Members of the ATP binding cassette (ABC) protein superfamily actively transport a wide range of substrates across cell and intracellular membranes. Mutations in ABCA3, a member of the ABCA subfamily ...with unknown function, lead to fatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in the newborn. Using cultured human lung cells, we found that recombinant wild-type hABCA3 localized to membranes of both lysosomes and lamellar bodies, which are the intracellular storage organelles for surfactant. In contrast, hABCA3 with mutations linked to RDS failed to target to lysosomes and remained in the endoplasmic reticulum as unprocessed forms. Treatment of those cells with the chemical chaperone sodium 4-phenylbutyrate could partially restore trafficking of mutant ABCA3 to lamellar body-like structures. Expression of recombinant ABCA3 in non-lung human embryonic kidney 293 cells induced formation of lamellar body-like vesicles that contained lipids. Small interfering RNA knockdown of endogenous hABCA3 in differentiating human fetal lung alveolar type II cells resulted in abnormal, lamellar bodies comparable with those observed in vivo with mutant ABCA3. Silencing of ABCA3 expression also reduced vesicular uptake of surfactant lipids phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, and cholesterol but not phosphatidylethanolamine. We conclude that ABCA3 is required for lysosomal loading of phosphatidylcholine and conversion of lysosomes to lamellar body-like structures.
Claudins are a family of transmembrane proteins that are required for tight junction formation. Claudin (CLDN)-18.1, the only known lung-specific tight junction protein, is the most abundant claudin ...in alveolar epithelial type (AT) 1 cells, and is regulated by lung maturational agonists and inflammatory mediators. To determine the function of CLDN18 in the alveolar epithelium, CLDN18 knockout (KO) mice were generated and studied by histological, biochemical, and physiological approaches, in addition to whole-genome microarray. Alveolar epithelial barrier function was assessed after knockdown of CLDN18 in isolated lung cells. CLDN18 levels were measured by quantitative PCR in lung samples from fetal and postnatal human infants. We found that CLDN18 deficiency impaired alveolar epithelial barrier function in vivo and in vitro, with evidence of increased paracellular permeability and architectural distortion at AT1-AT1 cell junctions. Although CLDN18 KO mice were born without evidence of a lung abnormality, histological and gene expression analysis at Postnatal Day 3 and Week 4 identified impaired alveolarization. CLDN18 KO mice also had evidence of postnatal lung injury, including acquired AT1 cell damage. Human fetal lungs at 23-24 weeks gestational age, the highest-risk period for developing bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a disease of impaired alveolarization, had significantly lower CLDN18 expression relative to postnatal lungs. Thus, CLDN18 deficiency results in epithelial barrier dysfunction, injury, and impaired alveolarization in mice. Low expression of CLDN18 in human fetal lungs supports further investigation into a role for this tight junction protein in bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
The lipid transport protein, ABCA3, expressed in alveolar type 2 (AT2) cells, is critical for surfactant homeostasis. The first luminal loop of ABCA3 contains three putative N-linked glycosylation ...sites at residues 53, 124, and 140. A common cotranslational modification, N-linked glycosylation, is critical for the proper expression of glycoproteins by enhancing folding, trafficking, and stability through augmentation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) folding cycle. To understand its role in ABCA3 biosynthesis, we utilized EGFP-tagged fusion constructs with either wild-type or mutant ABCA3 cDNAs that contained glutamine for asparagine substitutions at the putative glycosylation motifs. In A549 cells, inhibition of glycosylation by tunicamycin increased the electrophoretic mobility (Mr) and reduced the expression level of wild-type ABCA3 in a dose-dependent manner. Fluorescence imaging of transiently transfected A549 or primary human AT2 cells showed that although single motif mutants exhibited a vesicular distribution pattern similar to wild-type ABCA3, mutation of N124 and N140 residues resulted in a shift toward an ER-predominant distribution. By immunoblotting, the N53 mutation exhibited no effect on either the Mr or ABCA3 expression level. In contrast, substitutions at N124 or N140, as well a N124/N140 double mutation, resulted in increased electrophoretic mobility indicative of a glycosylation deficiency accompanied by reduced overall expression levels. Diminished steady-state levels of glycan-deficient ABCA3 isoforms were rescued by treatment with the proteasome inhibitor MG132. These results suggest that cotranslational N-linked glycosylation at N124 and N140 is critical for ABCA3 stability, and its disruption results in protein destabilization and proteasomal degradation.
