Biochemical and morphogenic effects of the interaction between protein kinase C-epsilon and actin in vitro and in cultured NIH3T3 cells

EXPRESS: F-actin links Epac-PKC signaling to purinergic P2X3 receptors sensitization in dorsal root ganglia following inflammation

Sensitization of purinergic P2X3 receptors (P2X3Rs) contributes to the production of exaggerated nociceptive responses following inflammatory injury. We showed previously that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) potentiates P2X3R-mediated ATP currents in dorsal root ganglion neurons isolated from both control and complete Freund’s adjuvant-induced inflamed rats. PGE2 potentiation of ATP currents depends only on PKA signaling in control neurons, but it depends on both PKA and PKC signaling in inflamed neurons. We further found that inflammation evokes an increase in exchange proteins directly activated by cAMP (Epacs) in dorsal root ganglions. This increase promotes the activation of PKC to produce a much enhanced PGE2 effect on ATP currents and to elicit Epac-dependent flinch nocifensive behavioral responses in complete Freund’s adjuvant rats. The link between Epac-PKC signaling and P2X3R sensitization remains unexplored. Here, we show that the activation of Epacs promotes the expression of phosphorylated PKC and leads to an increase in the cytoskeleton, F-actin, expression at the cell perimeter. Depolymerization of F-actin blocks PGE2-enhanced ATP currents and inhibits P2X3R-mediated nocifensive responses after inflammation. Thus, F-actin is dynamically involved in the Epac-PKC-dependent P2X3R sensitization. Furthermore, Epacs induce a PKC-dependent increase in the membrane expression of P2X3Rs. This increase is abolished by F-actin depolymerization, suggesting that F-actin mediates Epac-PKC signaling of P2X3R membrane expression. Thus, after inflammation, an Epac-PKC dependent increase in F-actin in dorsal root ganglion neurons enhances the membrane expression of P2X3Rs to bring about sensitization of P2X3Rs and abnormal pain behaviors.

Protein kinase C and cancer: what we know and what we do not

Since their discovery in the late 1970s, protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes represent one of the most extensively studied signaling kinases. PKCs signal through multiple pathways and control the expression of genes relevant for cell cycle progression, tumorigenesis and metastatic dissemination. Despite the vast amount of information concerning the mechanisms that control PKC activation and function in cellular models, the relevance of individual PKC isozymes in the progression of human cancer is still a matter of controversy. Although the expression of PKC isozymes is altered in multiple cancer types, the causal relationship between such changes and the initiation and progression of the disease remains poorly defined. Animal models developed in the last years helped to better understand the involvement of individual PKCs in various cancer types and in the context of specific oncogenic alterations. Unraveling the enormous complexity in the mechanisms by which PKC isozymes have an impact on tumorigenesis and metastasis is key for reassessing their potential as pharmacological targets for cancer treatment.

Phosphorylation of Rab5a protein by protein kinase Cϵ is crucial for T-cell migration

Rab GTPases control membrane traffic and receptor-mediated endocytosis. Within this context, Rab5a plays an important role in the spatial regulation of intracellular transport and signal transduction processes. Here, we report a previously uncharacterized role for Rab5a in the regulation of T-cell motility. We show that Rab5a physically associates with protein kinase Cϵ (PKCϵ) in migrating T-cells. After stimulation of T-cells through the integrin LFA-1 or the chemokine receptor CXCR4, Rab5a is phosphorylated on an N-terminal Thr-7 site by PKCϵ. Both Rab5a and PKCϵ dynamically interact at the centrosomal region of migrating cells, and PKCϵ-mediated phosphorylation on Thr-7 regulates Rab5a trafficking to the cell leading edge. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Rab5a Thr-7 phosphorylation is functionally necessary for Rac1 activation, actin rearrangement, and T-cell motility. We present a novel mechanism by which a PKCϵ-Rab5a-Rac1 axis regulates cytoskeleton remodeling and T-cell migration, both of which are central for the adaptive immune response.

The expression and role of protein kinase C (PKC) epsilon in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Protein kinase C epsilon (PKCε), an oncogene overexpressed in several human cancers, is involved in cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and survival. However, its roles in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) are unclear. This study aimed to investigate the functions of PKCε in RCC, especially in clear cell RCC, to determine the possibility of using it as a therapeutic target. By immunohistochemistry, we found that the expression of PKCε was up-regulated in RCCs and was associated with tumor Fuhrman grade and T stage in clear cell RCCs. Clone formation, wound healing, and Borden assays showed that down-regulating PKCε by RNA interference resulted in inhibition of the growth, migration, and invasion of clear cell RCC cell line 769P and, more importantly, sensitized cells to chemotherapeutic drugs as indicated by enhanced activity of caspase-3 in PKCε siRNA-transfected cells. These results indicate that the overexpression of PKCε is associated with an aggressive phenotype of clear cell RCC and may be a potential therapeutic target for this disease.

