The Oxygen Sensor PHD2 Controls Dendritic Spines and Synapses via Modification of Filamin A.

Neuronal function is highly sensitive to changes in oxygen levels, but how hypoxia affects dendritic spine formation and synaptogenesis is unknown. Here we report that hypoxia, chemical inhibition of the oxygen-sensing prolyl hydroxylase domain proteins (PHDs), and silencing of Phd2 induce immature filopodium-like dendritic protrusions, promote spine regression, reduce synaptic density, and decrease the frequency of spontaneous action potentials independently of HIF signaling. We identified the actin cross-linker filamin A (FLNA) as a target of PHD2 mediating these effects. In normoxia, PHD2 hydroxylates the proline residues P2309 and P2316 in FLNA, leading to von Hippel-Lindau (VHL)-mediated ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. In hypoxia, PHD2 inactivation rapidly upregulates FLNA protein levels because of blockage of its proteasomal degradation. FLNA upregulation induces more immature spines, whereas Flna silencing rescues the immature spine phenotype induced by PHD2 inhibition.

IL-1α is a DNA damage sensor linking genotoxic stress signaling to sterile inflammation and innate immunity.

Environmental signals can be translated into chromatin changes, which alter gene expression. Here we report a novel concept that cells can signal chromatin damage from the nucleus back to the surrounding tissue through the cytokine interleukin-1alpha (IL-1α). Thus, in addition to its role as a danger signal, which occurs when the cytokine is passively released by cell necrosis, IL-1α could directly sense DNA damage and act as signal for genotoxic stress without loss of cell integrity. Here we demonstrate localization of the cytokine to DNA-damage sites and its subsequent secretion. Interestingly, its nucleo-cytosolic shuttling after DNA damage sensing is regulated by histone deacetylases (HDAC) and IL-1α acetylation. To demonstrate the physiological significance of this newly discovered mechanism, we used IL-1α knockout mice and show that IL-1α signaling after UV skin irradiation and DNA damage is important for triggering a sterile inflammatory cascade in vivo that contributes to efficient tissue repair and wound healing.

Plasticity of the MAPK signaling network in response to mechanical stress.

Cells display versatile responses to mechanical inputs and recent studies have identified the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades mediating the biological effects observed upon mechanical stimulation. Although, MAPK pathways can act insulated from each other, several mechanisms facilitate the crosstalk between the components of these cascades. Yet, the combinatorial complexity of potential molecular interactions between these elements have prevented the understanding of their concerted functions. To analyze the plasticity of the MAPK signaling network in response to mechanical stress we performed a non-saturating epistatic screen in resting and stretched conditions employing as readout a JNK responsive dJun-FRET biosensor. By knocking down MAPKs, and JNK pathway regulators, singly or in pairs in Drosophila S2R+ cells, we have uncovered unexpected regulatory links between JNK cascade kinases, Rho GTPases, MAPKs and the JNK phosphatase Puc. These relationships have been integrated in a system network model at equilibrium accounting for all experimentally validated interactions. This model allows predicting the global reaction of the network to its modulation in response to mechanical stress. It also highlights its context-dependent sensitivity.

Syntenin-1 and ezrin proteins link activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule to the actin cytoskeleton.

Activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM) is a type I transmembrane protein member of the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell adhesion molecules. Involved in important pathophysiological processes such as the immune response, cancer metastasis, and neuronal development, ALCAM undergoes both homotypic interactions with other ALCAM molecules and heterotypic interactions with the surface receptor CD6 expressed at the T cell surface. Despite biochemical and biophysical evidence of a dynamic association between ALCAM and the actin cytoskeleton, no detailed information is available about how this association occurs at the molecular level. Here, we exploit a combination of complementary microscopy techniques, including FRET detected by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy and single-cell force spectroscopy, and we demonstrate the existence of a preformed ligand-independent supramolecular complex where ALCAM stably interacts with actin by binding to syntenin-1 and ezrin. Interaction with the ligand CD6 further enhances these multiple interactions. Altogether, our results propose a novel biophysical framework to understand the stabilizing role of the ALCAM supramolecular complex engaged to CD6 during dendritic cell-T cell interactions and provide novel information on the molecular players involved in the formation and signaling of the immunological synapse at the dendritic cell side.

