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Biomedical subjects

K Miyazono

Publications and source records attributed to K Miyazono.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Hgs (Hrs), a FYVE domain protein, is involved in Smad signaling through cooperation with SARA.

Smad proteins are effector molecules that transmit signals from the receptors for the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) superfamily to the nucleus; of the Smad proteins, Smad2 and Smad4 are essential components for mouse early embryogenesis. We demonstrated that Hgs, a FYVE domain protein, binds to Smad2 in its C-terminal half and cooperates with another FYVE domain protein, the Smad anchor for receptor activation (SARA), to stimulate activin receptor-mediated signaling through efficient recruitment of Smad2 to the receptor. Furthermore, a LacZ knock-in allele of the C-terminal half-deletion mutant of mouse Hgs was created by gene targeting. The introduced mutation causes an embryonic lethality between embryonic days 8.5 and 10.5. Mutant cells showed significantly decreased responses to stimulation with activin and TGF-beta. These findings suggest that the two FYVE domain proteins, Hgs and SARA, are prerequisites for receptor-mediated activation of Smad2.

Activin Receptors↗

Positive and negative regulation of TGF-beta signaling.

Cytokines of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) superfamily, including TGF-betas, activins and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), bind to specific serine/threonine kinase receptors and transmit intracellular signals through Smad proteins. Upon ligand stimulation, Smads move into the nucleus and function as components of transcription complexes. TGF-beta and BMP signaling is regulated positively and negatively through various mechanisms. Positive regulation amplifies signals to a level sufficient for biological activity. Negative regulation occurs at the extracellular, membrane, cytoplasmic and nuclear levels. TGF-beta and BMP signaling is often regulated through negative feedback mechanisms, which limit the magnitude of signals and terminate signaling. Negative regulation is also important for formation of gradients of morphogens, which is crucial in developmental processes. In addition, other signaling pathways regulate TGF-beta and BMP signaling through cross-talk. Nearly 20 BMP isoforms have been identified, and their activities are regulated by various extracellular antagonists. Regulation of TGF-beta signaling might be tightly linked to tumor progression, since TGF-beta is a potent growth inhibitor in most cell types.

Animals↗

TGF-beta/SMAD signaling and its involvement in tumor progression.

Cytokines of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily are multifunctional peptides that regulate growth and differentiation of various types of cells. Members of the TGF-beta superfamily bind to type 11 and type I serine/threonine kinase receptors, which mediate intracellular signals through SMAD proteins. Of 3 subtypes of SMADs, receptor-regulated SMADs are phosphorylated by the serine/threonine kinase receptors, form complexes with common-mediator SMAD, and move into the nucleus, where they act as components of transcription factor complexes. Abnormalities of the TGF-beta receptors and SMADs have been detected in various tumors, including colorectal cancers and pancreatic cancers. Inhibitory SMADs and transcriptional co-repressors, including c-Ski and SnoN, repress the TGF-beta/SMAD signaling. Perturbation of the TGF-beta/SMAD signaling pathway may result in progression of tumors through resistance of the cells to the growth inhibition induced by TGF-beta.

Animals↗

[Transforming growth factor-beta signaling and cancer].

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a multifunctional cytokine that inhibits the growth of most types of cells and induces fibrosis of various tissues. TGF-beta binds to two different types of serine/threonine kinase receptors, and activate Smad proteins. Perturbation of the TGF-beta signaling pathway results in tumorigenesis of various tissues. TGF-beta/Smad signaling is regulated by several regulatory proteins, including inhibitory Smads and transcriptional corepressors. Abnormalities in these negative regulators of TGF-beta signaling may also involved in tumorigenesis of certain tissues.

Animals↗

c-Ski acts as a transcriptional co-repressor in transforming growth factor-beta signaling through interaction with smads.

