title: Visualization of distinct patterns of subcellular redistribution of the thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor-1 and gqalpha /G11alpha induced by agonist stimulation.
abstract: The rat thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor-1 (TRHR-1) was modified by the addition of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and expressed stably in HEK293 cells. Extensive overlap of plasma membrane distribution of autofluorescent TRHR-1-GFP with that of the phosphoinositidase C-linked G-proteins Gqalpha/G11alpha, identified by indirect immunofluorescence, was monitored concurrently. Addition of thyrotropin-releasing hormone resulted in rapid separation of TRHR-1-GFP and Gqalpha/G11alpha signals as the receptor was internalized. This situation persisted for more than an hour. At longer time periods a fraction of the cellular Gqalpha/G11alpha was also internalized, although much of the Gqalpha/G11alpha immunoreactivity remained associated with the plasma membrane. Parallel experiments, in which the cellular distribution of TRHR-1-GFP and Gqalpha/G11alpha immunoreactivity were monitored in sucrose-gradient fractions following cell disruption, also demonstrated a rapid, agonist-induced movement of TRHR-1-GFP away from the plasma membrane to low-density vesicular fractions. At later time points, a fraction of the cellular Gqalpha/G11alpha immunoreactivity was also redistributed to overlapping, but non-identical, low-density-vesicle-containing fractions. Pretreatment of the cells with cytochalasin D or nocodazole prevented agonist-induced redistribution of G-protein but not TRHR-1-GFP, further indicating resolution of the mechanics of these two processes. The combination of a GFP-modified receptor and immunostaining of the G-proteins activated by that receptor allows, for the first time, concurrent analysis of the varying dynamics and bases of internalization and redistribution of two elements of the same signal-transduction cascade.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Pharmacology Group, Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, U.K.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Drmota
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Novotny
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Gould
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Svoboda
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Milligan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002460:Cell Line; D004705:Endocytosis; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D006801:Humans; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D018025:Receptors, Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000819:agonists / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000378:metabolism*; D014721:Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D018025:Receptors, Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins