BKCa channel regulates calcium oscillations induced by alpha-2-macroglobulin in human myometrial smooth muscle cells.

The large-conductance, voltage-gated, calcium (Ca(2+))-activated potassium channel (BKCa) plays an important role in regulating Ca(2+)signaling and is implicated in the maintenance of uterine quiescence during pregnancy. We used immunopurification and mass spectrometry to identify proteins that interact with BKCain myometrium samples from term pregnant (≥37 wk gestation) women. From this screen, we identified alpha-2-macroglobulin (α2M). We then used immunoprecipitation followed by immunoblot and the proximity ligation assay to confirm the interaction between BKCaand both α2M and its receptor, low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1), in cultured primary human myometrial smooth muscle cells (hMSMCs). Single-channel electrophysiological recordings in the cell-attached configuration demonstrated that activated α2M (α2M*) increased the open probability of BKCain an oscillatory pattern in hMSMCs. Furthermore, α2M* caused intracellular levels of Ca(2+)to oscillate in oxytocin-primed hMSMCs. The initiation of oscillations required an interaction between α2M* and LRP1. By using Ca(2+)-free medium and inhibitors of various Ca(2+)signaling pathways, we demonstrated that the oscillations required entry of extracellular Ca(2+)through store-operated Ca(2+)channels. Finally, we found that the specific BKCablocker paxilline inhibited the oscillations, whereas the channel opener NS11021 increased the rate of these oscillations. These data demonstrate that α2M* and LRP1 modulate the BKCachannel in human myometrium and that BKCaand its immunomodulatory interacting partners regulate Ca(2+)dynamics in hMSMCs during pregnancy.

Improved LC/MS Methods for the Analysis of Metal-Sensitive Analytes Using Medronic Acid as a Mobile Phase Additive.

Phosphorylated compounds and organic acids with multiple carboxylate groups are commonly observed to have poor peak shapes and signal in LC/MS experiments. The poor peak shape is caused by the presence of trace metals, particularly iron, contributed from a variety of sources within the chromatographic system. To ameliorate this problem, different solvent additives were investigated to reduce the amount of metal in the flow path to achieve better analytical performance for these metal-sensitive compounds. Here, we introduce the use of a solvent additive that can significantly improve the peak shapes and signal of metal-sensitive metabolites for LC/MS analysis. Moreover, the additive is shown to be amenable for other metal-sensitive applications, such as the analysis of phosphopeptides and polar phosphorylated pesticides, where the instruments could be used in either positive or negative analysis mode.

Molecular Signatures of Membrane Protein Complexes Underlying Muscular Dystrophy.

Mutations in genes encoding components of the sarcolemmal dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC) are responsible for a large number of muscular dystrophies. As such, molecular dissection of the DGC is expected to both reveal pathological mechanisms, and provides a biological framework for validating new DGC components. Establishment of the molecular composition of plasma-membrane protein complexes has been hampered by a lack of suitable biochemical approaches. Here we present an analytical workflow based upon the principles of protein correlation profiling that has enabled us to model the molecular composition of the DGC in mouse skeletal muscle. We also report our analysis of protein complexes in mice harboring mutations in DGC components. Bioinformatic analyses suggested that cell-adhesion pathways were under the transcriptional control of NFκB in DGC mutant mice, which is a finding that is supported by previous studies that showed NFκB-regulated pathways underlie the pathophysiology of DGC-related muscular dystrophies. Moreover, the bioinformatic analyses suggested that inflammatory and compensatory mechanisms were activated in skeletal muscle of DGC mutant mice. Additionally, this proteomic study provides a molecular framework to refine our understanding of the DGC, identification of protein biomarkers of neuromuscular disease, and pharmacological interrogation of the DGC in adult skeletal muscle https://www.mda.org/disease/congenital-muscular-dystrophy/research.

Discovery Proteomics Identifies a Molecular Link between the Coatomer Protein Complex I and Androgen Receptor-dependent Transcription.

