Zur Verbesserung der Prüfung und Risikobewertung der zunehmenden Menge von Chemikalien und Arzneimitteln, gilt es neue Alternativen in Form von in vitro Prüfmethoden mit mechanistisch relevanten Endpunkten zu finden. Einen solchen Rahmen bietet das konzeptionelle Konstrukt des Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP)- Konzepts. Es erzeugt auf der Basis bestehenden Wissens einen mechanistischen und kausalen Zusammenhang mit Hilfe von mehreren Schlüsselereignissen (Key Event [KE]) zwischen einem initierenden molekularen Ereignis (Molecular Initiating Event [MIE]) und einem adversen Effekt (Adverse Outcome [AO]) auf biologischer Ebene. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde der AOP „Rezeptorvermittelte Endozytose und lysosomaler Overload führen zu Nephrotoxizität“ am Zellkulturmodell proximaler Nierentubuluszellen weiterentwickelt. Es wurden in vitro Assays für die Zelllinien RPTEC/TERT1 (Mensch) und NRK-52 E (Ratte) für jedes KE etabliert. In dem AOP wird die Initiierung der Schädigung des Nierengewebes durch rezeptorvermittelte Endozytose der Substanzen (MIE) mit folgendem lysosomalem Overload (KE 1) und der lysosomalen Membranruptur (KE 2) beschrieben. Es kommt zur Zellschädigung (KE 3) und endet mit einem Schaden auf Organebene (AO). Für KE 1 erfolgte die Visualisierung des lysosomal-assoziierten Membranproteins (lysosomal-associated Membranprotein [LAMP]) und in KE 2 die Darstellung der Protease Cathepsin D (CTSD) mittels Immunfluoreszenz. Für KE 3 wurden spezifische Toxizitätsdaten der Testsubstanzen mit dem CellTiter-Glo® Lumineszenz-Zellviabilitätstest generiert. Gewählte Stressoren für den AOP war die Gruppe der Polymyxin-Antibiotika (Polymyxin B, Colistin, Polymyxin B Nonapeptid), das Aminoglykosid Gentamicin, das Glykopeptid Vancomycin sowie Cadmiumchlorid. In Zusammenschau der Ergebnisse der drei KEs war die Rangfolge der Auswirkungen der drei Polymyxin-Derivate über alle KEs konsistent. Polymyxin B erwies sich als aktivste Substanz, während Polymyxin B Nonapeptid die geringsten Auswirkungen zeigte. Als Ausblick in weiterführenden Analysen der Arbeitsgruppe konnten bei Cadmiumchlorid trotz einer signifikanten Zytotoxizität (KE 3) nur geringe Auswirkungen in der LAMPExpression (KE 1) aufgezeigt werden. Des Weiteren erfolgte die Erstellung von Response-Response-Analysen, um mittels vorgeschalteter Schlüsselereignisse nachfolgende Effekte vorhersagen zu können. Projektpartner der Universität Utrecht entwickelten darüber hinaus eine quantitative in vitro in vivo Extrapolation (QIVIVE) mittels eines physiologisch basierten pharmakokinetischen (PBPK) Modells. / To improve testing and risk assessment of the increasing amount of chemicals and drugs, new alternatives of in vitro testing methods with mechanistically relevant endpoints need to be found. The conceptual construct of the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) concept provides such a framework. It generates a mechanistic and causal relationship based on existing knowledge using multiple key events (KE) between an initiating molecular event (MIE) and an adverse outcome (AO) at a biological level. In this work, the AOP "Receptor-mediated endocytosis and lysosomal overload lead to nephrotoxicity" was further developed using a cell culture model of proximal renal tubular cells. In vitro assays were established for the RPTEC/TERT1 (human) and NRK-52E (rat) cell lines for each KE. In the AOP, initiation of renal tissue damage by receptor-mediated endocytosis of substances (MIE) with subsequent lysosomal overload (KE 1) and lysosomal membrane rupture (KE 2) is described. Cell damage occurs (KE 3) and ends with organ damage (AO). For KE 1, visualization of lysosomal-associated membrane protein (LAMP), and for KE 2, visualization of protease cathepsin D (CTSD) was used by immunofluorescence. For KE 3, specific test substance toxicity data were generated using the CellTiter-Glo® luminescence cell viability assay. Selected stressors for the AOP were polymyxin antibiotics (polymyxin B, colistin, polymyxin B nonapeptide), the aminoglycoside gentamicin, the glycopeptide vancomycin, and cadmium chloride. All results of the three KEs combined, the ranking of the effects of the three polymyxin derivatives was consistent across all KEs. Polymyxin B proved to be the most active compound, while polymyxin B nonapeptide showed the lowest effects. In further analyses of the working group, only minor effects in LAMP expression (KE 1) could be shown with cadmium chloride despite a significant cytotoxicity (KE 3). Furthermore, response-response analyses were performed to predict upstream effects by downstream key events. Project partners from Utrecht University also developed a quantitative in vitro to in vivo extrapolation (QIVIVE) using a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model.

