Elastin in lung development and disease pathogenesis

Elastin is expressed in most tissues that require elastic recoil. The protein first appeared coincident with the closed circulatory system, and was critical for the evolutionary success of the vertebrate lineage. Elastin is expressed by multiple cell types in the lung, including mesothelial cells in the pleura, smooth muscle cells in airways and blood vessels, endothelial cells, and interstitial fibroblasts. This highly crosslinked protein associates with fibrillin-containing microfibrils to form the elastic fiber, which is the physiological structure that functions in the extracellular matrix. Elastic fibers can be woven into many different shapes depending on the mechanical needs of the tissue. In large pulmonary vessels, for example, elastin forms continuous sheets, or lamellae, that separate smooth muscle layers. Outside of the vasculature, elastic fibers form an extensive fiber network that originates in the central bronchi and inserts into the distal airspaces and visceral pleura. The fibrous cables form a looping system that encircle the alveolar ducts and terminal air spaces and ensures that applied force is transmitted equally to all parts of the lung. Normal lung function depends on proper secretion and assembly of elastin, and either inhibition of elastin fiber assembly or degradation of existing elastin results in lung dysfunction and disease.

Unconventional secretory processing diversifies neuronal ion channel properties

N-glycosylation - the sequential addition of complex sugars to adhesion proteins, neurotransmitter receptors, ion channels and secreted trophic factors as they progress through the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus - is one of the most frequent protein modifications. In mammals, most organ-specific N-glycosylation events occur in the brain. Yet, little is known about the nature, function and regulation of N-glycosylation in neurons. Using imaging, quantitative immunoblotting and mass spectrometry, we show that hundreds of neuronal surface membrane proteins are core-glycosylated, resulting in the neuronal membrane displaying surprisingly high levels of glycosylation profiles that are classically associated with immature intracellular proteins. We report that while N-glycosylation is generally required for dendritic development and glutamate receptor surface expression, core-glycosylated proteins are sufficient to sustain these processes, and are thus functional. This atypical glycosylation of surface neuronal proteins can be attributed to a bypass or a hypo-function of the Golgi apparatus. Core-glycosylation is regulated by synaptic activity, modulates synaptic signaling and accelerates the turnover of GluA2-containing glutamate receptors, revealing a novel mechanism that controls the composition and sensing properties of the neuronal membrane.

Insulin induces production of new elastin in cultures of human aortic smooth muscle cells

Diabetes mellitus accelerates atherosclerotic progression, peripheral angiopathy development, and arterial hypertension, all of which are associated with elastic fiber disease. However, the potential mechanistic links between insulin deficiency and impaired elastogenesis in diabetes have not been explored. Results of the present study reveal that insulin administered in therapeutically relevant concentrations (0.5 to 10 nmol/L) selectively stimulates formation of new elastic fibers in cultures of human aortic smooth muscle cells. These concentrations of insulin neither up-regulate collagen type I and fibronectin deposition nor stimulate cellular proliferation. Further, the elastogenic effect of insulin occurs after insulin receptor activation, which triggers the PI3K downstream signaling pathway and activates elastin gene transcription. In addition, the promoter region of the human elastin gene contains the CAAATAA sequence, consistent with the FoxO-recognized element, and the genomic effects of insulin occur after removal of the FoxO1 transcriptional inhibitor from the FoxO-recognized element in the elastin gene promoter. In addition, insulin signaling facilitates the association of tropoelastin with its specific 67-kDa elastin-binding protein/spliced form of β-galactosidase chaperone, enhancing secretion. These results are crucial to understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of diabetes-associated vascular disease, and, in particular, endorse use of insulin therapy for treatment of atherosclerotic lesions in patients with type 1 diabetes, in which induction of new elastic fibers would mechanically stabilize the developing plaques and prevent arterial occlusions.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress or mutation of an EF-hand Ca(2+)-binding domain directs the FKBP65 rotamase to an ERAD-based proteolysis

