Quantitative analysis of SH2 domain binding. Evidence for specificity and competition

Modulation of insulin receptor substrate-1 tyrosine phosphorylation and function by mitogen-activated protein kinase

Increased serine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) has been observed in several systems to correlate with a decreased ability of the insulin receptor to tyrosine-phosphorylate this endogenous substrate and to inhibit its subsequent association with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. In the present studies we have examined the potential role of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase in the increased serine phosphorylation of IRS-1 observed in human embryonic kidney cells treated with an activator of protein kinase C, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. First, recombinantly produced kinase was shown to phosphorylate intact IRS-1 in a way that decreased the ability of isolated insulin receptor to phosphorylate the tyrosines recognized by the SH2 domains of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. Second, an inhibitor of MAP kinase activation, PD98059, blocked the phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-induced inhibition of the insulin-stimulated increase in IRS-1 associated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. Third, activation of MAP kinase in intact cells via a regulatable upstream kinase, a RAF:estrogen receptor construct, could also inhibit the insulin-stimulated increase in IRS-1-associated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. Fourth, an in gel kinase assay showed that MAP kinase was the primary renaturable kinase in cell extracts capable of phosphorylating an IRS-1 fusion protein. Finally, IRS-1 was found to associate in coprecipitation studies with endogenous MAP kinase. These studies implicate MAP kinase as one of the kinases capable of phosphorylating and regulating IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation.

Epidermal growth factor-induced activation and translocation of c-Src to the cytoskeleton depends on the actin binding domain of the EGF-receptor

In the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-receptor signal transduction cascade, the non-receptor tyrosine kinase c-Src has been demonstrated to become activated upon EGF stimulation. In this paper we show that c-Src associates with the cytoskeleton and co-isolates with actin filaments upon EGF treatment of NIH-3T3 cells transfected with the EGF receptor. Immunofluorescence studies using CLSM show colocalization of F-actin and endogenous c-Src predominantly around endosomes and not on stress fibers and cell-cell contacts. Stimulation of EGF receptor-transfected NIH-3T3 cells with EGF induces an activation and translocation of c-Src to the cytoskeleton. These processes depend upon the presence of the actin binding domain of the EGF-receptor since in cells that express EGF-receptors lacking this domain, EGF fails to induce an activation and translocation to the cytoskeleton of c-Src. These data suggest a role for the actin binding domain of the EGF-receptor in the translocation of c-Src.

A screening method of SH2 domain ligands and blockers using a solid phase binding

We have developed a high throughput screening method for SH2 domain binding ligands and blockers. This method measures directly the binding of a 3H-labeled phosphopeptide derived from the sequence around tyrosine317 in the human Shc (SpYVNVK) to the SH2 domain of Grb2, which is precoated as glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins on solid phase. The optimum concentration for the fusion protein coating was 300 ng/100 microl/well for SH2 domain binding. Although an 8-h incubation at 4 degrees C for the coating of fusion protein was required to reach a maximum binding, even a 2-h coating produced 84% of the maximum binding. Saturation of ligand peptide binding in our assay system was observed at 10 pmol/well for the SH2 domain. However, 2 pmol/well showed consistent and reproducible results for the binding when the incubations were performed for 8 h at 4 degrees C. Competitive binding inhibition studies with various unlabeled phosphopeptides imply that the binding assay is highly specific to peptide sequences and able to screen possible ligands or blockers of signal transduction pathway mediated by Grb2 SH2 binding. In conclusion, our new method for SH2 domain binding is easy, rapid, and most of all inexpensive. These advantages over existing assay methods make this method especially suitable for a high throughput application, such as the screening for anticancer drug candidates.

