human thyroid gland and in the thyroid epithelial FRT cell line. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis of thyroid sections indicates that MAL is expressed in thyroid epithelial cells and that MAL distributes to the apical zone that faces the follicle lumen. Moreover, biochemical analyses demonstrate that MAL is a major integral membrane protein component of the GEM fraction of thyroid FRT cells, a model of polarized epithelial cell line which is devoid of thyroid specific functions. All these results are consistent with a role for MAL as a component of the GEM microdomains in thyroid epithelial cells.


    Materials and Methods
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Materials
The mouse hybridoma producing monoclonal antibody (mAb) 9E10 against the human c-myc epitope EQKLISEED (12) was purchased from the American Type Culture Collection. Rabbit antiactin antibodies were from Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO. Peroxidase-conjugated goat antimouse IgG antibodies were from Pierce (Rockford, IL).

Cell culture conditions and transfection
Rat FRT cells (13) (kindly provided by Dr. P. Santiesteban, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Madrid) were grown on Petri dishes in F12 Coon’s medium (Sigma) supplemented with 10% FBS (Gibco-BRL, Gaithersburg, MD), penicillin (50 U/ml), and streptomycin (50 µg/ml), at 37 C in an atmosphere of 5% CO2/95% air. Canine MDCK I cells were maintained under the same conditions in DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS.

Transfection of FRT cells was carried out by electroporation using the Electro Cell Manipulator 600 equipment (BTX, San Diego, CA). Selection of stable transfectants was carried out by treatment with 0.5 mg/ml G-418 sulfate (Gibco-BRL) for at least 4 weeks after transfection. Drug-resistant cells were selected, screened by immuno-fluorescence analysis with 9E10 mAb, and the clones resulting positive for tagged MAL expression were maintained in drug-free medium. After several passages in this medium, more than 90% of the cells within the selected positive clones retained expression of tagged MAL.

Preparation of mAbs to human MAL
The peptide QDGFTYRHYH, corresponding to amino acids 114–123 of the human MAL molecule, was synthesized on an automated multiple-peptide synthesizer (AMS 422, Abimed, Langerfeld, Germany) using the solid-phase procedure and standard Fmoc-chemistry (14). After coupling to keyhole limpet hemocyanin, the peptide was used to immunize BALB/c mice. Spleen cells from immunized mice were fused to mouse myeloma cells, following standard protocols (15), and plated into microtiter plates. The culture supernatants were screened by immunoblot analysis using MAL-enriched membrane fractions prepared from epithelial A498 cells stably expressing the MAL protein tagged with the 9E10 c-myc epitope (10). The hybridoma clone 6D9 secreting antibodies to human MAL was isolated after several rounds of screening and was used to produce culture supernatants containing 6D9 mAb.

DNA constructions
Rat MAL cDNA was amplified with oligonucleotide primers corresponding to the 5' and 3' untranslated regions of the rat MAL cDNA sequence (8, 9) by PCR using cDNA synthesized by reverse transcription of total RNA from FRT cells. The insertion of the 9E10 c-myc epitope between the first and the second amino acid of MAL was carried out by amplification of rat MAL cDNA by PCR with the oligonucleotide primers N and C, which anneal to the 5' and 3' ends of the rat MAL coding sequence, respectively. In addition, primer N contained sequences encoding the 9E10 c-myc epitope placed between the first and the second codon of the rat MAL coding sequence, and both N and C primers contained one BglII site at their 5' end. After amplification under standard conditions (16), the product was digested with BglII and cloned into the unique BamHI site of the pSR{alpha} expression vector (17). The construct expressing canine MAL tagged with the 9E10 c-myc epitope was made, following identical strategy, using RNA from MDCK cells. The sequence of the insert was verified in all the constructs to eliminate the possibility of amplification errors. The pSR{alpha} constructs, expressing human MAL tagged with the 9E10 c-myc epitope or mouse MAL tagged with the HA epitope, have been previously described (10, 18). The construct expressing recombinant human MAL in Escherichia coli cells also has been described (6).

