TY - JOUR A1 - Paul, Mila M. A1 - Pauli, Martin A1 - Ehmann, Nadine A1 - Hallermann, Stefan A1 - Sauer, Markus A1 - Kittel, Robert J. A1 - Heckmann, Manfred T1 - Bruchpilot and Synaptotagmin collaborate to drive rapid glutamate release and active zone differentiation JF - Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience N2 - The active zone (AZ) protein Bruchpilot (Brp) is essential for rapid glutamate release at Drosophila melanogaster neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). Quantal time course and measurements of action potential-waveform suggest that presynaptic fusion mechanisms are altered in brp null mutants (brp\(^{69}\)). This could account for their increased evoked excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) delay and rise time (by about 1 ms). To test the mechanism of release protraction at brp\(^{69}\) AZs, we performed knock-down of Synaptotagmin-1 (Syt) via RNAi (syt\(^{KD}\)) in wildtype (wt), brp\(^{69}\) and rab3 null mutants (rab3\(^{rup}\)), where Brp is concentrated at a small number of AZs. At wt and rab3\(^{rup}\) synapses, syt\(^{KD}\) lowered EPSC amplitude while increasing rise time and delay, consistent with the role of Syt as a release sensor. In contrast, syt\(^{KD}\) did not alter EPSC amplitude at brp\(^{69}\) synapses, but shortened delay and rise time. In fact, following syt\(^{KD}\), these kinetic properties were strikingly similar in wt and brp\(^{69}\), which supports the notion that Syt protracts release at brp\(^{69}\) synapses. To gain insight into this surprising role of Syt at brp\(^{69}\) AZs, we analyzed the structural and functional differentiation of synaptic boutons at the NMJ. At tonic type Ib motor neurons, distal boutons contain more AZs, more Brp proteins per AZ and show elevated and accelerated glutamate release compared to proximal boutons. The functional differentiation between proximal and distal boutons is Brp-dependent and reduced after syt\(^{KD}\). Notably, syt\(^{KD}\) boutons are smaller, contain fewer Brp positive AZs and these are of similar number in proximal and distal boutons. In addition, super-resolution imaging via dSTORM revealed that syt\(^{KD}\) increases the number and alters the spatial distribution of Brp molecules at AZs, while the gradient of Brp proteins per AZ is diminished. In summary, these data demonstrate that normal structural and functional differentiation of Drosophila AZs requires concerted action of Brp and Syt. KW - neuromuscular junction KW - Bruchpilot KW - synaptic delay KW - dSTORM KW - synaptotagmin KW - presynaptic differentiation KW - neurotransmitter release KW - active zone KW - synaptic transmission KW - fluorescent probes Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-148988 VL - 9 IS - 29 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Andronic, Joseph A1 - Shirakashi, Ryo A1 - Pickel, Simone U. A1 - Westerling, Katherine M. A1 - Klein, Teresa A1 - Holm, Thorge A1 - Sauer, Markus A1 - Sukhorukov, Vladimir L. T1 - Hypotonic Activation of the Myo-Inositol Transporter SLC5A3 in HEK293 Cells Probed by Cell Volumetry, Confocal and Super-Resolution Microscopy JF - PLoS One N2 - Swelling-activated pathways for myo-inositol, one of the most abundant organic osmolytes in mammalian cells, have not yet been identified. The present study explores the SLC5A3 protein as a possible transporter of myo-inositol in hyponically swollen HEK293 cells. To address this issue, we examined the relationship between the hypotonicity-induced changes in plasma membrane permeability to myo-inositol Pino [m/s] and expression/localization of SLC5A3. Pino values were determined by cell volumetry over a wide tonicity range (100–275 mOsm) in myo-inositol-substituted solutions. While being negligible under mild hypotonicity (200–275 mOsm), Pino grew rapidly at osmolalities below 200 mOsm to reach a maximum of ∼3 nm/s at 100–125 mOsm, as indicated by fast cell swelling due to myo-inositol influx. The increase in Pino resulted most likely from the hypotonicity-mediated incorporation of cytosolic SLC5A3 into the plasma membrane, as revealed by confocal fluorescence microscopy of cells expressing EGFP-tagged SLC5A3 and super-resolution imaging of immunostained SLC5A3 by direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM). dSTORM in hypotonic cells revealed a surface density of membrane-associated SLC5A3 proteins of 200–2000 localizations/μm2. Assuming SLC5A3 to be the major path for myo-inositol, a turnover rate of 80–800 myo-inositol molecules per second for a single transporter protein was estimated from combined volumetric and dSTORM data. Hypotonic stress also caused a significant upregulation of SLC5A3 gene expression as detected by semiquantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. In summary, our data provide first evidence for swelling-mediated activation of SLC5A3 thus suggesting a functional role of this transporter in hypotonic volume regulation of mammalian cells. KW - electrolytes KW - isotonic KW - membrane proteins KW - cell membranes KW - hypotonic KW - hypotonic solutions KW - tonicity KW - permeability Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-126408 VL - 10 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schneider, Johannes A1 - Klein, Teresa A1 - Mielich-Süss, Benjamin A1 - Koch, Gudrun A1 - Franke, Christian A1 - Kuipers, Oskar P. A1 - Kovács, Ákos T. A1 - Sauer, Markus A1 - Lopez, Daniel T1 - Spatio-temporal Remodeling of Functional Membrane