In schnell wachsenden Hyphen des filamentösen Pilzes Ashbya gossypii ist die Oberflächenvergrößerung bis zu 40-fach höher, als in den Knospen des nah verwandten Pilzes Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Um die Wachstumszonen auf die Hyphenspitzen zu begrenzen, müssen Polaritätsfaktoren wie Rezeptoren und Sensoren, sowie überschüssiges Membranmaterial in subapikalen Bereichen von der Zelloberfläche entfernt werden. Dies wird durch den Prozess der Endozytose erreicht. In S. cerevisiae ist der Hauptendozytoseweg die Clathrin- und Aktin-abhängige Endozytose und der Prozess ist bereits gut charakterisiert. A. gossypii besitzt Homologe zu fast allen Komponenten dieser endozytischen Maschinerie und ist daher besonders gut geeignet die Anpassung des endozytischen Prozesses an schnelles, polares Wachstum zu untersuchen. Um die Endozytose während des polaren Hyphenwachstums zu analysieren, wurden neun homologe Proteine des aus S. cerevisiae bekannten Endozytosemechanismus mittels „live cell imaging“ und TIRF-Mikroskopie sowohl in langsam, als auch in schnell wachsenden Hyphen untersucht. Hierbei zeigte sich, dass die Endozytoserate in den schnell wachsenden Hyphen in A. gossypii im Vergleich zu Hefe-Zellen deutlich erhöht ist. Dies wird sowohl durch die Beschleunigung des endozytischen Prozesses, als auch durch eine erhöhte Anzahl an endozytischen Ereignissen pro µm2 Zelloberfläche erreicht. Die fluoreszenzmikroskopischen Analysen zeigten zudem, dass sich die Endozytosezone bei hoher Wachstumsgeschwindigkeit um ca. 3 µm in den hinteren Hyphenbereich verlagert. Ein wesentlicher Unterschied des endozytischen Prozesses in A. gossypii im Vergleich zu S. cerevisiae ist die Funktion von Clathrin. Clathrin kolokalisierte mit keiner der getesteten endozytischen Komponenten und konnte ausschließlich an zellinternen Strukturen detektiert werden. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass Clathrin bei der Endozytose in A. gossypii keine Rolle spielt und seine Funktion auf interne Kompartimente wie die Endosomen oder das Golgi-Netzwerk beschränkt ist. Die Unterschiede in der Clathrin-Funktion zwischen S. cerevisiae und A. gossypii hängen vermutlich mit einer minimalen Abweichung im Genset endozytischer Komponenten in A. gossypii zusammen. So besitzt A. gossypii kein Homologes zu ScSla2, welches in Hefe sowohl mit Clc1, als auch mit dem Aktin-Zytoskelett interagiert. Der Sequenzvergleich der Clc1-Proteine aus S. cerevisiae und A. gossypii zeigt, dass in AgClc1 die Sla2-Bindedomäne fehlt. Mittels eines Komplementationstests konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass die Fusion dieser Bindedomäne an das AgCLC1-Gen ausreicht, um die endozytische Funktion von Clathrin in S. cerevisiae wieder herzustellen. In S. cerevisiae führt die Interaktion von Sla2 und Clc1 zu einer verminderten Aktin-Anlagerung an das entstehende Vesikel und dient als Regulationsmechanismus für die Membraneinstülpung. Das Fehlen dieses Mechanismus könnte in A. gossypii die Membraneinstülpung durch vermehrte Aktin-Anlagerung beschleunigen und auf diese Weise zur Anpassung an das schnelle Hyphenwachstum beitragen.

