Interference of the dominant negative helix-loop-helix protein ID1 with the proteasomal subunit S5A causes centrosomal abnormalities

ATAD5 suppresses centrosome over-duplication by regulating UAF1 and ID1

Centrosomes are the primary microtubule-organizing centers that are important for mitotic spindle assembly. Centrosome amplification is commonly observed in human cancer cells and contributes to genomic instability. However, it is not clear how centrosome duplication is dysregulated in cancer cells. Here, we report that ATAD5, a replisome protein that unloads PCNA from chromatin as a replication factor C-like complex (RLC), plays an important role in regulating centrosome duplication. ATAD5 is present at the centrosome, specifically at the base of the mother and daughter centrioles that undergo duplication. UAF1, which interacts with ATAD5 and regulates PCNA deubiquitination as a complex with ubiquitin-specific protease 1, is also localized at the centrosome. Depletion of ATAD5 or UAF1 increases cells with over-duplicated centrosome whereas ATAD5 overexpression reduces such cells. Consistently, the proportion of cells showing the multipolar mode of chromosome segregation is increased among ATAD5-depleted cells. The localization and function of ATAD5 at the centrosomes do not require other RLC subunits. UAF1 interacts and co-localizes with ID1, a protein that increases centrosome amplification upon overexpression. ATAD5 depletion reduces interactions between UAF1 and ID1 and increases ID1 signal at the centrosome, providing a mechanistic framework for understanding the role of ATAD5 in centrosome duplication.

The Id-protein family in developmental and cancer-associated pathways

Inhibitors of DNA binding and cell differentiation (Id) proteins are members of the large family of the helix-loop-helix (HLH) transcription factors, but they lack any DNA-binding motif. During development, the Id proteins play a key role in the regulation of cell-cycle progression and cell differentiation by modulating different cell-cycle regulators both by direct and indirect mechanisms. Several Id-protein interacting partners have been identified thus far, which belong to structurally and functionally unrelated families, including, among others, the class I and II bHLH transcription factors, the retinoblastoma protein and related pocket proteins, the paired-box transcription factors, and the S5a subunit of the 26 S proteasome. Although the HLH domain of the Id proteins is involved in most of their protein-protein interaction events, additional motifs located in their N-terminal and C-terminal regions are required for the recognition of diverse protein partners. The ability of the Id proteins to interact with structurally different proteins is likely to arise from their conformational flexibility: indeed, these proteins contain intrinsically disordered regions that, in the case of the HLH region, undergo folding upon self- or heteroassociation. Besides their crucial role for cell-fate determination and cell-cycle progression during development, other important cellular events have been related to the Id-protein expression in a number of pathologies. Dysregulated Id-protein expression has been associated with tumor growth, vascularization, invasiveness, metastasis, chemoresistance and stemness, as well as with various developmental defects and diseases. Herein we provide an overview on the structural properties, mode of action, biological function and therapeutic potential of these regulatory proteins.

The Id-protein family in developmental and cancer-associated pathways

Inhibitors of DNA binding and cell differentiation (Id) proteins are members of the large family of the helix-loop-helix (HLH) transcription factors, but they lack any DNA-binding motif. During development, the Id proteins play a key role in the regulation of cell-cycle progression and cell differentiation by modulating different cell-cycle regulators both by direct and indirect mechanisms. Several Id-protein interacting partners have been identified thus far, which belong to structurally and functionally unrelated families, including, among others, the class I and II bHLH transcription factors, the retinoblastoma protein and related pocket proteins, the paired-box transcription factors, and the S5a subunit of the 26 S proteasome. Although the HLH domain of the Id proteins is involved in most of their protein-protein interaction events, additional motifs located in their N-terminal and C-terminal regions are required for the recognition of diverse protein partners. The ability of the Id proteins to interact with structurally different proteins is likely to arise from their conformational flexibility: indeed, these proteins contain intrinsically disordered regions that, in the case of the HLH region, undergo folding upon self- or heteroassociation. Besides their crucial role for cell-fate determination and cell-cycle progression during development, other important cellular events have been related to the Id-protein expression in a number of pathologies. Dysregulated Id-protein expression has been associated with tumor growth, vascularization, invasiveness, metastasis, chemoresistance and stemness, as well as with various developmental defects and diseases. Herein we provide an overview on the structural properties, mode of action, biological function and therapeutic potential of these regulatory proteins.

