Reduced MAP kinase phosphatase-1 degradation after p42/p44MAPK-dependent phosphorylation.

The mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade is inactivated at the level of MAP kinase by members of the MAP kinase phosphatase (MKP) family, including MKP-1. MKP-1 was a labile protein in CCL39 hamster fibroblasts; its degradation was attenuated by inhibitors of the ubiquitin-directed proteasome complex. MKP-1 was a target in vivo and in vitro for p42(MAPK) or p44(MAPK), which phosphorylates MKP-1 on two carboxyl-terminal serine residues, Serine 359 and Serine 364. This phosphorylation did not modify MKP-1's intrinsic ability to dephosphorylate p44(MAPK) but led to stabilization of the protein. These results illustrate the importance of regulated protein degradation in the control of mitogenic signaling.

Functional isoforms of IkappaB kinase alpha (IKKalpha) lacking leucine zipper and helix-loop-helix domains reveal that IKKalpha and IKKbeta have different activation requirements.

The activity of the NF-kappaB family of transcription factors is regulated principally by phosphorylation and subsequent degradation of their inhibitory IkappaB subunits. Site-specific serine phosphorylation of IkappaBs by two IkappaB kinases (IKKalpha [also known as CHUK] and IKKbeta) targets them for proteolysis. IKKalpha and -beta have a unique structure, with an amino-terminal serine-threonine kinase catalytic domain and carboxy-proximal helix-loop-helix (HLH) and leucine zipper-like (LZip) amphipathic alpha-helical domains. Here, we describe the properties of two novel cellular isoforms of IKKalpha: IKKalpha-DeltaH and IKKalpha-DeltaLH. IKKalpha-DeltaH and IKKalpha-DeltaLH are differentially spliced isoforms of the IKKalpha mRNA lacking its HLH domain and both its LZip and HLH domains, respectively. IKKalpha is the major RNA species in most murine cells and tissues, except for activated T lymphocytes and the brain, where the alternatively spliced isoforms predominate. Remarkably, IKKalpha-DeltaH and IKKalpha-DeltaLH, like IKKalpha, respond to tumor necrosis factor alpha stimulation to potentiate NF-kappaB activation in HEK293 cells. A mutant, catalytically inactive form of IKKalpha blocked IKKalpha-, IKKalpha-DeltaH-, and IKKalpha-DeltaLH-mediated NF-kappaB activation. Akin to IKKalpha, its carboxy-terminally truncated isoforms associated with the upstream activator NIK (NF-kappaB-inducing kinase). In contrast to IKKalpha, IKKalpha-DeltaLH failed to associate with either itself, IKKalpha, IKKbeta, or NEMO-IKKgamma-IKKAP1, while IKKalpha-DeltaH complexed with IKKbeta and IKKalpha but not with NEMO. Interestingly, each IKKalpha isoform rescued HEK293 cells from the inhibitory effects of a dominant-negative NEMO mutant, while IKKalpha could not. IKKalpha-DeltaCm, a recombinant mutant of IKKalpha structurally akin to IKKalpha-DeltaLH, was equally functional in these assays, but in sharp contrast, IKKbeta-DeltaCm, a structurally analogous mutant of IKKbeta, was inactive. Our results demonstrate that the functional roles of seemingly analogous domains in IKKalpha and IKKbeta need not be equivalent and can also exhibit different contextual dependencies. The existence of cytokine-inducible IKKalpha-DeltaH and IKKalpha-DeltaLH isoforms illustrates potential modes of NF-kappaB activation, which are not subject to the same in vivo regulatory constraints as either IKKalpha or IKKbeta.

Constitutive MAP kinase phosphatase (MKP-1) expression blocks G1 specific gene transcription and S-phase entry in fibroblasts.

