Multiple roles for phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase in biosynthetic transport in polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney cells

Phosphatidylinositols (PI) play important roles in regulating numerous cellular processes including cytoskeletal organization and membrane trafficking. The control of PI metabolism by phosphatidylinositol kinases has been the subject of extensive investigation; however, little is known about how phosphatidylinositol kinases regulate traffic in polarized epithelial cells. Because phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase (PI4K)-mediated phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI(4)P) production has been suggested to regulate biosynthetic traffic in yeast and mammalian cells, we have examined the role of PI4Kbeta in protein delivery in polarized MDCK cells, at different levels of the biosynthetic pathway. Expression of wild type PI4Kbeta had no effect on the rate of transport of influenza hemagglutinin (HA) through the Golgi complex, but inhibited the rate of trans-Golgi network (TGN)-to-cell surface delivery of this protein. By contrast, expression of dominant-negative, kinase-dead PI4Kbeta (PI4Kbeta(D656A)) inhibited intra-Golgi transport but stimulated TGN-to-cell surface delivery of HA. Moreover, expression of PI4Kbeta(D656A) significantly increased the solubility in cold Triton X-100 of HA staged in the TGN, suggesting that altered association of HA with lipid rafts may be responsible for the enhanced transport rate. Both wild type and kinase-dead PI4Kbeta inhibited basolateral delivery of vesicular stomatitis virus G protein, suggesting an effector function for PI4Kbeta in the regulation of basolateral traffic. Thus, by contrast with the observed requirement for PI4Kbeta activity and PI(4)P for efficient transport in yeast, our data suggest that changes in PI(4)P levels can stimulate and inhibit Golgi to cell surface delivery in mammalian cells.