Northern blot analysis
The blot with poly(A)+ RNA (~2 µg per lane) from different human endocrine tissues was purchased from Clontech (Palo Alto, CA). Total RNA from different cell lines was extracted by cell lysis with guanidinium thiocyanate, followed by a single-step extraction with phenol (19). The polyadenylated RNA fraction was purified by standard techniques (16). For Northern blot analysis of different cell lines, approximately 5 µg poly(A)+ RNA were denatured in 50% formamide and 2.2 M formaldehyde at 65 C, subjected to electrophoresis in a 1% agarose/formaldehyde gel, and transferred to Nylon membranes. RNA samples were hybridized under standard conditions, either to a human MAL cDNA fragment labeled by the random-priming method or to an RNA probe generated by in vitro transcription of the human MAL coding sequences (16). To ensure that equal amounts of RNA were present in each lane, blots were finally hybridized to a 0.6-kilobase (kb) HinfI/BamHI DNA fragment from the 3' untranslated region of human ß-actin messenger RNA (mRNA)(20). Final blot washing conditions were 0.1 x SSC/0.1% SDS (1 x SSC = 0.15 M NaCl, 0.015 M sodium citrate, pH 7.0) at 65 C.

Detergent extraction procedures
GEMs were prepared essentially as described by Brown and Rose (21) and Sargiacomo et al. (22). FRT cells grown to confluency in 100-mm dishes were rinsed with PBS and lysed for 20 min in 1 ml of 25 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 150 mM NaCl, 5 mM EDTA, 1% Triton X-100 at 4 C. The lysate was scraped from the dishes with a rubber policeman, the dishes rinsed with 1 ml of the same buffer at 4 C, and the lysate homogenized by passing the sample through a 22-gauge needle. The lysate was finally brought to 40% sucrose (wt/wt) in a final vol of 4 ml and placed at the bottom of an 8-ml 5–30% linear sucrose gradient. Gradients were centrifuged for 18 h at 39,000 rpm at 4 C in a Beckman SW41 rotor. Fractions of 1 ml were harvested from the bottom of the tube, and aliquots were subjected to immunoblot analysis. Density was determined by measuring the refractive index of the fractions. In some experiments, centrifugation to equilibrium was carried out using discontinuous sucrose density gradients consisting of a bottom 4-ml layer containing the cell lysate in 40% sucrose, overlaid with 6 ml of 30% sucrose and a 2-ml layer of 5% sucrose at the top. After centrifugation, the opalescent band containing GEMs, which migrates in the 5–30% sucrose interphase, was harvested from the top (fraction I). The 40% sucrose layer, containing the cytosolic proteins and the solubilized proteins, was harvested, as well (fraction S).

Immunoblot and immunoprecipitation analyses
For immunoblot analysis, samples were subjected to SDS-PAGE in 15% acrylamide gels under reducing conditions and transferred to Immobilon-P membranes (Millipore, Bedford, MA). After blocking with 5% nonfat dry milk, 0.05% Tween-20 in PBS, blots were incubated with either 9E10 or 6D9 mAb, used as culture supernatants, diluted 1:2. After several washings, blots were incubated for 1 h with goat antimouse IgG antibodies coupled to horseradish peroxidase diluted at 1:5,000, washed extensively, and developed using an enhanced chemiluminescence Western blotting kit (ECL, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, UK). For immunoprecipitation studies, extracts from metabolically labeled cells were incubated for 4 h at 4 C with an irrelevant control antibody bound to protein G-Sepharose and were centrifuged, and the supernatant was immunoprecipitated by incubation for 4 h at 4 C with mAb 6D9 bound to protein G-Sepharose. Immunoprecipitates were washed six times with 1 ml of 10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0/0.15 M NaCl/1% Triton X-100, and were analyzed by SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions. To detect 35S-labeling, dried gels were finally exposed to Fujifilm imaging plates.

