Cycloheximide promotes type I collagen maturation mainly via collagen prolyl 4-hydroxylase subunit α2

Aberrant deposition of collagen is associated with cancer development and tissue fibrosis. Proline hydroxylation, catalyzed by collagen prolyl 4-hydroxylases (C-P4Hs), is necessary for collagen maturation and secretion. Here, we try to evaluate the mechanism of the regulation of CHX on collagen maturation. Using pepsin digestion, liquid chromatograph mass spectrometry and gene knockout, we find that treatment of mouse embryonic fibroblasts with cycloheximide (CHX) increases type I collagen proline hydroxylation partially via P4HA1 and mainly via P4HA2. Western blot analysis results show that CHX treatment reduces type I collagen but does not obviously impact the level of P4HA1/2 protein in the endoplasmic reticulum, which enhances the molar ratio of P4HA1/2 to type I collagen, and coimmunoprecipitation results confirm that more P4HA1/2 can bind to each type I collagen. Since C-P4Hs possess the capability to hydroxylate proline independent of ascorbate for a few cycles, this enhanced binding between P4HA1/2 and type I collagen can partially explain how CHX stimulates type I collagen maturation.

Three Decades of Advances in Arabinogalactan-Protein Biosynthesis

Arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs) are a large, complex, and highly diverse class of heavily glycosylated proteins that belong to the family of cell wall hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins. Approximately 90% of the molecules consist of arabinogalactan polysaccharides, which are composed of arabinose and galactose as major sugars and minor sugars such as glucuronic acid, fucose, and rhamnose. About half of the AGP family members contain a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) lipid anchor, which allows for an association with the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane. The mysterious AGP family has captivated the attention of plant biologists for several decades. This diverse family of glycoproteins is widely distributed in the plant kingdom, including many algae, where they play fundamental roles in growth and development processes. The journey of AGP biosynthesis begins with the assembly of amino acids into peptide chains of proteins. An N-terminal signal peptide directs AGPs toward the endoplasmic reticulum, where proline hydroxylation occurs and a GPI anchor may be added. GPI-anchored AGPs, as well as unanchored AGPs, are then transferred to the Golgi apparatus, where extensive glycosylation occurs by the action of a variety glycosyltransferase enzymes. Following glycosylation, AGPs are transported by secretory vesicles to the cell wall or to the extracellular face of the plasma membrane (in the case of GPI-anchored AGPs). GPI-anchored proteins can be released from the plasma membrane into the cell wall by phospholipases. In this review, we present an overview of the accumulated knowledge on AGP biosynthesis over the past three decades. Particular emphasis is placed on the glycosylation of AGPs as the sugar moiety is essential to their function. Recent genetics and genomics approaches have significantly contributed to a broader knowledge of AGP biosynthesis. However, many questions remain to be elucidated in the decades ahead.

The glucose-sensing transcription factor ChREBP is targeted by proline hydroxylation

Cellular energy demands are met by uptake and metabolism of nutrients like glucose. The principal transcriptional regulator for adapting glycolytic flux and downstream pathways like de novo lipogenesis to glucose availability in many cell types is carbohydrate response element-binding protein (ChREBP). ChREBP is activated by glucose metabolites and post-translational modifications, inducing nuclear accumulation and regulation of target genes. Here we report that ChREBP is modified by proline hydroxylation at several residues. Proline hydroxylation targets both ectopically expressed ChREBP in cells and endogenous ChREBP in mouse liver. Functionally, we found that specific hydroxylated prolines were dispensable for protein stability but required for the adequate activation of ChREBP upon exposure to high glucose. Accordingly, ChREBP target gene expression was rescued by re-expressing WT but not ChREBP that lacks hydroxylated prolines in ChREBP-deleted hepatocytes. Thus, proline hydroxylation of ChREBP is a novel post-translational modification that may allow for therapeutic interference in metabolic diseases.

Zonal regulation of collagen-type proteins and posttranslational modifications in prostatic benign and cancer tissues by imaging mass spectrometry

BACKGROUND

The emergence of reactive stroma is a hallmark of prostate cancer (PCa) progression and a potential source for prognostic and diagnostic markers of PCa. Collagen is a main component of reactive stroma and changes systematically and quantitatively to reflect the course of PCa, yet has remained undefined due to a lack of tools that can define collagen protein structure. Here we use a novel collagen-targeting proteomics approach to investigate zonal regulation of collagen-type proteins in PCa prostatectomies.