MAP kinase (mitogen activated protein kinase) represents a ubiquitously expressed family of kinases whose long term activation via phosphorylation is essential for the mitogenic response in fibroblasts. Two family members, p42 and p44 MAP kinase are cytosolic proteins in quiescent cells, but become nuclear following mitogenic stimulation. Inactivation of MAP kinases occurs via a specific phosphatase, MKP-1. Hence, we examined the localisation of this phosphatase, to determine the cellular site of MAP kinase inactivation. Transient transfection of CCL39 fibroblasts with epitope-tagged MKP-1 showed the protein to be entirely nuclear in both quiescent and mitogen stimulated cells, whereas a catalytically inactive mutant in which the essential cysteine was mutated to serine (MKP-1CS) was predominately cytoplasmic and again serum stimulation failed to alter the protein's localisation. Expression of either wild type or inactive MKP-1 did not alter the cytosolic localisation of p44 MAP kinase in quiescent cells nor the ability of MAP kinase to translocate to the nucleus following mitogen stimulation. Expression of wild type MKP-1 inhibited serum stimulated early (c-fos promoter) and late (dhfr promoter) transcriptional events as well as entry into S-phase. This inhibition was reversed by the co-expression of an active MAP kinase. We conclude that in the continual expression of MKP-1, the cellular localisation of MAP kinase is unaffected and that inactivation of MAP kinase by MKP-1 is a nuclear process leading to the inhibition of cell division.

Cannabinoid receptor CB1 activates the Na+/H+ exchanger NHE-1 isoform via Gi-mediated mitogen activated protein kinase signaling transduction pathways.

We previously showed that the cannabinoid receptor CB1 stably transfected in Chinese hamster ovary cells was constitutively active and could be inhibited by the inverse agonist SR 141716A. In the present study, we demonstrate that the cannabinoid agonist CP-55940 induced cytosol alkalinization of CHO-CB1 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner via activation of the Na+/H+ exchanger NHE-1 isoform. By contrast, the inverse agonist SR 141716A induced acidification of the cell cytosol, suggesting that the Na+/H+ exchanger NHE-1 was constitutively activated by the CB1 receptor. CB1-mediated NHE1 activation was prevented by both pertussis toxin treatment and the specific MAP kinase inhibitor PD98059. NHE-1 and p42/p44 MAPK had a similar time course of activation in response to the addition of CP-55940 to CHO-CB1 cells. These results suggest that CB1 stimulates NHE-1 by G(i/o)-mediated activation of p42/p44 MAP kinase and highlight a cellular physiological process targeted by CB1.

Specificity of interactions of receptors and effectors with GTP-binding proteins in native membranes.

Individual G-proteins are highly similar in primary sequence. It is thus pertinent to ask what degree of specificity of interaction each of these display with the various receptors and effector systems. Many of the identified G-proteins are co-expressed in a single tissue or cell. As the extreme C-terminus of the alpha-subunit of each G-protein appears to be a key domain for the interactions of receptors and G-proteins, we have generated a series of G-protein-selective anti-peptide antisera against this region and then have used these antisera to attempt to interfere with receptor-G-protein coupling. With this approach, we have demonstrated that delta-opioid receptor-mediated inhibition of adenylate cyclase in neuroblastoma x glioma (NG108-15) cell membranes is transduced specifically by Gi2 and in the same cell that alpha 2-adrenergic inhibition of Ca2+ currents is transduced by G0.

Opioid peptides promote cholera-toxin-catalysed ADP-ribosylation of the inhibitory guanine-nucleotide-binding protein (Gi) in membranes of neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid cells.

NG108-15 neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid cells express a major 45 kDa substrate for cholera toxin and a 40 kDa substrate(s) for pertussis toxin when ADP-ribosylation is performed in the presence of GTP. In the absence of exogenous GTP, however, cholera toxin was shown to catalyse incorporation of radioactivity into a 40 kDa protein as well as into the 45 kDa polypeptide. In membranes of cells which had been pretreated in vivo with pertussis toxin, the 40 kDa band was no longer a substrate for either pertussis or cholera toxin in vitro, whereas in membranes from cholera-toxin-pretreated cells the 40 kDa band was still a substrate for fresh cholera toxin in vitro and for pertussis toxin. In this cell line, opioid peptides have been shown to inhibit adenylate cyclase exclusively by interacting with Gi (inhibitory G-protein) and with no other pertussis-toxin-sensitive G-protein. Opioid agonists, but not antagonists, promoted the cholera-toxin-catalysed ADP-ribosylation of the 40 kDa polypeptide, hence demonstrating that this cholera-toxin substrate was indeed the alpha-subunit of Gi. These results demonstrate that Gi can be a substrate for either cholera or pertussis toxin under appropriate conditions.

