The synthetic peptide RPRAATF allows specific assay of Akt activity in cell lysates

Interspecies comparison of peptide substrate reporter metabolism using compartment-based modeling

Peptide substrate reporters are fluorescently labeled peptides that can be acted upon by one or more enzymes of interest. Peptide substrates are readily synthesized and more easily separated than full-length protein substrates; however, they are often more rapidly degraded by peptidases. As a result, peptide reporters must be made resistant to proteolysis in order to study enzymes in intact cells and lysates. This is typically achieved by optimizing the reporter sequence in a single cell type or model organism, but studies of reporter stability in a variety of organisms are needed to establish the robustness and broader utility of these molecular tools. We measured peptidase activity toward a peptide substrate reporter for protein kinase B (Akt) in E. coli, D. discoideum, and S. cerevisiae using capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence (CE-LIF). Using compartment-based modeling, we determined individual rate constants for all potential peptidase reactions and explored how these rate constants differed between species. We found the reporter to be stable in D. discoideum (t _1/2 = 82-103 min) and S. cerevisiae (t _1/2 = 279-314 min), but less stable in E. coli (t _1/2 = 21-44 min). These data suggest that the reporter is sufficiently stable to be used for kinase assays in eukaryotic cell types while also demonstrating the potential utility of compartment-based models in peptide substrate reporter design. Graphical abstract Cell lysates from several evolutionarily divergent species were incubated with a peptide substrate reporter, and compartment-based modeling was used to determine key steps in the metabolism of the reporter in each cell type.

Resistance of Akt kinases to dephosphorylation through ATP-dependent conformational plasticity

Phosphorylation of a threonine residue (T308 in Akt1) in the activation loop of Akt kinases is a prerequisite for deregulated Akt activity frequently observed in neoplasia. Akt phosphorylation in vivo is balanced by the opposite activities of kinases and phosphatases. Here we describe that targeting Akt kinase to the cell membrane markedly reduced sensitivity of phosphorylated Akt to dephosphorylation by protein phosphatase 2A. This effect was amplified by occupancy of the ATP binding pocket by either ATP or ATP-competitive inhibitors. Mutational analysis revealed that R273 in Akt1 and the corresponding R274 in Akt2 are essential for shielding T308 in the activation loop against dephosphorylation. Thus, occupancy of the nucleotide binding pocket of Akt kinases enables intramolecular interactions that restrict phosphatase access and sustain Akt phosphorylation. This mechanism provides an explanation for the "paradoxical" Akt hyperphosphorylation induced by ATP-competitive inhibitor, A-443654. The lack of phosphatase resistance further contributes insight into the mechanism by which the human Akt2 R274H missense mutation may cause autosomal-dominant diabetes mellitus.

Relative Expression Levels Rather Than Specific Activity Plays the Major Role in Determining In Vivo AKT Isoform Substrate Specificity

The AKT protooncogene mediates many cellular processes involved in normal development and disease states such as cancer. The three structurally similar isoforms: AKT1, AKT2, and AKT3 exhibit both functional redundancy and isoform-specific functions; however the basis for their differential signalling remains unclear. Here we show that in vitro, purified AKT3 is ∼47-fold more active than AKT1 at phosphorylating peptide and protein substrates. Despite these marked variations in specific activity between the individual isoforms, a comprehensive analysis of phosphorylation of validated AKT substrates indicated only subtle differences in signalling via individual isoforms in vivo. Therefore, we hypothesise, at least in this model system, that relative tissue/cellular abundance, rather than specific activity, plays the dominant role in determining AKT substrate specificity in situ.

Biological signalling activity measurements using mass spectrometry

MS (mass spectrometry) techniques are rapidly evolving to high levels of performance and robustness. This is allowing the application of these methods to the interrogation of signalling networks with unprecedented depth and accuracy. In the present review we discuss how MS-based multiplex quantification of kinase activities and phosphoproteomics provide complementary means to assess biological signalling activity. In addition, we discuss how a wider application of these analytical concepts to quantify kinase signalling will result in a more comprehensive understanding of normal and disease biology at the system level.

