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PubMed1998

Rap1 mediates sustained MAP kinase activation induced by nerve growth factor.

Activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase (also known as extracellular-signal-regulated kinase, or ERK) by growth factors can trigger either cell growth or differentiation. The intracellular signals that couple growth factors to MAP kinase may determine the different effects of growth factors: for example, transient activation of MAP kinase by epidermal growth factor stimulates proliferation of PC12 cells, whereas they differentiate in response to nerve growth factor, which acts partly by inducing a sustained activation of MAP kinase. Here we show that activation of MAP kinase by nerve growth factor involves two distinct pathways: the initial activation of MAP kinase requires the small G protein Ras, but its activation is sustained by the small G protein Rap1. Rap1 is activated by CRK adaptor proteins and the guanine-nucleotide-exchange factor C3G, and forms a stable complex with B-Raf, an activator of MAP kinase. Rap1 is required for at least two indices of neuronal differentiation by nerve growth factor: electrical excitability and the induction of neuron-specific genes. We propose that the activation of Rap1 by C3G represents a common mechanism to induce sustained activation of the MAP kinase cascade in cells that express B-Raf.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed2002

The Maguk protein, Pals1, functions as an adapter, linking mammalian homologues of Crumbs and Discs Lost.

Membrane-associated guanylate kinase (Maguk) proteins are scaffold proteins that contain PSD-95-Discs Large-zona occludens-1 (PDZ), Src homology 3, and guanylate kinase domains. A subset of Maguk proteins, such as mLin-2 and protein associated with Lin-7 (Pals)1, also contain two L27 domains: an L27C domain that binds mLin-7 and an L27N domain of unknown function. Here, we demonstrate that the L27N domain targets Pals1 to tight junctions by binding to a PDZ domain protein, Pals1-associated tight junction (PATJ) protein, via a unique Maguk recruitment domain. PATJ is a homologue of Drosophila Discs Lost, a protein that is crucial for epithelial polarity and that exists in a complex with the apical polarity determinant, Crumbs. PATJ and a human Crumbs homologue, CRB1, colocalize with Pals1 to tight junctions, and CRB1 interacts with PATJ albeit indirectly via binding the Pals1 PDZ domain. In agreement, we find that a Drosophila homologue of Pals1 participates in identical interactions with Drosophila Crumbs and Discs Lost. This Drosophila Pals1 homologue has been demonstrated recently to represent Stardust, a crucial polarity gene in Drosophila. Thus, our data identifies a new multiprotein complex that appears to be evolutionarily conserved and likely plays an important role in protein targeting and cell polarity.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2003

T cell-specific gene targeting reveals that alpha4 is required for early T cell development.

Alpha4-mediated signaling is involved in a variety of functions in mammalian cells. To determine whether this is true for immunocompetent cells, we generated mutant (Lck-alpha4-) mice in which the alpha4 gene was deleted in a T cell-specific manner using the Cre/loxP system. These mice showed impaired early T cell development. Thymi at most ages were small and their architecture was disorganized. This defect was not due to increased thymocyte apoptosis but to decreased cell proliferation. T cell development was found to be severely arrested at the CD4/CD8 double-negative 3 stage and the thymus contained very few double-positive or single-positive (SP) mature thymocytes. The mutant thymocytes showed impaired proliferative responses to anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) stimulation or to the cytokines IL-2, IL-1 or TNF. In the spleen, the numbers of mature SP T cells were decreased and their proliferative responses to anti-CD3 plus IL-2 or to anti-CD28 mAb were impaired. A severe impairment of CD3-induced expression of CD25 was also observed. These data suggest that alpha4 plays a critical role in the proliferation of thymocytes, which is necessary for early T cell development.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2003

The roles of Cbl-b and c-Cbl in insulin-stimulated glucose transport.

Previous studies suggest that the stimulation of glucose transport by insulin involves the tyrosine phosphorylation of c-Cbl and the translocation of the c-Cbl/CAP complex to lipid raft subdomains of the plasma membrane. We now demonstrate that Cbl-b also undergoes tyrosine phosphorylation and membrane translocation in response to insulin in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Ectopic expression of APS facilitated insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of tyrosines 665 and 709 in Cbl-b. The phosphorylation of APS produced by insulin drove the translocation of both c-Cbl and Cbl-b to the plasma membrane. Like c-Cbl, Cbl-b associates constitutively with CAP and interacts with Crk upon insulin stimulation. Cbl proteins formed homo- and heterodimers in vivo, which required the participation of a conserved leucine zipper domain. A Cbl mutant incapable of dimerization failed to interact with APS and to undergo tyrosine phosphorylation in response to insulin, indicating an essential role of Cbl dimerization in these processes. Thus, both c-Cbl and Cbl-b can initiate a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B-independent signaling pathway critical to insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed1996

Cloning and characterization of KAP3: a novel kinesin superfamily-associated protein of KIF3A/3B.

