Phosphorylation of c-Cbl protooncogene product following ethanol administration in rat cerebellum: possible involvement of Fyn kinase

Fyn in Neurodevelopment and Ischemic Brain Injury

The Src family kinases (SFKs) are nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinases that are implicated in many normal and pathological processes in the nervous system. The SFKs Fyn, Src, Yes, Lyn, and Lck are expressed in the brain. This review will focus on Fyn, as Fyn mutant mice have striking phenotypes in the brain and Fyn has been shown to be involved in ischemic brain injury in adult rodents and, with our work, in neonatal animals. An understanding of Fyn's role in neurodevelopment and disease will allow researchers to target pathological pathways while preserving protective ones.

Ethanol inhibits L1 cell adhesion molecule tyrosine phosphorylation and dephosphorylation and activation of pp60(src)

Fetal alcohol syndrome is a leading cause of mental retardation. The neuropathology found in patients with fetal alcohol syndrome overlaps with those with mutations in the gene for cell adhesion molecule (L1). We have previously shown that L1-mediated neurite outgrowth and L1 activation of extracellular receptor kinases 1/2 are inhibited at low concentrations of ethanol. One possible mechanism for this effect is through disruption of a tyrosine-based sorting signal, Y(1176)RSLE, on the cytoplasmic domain of L1. Our goal was to determine if ethanol inhibited the sorting signal or its phosphorylation state. Using cerebellar granule neurons and dorsal root ganglion neurons, we found that ethanol had no effect on L1 distribution to the growth cone or its ability to be expressed on the cell surface as determined by confocal microscopy. In cerebellar granule neurons, clustering of L1 resulted in increased dephosphorylation of Y(1176), increased L1 tyrosine phosphorylation, and an increase in the activation of pp60(src) as measured by immunoblot. All changes were inhibited by 25 mM ethanol. Using PP2 to inhibit pp60(src) activation resulted in inhibition of increases in L1 tyrosine and extracellular receptor kinases 1/2 phosphorylation, and Y(1176) dephosphorylation. We conclude that ethanol disrupts L1 trafficking/signaling following its expression on the surface of the growth cone, and prior to its activation of pp60(src).

The Cbl family proteins: ring leaders in regulation of cell signaling

The proto-oncogenic protein c-Cbl was discovered as the cellular form of v-Cbl, a retroviral transforming protein. This was followed over the years by important discoveries, which identified c-Cbl and other Cbl-family proteins as key players in several signaling pathways. c-Cbl has donned the role of a multivalent adaptor protein, capable of interacting with a plethora of proteins, and has been shown to positively influence certain biological processes. The identity of c-Cbl as an E3 ubiquitin ligase unveiled the existence of an important negative regulatory pathway involved in maintaining homeostasis in protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) signaling. Recent years have also seen the emergence of novel regulators of Cbl, which have provided further insights into the complexity of Cbl-influenced pathways. This review will endeavor to provide a summary of current studies focused on the effects of Cbl proteins on various biological processes and the mechanism of these effects. The major sections of the review are as follows: Structure and genomic organization of Cbl proteins; Phosphorylation of Cbl; Interactions of Cbl; Localization of Cbl; Mechanism of effects of Cbl: (a) Ubiquitylation-dependent events: This section elucidates the mechanism of Cbl-mediated downregulation of EGFR and details the PTK and non-PTKs targeted by Cbl. In addition, it addresses the functional requirements for E3 Ubiquitin ligase activity of Cbl and negative regulation of Cbl-mediated downregulation of PTKs, (b) Adaptor functions: This section discusses the mechanisms of adaptor functions of Cbl in mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation, insulin signaling, regulation of Ras-related protein 1 (Rap1), PI-3' kinase signaling, and regulation of Rho-family GTPases and cytoskeleton; Biological functions: This section gives an account of the diverse biological functions of Cbl and includes the role of Cbl in transformation, T-cell signaling and thymus development, B-cell signaling, mast-cell degranulation, macrophage functions, bone development, neurite growth, platelet activation, muscle degeneration, and bacterial invasion; Conclusions and perspectives.

Regulation of actin cytoskeleton by mDab1 through N-WASP and ubiquitination of mDab1

Migration of cells is critical to development of the central nervous system. Reelin, which was identified from the reeler mutant mice having a defect in the multilamellar structure of the brain, is thought to be a key signalling molecule that functions as a cue for determination of cell position. mDab1 (mouse Disabled homologue 1) functions downstream of Reelin. However, the mechanism by which mDab1 regulates cell migration during brain development is unknown. In the present paper, we show that mDab1 associates with N-WASP (neuronal Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein) in vitro and in brains of embryonic mice. mDab1 activates N-WASP directly, and induces actin polymerization through the Arp2/3 (actin-related protein 2/3) complex. mDab1 induces formation of filopodia when it is overexpressed in COS-7 cells. This filopodium formation is dependent on N-WASP, because expression of an N-WASP mutant that cannot induce Arp2/3-complex-mediated actin polymerization suppressed filopodium formation. The PTB (phosphotyrosine-binding) domain of mDab1 binds to N-WASP via the NRFY (Asn-Arg-Phe-Tyr) sequence close to the CRIB (Cdc42/Rac-interactive binding) motif of N-WASP and activates N-WASP in vitro. When mDab1 is phosphorylated by Fyn kinase in COS-7 cells, mDab1 is ubiquitinated in a Cbl-dependent manner, and mDab1 does not induce filopodium in the presence of activated Fyn. These findings suggest that mDab1 regulates the actin cytoskeleton through N-WASP, which is negatively regulated by phosphorylation-mediated ubiquitination of mDab1.