Abstract Anion exchanger 2 (AE2) is a member of the anion exchanger gene family, which includes three additional members, AE1, AE3, and AE4. They are also known as Na+-independent Cl-/HCO3- exchangers, and their major function is to regulate intracellular pH and chloride concentration. All four isoforms have several N-terminally truncated variants that are often expressed cell type specifically. Red blood cells express the full-length AE1 isoform that interacts with ankyrin, an adapter protein linking plasma membrane to the spectrin-based membrane skeleton. This membrane skeleton association is essential for maintaining the membrane integrity of red blood cells. AE3 variants are mainly found in the brain and heart, whereas AE4 is localized in the kidney. Anion exchanger 2 is expressed in every cell line and tissue studied thus far, and it has been mainly localized to the plasma membrane. However, we found two types of localization/targeting of the AE2 protein in several of the cell lines studied. The protein was localized to either the plasma membrane or the Golgi complex, depending on the cell type. The AE2 variant expressed in these cells was identified as the full-length AE2 protein. The determinants of differential intracellular targeting were assessed. We hypothesized that Golgi-AE2 is anchored to the Golgi membranes via its association with the Golgi membrane skeleton. We were able to show that the Golgi localization of AE2 correlated with the cell type specific expression of Ank195, a Golgi membrane skeletal protein. In cells where AE2 was targeted to the plasma membrane, Ank195 was not expressed. In addition, the detergent insolubility and co-redistribution properties of AE2 and Ank195 strongly suggested that these proteins interact with each other. The Golgi membrane skeleton has been shown to be necessary for maintaining the Golgi structure. Our studies were consistent with these findings, showing that in cells in which AE2 expression was reduced by using AE2-specific antisense oligonucleotides, the Golgi complex was dispersed. The spectrin-based membrane skeleton was probably partially detached from the Golgi membranes leading to breakdown of the Golgi structure and disorganization of the microtubules associated with it. The present findings suggest that the targeting of AE2 is cell type specific, and that Golgi-localized AE2 serves as a membrane association site for the spectrin-based Golgi membrane skeleton, thereby participating in the maintenance of the Golgi structure.

Die in der vorliegenden Habilitationsschrift zusammengefaßten Publikationen stellen Untersuchungen zu zwei Themenschwerpunkten dar: 1. Verankerungsmechanismen von Membranproteinen der basolateralen und der apikalen Plasmamembrandomäne der Parietalzellen mit dem Membranzytoskelett und 2. die regulierte Fusion von zytoplasmatischen Vesikeln mit der apikalen Plasmamembran dieser Zellen. Die strukturell und molekular sehr unterschiedlich gestaltete apikale und basolaterale Membrandomäne der Parietalzellen sollte funktionell charakterisiert und die Mechanismen der Membranumbauvorgänge aufgeklärt werden, die nach Aktivierung der Zellen im apikalen Membrankompartiment ablaufen. Für die strukturelle Stabilität der basolateralen Domäne spielt wahrscheinlich die Verankerung von AE2 über das Verknüpfungsprotein Ankyrin mit dem Membranzytoskelett eine wichtige Rolle. Die apikale Membrandomäne der Parietalzellen kann in drei Kompartimente unterteilt werden. Die freie apikale Membran, die canalikuläre Membran und die Membranen der tubulären Vesikel. Entlang der freien apikalen und der canaliculären Plasmamembran kommen wie auf der basolateralen Seite die Zytoskelett-Proteine Actin und Spectrin vor. Nach unseren Untersuchungen könnte es während der Sekretionsphase zu einer temporären Verbindung von H+,K+-ATPase Molekülen mit dem Membranzytoskelett kommen. Diese Verbindung wird wahrscheinlich durch das Verknüpfungsprotein Ezrin vermittelt. Der Mechanismus des Fusionsvorgangs der tubulären Vesikel mit der canaliculären Membran war bisher nicht bekannt. In Parietalzellen konnten die neuronalen SNARE-Proteine Synaptobrevin 2, Syntaxin 1 und SNAP25 sowie das zur Familie der kleinen G-Proteine gehörende Protein Rab3A und die Regulatorproteine NSF und alpha/beta SNAP nachgewiesen werden. Das in Parietalzellen gefundene Verteilungsmuster der SNARE-Proteine entspricht nicht der klassischen Vorstellung einer heterotypischen Membranfusion, vielmehr entspricht diese Verteilung einer homotypischen Fusion, wie sie für Vakuolen in Hefezellen beschrieben wurde. Die Bedeutung der SNARE-Proteine für die Fusion der tubulären Vesikel mit der canaliculären Membran und damit für die Steigerung der HCl-Sekretion konnte durch Inkubation der Zellen mit Tetanus Neurotoxin (TeNt) gezeigt werden. Die Behandlung der Parietalzellen mit TeNt führte zum vollständigen Ausbleiben der, nach Stimulation mit cAMP bei Kontrollzellen beobachteten Erhöhung, der Säuresekretion / The publications summarized here cover two topics: 1. the anchorage mechanism of membrane proteins of the basolateral and the apical plasma membrane with the membrane cytoskeleton of parietal cells and 2. the regulated fusion of cytoplasmic vesicles with the apical plasma membrane of these cells. It was the aim of these studies to characterize the structural and molecular differences between the apical and basolateral membrane domains in parietal cells. Moreover the mechanisms involved in membrane traffic within the apical membrane compartment following stimulation were investigated. We found that anchorage of AE2 with the membrane cytoskeleton through the linkage protein ankyrin seems to be important for the stability of the basolateral membrane. The apical membrane domain of parietal cells can be subdivided into three compartments. The free apical membrane, the canalicular membrane and the tubulovesicular membrane. The cytoskeletal proteins spectrin and actin can be found at the basolateral, the free apical and the canalicular membrane. We have shown that the H+K+-ATPase molecules appear to be temporary linked to the membrane cytoskeleton during acid-secretion. This contact is most likely mediated by the linker-protein ezrin. Until now the mechanism of fusion of the tubulovesicles with the canalicular membrane was unknown. In parietal cells the neuronal SNARE-proteins synaptobrevin 2, Syntaxin 1, SNAP25, the small G-protein rab3A, and the regulatory proteins NSF and alpha/beta-SNAP were detected. The subcellular distribution of these proteins does not support the notion of a neuron-like heterotypic fusion. Instead it shows similarity with the homotypic fusion process of vacuoles in yeast. The importance of SNARE-proteins for the fusion of tubulovesicles with the canalicular membrane and, by consequence also for the increase of acid-secretion was shown by incubation of the cells with tetanus neurotoxin (TeNt). The measurable increase of acid secretion by parietal cells after stimulation with c-AMP was inhibited completely through an incubation with TeNt.