HDL particle size is a critical determinant of ABCA1-mediated macrophage cellular cholesterol export.

RATIONALE: High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is a heterogeneous population of particles. Differences in the capacities of HDL subfractions to remove cellular cholesterol may explain variable correlations between HDL-cholesterol and cardiovascular risk and inform future targets for HDL-related therapies. The ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) facilitates cholesterol efflux to lipid-free apolipoprotein A-I, but the majority of apolipoprotein A-I in the circulation is transported in a lipidated state and ABCA1-dependent efflux to individual HDL subfractions has not been systematically studied. OBJECTIVE: Our aims were to determine which HDL particle subfractions are most efficient in mediating cellular cholesterol efflux from foam cell macrophages and to identify the cellular cholesterol transporters involved in this process. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used reconstituted HDL particles of defined size and composition, isolated subfractions of human plasma HDL, cell lines stably expressing ABCA1 or ABCG1, and both mouse and human macrophages in which ABCA1 or ABCG1 expression was deleted. We show that ABCA1 is the major mediator of macrophage cholesterol efflux to HDL, demonstrating most marked efficiency with small, dense HDL subfractions (HDL3b and HDL3c). ABCG1 has a lesser role in cholesterol efflux and a negligible role in efflux to HDL3b and HDL3c subfractions. CONCLUSIONS: Small, dense HDL subfractions are the most efficient mediators of cholesterol efflux, and ABCA1 mediates cholesterol efflux to small dense HDL and to lipid-free apolipoprotein A-I. HDL-directed therapies should target increasing the concentrations or the cholesterol efflux capacity of small, dense HDL species in vivo.

The homologous putative GTPases Grn1p from fission yeast and the human GNL3L are required for growth and play a role in processing of nucleolar pre-rRNA.

Grn1p from fission yeast and GNL3L from human cells, two putative GTPases from the novel HSR1_MMR1 GTP-binding protein subfamily with circularly permuted G-motifs play a critical role in maintaining normal cell growth. Deletion of Grn1 resulted in a severe growth defect, a marked reduction in mature rRNA species with a concomitant accumulation of the 35S pre-rRNA transcript, and failure to export the ribosomal protein Rpl25a from the nucleolus. Deleting any of the Grn1p G-domain motifs resulted in a null phenotype and nuclear/nucleolar localization consistent with the lack of nucleolar export of preribosomes accompanied by a distortion of nucleolar structure. Heterologous expression of GNL3L in a Deltagrn1 mutant restored processing of 35S pre-rRNA, nuclear export of Rpl25a and cell growth to wild-type levels. Genetic complementation in yeast and siRNA knockdown in HeLa cells confirmed the homologous proteins Grn1p and GNL3L are required for growth. Failure of two similar HSR1_MMR1 putative nucleolar GTPases, Nucleostemin (NS), or the dose-dependent response of breast tumor autoantigen NGP-1, to rescue deltagrn1 implied the highly specific roles of Grn1p or GNL3L in nucleolar events. Our analysis uncovers an important role for Grn1p/GNL3L within this unique group of nucleolar GTPases.

Identification of genes encoding putative nucleoporins and transport factors in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe: a deletion analysis.

In a systematic approach to study genes that are related to nucleocytoplasmic trafficking in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the open reading frames (ORFs) of 26 putative nucleoporins and transport factors were deleted. Here we report the initial characterization of these deletion mutants. Of the 26 putative genes deleted, 14 were found to be essential for viability. Null mutations of essential genes resulted in failure to either complete one round or to sustain cell division. Four of the 14 essential genes, SPBC582.11c, SPBC17G9.04c, SPBC3B9.16c and SPCC162.08c, encode putative nucleoporins and a myosin-like protein with homologues NUP84, NUP85, NUP120 and MLP1, respectively, that are not required for viability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, suggesting that their gene products perform critical functions in Sz. pombe. On the basis of combined drug sensitivity assays and genetic analysis we have identified five non-essential null mutants that were hypersensitive to the microtubule depolymerizing drug thiabendazole (TBZ) and exhibited a cut phenotype upon TBZ treatment, suggesting possible involvement in microtubule function. Three of the corresponding ORFs, SPCC18B5.07c, nup40 and SPAC1805.04, encode putative nucleoporins with low similarity to the S. cerevisiae nucleoporins NUP2p, NUP53p and NUP133p, respectively. Further genetic analysis revealed that one of the nucleoporin genes, nup40, and another gene, SPCC1322.06, encoding a putative importin-beta/Cse1p superfamily protein may have a spindle checkpoint function.