Biomedical subjects

N Heisterkamp

Publications and source records attributed to N Heisterkamp.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1995

Abr and Bcr are multifunctional regulators of the Rho GTP-binding protein family.

Philadelphia chromosome-positive leukemias result from the fusion of the BCR and ABL genes, which generates a functional chimeric molecule. The Abr protein is very similar to Bcr but lacks a structural domain which may influence its biological regulatory capabilities. Both Abr and Bcr have a GTPase-activating protein (GAP) domain similar to those found in other proteins that stimulate GTP hydrolysis by members of the Rho family of GTP-binding proteins, as well as a region of homology with the guanine nucleotide dissociation-stimulating domain of the DBL oncogene product. We purified as recombinant fusion proteins the GAP- and Dbl-homology domains of both Abr and Bcr. The Dbl-homology domains of Bcr and Abr were active in stimulating GTP binding to CDC42Hs, RhoA, Rac1, and Rac2 (rank order, CDC42Hs > RhoA > Rac1 = Rac2) but were inactive toward Rap1A and Ha-Ras. Both Bcr and Abr acted as GAPs for Rac1, Rac2, and CDC42Hs but were inactive toward RhoA, Rap1A, and Ha-Ras. Each individual domain bound in a noncompetitive manner to GTP-binding protein substrates. These data suggest the multifunctional Bcr and Abr proteins might interact simultaneously and/or sequentially with members of the Rho family to regulate and coordinate cellular signaling.

Binding, Competitive↗

PubMed1995

Tyrosine phosphorylation of murine Crkl.

The SH2/SH3 adaptor protein Crkl is abnormally phosphorylated on tyrosine by the Bcr/Abl protein in leukemic cells from patients with Philadelphia-chromosome (Ph)positive leukemia. However, the state of tyrosine-phosphorylation of crkl in normal tissues is unknown. In the current study, we identified mouse crkl by cDNA cloning and examined expression levels and tyrosine-phosphorylation of the mouse crkl protein during embryogenesis and in adult tissues. Tyrosine-phosphorylation of crkl was prominent during early development, but decreased at later embryonic stages and in newborn mice. Expression of both crkl and the related crk was ubiquitous in the adult. However, crkl differed considerably from crk in relative tissue distribution, and was more abundant in hematopoietic tissues. With exception of the lung, crkl was mostly present in a non-tyrosine phosphorylated form. Consistent with our previous findings in human patients, murine crkl was phosphorylated on tyrosine in leukemic tissues of BCR/ABL transgenic animals, but was non-tyrosine phosphorylated in normal mouse bone marrow. We conclude that this crkl tyrosine-phosphorylation by Bcr/Abl in hematopoietic cells is clearly aberrant and is consistently linked to the development of leukemia. Identification of proteins interacting with tyrosine-phosphorylated crkl in the leukemic cells of BCR/ABL transgenic mice should reveal members of signal transduction pathways activated in Ph-positive leukemia.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

PubMed1995

Localization of the human mitochondrial citrate transporter protein gene to chromosome 22Q11 in the DiGeorge syndrome critical region.

A high percentage of patients with DiGeorge syndrome and velo-cardio-facial syndrome have interstitial deletions on chromosome 22q11. The shortest region of overlap is currently estimated to be around 55 kb. Two segments of DNA from chromosome 22q11, located 160 kb apart, were cloned because they contained NotI restriction enzyme sites. In the current study we demonstrate that these segments are absent from chromosomes 22 carrying microdeletions of two different DiGeorge patients. Fluorescence in situ and Southern blot hybridization was further used to show that this locus is within the DiGeorge critical region. Phylogenetically conserved sequences adjacent to one human cell lines. cDNAs isolated with a probe from this segment showed it to contain the gene for teh human mitochondrial citrate transporter protein. Deletion of this gene in DiGeorge syndrome and velocardio-facial syndrome may contribute to the mental deficiency seen in the patients.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1995

Crkl is complexed with tyrosine-phosphorylated Cbl in Ph-positive leukemia.

The deregulated tyrosine kinase activity of the Bcr/Abl protein has been causally linked to the development of Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome-positive leukemia in mice and man. Abnormally tyrosine-phosphorylated substrates of the Bcr/Abl kinase in Ph-positive cells are likely to contribute to leukemogenesis by interfering with normal signal transduction pathways. We have previously shown that the adaptor molecule Crkl is a major in vivo substrate for the Bcr/Abl tyrosine kinase, and it is thought to connect Bcr/Abl with downstream effectors. In the current study, a tyrosine-phosphorylated protein with a molecular mass of approximately 120 kDa was identified which binds only to the Crkl Src homology 2 (SH2) domain in cells, including Ph-positive patient material, containing an active Bcr/Abl protein. We demonstrate here that this protein is Cbl, originally discovered as an oncogene which induces B-cell and myeloid leukemias in mice. The Crkl SH2 domain binds specifically to Cbl. The Src homology 3 (SH3) domains of Crkl do not bind to Cbl, but do bind Bcr/Abl. These findings suggest the existence of a trimolecular complex involving Bcr/Abl, Crkl, and Cbl and are consistent with a model in which Crkl mediates the oncogenic signal of Bcr/Abl to Cbl.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

PubMed1995

Spatial organization of ABR and CRK genes on human chromosome band 17p13.3.