FKBP65 is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized chaperone and rotamase, with cargo proteins that include tropoelastin and collagen. In humans, mutations in FKBP65 have recently been shown to cause a form of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a brittle bone disease resulting from deficient secretion of mature type I collagen. In this work, we describe the rapid proteolysis of FKBP65 in response to ER stress signals that activate the release of ER Ca(2+) stores. A large-scale screen for stress-induced cellular changes revealed FKBP65 proteins to decrease within 6-12 h of stress activation. Inhibiting IP(3)R-mediated ER Ca(2+) release blocked this response. No other ER-localized chaperone and folding mediators assessed in the study displayed this phenomenon, indicating that this rapid proteolysis of folding mediator is distinctive. Imaging and cellular fractionation confirmed the localization of FKBP65 (72 kDa glycoprotein) to the ER of untreated cells, a rapid decrease in protein levels following ER stress, and the corresponding appearance of a 30-kDa fragment in the cytosol. Inhibition of the proteasome during ER stress revealed an accumulation of FKBP65 in the cytosol, consistent with retrotranslocation and a proteasome-based proteolysis. To assess the role of Ca(2+)-binding EF-hand domains in FKBP65 stability, a recombinant FKBP65-GFP construct was engineered to ablate Ca(2+) binding at each of two EF-hand domains. Cells transfected with the wild-type construct displayed ER localization of the FKBP65-GFP protein and a proteasome-dependent proteolysis in response to ER stress. Recombinant FKBP65-GFP carrying a defect in the EF1 Ca(2+)-binding domain displayed diminished protein in the ER when compared to wild-type FKBP65-GFP. Proteasome inhibition restored mutant protein to levels similar to that of the wild-type FKBP65-GFP. A similar mutation in EF2 did not confer FKBP65 proteolysis. This work supports a model in which stress-induced changes in ER Ca(2+) stores induce the rapid proteolysis of FKBP65, a chaperone and folding mediator of collagen and tropoelastin. The destruction of this protein may identify a cellular strategy for replacement of protein folding machinery following ER stress. The implications for stress-induced changes in the handling of aggregate-prone proteins in the ER-Golgi secretory pathway are discussed. This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R15GM065139) and the National Science Foundation (DBI-0452587).

A functional mutation in the terminal exon of elastin in severe, early-onset chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

We describe a novel variant in the terminal exon of human elastin, c.2318 G > A, resulting in an amino acid substitution of glycine 773 to aspartate (G773D) in a pedigree with severe early-onset chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Transfection studies with elastin cDNAs demonstrate that the glycine to aspartate change compromises the ability of the mutant protein to undergo normal elastin assembly. Other functional consequences of this amino acid substitution include altered proteolytic susceptibility of the C-terminal region of elastin and reduced interaction of the exon 36 sequence with matrix receptors on cells. These results suggest that the G773D variant confers structural and functional consequences relevant to the pathogenesis of COPD.

Profibrillin-1 maturation by human dermal fibroblasts: proteolytic processing and molecular chaperones

Fibrillin-1 is synthesized as a proprotein that undergoes proteolytic processing in the unique C-terminal domain by a member of the PACE/furin family of endoproteases. This family of endoproteases is active in the trans-Golgi network (TGN), but metabolic labeling studies have been controversial as to whether profibrillin-1 is processed intracellularly or after secretion. This report provides evidence that profibrillin-1 processing is not an intracellular event. Bafilomycin A(1) and incubation of dermal fibroblasts at 22 degrees C were used to block secretion in the TGN to confirm that profibrillin-1 processing did not occur in this compartment. Profibrillin-1 immunoprecipitation studies revealed that two endoplasmic reticulum-resident molecular chaperones, BiP and GRP94, interacted with profibrillin-1. To determine the proprotein convertase responsible for processing profibrillin-1, a specific inhibitor of furin, alpha-1-antitrypsin, Portland variant, was both expressed in the cells and added to cells exogenously. In both cases, the inhibitor blocked the processing of profibrillin-1, providing evidence that furin is the enzyme responsible for profibrillin-1 processing. These studies delineate the secretion and proteolytic processing of profibrillin-1, and identify the proteins that interact with profibrillin-1 in the secretory pathway.