Delta-opioid-receptor-mediated inhibition of adenylate cyclase is transduced specifically by the guanine-nucleotide-binding protein Gi2.

Mouse neuroblastoma x rat glioma hybrid cells (NG108-15) express an opioid receptor of the delta subclass which both stimulates high-affinity GTPase activity and inhibits adenylate cyclase by interacting with a pertussis-toxin-sensitive guanine-nucleotide-binding protein(s) (G-protein). Four such G-proteins have now been identified without photoreceptor-containing tissues. We have generated anti-peptide antisera against synthetic peptides which correspond to the C-terminal decapeptides of the alpha-subunit of each of these G-proteins and also to the stimulatory G-protein of the adenylate cyclase cascade (Gs). Using these antisera, we demonstrate the expression of three pertussis-toxin-sensitive G-proteins in these cells, which correspond to the products of the Gi2, Gi3 and Go genes, as well as Gs. Gi1, however, is not expressed in detectable amounts. IgG fractions from each of these antisera and from normal rabbit serum were used to attempt to interfere with the interaction of the opioid receptor with the G-protein system by assessing ligand stimulation of high-affinity GTPase activity, inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity and conversion of the receptor to a state which displays reduced affinity for agonists. The IgG fraction from the antiserum (AS7) which specifically identifies Gi2 in these cells attenuated the effects of the opioid receptor. This effect was complete and was not mimicked by any of the other antisera. We conclude that the delta-opioid receptor of these cells interacts directly and specifically with Gi2 to cause inhibition of adenylate cyclase, and that Gi2 represents the true Gi of the adenylate cyclase cascade. The ability to measure alterations in agonist affinity for receptors following the use of specific antisera against a range of G-proteins implies that such techniques should be applicable to investigations of the molecular identity of the G-protein(s) which interacts with any receptor.

cAMP-mediated growth inhibition in fibroblasts is not mediated via mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase (ERK) inhibition. cAMP-dependent protein kinase induces a temporal shift in growth factor-stimulated MAP kinases.

Growth factors stimulate fibroblast cell division by activating the recently identified mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) signaling cascade. In contrast to our previous work (Kahan, K., Seuwen, K., Meloche, S. and Pouysségur, J. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 13369-13375), several reports have suggested that an elevation in intracellular cAMP blocks cell proliferation by attenuating MAP kinase activation. Hence we re-examined the effect of a long term increase in intracellular cAMP and therefore cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activation on the MAP kinase cascade in CCL39 fibroblasts. The concomitant addition of cAMP-elevating agents prostaglandin E, (PGE1) and IBMX did not inhibit the mitogen-mediated activation of p44 MAP kinase. However, a 5-min PGE1/IBMX pretreatment abolished the MAP kinase response, in a manner correlating with the extent of PKA activity. This inhibition was temporal in nature, and while modifying the time course of growth factor-mediated p44 MAP kinase, activation did not diminish the magnitude of the response. Thus the major peak of MAP kinase activity normally present 5 min after alpha-thrombin addition was now evident at 10 min in the presence of PGE1/IBMX. CCL39 cell proliferation is inhibited by elevated cAMP levels. Such an inhibition could reflect either a reduction in the number of cells entering the cell cycle or a delay in the time required to go through the cycle. Bromodeoxyuridine labeling experiments revealed that the cAMP-mediated inhibition of DNA synthesis in CCL39 cells was not due to a delay in S phase entry, but was due to a reduction in the number of cells entering S phase. Thus we conclude that although PKA activation may slightly modify the time course of MAP kinase activation in response to mitogens in CCL39 cells, the PKA-mediated inhibition of cell division occurs through modulation of an intracellular target, distinct from the p42/p44 MAP kinase cascade.

Prostaglandin E1-mediated, cyclic AMP-independent, down-regulation of Gs alpha in neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid cells.

