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In vitro inhibition of antirecoverin immunoglobulin-mediated death of mammalian photoreceptor cells.

Cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR) is a blinding disease, which can be mediated by autoimmune reactions with a specific calcium-binding retinal protein, recoverin. A number of recent studies demonstrate that agents that mobilize intracellular calcium can protect neurons from apoptotic death induced by a variety of insults. In this study, we investigated the effect of one such agent, potassium, on the survival of mammalian rod photoreceptors exposed to antirecoverin IgG. Primary cell cultures of rat retinal neurons were grown in a chemically defined medium, and cells were exposed to antirecoverin IgG for 72 hr in various concentrations of potassium and the surviving cells counted. Rod photoreceptors were quantitated using antirhodopsin immunofluorescence microscopy, and total cell numbers were determined by 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining of nuclei. Apoptosis was evaluated by TdT-mediated biotin-dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL), cell death-detection ELISA, and DNA laddering. The present study shows that elevated extracellular K+ ([K+](o)) protects retinal neurons from antirecoverin antibody-mediated cell death. The protective effects of ([K+](o)) were shown to be time- and dose-dependent. The inhibition of antirecoverin IgG-mediated death of photoreceptors by elevated ([K+](o)) suggests that the mobilization of internal calcium stores rescues the cells by interfering with apoptotic signal transduction pathways. These data also suggest that the death of photoreceptor cells occurring in CAR possibly can be prevented by reagents and/or environmental changes that mobilize intracellular calcium.

Animals↗

Identification of human antitumor cytotoxic T lymphocytes epitopes of recoverin, a cancer-associated retinopathy antigen, possibly related with a better prognosis in a paraneoplastic syndrome.

Cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome, and the recoverin-specific autoantibody is suggested to contribute to the pathogenesis of retinopathy, including apoptosis of retinal cells. Because it is known that CAR(+) cancer patients have a preferable prognosis, we hypothesized that aberrantly expressed recoverin in cancer cells can become a target of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). Here we tested nine recoverin-derived HLA-A24-binding peptides for their capacity to elicit antitumor CTL. We observed recoverin-specific CTL responses in two HLA-A24(+) CAR(+) cancer patients. In addition, the CTL responses were obtained from three of ten CAR(-) cancer patients and two of six healthy individuals. The CTL precursor frequency of CAR(+) cancer patients and that of CAR(-) cancer patients was higher than that of healthy individuals. Of nine recoverin peptides, R49 (QFQSIYAKF), R49.2 (QFQSIYAKFF), and R64 (AYAQHVFRSF) were discovered to induce the peptide-specific CTL. Taken together, our present data suggest that peripheral activation of recoverin-specific antitumor CTL is likely to contribute to the preferable prognosis of CAR(+) cancer patients. Moreover, in cases other than CAR(+) cancer patients, recoverin may offer the opportunity to design epitope-based immunotherapeutic approaches for treating HLA-A24(+) cancer patients with a recoverin-expressing tumor.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗

Vaccination with recoverin, a cancer-associated retinopathy antigen, induces autoimmune retinal dysfunction and tumor cell regression in mice.

Recoverin (Rec)-specific CTL present in peripheral blood recognize Rec-expressing tumor cells of patients with cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR), a paraneoplastic retinopathy syndrome. To evaluate the effects of Rec on retina and cancer cells, we generated an experimental mouse model, tested the induction of Rec-specific anti-tumor CTL, and analyzed retinal function using electroretinogram (ERG) in these animals. We observed a Rec-specific CTL response in BALB/c mice and significant growth inhibition of Rec-expressing syngeneic MethA fibrosarcoma cells in vivo. R64 (AYAQHVFRSF) peptide, derived from Rec that induces anti-tumor CTL in humans, produced anti-tumor effects in BALB/c mice. Furthermore, elevated anti-Rec antibodies correlated with decreased ERG amplitudes in Rec, Rec-expressing tumor and R64-treated mice. These data suggest that Rec contains amino acid sequences which cause retinal dysfunction, but they also induce anti-tumor CTL and tumor regression. These observations describe initial characterization of the CAR mouse model, a necessary step in developing new insight into immunological mechanisms of paraneoplastic syndromes and tumor immunity for potential immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer.

Abatacept↗

Calcium-dependent regulation of rhodopsin phosphorylation.

