Deciphering proneurotrophin actions.

Like most growth factors, neurotrophins are initially synthesized as precursors that are cleaved to release C-terminal mature forms. The well-characterized mature neurotrophins bind to Trk receptors to initiate survival and differentiative responses. More recently, the precursor forms or proneurotrophins have been found to act as distinct ligands by binding to an unrelated receptor complex consisting of the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75) and sortilin to initiate cell death. Induction of proNGF and p75 has been observed in preclinical injury models and in pathological states in the central nervous system, and strategies that block the proNGF/p75 interaction are effective in limiting neuronal apoptosis. In contrast, the mechanisms that regulate expression of other proneurotrophins, including proBDNF and proNT-3, are less well understood. Here, recent findings on the biological actions, regulation of expression, and pathophysiological effects of proneurotrophins will be reviewed.

Identification of an essential nonneuronal function of neurotrophin 3 in mammalian cardiac development.

Neurotrophin 3 (Nt3) is one of five neurotrophin growth factors which shape the development of the nervous system by regulating neuronal survival and differentiation. Peripheral neuronal subpopulations expressing the TrkC receptor tyrosine kinase respond to Nt3 with enhanced survival, mitogenesis or cell migration and these neurons are lost in homozygous Nt3 null (-/-) mutant mice. The unexplained perinatal lethality in the Nt3-/- mice, however, suggests a wider function for this neurotrophin. Here we report that Nt3 is essential for the normal development of atria, ventricles, and cardiac outflow tracts. Histological and echocardiographic image analysis of Nt3-/- animals reveal severe cardiovascular abnormalities including atrial and ventricular septal defects, and tetralogy of Fallot, resembling some of the most common congenital malformations in humans. The observed defects are consistent with abnormalities in the survival and/or migration of cardiac neural crest early in embryogenesis and establish an essential role for neurotrophin 3 in regulating the development of the mammalian heart.

Expression of functional nerve growth factor receptors after gene transfer.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) interacts with both high affinity (Kd = 10(-10)-10(-11)M) and low affinity (Kd = 10(-8)-10(-9)M) receptors; the binding of NGF to the high affinity receptor is correlated with biological actions of NGF. To determine whether a single NGF binding protein is common to both forms of the receptor, a full-length receptor cDNA was introduced in the NR18 cell line, an NGF receptor-deficient variant of the PC12 pheochromocytoma cell line. The transformant displayed (i) both high and low affinity receptors detectable by receptor binding; (ii) an affinity cross-linking pattern with 125I-labeled NGF similar to that of the parent PC12 cell line; and (iii) biological responsiveness to NGF as assayed by induction of c-fos transcription. These findings support the hypothesis that a single binding protein is common to both forms of the NGF receptor and suggest that an additional protein is required to produce the high affinity form of the NGF receptor.

Regulation of cell survival by secreted proneurotrophins.

Neurotrophins are growth factors that promote cell survival, differentiation, and cell death. They are synthesized as proforms that can be cleaved intracellularly to release mature, secreted ligands. Although proneurotrophins have been considered inactive precursors, we show here that the proforms of nerve growth factor (NGF) and the proforms of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are secreted and cleaved extracellularly by the serine protease plasmin and by selective matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). ProNGF is a high-affinity ligand for p75(NTR) with high affinity and induced p75NTR-dependent apoptosis in cultured neurons with minimal activation of TrkA-mediated differentiation or survival. The biological action of neurotrophins is thus regulated by proteolytic cleavage, with proforms preferentially activating p75NTR to mediate apoptosis and mature forms activating Trk receptors to promote survival.

The trk proto-oncogene product: a signal transducing receptor for nerve growth factor.

The trk proto-oncogene encodes a 140-kilodalton, membrane-spanning protein tyrosine kinase (p140prototrk) that is expressed only in neural tissues. Nerve growth factor (NGF) stimulates phosphorylation of p140prototrk in neural cell lines and in embryonic dorsal root ganglia. Affinity cross-linking and equilibrium binding experiments with 125I-labeled NGF indicate that p140prototrk binds NGF specifically in cultured cells with a dissociation constant of 10(-9) molar. The identification of p140prototrk as an NGF receptor indicates that this protein participates in the primary signal transduction mechanism of NGF.

Overexpression of the trk tyrosine kinase rapidly accelerates nerve growth factor-induced differentiation.