Treatment of neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid, NG108-15, cells with prostaglandin E1, which in these cells activates adenylate cyclase, produced a marked (50%) reduction in immunologically detectable levels of Gs alpha associated with the plasma membrane. This effect was dependent both on the time of treatment and on the concentration of the receptor ligand used and did not involve a translocation of Gs alpha from the membrane to the cytoplasm of the cells. Both the 45- and 42-kDa forms of Gs alpha which are expressed by these cells were reduced in levels by treatment with the agonist but the greater effect was on the more prevalent 45-kDa polypeptide. By contrast, treatment of the cells with forskolin over the same period did not produce a reduction in levels of Gs alpha, indicating that the effect of prostaglandin E1 was independent of cAMP production. Prostaglandin E1-mediated down-regulation of Gs alpha levels was not produced at the transcriptional level as amounts of mRNA encoding Gs alpha were not reduced by treatment of the cells with agonist. Further, treatment of NG108-15 cells with cycloheximide, throughout the time period required to produce maximal prostaglandin E1-dependent down-regulation of Gs alpha, demonstrated that complete suppression of de novo protein synthesis could not mimic the effect of prostaglandin E1 and hence even complete inhibition of transcription of the Gs alpha gene and/or translation of pre-existing mRNA could not account for these results. Prostaglandin E1 treatment of the cells had no effect on steady-state levels of the alpha subunits of the pertussis toxin-sensitive G-proteins, Gi2, Gi3, Go, which are expressed by these cells or on the level of G-protein beta subunit. Fluoride stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity in membranes of S49 cyc- cells following addition of sodium cholate extracts of membranes of prostaglandin E1-treated NG108-15 cells was only some 50% as effective as with equivalent extracts from untreated cells. These results provide evidence for a novel mechanism of receptor-mediated control of the stimulation of adenylate cyclase, involving reduction in the steady-state amounts of Gs alpha.

Cholera toxin impairment of opioid-mediated inhibition of adenylate cyclase in neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid cells is due to a toxin-induced decrease in opioid receptor levels.

Cholera toxin treatment (up to 1 microgram/ml, 16 h) of neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid NG108-15 cells produced a decrease of some 35% in both delta opioid receptor-mediated stimulation of high-affinity GTPase activity and inhibition of forskolin-amplified adenylate cyclase. Coincident with these decreases was a down-regulation of some 35% in the delta opioid receptor population. A similar pattern of a decrease in signalling capacity was noted for the alpha 2B-adrenergic receptor in these cells after cholera toxin treatment. Half-maximal effects of cholera toxin on all of the parameters assayed were noted at concentrations between 2 and 5 ng/ml. Neither levels of Gi2, as assessed by immunoblotting with specific antisera, nor the intrinsic activity of the alpha subunit of the guanine-nucleotide-binding protein which acts as the inhibitory G-protein of the adenylate cyclase in these cells, as assessed by guanosine 5'-[beta gamma-imido]triphosphate (Gpp[NH]p)-mediated inhibition of adenylate cyclase, was lowered by cholera toxin treatment. Furthermore, levels of another pertussis toxin-sensitive G-protein (Go) expressed by these cells was also not lowered by cholera toxin treatment. However, as previously noted in other cells [Milligan, Unson & Wakelam (1989) Biochem. J. 262, 643-649], marked down-regulation of the alpha subunit of the stimulatory G-protein (Gs) of the adenylate cyclase cascade was observed in response to cholera toxin treatment. Previous studies [Klee, Milligan, Simonds & Tocque (1985) Mol. Aspects Cell Regul. 4, 117-129] have shown that cholera toxin treatment can result in a decrease in the maximal effectiveness of agonists which function to inhibit adenylate cyclase. These data have been used as evidence to suggest a functional interaction between Gs and 'Gi'. The results provided herein demonstrate that such effects of the toxin can be explained adequately by a decrease in the number of receptors that function to produce inhibition of adenylate cyclase.

Stimulation of phosphatidylcholine breakdown by thrombin and carbachol but not by tyrosine kinase receptor ligands in cells transfected with M1 muscarinic receptors. Rapid desensitization of phosphocholine-specific (PC) phospholipase D but sustained activity of PC-phospholipase C.