METHODS

Prostatectomies from nine patients were divided into zones containing 0%, 5%, 20%, 70% to 80% glandular tissue and 0%, 5%, 25%, 70% by mass of PCa tumor following the McNeal model. Tissue sections from zones were graded by a pathologist for Gleason score, percent tumor present, percent prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and/or inflammation (INF). High-resolution accurate mass collagen targeting proteomics was done on a select subset of tissue sections from patient-matched tumor or nontumor zones. Imaging mass spectrometry was used to investigate collagen-type regulation corresponding to pathologist-defined regions.

RESULTS

Complex collagen proteomes were detected from all zones. COL17A and COL27A increased in zones of INF compared with zones with tumor present. COL3A1, COL4A5, and COL8A2 consistently increased in zones with tumor content, independent of tumor size. Collagen hydroxylation of proline (HYP) was altered in tumor zones compared with zones with INF and no tumor. COL3A1 and COL5A1 showed significant changes in HYP peptide ratios within tumor compared with zones of INF (2.59 ± 0.29, P value: .015; 3.75 ± 0.96 P value .036, respectively). By imaging mass spectrometry COL3A1 showed defined localization and regulation to tumor pathology. COL1A1 and COL1A2 showed gradient regulation corresponding to PCa pathology across zones. Pathologist-defined tumor regions showed significant increases in COL1A1 HYP modifications compared with COL1A2 HYP modifications. Certain COL1A1 and COL1A2 peptides could discriminate between pathologist-defined tumor and inflammatory regions.

CONCLUSIONS

Site-specific posttranslational regulation of collagen structure by proline hydroxylation may be involved in reactive stroma associated with PCa progression. Translational and posttranslational regulation of collagen protein structure has potential for new markers to understand PCa progression and outcomes.

Targeted and Interactome Proteomics Revealed the Role of PHD2 in Regulating BRD4 Proline Hydroxylation

Proline hydroxylation is a critical cellular mechanism regulating energy homeostasis and development. Our previous study identified and validated Bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) as a proline hydroxylation substrate in cancer cells. Yet, the regulatory mechanism and the functional significance of the modification remain unknown. In this study, we developed targeted quantification assays using parallel-reaction monitoring and biochemical analysis to identify the major regulatory enzyme of BRD4 proline hydroxylation. We further performed quantitative interactome analysis to determine the functional significance of the modification pathway in BRD4-mediated protein-protein interactions and gene transcription. Our findings revealed that PHD2 is the key regulatory enzyme of BRD4 proline hydroxylation and the modification significantly affects BRD4 interactions with key transcription factors as well as BRD4-mediated transcriptional activation. Taken together, this study provided mechanistic insights into the oxygen-dependent modification of BRD4 and revealed new roles of the pathway in regulating BRD4-dependent gene expression.

Regulation of plant peptide hormones and growth factors by post-translational modification

The number, diversity and significance of peptides as regulators of cellular differentiation, growth, development and defence of plants has long been underestimated. Peptides have now emerged as an important class of signals for cell-to-cell communication over short distances, and also for long-range signalling. We refer to these signalling molecules as peptide growth factors and peptide hormones, respectively. As compared to remarkable progress with respect to the mechanisms of peptide perception and signal transduction, the biogenesis of signalling peptides is still in its infancy. This review focuses on the biogenesis and activity of small post-translationally modified peptides. These peptides are derived from inactive pre-pro-peptides of approximately 70-120 amino acids. Multiple post-translational modifications (PTMs) may be required for peptide maturation and activation, including proteolytic processing, tyrosine sulfation, proline hydroxylation and hydroxyproline glycosylation. While many of the enzymes responsible for these modifications have been identified, their impact on peptide activity and signalling is not fully understood. These PTMs may or may not be required for bioactivity, they may inactivate the peptide or modify its signalling specificity, they may affect peptide stability or targeting, or its binding affinity with the receptor. In the present review, we will first introduce the peptides that undergo PTMs and for which these PTMs were shown to be functionally relevant. We will then discuss the different types of PTMs and the impact they have on peptide activity and plant growth and development. We conclude with an outlook on the open questions that need to be addressed in future research.

