American journal of physiology. Cell physiology
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Am. J. Physiol., Cell Physiol. · Jul 2011
Regulation of V-ATPase recycling via a RhoA- and ROCKII-dependent pathway in epididymal clear cells.
Luminal acidification in the epididymis is critical for sperm maturation and storage. Clear cells express the vacuolar H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase) in their apical membrane and are major contributors to proton secretion. We showed that this process is regulated via recycling of V-ATPase-containing vesicles. ⋯ These results provide evidence that depolymerization of the cortical actin cytoskeleton via inhibition of RhoA or its effector ROCKII favors the recruitment of V-ATPase from the cytosolic compartment into the apical membrane in clear cells. In addition, our data suggest that the RhoA-ROCKII pathway is not locally involved in the elongation of apical microvilli. We propose that inhibition of RhoA-ROCKII might be part of the intracellular signaling cascade that is triggered upon agonist-induced apical membrane V-ATPase accumulation.