Endocytosis is an evolutionary conserved process of internalization of cargo from the extracellular environment, be they ligands, nutritional and signaling or pathogens into cells. Following their entry, cargo is received into vesiculo-tubular network of early endosomal compartments from where they are sorted and routed to appropriate cellular destinations through transport along the endocytic network. Recycling cargo is sorted away from other cargo resident in early endosomes through tubulation resulting in fission of recycling vesicles, while those to be degraded are progressively concentrated in early endosomes to be degraded in lysosomes. Early endosomes are dynamic organelles that have been shown to move centripetally following the internalization of cargo into at the cell periphery. Their motility from the cell periphery to the juxtanuclear location of the cell involves convoluted trajectories that include directed motility, bi-directional switches, saltatory behavior and stalls. This complex motility presumably contributes toward the cargo sorting, duration of cargo residence and spatio-temporal signaling by early endosomes. How the different regimes of motility, and nature and number of molecular motors involved in early endosome motility contribute toward endosome function is not understood. The aim of this study was to probe into the regulation of endosome motility and understand how transport organizes early endosome network. Towards this end, live cell time-lapse movies of Rab5 endosomes were analyzed to derive motility properties contributing to organization of early endosomes. Consistent and significant bias toward the cell centre (minus end motility) in kinetic parameters such as speed, displacement and duration of motility contribute to centripetal flux of Rab5 early endosomes. A phenomenological property of early endosome motility is its saltatory behavior that produces saturation curves in Mean Square Displacement (MSD) plots. This phase of motility is descriptive, with no understanding of its mechanism or function. Live cell candidate RNAi screen and cytoskeletal perturbation analysis were performed to identify molecules regulating saltatory motility. To this end, cellular microtubule perturbation and RNAi knock down of several Kinesin motor candidates showed a loss in saturation behavior. Potential candidates identified have to be tested for their effect on endosome function through cargo sorting and kinetic assays to gain insights into the role of saltatory motility in endosome function. Molecular motors mediate Rab5 motility. Therefore, understanding regulation of motility requires identifying number and nature of molecular motors involved in their transport. Towards this end, a functional cargo (LDL) degradation RNAi screen targeting molecular motors was performed. The Ambion Select technology was used with 3 siRNAs targeting every gene in the library. Analysis of screen produced by lack of phenotype consistency between the multiple siRNAs targeting the same gene. Hence, a search for technology with better target specificity was initiated. Technologies tested were Ambion Select, Ambion Silencer Select, Dharmacon ON-TARGET Plus, esiRNA and Invitrogen Stealth. Invitrogen Stealth technology was found to produce the least off-targets and was most specific in terms of consistency of phenotypes produced by multiple siRNAs silencing the same target gene. Assay conditions were also found to influence the silencing specificities to a significant extent. Hence, a systematic assay optimization exercise was performed in terms of the concentration of siRNA used for transfection and time window of assay to maximize specificity of siRNA silencing. Insights obtained from methodologies developed herein not only provide invaluable guidelines in choosing RNAi commercial libraries for screens, but also underscore the importance of establishing optimal assay conditions to minimize off-targets and improve specificity of silencing target genes. The motor screen was repeated with RNAi library from Invitrogen Stealth. Several potentially interesting candidates have been identified. Also, correlation analyses of phenotypes produced in the screen have indicated toward potential regulatory motor complexes, all of which await biochemical validation.