Protease inhibitors divert amyloid precursor protein to the secretory pathway

Addition of cysteine protease inhibitors to cells expressing amyloid precursor protein (APP) resulted in a >2-fold increase in appearance of the secreted extracellular domain of APP in the media. This was accounted for by increased flux of APP into the secretory pathway since protease inhibitors also caused a twofold increase in newly translated, incompletely glycosylated APP detected by pulse-labeling. These results show that a portion of newly translated APP molecules are normally rapidly degraded by cysteine protease(s) but can enter the secretory pathway when degradation is inhibited. Newly translated APP molecules are thus still competent for posttranslational processing in distal cellular compartments. Their degradation thus may not result from misfolding but merely susceptibility to an endoplasmic reticulum localized cysteine protease.

Hydrostatic pressure stimulates synthesis of elastin in cultured optic nerve head astrocytes

Elastin is a major component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the lamina cribrosa in the optic nerve head in humans and nonhuman primates. The lamina cribrosa appears to be the site of damage to the retinal ganglion cell axons in glaucomatous optic neuropathy, characterized in many patients by elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Type 1B astrocytes are the major cell type in the lamina, synthesize elastic fibers during development, express increased elastin mRNA, and synthesize abnormal elastin in glaucoma. In this study, we determined the effect of elevated hydrostatic pressure on the synthesis of elastin by type 1B astrocytes in culture. Type 1B astrocytes were exposed to gradients of hydrostatic pressure and tested for proliferation, morphology, synthesis, and deposition of elastin. Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and immunoprecipitation of radiolabeled protein determined total new protein and elastin synthesis. Proteins from the conditioned media were analyzed by Western blot. Levels of elastin mRNA were determined by in situ hybridization. Cell proliferation increased approximately 2-fold after exposure to pressure for one day, approximately 5-fold after 3 and 5 days of exposure to pressure. Confocal and electron microscopic cytochemistry showed a marked increase in intracellular elastin in astrocytes exposed to pressure, as compared with controls. Intracellular elastin was associated with the RER-Golgi region and with the cytoskeleton. Total protein and elastin synthesis increased significantly (P < 0.05) at 3- and 5-day exposure to pressure, as well as the level of elastin mRNA. Elastin protein in the media increased with the level of pressure. These results indicate that hydrostatic pressure stimulates type 1B astrocytes to synthesize and secrete soluble elastin into the media. In glaucoma, type 1B astrocytes may respond to IOP-related stress with increased expression of elastin and formation of elastotic fibers leading to loss of elasticity and tissue remodeling.

Developmental regulation of FKBP65. An ER-localized extracellular matrix binding-protein

FKBP65 (65-kDa FK506-binding protein) is a member of the highly conserved family of intracellular receptors called immunophilins. All have the property of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerization, and most have been implicated in folding and trafficking events. In an earlier study, we identified that FKBP65 associates with the extracellular matrix protein tropoelastin during its transport through the cell. In the present study, we have carried out a detailed investigation of the subcellular localization of FKBP65 and its relationship to tropoelastin. Using subcellular fractionation, Triton X-114 phase separation, protease protection assays, and immunofluorescence microscopy (IF), we have identified that FKBP65 is contained within the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Subsequent IF studies colocalized FKBP65 with tropoelastin and showed that the two proteins dissociate before reaching the Golgi apparatus. Immunohistochemical localization of FKBP65 in developing lung showed strong staining of vascular and airway smooth muscle cells. Similar areas stained positive for the presence of elastic fibers in the extracellular matrix. The expression of FKBP65 was investigated during development as tropoelastin is not expressed in adult tissues. Tissue-specific expression of FKBP65 was observed in 12-d old mouse tissues; however, the pattern of expression of FKBP65 was not restricted to those tissues expressing tropoelastin. This suggests that additional ligands for FKBP65 likely exist within the ER. Remarkably, in the adult tissues examined, FKBP65 expression was absent or barely detectable. Taken together, these results support an ER-localized FKBP65-tropoelastin interaction that occurs specifically during growth and development of tissues.

