Biochemistry and Pharmacology - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableTissue hyperplasia and enhanced T-cell signalling via ZAP-70 in c-Cbl-deficient mice(AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY, 1998-08)The c-Cbl protein is tyrosine phosphorylated and forms complexes with a wide range of signalling partners in response to various growth factors. How c-Cbl interacts with proteins, such as Grb2, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and phosphorylated receptors, is well understood, but its role in these complexes is unclear. Recently, the Caenorhabditis elegans Cbl homolog, Sli-1, was shown to act as a negative regulator of epidermal growth factor receptor signalling. This finding forced a reassessment of the role of Cbl proteins and highlighted the desirability of testing genetically whether c-Cbl acts as a negative regulator of mammalian signalling. Here we investigate the role of c-Cbl in development and homeostasis in mice by targeted disruption of the c-Cbl locus. c-Cbl-deficient mice were viable, fertile, and outwardly normal in appearance. Bone development and remodelling also appeared normal in c-Cbl mutants, despite a previously reported requirement for c-Cbl in osteoclast function. However, consistent with a high level of expression of c-Cbl in the hemopoietic compartment, c-Cbl-deficient mice displayed marked changes in their hemopoietic profiles, including altered T-cell receptor expression, lymphoid hyperplasia, and primary splenic extramedullary hemopoiesis. The mammary fat pads of mutant female mice also showed increased ductal density and branching compared to those of their wild-type littermates, indicating an unanticipated role for c-Cbl in regulating mammary growth. Collectively, the hyperplastic histological changes seen in c-Cbl mutant mice are indicative of a normal role for c-Cbl in negatively regulating signalling events that control cell growth. Consistent with this view, we observed greatly increased intracellular protein tyrosine phosphorylation in thymocytes following CD3epsilon cross-linking. In particular, phosphorylation of ZAP-70 kinase in thymocytes was uncoupled from a requirement for CD4-mediated Lck activation. This study provides the first biochemical characterization of any organism that is deficient in a member of this unique protein family. Our findings demonstrate critical roles for c-Cbl in hemopoiesis and in controlling cellular proliferation and signalling by the Syk/ZAP-70 family of protein kinases.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableThe yeast inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases Inp52p and Inp53p translocate to actin patches following hyperosmotic stress: Mechanism for regulating phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate at plasma membrane invaginations(AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY, 2000-12)The Saccharomyces cerevisiae inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases (Inp51p, Inp52p, and Inp53p) each contain an N-terminal Sac1 domain, followed by a 5-phosphatase domain and a C-terminal proline-rich domain. Disruption of any two of these 5-phosphatases results in abnormal vacuolar and plasma membrane morphology. We have cloned and characterized the Sac1-containing 5-phosphatases Inp52p and Inp53p. Purified recombinant Inp52p lacking the Sac1 domain hydrolyzed phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P(2)] and PtdIns(3, 5)P(2). Inp52p and Inp53p were expressed in yeast as N-terminal fusion proteins with green fluorescent protein (GFP). In resting cells recombinant GFP-tagged 5-phosphatases were expressed diffusely throughout the cell but were excluded from the nucleus. Following hyperosmotic stress the GFP-tagged 5-phosphatases rapidly and transiently associated with actin patches, independent of actin, in both the mother and daughter cells of budding yeast as demonstrated by colocalization with rhodamine phalloidin. Both the Sac1 domain and proline-rich domains were able to independently mediate translocation of Inp52p to actin patches, following hyperosmotic stress, while the Inp53p proline-rich domain alone was sufficient for stress-mediated localization. Overexpression of Inp52p or Inp53p, but not catalytically inactive Inp52p, which lacked PtdIns(4,5)P(2) 5-phosphatase activity, resulted in a dramatic reduction in the repolarization time of actin patches following hyperosmotic stress. We propose that the osmotic-stress-induced translocation of Inp52p and Inp53p results in the localized regulation of PtdIns(3,5)P(2) and PtdIns(4,5)P(2) at actin patches and associated plasma membrane invaginations. This may provide a mechanism for regulating actin polymerization and cell growth as an acute adaptive response to hyperosmotic stress.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableImpaired cardiac contractility response to hemodynamic stress in S100A1-deficient mice(AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY, 2002-04)Ca(2+) signaling plays a central role in cardiac contractility and adaptation to increased hemodynamic demand. We have generated mice with a targeted deletion of the S100A1 gene coding for the major cardiac isoform of the large multigenic S100 family of EF hand Ca(2+)-binding proteins. S100A1(-/-) mice have normal cardiac function under baseline conditions but have significantly reduced contraction rate and relaxation rate responses to beta-adrenergic stimulation that are associated with a reduced Ca(2+) sensitivity. In S100A1(-/-) mice, basal left-ventricular contractility deteriorated following 3-week pressure overload by thoracic aorta constriction despite a normal adaptive hypertrophy. Surprisingly, heterozygotes also had an impaired response to acute beta-adrenergic stimulation but maintained normal contractility in response to chronic pressure overload that coincided with S100A1 upregulation to wild-type levels. In contrast to other genetic models with impaired cardiac contractility, loss of S100A1 did not lead to cardiac hypertrophy or dilation in aged mice. The data demonstrate that high S100A1 protein levels are essential for the cardiac reserve and adaptation to acute and chronic hemodynamic stress in vivo.
