Aberrant sensing of extracellular Ca2+ by cultured ataxia telangiectasia fibroblasts

Cellular functions of the protein kinase ATM and their relevance to human disease

The protein kinase ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) is a master regulator of double-strand DNA break (DSB) signalling and stress responses. For three decades, ATM has been investigated extensively to elucidate its roles in the DNA damage response (DDR) and in the pathogenesis of ataxia telangiectasia (A-T), a human neurodegenerative disease caused by loss of ATM. Although hundreds of proteins have been identified as ATM phosphorylation targets and many important roles for this kinase have been identified, it is still unclear how ATM deficiency leads to the early-onset cerebellar degeneration that is common in all individuals with A-T. Recent studies suggest the existence of links between ATM deficiency and other cerebellum-specific neurological disorders, as well as the existence of broader similarities with more common neurodegenerative disorders. In this Review, we discuss recent structural insights into ATM regulation, and possible aetiologies of A-T phenotypes, including reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial dysfunction, alterations in transcription, R-loop metabolism and alternative splicing, defects in cellular proteostasis and metabolism, and potential pathogenic roles for hyper-poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation.

Poly-ADP-ribosylation drives loss of protein homeostasis in ATM and Mre11 deficiency

Loss of the ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase causes cerebellum-specific neurodegeneration in humans. We previously demonstrated that deficiency in ATM activation via oxidative stress generates insoluble protein aggregates in human cells, reminiscent of protein dysfunction in common neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we show that this process is driven by poly-ADP-ribose polymerases (PARPs) and that the insoluble protein species arise from intrinsically disordered proteins associating with PAR-associated genomic sites in ATM-deficient cells. The lesions implicated in this process are single-strand DNA breaks dependent on reactive oxygen species, transcription, and R-loops. Human cells expressing Mre11 A-T-like disorder mutants also show PARP-dependent aggregation identical to ATM deficiency. Lastly, analysis of A-T patient cerebellum samples shows widespread protein aggregation as well as loss of proteins known to be critical in human spinocerebellar ataxias that is not observed in neocortex tissues. These results provide a hypothesis accounting for loss of protein integrity and cerebellum function in A-T.

Selective human inhibitors of ATR and ATM render Leishmania major promastigotes sensitive to oxidative damage

All cellular processes, including those involved in normal cell metabolism to those responsible for cell proliferation or death, are finely controlled by cell signaling pathways, whose core proteins constitute the family of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinases (PIKKs). Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) and Ataxia Telangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR) are two important PIKK proteins that act in response to DNA damage, phosphorylating a large number of proteins to exert control over genomic integrity. The genus Leishmania belongs to a group of early divergent eukaryotes in evolution and has a highly plastic genome, probably owing to the existence of signaling pathways designed to maintain genomic integrity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of specific human inhibitors of ATR and ATM in Leishmania major. Bioinformatic analyses revealed the existence of the putative PIKK genes ATR and ATM, in addition to mTOR and DNA-PKcs in Leishmania spp. Moreover, it was possible to suggest that the inhibitors VE-821 and KU-55933 have binding affinity for the catalytic sites of putative L. major ATR and ATM, respectively. Promastigotes of L. major exposed to these inhibitors show slight growth impairment and minor changes in cell cycle and morphology. It is noteworthy that treatment of promastigotes with inhibitors VE-821 and KU-55933 enhanced the oxidative damage caused by hydrogen peroxide. These inhibitors could significantly reduce the number of surviving L. major cells following H₂O₂ exposure whilst also decreasing their evaluated IC₅₀ to H₂O₂ to less than half of that observed for non-treated cells. These results suggest that the use of specific inhibitors of ATR and ATM in Leishmania interferes in the signaling pathways of this parasite, which can impair its tolerance to DNA damage and affect its genome integrity. ATR and ATM could constitute novel targets for drug development and/or repositioning for treatment of leishmaniases.