Endocytosis is an essential cellular process consisting of the internalization of extracellular cargo and its transport towards different intracellular destinations. Multiple endocytic routes are tailored for the internalization and trafficking of different types of cargo and multiple endocytic organelles provide specialized biochemical environments where different molecular events take place. Membrane receptors and cargo molecules are internalized by both Clathrin-dependent and –independent endocytosis into early endosomes. From here two main endocytic routes are followed: 1) the recycling route, mainly followed by membrane receptor and other molecules like Transferrin, brings the cargo back to the plasma membrane and 2) the degradative route, followed by molecules like Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) and Lipoprotein particles (LDL), leads the cargo to degradation into late endosomes/lysosomes. In addition to the basic function of intracellular cargo transport, the endocytic system fulfils many other cellular and developmental functions such as transmission of proliferative and survival signals and defence against pathogens. In order for cells to properly perform their various and numerous functions in organs and tissues, the activity of the endocytic system needs to be coordinated between cells and, within individual cells, integrated with other cellular functions. Even though molecules orchestrating the endocytic sorting and transport of different types of cargo have long been investigated, our understanding of the molecular machinery underlying endocytosis and its coordination into the cellular systems remains fragmentary. The work presented in this thesis aimed at understanding how this high-order regulation and integration is achieved. This requires not only a comprehensive analysis of molecular constituents of the endocytic system but also an understanding of the general design principles underlying its function. To this end, in collaboration with several members of the Zerial group and with the HT-Technology Development Studio (TDS) at MPI-CBG, I developed a new strategy to accurately profile the activity of human genes with respect to Transferrin (Tfn) and Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) endocytosis by combining genome-wide RNAi with several siRNA/esiRNA per gene, automated high-resolution confocal microscopy, quantitative multi-parametric image analysis and high-performance computing. This provided a rich and complex genomic dataset that was subsequently subjected to analysis with a combination of tools such as a multi-parametric correlation of oligo profiles, phenotypic clustering and pathways analysis, and a Bayesian network reconstruction of key endocytic features. Altogether, the genomic endeavour and the subsequent analyses provided a number of important results: first, they revealed a much higher extent of off-target effects from RNAi and provided novel tools to infer the specific effects of genes loss of function; second, they identified a large number of novel molecules exerting a regulatory role on the endocytic system, including uncharacterized genes and genes implicated in human diseases; third, they uncovered the regulatory activity of signalling pathways such as Wnt, Integrin, TGF-β, and Notch, and found new genes regulating the sorting of cargo to a specialized subset of early endosomes that function as intracellular signalling platforms; and fourth, a systems analysis by Bayesian networks revealed that the cell specifically regulates the number, size, concentration of cargo and intracellular position of endosomes, thus uncovering novel properties of the endocytic system. In conclusion, the work presented here not only provided a dataset extremely rich of information whose potential has just begun to be uncovered but also shows how genomic datasets can be used to reveal design principles governing the functioning of biological processes.

Endocytosis is an evolutionary conserved process of internalization of cargo from the extracellular environment, be they ligands, nutritional and signaling or pathogens into cells. Following their entry, cargo is received into vesiculo-tubular network of early endosomal compartments from where they are sorted and routed to appropriate cellular destinations through transport along the endocytic network. Recycling cargo is sorted away from other cargo resident in early endosomes through tubulation resulting in fission of recycling vesicles, while those to be degraded are progressively concentrated in early endosomes to be degraded in lysosomes. Early endosomes are dynamic organelles that have been shown to move centripetally following the internalization of cargo into at the cell periphery. Their motility from the cell periphery to the juxtanuclear location of the cell involves convoluted trajectories that include directed motility, bi-directional switches, saltatory behavior and stalls. This complex motility presumably contributes toward the cargo sorting, duration of cargo residence and spatio-temporal signaling by early endosomes. How the different regimes of motility, and nature and number of molecular motors involved in early endosome motility contribute toward endosome function is not understood. The aim of this study was to probe into the regulation of endosome motility and understand how transport organizes early endosome network. Towards this end, live cell time-lapse movies of Rab5 endosomes were analyzed to derive motility properties contributing to organization of early endosomes. Consistent and significant bias toward the cell centre (minus end motility) in kinetic parameters such as speed, displacement and duration of motility contribute to centripetal flux of Rab5 early endosomes. A phenomenological property of early endosome motility is its saltatory behavior that produces saturation curves in Mean Square Displacement (MSD) plots. This phase of motility is descriptive, with no understanding of its mechanism or function. Live cell candidate RNAi screen and cytoskeletal perturbation analysis were performed to identify molecules regulating saltatory motility. To this end, cellular microtubule perturbation and RNAi knock down of several Kinesin motor candidates showed a loss in saturation behavior. Potential candidates identified have to be tested for their effect on endosome function through cargo sorting and kinetic assays to gain insights into the role of saltatory motility in endosome function. Molecular motors mediate Rab5 motility. Therefore, understanding regulation of motility requires identifying number and nature of molecular motors involved in their transport. Towards this end, a functional cargo (LDL) degradation RNAi screen targeting molecular motors was performed. The Ambion Select technology was used with 3 siRNAs targeting every gene in the library. Analysis of screen produced by lack of phenotype consistency between the multiple siRNAs targeting the same gene. Hence, a search for technology with better target specificity was initiated. Technologies tested were Ambion Select, Ambion Silencer Select, Dharmacon ON-TARGET Plus, esiRNA and Invitrogen Stealth. Invitrogen Stealth technology was found to produce the least off-targets and was most specific in terms of consistency of phenotypes produced by multiple siRNAs silencing the same target gene. Assay conditions were also found to influence the silencing specificities to a significant extent. Hence, a systematic assay optimization exercise was performed in terms of the concentration of siRNA used for transfection and time window of assay to maximize specificity of siRNA silencing. Insights obtained from methodologies developed herein not only provide invaluable guidelines in choosing RNAi commercial libraries for screens, but also underscore the importance of establishing optimal assay conditions to minimize off-targets and improve specificity of silencing target genes. The motor screen was repeated with RNAi library from Invitrogen Stealth. Several potentially interesting candidates have been identified. Also, correlation analyses of phenotypes produced in the screen have indicated toward potential regulatory motor complexes, all of which await biochemical validation.

