Effects of prenyl pyrophosphates on the binding of PKCgamma with RACK1

The roles of RACK1 in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease

The receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK1) is a protein that plays a crucial role in various signaling pathways and is involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a prevalent neurodegenerative disease. RACK1 is highly expressed in neuronal cells of the central nervous system and regulates the pathogenesis of AD. Specifically, RACK1 is involved in regulation of the amyloid-β precursor protein processing through α- or β-secretase by binding to different protein kinase C isoforms. Additionally, RACK1 promotes synaptogenesis and synaptic plasticity by inhibiting N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors and activating gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptors, thereby preventing neuronal excitotoxicity. RACK1 also assembles inflammasomes that are involved in various neuroinflammatory pathways, such as nuclear factor-kappa B, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 pathways. The potential to design therapeutics that block amyloid-β accumulation and inflammation or precisely regulate synaptic plasticity represents an attractive therapeutic strategy, in which RACK1 is a potential target. In this review, we summarize the contribution of RACK1 to the pathogenesis of AD and its potential as a therapeutic target.

An enhanced association of RACK1 with Abl in cells transfected with oncogenic ras

The cellular RACK1 was shown in association with Abl in BALB/3T3 cells transfected with S-ras(Q(61)K) by immunoprecipitation. An identical finding was demonstrated with cells transfected with the embryonic E-ras, but not in cells without transformation. The Abl-RACK1 of transformed cells as resolvable with Triton X-114 was found with little affinity for FAK, PY(397)-FAK and integrin. Of interests, PY(397)-FAK in the membrane skeleton of transformed cells was shown in significant quantities on the Western blot. However the PY(397)-FAK of transformed cells was not functionally able to react with RACK1 and recruit cytokeratin-1, a substrate of Src, indicating that PY(397)-FAK is not operative to transmit integrin signals. In other words, the Abl-RACK1 of transformed cells cannot replace the Src-RACK1 of cells without transformation to bridge PY(397)-FAK and cytokeratin-1 for integrin signals, and the formation of Abl-RACK1 in transformed cells may block the association of PY(397)-FAK-RACK1. We characterized Abl and RACK1 from transformed cells by chromatography on a HiTrap-PEP(Taxol) affinity column, constructed from a beta-tubulin peptide specific for Taxol binding (PEP(Taxol)). However, the Triton X-100 cannot achieve the same resolution of Abl-RACK1 from plasma membrane as is shown with Triton X-114. A significant fraction of Abl was deposited at the membrane skeleton and was therefore not accessible with Triton X-100. Half of Abl resolved with Triton X-100 was demonstrated to have catalytic activity as shown with positive phosphotyrosine staining on the Western blot and competitive elution with a specific phosphate, such as sodium beta-glycerophosphate, from HiTrap-PEP(Taxol), but this was not associated with RACK1. No significant difference of RACK1 was found in Triton X-100 resolvable membrane preparations from cells with and without transformations. Future studies are planned to differentiate the mechanism operative for RACK1 associated and RACK1 freed Abl in cells transformed with oncogenic ras.

Shift syndecan-2 from RACK1 to caveolin-2 upon transformation with oncogenic ras

Syndecan-2 was found to detach from RACK1 and associate with caveolin-2 and Ras in cells transformed with oncogenic ras. Most of syndecan-2 from transformed cells was revealed with negligible phosphorylations at tyrosine residues. We experimented with HeLa cells transfected with plasmids encoding syndecan-2 and its mutants (syndecan-2(Y180F), syndecan-2(Y192F), and syndecan-2(Y180,192F)) to provide evidences that PY180 of syndecan-2 is a binding site for RACK1 and is deprived in cells transfected with oncogenic ras. However, in HeLa cells transfected with syndecan-2(Y180F), RACK1 was found to sustain its reactions with syndecan-2 independent of phosphorylation. The finding of syndecan-2 reactive with caveolin-2/Ras suggests the molecular complex most likely to obstruct RACK1 for functional attachment at syndecan-2, as revealed in cells transfected with oncogenic ras. We provided evidences to reinforce the view that molecular rearrangements upon transformation are specific and interesting.