In order to evaluate the possible contribution of phospholipase D (PLD) stimulation to the mitogenic response, a screening of a variety of different compounds, some of which are known to be potent mitogens, was performed using the well characterized Chinese hamster lung fibroblast (CCL39) cell line. In wild type CCL39 cells, or derivatives expressing high levels of either the human M1 muscarinic receptor (Hm1) or the human epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (39M1-81 and 39ER22 clones, respectively), thrombin, a potent mitogen for all three cell types, elicited the rapid activation of PLD (t1/2 activation, 30 s). Carbachol-mediated activation of the Hm1 receptor in the 39M1-81 clone, which is not a mitogenic signal, produced a similarly rapid although greater activation of PLD. Addition of EGF to the 39ER22 clone was able to provoke both a mitogenic response and stimulate PLD, albeit a comparatively small effect. In each case, the stimulation of PLD correlated closely with the ability to stimulate inositol phospholipid breakdown and was entirely dependent on the activation of protein kinase C. Moreover, the ability of both thrombin and carbachol to stimulate PLD was found to be rapidly desensitized, with a similar time course of desensitization (t1/2 desensitization, 90 s). It has recently been reported that an increase in phospholipase C (PLC)-mediated phosphocholine (PC) hydrolysis by either addition of agonist or by extracellular addition of PC-specific PLC enzyme constitutes a mitogenic signal. In this regard, in addition to stimulation of PLD, thrombin and carbachol were both able to stimulate the activity of a phosphocholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC), which did not appear to desensitize within the time course employed. By contrast, EGF was unable to elicit the stimulation of PC-PLC. Ligands such as fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), which bind to and activate receptors with intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity, are potent mitogens for CCL39 cells but were unable to stimulate either PLD or PC-PLC activity. Furthermore, exogenous addition of purified PC-PLC enzyme, although able to induce a strong and lasting hydrolysis of PC, was unable to produce a mitogenic signal on its own. On the basis of these results, we conclude that the activation of both PLD and PC-PLC is neither sufficient nor required to produce a mitogenic response.

Growth factor-stimulated protein synthesis is inhibited by sodium orthovanadate.

The study of intracellular signaling pathways has been aided by the use of sodium orthovanadate, a cell-permeable inhibitor of tyrosine phosphatases. However, long-term addition of sodium orthovanadate is often cytotoxic. In this study we demonstrate that the growth factor-mediated increase in the rate of protein synthesis was inhibited by sodium orthovanadate. This effect of sodium orthovanadate was dose-dependent, with an IC50 of 40 microM and maximal inhibition obtained at 100 microM. As a consequence, the fetal bovine serum-mediated induction of the immediate-early genes, c-Fos and MKP-1, at the protein level was inhibited by orthovanadate. Orthovanadate's ability to attenuate protein synthesis was partially reversible, and was no longer evident when the agent was added 6 h after addition of growth factor to cells. Analysis of several elements of signaling pathways which are known to regulate protein synthesis in a positive manner (p42/p44 MAPK, AKT and p70 S6K stimulation, and hyperphosphorylation of PHAS-I) were not inhibited but rather were stimulated by orthovanadate. Thus, sodium orthovanadate is a potent inhibitor of growth factor-stimulated protein synthesis independent of p42/p44 MAPK or PI3K-p70 S6K activation.

The role and specificity of guanine nucleotide binding proteins in receptor-effector coupling.

Nine distinct alpha subunits of guanine nucleotide binding proteins (G-proteins) have now been identified by cDNA cloning. Each of these functions to allow transduction of information between hormone-activated receptors in the plasma membrane and effector systems which are either ion channels or enzymes which regulate the intracellular concentration of second messengers. As the individual G-proteins are highly similar in primary sequence, it is pertinent to ask what degree of specificity of interaction each of these display with the various receptors and effector systems. Specificity of tissue location defines that the rod and cone transducins (TD1 and TD2, respectively) act as the coupling proteins between rhodopsin and cone opsins and their cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase effectors and that G(olf) is the G-protein which tranduces signals from odorant receptors to adenylate cyclase in olfactory sensory neurones. However, many of the other identified G-proteins are co-expressed in a single tissue or cell. Whilst sensitivity to ADP-ribosylation catalysed by bacterial toxins from Bordetella pertussis and Vibrio cholerae has allowed a further subdivision of the G-protein family, this approach is limited as these toxins have multiple G-protein substrates. As the extreme C-terminus of the alpha subunit of each G-protein appears to be a key domain for the interactions of receptors and G-proteins we have generated a series of G-protein-selective antipeptide antisera against this region and then have used these antisera to attempt to interfere with receptor-G-protein coupling. With this approach we have been able to demonstrate that a delta opioid receptor-mediated inhibition of adenylate cyclase in neuroblastoma x glioma, NG108-15, cell membranes is transduced specifically by Gi2 and in the same cell that alpha 2 adrenergic inhibition of Ca2+ currents is transduced by Go. Similar strategies are likely to be of universal significance, for example in the identification of the G-protein (Gp) which regulates the receptor-mediated activation of phosphoinositidase C. Methods to allow pharmacological manipulation of the levels of expression of various G-proteins in the membranes of cells are also discussed. Such approaches are also likely to assist in the identification of G-proteins of defined functions.