Protein kinase C: an attractive target for cancer therapy

Apoptosis plays an important role during all stages of carcinogenesis and the development of chemoresistance in tumor cells may be due to their selective defects in the intracellular signaling proteins, central to apoptotic pathways. Consequently, many studies have focused on rendering the chemotherapy more effective in order to prevent chemoresistance and pre-clinical and clinical data has suggested that protein kinase C (PKC) may represent an attractive target for cancer therapy. Therefore, a complete understanding of how PKC regulates apoptosis and chemoresistance may lead to obtaining a PKC-based therapy that is able to reduce drug dosages and to prevent the development of chemoresistance.

The substrates and binding partners of protein kinase Cepsilon

The epsilon isoform of protein kinase C (PKCepsilon) has important roles in the function of the cardiac, immune and nervous systems. As a result of its diverse actions, PKCepsilon is the target of active drug-discovery programmes. A major research focus is to identify signalling cascades that include PKCepsilon and the substrates that PKCepsilon regulates. In the present review, we identify and discuss those proteins that have been conclusively shown to be direct substrates of PKCepsilon by the best currently available means. We will also describe binding partners that anchor PKCepsilon near its substrates. We review the consequences of substrate phosphorylation and discuss cellular mechanisms by which target specificity is achieved. We begin with a brief overview of the biology of PKCepsilon and methods for substrate identification, and proceed with a discussion of substrate categories to identify common themes that emerge and how these may be used to guide future studies.

Protein kinase C epsilon: an oncogene and emerging tumor biomarker

Members of the protein kinase C (PKC) family have long been studied for their contributions to oncogenesis. Among the ten different isoforms of this family of serine/threonine kinases, protein kinase Cε (PKCε) is one of the best understood for its role as a transforming oncogene. In vitro, overexpression of PKCε has been demonstrated to increase proliferation, motility, and invasion of fibroblasts or immortalized epithelial cells. In addition, xenograft and transgenic animal models have clearly shown that overexpression of PKCε is tumorigenic resulting in metastatic disease. Perhaps most important in implicating the epsilon isoform in oncogenesis, PKCε has been found to be overexpressed in tumor-derived cell lines and histopathological tumor specimens from various organ sites. Combined, this body of work provides substantial evidence implicating PKCε as a transforming oncogene that plays a crucial role in establishing an aggressive metastatic phenotype. Reviewed here is the literature that has led to the current understanding of PKCε as an oncogene. Moreover, this review focuses on the PKCε-mediated signaling network for cell motility and explores the interaction of PKCε with three major PKCε signaling nodes: RhoA/C, Stat3 and Akt. Lastly, the emerging role of PKCε as a tumor biomarker is discussed.

Phosphorylation at Ser729 specifies a Golgi localisation for protein kinase C epsilon (PKCepsilon) in 3T3 fibroblasts

We demonstrate that GFP-PKCepsilon concentrates at a perinuclear site in living fibroblasts and that cell passage induces rapid translocation of PKCepsilon to the periphery where it appears to colocalise with F-actin. When newly passaged cells have adhered and are proliferating again, GFP-PKCepsilon returns to its perinuclear site. GFP-PKCepsilon co-localises with wheat germ agglutinin suggesting that it is associated with the Golgi at the perinuclear site. In support, PKCepsilon is detected in a Golgi-enriched fraction in pre-passage cells but is lost from the fraction after passage. PKCepsilon at the perinuclear Golgi site is phosphorylated at Ser729 but cell passage induces the loss of the phosphate at this site as reported previously [England et al. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 10437-10442]. PKCepsilon S729A, S729E and S729T mutants, which are not recognised by a specific antiphosphoPKCepsilon (Ser729) antibody, do not concentrate at a perinuclear/Golgi site in proliferating fibroblasts. This suggests that both phosphorylation and serine rather than threonine are needed at position 729 to locate PKCepsilon at its perinuclear/Golgi site. Phorbol ester induced translocation of PKCepsilon to the nucleus also requires dephosphorylation at Ser729; after translocation nuclear PKCepsilon lacks a phosphate at Ser729. Sulphation and secretion of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains from fibroblasts increases on passage and returns to basal as cells proliferate showing that cell passage influences secretory events at the Golgi. The results indicate that Ser729 phosphorylation plays a role in determining PKCepsilon localisation in fibroblasts.

