The intersectin 2 adaptor links Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASp)-mediated actin polymerization to T cell antigen receptor endocytosis.

Induction of T cell antigen receptor (TCR) endocytosis has a significant impact on TCR signaling and T cell behavior, but the molecular interactions coordinating internalization of the activated TCR are poorly understood. Previously we have shown that TCR endocytosis is regulated by the Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASp), a cytosolic effector which, upon interaction with the cdc42 Rho GTPase, couples TCR engagement to Arp 2/3 complex-mediated actin polymerization. Here we report that WASp associates in T cells with intersectin 2, an endocytic adaptor containing multiple domains including a Dbl homology (DH) domain with the potential to activate Rho GTPases. Intersectin 2 association with WASp increases after TCR engagement, and its overexpression in Cos-7 cells induces WASp translocation to endocytic vesicles within which intersectin 2 colocalizes with both WASp and cdc42. Intersectin 2, but not a DH domain-deleted (DeltaDH) form of intersectin 2, and stimulation via the TCR also trigger the activation of cdc42. Induction of TCR internalization is also augmented by intersectin 2 and severely impaired by latrunculin B treatment. Thus, intersection 2 appears to function cooperatively with WASp and cdc42 to link the clathrin endocytic machinery to WASp-mediated actin polymerization and ultimately to occupancy-induced TCR endocytosis.

Structure and mutagenesis of the Dbl homology domain.

Guanine nucleotide exchange factors in the Dbl family activate Rho GTPases by accelerating dissociation of bound GDP, promoting acquisition of the GTP-bound state. Dbl proteins possess a approximately 200 residue catalytic Dbl-homology (DH) domain, that is arranged in tandem with a C-terminal pleckstrin homology (PH) domain in nearly all cases. Here we report the solution structure of the DH domain of human PAK-interacting exchange protein (betaPIX). The domain is composed of 11 alpha-helices that form a flattened, elongated bundle. The structure explains a large body of mutagenesis data, which, along with sequence comparisons, identify the GTPase interaction site as a surface formed by three conserved helices near the center of one face of the domain. Proximity of the site to the DH C-terminus suggests a means by which PH-ligand interactions may be coupled to DH-GTPase interactions to regulate signaling through the Dbl proteins in vivo.

UNC-73 activates the Rac GTPase and is required for cell and growth cone migrations in C. elegans.

unc-73 is required for cell migrations and axon guidance in C. elegans and encodes overlapping isoforms of 283 and 189 kDa that are closely related to the vertebrate Trio and Kalirin proteins, respectively. UNC-73A contains, in order, eight spectrin-like repeats, a Dbl/Pleckstrin homology (DH/PH) element, an SH3-like domain, a second DH/PH element, an immunoglobulin domain, and a fibronectin type III domain. UNC-73B terminates just downstream of the SH3-like domain. The first DH/PH element specifically activates the Rac GTPase in vitro and stimulates actin polymerization when expressed in Rat2 cells. Both functions are eliminated by introducing the S1216F mutation of unc-73(rh40) into this DH domain. Our results suggest that UNC-73 acts cell autonomously in a protein complex to regulate actin dynamics during cell and growth cone migrations.

High affinity binding of the pleckstrin homology domain of mSos1 to phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate.

mSos1 has been implicated in coupling mammalian tyrosine kinases to the Ras GTPase. Because activation of Ras induced by growth factor stimulation likely requires the localization of mSos1 to the plasma membrane, we have investigated the possibility that the PH domain of mSos1 might mediate an interaction of mSos1 with phospholipid membranes. A glutathione S-transferase fusion protein containing the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of mSos1 bound specifically and tightly to phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) with a Kd of 1.8 +/- 0.4 microM. This interaction was saturable and was competed away with the soluble head group of PI(4,5)P2, inositol 1,4, 5-triphosphate. Substitution of Arg452 within the PH domain with Ala had only a slight effect on binding to PI(4,5)P2, whereas substitution of Arg459 severely compromised the ability of the mSos1 PH domain to bind to PI(4,5)P2 containing vesicles. Purified full-length mSos1 and mSos1 complexed with Grb2 were also tested for binding to various phosphoinositol derivatives and demonstrated a specific interaction with PI(4,5)P2, although these interactions were weaker (Kd = approximately 53 and approximately 69 microM, respectively) than that of the PH domain alone. These findings suggest that the PH domain of mSos1 can interact in vitro with phospholipid vesicles containing PI(4,5)P2 and that this interaction is facilitated by the ionic interaction of Arg459 with the negatively charged head group of PI(4,5)P2. The association of the mSos1 PH domain with phospholipid may therefore play a role in regulating the function of this enzyme in vivo.

