Interaction of phospholipase C gamma 1 via its COOH-terminal SRC homology 2 domain with synaptojanin

Phosphoinositide phosphatases: just as important as the kinases

Phosphoinositide phosphatases comprise several large enzyme families with over 35 mammalian enzymes identified to date that degrade many phosphoinositide signals. Growth factor or insulin stimulation activates the phosphoinositide 3-kinase that phosphorylates phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P(2)] to form phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate [PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3)], which is rapidly dephosphorylated either by PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10) to PtdIns(4,5)P(2), or by the 5-phosphatases (inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases), generating PtdIns(3,4)P(2). 5-phosphatases also hydrolyze PtdIns(4,5)P(2) forming PtdIns(4)P. Ten mammalian 5-phosphatases have been identified, which regulate hematopoietic cell proliferation, synaptic vesicle recycling, insulin signaling, and embryonic development. Two 5-phosphatase genes, OCRL and INPP5E are mutated in Lowe and Joubert syndrome respectively. SHIP [SH2 (Src homology 2)-domain inositol phosphatase] 2, and SKIP (skeletal muscle- and kidney-enriched inositol phosphatase) negatively regulate insulin signaling and glucose homeostasis. SHIP2 polymorphisms are associated with a predisposition to insulin resistance. SHIP1 controls hematopoietic cell proliferation and is mutated in some leukemias. The inositol polyphosphate 4-phosphatases, INPP4A and INPP4B degrade PtdIns(3,4)P(2) to PtdIns(3)P and regulate neuroexcitatory cell death, or act as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer respectively. The Sac phosphatases degrade multiple phosphoinositides, such as PtdIns(3)P, PtdIns(4)P, PtdIns(5)P and PtdIns(3,5)P(2) to form PtdIns. Mutation in the Sac phosphatase gene, FIG4, leads to a degenerative neuropathy. Therefore the phosphatases, like the lipid kinases, play major roles in regulating cellular functions and their mutation or altered expression leads to many human diseases.

The role of the inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases in cellular function and human disease

Phosphoinositides are membrane-bound signalling molecules that regulate cell proliferation and survival, cytoskeletal reorganization and vesicular trafficking by recruiting effector proteins to cellular membranes. Growth factor or insulin stimulation induces a canonical cascade resulting in the transient phosphorylation of PtdIns(4,5)P(2) by PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) to form PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3), which is rapidly dephosphorylated either by PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10) back to PtdIns(4,5)P(2), or by the 5-ptases (inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases), generating PtdIns(3,4)P(2). The 5-ptases also hydrolyse PtdIns(4,5)P(2), forming PtdIns4P. Ten mammalian 5-ptases have been identified, which share a catalytic mechanism similar to that of the apurinic/apyrimidinic endonucleases. Gene-targeted deletion of 5-ptases in mice has revealed that these enzymes regulate haemopoietic cell proliferation, synaptic vesicle recycling, insulin signalling, endocytosis, vesicular trafficking and actin polymerization. Several studies have revealed that the molecular basis of Lowe's syndrome is due to mutations in the 5-ptase OCRL (oculocerebrorenal syndrome of Lowe). Futhermore, the 5-ptases SHIP [SH2 (Src homology 2)-domain-containing inositol phosphatase] 2, SKIP (skeletal muscle- and kidney-enriched inositol phosphatase) and 72-5ptase (72 kDa 5-ptase)/Type IV/Inpp5e (inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase E) are implicated in negatively regulating insulin signalling and glucose homoeostasis in specific tissues. SHIP2 polymorphisms are associated with a predisposition to insulin resistance. Gene profiling studies have identified changes in the expression of various 5-ptases in specific cancers. In addition, 5-ptases such as SHIP1, SHIP2 and 72-5ptase/Type IV/Inpp5e regulate macrophage phagocytosis, and SHIP1 also controls haemopoietic cell proliferation. Therefore the 5-ptases are a significant family of signal-modulating enzymes that govern a plethora of cellular functions by regulating the levels of specific phosphoinositides. Emerging studies have implicated their loss or gain of function in human disease.