The phosphotyrosine phosphatase PTP1D, but not PTP1C, is an essential mediator of fibroblast proliferation induced by tyrosine kinase and G protein-coupled receptors.

PTP1C and PTP1D are non-transmembrane protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), which contain two src homology-2 domains. These enzymes are believed to play a role in regulating downstream signaling from receptors with intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity. The present study describes the tyrosine phosphorylation and the catalytic activity of both PTPs in CCL39 cells, a Chinese hamster lung fibroblast cell line, upon addition of a variety of growth factors. We demonstrate that PTP1C activity was significantly stimulated by insulin and the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate but was not influenced by serum, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), or alpha-thrombin. However, tyrosine phosphorylation of PTP1C was increased in response to insulin, PDGF, and alpha-thrombin. PTP1D activity was slightly stimulated by insulin and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate but was significantly inhibited by serum, PDGF, and alpha-thrombin, although tyrosine phosphorylation is increased in response to these agonists. Mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylated PTP1C and PTP1D in in vitro kinase assays, suggesting that both PTPs are target proteins for mitogen-activated protein kinase. We also show that overexpression of PTP1C or PTP1D had no effect on DNA synthesis stimulated by different growth factors. However, a mutated inactive form of PTP1D strongly inhibited the stimulatory effects of both PDGF and alpha-thrombin on early gene transcription and DNA synthesis. These results demonstrate for the first time that PTP1C and PTP1D may participate in signal transduction but in different manners and that only PTP1D is a positive mediator of mitogenic signals induced by both tyrosine kinase receptors and G protein-coupled receptors in fibroblasts.

Antibodies which recognize the C-terminus of the inhibitory guanine-nucleotide-binding protein (Gi) demonstrate that opioid peptides and foetal-calf serum stimulate the high-affinity GTPase activity of two separate pertussis-toxin substrates.

We investigated the mechanisms of receptor-mediated stimulation of high-affinity GTPase activity in response to opioid peptides and to foetal-calf serum in membranes of the neuroblastoma X glioma hybrid cell line NG108-15. Increases in GTPase activity in response to both of these ligands was abolished by prior exposure of the cells to pertussis toxin. Pertussis toxin in the presence of [32P]NAD+ catalysed incorporation of radioactivity into a broad band of approx. 40 kDa in membranes prepared from untreated, but not from pertussis-toxin-pretreated, cells. Additivity studies indicated that the responses to opioid peptides and to foetal-calf serum were mediated by separate guanine-nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins). Whereas opioid peptides produced an inhibition of adenylate cyclase in membranes of untreated cells, foetal-calf serum did not. Affinity-purified antibodies which recognize the C-terminus of the inhibitory G-protein identified a 40 kDa polypeptide in membranes of NG108-15 cells. These antibodies attenuated opioid-stimulated high-affinity GTPase activity, but did not markedly affect the response to foetal-calf serum. We conclude that receptors for the opioid peptides function via the inhibitory G-protein (Gi), whereas foetal-calf serum activates a second pertussis-toxin-sensitive G-protein, which has a C-terminal sequence significantly different from that of Gi.

The dual specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 and -2 are induced by the p42/p44MAPK cascade.