Proteomic analysis reveals diverse proline hydroxylation-mediated oxygen-sensing cellular pathways in cancer cells

Proline hydroxylation is a critical cellular mechanism regulating oxygen-response pathways in tumor initiation and progression. Yet, its substrate diversity and functions remain largely unknown. Here, we report a system-wide analysis to characterize proline hydroxylation substrates in cancer cells using an immunoaffinity-purification assisted proteomics strategy. We identified 562 sites from 272 proteins in HeLa cells. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that proline hydroxylation substrates are significantly enriched with mRNA processing and stress-response cellular pathways with canonical and diverse flanking sequence motifs. Structural analysis indicates a significant enrichment of proline hydroxylation participating in the secondary structure of substrate proteins. Our study identified and validated Brd4, a key transcription factor, as a novel proline hydroxylation substrate. Functional analysis showed that the inhibition of proline hydroxylation pathway significantly reduced the proline hydroxylation abundance on Brd4 and affected Brd4-mediated transcriptional activity as well as cell proliferation in AML leukemia cells. Taken together, our study identified a broad regulatory role of proline hydroxylation in cellular oxygen-sensing pathways and revealed potentially new targets that dynamically respond to hypoxia microenvironment in tumor cells.

An artificial TCA cycle selects for efficient α-ketoglutarate dependent hydroxylase catalysis in engineered Escherichia coli

Amino acid hydroxylases depend directly on the cellular TCA cycle via their cosubstrate α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) and are highly useful for the selective biocatalytic oxyfunctionalization of amino acids. This study evaluates TCA cycle engineering strategies to force and increase α-KG flux through proline-4-hydroxylase (P4H). The genes sucA (α-KG dehydrogenase E1 subunit) and sucC (succinyl-CoA synthetase β subunit) were alternately deleted together with aceA (isocitrate lyase) in proline degradation-deficient Escherichia coli strains (ΔputA) expressing the p4h gene. Whereas, the ΔsucCΔaceAΔputA strain grew in minimal medium in the absence of P4H, relying on the activity of fumarate reductase, growth of the ΔsucAΔaceAΔputA strictly depended on P4H activity, thus coupling growth to proline hydroxylation. P4H restored growth, even when proline was not externally added. However, the reduced succinyl-CoA pool caused a 27% decrease of the average cell size compared to the wildtype strain. Medium supplementation partially restored the morphology and, in some cases, enhanced proline hydroxylation activity. The specific proline hydroxylation rate doubled when putP, encoding the Na⁺ /l-proline transporter, was overexpressed in the ΔsucAΔaceAΔputA strain. This is in contrast to wildtype and ΔputA single-knock out strains, in which α-KG availability obviously limited proline hydroxylation. Such α-KG limitation was relieved in the ΔsucAΔaceAΔputA strain. Furthermore, the ΔsucAΔaceAΔputA strain was used to demonstrate an agar plate-based method for the identification and selection of active α-KG dependent hydroxylases. This together with the possibility to waive selection pressure and overcome α-KG limitation in respective hydroxylation processes based on living cells emphasizes the potential of TCA cycle engineering for the productive application of α-KG dependent hydroxylases. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 1511-1520. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Proline Hydroxylation in Cell Wall Proteins: Is It Yet Possible to Define Rules?

Cell wall proteins (CWPs) play critical and dynamic roles in plant cell walls by contributing to developmental processes and response to environmental cues. Since the CWPs go through the secretion pathway, most of them undergo post-translational modifications (PTMs) which can modify their biological activity. Glycosylation is one of the major PTMs of CWPs and refers to N-glycosylation, O-glycosylation and glypiation. Each of these PTMs occurs in different amino acid contexts which are not all well defined. This article deals with the hydroxylation of Pro residues which is a prerequisite for O-glycosylation of CWPs on hydroxyproline (Hyp) residues. The location of Hyp residues is well described in several structural CWPs, but yet rarely described in other CWPs. In this article, it is studied in detail in five Arabidopsis thaliana proteins using mass spectrometry data: one of them (At4g38770, AtPRP4) is a structural CWP containing 32.5% of Pro residues arranged in typical motifs, the others are either rich (27-28%, At1g31580 and At2g10940) or poor (6-8%, At1g09750 and At3g08030) in Pro residues. The known rules of Pro hydroxylation allowed a good prediction of Hyp location in AtPRP4. However, they could not be applied to the other proteins whatever their Pro content. In addition, variability of the Pro hydroxylation patterns was observed within some amino acid motifs in all the proteins and new patterns of Pro hydroxylation are described. Altogether, this work shows that Hyp residues are present in more protein families than initially described, and that Pro hydroxylation patterns could be different in each of them. This work paves the way for completing the existing Pro hydroxylation code.

