Endosomal compartment of toad bladder epithelium.

Apical exocytosis and increased permeability are induced by antidiuretic hormone (ADH). After this, endocytosis is also induced by ADH and is associated with the decline in ADH-induced water permeability at the apical surface of the toad urinary bladder (9, 19, 20). During this process, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), a fluid phase marker, is taken up from the mucosal solution into endocytic tubules and multivesicular bodies. We now report that we can introduce from the apical (mucosal) side, a viral transmembrane protein (the G-protein of VSV) and that this protein can be retrieved as an integral membrane protein in endocytic membranes. This was demonstrated by immunoisolation of endosomal vesicles loaded with HRP using a monoclonal antibody against the cytoplasmic domain of the G-protein.