Mature alveolar type II cells that produce pulmonary surfactant are essential for adaptation to extrauterine life. We profiled gene expression in human fetal lung epithelial cells cultured in ...serum-free medium containing dexamethasone and cyclic AMP, a treatment that induces differentiation of type II cells. Microarray analysis identified 388 genes that were induced > 1.5-fold by 72 h of hormone treatment. Induced genes represented all categories of molecular function and subcellular location, with increased frequency in the categories of ionic channel, cell adhesion, surface film, lysosome, extracellular matrix, and basement membrane. In time-course experiments, self-organizing map analysis identified a cluster of 17 genes that were slowly but highly induced (5- to approximately 190-fold) and represented four functional categories: surfactant-related (SFTPC, SFTPA, PGC, SFTPB, LAMP3, LPL), regulatory (WIF2, IGF2, IL1RL1, NR4A2, HIF3A), metabolic (MAOA, ADH1B, SEPP1), and transport (SCNN1A, CLDN18, AQP4). Induction of both mRNA and protein for these genes, which included nine newly identified regulated genes, was confirmed, and cellular localization was determined in both fetal and postnatal tissue. Induction of lysosomal-associated membrane protein 3 required both hormones, and expression was localized to limiting membranes of lamellar bodies. Hormone-induced differentiation of human type II cells is associated with genome-wide increased expression of genes with diverse functions.
Lamellar bodies are the specialized secretory organelles of alveolar type II (ATII) epithelial cells through which the cell packages pulmonary surfactant and regulates its secretion. Surfactant ...within lamellar bodies is densely packed as circular arrays of lipid membranes and appears to be the product of several trafficking and biosynthetic processes. To elucidate these processes, we reported previously on the generation of a monoclonal antibody (3C9) that recognizes a unique protein of the lamellar body membrane of 180 kDa, which we named LBM180. We report that mass spectrometry of the protein precipitated by this antibody generated a partial sequence that is identical to the ATP-binding cassette protein, ABCA3. Homology analysis of partial sequences suggests that this protein is highly conserved among species. The ABCA3 gene transcript was found in cell lines of human lung origin, in ATII cells of human, rat, and mouse, as well as different tissues of rat, but the highest expression of ABCA3 was observed in ATII cells. Expression of this transcript was at its maximum prior to birth, and hormonal induction of ABCA3 transcript was observed in human fetal lung at the same time as other surfactant protein transcripts were induced, suggesting that ABCA3 is developmentally regulated. Molecular and biochemical studies show that ABCA3 is targeted to vesicle membranes and is found in the limiting membrane of lamellar bodies. Because ABCA3 is a member of a subfamily of ABC transporters that are predominantly known to be involved in the regulation of lipid transport and membrane trafficking, we speculate that this protein may play a key role in lipid organization during the formation of lamellar bodies.
Thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1, product of the Nkx2.1 gene) is essential for branching morphogenesis of the lung and enhances expression of surfactant proteins by alveolar type II cells. We ...investigated expression of two TTF-1 mRNA transcripts, generated by alternative start sites and coding for 42- and 46-kD protein isoforms in the mouse, during hormone-induced differentiation of human fetal lung type II cells in culture. Transcript for 42-kD TTF-1 was 20-fold more abundant than TTF-1(46) mRNA by RT-PCR. Only 42-kD protein was detected in lung cells, and its content increased during in vivo development and in response to in vitro glucocorticoid plus cAMP treatment. To examine TTF-1 target proteins, recombinant, phosphorylated TTF-1(42) was expressed in nuclei of cells by adenovirus transduction. By microarray analysis, 14 genes were comparably induced by recombinant TTF-1 (rTTF-1) and hormone treatment, and 9 additional hormone-responsive genes, including surfactant proteins-A/B/C, were partially induced by rTTF-1. The most highly (approximately 10-fold) TTF-1-induced genes were DC-LAMP (LAMP3) and CEACAM6 with induction confirmed by Western analysis and immunostaining. Treatment of cells with hormones plus small inhibitory RNA directed toward TTF-1 reduced TTF-1 content by approximately 50% and inhibited hormone induction of the 23 genes induced by rTTF-1. In addition, knockdown of TTF-1 inhibited 72 of 274 other genes induced by hormones. We conclude that 42-kD TTF-1 is required for induction of a subset of regulated genes during type II cell differentiation.
