Rabbit Anti-Human GM130 Polyclonal antibody

Employing a yeast two-hybrid screen with the COOH terminus of polycystin-2, one of the proteins mutated in patients with polycystic kidney disease, we were able to isolate a novel protein that we call PIGEA-14 ( polycystin-2 interactor, Golgi- and endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein with a molecular mass of 14 kDa). Molecular modeling only predicts a coiled-coil motif, but no other functional domains, in PIGEA-14. In a subsequent two-hybrid screen using PIGEA-14 as a bait, we found GM130, a component of the cis-compartment of the Golgi apparatus. Co-expression of the PIGEA-14 and PKD2 cDNAs in LLC-PK1 and HeLa cells resulted in a redistribution of PIGEA-14 and polycystin-2 to the trans-Golgi network, which suggests that PIGEA-14 plays an important role in regulating the intracellular location of polycystin-2 and possibly other intracellular proteins. Our results also indicate that the intracellular trafficking of polycystin-2 is regulated both at the level of the endoplasmic reticulum and that of the trans-Golgi network.

Macromolecular therapeutics and nano-sized drug delivery systems often require localisation to specific intracellular compartments. In particular, efficient endosomal escape, retrograde trafficking, or late endocytic/lysosomal activation are often prerequisites for pharmacological activity. The aim of this study was to define a fluorescence microscopy technique able to confirm the localisation of water-soluble polymeric carriers to late endocytic intracellular compartments. Three polymeric carriers of different molecular weight and character were studied: dextrin (Mw similar to 50,000 g/mol), a N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymer (Mw similar to 35,000 g/mol) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) (Mw 5000 g/mol). They were labelled with Oregon Green (OG) (0.3-3 wt.%; <3% free OG in respect of total). A panel of relevant target cells were used: THP-1, ARPE-19, and MCF-7 cells, and primary bovine chondrocytes (currently being used to evaluate novel polymer therapeutics) as well as NRK and Vero cells as reference controls. Specific intracellular compartments were marked using either endocytosed physiological standards, Marine Blue (MB) or Texas-red (TxR)-Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), TxR-Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA), TxR-dextran, ricin holotoxin, C6-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl (NBD)-labelled ceramide and TxR-shiga toxin B chain, or post-fixation immuno-staining for early endosomal antigen I (EEA1), lysosomal-associated membrane proteins (LAMP-1, Lgp-120 or CD63) or the Golgi marker GM130. Co-localisation with polymer-OG conjugates confirmed transfer to discreet, late endocytic (including lysosomal) compartments in all cells types. The technique described here is a particularly powerful tool as it circumvents fixation artefacts ensuring the retention of water-soluble polymers within the vesicles they occupy. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.