Characterization of an in vitro model of elastic fiber assembly

Elastic fibers consist of two morphologically distinct components: elastin and 10-nm fibrillin-containing microfibrils. During development, the microfibrils form bundles that appear to act as a scaffold for the deposition, orientation, and assembly of tropoelastin monomers into an insoluble elastic fiber. Although microfibrils can assemble independent of elastin, tropoelastin monomers do not assemble without the presence of microfibrils. In the present study, immortalized ciliary body pigmented epithelial (PE) cells were investigated for their potential to serve as a cell culture model for elastic fiber assembly. Northern analysis showed that the PE cells express microfibril proteins but do not express tropoelastin. Immunofluorescence staining and electron microscopy confirmed that the microfibril proteins produced by the PE cells assemble into intact microfibrils. When the PE cells were transfected with a mammalian expression vector containing a bovine tropoelastin cDNA, the cells were found to express and secrete tropoelastin. Immunofluorescence and electron microscopic examination of the transfected PE cells showed the presence of elastic fibers in the matrix. Biochemical analysis of this matrix showed the presence of cross-links that are unique to mature insoluble elastin. Together, these results indicate that the PE cells provide a unique, stable in vitro system in which to study elastic fiber assembly.

Intracellular trafficking of tropoelastin

Elastin is secreted as soluble tropoelastin monomers which are then cross-linked in the presence of extracellular microfibrils to form insoluble elastic fibers. Although the secretion of tropoelastin is thought to be mediated and targeted by an intracellular chaperone complex, the intracellular route taken by this protein and the role of such a chaperone complex remain undefined. In the present study, the specific pathway of tropoelastin secretion was investigated in fetal bovine chondrocytes and ligamentum nuchae fibroblasts by immunofluorescence staining and immunoprecipitation of tropoelastin following treatment with secretion-disrupting agents. In untreated cells, tropoelastin is secreted in approximately 30 min. In both cell types, brefeldin A and monensin inhibited secretion of tropoelastin and caused an intracellular accumulation of the protein in the fused ER/Golgi compartment or in the Golgi stacks, respectively. Incubations of longer than 1 h in the presence of brefeldin A result in eventual degradation of tropoelastin in the ER/Golgi compartment (Davis and Mecham, 1996). In contrast, the tropoelastin trapped in the Golgi as a result of monensin treatment steadily accumulated. Agents that elevate intracellular pH, such as ammonium chloride and chloroquine, also caused an intracellular accumulation of tropoelastin which appeared by immunofluorescence staining to be localized in secretory vesicles and/or endosomes. Since weak bases and ionophores alter the morphology of vacuolar compartments, the effect of bafilomycin A1 on tropoelastin secretion was also investigated. This vacuolar H+-ATPase inhibitor prevents acidification of the trans-Golgi network and endosomal compartments without disrupting intracellular organelle formation. When the elastogenic cells were treated with bafilomycin A1, tropoelastin secretion was diminished and an intracellular accumulation of tropoelastin was detected in the trans-Golgi network and small secretory vesicles. These results suggest that tropoelastin may be diverted from the constitutive pathway after exiting the Golgi and instead targeted to an acidic compartment prior to transport to the cell surface. The identity and role of such a compartment in the sorting and/or trafficking of tropoelastin has yet to be determined.

Identification of tropoelastin as a ligand for the 65-kD FK506-binding protein, FKBP65, in the secretory pathway

