NRFL-1, the C. elegans NHERF orthologue, interacts with amino acid transporter 6 (AAT-6) for age-dependent maintenance of AAT-6 on the membrane

PLoS One. 2012;7(8):e43050. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0043050. Epub 2012 Aug 15.

Abstract

The NHERF (Na(+)/H(+) exchanger regulatory factor) family has been proposed to play a key role in regulating transmembrane protein localization and retention at the plasma membrane. Due to the high homology between the family members, potential functional compensations have been a concern in sorting out the function of individual NHERF numbers. Here, we studied C. elegans NRFL-1 (C01F6.6) (nherf-like protein 1), the sole C. elegans orthologue of the NHERF family, which makes worm a model with low genetic redundancy of NHERF homologues. Integrating bioinformatic knowledge of C. elegans proteins into yeast two-hybrid scheme, we identified NRFL-1 as an interactor of AAT-6, a member of the C. elegans AAT (amino acid transporter) family. A combination of GST pull-down assay, localization study, and co-immunoprecipitation confirmed the binding and characterized the PDZ interaction. AAT-6 localizes to the luminal membrane even in the absence of NRFL-1 when the worm is up to four-day old. A fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) analysis suggested that NRFL-1 immobilizes AAT-6 at the luminal membrane. When the nrfl-1 deficient worm is six-day or older, in contrast, the membranous localization of AAT-6 is not observed, whereas AAT-6 tightly localizes to the membrane in worms with NRFL-1. Sorting out the in vivo functions of the C. elegans NHERF protein, we found that NRFL-1, a PDZ-interactor of AAT-6, is responsible for the immobilization and the age-dependent maintenance of AAT-6 on the intestinal luminal membrane.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Transport Systems / genetics
  • Amino Acid Transport Systems / metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / metabolism*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / metabolism*
  • Intestinal Mucosa / metabolism
  • Phosphoproteins / genetics
  • Phosphoproteins / metabolism*
  • Phosphorylation
  • Protein Binding
  • Sodium-Hydrogen Exchangers / genetics
  • Sodium-Hydrogen Exchangers / metabolism*
  • Two-Hybrid System Techniques

Substances

  • Amino Acid Transport Systems
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
  • Phosphoproteins
  • Sodium-Hydrogen Exchangers
  • sodium-hydrogen exchanger regulatory factor

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas of ‘Transportsome’ from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (grant number 17081015 (http://www.mext.go.jp/english/); Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (grant numbers 21390264 and 22659052) (http://www.mext.go.jp/english/); Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) (http://www.jst.go.jp/kisoken/crest/en/index.html); and Ajinomoto Amino Acid Research Program (http://www.3arp.ajinomoto.com/). Saya Nakagomi is a research fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.