Research Interests
Eukaryotic cells contain intracellular membrane-bound
organelles that segregate reactions that often are in opposition,
such as protein biosynthesis and degradation. Furthermore, the
protein and lipid composition of each organelle and membrane
domain are distinct and specific for their individual functions.
Selective membrane trafficking to and from these organelles
occurs continually and is essential to maintain the discrete
identities of each of these structures. The research goal of
my lab is to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms of
regulating membrane trafficking in eukaryotic cells. Specifically,
the focus of my research is endocytosis, an essential process
in which portions of the plasma membrane and extracellular fluid
are internalized via coated pits. These coated vesicles fuse
to endosomes, ultimately resulting in the delivery of some components
to lysosomes. Endocytosis is a complex process required for
such diverse functions as nutrient uptake, receptor down-regulation,
membrane transporter activity, and regulation of signal transduction
from the plasma membrane. The most well-characterized form of
endocytosis is clathrin-dependent receptor-mediated endocytosis,
although cells also utilize other modes of endocytosis. I have
been using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a novel
FACS-based screening procedure to identify new gene products
that function in endocytosis. By identifying important proteins
and subjecting them to genetic and functional analyses in both
yeast and mammalian systems, we will gain fundamental insights
into the process and regulation of endocytosis. To accomplish
these goals, we use a combination of yeast genetics (suppressor
and synthetic lethal screens), biochemistry (protein interactions),
and cell biology (microscopy, subcellular localization, phenotypic
analyses).

(Vida and Emr, JCB 128:779 (1995)
A screen for novel endocytosis mutants using a fluorescent
dye
My lab uses a screen I developed that identified novel yeast
mutants defective for the internalization of bulk membrane.
Because this screen is very general, it should yield mutants
defective for all endocytic pathways (i.e., clathrin-dependent,
clathrin-independent, and novel uncharacterized pathways). My
screen employs the fluorescent, lipophilic dye FM4-64, which
labels the plasma membrane and is then endocytosed via endosomes
to the lysosome-like vacuole in a time-, temperature-, and energy-dependent
manner. Endocytosis mutants are thus "dim" due to reduced dye
flow from the plasma membrane to the vacuole. Following EMS
mutagenesis and FM4-64 labeling, FACS sorting was used to select
for "dim" cells that are defective for internalization of the
dye.
Identification of a new endocytic protein complex
My recent work has focused on understanding the function of
the Pan1/Dim2 protein. Yeast cells with temperature-sensitive
mutations in PAN1 display reduced internalization of
a plasma membrane mating pheromone receptor, accumulate FM4-64
labeled aberrant endosome-like compartments, and contain elaborated
plasma membrane invaginations. Pan1p is a yeast homologue of
the mammalian protein eps15, which also has been implicated
in endocytosis. To characterize further the function(s) of Pan1p
and eps15 homology (EH) domains in endocytosis,
genetic and biochemical studies were performed which identified
two yeast proteins, yAP180A and yAP180B, which are homologous
to mammalian proteins with clathrin cage assembly activity.
In addition, genetic interactions between PAN1 and other
genes whose products are implicated in endocytosis suggest that
Pan1p may coordinate the functions of clathrin, ubiquitin, and
actin-associated proteins to regulate endocytosis. Importantly,
these recent studies of endocytosis in yeast have exemplified
remarkable parallels in the endocytic machinery used by both
lower and higher eukaryotes.

For sample images of our work and others' see the Integrated Imaging Center.
Representative
Publications
Barker, S.L. and Wendland, B. 2007. Interaction of the endocytic scaffold protein Pan1 with the type I myosins contributes to the late stages of endocytosis.. Mol. Biol. Cell . 18:2893-903.
Aguilar RC, Longhi SA, Shaw JD, Yeh LY, Kim S, Schon A, Freire E, Hsu A, McCormick WK, Watson HA, Wendland B. (2006). Epsin N-terminal homology domains perform an essential function regulating Cdc42 through binding Cdc42 GTPase-activating proteins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(11):4116-21.
Jahren, A.H., Kelm, K., Wendland, B. , Petersen, G., and Seberg, O. (2006). The carbon stable isotope composition of dsDNA isolated from an incipient paleosol. Geology. (in press).
Katzmann, D.J. and Wendland, B. (2005). Analysis of ubiquitin-dependent protein sorting within the endocytic pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Methods Enzymol. 399:192-211
Aguilar R.C. and Wendland B. (2005). Endocytosis of membrane receptors: Two pathways are better than one. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A . 102 :2679-80.
Saiardi, A., Resnick, A.C., Snowman, A.M., Wendland, B. , and Snyder, S.H. (2005). Inositol pyrophosphates mediate cell death by regulating PI3-related protein kinases. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 102 :1911-1914.
