Temperature sensitivity of proteoliposomes reconstituted from a mixture of scallop and rabbit sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPases

SPEG Controls Calcium Reuptake Into the Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Through Regulating SERCA2a by Its Second Kinase-Domain

RATIONALE

SPEG (Striated muscle preferentially expressed protein kinase) has 2 kinase-domains and is critical for cardiac development and function. However, it is not clear how these 2 kinase-domains function to maintain cardiac performance.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the molecular functions of the 2 kinase-domains of SPEG.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A proteomics approach identified SERCA2a (sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase 2a) as a protein interacting with the second kinase-domain but not the first kinase-domain of SPEG. Furthermore, the second kinase-domain of SPEG could phosphorylate Thr⁴⁸⁴ on SERCA2a, promote its oligomerization and increase calcium reuptake into the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum in culture cells and primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Phosphorylation of SERCA2a by SPEG enhanced its calcium-transporting activity without affecting its ATPase activity. Depletion of Speg in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes inhibited SERCA2a-Thr⁴⁸⁴ phosphorylation and sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium reuptake. Moreover, overexpression of SERCA2a^Thr484Ala mutant protein also slowed sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium reuptake in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. In contrast, domain mapping and phosphorylation analysis revealed that the first kinase-domain of SPEG interacted and phosphorylated its recently identified substrate JPH2 (junctophilin-2). An inducible heart-specific Speg knockout mouse model was generated to further study this SPEG-SERCA2a signal nexus in vivo. Inducible deletion of Speg decreased SERCA2a-Thr⁴⁸⁴ phosphorylation and its oligomerization in the heart. Importantly, inducible deletion of Speg inhibited SERCA2a calcium-transporting activity and impaired calcium reuptake into the sarcoplasmic reticulum in cardiomyocytes, which preceded morphological and functional alterations of the heart and eventually led to heart failure in adult mice.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data demonstrate that the 2 kinase-domains of SPEG may play distinct roles to regulate cardiac function. The second kinase-domain of SPEG is a critical regulator for SERCA2a. Our findings suggest that SPEG may serve as a new target to modulate SERCA2a activation for treatment of heart diseases with impaired calcium homeostasis.

Salinity and drought tolerant OsACA6 enhances cold tolerance in transgenic tobacco by interacting with stress-inducible proteins

Plant Ca(2+)ATPases regulate many signalling pathways which are important for plant growth, development and abiotic stress responses. Our previous work identified that overexpression of OsACA6 confers salinity and drought tolerance in tobacco. In the present work we report, the function of OsACA6 in cold stress tolerance in transgenic tobacco plants. The expression of OsACA6 was induced by cold stress. The promoter-GUS fusion analyses in the different tissues of transgenic tobacoco confirmed that OsACA6 promoter is cold stress-inducible. Transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing OsACA6 exhibited cold tolerance compared to the wild type (WT) controls. The enhanced tolerance was confirmed by phenotypic analyses as well as by measuring germination, survival rate, chlorophyll content, cell membrane stability, malondialdehyde and proline content. Compared to the WT, the expression of catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase increased in the OsACA6 overexpressing plants, which was inversely correlated with the levels of H2O2 in the transgenic lines. We also identified interacting proteins of OsACA6 by using yeast two-hybrid screening assay. Most of the interacting partners of OsACA6 are associated with the widespread biological processes including plant growth, development, signalling and stress adaptation. Furthermore, we also confirmed that OsACA6 is able to self-interact. Overall, these results suggest that OsACA6 plays an important role in cold tolerance at least in part, by regulating antioxidants-mediated removal of reactive oxygen species or by interacting with different calcium signal decoders including calmodulin-like proteins (CaM) calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) and receptor-like protein kinases (RLKs).

Substrate-induced conformational changes in sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase probed by surface modification using diethylpyrocarbonate with mass spectrometry

We have identified 15 residues from the surface of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-pump ATPase, by mass spectrometry using diethylpyrocarbonate modification. The reactivity of 9 residues remained high under all the conditions. The reactivity of Lys-515 at the nucleotide site was severely inhibited by ATP, whereas that of Lys-158 in the A-domain decreased by one-half and increased by five-fold in the presence of Ca(2+) and MgF(4), respectively. These are well explained by solvent accessibility, pK(a) and nearby hydrophobicity of the reactive atom on the basis of the atomic structure. However, the reactivity of 4 residues near the interface among A-, N- and P-domain suggested larger conformational changes of these domains in membrane upon binding of Ca(2+) (Lys-436), ATP (Lys-158) and MgF(4) (His-5, -190, Lys-436).

