Role for the adaptor protein Grb10 in the activation of Akt.

Grb10 is a member of the Grb7 family of adapter proteins lacking intrinsic enzymatic function and encodes functional domains including a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain and an SH2 domain. The role of different Grb10 splice variants in signal transduction of growth factors like insulin or insulin-like growth factor has been described as inhibitory or stimulatory depending on the presence of a functional PH and/or SH2 domain. Performing a yeast two-hybrid screen with the c-kit cytoplasmic tail fused to LexA as a bait and a mouse embryo cDNA library as prey, we found that the Grb10 SH2 domain interacted with the c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase. In the course of SCF-mediated activation of c-kit, Grb10 is recruited to the c-kit receptor in an SH2 domain- and phosphotyrosine-dependent but PH domain-independent manner. We found that Akt and Grb10 form a constitutive complex, suggesting a role for Grb10 in the translocation of Akt to the cell membrane. Indeed, coexpression studies revealed that Grb10 and c-kit activate Akt in a synergistic manner. This dose-dependent effect of Grb10 is wortmannin sensitive and was also seen at a lower level in cells in which c-kit was not expressed. Expression of a Grb10 mutant lacking the SH2 domain as well as a mutant lacking the PH domain did not influence Akt activity. Grb10-induced Akt activation was observed without increased phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) activity, suggesting that Grb10 is a positive regulator of Akt downstream of PI3-kinase. Significantly, deficient activation of Akt by a constitutively activated c-kit mutant lacking the binding site for PI3-kinase (c-kitD814V/Y719F) could be fully compensated by overexpression of Grb10. In Ba/F3 cells, the incapacity of c-kitD814V/Y719F to induce interleukin-3 (IL-3)-independent growth could be rescued by overexpression of Grb10. In contrast, expression of the SH2 deletion mutant of Grb10 together with c-kitD814V/Y719F did not render Ba/F3 cells independent of IL-3. In summary, we provide evidence that Grb10 is part of the c-kit signaling pathway and that the expression level of Grb10 critically influences Akt activity. We propose a model in which Grb10 acts as a coactivator for Akt by virtue of its ability to form a complex with Akt and its SH2 domain-dependent translocation to the cell membrane.

Analysing c-kit internalization using a functional c-kit-EGFP chimera containing the fluorochrome within the extracellular domain.

In order to investigate activation and internalization of c-kit we created a functional c-kit-EGFP chimera by inserting EYFP (enhanced yellow fluorescent protein) within the extracellular domain of c-kit immediately downstream of the signal sequence, SS-EYFP-kit. This location was chosen because the C-terminal fusion of EGFP to c-kit unexpectedly caused constitutive activation of the c-kit tyrosine kinase. As analysed in fixed cells and by real time imaging in vivo, SCF induced activation led to internalization of the fusion construct and translocation to punctate structures resembling vesicles. Analysis of the internalization process by time lapse imaging revealed high mobility and discontinuous movement of these vesicles and their predominantly radial tracks. Two subsets of vesicles were observed: Traffic of the majority of vesicles was directed from the periphery to the center of the cell and most likely represents the internalization of activated receptor molecules via the endosomal pathway. However, some vesicular structures were observed to move towards the periphery of the cell and probably contain newly synthesized protein to replace internalized receptor molecules. The calculated velocity of moving vesicles ranged from 0.05 to 0.2 microm per se. Vesicle formation upon SCF induced dimerization of the receptor was strictly dependent on kinase activity of c-kit. Treatment of cells with phenylarsine oxide, an agent blocking receptor internalization, prior to SCF stimulation resulted in abrogation of the translocation of the chimera to vesicles whereas accumulation of vesicles was observed when cells were treated with proteasome inhibitors. Cholesterol depletion of the cell membrane by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin resulted in dose dependent reduction of receptor internalization indicating that c-kit may be present in lipid rafts or that intact lipid rafts are required for efficient internalization of the receptor. Using the induction of vesicular structures as a sign of efficient internalization of the receptor analysis of mutant c-kit constructs deficient either in activation of PI3-Kinase or Src revealed that internalization of c-kit is dependent on recruitment of Src but not PI3-Kinase.

Direct interaction between Kit and the interleukin-7 receptor.