Immunohistochemistry
Surgical thyroid tissue was obtained from unaffected parts of the thyroid gland of patients with localized carcinomas. Cryostat sections were cut from snap-frozen thyroid tissue embedded in OCT medium (Ames Co., Miles Laboratories, Elkhart, IN) stored at -80 C. The tissue sections were stained by an indirect immunoperoxidase method, as described previously (23). Briefly, 5-µm acetone-fixed sections were sequentially incubated with 6D9 mAb culture supernatant and peroxidase-conjugated rabbit antimouse Ig (Dako A/S, Glostrup, Denmark). Each incubation was followed by three washes with Tris-HCl buffered saline, pH 7.6. Then, sections were developed with Graham-Karnovsky medium containing 0.5 mg/ml of 3,3'-diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride (Sigma) and hydrogen peroxide. Sections were counterstained with Carazzi’s hematoxylin, dehydrated, and mounted by routine methods.


    Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Expression of the MAL gene in thyroid cells
The MAL proteolipid has been proposed as a component of the machinery for GEM vesiculation in some specialized cells using GEM-mediated pathways of protein recruiting and/or of transport. To study whether the MAL gene is expressed in endocrine tissues, we carried out Northern blot analysis using the human MAL cDNA as a probe. Figure 1AGo shows that the thyroid gland expresses MAL mRNA species of the same size (1.1 kb) as those present in human thymus, which served as a positive hybridization control. MAL gene expression was undetectable in samples from other human endocrine glands assayed (including pancreas, adrenal cortex, adrenal medulla, and testis). To further investigate the expression of the MAL gene, we used epithelial FRT cells, a rat cell line of thyroid origin displaying a polarized phenotype (13). Figure 1BGo shows that FRT cells express MAL mRNA species of 2.2 kb, which is in agreement with the reported size of rat MAL mRNA (8, 9). As positive hybridization controls, we included mRNA samples from Jurkat T lymphocytes and epithelial MDCK cells, which express MAL transcripts of 1.1 and 1.0 kb, respectively, in accordance with the reported size of the human and canine MAL mRNA species (24). No MAL transcripts were found, either in human epithelial HeLa cells or human erythroleukemic K562 cells or in mouse 3T3 fibroblasts, used as negative controls. This pattern of expression was further confirmed by RT-PCR analysis. To unambiguously identify MAL expression in FRT cells, MAL cDNA was cloned from FRT cells and sequenced. The nucleotide sequence of the PCR product (not shown) resulted in a sequence identical to that of rat MAL cDNA previously deposited under the EMBL/GenBank accession number X82557 (9).



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Figure 1. Expression of the MAL gene in different endocrine glands and cell types. A, Analysis of the expression of MAL mRNA in different endocrine glands. Poly(A)+ RNA (~2 µg) from the indicated human glands were hybridized to a cDNA probe containing the entire human MAL coding sequence. The RNA loaded in each lane was adjusted by the blot manufacturer to give similar hybridization signals with the ß-actin cDNA probe. B, Analysis of the expression of MAL mRNA in different cell lines. Poly(A)+ RNA (~5 µg) from the indicated cell lines were hybridized to an RNA probe complementary to the human MAL coding sequences. The position of the 18S ribosomal RNA and the position of human (h), rat (r), and dog (d) MAL mRNA species are indicated. The unspecific hybridization of the MAL probe with residual 18S ribosomal RNA species was taken as control for the loading of similar amounts of RNA in each lane.