Deletion of part or all of chromosome 17p is among the most frequent chromosome abnormalities in human cancer. We show that the CRK and ABR genes are close to a marker on chromosome 17p13.3, D17S34, which is frequently deleted in different tumours, and demonstrate that CRK is centromeric to ABR. CRK and ABR may be involved in cancer themselves, or otherwise may function as points of reference for further experiments to clone genes from chromosome 17p which may play a role in cancer.

Chromosome Banding↗

PubMed1995

Abnormal lung development and cleft palate in mice lacking TGF-beta 3 indicates defects of epithelial-mesenchymal interaction.

A broad spectrum of biological activities has been proposed for transforming growth factor-beta 3 (TGF-beta 3). To study TGF-beta 3 function in development, TGF-beta 3 null mutant mice were generated by gene-targeting. Within 20 hours of birth, homozygous TGF-beta 3-/- mice die with unique and consistent phenotypic features including delayed pulmonary development and defective palatogenesis. Unlike other null mutants with cleft palate, TGF-beta 3-/- mice lack other concomitant craniofacial abnormalities. This study demonstrates an essential function for TGF-beta 3 in the normal morphogenesis of palate and lung, and directly implicates this cytokine in mechanisms of epithelial-mesenchymal interaction.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Recombinant glycosylasparaginase and in vitro correction of aspartylglycosaminuria.

Aspartylglycosaminuria (AGU) is the most common disorder of glycoprotein degradation. AGU patients are deficient in glycosylasparaginase (GA), which results in accumulation of aspartylglucosamine in body fluids and tissues. Human glycosylasparaginase was stably overexpressed in NIH-3T3 mouse fibroblasts, in which the unusual posttranslational processing and maturation of the enzyme occurred in a high degree. The recombinant enzyme was isolated as two isoforms, which were both phosphorylated, and actively transported into AGU fibroblasts and lymphoblasts through mannose-6-phosphate receptor-mediated endocytosis. The rate of uptake into fibroblasts was half-maximal when the concentration of GA in the medium was 5 x 10(-8) M. Immunofluorescence microscopy suggested compartmentalization of the recombinant enzyme in the lysosomes. Supplementation of culture medium with either isoform cleared AGU lymphoblasts of stored aspartylglucosamine when glycosylasparaginase activity in the cells reached 3-4% of that in normal lymphoblasts. A relatively small amount of recombinant GA in the culture medium was sufficient to reverse pathology in the target cells, indicating high corrective quality of the enzyme preparations. The combined evidence indicates that enzyme replacement therapy with the present recombinant glycosylasparaginase might reverse pathology at least in somatic cells of AGU patients.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed1995

Standpoint on imprinting of BCR and ABL.

Cytogenetic studies of Ph-positive leukemic patients and their parents have indicated that chromosome 22 involved in the formation of the t(9;22) is of maternal origin, whereas chromosome 9 is preferentially of paternal origin. These data have suggested that the two genes BCR and ABL, which become fused through the translocation, might be imprinted, ie expressed in a parental-specific manner. Recent molecular genetic studies however, have shown that BCR and ABL are expressed on both alleles and that the maternal and paternal ABL genes contribute equally often to the BCR-ABL fusion messenger. The findings make imprinting of these genes unlikely as an explanatory model and necessitate a combined cytogenetic and molecular genetic study.

Alleles↗

PubMed1995

Regional localization and developmental expression of the BCR gene in rodent brain.

The BCR gene is implicated in the development of Ph-positive leukemia through its fusion with the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase gene ABL. The normal 160 kDa Bcr protein has several functional domains, and recently one specific role for Bcr was established in the regulation of respiratory burst activity in white blood cells. Bcr expression levels are relatively constant throughout mouse development until adulthood in brain and in hematopoietic tissues, a pattern that is distinctly different from that of the functionally related n-chimerin gene. In the present study, RNA in situ hybridization was used to explore the normal cellular function of Bcr in rodent brain and hematopoietic organs. The data pinpoint the high bcr expression in the brain to the hippocampal pyramidal cell layer and the dentate gyrus, and to the piriform cortex and the olfactory nuclei, reflecting a potentially interesting function for Bcr in these highly specialized brain regions.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Tyrosine phosphorylation of CRKL in Philadelphia+ leukemia.