In vivo analyses of thymopoiesis in mice defective in signaling through Kit and gammac or Kit and IL-7Ralpha demonstrate synergy and partial complementation of gammac or IL-7-mediated signaling by the Kit signaling pathway. Our molecular analysis in T-lymphoid cells as well as in nonhematopoietic cells shows that Kit and IL-7R signaling pathways directly interact. KL-mediated activation of Kit induced strong tyrosine phosphorylation of gammac and IL-7Ralpha in the absence of IL-7. Activated Kit formed a complex with either IL-7Ralpha or gammac, and tyrosine phosphorylation of both subunits occurred independently of Jak3, suggesting that gammac and IL-7Ralpha are each direct substrates of Kit. Kit activated Jak3 in an IL-7R-dependent manner. Moreover, deficient Stat5 activation of the Kit mutant YY567/569FF lacking intrinsic Src activation capacity was partially reconstituted in the presence of IL-7R and Jak3. Based on the molecular data, we propose a model of Kit-mediated functional activation of gammac-containing receptors such as IL-7R, similar to the interaction between Kit and Epo-R. Such indirect activation of the Jak-Stat pathway induced by the interaction between an RTK and type I cytokine receptor could be the underlying mechanism for a context-specific signaling repertoire of a pleiotropic RTK-like Kit.

A cell-based screen for resistance of Bcr-Abl-positive leukemia identifies the mutation pattern for PD166326, an alternative Abl kinase inhibitor.

In Philadelphia-positive (Ph(+)) leukemia, point mutations within the Bcr-Abl kinase domain emerged as a major mechanism of resistance to imatinib mesylate. We established a cell-based screening strategy for detection of clinically relevant point mutations using Bcr-Abl-transformed Ba/F3 cells. We identified 32 different single-point mutations within the kinase domain of Bcr-Abl. The pattern and frequency of mutations in this cell culture-based screen resembled the pattern and frequency observed in resistant patients. We then applied this screen to an alternative Abl kinase inhibitor. Using PD166326, the frequency of resistant colonies emerging at 5 to 10 times the median growth inhibition (IC50) of PD166326 was significantly lower than with imatinib. In addition, PD166326 produced a distinct pattern of Bcr-Abl mutations. The majority of mutations that came up with both imatinib and PD166326 could effectively be suppressed by increasing the dose of PD166326 to 50 to 500 nM. In contrast, only a few mutations could be suppressed by increasing the imatinib dose to 5 to 10 microM. However, 3 mutations affecting F317 displayed complete resistance to PD166326, but could be effectively inhibited by standard concentrations of imatinib. Thus, this robust and simple screening system provides a rational basis for combinatorial and sequential treatment strategies in targeted cancer therapy.

Association of Bcr-Abl with the proto-oncogene Vav is implicated in activation of the Rac-1 pathway.

Vav is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the Rho/Rac family predominantly expressed in hematopoietic cells and implicated in cell proliferation and cytoskeletal organization. The oncogenic tyrosine kinase Bcr-Abl has been shown to activate Rac-1, which is important for Bcr-Abl induced leukemogenesis. Previous studies by Matsuguchi et al. (Matsuguchi, T., Inhorn, R. C., Carlesso, N., Xu, G., Druker, B., and Griffin, J. D. (1995) EMBO J. 14, 257-265) describe enhanced phosphorylation of Vav in Bcr-Abl-expressing Mo7e cells yet fail to demonstrate association of the two proteins. Here, we report the identification of a direct complex between Vav and Bcr-Abl in yeast, in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we show tyrosine phosphorylation of Vav by Bcr-Abl. Mutational analysis revealed that the SH2 domain and the C-terminal SH3 domain as well as a tetraproline motif directly adjacent to the N-terminal SH3 domain of Vav are important for establishing this phosphotyrosine dependent interaction. Activation of Rac-1 by Bcr-Abl was abrogated by co-expression of the Vav C terminus encoding the SH3-SH2-SH3 domains as a dominant negative construct. Bcr-Abl transduced primary bone marrow from Vav knock-out mice showed reduced proliferation in a culture cell transformation assay compared with wild-type bone marrow. These results suggest, that Bcr-Abl utilizes Vav as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor to activate Rac-1 in a process that involves a folding mechanism of the Vav C terminus. Given the importance of Rac-1 activation for Bcr-Abl-mediated leukemogenesis, this mechanism may be crucial for the molecular pathogenesis of chronic myeloid leukemia and of importance for other signal transduction pathways leading to the activation of Rac-1.