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) and MKP-2 are two members of a recently described family of dual specificity phosphatases that are capable of dephosphorylating p42/p44MAPK. Overexpression of MKP-1 or MKP-2 inhibits MAP kinase-dependent intracellular signaling events and fibroblast proliferation. By using specific antibodies that recognize endogenous MKP-1 and MKP-2 in CCL39 cells, we show that MKP-1 and MKP-2 are not expressed in quiescent cells, but are rapidly induced following serum addition, with protein detectable as early as 30 min (MKP-1) or 60 min (MKP-2). Serum induction of MKP-1 and MKP-2 is sustained, with protein detectable up to 14 h after serum addition. Induction of MKP-1 and, to a lesser extent, MKP-2 temporally correlates with p42/p44MAPK inactivation. To analyze the contribution of the MAP kinase cascade to MKP-1 and MKP-2 induction, we examined CCL39 cells transformed with either v-ras or a constitutively active direct upstream activator of MAP kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1 (MKK-1; MKK-1(SD/SD) mutant). In both cell models, MKP-1 and MKP-2 are constitutively expressed, with MKP-2 being prevalent. In addition, in CCL39 cells expressing an estradiol-inducible deltaRaf-1::ER chimera, activation of Raf alone is sufficient to induce MKP-1 and MKP-2. The role of the MAP kinase cascade in MKP induction was highlighted by the MKK-1 inhibitor PD 098059, which blunted both the activation of p42/p44MAPK and the induction of MKP-1 and MKP-2. However, the MAP kinase cascade is not absolutely required for the induction of MKP-1, as this phosphatase, but not MKP-2, was induced to detectable levels by agents that stimulate protein kinases A and C. Thus, activation of the p42/p44MAPK cascade promotes the induction of MKP-1 and MKP-2, which may then attenuate p42/p44MAPK-dependent events in an inhibitory feedback loop.

Concurrent down-regulation of IP prostanoid receptors and the alpha-subunit of the stimulatory guanine-nucleotide-binding protein (Gs) during prolonged exposure of neuroblastoma x glioma cells to prostanoid agonists. Quantification and functional implications.

Neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid NG108-15 cells express a high-affinity IP prostanoid receptor. Saturation binding analysis of this receptor, using [3H]prostaglandin E1 ([3H]PGE1) as ligand, indicated that it was present at some 1.5 pmol/mg of membrane protein and displayed a dissociation constant for this ligand of 30-40 nM. Prolonged exposure of these cells either to PGE1 or to iloprost, which is a stable analogue of prostacyclin, caused a 40-70% decrease in levels of the receptor. The remaining receptors were capable of interacting with the stimulatory G-protein (Gs) of the adenylate cyclase cascade, as saturation analysis of the binding of [3H]PGE1 indicated that they had a similar affinity for the 3H-labelled ligand, and because the specific binding of [3H]PGE1 to these receptors was still sensitive to the presence of poorly hydrolysed analogues of GTP. We have recently demonstrated that prolonged exposure of NG108-15 ells to PGE1 causes a cyclic AMP-independent loss of Gs alpha-subunit (Gs alpha) from these cells [McKenzie & Milligan (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 17084-17093]. Steady-state concentration of the larger 45 kDa form of Gs alpha (which is the predominant form expressed in these cells) was assessed to be 9.6 pmol/mg of membrane protein, and treatment with iloprost decreased levels of this polypeptide to some 3.0 pmol/mg of protein. Time courses of iloprost-mediated down-regulation of the IP prostanoid receptor, loss of Gs alpha protein as assessed by immunoblotting and loss of Gs alpha activity as assessed by the reconstitution of NaF stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity to membranes of S49 cyc- cells by sodium cholate extracts of NG108-15 cells were identical, suggesting that the loss of the IP prostanoid receptor and G-protein occurred in parallel. Each of these effects was half-maximal between 2 and 3 h of exposure to the agonist. Stoichiometry of loss of Gs alpha and IP prostanoid receptor was unchanged by the percentage receptor occupancy, and quantification indicated the loss of some 7-10 mol of Gs alpha/mol of receptor. This is the first report to demonstrate the temporal concurrence of loss of Gs alpha and of a receptor which interacts with this G-protein. Chronic activation of the IP prostanoid receptor on these cells results in the development of a heterologous form of desensitization to agents which function to activate adenylate cyclase [Kelly, Keen, Nobbs & MacDermot (1990) Br. J. Pharmacol. 99, 306-316]. Agonist regulation of Gs alpha levels in these cells may contribute to this process.