A reduced VWA domain-containing proteasomal ubiquitin receptor of Giardia lamblia localizes to the flagellar pore regions in microtubule-dependent manner

Background

Giardia lamblia switches its lifecycle between trophozoite and cyst forms and the proteasome plays a pivotal role in this switching event. Compared to most model eukaryotes, the proteasome of this parasite has already been documented to have certain variations. This study was undertaken to characterize the ubiquitin receptor, GlRpn10, of the 19S regulatory particle of the Giardia proteasome and determine its cellular localization in trophozoites, encysting trophozoites and cysts.

Method

Sequence alignment and domain architecture analyses were performed to characterize GlRpn10. In vitro ubiquitin binding assay, functional complementation and biochemical studies verified the protein’s ability to function as ubiquitin receptor in the context of the yeast proteasome. Immunofluorescence localization was performed with antibody against GlRpn10 to determine its distribution in trophozoites, encysting trophozoites and cysts. Real-time PCR and Western blotting were performed to monitor the expression pattern of GlRpn10 during encystation.

Result

GlRpn10 contained a functional ubiquitin interacting motif, which was capable of binding to ubiquitin. Although it contained a truncated VWA domain, it was still capable of partially complementing the function of the yeast Rpn10 orthologue. Apart from localizing to the nucleus and cytosol, GlRpn10 was also present at flagellar pores of trophozoites and this localization was microtubule-dependent. Although there was no change in the cellular levels of GlRpn10 during encystation, its selective distribution at the flagellar pores was absent.

Conclusion

GlRpn10 contains a noncanonical VWA domain that is partially functional in yeast. Besides the expected nuclear and cytosolic distribution, the protein displays microtubule-dependent flagellar pore localization in trophozoites. While the protein remained in the nucleus and cytosol in encysting trophozoites, it could no longer be detected at the flagellar pores. This absence at the flagellar pore regions in encysting trophozoites is likely to involve redistribution of the protein, rather than decreased gene expression or selective protein degradation.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-015-0737-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The ubiquitin receptor S5a/Rpn10 links centrosomal proteasomes with dendrite development in the mammalian brain

Proteasomes drive the selective degradation of protein substrates with covalently linked ubiquitin chains in eukaryotes. Although proteasomes are distributed throughout the cell, specific biological functions of the proteasome in distinct subcellular locales remain largely unknown. We report that proteasomes localized at the centrosome regulate the degradation of local ubiquitin conjugates in mammalian neurons. We find that the proteasomal subunit S5a/Rpn10, a ubiquitin receptor that selects substrates for degradation, is essential for proteasomal activity at centrosomes in neurons and thereby promotes the elaboration of dendrite arbors in the rodent brain in vivo. We also find that the helix-loop-helix protein Id1 disrupts the interaction of S5a/Rpn10 with the proteasomal lid and thereby inhibits centrosomal proteasome activity and dendrite elaboration in neurons. Together, our findings define a function for a specific pool of proteasomes at the neuronal centrosome and identify a biological function for S5a/Rpn10 in the mammalian brain.

Id1 interacts and stabilizes the Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells

The EBV-encoded latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) functions as a constitutive active form of tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) and activates multiple downstream signaling pathways similar to CD40 signaling in a ligand-independent manner. LMP1 expression in EBV-infected cells has been postulated to play an important role in pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. However, variable levels of LMP1 expression were detected in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. At present, the regulation of LMP1 levels in nasopharyngeal carcinoma is poorly understood. Here we show that LMP1 mRNAs are transcribed in an EBV-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cell line (C666-1) and other EBV-negative nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells stably re-infected with EBV. The protein levels of LMP1 could readily be detected after incubation with proteasome inhibitor, MG132 suggesting that LMP1 protein is rapidly degraded via proteasome-mediated proteolysis. Interestingly, we observed that Id1 overexpression could stabilize LMP1 protein in EBV-infected cells. In contrary, Id1 knockdown significantly reduced LMP1 levels in cells. Co-immunoprecipitation studies revealed that Id1 interacts with LMP1 by binding to the CTAR1 domain of LMP1. N-terminal region of Id1 is required for the interaction with LMP1. Furthermore, binding of Id1 to LMP1 suppressed polyubiquitination of LMP1 and may be involved in stabilization of LMP1 in EBV-infected nasopharyngeal epithelial cells.