 
Generation and characterization of mAbs to the MAL protein
The peptide comprising amino acids 114–123 from human MAL was synthesized, coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin, and used to immunize BALB/c mice. The alignment of the selected human MAL decapeptide with the corresponding regions of rat, canine, and murine MAL is shown in Fig. 2AGo. A hybridoma clone (named 6D9), producing antibodies to human MAL, was identified by immunoblot analysis of membrane fractions enriched in MAL tagged with the 9E10 c-myc epitope (10). Figure 2BGo shows that the MAL decapeptide used for the immunizations, at concentrations >= 1 µg/ml, was able to totally neutralize the recognition of the MAL protein by mAb 6D9, whereas other control peptides did not present any effect (not shown). The observed effect was specific for the 6D9 mAb, because the same peptide did not influence the recognition of the tagged MAL protein by anti-c-myc 9E10 mAb (Fig. 2BGo). To study the species specificity of the 6D9 mAb, tagged forms of human, rat, dog, and mouse MAL were transiently expressed in COS-7 cells. Total cell lysates were prepared 24 h after transfection and assayed with either 6D9 or anti-tag mAb. Figure 2CGo shows that 6D9 mAb recognizes human and rat MAL, but it does not recognize the canine or murine protein or any endogenous protein of COS-7 cells. The specific recognition of human and rat MAL, but not of the murine protein, suggests that R120 is crucial for the recognition of MAL by mAb 6D9 (see Fig. 2AGo). Thus, substitution of R120 by K in dog MAL likely contributes to the unreactivity of the canine protein with the 6D9 mAb.



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Figure 2. Characterization of a novel mAb to human MAL. A, Sequence alignment of amino acids 114–123 of human (h), rat (r), mouse (m), and dog (d) MAL protein. The indicated decapeptide corresponding to the human sequence was used for the preparation of antibodies to the MAL protein. The amino acid replacements of this sequence in rat, mouse, and dog MAL are boxed. B, Immunoblot analysis of the anti-MAL 6D9 mAb. The hybridoma clone 6D9, producing mAb to the human MAL protein, was isolated after screening of the hybridoma culture supernatants. To test the specificity of the 6D9 mAb, aliquots of 6D9 supernatant were preincubated for 1 h at 4 C with the indicated amounts of the MAL decapeptide, and they were used to probe blots containing aliquots of GEMs enriched in human MAL protein tagged with the 9E10 epitope. Other unrelated peptides used did not show any effect on the recognition of MAL by the 6D9 mAb (not shown). The same blots were then reprobed with anti c-myc 9E10 mAb, preincubated with the MAL decapetide, to show that the competition observed with the 6D9 mAb was specific. Note that similar amounts of MAL were present in each lane. C, Species specificity of the anti-MAL mAb 6D9. Protein extracts from COS-7 cells transiently expressing either human, rat, mouse, or dog MAL tagged with the c-myc 9E10 epitope (human, rat, and dog MAL) or the HA epitope (mouse MAL) were subjected to immunoblot analysis with either 6D9 mAb or with the appropriate anti-tag mAb. Because COS-7 cells are negative for MAL gene expression (not shown), no reaction was observed with endogenous proteins of COS-7 cells.

 
MAL distribution in thyroid follicles
To examine the distribution of MAL, thyroid sections were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis with anti-MAL mAb 6D9. Figure 3Go shows that, in agreement with the presence of MAL transcripts in the thyroid, positive MAL staining was found in thyroid epithelial cells. Moreover, MAL distribution was confined to the apical zone delineating the follicle lumen, whereas no staining was found at the basal or lateral membranes.



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Figure 3. MAL distribution in thyroid follicles. Thyroid sections were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis with anti-MAL mAb 6D9 and countestained with hematoxylin to visualize nuclei. A, MAL expression in thyroid epithelial cells. Notice the specific labeling (arrowheads) in the apical zone of thyrocytes (original magnification x450). B, A part of the field shown in (A) at higher magnification (x1250). Notice that the immunoreactivity for the MAL protein is distributed in a distinctly spot-like pattern confined to the apical zone (arrowheads).