Depending on ambient light conditions, a rod photoreceptor cell adapts to a light stimulus. For example, when it is kept in the light, its light sensitivity decreases because of light adaptation. The adaptational state is regulated by the Ca2+ concentration in the cytoplasm ([Ca2+]i). The [Ca2+]i is high in the dark and becomes low when the cell is light-adapted. The change in [Ca2+]i is detected by several Ca(2+)-binding proteins that change their conformations by binding Ca2+. S-modulin, found in frog rods, or its bovine homologue recoverin, is a 23 kDa Ca(2+)-binding protein that inhibits rhodopsin phosphorylation at high Ca2+ concentrations by inhibiting rhodopsin kinase. Since rhodopsin phosphorylation is an inactivating mechanism for light-activated rhodopsin (R*), the inhibition of this reaction will prolong the lifetime of R*. In this way, S-modulin is expected to increase the efficiency of phototransduction and therefore the light-sensitivity of rods in the dark. When rods are light-adapted, [Ca2+]i decreases so that the lifetime of the R* is expected to reduce, resulting in a decrease in light sensitivity. Even though it is generally agreed that S-modulin inhibits rhodopsin phosphorylation, its physiological function is not yet well understood.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Goalpha labels ON bipolar cells in the tiger salamander retina.

By using double-label immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy, we studied rod and cone synaptic contacts, photoreceptor-bipolar cell convergence, and patterns of axon terminal ramification of ON bipolar cells in the tiger salamander retina. An antibody to recoverin, a calcium-binding protein found in photoreceptors and other retinal neurons in various vertebrates, differentially labeled rods and cones by lightly staining rod cell bodies, axons, and synaptic pedicles and heavily staining cone cell bodies and pedicles. An antibody to G(oalpha) labeled most ON bipolar cells, with axon terminals ramified mainly in strata 6-9 and a minor band in stratum 3 of the inner plexiform layer (IPL). Stratum 10 of the IPL was G(oalpha) negative, and previous studies showed that axon terminals of rod-dominated ON bipolar cells are monostratified in that stratum. The axonal morphology of G(oalpha)-positive cells resembled that of the cone-dominated (DBC(C)) or mixed rod and cone ON (DBC(M)) bipolar cells. The G(oalpha)-positive dendritic processes made close contact with all cone pedicles and superficial contact with some rod pedicles, consistent with the idea that G(oalpha) subunits are present in DBC(C)s and DBC(M)s. The size and density of these cells were analyzed, and their spatial distributions were determined. To our knowledge, this is the first study to characterize photoreceptor inputs and axon terminal morphology of a population of ON bipolar cell with the use of a G(oalpha) antibody as an immunomarker in the salamander retina.

Ambystoma↗

Differential distribution of six calcium-binding proteins in the rat olfactory epithelium during postnatal development and adulthood.

Odorant stimulation of receptor cells results in a calcium influx that activates the transduction pathway. Ca2+ acceptors, such as calmodulin, may mediate between the change in intracellular calcium and the conductance mechanism underlying the initial electrical event. Ca2+ acceptors also may participate in subsequent processing of olfactory information. The identification and characterization of these molecules, therefore, should provide important information about the complex signal transduction pathway involving calcium in olfaction as well as other sensory systems. The present study describes the distribution of six calcium-binding proteins in the rat main olfactory epithelium during postnatal development to determine when different Ca2+ acceptors can be detected and whether they segregate into different layers or portions of the epithelium. Calmodulin, calretinin, calbindin-D28k, neurocalcin, and recoverin were detected immunohistochemically in olfactory receptors but not in basal cells. S-100 immunoreactivity was restricted to glial cells primarily around the cribriform plate. During postnatal development (from P1 to P20), calmodulin, calretinin, calbindin-D28k, and neurocalcin formed a gradient of immunoreactivity descending from the central to the lateral areas in the nasal cavity, whereas recoverin was expressed only in sporadic, mature receptors in the proximal region of the mucosa. At P20, the immunoreactivity pattern for each calcium-binding protein was identical to the adult profile, indicating that the olfactory epithelium had reached maturity by this stage. Olfactory nerve fiber bundles displayed a differential staining pattern from P1 until adulthood for calbindin-D28k and calretinin (internal portions of bundles). Differential calmodulin immunoreactivity of olfactory nerves (large external portions of bundles) appeared at P10. The immunoreactivity of the nerve fiber bundles may reflect a further degree of organization relevant to odor discrimination.

Animals↗

Retargeting of adenoviral infection to melanoma: combining genetic ablation of native tropism with a recombinant bispecific single-chain diabody (scDb) adapter that binds to fiber knob and HMWMAA.

