Epidermal growth factor stimulates a protein tyrosine kinase which is separable from the epidermal growth factor receptor

Sodium-potassium-adenosinetriphosphatase-dependent sodium transport in the kidney: hormonal control

Tubular reabsorption of filtered sodium is quantitatively the main contribution of kidneys to salt and water homeostasis. The transcellular reabsorption of sodium proceeds by a two-step mechanism: Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase-energized basolateral active extrusion of sodium permits passive apical entry through various sodium transport systems. In the past 15 years, most of the renal sodium transport systems (Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, channels, cotransporters, and exchangers) have been characterized at a molecular level. Coupled to the methods developed during the 1965-1985 decades to circumvent kidney heterogeneity and analyze sodium transport at the level of single nephron segments, cloning of the transporters allowed us to move our understanding of hormone regulation of sodium transport from a cellular to a molecular level. The main purpose of this review is to analyze how molecular events at the transporter level account for the physiological changes in tubular handling of sodium promoted by hormones. In recent years, it also became obvious that intracellular signaling pathways interacted with each other, leading to synergisms or antagonisms. A second aim of this review is therefore to analyze the integrated network of signaling pathways underlying hormone action. Given the central role of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase in sodium reabsorption, the first part of this review focuses on its structural and functional properties, with a special mention of the specificity of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase expressed in renal tubule. In a second part, the general mechanisms of hormone signaling are briefly introduced before a more detailed discussion of the nephron segment-specific expression of hormone receptors and signaling pathways. The three following parts integrate the molecular and physiological aspects of the hormonal regulation of sodium transport processes in three nephron segments: the proximal tubule, the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop, and the collecting duct.

Epiregulin stimulates proliferation of rabbit gastric cells in primary culture through autophosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor receptor

Epiregulin, a growth factor of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family, was recently purified from conditioned medium of a mouse fibroblast-derived tumor cell line. It was reported that epiregulin exhibited bifunctional properties in the regulation of cell growth. However, the effect of epiregulin on gastric cell proliferation is not known. The aims of this study were to determine whether: (1) epiregulin affects proliferation of rabbit cultured gastric cells, (2) epiregulin-induced stimulation of cell proliferation is mediated by the tyrosine kinase pathway, and (3) epiregulin stimulates autophosphorylation of EGF-receptors. Epiregulin stimulated cell proliferation to a significant extent. This effect was completely blocked by treatment with genistein. Epiregulin stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of a 170 kDa protein, which represents the EGF receptor, in a dose-dependent fashion. These findings suggest that epiregulin has mitogenic effects on rabbit gastric cultured cells, possibly mediated via the tyrosine kinase pathway through autophosphorylation of EGF receptors.

Non-receptor cytosolic protein tyrosine kinases from various rat tissues

Adipocytic-cytosolic non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase (CytPTK) when activated can substitute for the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase (InsRTK), in manifesting several insulin effects in insulin-receptor independent fashion. Our aims here were to utilize PolyGlu4Tyr, a good experimental exogenous substrate for protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) in general, for studying qualitative and quantitative parameters of CytPTKs extracted from different tissue cytosols. At the same time, we would search for a unique specific marker specifically characterizing CytPTKs. High speed supernatants of spleen, thymus, smooth muscle, lung and kidney were found to be rich in CytPTK activities. Their specific activities being 6- to 13-fold that of liver or adipose cytosols. Brain, testis and adrenal cytosols were an intermediate source of CytPTK activity, whereas CytPTK activity of heart and skeletal muscle was low. It was also evaluated that the capacity of the cytosol to phosphorylate PolyGlu4Tyr is 15-50% that of the non-stimulated Triton X-100 extractable plasma membrane PTKs. Fractionation of the cytosols on superose 12 column revealed several CytPTKs within the same tissue, their peaks ranging between 30 and 450 kDa. Immunoblotting analysis showed Fyn and Lyn were present in most tissue cytosols. Upon immunoprecipitation, however, with anti-Fyn or anti-Lyn, negligible amounts (< 2%) of the total cellular CytPTK were precipitated. Thus, these general markers of CytPTKs comprise only a minor proportion of the total intracellular PolyGlu4Tyr phosphorylating capacity. To see whether a specific marker for CytPTK could be detected, we also examined the requirement of CytPTKs for divalent ions, their preferred phosphate donor and their sensitivity to inhibition by known PTK inhibitors. We found that the order of reactivity with divalent cations was Co2+ > Mn2+ > Mg2+, while Zn2+ and Ca2+ did not support CytPTK activity. The best phosphate donor was ATP (ED50 = 5 microM), but other nucleoside 3-phosphates could substitute for ATP at high concentrations. With respect to these parameters, no basic difference exists between cytosolic and plasma-membrane PTKs. The PTK inhibitors, genestein and quercetin, inhibited both cytosolic and membranal PTKs at micromolar concentrations. In contrast, staurosporine was a potent inhibitor of CytPTKs (IC50 5-20 nM) and a poor inhibitor of membranal PTKs (IC50 10-40 microM). One of the conclusions we can draw from this study is that tissue cytosols contain PolyGlu4Tyr phosphorylating capacity in quantities greater than previously assumed and that the low level of phosphotyrosine found in cells is not the result of limited intracellular levels of CytPTKs.

Structural requirements of the epidermal growth factor receptor for tyrosine phosphorylation of eps8 and eps15, substrates lacking Src SH2 homology domains

Phosphorylation of two newly identified epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor substrates, eps8 and eps15, which do not possess Src homology (SH2) domains, was investigated using EGF receptor mutants of the autophosphorylation sites and deletion mutants of the carboxyl-terminal region. Two mutants, F5, in which all five tyrosine autophosphorylation sites substituted by phenylalanine, and Dc 123F, in which four tyrosines were removed by deletion and the fifth (Tyr-992) was mutated into phenylalanine, phosphorylated eps8 and eps15 as efficiently as the wild-type receptor. In contrast, SH2-containing substrates, phospholipase C gamma, the GTPase-activating protein of Ras, the p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase, and the Src and collagen homology protein, are not phosphorylated by the F5 and Dc 123F mutants. A longer EGF receptor deletion mutant, Dc 214, lacking all five autophosphorylation sites, was unable to phosphorylate eps15 but phosphorylated eps8 13-fold more than the wild-type receptor. To determine the EGF receptor region important for phosphorylation of eps8 and eps15, progressive deletion mutants lacking the final 123, 165, 196, and 214 COOH-terminal residues were used. eps8 phosphorylation was progressively increased in Dc 165, Dc 196, and Dc 214 EGF receptor mutants, indicating that removal of the final 214 COOH-terminal residues increases the phosphorylation of this substrate by the EGF receptor. In contrast, eps15 was phosphorylated by Dc 123 and Dc 165 EGF receptor mutants but not by Dc 196 and Dc 214 mutants. This indicates that a region of 30 residues located between Dc 165 and Dc 196 is essential for eps15 phosphorylation. This is the first demonstration of structural requirements in the EGF receptor COOH terminus for efficient phosphorylation of non-SH2-containing substrates. In addition, enhanced eps8 phosphorylation correlates well with the increased transforming potential of EGF receptor deletion mutants Dc 196 and Dc 214, suggesting that this substrate may be involved in mitogenic signaling.