 
Endogenous MAL is present in GEM microdomains in thyroid epithelial FRT cells
FRT cells are epithelial cells of thyroid origin that have a polarized phenotype, although they are devoid of thyroid-specific functions such as thyroglobulin production, or expression of both thyroperoxidase and TSH receptor (13) (also see Ref.31). Taking advantage of the expression of the MAL gene MAL in FRT cells (Fig. 1BGo), we adopted this cell line for biochemical analysis of the MAL protein. The GEM fraction, which is resistant to solubilization by nonionic detergent at low temperatures (21), was separated from the bulk of cellular membranes, which are solubilized by the detergent, and from cytosolic proteins, by using an established protocol involving centrifugation to equilibrium on sucrose density gradients (21, 22). FRT cells were extracted with 1% Triton X-100 at 4 C, and the extracts were centrifuged to equilibrium. Twelve 1-ml fractions were obtained after fractionation of the gradient from the bottom of the tube. The top panel of Fig. 4AGo shows the density expressed as a percentage of sucrose (wt/wt) in the different fractions. Aliquots from each fraction were subsequently separated by SDS-PAGE and stained with coomassie blue (Fig. 4Go, middle panel). Fractions 1–4, which correspond to the 40% sucrose layer, contain soluble proteins and represent more than 99% of the total cellular proteins, as shown by gel staining. Fractions 5–12 contain GEMs that attain buoyancy in the 5–30% sucrose gradient, and they represent less than 1% of the total cellular protein. When the different fractions were analyzed by immunoblotting with anti-MAL 6D9 mAb, MAL was identified as exclusively present in the floating membranes, indicating that endogenous MAL specifically resides in GEM microdomains in FRT cells (Fig. 4AGo, bottom panel). Moreover, to further study the ability of rat MAL to get targeted to GEMs, we prepared FRT cell transfectants stably expressing the rat MAL protein tagged at the N-terminus with the c-myc 9E10 epitope. Figure 4BGo shows that exogenous rat MAL was correctly incorporated into GEM microdomains in FRT cells.



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Figure 4. Identification of endogenous MAL in GEM microdomains in FRT cells. A, Epithelial FRT cells were extracted with 1% Triton X-100 at 4 C and subjected to centrifugation to equilibrium in sucrose density gradients. Fractions of 1 ml were collected from the bottom of the tube. Density was determined by measuring the refractive index (top panel). Aliquots from each fraction were subjected to SDS-PAGE and stained with coomassie blue (middle panel) or analyzed by immunoblotting with anti-MAL mAb 6D9 (bottom panel). Fractions 1–4 are the 40% sucrose layer, and they contain the bulk of cellular membranes and cytosolic proteins, whereas fractions 5–12 are the 5–30% sucrose layer and contain GEMs. Note that fractions 1–4 include more than 99% of the total cellular proteins, as shown previously (21, 22). B, FRT cells, stably expressing rat MAL tagged at the NH2-terminus with the c-myc 9E10 epitope, were extracted with 1% Triton X-100 at 4 C and subjected to centrifugation to equilibrium in sucrose density gradients. Fractions of 1 ml were collected from the bottom of the tube. Aliquots from the different fractions were analyzed by immunoblotting with anti c-myc mAb 9E10.

 
The MAL proteolipid is a major component of GEMs in FRT cells
To characterize the protein composition of the GEM microdomains of FRT cells, we isolated GEMs from metabolically labeled FRT cells by centrifugation to equilibrium in discontinous sucrose density gradients. The protein content of the initial lysate (T) was compared with equivalent aliquots from the fractions containing soluble (S) proteins or insoluble (I) GEMs. Figure 5AGo shows that, in contrast to the GEM fraction of MDCK cells, which displays a large number of proteins (right panel), only a weak protein band (of ~17-kDa) was specifically detected in the same fraction of FRT cells using exposure periods which caused overexposition of the total and soluble fractions (right panel). A second protein band of approximately 45-kDa was detected in both the soluble and GEM fractions. This protein was identified as actin by immunoblot analysis with specific antibodies (Fig. 5BGo), in agreement with the reported association of actin with GEMs (25). The 17-kDa protein band specifically present in the GEM fraction of FRT cells was identified as the MAL protein by both immunoblot and immunoprecipitation analyses with anti-MAL mAb 6D9 (Fig. 5BGo).