The folding and trafficking of tropoelastin is thought to be mediated by intracellular chaperones, although the identity and role of any tropoelastin chaperone remain to be determined. To identify proteins that are associated with tropoelastin intracellularly, bifunctional chemical cross-linkers were used to covalently stabilize interactions between tropoelastin and associated proteins in the secretory pathway in intact fetal bovine auricular chondrocytes. Immunoprecipitation of tropoelastin from cell lysates after cross-linking and analysis by SDS-PAGE showed the presence of two proteins of approximately 74 kD (p74) and 78 kD (p78) that coimmunoprecipitated with tropoelastin. Microsequencing of peptide fragments from a cyanogen bromide digest of p78 identified this protein as BiP and sequence analysis identified p74 as the peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase, FKPB65. The appearance of BiP and FKBP65 in the immunoprecipitations could be enhanced by the addition of brefeldin A (BFA) and N-acetyl-leu-leu-norleucinal (ALLN) to the culture medium for the final 4 h of labeling. Tropoelastin accumulates in the fused ER/Golgi compartment in the presence of BFA if its degradation is inhibited by ALLN (Davis, E.C., and R.P. Mecham. 1996. J. Biol. Chem. 271:3787-3794). The use of BFA and other secretion-disrupting agents suggests that the association of tropoelastin with FKBP65 occurs in the ER. Results from this study provide the first identification of a ligand for an FKBP in the secretory pathway and suggest that the prolyl cis-trans isomerase activity of FKBP65 may be important for the proper folding of the proline-rich tropoelastin molecule before secretion.

Ubiquitin and the control of protein fate in the secretory and endocytic pathways

The modification of proteins by chains of ubiquitin has long been known to mediate targeting of cytosolic and nuclear proteins for degradation by proteasomes. In this article, we discuss recent developments that reveal the involvement of ubiquitin in the degradation of proteins retained within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and in the internalization of plasma membrane proteins. Both luminal and transmembrane proteins retained in the ER are now known to be retrotranslocated into the cytosol in a process that involves ER chaperones and components of the protein import machinery. Once exposed to the cytosolic milieu, retro-translocated proteins are degraded by the proteasome, in most cases following polyubiquitination. There is growing evidence that both the ubiquitin-conjugating machinery and proteasomes may be associated with the cytosolic face of the ER membrane and that they could be functionally coupled to the process of retrotranslocation. The ubiquitination of plasma membrane proteins, on the other hand, mediates internalization of the proteins, which in most cases is followed by lysosomal/vacuolar degradation. There is, however, a well-documented case of a plasma membrane protein (the c-Met receptor) for which ubiquitination results in proteasomal degradation. These recent findings imply that ubiquitin plays more diverse roles in the regulation of the fate of cellular proteins than originally anticipated.

Aberrant retention of tyrosinase in the endoplasmic reticulum mediates accelerated degradation of the enzyme and contributes to the dedifferentiated phenotype of amelanotic melanoma cells

The loss of tyrosinase, the key enzyme in melanin synthesis, has been implicated in the dedifferentiation of malignant melanocytes. The presence of tyrosinase transcripts and antigenic peptides in melanoma tumors prompted us to investigate whether the basis for the loss of the enzyme was proteolytic degradation. Toward this aim, we followed the kinetics of synthesis, degradation, processing, chaperone binding, inhibitor sensitivity, and subcellular localization of tyrosinase in normal and malignant melanocytes. We found that, in amelanotic melanoma cell lines, tyrosinase failed to reach the melanosome, the organelle for melanin synthesis, because it was retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and then degraded. Tyrosinase appeared mostly as a 70-kDa core-glycosylated, endoglycosidase H-sensitive, immature form bound to the ER chaperone calnexin and had a life-span of only 25% of normal. Maturation and transit from the ER to the Golgi compartment was facilitated by lowering the temperature of incubation to 31 degrees C. Several proteasome inhibitors caused the accumulation of an approximately 60-kDa tyrosinase doublet that was more prominent in malignant than in normal melanocytes and promoted, to various degrees, the maturation of tyrosinase in melanoma cells and the translocation of the enzyme to melanosomes. The appearance of ubiquitinated tyrosinase after treatment of normal melanocytes with N-acetyl-L-leucinyl-L-leucinal-L-norleucinal reinforced our notion that some tyrosinase is normally degraded by proteasomes. Proteolysis of tyrosinase by proteasomes is consistent with the production of antigenic tyrosinase peptides that are presented to the immune system by major histocompatibility complex class I molecules.