Smads are intracellular signaling mediators of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily that regulates a wide variety of biological processes. Among them, Smads 2 and 3 are activated specifically by TGF-beta. We identified c-Ski as a Smad2 interacting protein. c-Ski is the cellular homologue of the v-ski oncogene product and has been shown to repress transcription by recruiting histone deacetylase (HDAC). Smad2/3 interacts with c-Ski through its C-terminal MH2 domain in a TGF-beta-dependent manner. c-Ski contains two distinct Smad-binding sites with different binding properties. c-Ski strongly inhibits transactivation of various reporter genes by TGF-beta. c-Ski is incorporated in the Smad DNA binding complex, interferes with the interaction of Smad3 with a transcriptional co-activator, p300, and in turn recruits HDAC. c-Ski is thus a transcriptional co-repressor that links Smads to HDAC in TGF-beta signaling.

Acetyltransferases↗

Interaction and functional cooperation of PEBP2/CBF with Smads. Synergistic induction of the immunoglobulin germline Calpha promoter.

Smads are signal transducers for members of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily. Upon ligand stimulation, receptor-regulated Smads (R-Smads) are phosphorylated by serine/threonine kinase receptors, form complexes with common-partner Smad, and translocate into the nucleus, where they regulate the transcription of target genes together with other transcription factors. Polyomavirus enhancer binding protein 2/core binding factor (PEBP2/CBF) is a transcription factor complex composed of alpha and beta subunits. The alpha subunits of PEBP2/CBF, which contain the highly conserved Runt domain, play essential roles in hematopoiesis and osteogenesis. Here we show that three mammalian alpha subunits of PEBP2/CBF form complexes with R-Smads that act in TGF-beta/activin pathways as well as those acting in bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathways. Among them, PEBP2alphaC/CBFA3/AML2 forms a complex with Smad3 and stimulates transcription of the germline Ig Calpha promoter in a cooperative manner, for which binding of both factors to their specific binding sites is essential. PEBP2 may thus be a nuclear target of TGF-beta/BMP signaling.

Activin Receptors, Type I↗

E1A inhibits transforming growth factor-beta signaling through binding to Smad proteins.

Smads form a recently identified family of proteins that mediate intracellular signaling of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta superfamily. Smads bind to DNA and act as transcriptional regulators. Smads interact with a variety of transcription factors, and the interaction is likely to determine the target specificity of gene induction. Smads also associate with transcriptional coactivators such as p300 and CBP. E1A, an adenoviral oncoprotein, inhibits TGF-beta-induced transactivation, and the ability of E1A to bind p300/CBP is required for the inhibition. Here we determined the Smad interaction domain (SID) in p300 and found that two adjacent regions are required for the interaction. One of the regions is the C/H3 domain conserved between p300 and CBP, and the other is a nonconserved region. p300 mutants containing SID inhibit transactivation by TGF-beta in a dose-dependent manner. E1A inhibits the interaction of Smad3 with a p300 mutant that contains SID but lacks the E1A binding domain. We found that E1A interacts specifically with receptor-regulated Smads, suggesting a novel mechanism whereby E1A antagonizes TGF-beta signaling.

Adenovirus E1A Proteins↗

Two divergent signaling pathways for TGF-beta separated by a mutation of its type II receptor gene.

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) can inhibit epithelial cell growth and induce extracellular matrix formation through signal transduction via its two receptors and its downstream intracellular Smad proteins. We recently reported a germline mutation, i.e., substitution of methionine for threonine at codon 315 in the kinase subdomain IV, of the TGF-beta type II receptor gene in a kindred of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer without microsatellite instability and found that the mutant receptor abolished the signal transduction for growth inhibition by TGF-beta. In this study, we performed further functional analysis of this mutant receptor. The results showed that, in contrast to its failure to mediate growth inhibition by TGF-beta, the mutant receptor still retained the ability to induce one of the extracellular matrix proteins, plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1, upon TGF-beta treatment. However, coincident with its failure to mediate growth inhibition by TGF-beta, the mutant receptor failed to transcriptionally upregulate one of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, p15(INK4B), in response to TGF-beta. These data suggest that threonine 315 of the TGF-beta type II receptor is dispensable for extracellular matrix protein production, but is essential for the growth inhibition by TGF-beta, and that the lack of growth inhibition due to the mutant receptor is possibly mediated through its failure to upregulate p15(INK4B).

