Foodborne Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) infections of the small intestine cause diarrhea especially in children and are a major cause of childhood death in developing countries. EPEC infects the apical membrane of the epithelium of the small intestine by attaching, effacing the microvilli under the bacteria and then forming microcolonies on the cell surface. We first asked the question where on epithelial cells EPEC attaches and grows. Using models of polarized epithelial monolayers, we evaluated the sites of initial EPEC attachment to the apical membrane and found that EPEC preferentially attached over the cell-cell junctions and formed microcolonies preferentially where three cells come together at tricellular tight junctions. The ability of EPEC to adhere increased when host cell polarity was compromised yielding EPEC access to basolateral proteins. EPEC pedestals contain basolateral cytoskeletal proteins. Thus, we asked if attached EPEC causes reorganization the protein composition of the host cell plasma membrane at sites of microcolony formation. We found that EPEC microcolony growth at the apical membrane resulted in a local accumulation of basolateral plasma membrane proteins surrounding the microcolony. Basolateral marker protein aquaporin-3 localized to forming EPEC microcolonies. Components of the basolateral vesicle targeting machinery were re-routed. The Exocyst (Exo70) was recruited to individual EPEC as was the basolateral vesicle SNARE VAMP-3. Moreover, several Rab variants were also recruited to the infection site, and their dominant-negative equivalents were not. To quantitatively study the recruitment of basolateral proteins, we created a pulse of the temperature sensitive basolateral VSVG, VSVG3-SP-GFP, from the trans-Golgi Network. We found that after release from the TGN, significantly more VSVG3-SP-GFP accumulated at the site of microcolony growth than on equivalent membrane regions of uninfected cells. This suggests that trafficking of vesicles destined for the basolateral membrane are redirected to the apical site of microcolony growth. Thus, in addition to disrupting host cell fence function, local host cell plasma membrane protein composition is changed by altered protein trafficking and recruitment of basolateral proteins to the apical microcolony. This may aid EPEC attachment and subsequent microcolony growth.

SORCS3 is an orphan receptor of the VPS10P domain receptor family, a group of sorting and signaling receptors central to many pathways in control of neuronal viability and function. SORCS3 is highly expressed in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, but the relevance of this receptor for hippocampal activity remained absolutely unclear. Here, we show that SORCS3 localizes to the postsynaptic density and that loss of receptor activity in gene-targeted mice abrogates NMDA receptor-dependent and -independent forms of long-term depression (LTD). Consistent with a loss of synaptic retraction, SORCS3-deficient mice suffer from deficits in behavioral activities associated with hippocampal LTD, particularly from an accelerated extinction of fear memory. A possible molecular mechanism for SORCS3 in synaptic depression was suggested by targeted proteomics approaches that identified the ability of SORCS3 to functionally interact with PICK1, an adaptor that sorts glutamate receptors at the postsynapse. Faulty localization of PICK1 in SORCS3-deficient neurons argues for altered glutamate receptor trafficking as the cause of altered synaptic plasticity in the SORCS3-deficient mouse model. In conclusion, our studies have identified a novel function for VPS10P domain receptors in control of synaptic depression and suggest SORCS3 as a novel factor modulating aversive memory extinction.