Endocytosis, a process of plasma membrane invaginations, is a fundamental cellular mechanism, ensuring uptake of nutrients, enhanced communication between cells, protective functions against invasive pathogens and remodelling of the plasma membrane composition. In turn, endocytic mechanisms are exploited by pathogens to enter their host cells. Endocytosis comprises multiple forms of which our molecular understanding has mostly advanced with respect to clathrin-mediated endocytosis and phagocytosis. Studies on the small GTPase Rab5 have provided important insights into the molecular mechanism of endocytosis and transport in the early stages of the endocytic pathways. Rab5 is a key regulator of clathrin-mediated endocytosis, but in addition, localises to several distinct endocytic carriers including phagosomes and pinocytic vesicles. On early endosomes, Rab5 coordinates within a spatially restricted domain enriched in phosphatidylinositol-3 phosphate PI(3)P a complex network of effectors, including PI3-Kinase (PI3-K), the FYVE-finger proteins EEA1 and Rabenosyn-5 that functionally cooperate in membrane transport. Moreover, Rab5 regulates endocytosis from the apical and basolateral plasma membrane in polarised epithelial cells. During my PhD thesis, I investigated the molecular mechanisms of endocytosis both in polarised and non-polarised cells. I obtained new insights into the molecular mechanisms of endocytosis and their coordination through the functional characterization of a novel Rab5 effector, termed Rabankyrin-5. I could demonstrated that Rabankyrin-5 is a novel PI(3)P-binding Rab5 effector that localises to early endosomes and stimulates their fusion activity in vitro. The latter activity depends on the oligomerisation of Rabankyrin-5 on the endosomal membrane via the N-terminal BTB/POZ domain. In addition to early endosomes, however, Rabankyrin-5 localises to large vacuolar structures that correspond to macropinosomes in epithelial cells and fibroblasts. Overexpression of Rabankyrin-5 increases the number of macropinosomes and stimulates fluid phase uptake whereas its downregulation through RNA interference inhibits these processes. In polarised epithelial cells, the function of Rabankyrin-5 is primarily restricted to the apical membrane. It localises to large pinocytic structures underneath the apical surface of kidney proximal tubule cells and its overexpression in polarised MDCK cells specifically stimulates apical but not basolateral, non-clathrin mediated pinocytosis. In demonstrating a regulatory role in endosome fusion and (macro)-pinocytosis, my studies suggest that Rab5 regulates and coordinates different endocytic mechanisms through its effector Rabankyrin-5. Furthermore, the active role in apical pinocytosis in epithelial cells suggests an important function of Rabankyrin-5 in the physiology of polarised cells. The results obtained in this thesis are central not only for our understanding of the basic principles underlying the regulation of multiple endocytic mechanisms. They are also relevant for the biomedical field, since actin-dependent (macro)-pinocytosis is an important mechanism for the physiology of cells and organisms and is upregulated under certain pathological conditions (e.g. cancer).