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Positive and negative modulation of vitamin D receptor function by transforming growth factor-beta signaling through smad proteins.

Several lines of experiments demonstrated the interplay between the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and vitamin D signaling pathways. Recently, we found that Smad3, a downstream component of the TGF-beta signaling pathway, potentiates ligand-induced transactivation of vitamin D receptor (VDR) as a coactivator of VDR (Yanagisawa, J., Yanagi, Y., Masuhiro, Y., Suzawa, M., Watanabe, M., Kashiwagi, K., Toriyabe, T., Kawabata, M., Miyazono, K., and Kato, S. (1999) Science 283, 1317-1321). Here, we investigated the roles of inhibitory Smads, Smad6 and Smad7, which are negative regulators of the TGF-beta/bone morphogenetic protein signaling pathway, on the Smad3-mediated potentiation of VDR function. We found that Smad7, but not Smad6, abrogates the Smad3-mediated VDR potentiation. Interaction studies in vivo and in vitro showed that Smad7 inhibited the formation of the VDR-Smad3 complex, whereas Smad6 had no effect. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that the interplay between the TGF-beta and vitamin D signaling pathways is, at least in part, mediated by the two classes of Smad proteins, which modulate VDR transactivation function both positively and negatively.

Animals↗

Synergistic signaling in fetal brain by STAT3-Smad1 complex bridged by p300.

The cytokines LIF (leukemia inhibitory factor) and BMP2 (bone morphogenetic protein-2) signal through different receptors and transcription factors, namely STATs (signal transducers and activators of transcription) and Smads. LIF and BMP2 were found to act in synergy on primary fetal neural progenitor cells to induce astrocytes. The transcriptional coactivator p300 interacts physically with STAT3 at its amino terminus in a cytokine stimulation-independent manner, and with Smad1 at its carboxyl terminus in a cytokine stimulation-dependent manner. The formation of a complex between STAT3 and Smad1, bridged by p300, is involved in the cooperative signaling of LIF and BMP2 and the subsequent induction of astrocytes from neural progenitors.

Animals↗

Apoptosis inhibitory activity of cytoplasmic p21(Cip1/WAF1) in monocytic differentiation.

p21(Cip1/WAF1) inhibits cell-cycle progression by binding to G1 cyclin/CDK complexes and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) through its N- and C-terminal domains, respectively. The cell-cycle inhibitory activity of p21(Cip1/WAF1) is correlated with its nuclear localization. Here, we report a novel cytoplasmic localization of p21(Cip1/WAF1) in peripheral blood monocytes (PBMs) and in U937 cells undergoing monocytic differentiation by in vitro treatment with vitamin D3 or ectopic expression of p21(Cip1/WAF1), and analyze the biological consequences of this cytoplasmic expression. U937 cells which exhibit nuclear p21(Cip1/WAF1) demonstrated G1 cell-cycle arrest and subsequently differentiated into monocytes. The latter event was associated with a cytoplasmic expression of nuclear p21(Cip1/WAF1), concomitantly with a resistance to various apoptogenic stimuli. Biochemical analysis showed that cytoplasmic p21(Cip1/WAF1) forms a complex with the apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) and inhibits stress-activated MAP kinase cascade. Expression of a deletion mutant of p21(Cip1/WAF1) lacking the nuclear localization signal (DeltaNLS-p21) did not induce cell cycle arrest nor monocytic differentiation, but led to an apoptosis-resistant phenotype, mediated by binding to and inhibition of the stress-activated ASK1 activity. Thus, cytoplasmic p21(Cip1/WAF1) itself acted as an inhibitor of apoptosis. Our findings highlight the different functional roles of p21(Cip1/WAF1), which are determined by its intracellular distribution and are dependent on the stage of differentiation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Convergence of transforming growth factor-beta and vitamin D signaling pathways on SMAD transcriptional coactivators.