The human biliverdin reductase-based peptide fragments and biliverdin regulate protein kinase Cδ activity: the peptides are inhibitors or substrate for the protein kinase C.

PKCδ, a Ser/Thr kinase, promotes cell growth, tumorigenesis, and apoptosis. Human biliverdin reductase (hBVR), a Ser/Thr/Tyr kinase, inhibits apoptosis by reducing biliverdin-IX to antioxidant bilirubin. The enzymes are activated by similar stimuli. Reportedly, hBVR is a kinase-independent activator of PKCδ and is transactivated by the PKC (Gibbs, P. E., Miralem, T., Lerner-Marmarosh, N., Tudor, C., and Maines, M. D. (2012) J. Biol. Chem. 287, 1066-1079). Presently, we examined interactions between the two proteins in the context of regulation of their activities and defining targets of hBVR phosphorylation by PKCδ. LC-MS/MS analysis of PKCδ-activated intact hBVR identified phosphorylated serine positions 21, 33, 230, and 237, corresponding to the hBVR Src homology-2 domain motif (Ser(230) and Ser(237)), flanking the ATP-binding motif (Ser(21)) and in PHPS sequence (Ser(33)) as targets of PKCδ. Ser(21) and Ser(230) were also phosphorylated in hBVR-based peptides. The Ser(230)-containing peptide was a high affinity substrate for PKCδ in vitro and in cells; the relative affinity was PKCδ > PKCßII > PKCζ. Two overlapping peptides spanning this substrate, KRNRYLSF and SFHFKSGSL, were effective inhibitors of PKCδ kinase activity and PKCδ-supported activation of transcription factors Elk1 and NF-κB. Only SFHFKSGSL, in PKCδ-transfected phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-stimulated cells, caused membrane blebbing and cell loss. Biliverdin noncovalently inhibited PKCδ, whereas PKCδ potentiated hBVR reductase activity and accelerated the rate of bilirubin formation. This study, together with previous findings, reveals an unexpected regulatory interplay between PKCδ and hBVR in modulating cell death/survival in response to various activating stimuli. In addition, this study has identified novel substrates for and inhibitors of PKCδ. We suggest that hBVR-based technology may have utility to modulate PKCδ-mediated functions in the cell.

Biliverdin reductase: more than a namesake - the reductase, its Peptide fragments, and biliverdin regulate activity of the three classes of protein kinase C.

The expanse of human biliverdin reductase (hBVR) functions in the cells is arguably unmatched by any single protein. hBVR is a Ser/Thr/Tyr-kinase, a scaffold protein, a transcription factor, and an intracellular transporter of gene regulators. hBVR is an upstream activator of the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway and of protein kinase C (PKC) kinases in the two major arms of the pathway. In addition, it is the sole means for generating the antioxidant bilirubin-IXα. hBVR is essential for activation of ERK1/2 kinases by upstream MAPKK-MEK and by PKCδ, as well as the nuclear import and export of ERK1/2. Small fragments of hBVR are potent activators and inhibitors of the ERK kinases and PKCs: as such, they suggest the potential application of BVR-based technology in therapeutic settings. Presently, we have reviewed the function of hBVR in cell signaling with an emphasis on regulation of PKCδ activity.

Formation of ternary complex of human biliverdin reductase-protein kinase Cδ-ERK2 protein is essential for ERK2-mediated activation of Elk1 protein, nuclear factor-κB, and inducible nitric-oxidase synthase (iNOS).