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Figure 5. Characterization of the GEM fraction of FRT cells. A, FRT cells were metabolically labeled overnight with a mixture of (35S)methionine/cysteine, extracted with 1% Triton X-100 at 4 C and subjected to centrifugation to equilibrium in discontinuous sucrose density gradients. Equivalent aliquots from the total lysate (T), and from the soluble (S) and insoluble GEM (I) fractions, were subjected to SDS-PAGE and were autoradiographed. An autoradiogram corresponding to a 10-day exposure is shown in the left panel. The position of a 17-kDa protein band selectively present in the GEM fraction is indicated with an arrowhead. A 2-day exposure of the GEM fraction prepared from metabolically labeled MDCK cells is shown in the right panel for comparison. The positions of molecular mass standards are indicated. B, Immunoblot analysis of the GEMs fractions of FRT cells. To identify the protein bands present in the GEM fraction of FRT cells, aliquots from the T, S, and I fractions were analyzed by immunoblotting with anti-MAL antibodies or with antiactin antibodies (only the result with the I fraction is shown). An immunoprecipitation (IP) experiment of the I fraction with an irrelevant control mAb or with 6D9 mAb is also shown to further confirm the identification of the 17-kDa protein band as the MAL protein. Arrows indicate the positions of the identified proteins.

 
Proteolipids are operationally defined as proteins displaying unusually high solubility in organic solvents (i.e. chloroform/methanol mixtures, n-butanol) used to extract cell lipids (26). To compare the proteolipid pattern in MDCK cells and FRT cells, GEM fractions from metabolically labeled MDCK and FRT cells were subjected to n-butanol extraction; and, after separation and evaporation of the organic phase, the proteins that partitioned in the n-butanol phase were subjected to SDS-PAGE and autoradiographed. In parallel, Escherichia coli cells expressing recombinant human MAL were subjected to similar treatments, as we reported previously (6). Figure 6Go shows that the MAL protein was the unique proteolipid detected in the GEM fraction of FRT cells, whereas two major proteolipid bands were evident in the equivalent fraction of MDCK cells. Minor proteolipid bands were detected in the MDCK cell sample, but not in that of FRT cells, after longer exposures. One of the major proteolipids in the MDCK cell sample had the same migration as that of rat MAL and recombinant human MAL, and it likely corresponds to canine MAL (7).



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Figure 6. Comparative analysis of the proteolipids present in the GEM fraction of FRT and MDCK cells. GEMs prepared from metabolically labeled FRT or MDCK cells were extracted with an identical volume of n-butanol, shaken vigorously, and centrifuged at low speed. The organic phase was withdrawn and evaporated. The dry residue containing the proteins that partitioned in n-butanol was resuspended in loading buffer and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. The n-butanol extract of metabolically labeled Escherichia coli cells expressing recombinant human MAL is shown for comparison. The positions of molecular mass standards are indicated.

 

    Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
GEM microdomains have been proposed to play an important role in the specific recruitment of proteins involved in a number of cellular processes, including signal transduction and apical transport. GEMs have been isolated from a variety of tissues, and their existence might represent a general feature in the function of cellular membranes (4). The MAL protein has been identified as a component of GEMs in T lymphocytes (10), in polarized MDCK cells (7), and in myelin-forming cells (8). The fact that MAL gene expression is tissue- and differentiation specific suggests that the role of MAL in GEMs is required in only a few cell types, and that that role is likely related to a specialized function common to this restricted pattern of cells. In this work, we demonstrate MAL gene transcription in the thyroid gland and in the thyroid epithelial FRT cell line. Moreover, using a newly developed anti-MAL mAb, we have identified MAL expression in normal thyroid epithelial cells and localized the MAL protein to the apical zone which faces the follicle lumen. Biochemical analysis revealed that MAL is a major integral membrane component of the GEM fraction of thyroid epithelial FRT cells. All these results allow us to include thyroid epithelial cells in the restricted group of specialized cells positive for the expression of MAL in GEMs.