Peptide reporters of kinase activity in whole cell lysates

Kinase assays are used to screen for small-molecule inhibitors that may show promise as targeted pharmaceutical therapies. Using cell lysates instead of purified kinases provides a more accurate estimate of inhibitor sensitivity and selectivity in a biological setting. This review summarizes the range of homogeneous (solution-phase) and heterogeneous (solid-supported) formats available for using peptide substrates to monitor kinase activities in cell lysates. With a focus on heterogeneous kinase assays, the peptide substrate Abltide is used as a model to optimize presentation geometries and the modular arrangement of short sequences for kinase recognition. We present results from peptides immobilized on two- and three-dimensional surfaces such as hydrogels on 96-well plates and glass slides, and fluorescent Luminex beads. We discuss methods to increase assay sensitivity using chemifluorescent ELISAs, antibody-based recognition, and label-free mass spectrometry. Monitoring the activity of specific kinases in cell lysates presents challenges that can be overcome by manipulating peptide substrates to optimize assay conditions. In particular, signal-to-background ratios were improved by (1) adding long branched hydrophilic linkers between the substrate and the surface, (2) changing the orientation of peptides relative to the surface, and (3) including peptide ligands in cis or in trans to recruit kinases to the surface. By improving the accessibility of immobilized peptide substrates to kinases in solution, the apparent rate of phosphorylation increased and assays were more sensitive to changes in endogenous kinase activities. These strategies can be generalized to improve the reactivity of most peptide substrates used in heterogeneous kinase assays with cell lysates.

Quantification of protein kinase activities by LC-MS

Measuring the enzymatic activity of protein kinases in cell and tissue extracts represents a difficult task owing to the complex regulation and dynamics of such enzymes. Here we describe a sensitive and specific approach for the quantitative analysis of PI3K-dependent protein kinase activity based on the mass spectrometry measurement of reaction products. The principle of this method can be applied to develop other kinase assays and thus should contribute to the understanding of processes controlled by protein kinases. Because of the enhanced sensitivity of this technique, it may be applied to the multiplex measurement of pathway activities when sample amounts are limiting.

Akt and its downstream targets play key roles in mediating dormancy in land snails

Estivation, a state of aerobic dormancy, facilitates survival during adverse environmental conditions and is characterized at the molecular level by regulatory protein phosphorylation. The Akt (protein kinase B) signaling pathway regulates diverse responses in cells and the present study analyzes its role in the estivating desert snail Otala lactea. Kinetic analysis (maximal velocity, substrate affinities) determined that Akt was activated in tissues of estivating snails and Western blotting and in vitro incubations promoting changes to Akt phosphorylation state both confirmed that higher amounts of active (phosphorylated Ser473) Akt were present during estivation. Akt protein stability was also enhanced during estivation as assessed from urea denaturation studies. Multiple downstream targets of Akt were differentially regulated during estivation. Estivating animals showed elevated levels of phosphorylated FOXO3a (Ser253) and BAD (Ser136), no change in mTOR (Ser2481 and Ser2448), and reduced amounts of phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) beta subunit (Ser9). Kinetic analysis of GSK-3 showed 1.5-1.7 fold higher activities in estivating snails coupled with increased GSK-3 substrate affinities in hepatopancreas. The data suggest an active role for Akt signaling during estivation emphasizing anti-apoptotic actions but uncoupling growth/proliferation actions to help achieve life extension on a limited energy budget.