Multiple genes and factors associated with bipolar disorder converge on growth factor and stress activated kinase pathways controlling translation initiation: implications for oligodendrocyte viability

Famine and viral infection, as well as interferon therapy have been reported to increase the risk of developing bipolar disorder. In addition, almost 100 polymorphic genes have been associated with this disease. Several form most of the components of a phosphatidyl-inositol signalling/AKT1 survival pathway (PIK3C3, PIP5K2A, PLCG1, SYNJ1, IMPA2, AKT1, GSK3B, TCF4) which is activated by growth factors (BDNF, NRG1) and also by NMDA receptors (GRIN1, GRIN2A, GRIN2B). Various other protein products of genes associated with bipolar disorder either bind to or are affected by phosphatidyl-inositol phosphate products of this pathway (ADBRK2, HIP1R, KCNQ2, RGS4, WFS1), are associated with its constituent elements (BCR, DUSP6, FAT, GNAZ) or are downstream targets of this signalling cascade (DPYSL2, DRD3, GAD1, G6PD, GCH1, KCNQ2, NOS3, SLC6A3, SLC6A4, SST, TH, TIMELESS). A further pathway relates to endoplasmic reticulum-stress (HSPA5, XBP1), caused by problems in protein glycosylation (ALG9), growth factor receptor sorting (PIK3C3, HIP1R, SYBL1), or aberrant calcium homoeostasis (WFS1). Key processes relating to these pathways appear to be under circadian control (ARNTL, CLOCK, PER3, TIMELESS). DISC1 can also be linked to many of these pathways. The growth factor pathway promotes protein synthesis, while the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway, and other stress pathways activated by viruses and cytokines (IL1B, TNF, Interferons), oxidative stress or starvation, all factors associated with bipolar disorder risk, shuts down protein synthesis via control of the EIF2 alpha and beta translation initiation complex. For unknown reasons, oligodendrocytes appear to be particularly prone to defects in the translation initiation complex (EIF2B) and the convergence of these environmental and genomic signalling pathways on this area might well explain their vulnerability in bipolar disorder.

Identification and characterization of four novel peptide motifs that recognize distinct regions of the transcription factor CP2

Although ubiquitously expressed, the transcriptional factor CP2 also exhibits some tissue- or stage-specific activation toward certain genes such as globin in red blood cells and interleukin-4 in T helper cells. Because this specificity may be achieved by interaction with other proteins, we screened a peptide display library and identified four consensus motifs in numerous CP2-binding peptides: HXPR, PHL, ASR and PXHXH. Protein-database searching revealed that RE-1 silencing factor (REST), Yin-Yang1 (YY1) and five other proteins have one or two of these CP2-binding motifs. Glutathione S-transferase pull-down and coimmunoprecipitation assays showed that two HXPR motif-containing proteins REST and YY1 indeed were able to bind CP2. Importantly, this binding to CP2 was almost abolished when a double amino acid substitution was made on the HXPR sequence of REST and YY1 proteins. The suppressing effect of YY1 on CP2's transcriptional activity was lost by this point mutation on the HXPR sequence of YY1 and reduced by an HXPR-containing peptide, further supporting the interaction between CP2 and YY1 via the HXPR sequence. Mapping the sites on CP2 for interaction with the four distinct CP2-binding motifs revealed at least three different regions on CP2. This suggests that CP2 recognizes several distinct binding motifs by virtue of employing different regions, thus being able to interact with and regulate many cellular partners.