A remarkable difference in the polarized transport between MDCK and FRT cells is that, whereas MDCK cells target both GPI-anchored proteins (27) and GlucCer (2) to the apical membrane, FRT cells sort them basolaterally (28, 29). The apical or basolateral surface distribution of endogenous transmembrane proteins has been found completely equivalent in MDCK and FRT cells (30), suggesting that GPI-anchored proteins use different pathways for apical transport than those used for the majority of transmembrane proteins. Most evidence supporting a role for GEM microdomains as a route of apical transport has been obtained in polarized epithelial MDCK cells (4). The GEM-mediated apical route has been previously compared in MDCK and FRT cells (29). FRT cells are able to assemble GEMs (22), but, contrary to MDCK cells, the GEM fraction from FRT cells seems to be depleted of GPI-anchored proteins (29). These findings were interpreted as indicating that the protein sorting machinery for GEM-mediated transport is incomplete in FRT cells and, as a consequence, this route is not operative in this cell line (29). Taking into account the proposed role of MAL as a component of the machinery for the GEM-mediated apical pathway of transport in MDCK cells, our results identifying MAL as a major integral membrane component of the GEM microdomains of FRT cells indicate that: 1) MAL is able to be specifically targeted to GEMs, whereas the majority of endogenous integral membrane proteins of FRT cells are not; and 2) MAL is not sufficient to recruit cargo proteins into GEMs.

Epithelial FRT cells display a polarized phenotype and tight junctions but lack thyroid-specific functional properties (13). In contrast, although epithelial FRTL-5 cells do exhibit thyroid-specific functions, they display limited polarity properties and lack tight junctions (31, 32), making them unappropriate for the study of polarized secretion. In addition, the FRTL-5 cell line does not express detectable levels of MAL mRNA or protein as assessed by Northern and Western blot analyses, respectively (not shown). Thus, none of these cell lines is a good model to address the possible role of the GEMs-containing MAL in vectorial transport of thyroid-specific molecules. The availability of the novel anti-MAL 6D9 mAb described in this work, together with the use of primary thyrocyte cultures, will be very helpful in the elucidation of the role of the GEMs containing MAL in thyroid cells.

Recombinant expression of either MAL or caveolin, another protein resident in the GEM fraction in some cell types, is able to induce intracellular vesicle formation (33). Interestingly, the vesicles induced by MAL are clearly different from the caveolae-like vesicles induced by caveolin, as evidenced by ectopic coexpression experiments in insect cells (11). This suggests that vesiculation induced by MAL and by caveolin are two separate processes. Thus, it is plausible that both caveolin and MAL may belong to the vesiculation machinery specific for GEM microdomains, but they act in the generation of different classes of vesicular carriers. This is in agreement with our recent results showing segregation of MAL and caveolin into distinct lipid microenvironments in MDCK cells (24). Because caveolin expression is absent in FRT cells (22, 29), our results demonstrate that MAL can access to GEMs independently of caveolin expression.

In this work, we report the expression of the MAL gene in the thyroid, the presence of MAL as a major protein component of the GEM fraction of epithelial thyroid FRT cells, and the distribution of MAL at the apical zone of normal thyroid epithelial cells in intact follicles. The availability, both of the novel anti-MAL mAb herein described and of molecular probes specific for the MAL gene (34, 35), opens up the possibility of addressing whether or not alterations in MAL expression take place in thyroid pathologies (1), such as carcinomas, in which epithelial polarity might be affected (36).


    Acknowledgments
 
We thank P. Santiesteban for her helpful advice at the initial stages of this study, P. Pérez for her help in the hybridization of the blot containing RNA from different human tissues, and C. Gómez-Mouton for her technical collaboration.


    Footnotes
 
1 This work was supported by grants from the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (PB93–0175) and Dirección General de Enseñanza Superior (PM96–0004). The Department of Immunology and Oncology was funded and supported by Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and Pharmacia & Upjohn. An institutional grant to CBMSO from Fundación Ramón Areces is also acknowledged. Back

Received August 4, 1997.


    References
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 

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