The dimeric form of Ca2+-ATPase is involved in Ca2+ transport in the sarcoplasmic reticulum

To identify the functional unit of Ca2+-ATPase in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, we assessed Ca2+-transport activities occurring on sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes with different combinations of active and inactive Ca2+-ATPase molecules. We prepared heterodimers, consisting of a native Ca2+-ATPase molecule and a Ca2+-ATPase molecule inactivated by FITC labelling, by fusing vesicles loaded with each type of Ca2+-ATPase. The heterodimers exhibited neither Ca2+ transport nor ATP hydrolysis, suggesting that Ca2+ transport by the Ca2+-ATPase requires an interaction between functional Ca2+-ATPase monomers. This finding implies that the functional unit of the Ca2+-ATPase is a dimer.

Microdomain arrangement of the SERCA-type Ca2+ pump (Ca2+-ATPase) in subplasmalemmal calcium stores of paramecium cells

We localized SERCA pumps to the inner region of alveolar sac membranes, facing the cell interior, by combining ultrastructural and biochemical methods. Immunogold labeling largely predominated in the inner alveolar sac region which displayed aggregates of intramembrane particles (IMPs). On image analysis, these represented oligomeric arrangements of approximately 8-nm large IMP subunits, suggesting formation of SERCA aggregates (as known from sarcoplasmic reticulum). We found not only monomers of typical molecular size ( approximately 106 kD) but also oligomeric forms on Western blots (using anti-SERCA antibodies, also against endogenous SERCA from alveolar sacs) and on electrophoresis gelautoradiographs of 32P-labeled phosphoenzyme intermediates. Selective enrichment of SERCA-pump molecules in the inner alveolar sac membrane region may eliminate Ca2+ after centripetal spread observed during exocytosis activation, while the plasmalemmal Ca2+ pump may maintain or reestablish [Ca2+] in the narrow subplasmalemmal space between the outer alveolar sac membrane region and the cell membrane. We show for the first time the microzonal arrangement of SERCA molecules in a Ca2+ store of a secretory system, an intensely discussed issue in stimulus-secretion coupling research.

Relationship between phospholamban and nucleotide activation of cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ adenosinetriphosphatase

A strong connection with nucleotide activation of Ca2+ATPase and phospholamban inhibition has been found. Phospholamban decreases the number of activatable Ca2+ATPase without affecting substrate affinity or the ability of nucleotide to serve its dual modulatory roles, i.e., catalytic and regulatory. Low concentrations of certain nucleotide mimetics, quercetin, tannin, and ellagic acid, with structural similarity to adenine can unmask phospholamban's inhibitory effect while concurrently acting as competitive inhibitors of nucleotide binding. Micromolar concentrations of tannin (EC50 approximately 0.3 microM) and ellagic acid (EC50 approximately 3 microM) stimulated Ca2+ uptake and calcium-activated ATP hydrolysis at submicromolar Ca2+ in isolated cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Stimulation of Ca2+ATPase was followed by pronounced inhibiton at only slightly higher tannin concentrations (IC50 approximately 3 microM), whereas inhibitory effects by ellagic acid were observed at much greater concentrations (IC50 > 300 microM) than the EC50. A complex relationship between compound, SR protein, and MgATP concentration is a major determining factor in the observed effects. Stimulation was only observed under conditions of phospholamban regulation, while the inhibitory effects were observed in cardiac SR at micromolar Ca2+ and in skeletal muscle SR, which lacks phospholamban. Maximal stimulation of Ca2+ATPase was identical to that observed with the anti-phospholamban monoclonal antibody 1D11. Both compounds appear to relieve the Ca2+ATPase from phospholamban inhibition, thereby increasing the calcium sensitivity of the Ca2+ATPase like that observed with phosphorylation of phospholamban or treatment with monoclonal antibody 1D11. Tannin, even under stimulatory conditions, is a competitive inhibitor of MgATP with a linear Dixon plot. The subsequent inhibitory action of higher tannin concentrations results from competition of tannin with the nucleotide binding site of the Ca2+ATPase. In contrast, ellagic acid produced a curvilinear Dixon plot suggesting partial inhibition of nucleotide activation. The data suggest that nucleotide activation of Ca2+ATPase is functionally coupled to the phospholamban interaction site. These compounds through their interaction with the adenine binding domain of the nucleotide binding site prevent or dissociate phospholamban regulation. Clearly, this portion of Ca2+ATPase needs further study to elucidate its role in phospholamban inhibition.

cDNA cloning and predicted primary structure of scallop sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase

Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+)-ATPase of the scallop cross-striated adductor muscle was purified with deoxycholate and digested with lysyl endopeptidase for sequencing of the digested fragments. Overlapping cDNA clones of the ATPase were isolated by screening the cDNA library with an RT-PCR product as a hybridization probe, which encodes the partial amino acid sequence of the ATPase. The predicted amino acid sequence of the ATPase contained all the partial sequences determined with the proteolytic fragments and consisted of the 993 residues with approximately 70% overall sequence similarity to those of the SR ATPases from rabbit fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles. An outline of the structure of the scallop ATPase molecule is predicted to mainly consist of ten transmembrane and five 'stalk' domains with two large cytoplasmic regions as observed with the rabbit ATPase molecules. The sequence relationship between scallop and other sarco/endoplasmic reticulum-type Ca(2+)-ATPases is discussed.