Identification of Phospholipase C-γ1 as a Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Substrate

The discovery of sequence motifs that mediate protein-protein interactions, coupled with the availability of protein amino acid sequence data, allows for the identification of putative protein binding pairs. The present studies were based on our identification of an amino acid sequence in phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C-gamma1 (PLC-gamma1) that fits the consensus sequence for a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) binding site, termed the D-domain. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 (ERK2), an MAPK, and phospho-ERK2 were bound by an immobilized peptide sequence containing the identified PLC-gamma1 D-domain. Furthermore, a peptide containing the PLC-gamma1 D-domain was able to competitively inhibit the in vitro phosphorylation of recombinant PLC-gamma1 by recombinant phospho-ERK2, whereas a control peptide derived from a distant region of PLC-gamma1 was ineffective. Similarly, the peptide containing the PLC-gamma1 D-domain, but not the control peptide, competitively inhibited the in vitro phosphorylation of Elk-1 and c-Jun catalyzed by recombinant phospho-ERK2 and phospho-c-Jun N-terminal kinase 3 (phospho-JNK3), another type of MAPK, respectively. Incubation of anti-PLC-gamma1 immunocomplexes isolated from rat brain with recombinant phospho-ERK2 opposed the increase in PLC-gamma1-catalyzed hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-P(2) (PtdIns(4,5)P(2)), which was produced by a tyrosine kinase associated with the immunocomplexes, whereas in vitro phosphorylation of recombinant PLC-gamma1 by recombinant phospho-ERK2 did not alter PLC-gamma1-catalyzed PtdIns(4,5)P(2) hydrolysis. These studies have uncovered a previously unidentified mechanism for the integration of PLC-gamma1- and ERK2-dependent signaling.

Identification of p115 as a PLCgamma1-binding protein and the role of Src homology domains of PLCgamma1 in the vesicular transport

In order to gain further insight into the function(s) of PLCgamma1, we tried to identify the binding partners that can interact with the SH223 domains of PLCgamma1. Immunoscreening was performed with the purified antisera that are specific to SH223-binding proteins. Several immunoreactive clones were identified as the putative binding proteins and one of them was identified as p115. p115 was reported to be required for transcytotic fusion and subsequent binding of the vesicles to the target membrane. The interaction between PLCgamma1 and p115 was specific to carboxyl-terminal SH2 domain and SH3 domain of PLCgamma1, and also confirmed by biochemical approaches such as co-immunoprecipitation, pull-down assay, and glycerol gradient fractionation. To further characterize the role of SH domains of PLCgamma1 in the vesicle transport pathway, secreted form of alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) reporter assay was carried out. When the SH2 and/or SH3 domains of PLCgamma1 were deleted, the secretion of SEAP was significantly reduced. These findings indicate that the SH2 and SH3 domains of PLCgamma1 may play a role(s) in the process of the vesicle transport via interaction with other vesicle-associated proteins such as p115.

Role of ubiquilin associated with protein-disulfide isomerase in the endoplasmic reticulum in stress-induced apoptotic cell death

Up-regulation of several stress proteins such as heat-shock proteins and glucose-regulated proteins participate in tolerance against environmental stress. Previously, we found that protein-disulfide isomerase (PDI) is specifically up-regulated in response to hypoxia/brain ischemia in astrocytes. In addition, the overexpression of this gene into neurons protects against apoptotic cell death induced by hypoxia/brain ischemia. To address the detailed function of PDI, we screened for proteins that interact with PDI using the yeast two-hybrid system. We report here that PDI interacts with ubiquilin, which has a ubiquitin-like domain and a ubiquitin-associated domain. Interestingly, ubiquilin is also up-regulated in response to hypoxia in glial cells with a time course similar to that of PDI induction. In hypoxia-treated glial cells, the endogenous ubiquilin and PDI were almost completely co-localized, suggesting that ubiquilin is an endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein. Overexpression of this gene in neuronal cells resulted in significant inhibition of the DNA fragmentation triggered by hypoxia, but not that induced by nitric oxide or staurosporine. Moreover, ubiquilin has the ability to attenuate CHOP induction by hypoxia. These observations suggested that ubiquilin together with PDI have critical functions as regulatory proteins for CHOP-mediated cell death, and therefore up-regulation of these proteins may result in acquisition of tolerance against ischemic stress in glial cells.

