Gamma-secretase-regulated proteolysis of the Notch receptor by mitochondrial intermediate peptidase.

Notch is a transmembrane receptor that controls a diverse array of cellular processes including cell proliferation, differentiation, survival, and migration. The cellular outcome of Notch signaling is dependent on extracellular and intracellular signals, but the complexities of its regulation are not well understood. Canonical Notch signaling involves ligand association that triggers sequential and regulated proteolysis of Notch at several sites. Ligand-dependent proteolysis at the S2 site removes the bulk of the extracellular domain of Notch. Subsequent γ-secretase-mediated intramembrane proteolysis of the remaining membrane-tethered Notch fragment at the S3 site produces a nuclear-destined Notch intracellular domain (NICD). Here we show that following γ-secretase cleavage, Notch is proteolyzed at a novel S5 site. We have identified this S5 site to be eight amino acids downstream of the S3 site. Biochemical fractionation and purification resulted in the identification of the S5 site protease as the mitochondrial intermediate peptidase (MIPEP). Expression of the MIPEP-cleaved NICD (ΔNICD) results in a decrease in cell viability and mitochondria membrane potential. The sequential and regulated proteolysis by γ-secretase and MIPEP suggests a new means by which Notch function can be modulated.

Presenilins form ER Ca2+ leak channels, a function disrupted by familial Alzheimer's disease-linked mutations.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disorder. Mutations in presenilins 1 and 2 (PS1 and PS2) account for approximately 40% of familial AD (FAD) cases. FAD mutations and genetic deletions of presenilins have been associated with calcium (Ca(2+)) signaling abnormalities. We demonstrate that wild-type presenilins, but not PS1-M146V and PS2-N141I FAD mutants, can form low-conductance divalent-cation-permeable ion channels in planar lipid bilayers. In experiments with PS1/2 double knockout (DKO) mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), we find that presenilins account for approximately 80% of passive Ca(2+) leak from the endoplasmic reticulum. Deficient Ca(2+) signaling in DKO MEFs can be rescued by expression of wild-type PS1 or PS2 but not by expression of PS1-M146V or PS2-N141I mutants. The ER Ca(2+) leak function of presenilins is independent of their gamma-secretase activity. Our data suggest a Ca(2+) signaling function for presenilins and provide support for the "Ca(2+) hypothesis of AD."

Identification and characterization of an 8-kDa light chain associated with Dictyostelium discoideum MyoB, a class I myosin.

Dictyostelium discoideum MyoB is a single-headed class I myosin. Analysis of purified MyoB by SDS-PAGE indicated the presence of an approximately 9-kDa light chain. A tryptic digest of MyoB yielded a partial sequence for the light chain that exactly matched a sequence in a 73-amino acid, 8,296-Da protein (dictyBase number DDB0188713). This protein, termed MlcB, contains two EF-hand motifs and shares approximately 30% sequence identity with the N- and C-terminal lobes of calmodulin. FLAG-MlcB expressed in Dictyostelium co-immunoprecipitated with MyoB but not with the related class myosins and MyoD. Recombinant MlcB bound Ca2+ with a Kd value of 0.2 microm and underwent a Ca2+-induced change in conformation that increased alpha-helical content and surface hydrophobicity. Mutational analysis showed that the first EF-hand was responsible for Ca2+ binding. In the presence and absence of Ca2+ MlcB was a monomer in solution and bound to a MyoB IQ motif peptide with a Kd value of approximately 0.5 microm. A MyoB head-neck construct with a Ser to Glu mutation at the TEDS site bound MlcB and displayed an actin-activated Mg2+ ATPase activity that was insensitive to Ca2+. We conclude that MlcB represents a novel type of small myosin light chain that binds to IQ motifs in a manner comparable with a single lobe of a typical four-EF-hand protein.

Nicastrin functions as a gamma-secretase-substrate receptor.

gamma-secretase catalyzes the intramembrane cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and Notch after their extracellular domains are shed by site-specific proteolysis. Nicastrin is an essential glycoprotein component of the gamma-secretase complex but has no known function. We now show that the ectodomain of nicastrin binds the new amino terminus that is generated upon proteolysis of the extracellular APP and Notch domains, thereby recruiting the APP and Notch substrates into the gamma-secretase complex. Chemical- or antibody-mediated blocking of the free amino terminus, addition of purified nicastrin ectodomain, or mutations in the ectodomain markedly reduce the binding and cleavage of substrate by gamma-secretase. These results indicate that nicastrin is a receptor for the amino-terminal stubs that are generated by ectodomain shedding of type I transmembrane proteins. Our data are consistent with a model where nicastrin presents these substrates to gamma-secretase and thereby facilitates their cleavage via intramembrane proteolysis.

Cellular distribution and functions of wild-type and constitutively activated Dictyostelium PakB.

Dictyostelium PakB, previously termed myosin I heavy chain kinase, is a member of the p21-activated kinase (PAK) family. Two-hybrid assays showed that PakB interacts with Dictyostelium Rac1a/b/c, RacA (a RhoBTB protein), RacB, RacC, and RacF1. Wild-type PakB displayed a cytosolic distribution with a modest enrichment at the leading edge of migrating cells and at macropinocytic and phagocytic cups, sites consistent with a role in activating myosin I. PakB fused at the N terminus to green fluorescent protein was proteolyzed in cells, resulting in removal of the catalytic domain. C-terminal truncated PakB and activated PakB lacking the p21-binding domain strongly localized to the cell cortex, to macropinocytic cups, to the posterior of migrating cells, and to the cleavage furrow of dividing cells. These data indicate that in its open, active state, the N terminus of PakB forms a tight association with cortical actin filaments. PakB-null cells displayed no significant behavioral defects, but cells expressing activated PakB were unable to complete cytokinesis when grown in suspension and exhibited increased rates of phagocytosis and pinocytosis.