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ItemPresentation of newly synthesized glycoproteins to CD4+ T lymphocytes. An analysis using influenza hemagglutinin transport mutants.(Rockefeller University Press, 1993-04-01)Human lymphoblastoid cells transiently expressing the hemagglutinin (HA) glycoprotein of influenza virus are rapidly and efficiently recognized by CD4+ HA-specific T lymphocytes. This endogenous presentation pathway is sensitive to chloroquine and is therefore likely related to the classical class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) exogenous pathway of antigen presentation. In this study we have examined a series of transport-defective HA mutants. We correlate the intracellular fate of the native antigen with its presentation characteristics. We have found that the native antigen must enter the secretory pathway since a cytosolic form is not presented. However, surface expression and normal trafficking through the Golgi apparatus are not required for efficient presentation. Instead, escape of native antigen from the endoplasmic reticulum appears to be both necessary and sufficient for gaining access to a compartment where antigen is processed and binds class II MHC molecules.
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ItemStudies on the mechanism of membrane fusion: site-specific mutagenesis of the hemagglutinin of influenza virus.(Rockefeller University Press, 1986-01)Oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis of a cDNA encoding the hemagglutinin of influenza virus has been used to introduce single base changes into the sequence that codes for the conserved apolar "fusion peptide" at the amino-terminus of the HA2 subunit. The mutant sequences replaced the wild-type gene in SV40-HA recombinant virus vectors, and the altered HA proteins were expressed in simian cells. Three mutants have been constructed that introduce single, nonconservative amino acid changes in the fusion peptide, and three fusion phenotypes were observed: substitution of glutamic acid for the glycine residue at the amino-terminus of HA2 abolished all fusion activity; substitution of glutamic acid for the glycine residue at position 4 in HA2 raised the threshold pH and decreased the efficiency of fusion; and, finally, extension of the hydrophobic stretch by replacement of the glutamic acid at position 11 with glycine yielded a mutant protein that induced fusion of erythrocytes with cells with the same efficiency and pH profile as the wild-type protein. However, the ability of this mutant to induce polykaryon formation was greatly impaired. Nevertheless, all the mutant proteins underwent a pH-dependent conformational change and bound to liposomes. These results are discussed in terms of the mechanism of HA-induced membrane fusion.
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ItemOn the role of the transmembrane anchor sequence of influenza hemagglutinin in target cell recognition by class I MHC-restricted, hemagglutinin-specific cytolytic T lymphocytes.(Rockefeller University Press, 1987-09-01)We have examined the requirement for the transmembrane hydrophobic anchor sequence of the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) in the formation of the antigenic moiety on the surface of target cells recognized by class I MHC-restricted murine CTL. For this analysis we have used a line of CV-1 monkey epithelial cells that express the transfected murine H-2Kd gene product as target cells and have used recombinant SV40-based late replacement vectors to achieve expression of genes encoding wild-type and mutant forms of HA. We have found that the majority of Kd-restricted HA-specific CTL clones recognize target cells that express a secreted HA molecule that lacks the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of the parent glycoprotein. Several Kd-restricted CTL clones that recognize subtype-specific and crossreactive epitopes on HA fail to recognize the anchor-negative, secreted HA or chimeric HA molecules containing the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of unrelated glycoproteins. These CTL clones appear to be directed to antigenic epitopes located within the transmembrane domain of HA, as defined by their capacity to recognize target cells sensitized with a synthetic 23-amino-acid peptide corresponding to sequences within this domain. The implications of these results for class I MHC-restricted CTL recognition are discussed.