Aberrant androgen receptor (AR)-dependent transcription is a hallmark of human prostate cancers. At the molecular level, ligand-mediated AR activation is coordinated through spatial and temporal protein-protein interactions involving AR-interacting proteins, which we designate the "AR-interactome." Despite many years of research, the ligand-sensitive protein complexes involved in ligand-mediated AR activation in prostate tumor cells have not been clearly defined. Here, we describe the development, characterization, and utilization of a novel human LNCaP prostate tumor cell line, N-AR, which stably expresses wild-type AR tagged at its N terminus with the streptavidin-binding peptide epitope (streptavidin-binding peptide-tagged wild-type androgen receptor; SBP-AR). A bioanalytical workflow involving streptavidin chromatography and label-free quantitative mass spectrometry was used to identify SBP-AR and associated ligand-sensitive cytosolic proteins/protein complexes linked to AR activation in prostate tumor cells. Functional studies verified that ligand-sensitive proteins identified in the proteomic screen encoded modulators of AR-mediated transcription, suggesting that these novel proteins were putative SBP-AR-interacting proteins in N-AR cells. This was supported by biochemical associations between recombinant SBP-AR and the ligand-sensitive coatomer protein complex I (COPI) retrograde trafficking complex in vitro Extensive biochemical and molecular experiments showed that the COPI retrograde complex regulates ligand-mediated AR transcriptional activation, which correlated with the mobilization of the Golgi-localized ARA160 coactivator to the nuclear compartment of prostate tumor cells. Collectively, this study provides a bioanalytical strategy to validate the AR-interactome and define novel AR-interacting proteins involved in ligand-mediated AR activation in prostate tumor cells. Moreover, we describe a cellular system to study how compartment-specific AR-interacting proteins influence AR activation and contribute to aberrant AR-dependent transcription that underlies the majority of human prostate cancers.

Glandular Proteome Identifies Antiprotease Cystatin C as a Critical Modulator of Airway Hydration and Clearance.

Defects in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channel lead to viscous secretions from submucosal glands that cannot be properly hydrated and cleared by beating cilia in cystic fibrosis (CF) airways. The mechanisms by which CFTR, and the predominant epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), control the hydration and clearance of glandular secretions remain unclear. We used a proteomics approach to characterize the proteins contained in CF and non-CF submucosal gland fluid droplets and found that differentially regulated proteases (cathepsin S and H) and their antiprotease (cystatin C) influenced the equilibration of fluid on the airway surface and tracheal mucociliary clearance (MCC). Contrary to prevailing models of airway hydration and clearance, cystatin C, or raising the airway surface liquid (ASL) pH, inhibited cathepsin-dependent ENaC-mediated fluid absorption and raised the height of ASL, and yet decreased MCC velocity. Importantly, coupling of both CFTR and ENaC activities were required for effective MCC and for effective ASL height equilibration after volume challenge. Cystatin C-inhibitable cathepsins controlled initial phases of ENaC-mediated fluid absorption, whereas CFTR activity was required to prevent ASL dehydration. Interestingly, CF airway epithelia absorbed fluid more slowly owing to reduced cysteine protease activity in the ASL but became abnormally dehydrated with time. Our findings demonstrate that, after volume challenge, pH-dependent protease-mediated coupling of CFTR and ENaC activities are required for rapid fluid equilibration at the airway surface and for effective MCC. These findings provide new insights into how glandular fluid secretions may be equilibrated at the airway surface and how this process may be impaired in CF.

N-terminal isoforms of the large-conductance Ca²âº-activated K⁺ channel are differentially modulated by the auxiliary ß1-subunit.