AP180 binds to the C-terminal SH2 domain of phospholipase C-gamma1 and inhibits its enzymatic activity

The role of phospholipase Cgamma1 (PLCgamma1) in signal transduction was investigated by characterizing its SH domain-binding proteins that may represent components of a novel signaling pathway. A 180-kDa protein that binds to the SH2 domain of PLCgamma1 was purified from rat brain. The amino acid sequence of peptide derived from the purified protein is now identified as AP180, a clathrin assembly protein that has been implicated in clathrin-mediated synaptic vesicle recycling in synapses. In this report, we demonstrate the stable association of PLCgamma1 with AP180 in a clathrin-coated vesicle complex, which not only binds to the carboxyl-terminal SH2 domain of PLCgamma1, but also inhibits its enzymatic activity in a dose-dependent manner.

The evolutionarily conserved N-terminal region of Cbl is sufficient to enhance down-regulation of the epidermal growth factor receptor

The mammalian proto-oncoprotein Cbl and its homologues in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila are evolutionarily conserved negative regulators of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R). Overexpression of wild-type Cbl enhances down-regulation of activated EGF-R from the cell surface. We report that the Cbl tyrosine kinase-binding (TKB) domain is essential for this activity. Whereas wild-type Cbl enhanced ligand-dependent EGF-R ubiquitination, down-regulation from the cell surface, accumulation in intracellular vesicles, and degradation, a Cbl TKB domain-inactivated mutant (G306E) did not. Furthermore, the transforming truncation mutant Cbl-N (residues 1-357), comprising only the Cbl TKB domain, functioned as a dominant negative protein. It colocalized with EGF-R in intracellular vesicular structures, yet it suppressed down-regulation of EGF-R from the surface of cells expressing endogenous wild-type Cbl. Therefore, Cbl-mediated down-regulation of EGF-R requires the integrity of both the N-terminal TKB domain and additional C-terminal sequences. A Cbl truncation mutant comprising amino acids 1-440 functioned like wild-type Cbl in down-regulation assays. This mutant includes the evolutionarily conserved TKB and RING finger domains but lacks the less conserved C-terminal sequences. We conclude that the evolutionarily conserved N terminus of Cbl is sufficient to effect enhancement of EGF-R ubiquitination and down-regulation from the cell surface.

Physiological requirement for both SH2 domains for phospholipase C-gamma1 function and interaction with platelet-derived growth factor receptors

Two approaches have been utilized to investigate the role of individual SH2 domains in growth factor activation of phospholipase C-gamma1 (PLC-gamma1). Surface plasmon resonance analysis indicates that the individual N-SH2 and C-SH2 domains are able to specifically recognize a phosphotyrosine-containing peptide corresponding to Tyr 1021 of the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) beta receptor. To assess SH2 function in the context of the full-length PLC-gamma1 molecule as well as within the intact cell, PLC-gamma1 SH2 domain mutants, disabled by site-directed mutagenesis of the N-SH2 and/or C-SH2 domain(s), were expressed in Plcg1(-/-) fibroblasts. Under equilibrium incubation conditions (4 degrees C, 40 min), the N-SH2 domain, but not the C-SH2 domain, was sufficient to mediate significant PLC-gamma1 association with the activated PDGF receptor and PLC-gamma1 tyrosine phosphorylation. When both SH2 domains in PLC-gamma1 were disabled, the double mutant did not associate with activated PDGF receptors and was not tyrosine phosphorylated. However, no single SH2 mutant was able to mediate growth factor activation of Ca2+ mobilization or inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) formation. Subsequent kinetic experiments demonstrated that each single SH2 domain mutant was significantly impaired in its capacity to mediate rapid association with activated PDGF receptors and become tyrosine phosphorylated. Hence, when assayed under physiological conditions necessary to achieve a rapid biological response (Ca2+ mobilization and IP3 formation), both SH2 domains of PLC-gamma1 are essential to growth factor responsiveness.