Endocytosis, a process of plasma membrane invaginations, is a fundamental cellular mechanism, ensuring uptake of nutrients, enhanced communication between cells, protective functions against invasive pathogens and remodelling of the plasma membrane composition. In turn, endocytic mechanisms are exploited by pathogens to enter their host cells. Endocytosis comprises multiple forms of which our molecular understanding has mostly advanced with respect to clathrin-mediated endocytosis and phagocytosis. Studies on the small GTPase Rab5 have provided important insights into the molecular mechanism of endocytosis and transport in the early stages of the endocytic pathways. Rab5 is a key regulator of clathrin-mediated endocytosis, but in addition, localises to several distinct endocytic carriers including phagosomes and pinocytic vesicles. On early endosomes, Rab5 coordinates within a spatially restricted domain enriched in phosphatidylinositol-3 phosphate PI(3)P a complex network of effectors, including PI3-Kinase (PI3-K), the FYVE-finger proteins EEA1 and Rabenosyn-5 that functionally cooperate in membrane transport. Moreover, Rab5 regulates endocytosis from the apical and basolateral plasma membrane in polarised epithelial cells. During my PhD thesis, I investigated the molecular mechanisms of endocytosis both in polarised and non-polarised cells. I obtained new insights into the molecular mechanisms of endocytosis and their coordination through the functional characterization of a novel Rab5 effector, termed Rabankyrin-5. I could demonstrated that Rabankyrin-5 is a novel PI(3)P-binding Rab5 effector that localises to early endosomes and stimulates their fusion activity in vitro. The latter activity depends on the oligomerisation of Rabankyrin-5 on the endosomal membrane via the N-terminal BTB/POZ domain. In addition to early endosomes, however, Rabankyrin-5 localises to large vacuolar structures that correspond to macropinosomes in epithelial cells and fibroblasts. Overexpression of Rabankyrin-5 increases the number of macropinosomes and stimulates fluid phase uptake whereas its downregulation through RNA interference inhibits these processes. In polarised epithelial cells, the function of Rabankyrin-5 is primarily restricted to the apical membrane. It localises to large pinocytic structures underneath the apical surface of kidney proximal tubule cells and its overexpression in polarised MDCK cells specifically stimulates apical but not basolateral, non-clathrin mediated pinocytosis. In demonstrating a regulatory role in endosome fusion and (macro)-pinocytosis, my studies suggest that Rab5 regulates and coordinates different endocytic mechanisms through its effector Rabankyrin-5. Furthermore, the active role in apical pinocytosis in epithelial cells suggests an important function of Rabankyrin-5 in the physiology of polarised cells. The results obtained in this thesis are central not only for our understanding of the basic principles underlying the regulation of multiple endocytic mechanisms. They are also relevant for the biomedical field, since actin-dependent (macro)-pinocytosis is an important mechanism for the physiology of cells and organisms and is upregulated under certain pathological conditions (e.g. cancer).

Endozytose erfordert hohe Membrankrümmung und führt zu Flächenänderungen der Membranhälften. Dies kann durch eine Oberflächendifferenz zwischen den Schichten initiiert werden, die durch geänderte Lipidzusammensetzungen hervorgerufen werden kann. Daher wurde die Hypothese aufgestellt, dass Lipid-Transporter zu Beginn der Endozytose für veränderte Flächenverhältnisse verantwortlich sind. Um den Einfluss veränderter Flächen auf Endozytose zu untersuchen, wurden die Oberflächenverhältnisse der Membran durch Zugabe von Phospholipiden verändert und anschließend Endozytose gemessen. Abhängig von der Sorte wurden die Lipide nur in die äußere Schicht eingebaut oder auch auf die innere Seite transportiert, wodurch die entsprechende Seite vergrößert wurde. Die Zugabe verschiedener Aminophospholipide, die auf die innere Membranseite transportiert werden, führte zu gesteigerter „bulk flow“ Endocytose in K562-Zellen. Darüber hinaus deuten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass Clathrin-vermittelte Endozytose von Hep2-Zellen ebenfalls stimuliert wurde. Umgekehrt hatte die Zugabe von Lipiden, die auf der äußeren Hälfte bleiben, reduzierte „bulk flow“- oder Clathrin-vermittelte Endozytose in verschiedenen Zelllinien zur Folge. Bemerkenswert ist, dass auch Clathrin-vermittelte Endozytose durch die Lipidzugabe beeinflusst wurde, obwohl gerade in diesem Weg viele Proteine involviert sind, die Krümmung induzieren können. Dies passt zu einem neuen Modell wie Lipidtransporter in Endozytose involviert