A conserved GXXXG motif in APH-1 is critical for assembly and activity of the gamma-secretase complex.

The multipass membrane protein APH-1, found in the gamma-secretase complex together with presenilin, nicastrin, and PEN-2, is essential for Notch signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos and is required for intramembrane proteolysis of Notch and beta-amyloid precursor protein in mammalian and Drosophila cells. In C. elegans, a mutation of the conserved transmembrane Gly123 in APH-1 (mutant or28) leads to a notch/glp-1 loss-of-function phenotype. In this study, we show that the corresponding mutation in mammalian APH-1aL (G122D) disrupts the physical interaction of APH-1aL with hypoglycosylated immature nicastrin and the presenilin holoprotein as well as with mature nicastrin, presenilin, and PEN-2. The G122D mutation also reduced gamma-secretase activity in intramembrane proteolysis of membrane-tethered Notch. Moreover, we found that the conserved transmembrane Gly122, Gly126, and Gly130 in the fourth transmembrane region of mammalian APH-1aL are part of the membrane helix-helix interaction GXXXG motif and are essential for the stable association of APH-1aL with presenilin, nicastrin, and PEN-2. These findings suggest that APH-1 plays a GXXXG-dependent scaffolding role in both the initial assembly and subsequent maturation and maintenance of the active gamma-secretase complex.

The Dictyostelium class I myosin, MyoD, contains a novel light chain that lacks high-affinity calcium-binding sites.

Dictyostelium discoideum MyoD, a long-tailed class I myosin, co-purified with two copies of a 16 kDa light chain. Sequence analysis of the MyoD light chain showed it to be a unique protein, termed MlcD, that shares 44% sequence identity with Dictyostelium calmodulin and 43% sequence identity with Acanthamoeba castellanii myosin IC light chain. MlcD comprises four EF-hands; however, EF-hands 2-4 contain mutations in key Ca2+-co-ordinating residues that would be predicted to impair Ca2+ binding. Electrospray ionization MS of MlcD in the presence of Ca2+ and La3+ showed the presence of one major and one minor metal-binding site. MlcD contains a single tryptophan residue (Trp39), the fluorescence intensity of which was quenched upon addition of Ca2+ or Mg2+, yielding apparent dissociation constants ( K'(d)) of 52 microM for Ca2+ and 450 microM for Mg2+. The low affinity of MlcD for Ca2+ indicates that it cannot function as a sensor of physiological Ca2+. Ca2+ did not affect the binding of MlcD to MyoD or to either of the two MyoD IQ (Ile-Gln) motifs. FLAG-MlcD expressed in Dictyostelium formed a complex with MyoD, but not with the two other long-tailed Dictyostelium myosin I isoenzymes, MyoB and MyoC. Through its specific association with the Ca2+-insensitive MlcD, MyoD may exhibit distinct regulatory properties that distinguish it from myosin I isoenzymes with calmodulin light chains.

TAO (thousand-and-one amino acid) protein kinases mediate signaling from carbachol to p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and ternary complex factors.

The TAO (for thousand-and-one amino acids) protein kinases activate p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascades in vitro and in cells by phosphorylating the MAP/ERK kinases (MEKs) 3 and 6. We found that TAO2 activity was increased by carbachol and that carbachol and the heterotrimeric G protein Galphao could activate p38 in 293 cells. Using dominant interfering kinase mutants, we found that MEKs 3 and 6 and TAOs were required for p38 activation by carbachol or the constitutively active mutant GalphaoQ205L. To explore events downstream of TAOs, the effects of TAO2 on ternary complex factors (TCFs) were investigated. Transfection studies demonstrated that TAO2 stimulates phosphorylation of the TCF Elk1 on the major activating site, Ser383, and that TAO2 stimulates transactivation of Elk1 and the related TCF, Sap1. Reporter activity was reduced by the p38-selective inhibitor SB203580. Taken together, these studies suggest that TAO protein kinases relay signals from carbachol through heterotrimeric G proteins to the p38 MAP kinase, which then activates TCFs in the nucleus.

Mammalian APH-1 interacts with presenilin and nicastrin and is required for intramembrane proteolysis of amyloid-beta precursor protein and Notch.

Presenilin and nicastrin are essential components of the gamma-secretase complex that is required for the intramembrane proteolysis of an increasing number of membrane proteins including the amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP) and Notch. By using co-immunoprecipitation and nickel affinity pull-down approaches, we now show that mammalian APH-1 (mAPH-1), a conserved multipass membrane protein, physically associates with nicastrin and the heterodimers of the presenilin amino- and carboxyl-terminal fragments in human cell lines and in rat brain. Similar to the loss of presenilin or nicastrin, the inactivation of endogenous mAPH-1 using small interfering RNAs results in the decrease of presenilin levels, accumulation of gamma-secretase substrates (APP carboxyl-terminal fragments), and reduction of gamma-secretase products (amyloid-beta peptides and the intracellular domains of APP and Notch). These data indicate that mAPH-1 is probably a functional component of the gamma-secretase complex required for the intramembrane proteolysis of APP and Notch.