The chimeric BCR/ABL protein is characteristic of Philadelphia (Ph)+ leukemia because it is the direct product of the Ph translocation and it has been shown to play a causal role in the genesis of leukemia. The BCR/ABL protein exhibits a deregulated tyrosine-kinase activity capable of phosphorylating different cellular substrates in vivo and in vitro. CRKL, an adaptor protein consisting of SH2 and SH3 domains in the absence of a catalytic domain, is one potential in vivo substrate of BCR/ABL. Previous experiments have shown that CRKL is phosphorylated on tyrosine in the chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cell line K562 and that CRKL is a substrate for ABL and for BCR/ABL in COS-1 cells. In the current study, we show that in peripheral blood cells a direct correlation exists between the presence of BCR/ABL and the phosphorylation status of CRKL. In Ph- peripheral blood cells, CRKL is present only in the nonphosphorylated form. In contrast, all BCR/ABL+ CML and acute lymphoblastic leukemia patient samples examined showed clear tyrosine-phosphorylation of CRKL. This result strongly suggests that CRKL is a biologically significant substrate for BCR/ABL and is likely to play a major role in the development of Ph+ leukemia.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

PubMed1994

No evidence for genomic imprinting of the human BCR gene.

Chronic myeloid leukemias and 5% to 20% of acute lymphoid leukemias are characterized by the Philadelphia chromosome, a reciprocal chromosomal translocation, t(9;22)(q34;q11), generating BCR-ABL and ABL-BCR fusion genes. Cytogenetic studies have recently shown a preferential involvement of the paternally derived chromosome 9 and the maternally derived chromosome 22 in this translocation, indicating that imprinting might be involved in the formation or selection of the translocation. In this study, we have identified a BamHI polymorphism in the coding region of BCR exon 1, allowing us to investigate whether both BCR alleles are transcribed. By using a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay, we show that both BCR alleles are expressed in the peripheral blood cells of normal individuals.

Alleles↗

PubMed1994

Cellular interactions of CRKL, and SH2-SH3 adaptor protein.

Chronic myelogenous leukemia is characterized by a specific chromosomal translocation, t(9;22), in which the ABL protooncogene and the BCR gene become juxtaposed. The chimeric BCR/ABL gene produces a P210 fusion protein with deregulated tyrosine kinase activity. We have recently isolated a complementary DNA, CRKL, which could code for an adaptor protein consisting of one SH2 and two SH3 domains and lacking any catalytic domain. In the current study, we show that CRKL is highly phosphorylated in the chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line K562 and that it is a substrate for the p210 BCR/ABL and p145 ABL kinases. BCR/ABL and ABL are coimmunoprecipitated with CRKL in vivo, demonstrating that relatively stable complexes are formed. In addition, the nucleotide exchange factor mSOS1 was found to be coimmunoprecipitated with CRKL. These findings establish a putative signal transduction pathway way through which BCR/ABL mediates its oncogenic activity.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

PubMed1994

Expression of multiple gamma-glutamyltransferase genes in man.

In clinical and pharmacological laboratories, the assay for gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activity is an important diagnostic test, but one with high biological variability. Although the human genome contains multiple GGT genomic sequences, the diagnostic tests generally assume that only a single GGT gene is active. In the current study, segments encompassing parts of seven different potential human GGT genes have been molecularly cloned. Based on sequence determination of exons within these distinct genomic clones, oligonucleotide primers were designed which would prime and PCR-amplify putative mRNA of all seven potential GGT genes, if expressed. Gene-specific oligonucleotide probes were then utilized to assay the transcriptional status of the seven possible GGT genes in a wide variety of human RNAs. Our results show that a single GGT gene exhibits ubiquitous expression in all RNAs tested, including those from fetal and adult liver. A surprisingly large number of four additional GGT genes is expressed in man. Interestingly, these novel GGT genes are expressed in a tissue-restricted manner, which suggests that their corresponding gene products exhibit distinct functions in these specific tissues.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1994

Negative cooperativity in the insulin-like growth factor-I receptor and a chimeric IGF-I/insulin receptor.

Insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) share a spectrum of metabolic and growth-promoting effects, mediated through homologous receptors that belong to the tyrosine kinase family. The dissociation rate of insulin from its receptor is affected by negative cooperativity, i.e. accelerates with increased receptor occupancy. The dose-response curve for the acceleration of tracer dissociation by unlabeled insulin has a distinct bell-shaped curve, with a progressive slowing down at insulin concentrations greater than 100 nM. The kinetics of the IGF-I interaction with its receptor has not been studied in such detail. In the present work, we report that while the IGF-I receptor exhibits negative cooperativity like the insulin receptor, the concentration dependence of the dissociation kinetics is distinct from that of native human insulin by not being bell-shaped, but monophasic like that of insulin analogues mutated at the hexamer-forming surface; it is changed to an insulin-type curve by substitution of IGF-I receptor's sequence including residues 382-565 with the homologous insulin receptor domain. The data suggest that like insulin, IGF-I has a bivalent binding mode and crosslinks two distinct areas of the two alpha subunits that are close, but distinct from the equivalent insulin receptor binding sites.