Miliaras, N.B., Park, J.-H., and Wendland, B. (2004). The function of the endocytic scaffold protein Pan1p depends on multiple domains . Traffic . 5 :963-978.
Miliaras, N.B. and Wendland, B. (2004). EH-proteins: multivalent regulators of endocytosis (and other pathways). Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics. 41 :295-318.
Watson, H.A., Von Zastrow, M., and Wendland, B. Endocytosis. (2004). In Encyclopedia of Molecular Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine . Second edition. Edited by Robert A. Myers. Wiley-VCH. Volume 4, 181-224.
Baggett, J.J., Shaw, J.D., and Wendland, B. (2003). Fluorescent Labeling of Yeast. Edited by J. Lippincott-Schwartz and P. Matsudira. Current Protocols in Cell Biology , Unit 4.13.
Baggett, J.J., D'Aquino, K.E., and Wendland, B. (2003). The Sla2p Talin domain plays a role in endocytosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Genetics . 165 :1661-1674.
Meriin, A.B., Zhang, X., Miliaras, N.B., Kazantsev, A., Chernoff, Y.O., McCaffery, J.M., Wendland, B. , and Sherman , M.Y. (2003). Aggregation of expanded polyglutamine domain in yeast leads to defects in endocytosis. Mol. Cell. Biol. 23 :7554-65.
Sekiya-Kawasaki, M., Cope, M.J.T.V., Groen, A.C., Kaksonen, M., Zhang, C., Shokat, K.M., Wendland, B. , McDonald, K.L., McCaffery, J.M., and Drubin, D.G. (2003). Dynamic phosphoregulation of the cortical actin cytoskeleton and endocytic machinery revealed by real-time chemical genetic analysis. J. Cell Biol. 162 :765-72.
Overstreet, E., Chen, X., Wendland, B. , and Fischer, J.A. (2003). Either portion of a severed Drosophila epsin (Liquid Facets) functions in the internalization of Delta in the developing eye. Curr Biol. 13 :854-60.
Shaw, J.D., Hama , H., Sohrabi, F., DeWald, D.B., and Wendland, B. (2003). Phosphatidylinositol (3,5) bisphosphate is required for delivery of endocytic cargo into the multivesicular body. Traffic 4 :479-90.
Aguilar, R.C. and Wendland, B. (2003). Ubiquitin: not just for proteasomes anymore. Curr. Opin. in Cell Biol . 15 : 184-90.
Aguilar, R.C., Watson, H.A., and Wendland, B. (2003). The yeast epsin Ent1 is recruited to membranes through multiple independent interactions. J. Biol. Chem. 278 :10737-43.
Wendland, B. Epsins: adaptors in endocytosis? (2002) Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 3 :971-7.
Saiardi, A., Sciambi, C.J., McCaffery, J.M., Wendland, B. , and Snyder, S.H. (2002). Inositol pyrophosphates regulate endocytic trafficking. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 99 :14206-11 .
Hurley, J.H. and Wendland, B. (2002). Endocytosis: Driving membranes around the bend.
Cell 111 :143-6 .
Vida, T.A. and Wendland, B. (2002). Flow cytometry for selection of yeast membrane trafficking mutants. Edited by C. Guthrie and G. Fink. Methods in Enzymology 351 : 623-631.
Babst, M., Katzmann, D.J., Snyder, W.B., Wendland, B. , and Emr , S.D. (2002). Endosome-Associated Complex, ESCRT-II, Recruits Transport Machinery for Protein Sorting at the Multivesicular Bodies. Dev. Cell. 3 :283-9.
Watson, H.A., Cope, M.J.T.V., Groen, A.C., Drubin, D.G. and Wendland, B. (2001). In vivo role for Actin Regulating Kinases in endocytosis and yeast epsin phosphorylation. Mol. Biol. Cell . 12 (11):3668-79.
Shaw, J.D., Cummings, K.B., Huyer, G., Michaelis, S., and Wendland, B. (2001). Yeast as a model system for studying endocytosis. Experimental Cell Research . 271 : 1-9.
Duncan , M.C., Cope, M.J.T.V., Goode, B.L., Wendland, B. , and Drubin, D.G. (2001). Yeast Eps15-like endocytic protein, Pan1p, activates the Arp2/3 complex.
Nature Cell Biology 3 (7):687-90.
Wendland, B. (2001). Round-trip ticket: Re-cycling to the plasma membrane requires RME-1. News and Views in Nature Cell Biol. 3 (6):E133-5.
Wang, G., McCaffery, J.M., Wendland, B. , Dupre, S., Haguenauer-Tsapis, R., and Huibregtse, J.M. (2001). Localization of the Rsp5p Ubiquitin-Protein Ligase at Multiple Sites within the Endocytic Pathway. Mol Cell Biol. 21 :3564-75.
|