To investigate the role of the gp140trk receptor tyrosine kinase in nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced differentiation, we have overexpressed gp140trk in the NGF-responsive PC12 cell line. Here we demonstrate that overexpression of gp140trk results in marked changes in NGF-induced differentiation. Whereas PC12 cells elaborated neurites after 2 days of continuous exposure to NGF, PC12 cells overexpressing gp140trk by 20-fold(trk-PC12) began this process within hours. Compared with wild-type PC12 cells, trk-PC12 exhibited an increase in both high and low affinity NGF-binding sites. Furthermore, trk-PC12 cells displayed an enhanced level of NGF-dependent gp140trk autophosphorylation, and this activity was sustained for many hours following ligand binding. The tyrosine phosphorylation or activity of several cellular proteins, such as PLC-gamma 1, PI-3 kinase, and Erk1 and the expression of the mRNA for the late response gene transin were also sustained as a consequence of gp140trk overexpression. The data indicate that overexpression of gp140trk in PC12 cells markedly accelerates NGF-induced differentiation pathways, possibly through the elevation of gp140trk tyrosine kinase activity.

TrkA immunoglobulin-like ligand binding domains inhibit spontaneous activation of the receptor.

The extracellular region of the nerve growth factor (NGF) receptor, TrkA, contains two immunoglobulin (Ig)-like domains that are required for specific ligand binding. We have investigated the possible role of these two Ig-like domains in receptor dimerization and activation by using different mutants of the TrkA extracellular region. Deletions of each Ig-like domain, of both, and of the entire extracellular region were made. To probe the structural constraints on ligand-independent receptor dimerization, chimeric receptors were generated by swapping the Ig-like domains of the TrkA receptor for the third or fourth Ig-like domain of c-Kit. We also introduced single-amino-acid changes in conserved residues within the Ig-like domains of TrkA. Most of these TrkA variants did not bind NGF, and their expression in PC12nnr5 cells, which lack endogenous TrkA, promoted ligand-independent neurite outgrowth. Some TrkA mutant receptors induced malignant transformation of Rat-1 cells, as assessed by measuring proliferation in the absence of serum, anchorage-independent growth, and tumorigenesis in nude mice. These mutants exhibited constitutive phosphorylation and spontaneous dimerization consistent with their biological activities. Our data suggest that spontaneous dimerization of TrkA occurs when the structure of the Ig-like domains is altered, implying that the intact domains inhibit receptor dimerization in the absence of NGF.

Expression of the v-crk oncogene product in PC12 cells results in rapid differentiation by both nerve growth factor- and epidermal growth factor-dependent pathways.

The transforming gene of the avian sarcoma virus CT10 encodes a fusion protein (p47gag-crk or v-Crk) containing viral Gag sequences fused to cellular sequences consisting primarily of Src homology regions 2 and 3 (SH2 and SH3 sequences). Here we report a novel function of v-Crk in the mammalian pheochromocytoma cell line, PC12, whereby stable expression of v-Crk induces accelerated differentiation, as assessed by induction of neurites following nerve growth factor (NGF) or basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) treatment compared with the effect in native PC12 cells. Surprisingly, however, these cells also develop extensive neurite processes after epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulation, an event which is not observed in native PC12 cells. Following EGF or NGF stimulation of the v-CrkPC12 cells, the v-Crk protein itself became tyrosine phosphorylated within 1 min. Moreover, in A431 cells or TrkA-PC12 cells, which overexpress EGF receptors and TrkA, respectively, a GST-CrkSH2 fusion protein was indeed capable of binding these receptors in a phosphotyrosine-dependent manner, suggesting that v-Crk can directly couple to receptor tyrosine kinase pathways in PC12 cells. In transformed fibroblasts, v-Crk binds to specific tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins of p130 and paxillin. Both of these proteins are also complexed to v-Crk in PC12 cells, as evidenced by their coprecipitation with v-Crk in detergent lysates, suggesting that common effector pathways may occur in both cell types. However, whereas PC12 cellular differentiation can occur solely by overexpression of the v-Src or oncogenic Ras proteins, that induced by v-Crk requires a growth factor stimulatory signal, possibility in a two-step process.

p75 and Trk: a two-receptor system.