The large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BK(Ca)) channel is essential for maintaining the membrane in a hyperpolarized state, thereby regulating neuronal excitability, smooth muscle contraction, and secretion. The BK(Ca) α-subunit has three predicted initiation codons that generate proteins with N-terminal ends starting with the amino acid sequences MANG, MSSN, or MDAL. Because the N-terminal region and first transmembrane domain of the α-subunit are required for modulation by auxiliary ß1-subunits, we examined whether ß1 differentially modulates the N-terminal BK(Ca) α-subunit isoforms. In the absence of ß1, all isoforms had similar single-channel conductances and voltage-dependent activation. However, whereas ß1 did not modulate the voltage-activation curve of MSSN, ß1 induced a significant leftward shift of the voltage activation curves of both the MDAL and MANG isoforms. These shifts, of which the MDAL was larger, occurred at both 10 µM and 100 µM Ca(2+). The ß1-subunit increased the open dwell times of all three isoforms and decreased the closed dwell times of MANG and MDAL but increased the closed dwell times of MSSN. The distinct modulation of voltage activation by the ß1-subunit may be due to the differential effect of ß1 on burst duration and interburst intervals observed among these isoforms. Additionally, we observed that the related ß2-subunit induced comparable leftward shifts in the voltage-activation curves of all three isoforms, indicating that the differential modulation of these isoforms was specific to ß1. These findings suggest that the relative expression of the N-terminal isoforms can fine-tune BK(Ca) channel activity in cells, highlighting a novel mechanism of BK(Ca) channel regulation.

Androgen receptor and chemokine receptors 4 and 7 form a signaling axis to regulate CXCL12-dependent cellular motility.

BACKGROUND: Identifying cellular signaling pathways that become corrupted in the presence of androgens that increase the metastatic potential of organ-confined tumor cells is critical to devising strategies capable of attenuating the metastatic progression of hormone-naïve, organ-confined tumors. In localized prostate cancers, gene fusions that place ETS-family transcription factors under the control of androgens drive gene expression programs that increase the invasiveness of organ-confined tumor cells. C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) is a downstream target of ERG, whose upregulation in prostate-tumor cells contributes to their migration from the prostate gland. Recent evidence suggests that CXCR4-mediated proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells is regulated by CXCR7 through its scavenging of chemokine CXCL12. However, the role of androgens in regulating CXCR4-mediated motility with respect to CXCR7 function in prostate-cancer cells remains unclear. METHODS: Immunocytochemistry, western blot, and affinity-purification analyses were used to study how androgens influenced the expression, subcellular localization, and function of CXCR7, CXCR4, and androgen receptor (AR) in LNCaP prostate-tumor cells. Moreover, luciferase assays and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) were used to study how chemokines CXCL11 and CXCL12 regulate androgen-regulated genes (ARGs) in LNCaP prostate-tumor cells. Lastly, cell motility assays were carried out to determine how androgens influenced CXCR4-dependent motility through CXCL12. RESULTS: Here we show that, in the LNCaP prostate-tumor cell line, androgens coordinate the expression of CXCR4 and CXCR7, thereby promoting CXCL12/CXCR4-mediated cell motility. RNA interference experiments revealed functional interactions between AR and CXCR7 in these cells. Co-localization and affinity-purification experiments support a physical interaction between AR and CXCR7 in LNCaP cells. Unexpectedly, CXCR7 resided in the nuclear compartment and modulated AR-mediated transcription. Moreover, androgen-mediated cell motility correlated positively with the co-localization of CXCR4 and CXCR7 receptors, suggesting that cell migration may be linked to functional CXCR4/CXCR7 heterodimers. Lastly, CXCL12-mediated cell motility was CXCR7-dependent, with CXCR7 expression required for optimal expression of CXCR4 protein. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our results suggest that inhibition of CXCR7 function might decrease the metastatic potential of organ-confined prostate cancers.

Fidelity of a BAC-EGFP transgene in reporting dynamic expression of IL-7Rα in T cells.