We previously reported that KIF3A and KIF3B form a heterodimer that functions as a microtubule-based fast anterograde translocator of membranous organelles. We have also shown that this KIF3A/3B forms a complex with other associated polypeptides, named kinesin superfamily-associated protein 3 (KAP3). In the present study, we purified KAP3 protein by immunoprecipitation using anti-KIF3B antibody from mouse testis. Microsequencing was carried out, and we cloned the full-length KAP3 cDNA from a mouse brain cDNA library. Two isoforms of KAP3 exist [KAP3A (793 aa) and KAP3B (772 aa)], generated by alternative splicing in the carboxyl terminus region. Their amino acid sequences have no homology with those of any other known proteins, and prediction of their secondary structure indicated that almost the entire KAP3 molecule is alpha-helical. We produced recombinant KAP3 and KIF3A/3B using a baculovirus-Sf9 expression system. A reconstruction study in Sf9 cells revealed that KAP3 is a globular protein that binds to the tail domain of KIF3A/3B. The immunolocalization pattern of KAP3 was similar to that of KIF3A/3B in nerve cells. In addition, we found that KAP3 does not affect the motor activity of KIF3A/3B. KAP3 was associated with a membrane-bound form of KIF3A/3B in a fractional immunoprecipitation experiment, and since the KIF3 complex was found to bind to membranous organelles in an EM study, KAP3 may regulate membrane binding of the KIF3 complex.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2001

Src homology 3 domain-dependent interaction of Nck-2 with insulin receptor substrate-1.

Insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) is a multi-domain protein that mediates signal transduction from receptors for insulin and other growth factors to a variety of downstream molecules through both tyrosine-phosphorylation-dependent and -independent interactions. While the tyrosine-phosphorylation-dependent interactions mediated by IRS-1 have been well characterized, the molecular basis underlying the tyrosine-phosphorylation-independent IRS-1 interactions is largely unknown. We previously detected, in an in vitro binding assay, interactions of Nck-2 Src homology (SH) 3 domains with IRS-1. We show here that IRS-1 associates with Nck-2 in vivo. Additionally, we have investigated the molecular basis underlying the IRS-1-Nck-2 complex formation. We have found that (i) mutations at the highly conserved tryptophan within the Nck-2 SH3 domains markedly reduced the association with IRS-1, (ii) interactions mediated by multiple SH3 domains enhance the complex formation of Nck-2 with IRS-1, (iii) deletion of either the phosphotyrosine-binding/Shc and IRS-1 NPXY-binding (PTB/SAIN) domains or the Pre-C-terminal domain of IRS-1, but not the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain, reduced the Nck-2 binding, (iv) PTB/SAIN domains or the Pre-C-terminal domain alone is capable of interacting with Nck-2, and (v) the IRS-1-Nck-2 interaction occurs in the absence of other proteins and therefore is direct. These results establish that IRS-1 is a bona fide target of the Nck-2 SH3 domains and reveal that IRS-1 forms a complex with Nck-2 via direct interactions mediated by multiple domains from both binding partners.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed1997

Induced direct binding of the adapter protein Nck to the GTPase-activating protein-associated protein p62 by epidermal growth factor.