Studies on human aldose reductase. Probing the role of arginine 268 by site-directed mutagenesis.

Aldose reductase (ALR2) shows a strong specificity for its nucleotide coenzyme, binding NADPH much more tightly than NADH (KD of < 1 microM versus 1.2 mM respectively). Interactions responsible for this specificity include salt linkages between the highly conserved residues Lys-262 and Arg-268, and the 2'-phosphate of NADP(H). Previous studies show that mutation of Lys-262 results in an increase in the Km for both coenzyme and aldehyde substrate, as well as in the kcat of reduction. The present study shows that mutation of Arg-268 to methionine results in a 36-fold increase in Km and 205-fold increase in KD for NADPH, but little change in Km for DL-glyceraldehyde or in the kcat of the reaction. Calculation of free energy changes show that the 2'-phosphate of NADPH contributes 4.7 kcal/mol of binding energy to its interaction with WT-hALR2. For the R268M mutant, the interaction of NADPH was destabilized by 3.2 kcal/mol, indicating that the mutation decreases the binding energy of NADPH by 65%. The effect of removing Arg-268 in the absence of the 2'-phosphate of NADPH was virtually identical to the destabilization of the activation energy in the absence of the 2'-phosphate itself (1.9 versus 2.0 kcal/mol, respectively). Therefore, while the 2'-phosphate of the coenzyme plays a role in both coenzyme binding and transition state stabilization during catalysis, the role of Arg-268 lies strictly in tighter coenzyme binding.

Catalysis of reduction of carbohydrate 2-oxoaldehydes (osones) by mammalian aldose reductase and aldehyde reductase.

In mammalian tissues, carbohydrate 2-oxoaldehydes, or 'osones', formed by cleavage of carbohydrate residues from glycated proteins, cause damage to cells and tissues by cross-linking of proteins. In the substrate specificity study reported here, we show that several osones are relatively good substrates for the reduced, unactivated form of aldose reductase (EC 1.1.1.21) from human and pig muscle, and aldehyde reductase (EC 1.1.1.2) from pig kidney, enzymes that have been well characterised both structurally and mechanistically. Since these enzymes are relatively ubiquitous, they may serve to protect a large number of tissues from damage, by catalysing the reduction of locally-produced osones. Reduction of all substrates by aldehyde reductase obeyed Michaelis-Menten kinetics. In contrast, a Hill constant of about 0.5 was obtained for aldose reductase-catalysed reduction of each of the carbohydrate 2-oxoaldehydes, and for several other substrates that were examined. Although this deviation from Michaelis-Menten kinetics has been ascribed to the presence of two forms of the enzyme, activated and unactivated, our results suggest that it is a characteristic of the unactivated form.

Studies on pig aldose reductase. Identification of an essential arginine in the primary and tertiary structure of the enzyme.

Reaction of pig muscle aldose reductase with phenylglyoxal resulted in the chemical modification of 2 arginine residues with accompanying loss of catalytic activity. The amino acid sequences of radioactive peptides resulting from the reaction of aldose reductase with [14C]phenylglyoxal followed by tryptic digestion and high performance liquid chromatography separation allowed identification of the modified arginine residues as R268 and R293. In the presence of the coenzyme NADP+, R268 is protected from modification by phenylglyoxal, while R293 becomes hyper-reactive. Phenylglyoxal modification of aldose reductase is slowed 3-fold by the presence of the coenzyme analog ADPRP; however, both arginines are still modified. These chemical modification results are in complete accord with the previously determined crystal structures of human and porcine aldose reductase complexed with NADPH, NADP+, and ADPRP. These structures indicate that R268 is located at the adenosine binding site, salt bridged to the 2'-phosphate group of NADP(H) and ADPRP. Arginine 293 is near the surface of the enzyme and is part of the C-terminal loop. In the apoenzyme or the ADPRP complex, R293 is partially protected by loop 7; upon binding NADP(H), loop 7 folds down over the coenzyme, thus exposing R293 to solvent. Our modification studies provide further evidence of the conformational change that occurs during the aldose reductase catalytic cycle.