The neurotrophin family of survival factors is distinguished by a unique receptor-signaling system that is composed of two transmembrane receptor proteins. Nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and NT-4/5 share similar protein structures and biological functions and interact with two different types of cell-surface proteins, the Trk family of receptor tyrosine kinases, and the p75, or low-affinity neurotrophin receptor. An important question is whether a dual receptor system is necessary for neurotrophin action. Evidence indicates that co-expression of the two genes for the p75 receptor and the Trk NGF receptor can potentially lead to greater responsiveness to NGF, and suggests additional levels of regulation for the family of neurotrophin factors.

Trk C signaling is required for retinal progenitor cell proliferation.

Although neurotrophin actions in the survival of specific retinal cell types have been identified, the biological functions for neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) in early retinal development remain unclear. Having localized NT-3 and trk C expression at early developmental stages when retinal neuroepithelial progenitor cells predominate, we sought to modulate NT-3 signaling in these cells by overexpressing a truncated isoform of the NT-3 receptor, trk C. We have demonstrated that this non-catalytic receptor can inhibit NT-3 signaling when coexpressed with the full-length kinase-active trk C receptor. Using a replication-deficient retrovirus to ectopically express the truncated trk C receptor to limited numbers of progenitor cells in ovo, we examined the effects of disrupted trk C signaling on the proliferation or differentiation of retinal cells. Clones expressing truncated trk C exhibited a 70% reduction in clone size, compared with clones infected with a control virus, indicating that inhibition of trk C signaling decreased the clonal expansion of cells derived from a single retinal progenitor cell. Additionally, impaired NT-3 signaling resulted in a reduction of all retinal cell types, suggesting that NT-3 targets retinal precursor cells rather than differentiated cell types. BrdU labeling studies performed at E6 indicate that this reduction in cell number occurs through a decrease in cell proliferation. These studies suggest that NT-3 is an important mitogen early in retinal development and serves to establish the size of the progenitor pool from which all future differentiated cells arise.

v-Crk, an effector of the nerve growth factor signaling pathway, delays apoptotic cell death in neurotrophin-deprived PC12 cells.

v-Crk is a member of a class of SH2 and SH3-containing adaptor proteins that have been implicated in regulating the TrkA receptor tyrosine kinase and potentiating Nerve Growth Factor (NGF)-mediated neurite outgrowth in pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells (Hempstead et al, Mol. Cell Biol. 14: 1964 - 1971). Given the fact that NGF induces both differentiation and survival by binding to TrkA, we examined the rate of apoptotic cell death elicited by NGF-withdrawal in native, v-Crk, and TrkA-expressing PC12 cells. While more than 50% of native PC12 cells underwent apoptosis within 48 h of NGF withdrawal, the v-Crk and TrkA-expressing cells were much more resistant to apoptosis under these conditions, whereby approximately 70 and 95%, respectively, of the cells were alive. The ability of v-Crk to delay apoptosis required prior NGF-dependent differentiation, since naive undifferentiated v-Crk expressing PC12 cells or cells that express v-Crk mutants that are defective in NGF signaling were not protected from apoptosis during growth factor withdrawal. Moreover, addition of 50 ng/ml EGF to serum and NGF deprived v-Crk expressing cells, which also causes neurite outgrowth, promoted complete and long-term survival, although such EGF replacement had no neurotrophic effect on wild-type PC12 cells or PC12 cells overexpressing Human Bcl-2. These experiments suggest that v-Crk potentiation of a receptor tyrosine kinase under conditions of growth factor deprivation is essential for preventing apoptosis. However, unlike native PC12 cells, neither v-Crk or TrkA-expressing PC12 cells exhibited a G1 arrest when incubated for 2 weeks in NGF. Thus, v-Crk and TrkA may protect NGF deprived PC12 by preventing cell cycle arrest and hence an aborted entry into a defective cell cycle. Moreover, during NGF-withdrawal, v-CrkPC12 cells exhibited down regulation in MAP kinase and JNK activities while in native cells, these activities increased within 6 - 8 h after NGF deprivation. Thus, unlike v-Crk-mediated augmentation of differentiation, sustained activation of MAP kinase may not be required for v-Crk-induced cell survival.

Regulation of cardiac development by receptor tyrosine kinases.