The SH3-SH3-SH3-SH2 adapter protein Nck links receptor tyrosine kinases, such as EGF and PDGF receptors, to downstream signaling pathways, among which p21cdc42/rac-activated kinase cascade, Sos-activated Ras signaling and the human Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASp)-mediated actin cytoskeleton changes, have been implicated. In EGF stimulated cells, Nck co-immunoprecipitates with a number of phosphotyrosine proteins including the EGF receptor (Li et al., 1992 Mol. Cell. Biol. 12: 5824-2833). To identify the phosphotyrosine protein(s) that directly interacts with Nck and to distinguish it from indirectly associated proteins, preexisting phosphoytrosine protein complexes in the cell lysate were dissociated by heat and SDS prior to the test for binding to Nck. We found that Nck does not directly bind to EGF receptor, instead it binds via its SH2 domain to a 62 kDa phosphotyrosine protein. We present evidence demonstrating that the Nck-bound p62 is related to the previously identified GTPase-activating protein (GAP)-associated phosphotyrosine protein p62. (1) The Nck-bound and the GAP-bound p62 proteins co-migrate with each other in SDS-PAGE. (2) SH2 domains from Nck and GAP compete for binding to p62 in vitro. (3) Purified GST-Nck-SH2 binds directly to the GAP-associated p62. Under these conditions, SH2 domains from PLCgamma, PI-3 kinase, SHC, and Grb2 did not bind p62. (4) Tryptic phosphopeptide maps of the Nck- and the GAP-associated p62 proteins are identical. However, Nck and GAP do not co-immunoprecipitate with each other and apparently bind to different pools of p62. This study suggests that the GAP-associated p62 acts as an SH2 domain docking protein and mediates the interaction between Nck and EGF receptor in response to EGF stimulation.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed2003

Integration of cell attachment, cytoskeletal localization, and signaling by integrin-linked kinase (ILK), CH-ILKBP, and the tumor suppressor PTEN.

Cell attachment and the assembly of cytoskeletal and signaling complexes downstream of integrins are intimately linked and coordinated. Although many intracellular proteins have been implicated in these processes, a new paradigm is emerging from biochemical and genetic studies that implicates integrin-linked kinase (ILK) and its interacting proteins, such as CH-ILKBP (alpha-parvin), paxillin, and PINCH in coupling integrins to the actin cytoskeleton and signaling complexes. Genetic studies in Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans, and mice point to an essential role of ILK as an adaptor protein in mediating integrin-dependent cell attachment and cytoskeletal organization. Here we demonstrate, using several different approaches, that inhibiting ILK kinase activity, or expression, results in the inhibition of cell attachment, cell migration, F-actin organization, and the specific cytoskeletal localization of CH-ILKBP and paxillin in human cells. We also demonstrate that the kinase activity of ILK is elevated in the cytoskeletal fraction and that the interaction of CH-ILKBP with ILK within the cytoskeleton stimulates ILK activity and downstream signaling to PKB/Akt and GSK-3. Interestingly, the interaction of CH-ILKBP with ILK is regulated by the Pi3 kinase pathway, because inhibition of Pi3 kinase activity by pharmacological inhibitors, or by the tumor suppressor PTEN, inhibits this interaction as well as cell attachment and signaling. These data demonstrate that the kinase and adaptor properties of ILK function together, in a Pi3 kinase-dependent manner, to regulate integrin-mediated cell attachment and signal transduction.

3-Phosphoinositide-Dependent Protein Kinases↗
PubMed2001

Differential expression of suppressors of cytokine signalling genes in response to nutrition and growth hormone in the septic rat.

GH treatment during critical illness and sepsis may increase mortality. A family of negative regulators of cytokine signalling, the suppressors of cytokine signalling (SOCS), have been characterised. SOCS provide a mechanism for cross-talk between the cytokine receptors, including GH. Here, we have investigated the impact of nutrition and GH treatment on GH receptor, SOCS1, SOCS-2, SOCS-3 and cytokine-inducible SH2-containing protein (CIS) hepatic mRNA expression in a rat model of sepsis, caecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Four groups of rats were studied: control (food given ad libitum, n=7), CLP only (n=8), CLP and total parenteral nutrition (TPN) (n=9), and CLP, TPN and GH (n=10). CLP rats underwent surgery and 18 h later received saline or TPN or TPN+GH for 6 h before they were killed. Serum IGF-I levels were lower in all CLP groups (P<0.001). The combination of TPN and GH treatment increased IGF-I levels compared with the saline-treated CLP rats (P<0.01), but IGF-I levels remained lower than control animals (P<0.001). GH receptor and GH-binding protein expression in liver was reduced in animals subjected to CLP and was unaffected by nutrition or GH treatment. Hepatic SOCS-1 was detectable in normal rats, induced in all CLP animals but was unaffected by nutrition and GH. Hepatic SOCS-2 expression was difficult to detect in normal and CLP rats but was greatly induced in CLP rats treated with GH. Hepatic SOCS-3 expression was only just detectable in the control group but was elevated in all CLP groups and unaffected by nutrition and GH. Hepatic CIS expression was difficult to detect in normal rats, was not induced by CLP but was induced by both nutrition and GH. In conclusion, CLP induced low IGF-I levels associated with increased expression of SOCS-1 and SOCS-3, both of which are known to inhibit GH receptor signalling. GH induced SOCS-2 and CIS in the CLP rat despite resistance with respect to IGF-I generation, and parenteral feeding induced CIS in the CLP rat. Thus, there is potential for a complex interaction between GH and cytokine signalling at the level of SOCS expression whereby the inflammatory response may alter GH signalling and GH may influence the inflammatory response.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2005