Arteries↗

PubMed1993

Human ABR encodes a protein with GAPrac activity and homology to the DBL nucleotide exchange factor domain.

We have previously cloned a segment of a gene, ABR, homologous to the BCR gene, which encodes a protein consisting of three distinct functional domains. In the present study, genomic ABR sequences were used to isolate human ABR cDNAs. Surprisingly, the two types of ABR cDNAs identified differed only in their most 5' coding sequences. These are predicted to encode proteins of 93.5 and 92.3 kDa molecular mass. ABR showed a differential expression pattern in various mouse tissues, analogous to that of BCR, and the highest level was found in brain. Similar to BCR, ABR contains a region with homology to DBL, vav, and CDC24, which are likely to or have been shown to encode GTP exchange factors. A domain of ABR with similarity to GAPrho was expressed as a fusion protein in Escherichia coli and was shown to have GAP activity toward rac. Although both ABR and BCR have GAP activity, ABR lacks homology to the serine/threonine kinase domain of BCR. Therefore, ABR is likely to have cellular functions overlapping with but also distinct from those of BCR.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1993

Tyrosine phosphorylation of P160 BCR by P210 BCR-ABL.

It is well established that the chimeric BCR-ABL gene formed by joining parts of the BCR and ABL genes plays a key role in the pathogenesis of Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome-positive leukemias. We report that simultaneous expression of P210 BCR-ABL and P160 BCR in simian COS-1 cells yielded stable complexes of these two proteins, and induced phosphorylation of P160 BCR on tyrosine residues in vivo. Tyrosine phosphorylation of a deletion mutant encoding 553 amino acids of BCR N-terminal sequences was also detected when it was coexpressed with P210 BCR-ABL. We propose that tyrosine phosphorylation of P160 BCR by P210 BCR-ABL and their stable physical interaction may perturb normal BCR functions and that these alterations are directly involved in the pathologic processes found in Ph chromosome-associated leukemias.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1993

Comparison of baculovirus-expressed c-Abl and BCR/ABL protein tyrosine kinases.

Mouse c-Abl type IV and human BCR/ABL proteins have been expressed in insect cells using the baculovirus system. The proteins were expressed as full-length polypeptides as judged by electrophoresis in denaturing gels. They were identified by immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting with antibodies against ABL peptides and, for BCR/ABL, against a BCR peptide. In these immunoprecipitates both proteins gave autophosphorylation principally on tyrosine. Both proteins were active tyrosine kinases, phosphorylating a variety of tyrosine-containing substrates. In fresh extracts both proteins contained phosphotyrosine as shown by Western blots with antiphosphotyrosine antibodies. Partial purification could be achieved readily using ion exchange columns, and the BCR/ABL protein, p210BCR/ABL, could be further purified to near-homogeneity using an antiphosphotyrosine column. Both enzymes required a divalent metal ion for activity. At low concentrations of ATP (2 microM) and with angiotensin II as substrate both enzymes were activated by Mn2+ or by Mg2+. No major differences in catalytic properties were found between the two isolated enzymes in solution. The oncogenic properties of p210BCR/ABL may be due to its different subcellular location, or to the presence of an intracellular inhibitor of c-Abl that does not inhibit BCR/ABL, or to altered substrate-specificity such that it can phosphorylate a unique substrate which is not recognised by c-Abl.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1993

Localization of a gamma-glutamyl-transferase-related gene family on chromosome 22.

A gene family encompassing a minimum of four genes or pseudogenes for gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT; EC 2.3.2.2) is present on chromosome 22q11. We have previously isolated a cDNA related to GGT but clearly not belonging to its gene family. The chromosomal location of this related gene, GGTLA1, has been determined by both isotopic and fluorescence in situ hybridization to metaphase cells and by Southern blot analysis of somatic cell hybrid DNAs. We show that GGTLA1 is part of a distinct gene family, which has at least four members (GGTLA1, GGTLA2, GGTLA3, GGTLA4). At least two loci are located on chromosome 22 within band q11 and proximal to the chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) breakpoint in BCR (breakpoint cluster region gene). At least one other member is located more distally between the breakpoints found in Ewings sarcoma and CML. Some of the GGT and GGTLA family members are located on NotI restriction enzyme fragments of a similar size. Combined results indicate that a segment of human chromosome 22q11 has undergone large-scale amplification events relatively recently in evolution.

Blotting, Southern↗