The development of a functional heart depends on the coordinated growth, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis of cell populations of diverse embryological origins. These processes are regulated in part by soluble polypeptide growth factors that exert their effects via binding to cell surface receptors with intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity. In particular, members of this class of receptors and their ligands have been shown to regulate the development of distinctive regions of the heart, such as the mesodermally derived cardiac myocyte, the endocardium, and outflow tract and septa, which depend on cardiac neural crest. The hepatocyte growth factor receptor, c-met the fibroblast growth factor receptors; and the neuregulin receptors have been shown to influence cardiomyocyte proliferation and/or differentiation. Receptors binding to vascular endothelial cell growth factor or angiopoietin have been implicated in the development of the endocardium. Finally, gene-targeting experiments in the mouse have demonstrated functional roles for neurotrophins and their cognate trk receptor tyrosine kinases in the development of outflow tract, septa, and valves that are structures derived from cardiac neural crest.

Expression of trk receptors in the developing and adult human central and peripheral nervous system.

A family of tyrosine receptor kinases known collectively as trk receptors plays an essential role in signal transduction mediated by nerve growth factor and related neurotrophins. To localize the major trk receptors (trkA, B and C) in the developing and adult central (CNS) and peripheral (PNS) nervous system, we generated monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to extracellular (MAbs E7, E13, E16, E21, E29) and intracellular (MAb I2) domains of human trkA fused to glutathione S-transferase. Several MAbs (E7, E13, E16) recognized glycosylated trkA (gp140trk and gp110trk) in Western blots, one MAb (E7) recognized non-glycosylated (p80trk) and glycosylated trkA in immunoprecipitation assays, and two MAbs (E13, E29) detected trkA on the cell surface of NIH3T3 cells transfected with a trkA cDNA. Although generated to trkA fusion proteins, this panel of MAbs also recognized trkB and trkC in flow cytometric studies of NIH3T3 cells transfected with trkB or trkC cDNAs. Thus, we used these pan-trk MAbs to probe selected regions of the CNS and PNS including the hippocampus, nucleus basalis of Meynert, cerebellum, spinal cord, and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) to localize trkA, B, and C receptors in the developing and adult human nervous system. These studies showed that trk receptors are expressed primarily by neurons and are detectable very early in the developing hippocampus, cerebellum, spinal cord, and DRG. Although the distribution and intensity of trk immunoreactivity changed with the progressive maturation of the CNS and PNS, immunoreactive trk receptors were detected in neurons of the adult human hippocampus, nucleus basalis of Meynert, cerebellum, spinal cord, and DRG. This first study of trk receptor proteins in the developing and adult human CNS and PNS documents the expression of these receptors in subsets of neurons throughout the developing and adult nervous system. Thus, although the expression of trk receptor proteins is developmentally regulated, the constitutive expression of these neurotrophin receptors by neurons in many regions of the adult human CNS and PNS implies that mature trk receptor-bearing neurons retain the ability to respond to neurotrophins long after terminal neuronal differentiation is complete.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor as a model system for examining gene by environment interactions across development.

There has been a dramatic rise in gene x environment studies of human behavior over the past decade that have moved the field beyond simple nature versus nurture debates. These studies offer promise in accounting for more variability in behavioral and biological phenotypes than studies that focus on genetic or experiential factors alone. They also provide clues into mechanisms of modifying genetic risk or resilience in neurodevelopmental disorders. Yet, it is rare that these studies consider how these interactions change over the course of development. In this paper, we describe research that focuses on the impact of a polymorphism in a brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, known to be involved in learning and development. Specifically we present findings that assess the effects of genotypic and environmental loadings on neuroanatomic and behavioral phenotypes across development. The findings illustrate the use of a genetic mouse model that mimics the human polymorphism, to constrain the interpretation of gene-environment interactions across development in humans.

Neurotrophins and their receptors: signaling trios in complex biological systems.

The neurotrophins, a class of four related growth factors, utilize a dual receptor system consisting of Trk receptor tyrosine kinases and the structurally unrelated p75(NTR) to modulate diverse and sometimes opposing biological actions. The identification of novel ligands for p75(NTR), unconventional mechanisms for Trk activation and unique signaling intermediates further underscores the complex nature of neurotrophin: receptor interactions, as well as their functions within and outside of the nervous systems. This review summarizes recent surprises of how ligand-receptor pairing may affect diverse developmental events, regulate response to injury and extend their influence on memory and learning.

Characterization of the IgE receptor isolated from human basophils.