Growth suppression induced by the TRC8 hereditary kidney cancer gene is dependent upon JAB1/CSN5.

TRC8 encodes an E3-ubiquitin ligase disrupted in a family with hereditary renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We previously reported that Drosophila Trc8 (DTrc8) overexpression inhibits growth and that human and fly proteins interact with with the COP9 signalosome (CSN) subunit JAB1/CSN5. However, further mechanistic evidence linking DTrc8 growth suppression to CSN5 was lacking. Here, we show that haploinsufficiency of CSN5, or a T100I point mutation (CSN5(3)), relieved growth suppression by DTrc8, whereas CSN5(1) (E160V) and CSN5(2) (G147D) mutations had no effect. The strength of yeast two-hybrid interactions between DTrc8 and CSN5 were in complete agreement with the observed phenotypes. DTrc8 overexpression resulted in elevated levels of CSN5 and CSN7, but had no effect on NEDD8-modified Cul-1. In contrast to CSN5, heterozygosity for CSN4null had no effect on the DTrc8 phenotype. We also looked for genetic interactions between DTrc8 and other MPN domain proteins in the CSN and 26S proteasome lid. CSN6 haploinsufficiency restored growth, whereas reduction of proteasome subunits RPN8 or RPN11 had no effect. DTrc8 expression increased the level of digitonin-extractable CSN complex, consistent with elevated levels of CSN5 and 7. Our genetic results confirm that DTrc8-induced growth suppression is CSN5 (and CSN6) dependent. While there was no obvious influence on CSN deneddylation activity, the increase in CSN subunits and holocomplex suggests that TRC8 modulates signalosome levels or compartmentalization.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed1997

Regulation of the AKAP79-protein kinase C interaction by Ca2+/Calmodulin.

The A kinase-anchoring protein AKAP79 coordinates the location of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase A), calcineurin, and protein kinase C (PKC) at the postsynaptic densities in neurons. Individual enzymes in the AKAP79 signaling complex are regulated by distinct second messenger signals; however, both PKC and calcineurin are inhibited when associated with the anchoring protein, suggesting that additional regulatory signals must be required to release active enzyme. This report focuses on the regulation of AKAP79-PKC interaction by calmodulin. AKAP79 binds calmodulin with high affinity (KD of 28 +/- 4 nM (n = 3)) in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Immunofluorescence staining shows that both proteins exhibit overlapping staining patterns in cultured hippocampal neurons. Calmodulin reversed the inhibition of PKCbetaII by the AKAP79(31-52) peptide and reduced inhibition by the full-length AKAP79 protein. The effect of calmodulin on inhibition of a constitutively active PKC fragment by the AKAP79(31-52) peptide was shown to be partially dependent on Ca2+. Ca2+/calmodulin reduced PKC coimmunoprecipitated with AKAP79 and resulted in a 2.6 +/- 0.5-fold (n = 6) increase in PKC activity in a preparation of postsynaptic densities. Collectively, these findings suggest that Ca2+/calmodulin competes with PKC for binding to AKAP79, releasing the inhibited kinase from its association with the anchoring protein.

A Kinase Anchor Proteins↗
PubMed2004

Purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic data of the m3G cap-binding domain of human snRNP import factor snurportin 1.

The nuclear import of spliceosomal UsnRNPs is mediated by the transport adaptor snurportin 1 (SPN1), which specifically recognizes the 2,2,7-trimethylguanosine (m(3)G) cap at the 5' end of UsnRNAs. Human SPN1 was overexpressed as a GST-fusion protein in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. Since full-length SPN1 did not crystallize, limited proteolysis experiments were performed and stable digestion products were analyzed for functionality with respect to m(3)G cap-binding activity and subsequently used for crystallization trials. Well diffracting single crystals of a truncated SPN1 m(3)G cap-binding domain (residues 79-300) were obtained after two rounds of seeding. The crystals belong to space group P4(1)2(1)2 or P4(3)2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 57.47, c = 130.09 A, alpha = beta = gamma = 90 degrees. Crystals contain one molecule in the asymmetric unit and diffract to a resolution limit of 2.9 A.