A specific role for AKT3 in the genesis of ovarian cancer through modulation of G(2)-M phase transition

Ovarian cancer is the major cause of death from gynecological malignancy, and there is an urgent need for new therapeutic targets. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway has been strongly implicated in the genesis of ovarian cancer. However, to identify and evaluate potential targets for therapeutic intervention, it is critical to understand the mechanism by which the PI3K/AKT pathway facilitates ovarian carcinogenesis. Here, we show that AKT3 is highly expressed in 19 of 92 primary ovarian tumors. Strikingly, purified AKT3 exhibited up to 10-fold higher specific activity than AKT1, potentially amplifying the effects of AKT3 overexpression. Consistent with this finding, AKT3 levels in a range of ovarian cancer cell lines correlated with total AKT activity and proliferation rates, implicating AKT3 as a key mediator of ovarian oncogenesis. Specific silencing of AKT3 using short hairpin RNA markedly inhibited proliferation of the two cell lines with highest AKT3 expression and total AKT activity, OVCA429 and DOV13, by slowing G(2)-M phase transition. These findings are consistent with AKT3 playing a key role in the genesis of at least one subset of ovarian cancers.

Haematopoietic progenitor cells utilise conventional PKC to suppress PKB/Akt activity in response to c-Kit stimulation

Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) c-Kit signalling is crucial for the proliferation, survival and differentiation of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). To further understand the mechanisms underlying these events we explored how the downstream mediators interact. The present study investigated the function of conventional protein kinase Cs (c-PKC) in c-Kit mediated signalling pathways in HSC-like cell lines. This analysis supported earlier findings, that steel factor (SF) activates c-PKC, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) and protein kinase B (PKB). The present results were consistent with an important role of c-PKC in the positive activation of Erk and for proliferation. Further, it was observed that c-PKC negatively regulated PKB activity upon SF stimulation, indicating that c-PKC acts as a suppressor of c-Kit signalling. Finally, these observations were extended to show that c-PKC mediated the phosphorylation of the endogenous c-Kit receptor on serine 746, resulting in decreased overall tyrosine phosphorylation of c-Kit upon SF stimulation. This report showed that this specific feedback mechanism of c-PKC mediated phosphorylation of the c-Kit receptor has consequences for both proliferation and survival of HSC-like cell lines.

Ultrasensitive and absolute quantification of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt signal transduction pathway by mass spectrometry

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway controls a vast array of normal physiological processes and is frequently aberrantly activated in cancer, thus identifying PI3K/Akt-signaling components as promising drug targets in oncology. However, implementation of rational cancer therapies for this pathway needs robust and simple tools to stratify patients according to PI3K pathway activation and to validate and measure the impact of targeted inhibition on primary cancer tissues. Herein we present a technique for the quantification of the PI3K/Akt-signaling pathway based on the mass spectrometric measurement of PI3K-dependent protein kinase activity in cell lysates. The concept of this application of MS is to exploit enzymatic activity to amplify the signal of the enzyme under study analogous to the PCR used to amplify nucleic acid sequences. We show that this approach allows quantitative analysis of a cell-signaling pathway with high sensitivity, precision of quantification, and specificity. Due to its special analytical capabilities and potential for multiplexing, this approach could contribute significantly to cell-signaling studies and to the development and implementation of personalized cancer therapies.

Method development and measurements of endogenous serine/threonine Akt phosphorylation using capillary electrophoresis for systems biology

Signal transduction studies have indicated that Akt is essential for transducing the signals originating from extracellular stimuli. An exploration of the Akt signal transduction mechanism depends on the ability to assay its activation states by determining the ability of Akt to phosphorylate various substrates. This paper describes a CE-based kinase assay for Akt using a UV detection method. The RPRAATF peptide was used as the specific substrate to determine the Akt activity. Under the CE separation conditions used, the phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated forms of the RPRAATF peptide were rapidly resolved in the Akt reaction mixture within 20 min. Using this method for measuring the Akt activity, the incubation time for the Akt reactions as well as the kinetic parameters (KM) were examined. Furthermore, the developed method was applied to a PC12 cell system to assess the dynamics of the Akt activity by examining the effectiveness of the RPRAATF peptide substrate under various cytokine-stimulated environments. These results highlight the feasibility of the CE method, which is a simple and reliable technique for determining and characterizing various enzyme reactions particularly kinase enzymes.

