Rheb, an activator of target of rapamycin, in the blackback land crab, Gecarcinus lateralis: cloning and effects of molting and unweighting on expression in skeletal muscle

Molt-induced claw muscle atrophy in decapod crustaceans facilitates exuviation and is coordinated by ecdysteroid hormones. There is a 4-fold reduction in mass accompanied by remodeling of the contractile apparatus, which is associated with an 11-fold increase in myofibrillar protein synthesis by the end of the premolt period. Loss of a walking limb or claw causes a loss of mass in the associated thoracic musculature; this unweighting atrophy occurs in intermolt and is ecdysteroid independent. Myostatin (Mstn) is a negative regulator of muscle growth in mammals; it suppresses protein synthesis, in part, by inhibiting the insulin/metazoan target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. Signaling via mTOR activates translation by phosphorylating ribosomal S6 kinase (s6k) and 4E-binding protein 1. Rheb (Ras homolog enriched in brain), a GTP-binding protein, is a key activator of mTOR and is inhibited by Rheb-GTPase-activating protein (GAP). Akt protein kinase inactivates Rheb-GAP, thus slowing Rheb-GTPase activity and maintaining mTOR in the active state. We hypothesized that the large increase in global protein synthesis in claw muscle was due to regulation of mTOR activity by ecdysteroids, caused either directly or indirectly via Mstn. In the blackback land crab, Gecarcinus lateralis, a Mstn-like gene (Gl-Mstn) is downregulated as much as 17-fold in claw muscle during premolt and upregulated 3-fold in unweighted thoracic muscle during intermolt. Gl-Mstn expression in claw muscle is negatively correlated with hemolymph ecdysteroid level. Full-length cDNAs encoding Rheb orthologs from three crustacean species (G. lateralis, Carcinus maenas and Homarus americanus), as well as partial cDNAs encoding Akt (Gl-Akt), mTOR (Gl-mTOR) and s6k (Gl-s6k) from G. lateralis, were cloned. The effects of molting on insulin/mTOR signaling components were quantified in claw closer, weighted thoracic and unweighted thoracic muscles using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Gl-Rheb mRNA levels increased 3.4-fold and 3.9-fold during premolt in claw muscles from animals induced to molt by eyestalk ablation (ESA) and multiple leg autotomy (MLA), respectively, and mRNA levels were positively correlated with hemolymph ecdysteroids. There was little or no effect of molting on Gl-Rheb expression in weighted thoracic muscle and no correlation of Gl-Rheb mRNA with ecdysteroid titer. There were significant changes in Gl-Akt, Gl-mTOR and Gl-s6k expression with molt stage. These changes were transient and were not correlated with hemolymph ecdysteroids. The two muscles differed in terms of the relationship between Gl-Rheb and Gl-Mstn expression. In thoracic muscle, Gl-Rheb mRNA was positively correlated with Gl-Mstn mRNA in both ESA and MLA animals. By contrast, Gl-Rheb mRNA in claw muscle was negatively correlated with Gl-Mstn mRNA in ESA animals, and no correlation was observed in MLA animals. Unweighting increased Gl-Rheb expression in thoracic muscle at all molt stages; the greatest difference (2.2-fold) was observed in intermolt animals. There was also a 1.3-fold increase in Gl-s6k mRNA level in unweighted thoracic muscle. These data indicate that the mTOR pathway is upregulated in atrophic muscles. Gl-Rheb, in particular, appears to play a role in the molt-induced increase in protein synthesis in the claw muscle.

Differential effects of prenyl pyrophosphates on the phosphatase activity of phosphotyrosyl protein phosphatase