Cross-Linking Reagents↗
PubMed2003

Tensile stress induces alpha-adaptin C production in mouse calvariae in an organ culture: possible involvement of endocytosis in mechanical stress-stimulated osteoblast differentiation.

We previously demonstrated that tensile stress (TS)-induced osteoblast differentiation eventually led to osteogenesis in an organ culture of mouse calvarial sutures. In the present study, we employed RNA-fingerprinting using an arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (RAP-PCR) to identify alpha-adaptin C, a component of the endocytosis machinery AP2, as a TS-inducible gene. Protein production, as well as the gene expression of alpha-adaptin C, was induced by TS as early as 3 h following the initiation of loading. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the induction of alpha-adaptin C mostly occurred in fibroblastic cells in the sutures, suggesting that it precedes TS-induced osteoblast differentiation. Consistent with this result, TS significantly increased the number of coated pits (CPs) and coated vesicles (CVs) in the undifferentiated fibroblastic cells but not in the osteoblastic cells around calvarial bones. Further, TS-induced osteoblast differentiation was suppressed when endocytosis was inhibited by potassium depletion. These results, taken together, suggest that TS accelerates osteoblast differentiation and osteogenesis, possibly through the induction of the alpha-adaptin C expression and consequent activation of receptor-mediated endocytosis.

Adaptor Protein Complex 2↗
PubMed1999

The central MHC gene IKBL carries a structural polymorphism that is associated with HLA-A3,B7,DR15.

Susceptibility to several disorders, including insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and multiple sclerosis, has been associated with alleles of HLA class II genes and loci in the TNF cluster in the central major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region. As recombination within this region is rare, it is difficult to determine which genes are important. This will be facilitated by the identification of functional polymorphisms. Hence we are sequencing reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction products derived from central MHC genes in well characterized and conserved ancestral haplotypes. Here we address the IKBL gene, which lies near the TNF cluster at the telomeric end of the central MHC. Although the IKBL cDNA sequence was conserved between most ancestral haplotypes, a synonymous nucleotide substitution, a 3' untranslated region substitution, and a single nonsynonymous substitution were identified. The latter (IKBL+738) was present in multiple examples of the 7.1 haplotype [HLA-A3, B7, DR2 (DR15)] and resulted in a cysteine to arginine substitution in a predicted protein kinase C phosphorylation site. This polymorphism did not occur in 18 other common haplotypes from the 10th International Histocompatibility Workshop and thus appears haplospecific. A role for IKBL+738 in the association between HLA-A3,B7,DR2(DR15) and susceptibility to multiple sclerosis is discussed.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed1999

Role of the actin cytoskeleton in insulin action.

Insulin has diverse effects on cells, including stimulation of glucose transport, gene expression, and alterations of cell morphology. The hormone mediates these effects by activation of signaling pathways which utilize, 1) adaptor molecules such as the insulin receptor substrates (IRS), the Src and collagen homologs (Shc), and the growth factor receptor binding protein 2 (Grb2); 2) lipid kinases such as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-Kinase); 3) small G proteins; and 4) serine, threonine, and tyrosine kinases. The activation of such signaling molecules by insulin is now well established, but we do not yet fully understand the mechanisms integrating these seemingly diverse pathways. Here, we discuss the involvement of the actin cytoskeleton in the propagation and regulation of insulin signals. In muscle cells in culture, insulin induces a rapid actin filament reorganization that coincides with plasma membrane ruffling and intense accumulation of pinocytotic vesicles. Initiation of these effects of insulin requires an intact actin cytoskeleton and activation of PI 3-kinase. We observed recruitment PI 3-kinase subunits and glucose transporter proteins to regions of reorganized actin. In both muscle and adipose cells, actin disassembly inhibited early insulin-induced events such as recruitment of glucose transporters to the cell surface and enhanced glucose transport. Additionally, actin disassembly inhibited more prolonged effects of insulin, including DNA synthesis and expression of immediate early genes such as c-fos. Intact actin filaments appear to be essential for mediation of early events such as association of Shc with Grb2 in response to insulin, which leads to stimulation of gene expression. Preliminary observations support a role for focal adhesion signaling complexes in insulin action. These observations suggest that the actin cytoskeleton facilitates propagation of the morphological, metabolic, and nuclear effects of insulin by regulating proper subcellular distribution of signaling molecules that participate in the insulin signaling pathway.

