Autophosphorylation of the mammalian multifunctional protein that initiates de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis

Novel role for carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 2 in cranial sensory circuit formation

In zebrafish, cranial sensory circuits form by 4 days post-fertilization. We used a forward genetic screen to identify genes involved in the formation of these circuits. In one mutant allele, sl23, axons arising from the epibranchial sensory ganglia do not form their stereotypical terminal fields in the hindbrain. These embryos also had small eyes and deformed jaws, suggesting a pleiotropic effect. Using positional cloning, a 20-nucleotide deletion in the carbamoyl-phosphate-synthetase2-aspartate-transcarbamylase-dihydroorotase (cad) gene was found. Injection of a CAD morpholino phenocopied the mutant and mutants were rescued by injection of cad RNA. Cad activity is required for pyrimidine biosynthesis, and thus is a prerequisite for nucleic acid production and UDP-dependent protein glycosylation. Perturbation of nucleic acid biosynthesis can result in cell death. sl23 mutants did not exhibit elevated cell death, or gross morphological changes, in their hindbrains. To determine if defective protein glycosylation was involved in the aberrant targeting of sensory axons, we treated wild type embryos with tunicamycin, which blocks N-linked protein glycosylation. Interference with glycosylation via tunicamycin treatment mimicked the sl23 phenotype. Loss of cad reveals a critical role for protein glycosylation in cranial sensory circuit formation.

Protein kinase A phosphorylation of the multifunctional protein CAD antagonizes activation by the MAP kinase cascade

The flux through the de novo pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway is controlled by the multifunctional protein CAD, which catalyzes the first three steps. The cell cycle dependent regulation of pyrimidine biosynthesis is a consequence of sequential phosphorylation of CAD Thr456 and Ser1406 by the MAP kinase and PKA cascades, respectively. Coordinated regulation of the pathway requires precise timing of the two phosphorylation events. These studies show that phosphorylation of purified CAD by PKA antagonizes MAP kinase phosphorylation, and vice versa. Similar results were observed in vivo. Forskolin activation of PKA in BHK-21 cells resulted in a 8.5 fold increase in Ser1406 phosphorylation and severely curtailed the MAP kinase mediated phosphorylation of CAD Thr456. Moreover, the relative activity of MAP kinase and PKA was found to determine the extent of Thr456 phosphorylation. Transfectants expressing elevated levels of MAP kinase resulted in a 11-fold increase in Thr456 phosphorylation, whereas transfectants that overexpress PKA reduced Thr456 phosphorylation 5-fold. While phosphorylation of one site by one kinase may induce conformational changes that interfere with phosphorylation by the other, the observation that both MAP kinase and PKA form stable complexes with CAD suggest that the mutual antagonism is the result of steric interference by the bound kinases. The reciprocal antagonism of CAD phosphorylation by MAP kinase and PKA provides an elegant mechanism to coordinate the cell cycle-dependent regulation of pyrimidine biosynthesis ensuring that signals for up- and down-regulation of the pathway do not conflict.

Nuclear localization and mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation of the multifunctional protein CAD

CAD is a multifunctional protein that initiates and regulates mammalian de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. The activation of the pathway required for cell proliferation is a consequence of the phosphorylation of CAD Thr-456 by mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase. Although most of the CAD in the cell was cytosolic, cell fractionation and fluorescence microscopy showed that Thr(P)-456 CAD was primarily localized within the nucleus in association with insoluble nuclear substructures, including the nuclear matrix. CAD in resting cells was cytosolic and unphosphorylated. Upon epidermal growth factor stimulation, CAD moved to the nucleus, and Thr-456 was found to be phosphorylated. Mutation of the CAD Thr-456 and inhibitor studies showed that nuclear import is not mediated by MAP kinase phosphorylation. Two fluorescent CAD constructs, NLS-CAD and NES-CAD, were prepared that incorporated strong nuclear import and export signals, respectively. NLS-CAD was exclusively nuclear and extensively phosphorylated. In contrast, NES-CAD was confined to the cytoplasm, and Thr-456 remained unphosphorylated. Although alternative explanations can be envisioned, it is likely that phosphorylation occurs within the nucleus where much of the activated MAP kinase is localized. Trapping CAD in the nucleus had a minimal effect on pyrimidine metabolism. In contrast, when CAD was excluded from the nucleus, the rate of pyrimidine biosynthesis, the nucleotide pools, and the growth rate were reduced by 21, 36, and 60%, respectively. Thus, the nuclear import of CAD appears to promote optimal cell growth. UMP synthase, the bifunctional protein that catalyzes the last two steps in the pathway, was also found in both the cytoplasm and nucleus.