Interleukin-7 receptor α chain (IL-7Rα)-derived signals are critical for normal T cell development, mature T cell homeostasis, and longevity of memory T cells. IL-7Rα expression in T cells is dynamically regulated at different developmental and antigen-responding stages. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the dynamic regulation is not completely understood. Here we describe generation of a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-based reporter transgenic mouse strain, which contains 210 kb DNA sequence flanking the Il7r locus. We used in vitro validated EGFP reporter and insulator sequences to facilitate the reporter transgene expression. Consistent with endogenous IL-7Rα expression, the BAC transgene was expressed in mature T cells, a portion of natural killer cells but not in mature B cells. In the thymus, the EGFP reporter and endogenous IL-7Rα showed synchronized silencing in CD4(+)CD8(+) double positive stage, were both upregulated in CD4(+) or CD8(+) single positive thymocytes, and both continued to be co-expressed in naïve T cells in the periphery. Upon encountering antigen, the antigen-specific effector CD8(+) T cells downregulated both endogenous IL-7Rα and the EGFP reporter, which were upregulated in synchrony in antigen-specific memory CD8 T cells. These results indicate that the BAC-EGFP transgene reports endogenous IL-7Rα regulation with high fidelity, and further suggest that the 210 kb sequence flanking the Il7r locus contains sufficient genetic information to regulate its expression changes in T lineage cells. Our approach thus represents a critical initial step towards systematic dissection of the cis regulatory elements controlling dynamic IL-7Rα regulation during T cell development and cellular immune responses.

Discovery proteomics defines androgen-regulated glycoprotein networks in prostate cancer cells, as well as putative biomarkers of prostatic diseases.

Supraphysiologic androgen (SPA) inhibits cell proliferation in prostate cancer (PCa) cells by transcriptional repression of DNA replication and cell-cycle genes. In this study, quantitative glycoprotein profiling identified androgen-regulated glycoprotein networks associated with SPA-mediated inhibition of PCa cell proliferation, and androgen-regulated glycoproteins in clinical prostate tissues. SPA-regulated glycoprotein networks were enriched for translation factors and ribosomal proteins, proteins that are known to be O-GlcNAcylated in response to various cellular stresses. Thus, androgen-regulated glycoproteins are likely to be targeted for O-GlcNAcylation. Comparative analysis of glycosylated proteins in PCa cells and clinical prostate tissue identified androgen-regulated glycoproteins that are differentially expressed prostate tissues at various stages of cancer. Notably, the enzyme ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 5 was found to be an androgen-regulated glycoprotein in PCa cells, with higher expression in cancerous versus non-cancerous prostate tissue. Our glycoproteomics study provides an experimental framework for characterizing androgen-regulated proteins and glycoprotein networks, toward better understanding how this subproteome leads to physiologic and supraphysiologic proliferation responses in PCa cells, and their potential use as druggable biomarkers of dysregulated AR-dependent signaling in PCa cells.

High resolution two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry for robust and sensitive characterization of therapeutic antibodies at the peptide level.

Separations of complex peptide mixtures have been a common target application for two-dimensional liquid chromatography over the last few decades. These separations have most frequently been carried out at the capillary scale, with columns on the order of 75 µm i.d. and flow rates on the order of 500 nL/min. Recently, however, several groups have worked to optimize comprehensive 2D-LC (LC × LC) separations of peptides at the analytical scale (i.e., 2 mm i.d. columns, and ca. 1 mL/min flow rates) and demonstrated peak capacities on the order of 5000 in analysis times of a few hours, using reversed-phase separations in both dimensions. In this paper we aim to advance the performance of such separations in two primary ways. First, we demonstrate that active solvent modulation (ASM) can be used to improve the 2D peak capacity by both enabling use of long and highly efficient first dimension (1D) columns, and by mitigating the deleterious effects of injecting large fractions of 1D effluent into the small columns that are required for fast and highly sensitive second dimension (2D) separations. Taken together these two benefits enable the realization of a peak capacity of 10,000 in an analysis time of four hours. This comes at the cost of increased instrument complexity compared to 1D-LC separations, but the 2D-LC approach is unquestionably the most efficient way to improve upon the resolving power of existing 1D-LC. Second, we have systematically studied the compromise between the peak capacity of each 2D separation and the operating pressure required to achieve that peak capacity. Understanding this compromise will be important to the development of LC × LC methods that both produce high peak capacities, and are sufficiently robust to operate for days at a time without significant losses in separation performance. Based on the results of this study we chose conditions for subsequent separations that required less than 400 bar operating pressure in the second dimension, but yielded a 2D peak capacity of about 3500 in 2 h. After 160 h of continuous operation of the LC × LC separation under these conditions (and about 20,000 injections into the 2D column) the 2D column had only lost about 18% of its initial isocratic efficiency. These results should motivate further development and implementation of such high performing and robust separations for the identification and quantification of peptides in a variety of application areas, including digests of therapeutic proteins such as monoclonal antibodies.