Growth inhibitory effects of celecoxib in human umbilical vein endothelial cells are mediated through G1 arrest via multiple signaling mechanisms

Evidence suggests that the angiogenic endothelium represents an important target through which celecoxib mediates in vivo antitumor effects. Nevertheless, the pharmacologic basis for celecoxib-caused growth inhibition in endothelial cells in vitro remains to be defined. Previously, we showed that celecoxib-induced apoptosis in PC-3 prostate cancer cells was mediated in part through the inhibition of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1/Akt signaling. Our present findings show that celecoxib inhibits the growth of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) with pharmacologic profiles reminiscent of those of PC-3 cells. The underlying antiproliferative mechanism, however, may differ between these two cell types considering differences in the functional status of many tumor suppressors, including PTEN, p53, and retinoblastoma, all of which play integral roles in regulating cell cycle progression and survival. From a mechanistic perspective, the genomic integrity of the HUVEC system presents a vastly different intracellular context to examine how celecoxib acts to induce growth inhibition. Here, we obtain evidence that the antiproliferative effects of celecoxib and its close, cyclooxygenase-2-inactive analogue 4-[5-(2,5-dimethylphenyl)-3(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]benzenesulfonamide (DMC) in HUVECs at pharmacologically attainable concentrations (10–20 μmol/L) are attributable to the inhibition of phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1/Akt signaling and cyclin-dependent kinase. Especially, celecoxib- and DMC-mediated G1 arrest is associated with attenuated retinoblastoma phosphorylation through the inhibition of multiple cyclin-dependent kinases (IC50, 10–35 μmol/L). Moreover, both celecoxib and DMC reduce neovascularization in the chicken chorioallantoic membrane assay, suggesting the involvement of a cyclooxygenase-2-independent mechanism in the in vivo antiangiogenic effects of celecoxib.

A quantitative single-cell assay for protein kinase B reveals important insights into the biochemical behavior of an intracellular substrate peptide

The introduction of peptides into living cells for the purpose of manipulating cellular biochemistry has become widespread throughout biology. However, little is known about the behavior of these short sequences of amino acids within cells, particularly those used as substrates or inhibitors for kinases and other enzymes. We utilized a quantitative, single-cell assay to demonstrate that an 11-amino acid peptide was efficiently phosphorylated by intracellular protein kinase B (PKB) in fibrosarcoma cell line HT1080 and in NIH-3T3 cells. The phosphorylated peptide was also readily dephosphorylated by intracellular phosphatases. Assays of the peptide's phosphorylation in single, living cells measured the balance of the activities of PKB and phosphatases in that cell. At a peptide concentration below the K(M) of PKB and the phosphatases, the ratio of phosphorylated to nonphosphorylated peptide at the steady state was independent of the peptide concentration. A single-cell assay utilizing this peptide revealed the existence of two subpopulations of cells whose unique activities had hitherto been obscured by population averaging. Additional studies of cells stimulated by PDGF demonstrated that a quantitative analysis of PKB activation in response to a physiological stimulus was possible. These studies demonstrated that short peptides can remain specific within the complex intracellular milieu and function as sensitive reporters of the activation state of native kinases within live cells.

Initiation factor eIF2B not p70 S6 kinase is involved in the activation of the PI-3K signalling pathway induced by the v-src oncogene

Our data show that in hamster fibroblasts transformed by Rous sarcoma virus (RSV), the phosphoinositide 3'-kinase (PI-3K)/Akt/glycogen synthase kinase 3 antiapoptotic pathway is upregulated and involved in increased protein synthesis through activation of initiation factor eIF2B. Upon inhibition of PI-3K by wortmannin, phosphorylation of 70-kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase (p70 S6k) and its physiological substrate, ribosomal protein S6, decreased in the non-transformed cells but not in RSV-transformed cells. Thus PI-3K, which is thought to be involved in regulation of p70 S6k, signals to p70 S6k in normal fibroblasts, but it does not appear to be an upstream effector of p70 S6k in fibroblasts transformed by v-src oncogene, suggesting that changes in the PI-3K signalling pathway upstream of p70 S6k are induced by RSV transformation.