Substitutions in hamster CAD carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase alter allosteric response to 5-phosphoribosyl-alpha-pyrophosphate (PRPP) and UTP

CPSase (carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase II), a component of CAD protein (multienzymic protein with CPSase, aspartate transcarbamylase and dihydro-orotase activities), catalyses the regulated steps in the de novo synthesis of pyrimidines. Unlike the orthologous Escherichia coli enzyme that is regulated by UMP, inosine monophosphate and ornithine, the mammalian CPSase is allosterically inhibited by UTP, and activated by PRPP (5-phosphoribosyl-a-pyrophosphate) and phosphorylation. Four residues (Thr974, Lys993, Lys954 and Thr977) are critical to the E. coli inosine monophosphate/UMP-binding pocket. In the present study, three of the corresponding residues in the hamster CPSase were altered to determine if they affect either PRPP activation or UTP inhibition. Substitution of the hamster residue, positionally equivalent to Thr974 in the E. coli enzyme, with alanine residue led to an enzyme with 5-fold lower activity and a near loss of PRPP activation. Whereas replacement of the tryptophan residue at position 993 had no effect, an Asp992-->Asn substitution yielded a much-activated enzyme that behaved as if PRPP was present. The substitution Lys954-->Glu had no effect on PRPP stimulation. Only modest decreases in UTP inhibitions were observed with each of the altered CPSases. The results also show that while PRPP and UTP can act simultaneously, PRPP activation is dominant. Apparently, UTP and PRPP have distinctly different associations within the mammalian enzyme. The findings of the present study may prove relevant to the neuropathology of Lesch-Nyhan syndrome

Open reading frame sso2387 from the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus encodes a polypeptide with protein-serine kinase activity

The predicted polypeptide product of open reading frame sso2387 from the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus, SsoPK2, displayed several of the sequence features conserved among the members of the "eukaryotic" protein kinase superfamily. sso2387 was cloned, and its polypeptide product was expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein, rSsoPK2, was recovered in insoluble aggregates that could be dispersed by using high concentrations (5 M) of urea. The solubilized polypeptide displayed the ability to phosphorylate itself as well as several exogenous proteins, including mixed histones, casein, bovine serum albumin, and reduced carboxyamidomethylated and maleylated lysozyme, on serine residues. The source of this activity resided in that portion of the protein displaying homology to the catalytic domain of eukaryotic protein kinases. By use of mass spectrometry, the sites of autophosphorylation were found to be located in two areas, one immediately N terminal to the region corresponding to subdomain I of eukaryotic protein kinases, and the second N terminal to the presumed activation loop located between subdomains VII and VIII. Autophosphorylation of rSsoPK2 could be uncoupled from the phosphorylation of exogenous proteins by manipulation of the temperature or mutagenic alteration of the enzyme. Autophosphorylation was detected only at temperatures >or=60 degrees C, whereas phosphorylation of exogenous proteins was detectable at 37 degrees C. Similarly, replacement of one of the potential sites of autophosphorylation, Ser(548), with alanine blocked autophosphorylation but not phosphorylation of an exogenous protein, casein.

Cell cycle-dependent regulation of pyrimidine biosynthesis

De novo pyrimidine biosynthesis is activated in proliferating cells in response to an increased demand for nucleotides needed for DNA synthesis. The pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway in baby hamster kidney cells, synchronized by serum deprivation, was found to be up-regulated 1.9-fold during S phase and subsequently down-regulated as the cells progressed through the cycle. The nucleotide pools were depleted by serum starvation and were not replenished during the first round of cell division, suggesting that the rate of utilization of the newly synthesized nucleotides closely matched their rate of formation. The activation and subsequent down-regulation of the pathway can be attributed to altered allosteric regulation of the carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase activity of CAD (carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase-aspartate carbamoyltransferase-dihydroorotase), a multifunctional protein that initiates mammalian pyrimidine biosynthesis. As the culture approached S-phase there was an increased sensitivity to the allosteric activator, 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate, and a loss of UTP inhibition, changes that were reversed when cells emerged from S phase. The allosteric regulation of CAD is known to be modulated by MAP kinase (MAPK) and protein kinase A (PKA)-mediated phosphorylations as well as by autophosphorylation. CAD was found to be fully autophosphorylated in the synchronized cells, but the level remained invariant throughout the cycle. Although the MAPK activity increased early in G(1), the phosphorylation of the CAD MAPK site was delayed until just before the onset of S phase, probably due to antagonistic phosphorylation by PKA that persisted until late G(1). Once activated, pyrimidine biosynthesis remained elevated until rephosphorylation of CAD by PKA and dephosphorylation of the CAD MAPK site late in S phase. Thus, the cell cycle-dependent regulation of pyrimidine biosynthesis results from the sequential phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of CAD under the control of two important signaling cascades.