Research Resource: Androgen Receptor Activity Is Regulated Through the Mobilization of Cell Surface Receptor Networks.

The aberrant expression of androgen receptor (AR)-dependent transcriptional programs is a defining pathology of the development and progression of prostate cancers. Transcriptional cofactors that bind AR are critical determinants of prostate tumorigenesis. To gain a deeper understanding of the proteins linked to AR-dependent gene transcription, we performed a DNA-affinity chromatography-based proteomic screen designed to identify proteins involved in AR-mediated gene transcription in prostate tumor cells. Functional experiments validated the coregulator roles of known AR-binding proteins in AR-mediated transcription in prostate tumor cells. More importantly, novel coregulatory functions were detected in components of well-established cell surface receptor-dependent signal transduction pathways. Further experimentation demonstrated that components of the TNF, TGF-ß, IL receptor, and epidermal growth factor signaling pathways modulated AR-dependent gene transcription and androgen-dependent proliferation in prostate tumor cells. Collectively, our proteomic dataset demonstrates that the cell surface receptor- and AR-dependent pathways are highly integrated, and provides a molecular framework for understanding how disparate signal-transduction pathways can influence AR-dependent transcriptional programs linked to the development and progression of human prostate cancers.

Androgen-sensitive microsomal signaling networks coupled to the proliferation and differentiation of human prostate cancer cells.

Increasing evidence suggests that the disruption of androgen-mediated cellular processes, such as cell proliferation and cell differentiation, contributes to the development of early-stage androgen-dependent prostate cancers. Large-scale mRNA profiling experiments have paved the way in identifying androgen-regulated gene networks that control the proliferation, survival, and differentiation of prostate cancer cells. Despite these extensive research efforts, it remains to be determined whether all androgen-mediated mRNA changes faithfully translate into changes in protein abundance that influence prostate tumorigenesis. Here, we report on a mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics analysis that identified known androgen signaling pathways and also novel, androgen-sensitive microsome-associated proteins and protein networks that had not been discovered by gene network studies in human LNCaP prostate cancer cells. Androgen-sensitive microsome-associated proteins encoded components of the insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways. Further bioinformatic analyses showed most of the androgen-sensitive microsome-associated protein networks play roles in cell proliferation and differentiation. Functional validation experiments showed that the androgen-sensitive microsome-associated proteins Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and I-kappa B kinase complex-associated protein (IKAP) modulated the expression of prostate epithelial and neuronal markers, attenuated proliferation through an androgen receptor-dependent mechanism, and co-regulated androgen receptor-mediated transcription in LNCaP cells. Further biochemical analyses showed that the increased proliferation in JAK2 knockdown cells was mediated by activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), as determined by increased phosphorylation of several downstream targets (p70 S6 kinase, translational repressor 4E-BP1, and 40S ribosomal S6 protein). We conclude that the expression of microsome-associated proteins that were previously implicated in the tumorigenesis of prostate epithelial cells is strongly influenced by androgens. These findings provide a molecular framework for exploring the mechanisms underlying prostate tumorigenesis and how these protein networks might be attenuated or potentiated in disrupting the growth and survival of human prostate cancers.