The membrane protein carcinoembryonic antigen cell adhesion molecule (CEACAM6) is expressed in the epithelium of various tissues, participating in innate immune defense, cell proliferation and ...differentiation, with overexpression in gastrointestinal tract, pancreatic and lung tumors. It is developmentally and hormonally regulated in fetal human lung, with an apparent increased production in preterm infants with respiratory failure. To further examine the expression and cell localization of CEACAM6, we performed immunohistochemical and biochemical studies in lung specimens from infants with and without chronic lung disease. CEACAM6 protein and mRNA were increased ~4-fold in lungs from infants with chronic lung disease as compared with controls. By immunostaining, CEACAM6 expression was markedly increased in the lung parenchyma of infants and children with a variety of chronic lung disorders, localizing to hyperplastic epithelial cells with a ~7-fold elevated proliferative rate by PCNA staining. Some of these cells also co-expressed membrane markers of both type I and type II cells, which is not observed in normal postnatal lung, suggesting they are transitional epithelial cells. We suggest that CEACAM6 is both a marker of lung epithelial progenitor cells and a contributor to the proliferative response after injury due to its anti-apoptotic and cell adhesive properties.
Mature alveolar type II cells that produce pulmonary surfactant are essential for adaptation to extrauterine life and prevention of infant respiratory distress syndrome. We have developed a new in ...vitro model to further investigate regulation of type II cell differentiation. Epithelial cells isolated from human fetal lung were cultured in serum-free medium on plastic. Cells treated with dexamethasone + cAMP analog and isobutylmethylxanthine for 4 days exhibited increased phosphatidylcholine synthesis and content of disaturated phosphatidylcholine species, manyfold increases in all surfactant proteins with processing to mature forms, and abundant lamellar bodies. DNA microarray analysis identified approximately 3,100 expressed genes, including subsets of genes induced 2- to >100-fold (approximately 2.5%) or repressed 2- to 18-fold (approximately 1.2%) by hormone treatment. Of the highly regulated genes, most were coregulated in an additive or synergistic manner by dexamethasone and cAMP agents. Approximately 90% of the regulated genes identified by this initial microarray analysis have not been previously recognized as hormone responsive. One newly identified hormone-induced gene is Nkx2.1 (thyroid transcription factor-1), which has a critical role in surfactant protein gene expression. Our findings indicate that glucocorticoid + cAMP is sufficient and necessary for precocious induction of functional type II cells in this in vitro system and that these hormones act primarily in combination to regulate expression of a subset of specific genes.
Tight junction proteins in the claudin family regulate epithelial barrier function. We examined claudin expression by human fetal lung (HFL) alveolar epithelial cells cultured in medium containing ...dexamethasone, 8-bromo-cAMP, and isobutylmethylxanthanine (DCI), which promotes alveolar epithelial cell differentiation to a type II phenotype. At the protein level, HFL cells expressed claudin-1, claudin-3, claudin-4, claudin-5, claudin-7, and claudin-18, where levels of expression varied with culture conditions. DCI-treated differentiated HFL cells cultured on permeable supports formed tight transepithelial barriers, with transepithelial resistance (TER) >1,700 ohm/cm(2). In contrast, HFL cells cultured in control medium without DCI did not form tight barriers (TER <250 ohm/cm(2)). Consistent with this difference in barrier function, claudins expressed by HFL cells cultured in DCI medium were tightly localized to the plasma membrane; however, claudins expressed by HFL cells cultured in control medium accumulated in an intracellular compartment and showed discontinuities in claudin plasma membrane localization. In contrast to claudins, localization of other tight junction proteins, zonula occludens (ZO)-1, ZO-2, and occludin, was not sensitive to HFL cell phenotype. Intracellular claudins expressed by undifferentiated HFL cells were localized to a compartment containing early endosome antigen-1, and treatment of HFL cells with the endocytosis inhibitor monodansylcadaverine increased barrier function. This suggests that during differentiation to a type II cell phenotype, fetal alveolar epithelial cells use differential claudin expression and localization to the plasma membrane to help regulate tight junction permeability.
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