Sheet preparations expose the dermal nerve plexus of human skin and render the dermal nerve end organ accessible to extensive analysis.

Since vertical tissue sections used for the study of the human cutaneous nervous system inherently allow visualization of only a small part of the mainly horizontally oriented cutaneous nerves, we searched for possibilities to extend this view. We now propose a method based on the immuno-staining of dermal sheet preparations for subsequent analysis by electron-, light- or laser scanning microscopy. Dermal sheet preparations for the first time allowed the imaging of the complex structure of the nerve end organ over several cm2, and facilitated viewing of its topological relationship to other tissue components. We could visualize that the bulk of free ending nerve fibers ramified within 25 microm of the dermo-epidermal junction, whereas below that only larger nerve bundles were present. This method further allowed the detection and quantification of NCAM/CD56+ non-myelinating Schwann cells which envelope terminal axons within the dermis. Depending on the body region, we detected between 140 to over 300 individual terminal Schwann cells per mm2 skin surface. Our method should allow the acquisition of new insights into the highly organized architecture of the skin nerve end organ. Its further application will give new impetus in the investigation of alterations of this skin compartment under pathological conditions.

The human phosphatidylinositol phosphatase SAC1 interacts with the coatomer I complex.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae SAC1 gene encodes an integral membrane protein of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi apparatus. Yeast SAC1 mutants display a wide array of phenotypes including inositol auxotrophy, cold sensitivity, secretory defects, disturbed ATP transport into the ER, or suppression of actin gene mutations. At present, it is not clear how these phenotypes relate to the finding that SAC1 displays polyphosphoinositide phosphatase activity. Moreover, it is still an open question whether SAC1 functions similarly in mammalian cells, since some phenotypes are yeast-specific. Potential protein interaction partners and, connected to that, possible regulatory circuits have not been described. Therefore, we have cloned human SAC1 (hSAC1), show that it behaves similar to ySac1p in terms of substrate specificity, demonstrate that the endogenous protein localizes to the ER and Golgi, and identify for the first time members of the coatomer I (COPI) complex as interaction partners of hSAC1. Mutation of a putative COPI interaction motif (KXKXX) at its C terminus abolishes interaction with COPI and causes accumulation of hSAC1 in the Golgi. In addition, we generated a catalytically inactive mutant, demonstrate that its lipid binding capacity is unaltered, and show that it accumulates in the Golgi, incapable of interacting with the COPI complex despite the presence of the KXKXX motif. These results open the possibility that the enzymatic function of hSAC1 provides a switch for accessibility of the COPI interaction motif.

Quantitative measurement of cell migration using time-lapse videomicroscopy and non-linear system analysis.

Epithelial cells of the mammary gland possess the inherent capacity to form epithelial monolayers in vitro. This requires coordination of cell migration, cell-cell contact formation, and cell proliferation. Using time-lapse phase contrast videomicroscopy we have observed mammary gland epithelial cells over different time scales. We show the generation of a complete polarized epithelial monolayer in real-time, starting from a few cells. We subsequently concentrated on the early stages of this process by tracking epithelial cells during phases of polarized migration. We performed migration analysis using fractal measures. With this technology the structure of seemingly random processes not accessible to the usual methods of linear analysis can be measured. As a control and proof of principle approach we applied infection of cells with an adenoviral vector, which is used as a gene targeting vector for many applications. Infection markedly influenced the patterns of migratory behavior. We, therefore, believe that time-lapse videomicroscopy in combination with fractal analysis can contribute to differential characterization of distinct cellular migration patterns. This will be useful in situations of long-term alterations in cell culture systems.

Comm sorts robo to control axon guidance at the Drosophila midline.

Axon growth across the Drosophila midline requires Comm to downregulate Robo, the receptor for the midline repellent Slit. We show here that comm is required in neurons, not in midline cells as previously thought, and that it is expressed specifically and transiently in commissural neurons. Comm acts as a sorting receptor for Robo, diverting it from the synthetic to the late endocytic pathway. A conserved cytoplasmic LPSY motif is required for endosomal sorting of Comm in vitro and for Comm to downregulate Robo and promote midline crossing in vivo. Axon traffic at the CNS midline is thus controlled by the intracellular trafficking of the Robo guidance receptor, which in turn depends on the precisely regulated expression of the Comm sorting receptor.