Microdomains Organizes the Signaling Networks of a Bacterium JF - PLoS Genetics N2 - Lipid rafts are membrane microdomains specialized in the regulation of numerous cellular processes related to membrane organization, as diverse as signal transduction, protein sorting, membrane trafficking or pathogen invasion. It has been proposed that this functional diversity would require a heterogeneous population of raft domains with varying compositions. However, a mechanism for such diversification is not known. We recently discovered that bacterial membranes organize their signal transduction pathways in functional membrane microdomains (FMMs) that are structurally and functionally similar to the eukaryotic lipid rafts. In this report, we took advantage of the tractability of the prokaryotic model Bacillus subtilis to provide evidence for the coexistence of two distinct families of FMMs in bacterial membranes, displaying a distinctive distribution of proteins specialized in different biological processes. One family of microdomains harbors the scaffolding flotillin protein FloA that selectively tethers proteins specialized in regulating cell envelope turnover and primary metabolism. A second population of microdomains containing the two scaffolding flotillins, FloA and FloT, arises exclusively at later stages of cell growth and specializes in adaptation of cells to stationary phase. Importantly, the diversification of membrane microdomains does not occur arbitrarily. We discovered that bacterial cells control the spatio-temporal remodeling of microdomains by restricting the activation of FloT expression to stationary phase. This regulation ensures a sequential assembly of functionally specialized membrane microdomains to strategically organize signaling networks at the right time during the lifespan of a bacterium. KW - membrane proteins KW - gene expression KW - bacillus subtilis KW - fluorescence microscopy KW - cell fusion KW - signal transduction KW - gene regulation KW - lipids Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-125577 VL - 11 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wäldchen, Sina A1 - Lehmann, Julian A1 - Klein, Teresa A1 - van de Linde, Sebastian A1 - Sauer, Markus T1 - Light-induced cell damage in live-cell super-resolution microscopy JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Super-resolution microscopy can unravel previously hidden details of cellular structures but requires high irradiation intensities to use the limited photon budget efficiently. Such high photon densities are likely to induce cellular damage in live-cell experiments. We applied single-molecule localization microscopy conditions and tested the influence of irradiation intensity, illumination-mode, wavelength, light-dose, temperature and fluorescence labeling on the survival probability of different cell lines 20-24 hours after irradiation. In addition, we measured the microtubule growth speed after irradiation. The photo-sensitivity is dramatically increased at lower irradiation wavelength. We observed fixation, plasma membrane permeabilization and cytoskeleton destruction upon irradiation with shorter wavelengths. While cells stand light intensities of similar to 1 kW cm\(^{-2}\) at 640 nm for several minutes, the maximum dose at 405 nm is only similar to 50 J cm\(^{-2}\), emphasizing red fluorophores for live-cell localization microscopy. We also present strategies to minimize phototoxic factors and maximize the cells ability to cope with higher irradiation intensities. KW - optical reconstruction microscopy KW - tag fusion proteins KW - localization microscopy KW - photodynamic therapy KW - diffraction limit KW - illumination microscopy KW - structured illumination KW - fluorescent probes KW - in vitro KW - dynamics Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-145207 VL - 5 IS - 15348 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ehmann, Nadine A1 - Sauer, Markus A1 - Kittel, Robert J. T1 - Super-resolution microscopy of the synaptic active zone JF - Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience N2 - Brain function relies on accurate information transfer at chemical synapses. At the presynaptic active zone (AZ) a variety of specialized proteins are assembled to complex architectures, which set the basis for speed, precision and plasticity of synaptic transmission. Calcium channels are pivotal for the initiation of excitation-secretion coupling and, correspondingly, capture a central position at the AZ. Combining quantitative functional studies with modeling approaches has provided predictions of channel properties, numbers and even positions on the nanometer scale. However, elucidating the nanoscopic organization of the surrounding protein network requires direct ultrastructural access. Without this information, knowledge of molecular synaptic structure-function relationships remains incomplete. Recently, super-resolution microscopy (SRM) techniques have begun to enter the neurosciences. These approaches combine high spatial resolution with the molecular specificity of fluorescence microscopy. Here, we discuss how SRM can be used to obtain information on the organization of AZ proteins KW - excitation-secretion coupling KW - Ca\(^{2+}\) channels KW - structure-function relationships KW - super-resolution microscopy KW - active zone KW - presynaptic calcium KW - neurotransmitter release Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-148997 VL - 9 IS - 7 ER -