The autoimmune disease-associated PTPN22 variant promotes calpain-mediated Lyp/Pep degradation associated with lymphocyte and dendritic cell hyperresponsiveness.

A variant of the PTPN22-encoded Lyp phosphatase (Lyp620W) confers risk for autoimmune disease, but the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. We show here that mice expressing the Lyp variant homolog Pep619W manifest thymic and splenic enlargement accompanied by increases in T-cell number, activation and positive selection and in dendritic- and B-cell activation. Although Ptpn22 (Pep) transcript levels were comparable in Pep619W and wild-type Pep619R mice, Pep protein levels were dramatically reduced in the mutant mice, with Pep619W protein being more rapidly degraded and showing greater association with and in vitro cleavage by calpain 1 than Pep619R. Similarly, levels of the Lyp620W variant were decreased in human T and B cells, and its calpain binding and cleavage were increased relative to wild-type Lyp620R. Thus, calpain-mediated degradation with consequently reduced Lyp/Pep expression and lymphocyte and dendritic cell hyperresponsiveness represents a mechanism whereby Lyp620W may increase risk for autoimmune disease.

The motor protein myosin-X transports VE-cadherin along filopodia to allow the formation of early endothelial cell-cell contacts.

Vascular endothelium (VE), the monolayer of endothelial cells that lines the vascular tree, undergoes damage at the basis of some vascular diseases. Its integrity is maintained by VE-cadherin, an adhesive receptor localized at cell-cell junctions. Here, we show that VE-cadherin is also located at the tip and along filopodia in sparse or subconfluent endothelial cells. We observed that VE-cadherin navigates along intrafilopodial actin filaments. We found that the actin motor protein myosin-X is colocalized and moves synchronously with filopodial VE-cadherin. Immunoprecipitation and pulldown assays confirmed that myosin-X is directly associated with the VE-cadherin complex. Furthermore, expression of a dominant-negative mutant of myosin-X revealed that myosin-X is required for VE-cadherin export to cell edges and filopodia. These features indicate that myosin-X establishes a link between the actin cytoskeleton and VE-cadherin, thereby allowing VE-cadherin transportation along intrafilopodial actin cables. In conclusion, we propose that VE-cadherin trafficking along filopodia using myosin-X motor protein is a prerequisite for cell-cell junction formation. This mechanism may have functional consequences for endothelium repair in pathological settings.

Structure of artificial and natural VE-cadherin-based adherens junctions.

In vascular endothelium, adherens junctions between endothelial cells are composed of VE-cadherin (vascular endothelial cadherin), an adhesive receptor that is crucial for the proper assembly of vascular structures and the maintenance of vascular integrity. As a classical cadherin, VE-cadherin links endothelial cells together by homophilic interactions mediated by its extracellular part and associates intracellularly with the actin cytoskeleton via catenins. Although, from structural crystallographic data, a dimeric structure arranged in a trans orientation has emerged as a potential mechanism of cell-cell adhesion, the cadherin organization within adherens junctions remains controversial. Concerning VE-cadherin, its extracellular part possesses the capacity to self-associate in solution as hexamers consisting of three antiparallel cadherin dimers. VE-cadherin-based adherens junctions were reconstituted in vitro by assembly of a VE-cadherin EC (extracellular repeat) 1-EC4 hexamer at the surfaces of liposomes. The artificial adherens junctions revealed by cryoelectron microscopy appear as a two-dimensional self-assembly of hexameric structures. This cadherin organization is reminiscent of that found in native desmosomal junctions. Further structural studies performed on native VE-cadherin junctions would provide a better understanding of the cadherin organization within adherens junctions. Homophilic interactions between cadherins are strengthened intracellularly by connection to the actin cytoskeleton. Recently, we have discovered that annexin 2, an actin-binding protein connects the VE-cadherin-catenin complex to the actin cytoskeleton. This novel link is labile and promotes the endothelial cell switch from a quiescent to an angiogenic state.

Contribution of annexin 2 to the architecture of mature endothelial adherens junctions.

The vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cad)-based complex is involved in the maintenance of vascular endothelium integrity. Using immunoprecipitation experiments, we have demonstrated that, in confluent human umbilical vein endothelial cells, the VE-cad-based complex interacts with annexin 2 and that annexin 2 translocates from the cytoplasm to the cell-cell contact sites as cell confluence is established. Annexin 2, located in cholesterol rafts, binds to both the actin cytoskeleton and the VE-cad-based complex so the complex is docked to cholesterol rafts. These multiple connections prevent the lateral diffusion of the VE-cad-based complex, thus strengthening adherens junctions in the ultimate steps of maturation. Moreover, we observed that the down-regulation of annexin 2 by small interfering RNA induces a delocalization of VE-cad from adherens junctions and consequently a destabilization of these junctions. Furthermore, our data indicate that the decoupling of the annexin 2/p11 complex from the VE-cad-based junction, triggered by vascular endothelial growth factor treatment, facilitates the switch from a quiescent to an immature state.