Growth factors, insulin, oxidative stress, and cytokines activate ERK1/2 by PKCδ and MEK1/2. Human biliverdin reductase (hBVR), a Ser/Thr/Tyr kinase and intracellular scaffold/bridge/anchor, is a nuclear transporter of MEK1/2-stimulated ERK1/2 (Lerner-Marmarosh, N., Miralem, T., Gibbs, P. E., and Maines, M. D. (2008) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105, 6870-6875). hBVR, PKCδ, and MEK1/2 overlap in their tissue expression profile and type of activators. Presently, we report on formation of an hBVR-PKCδ-ERK2 ternary complex that is essential for ERK2 signal transduction and activation of genes linked to cell proliferation and cancer. MEK1/2 and the protein phosphatase PP2A were also present in the complex. When cells were stimulated with insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), an increased interaction between hBVR and PKCδ was detected by FRET-fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. hBVR and ERK2 were phosphorylated by PKCδ; however, the PKC was not a substrate for either ERK2 or hBVR. IGF-1 and phorbol ester increased hBVR/PKCδ binding; hBVR was required for the activation of PKCδ and its interaction with ERK2. The C-terminal phenylalanine residues of PKCδ (Phe(660), Phe(663), and Phe(665)) were necessary for binding to ERK2 but not for hBVR binding. Formation of the hBVR-PKCδ-ERK2 complex required the hBVR docking site for ERK, FXFP (DEF, C-box) and D(δ)-box (ILXXLXL) motifs. The hBVR-based peptide KKRILHCLGLA inhibited PKC activation and PKCδ/ERK2 interaction. Phorbol ester- and TNF-α-dependent activation of the ERK-regulated transcription factors Elk1 and NF-κB and expression of the iNOS gene were suppressed by hBVR siRNA; those activities were rescued by hBVR. The findings reveal the direct input of hBVR in PKCδ/ERK signaling and identify hBVR-based peptide regulators of ERK-mediated gene activation.

Integrin-dependent activation of the JNK signaling pathway by mechanical stress.

Mechanical force is known to modulate the activity of the Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling cascade. However, the effect of mechanical stresses on JNK signaling activation has previously only been analyzed by in vitro detection methods. It still remains unknown how living cells activate the JNK signaling cascade in response to mechanical stress and what its functions are in stretched cells.We assessed in real-time the activity of the JNK pathway in Drosophila cells by Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM), using an intramolecular phosphorylation-dependent dJun-FRET (Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer) biosensor. We found that quantitative FRET-FLIM analysis and confocal microscopy revealed sustained dJun-FRET biosensor activation and stable morphology changes in response to mechanical stretch for Drosophila S2R+ cells. Further, these cells plated on different substrates showed distinct levels of JNK activity that associate with differences in cell morphology, integrin expression and focal adhesion organization.These data imply that alterations in the cytoskeleton and matrix attachments may act as regulators of JNK signaling, and that JNK activity might feed back to modulate the cytoskeleton and cell adhesion. We found that this dynamic system is highly plastic; at rest, integrins at focal adhesions and talin are key factors suppressing JNK activity, while multidirectional static stretch leads to integrin-dependent, and probably talin-independent, Jun sensor activation. Further, our data suggest that JNK activity has to coordinate with other signaling elements for the regulation of the cytoskeleton and cell shape remodeling associated with stretch.

Biliverdin reductase is a transporter of haem into the nucleus and is essential for regulation of HO-1 gene expression by haematin.

hBVR (human biliverdin reductase) is an enzyme that reduces biliverdin (the product of haem oxygenases HO-1 and HO-2 activity) to the antioxidant bilirubin. It also functions as a kinase and as a transcription factor in the MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signalling cascade. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy was used to investigate the mobility of hBVR in living cells and its function in the nuclear transport of haematin for induction of HO-1. In transiently transfected HeLa cells only kinase-competent hBVR translocates to the nucleus. A reduced mobility in the nucleus of haematin-treated cells suggests formation of an hBVR-haematin complex and its further association with large nuclear components. The binding of haematin is specific, with the formation of a 1:1 molar complex, and the C-terminal 7-residue fragment KYCCSRK(296) of hBVR contributes to the binding. The following data suggest formation of dynamic complexes of hBVR-haematin with chromatin: (i) the reduction of hBVR mobility in the presence of haematin is greater in heterochromatic regions than in euchromatic domains and (ii) hBVR mobility is not retarded by haematin in nuclear lysates that contain only soluble factors. Moreover, hBVR kinase activity is stimulated in the presence of double-stranded DNA fragments corresponding to HO-1 antioxidant and HREs (hypoxia response elements), as well as by haematin. Experiments with nuclear localization, export signal mutants and si-hBVR [siRNA (small interfering RNA) specific to hBVR] indicate that nuclear localization of hBVR is required for induction of HO-1 by haematin. Because gene regulation is energy-dependent and haematin regulates gene expression, our data suggest that hBVR functions as an essential component of the regulatory mechanisms for haem-responsive transcriptional activation.