Complex regulation of prolyl-4-hydroxylases impacts root hair expansion

Root hairs are single cells that develop by tip growth, a process shared with pollen tubes, axons, and fungal hyphae. However, structural plant cell walls impose constraints to accomplish tip growth. In addition to polysaccharides, plant cell walls are composed of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins (HRGPs), which include several groups of O-glycoproteins, including extensins (EXTs). Proline hydroxylation, an early post-translational modification (PTM) of HRGPs catalyzed by prolyl 4-hydroxylases (P4Hs), defines their subsequent O-glycosylation sites. In this work, our genetic analyses prove that P4H5, and to a lesser extent P4H2 and P4H13, are pivotal for root hair tip growth. Second, we demonstrate that P4H5 has in vitro preferred specificity for EXT substrates rather than for other HRGPs. Third, by P4H promoter and protein swapping approaches, we show that P4H2 and P4H13 have interchangeable functions but cannot replace P4H5. These three P4Hs are shown to be targeted to the secretory pathway, where P4H5 forms dimers with P4H2 and P4H13. Finally, we explore the impact of deficient proline hydroxylation on the cell wall architecture. Taken together, our results support a model in which correct peptidyl-proline hydroxylation on EXTs, and possibly in other HRGPs, is required for proper cell wall self-assembly and hence root hair elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Recent Advances on the Posttranslational Modifications of EXTs and Their Roles in Plant Cell Walls

The genetic set up and the enzymes that define the O-glycosylation sites and transfer the activated sugars to cell wall glycoprotein Extensins (EXTs) have remained unknown for a long time. We are now beginning to see the emerging components of the molecular machinery that assembles these complex O-glycoproteins on the plant cell wall. Genes conferring the posttranslational modifications, i.e., proline hydroxylation and subsequent O-glycosylation, of the EXTs have been recently identified. In this review we summarize the enzymes that define the O-glycosylation sites on the O-glycoproteins, i.e., the prolyl 4-hydroxylases (P4Hs), the glycosyltransferases that transfer arabinose units (named arabinosyltransferases, AraTs), and the one responsible for transferring a single galactose (galactosyltransferase, GalT) on the protein EXT backbones. We discuss the effects of posttranslational modifications on the structure and function of extensins in plant cell walls.

The Roles of VHL-Dependent Ubiquitination in Signaling and Cancer

The function of tumor suppressor VHL is compromised in the vast majority of clear cell renal cell carcinoma, and its mutations or loss of expression was causal for this disease. pVHL was found to be a substrate recognition subunit of an E3 ubiquitin ligase, and most of the tumor-derived mutations disrupt this function. pVHL was found to bind to the alpha subunits of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) and promote their ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Proline hydroxylation on key sites of HIFα provides the binding signal for pVHL E3 ligase complex. Beside HIFα, several other VHL targets have been identified, including activated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), RNA polymerase II subunits RPB1 and hsRPB7, atypical protein kinase C (PKC), Sprouty2, β-adrenergic receptor II, and Myb-binding protein p160. HIFα is the most well studied substrate and has been proven to be critical for pVHL's tumor suppressor function, but the activated EGFR and PKC and other pVHL substrates might also be important for tumor growth and drug response. Their regulations by pVHL and their relevance to signaling and cancer are discussed.

Root hair sweet growth

Root hairs are single cells specialized in the absorption of water and nutrients from the soil. Growing root hairs require intensive cell-wall changes to accommodate cell expansion at the apical end by a process known as tip or polarized growth. We have recently shown that cell wall glycoproteins such as extensions (EXTs) are essential components of the cell wall during polarized growth. Proline hydroxylation, an early posttranslational modification of cell wall EXTs that is catalyzed by prolyl 4-hydroxylases (P4Hs), defines the subsequent O-glycosylation sites in EXTs. Biochemical inhibition or genetic disruption of specific P4Hs resulted in the blockage of polarized growth in root hairs. Our results demonstrate that correct hydroxylation and also further O-glycosylation on EXTs are essential for cell-wall self-assembly and, hence, root hair elongation. The changes that O-glycosylated cell-wall proteins like EXTs undergo during cell growth represent a starting point to unravel the entire biochemical pathway involved in plant development.