sind. Durch den Transport von Lipiden und die zusätzliche Interaktion mit Endozytoseproteinen, könnten diese Transporter zwei Mechanismen zur Erzeugung von Krümmung miteinander verbinden: Membrankrümmung induziert durch eine Flächenasymmetrie zwischen den Membranhälften und durch Wechselwirkung mit Proteinen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit deuten darauf hin, dass die für Endozytose notwendige Krümmung durch die durch Lipidtransport induzierte Flächenasymmetrie der Membranschichten unterstützt wird. / Endocytic engulfment requires high local membrane curvature and causes significant area changes of the membrane leaflets. This can be initiated by differences between the surface areas of the two monolayers related to leaflet specific modulation of lipid composition. Thus, it was proposed that lipid translocators, pumping phospholipids from the outer to the inner leaflet, account for monolayer area asymmetry as an early step in endocytosis. To elucidate the influence of this asymmetry on endocytosis, surface area relation was altered by adding exogenous phospholipids to living cells and changes in endocytic activity were quantified. Depending on the lipid species, exogenous lipids were only incorporated into the outer layer or subsequently translocated across the plasma membrane thereby increasing either the outer or inner surface area. Addition of different analogues of aminophospholipids, which are translocated to the inner leaflet, led to an enhancement of bulk flow endocytosis in K562 cells. Moreover, our data indicate that clathrin-mediated endocytosis of Hep2 cells was stimulated as well. Inversely, addition of phospholipids, which remain on the outer layer, reduced bulk flow or clathrin-mediated endocytosis in various cell lines. Notably, also clathrin-mediated endocytosis was influenced by the addition of lipids, although many proteins noted for their ability to induce membrane curvature are known to be implicated in this pathway. This corroborates a recent model how aminophospholipid translocases are implicated in endocytosis. Upon translocating lipids and additionally interacting with endocytic accessory proteins, lipid translocators could integrate two processes to generate curvature: membrane bending based on monolayer area asymmetry and protein-related mechanisms. Collectively, findings in the present study suggest that curvature generation in endocytosis is supported by the induction of monolayer area asymmetry mediated by the translocation of lipids.

No description available.

Biological information processing in living systems like cells, tissues and organs critically depends on the physical interactions of molecular signaling components in time and space. How endocytic transport of signaling molecules contributes to the regulation of developmental signaling in the complex in vivo environment of a developing organism is not well understood. In a previously performed genome-wide screen on endocytosis, several genes have been identified, that selectively regulate transport of signaling molecules to different types of endosomes, without disrupting endocytosis. My PhD thesis work provides the first functional in vivo characterization of one of these candidate genes, the novel, highly conserved Rab5 effector protein P95 (PPP1R21). Cell culture studies suggest that P95 is a novel endocytic protein important to maintain the balance of distinct endosomal sub-populations and potentially regulates the sorting of signaling molecules between them (unpublished work, Zerial lab). The scientific evidence presented in this study demonstrates that zebrafish P95 is essential for early zebrafish embryogenesis. Both, knockdown and overexpression of zebrafish P95 compromise accurate morphogenetic movements and patterning of the zebrafish gastrula, showing that P95 functions during zebrafish gastrulation. P95 is functionally required to maintain signaling activity of signaling pathways that control embryonic patterning, in particular for WNT/β-catenin signaling activity. Knockdown of zebrafish P95 amplifies the recruitment of β-catenin to early endosomes, which correlates with the limitation of β-catenin to translocate to the nucleus and function as transcriptional activator. The obtained results suggest that zebrafish P95 modulates the cytoplasmic pools of β-catenin in vivo, via endosomal transport of β-catenin. In conclusion, the data presented in this thesis work provides evidence that the cytoplasm-to-nucleus shuttling of β-catenin is modulated by endocytic trafficking of β-catenin in vivo. We propose the endocytic modulation of β-catenin cytoplasm-to-nucleus trafficking as potential new mechanism to fine-tune the functional output of WNT/β-catenin signaling during vertebrate gastrulation.