Cell proliferation and differentiation are regulated by growth regulatory factors such as transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and the liphophilic hormone vitamin D. TGF-beta causes activation of SMAD proteins acting as coactivators or transcription factors in the nucleus. Vitamin D controls transcription of target genes through the vitamin D receptor (VDR). Smad3, one of the SMAD proteins downstream in the TGF-beta signaling pathway, was found in mammalian cells to act as a coactivator specific for ligand-induced transactivation of VDR by forming a complex with a member of the steroid receptor coactivator-1 protein family in the nucleus. Thus, Smad3 may mediate cross-talk between vitamin D and TGF-beta signaling pathways.

Animals↗

Alternatively spliced variant of Smad2 lacking exon 3. Comparison with wild-type Smad2 and Smad3.

An alternatively spliced variant of Smad2 with a deletion of exon 3 (Smad2Deltaexon3) is found in various cell types. Here, we studied the function of Smad2Deltaexon3 and compared it with those of wild-type Smad2 containing exon 3 (Smad2(wt)) and Smad3. When transcriptional activity was measured using the p3TP-lux construct, Smad2Deltaexon3 was more potent than Smad2(wt), and had activity similar to Smad3. Transcriptional activation of the activin-responsive element (ARE) of Mix.2 gene promoter by Smad2Deltaexon3 was also similar to that by Smad3, and slightly less potent than that by Smad2(wt). Phosphorylation by the activated transforming growth factor-beta type I receptor and heteromer formation with Smad4 occurred to similar extents in Smad2Deltaexon3, Smad2(wt), and Smad3. However, DNA binding to the activating protein-1 sites of p3TP-lux was observed in Smad2Deltaexon3 as well as in Smad3, but not in Smad2(wt). In contrast, Smad2(wt), Smad2Deltaexon3, and Smad3 efficiently formed ARE-binding complexes with Smad4 and FAST1, although Smad2(wt) did not directly bind to ARE. These results suggest that exon 3 of Smad2 interferes with the direct DNA binding of Smad2, and modifies the function of Smad2 in transcription of certain target genes.

Alternative Splicing↗

ASK1 mediates apoptotic cell death induced by genotoxic stress.

ASKI mediates apoptotic cell death induced by genotoxic stress Genotoxic stress-induced apoptosis is mediated by caspase family proteases as triggered by other stimuli. In this study, we found that the DNA-damaging agent cisplatin (cDDP) activated MAP kinase kinase kinase ASK1 and subsequent downstream subgroups of MAP kinase kinase, SEK1 (or MKK4) and MKK3/MKK6, which in turn activated c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK1/SAPK) and p38 MAP kinase prior to caspase family protease activation and the onset of apoptosis in human ovarian carcinoma (OVCAR-3) and human kidney (293T) cells. As reported previously, benzyloxy carbonyl-Asp-CH2OC(O)-2, 6-dichlorobenzene (Z-Asp), a preferential inhibitor of caspase family proteases, blocked the apoptosis of OVCAR-3 cells induced by the genotoxic stress cDDP. Z-Asp, however, did not inhibit ASKI activation and the subsequent kinase cascades. Overexpression of kinase-negative ASK1 (K709R), which inhibited ASK1 activation and the downstream MKK3-p38 and MKK4-JNK1 pathways, also suppressed the caspase protease activation and apoptosis induced by cDDP. These results indicate that the ASK1 pathway is involved in genotoxic stress-induced apoptosis and mediates apoptosis at a step upstream of caspase protease activation.

Apoptosis↗