Phosphotyrosyl protein phosphatase (PTPase) 1B was purified from human placenta. Immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that the isolated PTPase 1B appears as a complex with the receptor for protein kinase C (RACK1) and protein kinase C (PKC)delta. The abilities of PTPase 1B and PKCdelta to associate with RACK1 were reconfirmed by an in vitro reconstitution experiment. The E. coli expressed and biotinylated mice-RACK1-encoded fusion protein was capable of recruiting PTPase 1B and PKCdelta in the antibiotin immunoprecipitate as a complex of PTPase 1B/RACK1/PKCdelta. Thus PTPase 1B enzyme preparation was subjected to further purification by selective binding of PTPase 1B onto PEP(Taxol) affinity column in the absence of ATP. The purified PTPase 1B enzyme exihibited dose-dependent phosphatase activity towards [gamma-(32)P]-ATP labeled mice beta-tubulin-encoded fusion protein. The dephosphorylation reaction with PTPase 1B was enhanced with geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate, but not with farnesyl pyrophosphate. Interestingly, additional incubation of the purified PTPase 1B enzyme preparation with RACK1, geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate failed to modulate the dephosphorylation activity of PTPase 1B. In contrast, the enhancement effect of farnesyl pyrophosphate on the kinase activity of PKCdelta was sustained in the presence of RACK1. That is, farnesyl pyrophosphate may function as a signal to induce the kinase activity of PKCdelta in PTPase 1B/RACK1/PKCdelta complex but geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate may not for PTPase 1B. J. Exp. Zool. 301A:307-316, 2004.

Modification of DNA topoisomerase I enzymatic activity with phosphotyrosyl protein phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase from the hepatopancreas of the shrimp Penaeus japonicus (Crustacea:Decapoda)

DNA topoisomerase I was partially purified from the hepatopancreas of the shrimp Penaeus japonicus. The specific activity of the final preparation was 7,000,000 units/mg of protein with SV40 viral DNA as substrate. SDD-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the final preparation yielded two major bands of proteins with M(r) 70,000 and M(r) 67,000, as well as less intense bands of proteins with M, 64,000 and M(r) 56,000. Incubation of the partially purified enzyme fraction with rabbit antiserum against human DNA topoisomerase I, allowed all these proteins except that of M(r) 56,000, to be positively reacted. Treatment of the partially purified DNA topoisomerase I with tyrosine kinase p43v-abl resulted in phosphorylation of only the two major subunits. Phosphorylation by tyrosine kinase p43v-abl or dephosphorylation by phosphotyrosyl protein phosphatase resulted in a decrease of the enzymatic activity. The treatment with shrimp alkaline phosphatase abolished the enzymatic activity of the purified DNA topoisomerase I in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, the DNA topoisomerase I was apparently isolated from the hepatopancreas of the shrimp P. japonicus in a phosphorylated form, and this phosphorylation was essential for expression of enzymatic activity in vitro. The activity of DNA topoisomerase I is inhibited by ZnCl2, CuCl2 and Pb(NH3)3 at millimolar concentrations, but less inhibition was observed with CaCl2.

Purification of the delta isoenzyme of protein kinase C from the hepatopancreas of the shrimp Penaeus monodon with phosphorylation on tyrosine residues

The delta isoenzyme of protein kinase C (PKC-delta), purified from the plasma membrane of the hepatopancreas of the shrimp Penaeus monodon is specifically phosphorylated at tyrosine residues, as demonstrated by specific dephosphorylation by phosphotyrosyl protein phosphatase from the hepatopancreas of the shrimp Penaeus monodon. The specific activity of purified PKC-delta was 200 units/mg of protein. The subunits of M(r) 66,000, 62,000, and 58,000 of PKC-delta were not autophosphorylated after the addition of phosphatidylserine and diolein. However, the purified PKC-delta was active and catalyzed the phosphorylation of myelin basic protein. The kinase activity of the purified PKC-delta could be decreased after treatment with phosphotyrosyl protein phosphatase.

Specific phosphorylation of membrane proteins of Mr 44,000 and Mr 32,000 by the autophosphorylated insulin receptor from the hepatopancreas of the shrimp Penaeus monodon (Crustacea: Decapoda)

The insulin receptor, purified from the hepatopancreas of the shrimp Penaeus monodon, is a hydrophobic heterodimer of subunits with relative masses (Mr) of 70,000 and 58,000, as estimated by FPLC on Superose 12 and SDS-PAGE. Only the subunit of Mr 70,000 was autophosphorylated after the addition of insulin. The autophosphorylation occurred specifically at Tyr residues, as demonstrated by the specific subsequent dephosphorylation by the phosphotyrosyl protein phosphatase from the hepatopancreas of the shrimp Penaeus monodon. Proteins of Mr 44,000 and Mr 32,000 on the plasma membrane from the hepatopancreas of the shrimp Panaeus monodon were phosphorylated by the autophosphorylated insulin receptor from the shrimp hepatopancreas, but not by that from the human placenta. The detergent, Triton X-100, caused noticeable enhancement of the autophosphorylation of both shrimp and human insulin receptors.