The endocrine disruptor monoethyl-hexyl-phthalate is a selective peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma modulator that promotes adipogenesis.

The ability of pollutants to affect human health is a major concern, justified by the wide demonstration that reproductive functions are altered by endocrine disrupting chemicals. The definition of endocrine disruption is today extended to broader endocrine regulations, and includes activation of metabolic sensors, such as the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs). Toxicology approaches have demonstrated that phthalate plasticizers can directly influence PPAR activity. What is now missing is a detailed molecular understanding of the fundamental basis of endocrine disrupting chemical interference with PPAR signaling. We thus performed structural and functional analyses that demonstrate how monoethyl-hexyl-phthalate (MEHP) directly activates PPARgamma and promotes adipogenesis, albeit to a lower extent than the full agonist rosiglitazone. Importantly, we demonstrate that MEHP induces a selective activation of different PPARgamma target genes. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and fluorescence microscopy in living cells reveal that this selective activity correlates with the recruitment of a specific subset of PPARgamma coregulators that includes Med1 and PGC-1alpha, but not p300 and SRC-1. These results highlight some key mechanisms in metabolic disruption but are also instrumental in the context of selective PPAR modulation, a promising field for new therapeutic development based on PPAR modulation.

Association with coregulators is the major determinant governing peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor mobility in living cells.

The nucleus is an extremely dynamic compartment, and protein mobility represents a key factor in transcriptional regulation. We showed in a previous study that the diffusion of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), a family of nuclear receptors regulating major cellular and metabolic functions, is modulated by ligand binding. In this study, we combine fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, dual color fluorescence cross-correlation microscopy, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer to dissect the molecular mechanisms controlling PPAR mobility and transcriptional activity in living cells. First, we bring new evidence that in vivo a high percentage of PPARs and retinoid X receptors is associated even in the absence of ligand. Second, we demonstrate that coregulator recruitment (and not DNA binding) plays a crucial role in receptor mobility, suggesting that transcriptional complexes are formed prior to promoter binding. In addition, association with coactivators in the absence of a ligand in living cells, both through the N-terminal AB domain and the AF-2 function of the ligand binding domain, provides a molecular basis to explain PPAR constitutive activity.

Integrating nuclear receptor mobility in models of gene regulation.

The mode of action of nuclear receptors in living cells is an actively investigated field but much remains hypothetical due to the lack, until recently, of methods allowing the assessment of molecular mechanisms in vivo. However, these last years, the development of fluorescence microscopy methods has allowed initiating the dissection of the molecular mechanisms underlying gene regulation by nuclear receptors directly in living cells or organisms. Following our analyses on peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARs) in living cells, we discuss here the different models arising from the use of these tools, that attempt to link mobility, DNA binding or chromatin interaction, and transcriptional activity.

Fluorescence imaging reveals the nuclear behavior of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor/retinoid X receptor heterodimers in the absence and presence of ligand.

In a global approach combining fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), we address the behavior in living cells of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), a family of nuclear receptors involved in lipid and glucose metabolism, inflammation control, and wound healing. We first demonstrate that unlike several other nuclear receptors, PPARs do not form speckles upon ligand activation. The subnuclear structures that may be observed under some experimental conditions result from overexpression of the protein and our immunolabeling experiments suggest that these structures are subjected to degradation by the proteasome. Interestingly and in contrast to a general assumption, PPARs readily heterodimerize with retinoid X receptor (RXR) in the absence of ligand in living cells. PPAR diffusion coefficients indicate that all the receptors are engaged in complexes of very high molecular masses and/or interact with relatively immobile nuclear components. PPARs are not immobilized by ligand binding. However, they exhibit a ligand-induced reduction of mobility, probably due to enhanced interactions with cofactors and/or chromatin. Our study draws attention to the limitations and pitfalls of fluorescent chimera imaging and demonstrates the usefulness of the combination of FCS, FRAP, and FRET to assess the behavior of nuclear receptors and their mode of action in living cells.