PKCε induces astrocyte stellation by modulating multiple cytoskeletal proteins and interacting with Rho A signalling pathways: implications for neuroinflammation

Despite the importance of stellation to maintain astrocyte functionality, the intracellular signals controlling morphology in these cells are poorly characterized. Our goal was to examine the implication of protein kinase C epsilon (PKCepsilon) in astrocyte stellation. We found that the morphological transformation of astrocytes induced by exposure to the pro-inflammatory agent lipopolysaccharide is enhanced by adenoviral expression of wild-type PKCepsilon, and that activation of PKCepsilon is sufficient to trigger a dramatic stellation. Such an effect is mediated by the rearrangement of microtubules and filaments of glial fibrillary acidic protein, disorganization of stress fibres, and formation of new actin filaments within growing cellular processes. Furthermore, PKCepsilon regulates actin-interacting elements such as non-muscle myosin and proteins of the ezrin/radixin/moesin family. We also observed that at least part of the actions of PKCepsilon depend on its catalytic activity. Finally, stellation by PKCepsilon could be blocked by the expression of a constitutively active form of Rho A implicated in the stability of the flat astrocytic morphology. In summary, PKCepsilon stands out as a key intracellular regulator of morphological plasticity in astrocytes, affecting a large range of cytoskeletal elements and inactivating Rho A-dependent pathways. These morphological effects of PKCepsilon may play essential roles during the course of neuroinflammation.

The formin mDia regulates GSK3beta through novel PKCs to promote microtubule stabilization but not MTOC reorientation in migrating fibroblasts

In migrating cells, external signals polarize the microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton by stimulating the formation of oriented, stabilized MTs and inducing the reorientation of the MT organizing center (MTOC). Glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK3beta) has been implicated in each of these processes, although whether it regulates both processes in a single system and how its activity is regulated are unclear. We examined these issues in wound-edge, serum-starved NIH 3T3 fibroblasts where MT stabilization and MTOC reorientation are triggered by lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), but are regulated independently by distinct Rho GTPase-signaling pathways. In the absence of other treatments, the GSK3beta inhibitors, LiCl or SB216763, induced the formation of stable MTs, but not MTOC reorientation, in starved fibroblasts. Overexpression of GSK3beta in starved fibroblasts inhibited LPA-induced stable MTs without inhibiting MTOC reorientation. Analysis of factors involved in stable MT formation (Rho, mDia, and EB1) showed that GSK3beta functioned upstream of EB1, but downstream of Rho-mDia. mDia was both necessary and sufficient for inducing stable MTs and for up-regulating GSK3beta phosphorylation on Ser9, an inhibitory site. mDia appears to regulate GSK3beta through novel class PKCs because PKC inhibitors and dominant negative constructs of novel PKC isoforms prevented phosphorylation of GSK3beta Ser9 and stable MT formation. Novel PKCs also interacted with mDia in vivo and in vitro. These results identify a new activity for the formin mDia in regulating GSK3beta through novel PKCs and implicate novel PKCs as new factors in the MT stabilization pathway.

Identification of conserved amino acids N-terminal of the PKC epsilon C1b domain crucial for protein kinase C epsilon-mediated induction of neurite outgrowth

We have shown previously that protein kinase C (PKC) epsilon can induce neurite outgrowth independently of its catalytic activity via a region encompassing its C1 domains. In this study we aimed at identifying specific amino acids in this region crucial for induction of neurite outgrowth. Deletion studies demonstrated that only 4 amino acids N-terminal and 20 residues C-terminal of the C1 domains are necessary for neurite induction. The corresponding regions from all other novel isoforms but not from PKCalpha were also neuritogenic. Further mutation studies indicated that amino acids immediately N-terminal of the C1a domain are important for plasma membrane localization and thereby for neurite induction. Addition of phorbol ester made this construct neurite-inducing. However, mutation of amino acids flanking the C1b domain reduced the neurite-inducing capacity even in the presence of phorbol esters. Sequence alignment highlighted an 8-amino acid-long sequence N-terminal of the C1b domain that is conserved in all novel PKC isoforms. Specifically, we found that mutations of either Phe-237, Val-239, or Met-241 in PKCepsilon completely abolished the neurite-inducing capacity of PKCepsilon C1 domains. Phorbol ester treatment could not restore neurite induction but led to a plasma membrane translocation. Furthermore, if 12 amino acids were included N-terminal of the C1b domain, the C1a domain was dispensable for neurite induction. In conclusion, we have identified a highly conserved sequence N-terminal of the C1b domain that is crucial for neurite induction by PKCepsilon, indicating that this motif may be critical for some morphological effects of PKC.