Actins↗
PubMed2005

c-Cbl regulates migration of v-Abl-transformed NIH 3T3 fibroblasts via Rac1.

Cellular events like cell adhesion and migration involve complex rearrangements of the actin cytoskeleton. We have previously shown that the multidomain adaptor protein c-Cbl facilitates actin cytoskeletal reorganizations that result in the adhesion of v-Abl-transformed NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. In this report, we demonstrate that c-Cbl also enhances migration of v-Abl-transformed NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. This effect of c-Cbl depends on its tyrosine phosphorylation, specifically on phosphorylation of its Tyr-731, which is required for binding of PI-3' kinase to c-Cbl. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the effect of c-Cbl on migration of v-Abl-transformed fibroblasts is mediated by active PI-3' kinase and the small GTPase Rac1. Our results also indicate that ubiquitin ligase activity of c-Cbl is required, while spatial localization of c-Cbl to the pseudopodia is not required for the observed effects of c-Cbl on cell migration.

Androstadienes↗
PubMed2006

Conditional knockout mice reveal an essential role of protein phosphatase 4 in thymocyte development and pre-T-cell receptor signaling.

Okadaic acid-sensitive serine/threonine phosphatases have been shown to regulate interleukin-2 transcription and T-cell activation. Okadaic acid inhibits protein phosphatase 4 (PP4), a novel PP2A-related serine/threonine phosphatase, at a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) comparable to that for PP2A. This raises the possibility that some cellular functions of PP2A, determined in T cells by using okadaic acid, may in fact be those of PP4. To investigate the in vivo roles of PP4 in T cells, we generated conventional and T-cell-specific PP4 conditional knockout mice. We found that the ablation of PP4 led to the embryonic lethality of mice. PP4 gene deletion in the T-cell lineage resulted in aberrant thymocyte development, including T-cell arrest at the double-negative 3 stage (CD4(-) CD8(-) CD25(+) CD44(-)), abnormal thymocyte maturation, and lower efficacy of positive selection. PP4-deficient thymocytes showed decreased proliferation and enhanced apoptosis in vivo. Analysis of pre-T-cell receptor (pre-TCR) signaling further revealed impaired calcium flux and phospholipase C-gamma1-extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation in the absence of PP4. Anti-CD3 injection in PP4-deficient mice led to enhanced thymocyte apoptosis, accompanied by increased proapoptotic Bim but decreased antiapoptotic Bcl-xL protein levels. In the periphery, antigen-specific T-cell proliferation and T-cell-mediated immune responses in PP4-deficient mice were dramatically compromised. Thus, our results indicate that PP4 is essential for thymocyte development and pre-TCR signaling.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2001

Phosphorylation of the PTEN tail acts as an inhibitory switch by preventing its recruitment into a protein complex.

PTEN is a tumor suppressor protein that functions, in large part, by dephosphorylating the lipid second messenger phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate and by doing so antagonizing the action of phosphoinositide 3-kinase. PTEN structural domains include an N-terminal phosphatase domain, a lipid-binding C2 domain, and a 50-amino acid C-terminal tail that contains a PDZ binding sequence. We showed previously that phosphorylation of the PTEN tail negatively regulates PTEN activity. We now show that phosphorylated PTEN exists in a monomeric "closed" conformation and has low affinity for PDZ domain-containing proteins. Conversely, when unphosphorylated, PTEN is in an "open" conformation, is recruited into a high molecular weight complex (PTEN-associated complex), and strongly interacts with PDZ-containing proteins such as MAGI-2. As a consequence, when compared with wild-type PTEN, the phosphorylation-deficient mutant form of PTEN strongly cooperates with MAGI-2 to block Akt activation. These results indicate that phosphorylation of the PTEN tail causes a conformational change that results in the masking of the PDZ binding domain. Consequently, the ability of PTEN to bind to PDZ domain-containing proteins is reduced dramatically. These data suggest that phosphorylation of the PTEN tail suppresses the activity of PTEN by controlling the recruitment of PTEN into the PTEN-associated complex.

Activin Receptors, Type II↗