Gene therapy is an emerging and promising modality for the treatment of malignant melanoma and other neoplasms for which conventional therapies are inadequate. Various therapeutic genes have shown promise for tumor cell killing. However, successful gene therapy depends on the development of efficient and targeted gene transfer vectors. Here we describe a novel strategy for targeting of adenovirus-mediated gene transfer to melanoma cells. This strategy combines genetic ablation of native adenoviral tropism with redirected viral binding to melanoma cells via a bispecific adapter molecule, a bacterially expressed single-chain diabody, scDb MelAd, that binds to both the adenoviral fiber protein and to the high molecular weight melanoma-associated antigen (HMWMAA). This antigen is widely and specifically expressed on the surface of melanoma cells and its expression is associated with tumor development and progression. Our results showed specific and strong binding of the anti-HMWMAA scFv RAFT3 and the bispecific adapter scDb MelAd to melanoma cells. In adenoviral infection experiments, we demonstrated i) substantially (>50-fold) reduced infectivity of capsid mutant adenoviruses, ii) restored (up to 367-fold increase), CAR-independent and HMWMAA-mediated infectivity of these mutant viruses by scDb MelAd specifically in melanoma cells, and iii) higher levels of transgene expression in melanoma cells by fiber mutant virus complexed with scDbMelAd, relative to a vector with wild-type fibers. We confirmed the utility of this targeting strategy with human primary melanoma cells that represent clinically relevant substrates. These experiments established that the retargeting strategy mediates up to 54-fold increased adenoviral gene transfer to CAR-negative melanoma cells compared to the vector with native tropism. Hence, the HMWMAA-targeted adenoviral vector lacking native tropism exhibits both enhanced specificity and augmented infectivity of gene transfer to melanoma cells, suggesting that it is feasible to use this vector to improve gene therapy for malignant melanoma.

Adenoviridae↗

Chromosomal assignment of the human gene for the cancer-associated retinopathy protein (recoverin) to chromosome 17p13.1.

The gene for the mouse recoverin protein (23 kDa photoreceptor-specific protein, S-modulin, or the Cancer-Associated Retinopathy protein) was recently assigned to mouse chromosome 11, closely linked to trp53. In this paper, the human gene for recoverin was localized to human chromosome 17 by Southern analysis of restriction digests of the DNA from mouse/human somatic cell hybrids. Using a 7 kb subclone of the human recoverin gene, a positive fluorescence in situ hybridization signal was demonstrated near the terminus of the short arm of chromosome 17 at position p13.1. The mapping of recoverin to this region of human chromosome 17, which contains a number of cancer-related loci, suggests a possible mechanism by which cancer-associated retinopathy occurs in humans.

Animals↗

Monitoring calcium-induced conformational changes in recoverin by electrospray mass spectrometry.

Recoverin is a calcium-binding protein that regulates the vertebrate photoresponse by inhibiting rhodopsin kinase in response to high calcium concentrations. It is heterogeneously N-acylated by myristoyl and related fatty acyl residues that are thought to act as "calcium-myristoyl switches," whereby, in the presence of Ca2+, the N-terminal acyl group is extended away from recoverin and, in the absence of calcium, it is more closely associated with the protein. Here we use electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI/MS) to examine hydrogen isotopic exchange rates for specific regions of both acylated and nonacylated recoverin in the presence and absence of calcium. The deuterium exchange rates of three regions in the hydrophobic myristoyl binding pocket of acylated recoverin decreased in the absence of calcium. This effect is most likely due to the closer association of the acyl group with the protein under these conditions. In contrast, rates of deuterium incorporation increased in the absence of calcium for other regions, including the two functional calcium-binding sites. In addition to supporting the calcium-myristoyl switch hypothesis, a comparison of the behavior of acylated and unacylated recoverin revealed that the N-acyl group (N-lauroyl or N-myristoyl) exerts a significant stabilizing influence on the dynamics of recoverin. We demonstrate that the new technique of monitoring hydrogen isotopic exchange by ESI/MS can be used to obtain useful information concerning protein structures in solution using smaller amounts of protein and under more physiologically relevant conditions than is typically possible with NMR or X-ray crystallography.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Ca2+-dependent conformational changes in bovine GCAP-2.