The IgE receptor of human basophils was purified by using simple and repetitive affinity chromatography on human IgE-Sepharose. Basophils were partially purified from peripheral blood of patients with chronic myelogenous or basophilic leukemia. Cells were labeled with 125I by using the lactoperoxidase method and were solubilized with nonionic detergent. Elution of IgE-Sepharose with 0.5 N acetic acid, 1% NP-40 allowed recovery of active IgE receptor. Analysis of human IgE receptor by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with 10% gels demonstrated one major radioactive peak with an apparent m.w. of 58,000 to 68,000, somewhat larger than rat IgE receptor. The purified human IgE receptor was active since approximately 10 to 42% of labeled receptor could specifically rebind to insolubilized human IgE. Rebinding was blocked by nanomolar concentrations of soluble human IgE or rat IgE but not by human or rat IgG, heat-inactivated human IgE, or heat-aggregated human IgG; thus it appears that rat IgE receptor. The relative abilities of active rat IgE and active human IgE to inhibit human IgE receptor rebinding could not be precisely determined because of the limitations in assessing the proportion of human IgE that retains receptor-binding activity.

Selective phosphorylation of the IgE receptor in antigen-stimulated rat mast cells.

Purified rat serosal mast cells were sensitized with mouse immunoglobulin E (IgE) anti-2,4-dinitrophenyl antibody, partially depleted of phosphate, labeled with [32P]orthophosphate, and stimulated with dinitrophenylated bovine serum albumin or control protein. After 15-120 seconds at 37 degrees C, the cells were extracted with nonionic detergent. IgE receptors were purified by repetitive affinity chromatography and were analyzed by NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and radioautography. Antigenic stimulation of intact rat mast cells produced a rapid and marked increase in the phosphorylation of the surface-exposed alpha component of the IgE receptor. However, phosphorylation of the 33,000 Mr beta component of the IgE receptor was not altered significantly by antigen stimulation. This suggests that the selective increase in phosphorylation of the IgE receptor alpha component may be part of the physiologic mediator secretion process triggered by antigen.

The cell surface receptor for immunoglobulin E. Effect of tunicamycin on molecular properties of receptor from rat basophilic leukemia cells.

Cell surface receptors for immunoglobulin E were isolated by repetitive affinity chromatography from rat basophilic leukemia cells biosynthetically labeled with L-[35S]methionine and D-[3H]mannose. Native immunoglobulin E receptor appeared as a very broad band in the 45,000 to 62,000 Mr region in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels. However, from cells cultured in the presence of tunicamycin, a relatively narrow band with an apparent Mr of 38,000 was isolated. The 38,000 Mr band rebound to immunoglobulin E-Sepharose, was immunoprecipitated with antibodies to immunoglobulin E receptor, shared tryptic peptides with native receptor, and was labeled with L-[35S]methionine but not D-[3H]mannose, and thus appears to be immunoglobulin E receptor lacking N-linked oligosaccharides. It is demonstrated that N-linked oligosaccharides account for much of the apparent heterogeneity of native receptor in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels and in two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. A receptor-associated protein with apparent Mr = 30,000, prominently labeled with L-[35S]methionine but not with D-[3H]mannose, did not have altered molecular properties when isolated from tunicamycin-cultured cells, and did not share tryptic peptides with receptor.

High affinity nerve growth factor binding displays a faster rate of association than p140trk binding. Implications for multi-subunit polypeptide receptors.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) binds to two cell surface receptors, p140trk and p75NGFR, which are both expressed in responsive sensory, sympathetic, and basal forebrain cholinergic neurons. While p140trk belongs to the family of receptor tyrosine kinases, p75NGFR is a member of the TNF/Fas/CD40/CD30 family of receptors. Current views of neurotrophin receptor function have tended to interpret p140trk as the high affinity NGF-binding site. To assess if the binding of NGF to p140trk was distinguishable from binding to high affinity sites on neuronal cells, PC12 cell sublines were generated which expressed p140trk alone, or coexpressed both p140trk and p75NGFR. Kinetic analysis of 125I-NGF binding indicates that it has an unusually slow rate of association with p140trk (k + 1 = 8 x 10(5) M-1 s-1). When both p140trk and p75NGFR receptors are coexpressed, the rate of association of NGF is increased 25-fold to produce a higher affinity binding site. An increase in the rate of internalization was also observed. Since high affinity binding and internalization are believed to be prerequisite for the biological activities of NGF, these results suggest that the biological effects by NGF are derived from a novel kinetic binding site that requires the expression of both receptors. The implications of these results with respect to multisubunit polypeptide receptors are discussed.