Munc18-1 phosphorylation by protein kinase C potentiates vesicle pool replenishment in bovine chromaffin cells

U Nili, H De Wit, A Gulyas-Kovacs, RF Toonen… - Neuroscience, 2006 - Elsevier
U Nili, H De Wit, A Gulyas-Kovacs, RF Toonen, JB Sørensen, M Verhage, U Ashery
Neuroscience, 2006Elsevier
Activation of protein kinase C (PKC) after robust stimulation is necessary for vesicle pool
replenishment in secretory cells. Here we studied the contribution of a prominent
downstream PKC target, Munc18-1, to this process in bovine chromaffin cells. In these cells,
both activation of endogenous PKC and overexpressing of Munc18-1 promote vesicle pool
replenishment after an extensive stimulation. In order to study the physiological relevance of
PKC-dependent Munc18-1 phosphorylation, we generated two Munc18-1 phospho-mutants; …
Activation of protein kinase C (PKC) after robust stimulation is necessary for vesicle pool replenishment in secretory cells. Here we studied the contribution of a prominent downstream PKC target, Munc18-1, to this process in bovine chromaffin cells. In these cells, both activation of endogenous PKC and overexpressing of Munc18-1 promote vesicle pool replenishment after an extensive stimulation. In order to study the physiological relevance of PKC-dependent Munc18-1 phosphorylation, we generated two Munc18-1 phospho-mutants; one that mimics a constitutively PKC-phosphorylated Munc18-1 (i.e. a phosphomimetic mutant; Munc18-1S313D) and a second that cannot be PKC-phosphorylated (Munc18-13A). Overexpression of Munc18-13A caused a significant decrease in vesicle pool replenishment following a depleting stimulation, while Munc18-1S313D caused a significant increase in vesicle pool replenishment. These findings suggested that the phosphorylation of Munc18-1 by PKC potentiates vesicle pool replenishment. This hypothesis was further strengthened by the finding that overexpression of wild type Munc18-1 in the presence of a PKC inhibitor caused a significant reduction in vesicle pool replenishment, similar to that observed with Munc18-13A. Moreover, overexpression of Munc18-1S313D in the presence of the PKC inhibitor partly alleviated this attenuation, elucidating Munc18-1’s unique contribution to vesicle pool replenishment. Finally, we demonstrate that Munc18-1 promotes vesicle docking in a phosphorylation-independent manner. This is deduced from the findings that both the wild type and the two Munc18-1 phospho-mutants enhanced docking to the same extent in bovine chromaffin cells. We conclude that Munc18-1 facilitates docking in a PKC phosphorylation-independent manner, and that its phosphorylation by PKC potentiates vesicle pool replenishment following a depleting stimulation, at a post-docking stage.
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