Dimerize RACK1 upon transformation with oncogenic ras

From our previous studies, we learned that syndecan-2/p120-GAP complex provided docking site for Src to prosecute tyrosine kinase activity upon transformation with oncogenic ras. And, RACK1 protein was reactive with syndecan-2 to keep Src inactivated, but not when Ras was overexpressed. In the present study, we characterized the reaction between RACK1 protein and Ras. RACK1 was isolated from BALB/3T3 cells transfected with plasmids pcDNA3.1-[S-ras(Q61K)] of shrimp Penaeus japonicus and RACK1 was revealed to react with GTP-K(B)-Ras(Q61K), not GDP-K(B)-Ras(Q61K). This selective interaction between RACK1 and GTP-K(B)-Ras(Q61K) was further confirmed with RACK1 of human placenta and mouse RACK1-encoded fusion protein. We found that RACK1 was dimerized upon reaction with GTP-K(B)-Ras(Q61K), as well as with 14-3-3beta and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate, as revealed by phosphorylation with Src tyrosine kinase. We reported the complex of RACK1/GTP-K(B)-Ras(Q61K) reacted selectively with p120-GAP. This interaction was sufficient to dissemble RACK1 into monomers, a preferred form to compete for the binding of syndecan-2. These data indicate that the reaction of GTP-K(B)-Ras(Q61K) with RACK1 in dimers may operate a mechanism to deplete RACK1 from reaction with syndecan-2 upon transformation by oncogenic ras and the RACK1/GTP-Ras complex may provide a route to react with p120-GAP and recycle monomeric RACK1 to syndecan-2.

Aging-related alterations in the distribution of Ca(2+)-dependent PKC isoforms in rabbit hippocampus

The immunocytochemical and subcellular localization of the Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinase C (cPKC) isoforms (PKCalpha, beta1, beta2, and gamma) was examined in rabbit hippocampus of young (3 months of age; n = 11) and aging (36 months of age; n = 14) subjects. Detailed immunocytochemical analyses revealed a significant increase in PKCbeta1, beta2, and gamma immunoreactivity in principal cell bodies and associated dendrites, and interneurons of the hilar region in the aging rabbits. The number of PKCalpha- and gamma-positive interneurons in the aging stratum oriens declined significantly. PKCalpha was least affected in principal cells, showing an increase in immunostaining in granule cells only. Weakly PKC-positive principal cells intermingled between densely stained ones were seen in parts of the hippocampus in most of the aging rabbits, showing that the degree of aging-related alterations in PKC-immunoreactivity varies between neurons. Changes in PKC expression in the molecular and subgranular layer of the aging dentate gyrus suggested a reorganization of PKC-positive afferents to this region. Western blot analysis revealed a significant loss of PKC in the pellet fraction for all isoforms, and a tendency for increased levels of cytosolic PKC. However, no significant changes were found in total PKC content for any PKC isoform. A concurrent dramatic loss of the PKC anchoring protein receptor for activated C kinase (RACK1) in the pellet fraction was shown by Western blotting. These findings suggest that the loss of RACK1 contributes to the dysregulation of the PKC system in the aging rabbit hippocampus. The enhanced PKC-immunoreactivity might relate to reduced protein-protein interactions of PKC with the anchoring protein RACK1 leading to increased access of the antibodies to the antigenic site. In conclusion, the results suggest that memory deficits in aging rabbits are (in part) caused by dysregulation of subcellular PKC localization in hippocampal neurons.

Farnesyl pyrophosphate promotes and is essential for the binding of RACK1 with beta-tubulin

Receptors for activated C kinase (RACKs) are a group of protein kinase C (PKC) binding proteins that have been shown to be crucial in the translocation and subsequent functioning of PKC on activation. RACK1 isolated from BALB/3T3 cells transformed with S-ras(Q61K) exhibits receptor activity for PKCgamma as competent as that of RACK1 from BALB/3T3 cells without transformation. However, the ability of RACK1 from transformed cells to bind with beta-tubulin peptide specific for Taxol (PEPtaxol) is defective. Interestingly, when farnesyl pyrophosphate was added at the submicrogram level, the association between RACK1 and PEPtaxol was enhanced significantly in a dosage-dependent manner. A parallel finding for the enhanced effect of farnesyl pyrophosphate on tubulin binding was established with mice RACK1 expressed in vitro. On the other hand, geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate, and retinoic acid failed to modulate the binding between RACK1 and tubulin. The dissociation of RACK1 and tubulin was not effective at damaging the binding between RACK1 and membrane receptor integrin beta1 in transformed cells. These findings indicate that depletion of farnesyl pyrophosphate provides a mechanism to seal PKC signaling on the membrane with immobile RACK1 and to divert cells to aberrant growth, such as transformation.