A novel role of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in centrosome amplification - implications for chemoprevention

BACKGROUND

Centrosome aberrations can cause genomic instability and correlate with malignant progression in common human malignancies such as breast and prostate cancer. Deregulation of cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) activity has previously been shown to be critically involved in centrosome overduplication. We therefore test here whether small molecule CDK inhibitors derived from the bis-indole indirubin can be used to suppress centrosome aberrations as a novel approach to chemoprevention of malignant progression.

RESULTS

As expected, we found that the CDK inhibitor indirubin-3'-oxime (IO) suppresses centrosome amplification in breast cancer cells. However, we made the unexpected discovery that indirubin-derived compounds that have been chemically modified to be inactive as kinase inhibitors such as 1-methyl-indirubin-3'-oxime (MeIO) still significantly reduced centrosome amplification. All indirubins used in the present study are potent agonists of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), which is known for its important role in the cellular metabolism of xenobiotics. To corroborate our results, we first show that the coincidence of nuclear AhR overexpression, reflecting a constitutive activation, and numerical centrosome aberrations correlates significantly with malignancy in mammary tissue specimens. Remarkably, a considerable proportion (72.7%) of benign mammary tissue samples scored also positive for nuclear AhR overexpression. We furthermore provide evidence that continued expression of endogenous AhR is critical to promote centriole overduplication induced by cyclin E and that AhR and cyclin E may function in the same pathway. Overexpression of the AhR in the absence of exogenous ligands was found to rapidly disrupt centriole duplication control. Nonetheless, the AhR agonists IO and MeIO were still found to significantly reduce centriole overduplication stimulated by ectopic AhR expression.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that continued expression of endogenous AhR promotes centrosome amplification in breast cancer cells in a pathway that involves cyclin E. AhR agonists such as indirubins inhibit centrosome amplification even when stimulated by ectopic expression of the AhR suggesting that these compounds are potentially useful for the chemoprevention of centrosome-mediated cell division errors and malignant progression in neoplasms in which the AhR is overexpressed. Future studies are warranted to determine whether individuals in which nuclear AhR overexpression is detected in benign mammary tissue are at a higher risk for developing pre-cancerous or cancerous breast lesions.

Elevated endogenous expression of the dominant negative basic helix-loop-helix protein ID1 correlates with significant centrosome abnormalities in human tumor cells

Background

ID proteins are dominant negative inhibitors of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors that have multiple functions during development and cellular differentiation. Ectopic (over-)expression of ID1 extends the lifespan of primary human epithelial cells. High expression levels of ID1 have been detected in multiple human malignancies, and in some have been correlated with unfavorable clinical prognosis. ID1 protein is localized at the centrosomes and forced (over-)expression of ID1 results in errors during centrosome duplication.

Results

Here we analyzed the steady state expression levels of the four ID-proteins in 18 tumor cell lines and assessed the number of centrosome abnormalities. While expression of ID1, ID2, and ID3 was detected, we failed to detect protein expression of ID4. Expression of ID1 correlated with increased supernumerary centrosomes in most cell lines analyzed.

Conclusions

This is the first report that shows that not only ectopic expression in tissue culture but endogenous levels of ID1 modulate centrosome numbers. Thus, our findings support the hypothesis that ID1 interferes with centrosome homeostasis, most likely contributing to genomic instability and associated tumor aggressiveness.

Id1 overexpression induces tetraploidization and multiple abnormal mitotic phenotypes by modulating aurora A

The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, Id1, was shown to induce tetraploidy in telomerase-immortalized nasopharyngeal epithelial cells in this study. Using both transient and stable Id1-expressing cell models, multiple mitotic aberrations were detected, including centrosome amplification, binucleation, spindle defects, and microtubule perturbation. Many of these abnormal phenotypes have previously been reported in cells overexpressing Aurora A. Further experiments showed that Id1 could stabilize Aurora A, whereas knocking down Aurora A expression in Id1-expressing cells could rescue some of the mitotic defects. The mechanisms by which Aurora A could be modulated by Id1 were explored. DNA amplification of the Aurora A locus was not involved. Id1 could only weakly activate the transcriptional activity of the Aurora A promoter. We found that Id1 overexpression could affect Aurora A degradation, leading to its stabilization. Aurora A is normally degraded from mitosis exit by the APC/C(Cdh1)-mediated proteasomal proteolysis pathway. Our results revealed that Id1 and Cdh1 are binding partners. The association of Id1 and Cdh1 was found to be dependent on the canonical destruction box motif of Id1, the increased binding of which may compete with the interaction between Cdh1 and Aurora A, leading to stabilization of Aurora A in Id1-overexpressing cells.