Chemical modification of an arginine residue in aldose reductase is enhanced by coenzyme binding: further evidence for conformational change during the reaction mechanism.

Chemical modification of pig muscle aldose reductase (ALR2) with the arginine specific reagent phenylglyoxal resulted in the inactivation of the enzyme. This inactivation exhibited pseudo-first order kinetics typical of active-site directed chemical modification. Inactivation of ALR2 by [7-C14] phenylglyoxal in the absence of NADPH or NADP+ followed by tryptic digestion resulted in the isolation by HPLC of one major and one minor radioactive peptide. Protein sequencing revealed that the major peptide contained a modified arg268, a residue located in the coenzyme binding site. The minor radioactive peptide and the single radioactive peptide isolated from ALR2 inactivated in the presence of NADP+ contained chemically modified arg293. The arginine residue modified at the active site is positioned to bind the 2'-OH phosphate group of the ribose sugar of the adenine moiety of NADP+. Arg293 is present on the C-terminal loop of ALR2. The enhancement of Arg293 modification by phenylglyoxal in the presence of NADP+ indicates that this C-terminal loop may be involved in the slow conformational change that occurs during the reaction sequence upon coenzyme binding.

Measurement of prolactin release and cytosolic calcium in estradiol-primed lactotrophs.

We have developed a perifusion system that can measure both changes of cytosolic free calcium concentration [Ca2+]i and prolactin release simultaneously from cultured lactotrophs. This model incorporated a commonly-used perifusion system to a spectrofluorometer. Indo-1 loaded cells were injected into Sephadex G-150 matrix in the cuvette at a site where the emitting light of the fluorometer projects. During perifusion periods, the perifusate was collected in a fraction collector, while optical density of the emitting light at 405 nm was recorded. The [Ca2+]i was calculated based on an ionomycin and Mn2+ quenching technique. As expected, TRH (1 mumol/l) stimulated prolactin release from cultured lactotrophs in this system. We further observed that prolactin releases as induced by TRH and ionomycin were not proportional with changes of the [Ca2+]i, suggesting that changes of [Ca2+]i is not the sole final pathway of intracellular transduction systems for prolactin release.

Studies on pig muscle aldose reductase. Kinetic mechanism and evidence for a slow conformational change upon coenzyme binding.

Steady state kinetic analysis at pH 7.0 of the reduction of DL-glyceraldehyde by pig muscle aldose reductase showed that the enzyme follows a sequential ordered mechanism with NADPH binding first. However, the "off constant" for NADP+ in the forward direction was 1 order of magnitude less than the kcat. Analysis of this anomaly by pre-steady state kinetics using stopped-flow fluorescence spectroscopy showed that this could be accounted for by isomerization of the enzyme-NADP+ complex and that the rate of isomerization is the rate-limiting step. The rate constant for this step was of the same order of magnitude as the kcat for the forward reaction. Fluorescence emission spectra of free and NADP(H)-bound enzyme suggested a conformational change upon binding of coenzyme. In the reverse direction (oxidation of glycerol) pre-steady state and steady state kinetic analyses were consistent with the rate-limiting step occurring before isomerization of the enzyme-NADPH complex. We conclude, therefore, that during the kinetic mechanism of the reduction of aldehydes by aldose reductase, a slow (kinetically detectable) conformational change in the enzyme occurs upon coenzyme binding. Since NADPH and NADP+ bind to the enzyme very tightly, this has implications for the targeting and binding of drugs that are aldose reductase inhibitors.