Role of Rab 13 and its effector in establishing cell polarity

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Tight junction (TJ) and adherens junction (AJ) are located at the apical end of the basolateral membrane of polarized epithelial cells. During polarization, epithelial cells first form spot-like primordial AJ at the tips of the initial cell-cell contacts and develop belt-like mature AJ. In parallel with the maturation of AJ, TJ is formed at the apical side of AJ. Whereas epithelial polarization entails a complex interplay between the coordinated TJ and AJ assembly and several fundamental cellular processes, the transport of integral TJ and AJ proteins to and/or from the plasma membrane is essential for the control of TJ and AJ assembly. We previously reported that Rab 13 and a junctional Rab13-binding protein(JRAB)/molecule interacting with CasL-like 2 (MICAL-L2) mediated the endocytic recycling of an integral TJ protein occludin and the formation of functional TJ. In the present study, we examined the role of Rab13 and JRAB/MICAL-L2 in the transport of other integral TJ and AJ proteins claudin-1 and E-cadherin to the plasma membrane. Although knockdown of Rab13 specifically inhibited claudin-1 and occludin but not E-cadherin transport, knockdown of JRAB/MICAL-L2 and expression of its Rab13-binding domain(JRAB/MICAL-L2-C)retarded claudin-1, occludin, and E-cadherin transport. We then identified Rab8 as another JRAB/MICAL-L2-C-binding protein. Knockdown of Rab8 inhibited the Rab13-independent transport of E-cadherin to the plasma membrane. Rab13 and Rab8 competed with each other for the binding to JRAB/MICAL-L2 and functionally associated with JRAB/MICAL-L2 at the plasma membrane and recycling endosome, respectively. These results suggest that the interactions of JRAB/MICAL-L2 with Rab13 and Rab8 play a crucial role in establishing cell polarity.