Insulin dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of the tyrosine internalisation motif of TGN38 creates a specific SH2 domain binding site

Tyrosine-based motifs are involved in both protein targeting and, via SH2 domain binding, intracellular signalling. To date there has only been one example of such a motif acting as both an intracellular sorting signal and SH2 binding determinant, namely that of the T cell costimulation receptor, CTLA-4. We show that insulin stimulation of cultured rat hepatoma cells results in increased cell surface expression of TGN38. Furthermore, the cytosolic domain of TGN38 can be phosphorylated by the insulin receptor in vitro and tyrosine phosphorylated TGN38 can specifically bind to the SH2 domains of the spleen tyrosine kinase Syk. These data imply that tyrosine-based motifs may play a broader role than has previously been accepted and could help to integrate trafficking and signalling events.

Characterization and cloning of a 58/53-kDa substrate of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase

A monoclonal antibody has been produced which immunoprecipitates 58- and 53-kDa proteins which are rapidly tyrosine phosphorylated in insulin-treated cells. These proteins can also be tyrosine phosphorylated in vitro by the isolated human insulin receptor. Increased tyrosine phosphorylation of these proteins is also observed in cells expressing a transforming chicken c-Src (mutant Phe-527) and in cells with the activated tyrosine kinase domains of the Drosophila insulin receptor, human insulin-like growth factor I receptor, and human insulin receptor-related receptor. P58/53 did not appear to associate with either the GTPase activating protein of Ras (called GAP) or the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase by either co-immunoprecipitation experiments or in Far Westerns with the SH2 domains of these two proteins. Since p58/53 did not appear, by immunoblotting, to be related to any previously described tyrosine kinase substrate such as the SH2 containing proteins SHC and the tyrosine phosphatase Syp, the protein was purified in sufficient amounts to obtain peptide sequence. This sequence was utilized to isolate a cDNA clone that encodes a previously uncharacterized 53-kDa protein which, when expressed in mammalian cells, is tyrosine phosphorylated by the insulin receptor.

The phosphopeptide-binding specificity of Src family SH2 domains

BACKGROUND

Src homology 2 (SH2) domains mediate protein/protein interactions by binding phosphotyrosyl proteins with high specificity. The protein Lck, a Src-like lymphocyte-specific tyrosine kinase which is important in signals involved in T-cell development, contains one such domain. The crystal structure of a complex of the Lck SH2 domain with a high-affinity ligand, pY324, is known. This ligand has the sequence EPQpYEEIPIYL.

RESULTS

We designed and synthesized a series of phosphopeptides with single amino-acid changes in the four residues C-terminal to the phosphotyrosine (pTyr) in pY324. Surprisingly, the Glu one residue C-terminal to the phosphotyrosine (at position pY + 1) is sensitive to substitution, whereas the Ile at position pY + 3 is much less sensitive, accommodating a Glu with only modest loss of binding affinity. Replacement of the Glu and Pro on either side of the Ile had little effect, as predicted. Truncated phosphopeptides that end at position pY + 5 and have only an acetyl group N-terminal to the pTyr bound with only slightly lower affinity than pY324. In addition, naturally occurring phosphopeptide sequences that span a 1,000-fold range in binding affinity for the Lck SH2 domain have been identified.

CONCLUSIONS

The Lck SH2 domain is highly selective for phosphotyrosyl-peptide binding; its specificity is dictated by the first and third residues C-terminal to the pTyr. The unexpected effects of some amino-acid substitutions indicate that the interactions seen between SH2 domains and ligand in the crystal structure may not be identical to those that occur in solution.

The Ras signal transduction pathway

Considerable progress has been made over the past year in elucidating the mechanisms by which extracellular signals are transduced via cell surface receptors to trigger changes in gene expression which determine the growth and differentiated state of a cell. In particular, Ras proteins have been implicated as key intermediates that mediate the signal from upstream tyrosine kinases to a downstream cascade of serine/threonine kinases, which then activate nuclear factors that control gene expression and protein synthesis. How Ras proteins function is regulated in this role as a molecular switch, and how the signal is transmitted between the various components of the pathway, are now being determined. Finally, the Rho family of Ras-related proteins, which regulate the actin cytoskeleton, have also been implicated as mediators of oncogenic Ras transformation. The brisk pace at which the key components of Ras-mediated signal transduction pathways are being identified hold great promise that new targets for therapeutic intervention in cancer may now be identified.