MAL Like Protein (MALL)

MALL encodes an element of the machinery for raft-mediated trafficking in endothelial cells. The encoded protein, a member of the MAL proteolipid family, predominantly localizes in glycolipid- and cholesterol-enriched membrane rafts. It interacts with caveolin-1.Immunoblot analysis demonstrated selective expression of a proteolipid protein on the glycolipid- and cholesterol-enriched membrane rafts of the endothelial cell line. Confocal immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy displayed an intracellular colocalization of BENE with CAV1 and CD59 in the Golgi region. Immunoprecipitation analysis confirmed the interaction with CAV1 in solubilized GEM rafts. In response to cell surface cholesterol oxidation, BENE redistributed to dilated vesicular structures where most of the CAV1 originally on the cell surface was concentrated.