Activation of gill Ca2+-sensing receptor as a protective pathway to reduce Ca2+-induced cytotoxicity

The expression of the Ca(2) (+)-sensing receptor (Casr) in the endocrine gland known as the corpuscle of Stannius (CS) regulates the secretion of the hypocalcemic hormone stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) to inhibit gill Ca(2) (+) uptake. Although numerous studies have reported the branchial expression of Casr and Stc1, the functions of these proteins in gills have not been elucidated yet. On the basis of recent findings regarding the autocrine/paracrine functions of STC1 in mammalian models, we proposed the hypothesis that branchial CaSR has an in situ 'sensing' function to regulate STC1 that maintains local Ca(2) (+) homeostasis. In this study, we investigated Casr-mediated signaling and its regulation of Stc1 and cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox2) expression/function using a primary gill-cell culture model. The biochemical responses of gill cells isolated from Japanese eels to an increasing concentration of extracellular Ca(2) (+) (0.1-1 mM) were tested. This stimulation led to a transient increase in phosphatidylcholine-phospholipase C (PC-PLC) activity, followed by activation of ERK and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-Ca(2) (+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase 2 (CaMK2) signaling pathways. Cotreatment with the calcimimetic R467 caused synergistic effects on Ca(2) (+)-stimulated PC-PLC activity, ERK signaling, and CaMK2 signaling. The activation of the CaSR-PLC-ERK pathway was associated with increased expression levels of Stc1 and Cox2 as confirmed by the inhibition of Erk using a chemical inhibitor, PD98059. Functionally, Ca(2) (+)/R-467 pretreatment was found to protect cells from thapsigargin-induced cell death. Inhibition of COX2 activity using NS398 abolished this protection, while transduction of STC1 lentiviral particles in the gill cells increased the protective effects. Collectively, our data revealed the expression of functional CaSR in gill tissues. The identification of the CaSR-STC1/COX2-mediated protective pathway in gill cells sheds light on a possible cellular protective mechanism against an increase in intracellular Ca(2) (+) levels associated with transepithelial Ca(2) (+) transport.

Calcium-dependent regulation of NEMO nuclear export in response to genotoxic stimuli

The mechanisms involved in activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB by genotoxic agents are not well understood. Previously, we provided evidence that a regulatory subunit of the IkappaB kinase (IKK) complex, NF-kappaB essential modulator (NEMO)/IKKgamma, is a component of a nuclear signal that is generated after DNA damage to mediate NF-kappaB activation. Here, we found that etoposide (VP16) and camptothecin induced increases in intracellular free calcium levels at 60 min after stimulation of CEM T leukemic cells. Inhibition of calcium increases by calcium chelators, BAPTA-AM and EGTA-AM, abrogated NF-kappaB activation by these agents in several cell types examined. Conversely, thapsigargin and ionomycin attenuated the BAPTA-AM effects and promoted NF-kappaB activation by the genotoxic stimuli. Analyses of nuclear NEMO levels in VP16-treated cells suggested that calcium was required for nuclear export of NEMO. Inhibition of the nuclear exporter CRM1 by leptomycin B did not interfere with NEMO nuclear export. Similarly, deficiency of a plausible calcium-dependent nuclear export receptor, calreticulin, failed to prevent NF-kappaB activation by VP16. However, temperature inactivation of the Ran guanine nucleotide exchange factor RCC1 in the tsBN2 cell line harboring a temperature-sensitive mutant of RCC1 blocked NF-kappaB activation induced by genotoxic stimuli. Overexpression of Ran in this cell model showed that DNA damage stimuli induced formation of a complex between Ran and NEMO, suggesting that RCC1 regulated NF-kappaB activation through the modulation of RanGTP. Indeed, evidence for VP16-inducible interaction between Ran-GTP and NEMO could be obtained by means of glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull-down assays using GST fused to the Ran binding domain of RanBP2, which specifically interacts with the GTP-bound form of Ran. BAPTA-AM did not alter these interactions, suggesting that calcium is a necessary step beyond the formation of a Ran-GTP-NEMO complex in the nucleus. These results suggest that calcium has a unique role in genotoxic stress-induced NF-kappaB signaling by regulating nuclear export of NEMO subsequent to the formation of a nuclear export complex composed of Ran-GTP, NEMO, and presumably, an undefined nuclear export receptor.

Calcium receptor-mediated intracellular signalling

As a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), the extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CaR) responds to changes in extracellular free calcium concentration by inducing intracellular signalling. These CaR-induced signals then specifically modulate cellular functions such as parathyroid hormone secretion from the parathyroid glands and calcium reabsorption in the kidney and thus to understand how the CaR functions one must understand how it signals. CaR-induced signalling involves intracellular Ca2+ mobilisation/oscillations as well as the activation of various phospholipases and protein kinases and the suppression of cAMP formation. This review will detail the intracellular pathways by which the CaR is believed to elicit its physiological functions and summarises the evidence for cell- and agonist-specific differential signalling.