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ItemCytotoxic T lymphocyte recognition of the influenza hemagglutinin gene product expressed by DNA-mediated gene transfer.(Rockefeller University Press, 1984-02-01)We have used the technique of DNA-mediated gene transfer to examine cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) recognition of the product of the cloned A/JAPAN/305/57 hemagglutinin (HA) gene in murine (L929) cells. Using both heterogeneous and homogeneous (clonal) populations of type A influenza-specific CTL, we have demonstrated that the HA molecule can serve as a target antigen for both the subtype-specific and the cross-reactive subpopulations of influenza-specific CTL. Our results also raise the possibility that other virus-specified polypeptides may serve as target molecules for cross-reactive CTL.
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ItemRecognition of viral glycoproteins by influenza A-specific cross-reactive cytolytic T lymphocytes.(Rockefeller University Press, 1980-04-01)Two populations of cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) generated after influenza A virus infection can be distinguished into one with specificity for the sensitizing hemagglutinin type and a second with cross-reactivity for antigens induced by other type-A influenza viruses. The molecules carrying the antigenic determinants recognized by the cross-reactive CTL were studied. In L-929 cells abortively infected with fowl plague virus, matrix (M) protein synthesis is specifically inhibited, whereas the envelope glycoproteins, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, are synthesized and incorporated into the plasma membrane. These target cells were lysed by cross-reactive CTL. The envelope proteins of type A/Victoria virus were separated from the other virion components and reconstituted into lipid vesicles that lacked M protein that subsequently were used to prepare artificial target cells. Target-cell formation with vesicles was achieved by addition of fusion-active Sendai virus. These artificial target cells were also susceptible to lysis by cross-reactive CTL. In contrast to previous observations that suggested that the M protein of influenza viruses is recognized by these effector cells, we present evidence that the antigencic determinants induced by the viral glycoproteins are recognized.
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ItemTranslocation in yeast and mammalian cells: not all signal sequences are functionally equivalent.(Rockefeller University Press, 1987-12)In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, nascent carboxypeptidase Y (CPY) is directed into the endoplasmic reticulum by an NH2-terminal signal peptide that is removed before the glycosylated protein is transported to the vacuole. In this paper, we show that this signal peptide does not function in mammalian cells: CPY expressed in COS-1 cells is not glycosylated, does not associate with membranes, and retains its signal peptide. In a mammalian cell-free protein-synthesizing system, CPY is not translocated into microsomes. However, if the CPY signal is either mutated to increase its hydrophobicity or replaced with that of influenza virus hemagglutinin, the resulting precursors are efficiently translocated both in vivo and in vitro. The implications of these results for models of signal sequence function are discussed.
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ItemMutations in the cytoplasmic domain of the influenza virus hemagglutinin affect different stages of intracellular transport.(Rockefeller University Press, 1985-03)Mutations have been introduced into the cloned DNA sequences coding for influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA), and the resulting mutant genes have been expressed in simian cells by the use of SV40-HA recombinant viral vectors. In this study we analyzed the effect of specific alterations in the cytoplasmic domain of the HA molecule on its rate of biosynthesis and transport, cellular localization, and biological activity. Several of the mutants displayed abnormalities in the pathway of transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the cell surface. One mutant HA remained within the endoplasmic reticulum; others were delayed in reaching the Golgi apparatus after core glycosylation had been completed in the endoplasmic reticulum, but then progressed at a normal rate from the Golgi apparatus to the cell surface; another was delayed in transport from the Golgi apparatus to the plasma membrane. However, two mutants were indistinguishable from wild-type HA in their rate of movement from the endoplasmic reticulum through the Golgi apparatus to the cell surface. We conclude that changes in the cytoplasmic domain can powerfully influence the rate of intracellular transport and the efficiency with which HA reaches the cell surface. Nevertheless, absolute conservation of this region of the molecule is not required for maturation and efficient expression of a biologically active HA on the surface of infected cells.