Myofilament anchoring of protein kinase C-epsilon in cardiac myocytes

Regulatory proteins on muscle filaments are substrates for protein kinase C (PKC) but mechanisms underlying activation and translocation of PKC to this non-membrane compartment are poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that the epsilon isoform of PKC (ϵ-PKC) activated by arachidonic acid (AA) binds reversibly to cardiac myofibrils with an EC50 of 86 nM. Binding occurred near the Z-lines giving rise to a striated staining pattern. The delta isoform of PKC (δ-PKC) did not bind to cardiac myofibrils regardless of the activator used, and the alpha isoform (α-PKC) bound only under strong activating conditions. Three established PKC anchoring proteins, filamentous actin (F-actin), the LIM domain protein Cypher-1, and the coatamer protein β′-COP were each tested for their involvement in cytoskeletal anchoring. F-actin bound ϵ-PKC selectively over δ-PKC and α-PKC, but this interaction was readily distinguishable from cardiac myofilament binding in two ways. First, the F-actin/ϵ-PKC interaction was independent of PKC activation, and second, the synthetic hexapeptide LKKQET derived from the C1 region of ϵ-PKC effectively blocked ϵ-PKC binding to F-actin, but was without effect on its binding to cardiac myofilaments. Involvement of Cypher-1 was ruled out on the basis of its absence from detergent-skinned myofibrils that bound ϵ-PKC, despite its presence in intact cardiac myocytes. The ϵ-PKC translocation inhibitor peptide EAVSLKPT reduced activated ϵ-PKC binding to cardiac myofibrils in a concentration dependent manner, suggesting that a RACK2 or a similar protein plays a role in ϵ-PKC anchoring in cardiac myofilaments.

A possible role for p190RhoGAP in PKCε-induced morphological effects

We have previously shown that protein kinase C (PKC) epsilon induces neurite outgrowth via its regulatory domain. This is accompanied by PKC-induced stress fibre loss. Here, we show that the regulatory domain (RD) of PKCepsilon induces processes also in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts, similar to what has been observed with p190RhoGAP. This study also shows that p190RhoGAP induces neurite outgrowth in SK-N-BE(2) neuroblastoma cells. We therefore investigated whether p190RhoGAP may be downstream of PKCepsilon. We could detect a co-localization of p190RhoGAP and PKCepsilon at membrane ruffles and an increased association between the proteins in fibroblasts treated with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). The association is also seen in neuroblastoma cells, and nerve growth factor (NGF) treatment of SH-SYSY/TrkA cells decreases the interaction. However, overexpressed PKCepsilon did not coprecipitate overexpressed p190RhoGAP in CHO cells, indicating that the proteins do not interact directly. This raises the possibility that p190RhoGAP is involved in mediating the morphological effects of PKCepsilon.

Stability of actin cytoskeleton and PKC-delta binding to actin regulate NKCC1 function in airway epithelial cells

Activation of airway epithelial Na-K-2Cl cotransporter (NKCC)1 requires increased activity of protein kinase C (PKC)-delta, which localizes predominantly to the actin cytoskeleton. Prompted by reports of a role for actin in NKCC1 function, we studied a signaling mechanism linking NKCC1 and PKC. Stabilization of actin polymerization with jasplakinolide increased activity of NKCC1, whereas inhibition of actin polymerization with latrunculin B prevented hormonal activation of NKCC1. Protein-protein interactions among NKCC1, actin, and PKC-delta were verified by Western blot analysis of immunoprecipitated proteins. PKC-delta was detected in immunoprecipitates of NKCC1 and vice versa. Actin was also detected in immunoprecipitates of NKCC1 and PKC-delta. Pulldown of endogenous actin revealed the presence of NKCC1 and PKC-delta. Binding of recombinant PKC-delta to NKCC1 was not detected in overlay assays. Rather, activated PKC-delta bound to actin, and this interaction was prevented by a peptide encoding deltaC2, a C2-like domain based on the amino acid sequence of PKC-delta. deltaC2 also blocked stimulation of NKCC1 function by methoxamine. Immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy revealed PKC-delta in the cytosol and cell periphery. Merged images of cells stained for actin and PKC-delta indicated colocalization of PKC-delta and actin at the cell periphery. The results indicate that actin is critical for the activation of NKCC1 through a direct interaction with PKC-delta.

Regulation of tumor invasion and metastasis in protein kinase C epsilon-transformed NIH3T3 fibroblasts

Protein kinase C epsilon is an oncogenic, actin nucleating protein that coordinately regulates changes in cell growth and shape. Cells constitutively expressing PKCepsilon spontaneously acquire a polarized morphology and extend long cellular membrane protrusions. Here we report that the regulatory C1 domain of PKCepsilon contains an actin binding site that is essential for the formation of elongate invadopodial-like structures, increased pericellular metalloproteinase activity, in vitro invasion of a Matrigel barrier, and the invasion and metastasis of tumors grown in vivo by PKCepsilon-transformed NIH3T3 fibroblasts in nude mice. While removing this small actin binding motif caused a dramatic reversion of tumor invasion, the deletion mutant of PKCepsilon remained oncogenic and tumorigenic in this experimental system. We propose that PKCepsilon directly interacts with actin to stimulate polymerization and the extension of membrane protrusions that transformed NIH3T3 cells use in vivo to penetrate and degrade surrounding tissue boundaries.