GCAP-2, a mammalian photoreceptor-specific protein, is a Ca2+-dependent regulator of the retinal membrane guanylyl cyclases (Ret-GCs). Sensing the fall in intracellular free Ca2+ after photo-excitation, GCAP-2 stimulates the activity of Ret-GC leading to cGMP production. Like other members of the recoverin superfamily, GCAP-2 is a small N-myristoylated protein containing four EF-hand consensus motifs. In this study, we demonstrate that like recoverin and neurocalcin, GCAP-2 alters its conformation in response to Ca2+-binding as measured by a Ca2+-dependent change in its far UV CD spectrum. Differences in the conformation of the Ca2+-bound and Ca2+-free forms of GCAP-2 were also observed by examining their relative susceptibility to V8 protease. In contrast to recoverin, we do not observe proteolytic cleavage of the myristoylated N-terminus of Ca2+-bound GCAP-2. NMR spectra also show that, in contrast to recoverin, the chemical environment of the N-terminus of GCAP-2 is not dramatically altered by Ca2+ binding. Despite the similarity of GCAP-2 and recoverin, the structural consequences of Ca2+-binding for these two proteins are significantly dissimilar.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Inhibition of rhodopsin phosphorylation by non-myristoylated recombinant recoverin.

Bovine recoverin regulates rhodopsin phosphorylation and controls photoreceptor light sensitivity in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. Recoverin is post-translationally modified with lipids (myristic acid or related lipids) at its N-terminus. Since with this lipid modification (N-myristoylation), recoverin associates with rod outer segment membranes in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner, N-myristoylation has been suggested to be important for the function of this protein. To study the role of this modification, we obtained recombinant non-myristoylated recoverin in E. coli and studied its functional properties. Here, we report that recombinant non-myristoylated recoverin inhibits rhodopsin phosphorylation at Ca2+ concentrations of 30 nM-10 microM in a similar way as native N-myristoylated recoverin does. Thus, our result showed that N-myristoylation is not essential for the Ca(2+)-dependent inhibition of rhodopsin phosphorylation by recoverin.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Regulation of rhodopsin phosphorylation by a family of neuronal calcium sensors.

Recoverin is a calcium sensor that regulates rhodopsin phosphorylation in a calcium-dependent manner. Cloning experiments indicate the presence of a numerous gene family, called the NCS family, encoding recoverin-like proteins expressed predominantly in neurons. Here, we report the cloning of three novel NCS genes, and demonstrate that at least six distinct members of the NCS family (including recoverin, S-modulin, vilip 1, NCS-1, Ce-NCS-1, and Ce-NCS-2) specifically inhibit rhodopsin phosphorylation. The presence of species homologues within the NCS family suggests that this function might be shared by at least 12 (out of 18) NCS proteins. Recent studies indicate that recoverin inhibits rhodopsin phosphorylation by directly regulating rhodopsin kinase, a G protein coupled receptor kinase (GRK). Since several NCS proteins are found in neurons throughout the entire nervous system, they may regulate other members of the GRK family. Together, our data suggest a general role for NCS proteins in the regulation of calcium-dependent phosphorylation in the nervous system.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Functional expression and characterization of frog photoreceptor-specific calcium-binding proteins.

S-modulin (sensitivity-modulating protein) is a photoreceptor-specific calcium-binding protein which plays an important role in the light adaptation process by controlling rhodopsin phosphorylation in rods. S-modulin and its cone homologue, s26, were expressed at high level (more than 30% of total protein) in Escherichia coli and then purified. They both inhibited rhodopsin phosphorylation in a calcium dependent manner. Myristoylated recombinants of S-modulin and s26 showed calcium-dependent changes in tryptophan emission spectra with half-maxima at about 0.7 microM free calcium concentration. However, the spectral changes are distinctive from each other, suggesting that there is some difference in the structural change between S-modulin and s26.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Molecular evidence that human ocular ciliary epithelium expresses components involved in phototransduction.

Here we report the expression, in the human ocular ciliary epithelium and in a human nonpigmented (NPE) ciliary epithelial cell line, of genes usually restricted to cone and rod photoreceptor cells of the retina. By RT-PCR and DNA sequencing we identified the expression of rhodopsin and components linked to its deactivation, including rhodopsin kinase, recoverin, and visual arrestin. We also detected the expression of transducin (T-alpha), phosphodiesterase (PDE-alpha), and cGMP-gated channel alpha-subunits. Cultured NPE cells responded to treatment with phorbol ester by enhancing the expression of rhodopsin mRNA three- to fourfold. Indirect immunofluorescence of the intact ciliary epithelium with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against rhodopsin, rhodopsin kinase, and visual arrestin revealed labeling preferentially restricted to the NPE cells. Furthermore, Western blot analysis of whole lysates from the pars plicata region of the human ciliary epithelium with MAbs demonstrated immunochemical cross-reactivity with proteins of molecular mass similar to rhodopsin (36 kDa), rhodopsin kinase (64 to 66 kDa), and arrestin (48-52 kDa) from the human retina. These results provide the first molecular evidence that components of a non-visual phototransduction pathway are expressed in the human ocular NPE ciliary epithelium, which may be linked to circadian entrainment tasks.

Animals↗

Interaction of plant protein Ser/Thr phosphatase PP7 with calmodulin.

We have recently identified PP7, a novel group of plant protein Ser/Thr phosphatases, and hypothesized that PP7 may possess a calmodulin-binding site. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the effect of calmodulin on the activity of recombinant Arabidopsis thaliana PP7 and directly tested interaction between PP7 and calmodulin using surface plasmon resonance. Calmodulin exerted a moderate inhibitory effect on the phosphatase activity of PP7 with submicromolar affinity. PP7 specifically interacted with immobilized calmodulin (but not with recoverin, another EF hand Ca(2+)-binding protein) in a strictly Ca(2+)-dependent manner with nanomolar affinity. Deletion of an insert in the catalytic domain of PP7, predicted to function as a calmodulin-binding site, greatly decreased PP7 binding to calmodulin. These findings provide the first evidence for a plant protein phosphatase directly interacting with calmodulin and indicate that PP7 might be regulated by Ca(2+) levels in vivo.

Arabidopsis↗

Molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence of a cDNA encoding recoverin from human retina.

In the process of photoreceptor signal transduction, light initiates an enzymatic cascade that leads to hydrolysis of cyclic GMP (cGMP) and closure of cGMP-gated sodium-calcium channels resulting in photoreceptor hyperpolarization. Recoverin is a calcium-binding protein that is thought to reverse the effects of light on cGMP levels by activating guanylate cyclase. Guanylate cyclase produces cGMP to overcome the cGMP-hydrolysing effect of phosphodiesterase, and reopens the sodium-calcium channels in photoreceptor outer segments. We have cloned and sequenced a cDNA encoding recoverin in human retina. The human nucleotide sequence is 88% identical to the bovine sequence, and contains a 600-base pair (bp) open reading frame encoding 200 amino acids. In situ hybridization of cultured Y79 human retinoblastoma cells with a radioactive recoverin cDNA probe showed intense, specific labeling of the cytoplasm, indicating the presence of mRNA encoding recoverin. Direct sequencing of a Y79 retinoblastoma cDNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product confirmed the presence of recoverin in this human cell line.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Expression of recoverin mRNA in the human retina: localization by in situ hybridization.

The localization of mRNA encoding recoverin in the human retina was examined by in situ hybridization. The riboprobe utilized in this study was transcribed from a cDNA clone containing the complete coding region of human recoverin. The riboprobe hybridized extensively with the photoreceptor inner segments, and the outer nuclear layer. Specific hybridization was also seen in a subpopulation of cells in the inner nuclear layer, and occasionally in cells of the ganglion cell layer (GCL). Recoverin-like immunoreactivity was observed in all photoreceptors, and in a subpopulation of bipolar cells. Very robust immunolabeling was observed in a small population of cells in the GCL. This study suggests that recoverin, or a recoverin-like protein, is produced by at least three different cell types in the human retina: photoreceptors, bipolars and rare cells in the ganglion cell layer.

Adult↗

Recoverin: a potent uveitogen for the induction of photoreceptor degeneration in Lewis rats.

Recoverin is a calcium-binding protein identified as an autoantigen in a paraneoplastic degenerative disease of the human retina known as cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR). In this study we investigated whether recoverin could elicit an immune response leading to the degeneration of photoreceptor cells in a rodent retina, and whether an animal model of CAR could be developed. Injection of Lewis rats with recoverin caused degeneration of the photoreceptor cells. Several features of uveoretinitis were observed, including vitreous cells, perivasculitis, retinal lesions and complete loss of the photoreceptor cell layer. The first clinical signs of retinal inflammation were observed 10-14 days after immunization. The earliest histological changes in the retina also were observed 14 days after immunization. Infiltration of the photoreceptor cell layer and inner layers of the retina with lymphocytic and some polymorphonuclear cells was frequently observed. Photoreceptors were damaged and later fully degenerated. This sequence of events was associated with high antibody titers against recoverin in all animals tested. Cellular responses to recoverin assayed between days 7 and 28 after immunization showed strong in vitro proliferative activities to recoverin. In addition, all aspects of the degenerative events could be reproduced in naive animals by the adoptive transfer of stimulated lymphocytes obtained from animals previously immunized with recoverin. This study demonstrates the successful induction of photoreceptor degeneration using recoverin as an immunogen. We demonstrate that recoverin is both a potent antigen and uveitogen. These observations may be relevant to our understanding of CARs in humans.

Animals↗