Differential effects of suramin on the coupling of receptors to individual species of pertussis-toxin-sensitive guanine-nucleotide-binding proteins.

The anti-helminthic drug suramin inhibited the basal high-affinity GTPase activity of both C6 BU1 glioma and NG 108-15 neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid-cell membranes with an IC50 (concentration causing half-maximal inhibition) value close to 30 micrograms/ml. This effect was shown to occur via a non-competitive mechanism in which the binding affinity of the G-proteins for GTP was not altered, but the maximal velocity of the subsequent hydrolysis was reduced. In NG 108-15 membranes, both opioid peptides and foetal-calf serum stimulated high-affinity GTPase activity in a pertussis-toxin-sensitive manner. These effects have previously been shown to be mediated by different G-proteins [McKenzie, Kelly, Unson, Spiegel & Milligan (1988) Biochem. J. 249, 653-659]. Suramin completely prevented the opioid-peptide-stimulated increase in GTP hydrolysis, but did not prevent the opioid peptide from binding to its receptor. Suramin, however, did not block the foetal-calf-serum-stimulated GTPase response. This selective action of suramin provides further evidence for distinct roles for two separate pertussis-toxin-sensitive G-proteins in signal transduction in NG 108-15 membranes and provides the first evidence for a selective effect of a drug on the functions of different G-proteins.

Transforming growth factor beta 1 inhibits mitogen-activated protein kinase induced by basic fibroblast growth factor in smooth muscle cells.

Stimulation of smooth muscle cells with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) results in the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) cascade and leads to cell proliferation. We show that transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1), at concentrations that completely inhibited bFGF-induced mitogenic activity, decreased bFGF-induced MAP kinase activity. Under these conditions, tyrosine and threonine phosphorylations of MAP kinase were differentially affected depending on the time period of TGF-beta 1 pretreatment. After a short (30 min) TGF-beta 1 pretreatment, the bFGF-mediated increase in phosphorylation of p42mapk on threonine was inhibited, with no effect on the level of phosphotyrosine or decrease in the electrophoretic mobility of p42mapk. This suggests that TGF-beta 1 inhibited MAP kinase activity through the action of a serine/threonine phosphatase. In contrast, a longer TGF-beta 1 pretreatment (4 h) partly inhibited the bFGF-induced MAP kinase mobility shift and correlated with the inhibition of phosphorylation on both threonine and tyrosine, suggesting that long-term TGF-beta 1 treatment prevented activation of the MAP kinase cascade or directly blocked MAP kinase. The ability of long-term (4 h) but not short-term (30 min) TGF-beta 1 pretreatment to inhibit MAP kinase activity was completely dependent on protein synthesis and suggests that TGF-beta 1 inhibits MAP kinase activity by two distinct mechanisms. These findings provide a molecular basis for the growth-inhibitory action TGF-beta 1 on bFGF-induced mitogenic activity.

Leukemia inhibitory factor and its receptor promote adipocyte differentiation via the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade.

Extracellular factors and intracellular signaling pathways involved in early events of adipocyte differentiation are poorly defined. It is shown herein that expression of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and LIF receptor is developmentally regulated during adipocyte differentiation. Preadipocytes secrete bioactive LIF, and an antagonist of LIF receptor inhibits adipogenesis. Genetically modified embryonic stem (ES) cells combined with culture conditions to commit stem cells into the adipocyte lineage were used to examine the requirement of LIF receptor during in vitro development of adipose cells. The capacity of embryoid bodies derived from lifr(-/-) ES cells to undergo adipocyte differentiation is dramatically reduced. LIF addition stimulates adipocyte differentiation of Ob1771 and 3T3-F442A preadipocytes and that of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma2 ligand-treated mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Expression of the early adipogenic transcription factors C/EBPbeta and C/EBPdelta is rapidly stimulated following exposure of preadipose cells to LIF. The selective inhibitors of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase, i.e. PD98059 and U0126, inhibit LIF-induced C/EBP gene expression and prevent adipocyte differentiation induced by LIF. These results are in favor of a model that implicates stimulation of LIF receptor in the commitment of preadipocytes to undergo terminal differentiation by controlling the early expression of C/EBPbeta and C/EBPdelta genes via the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade.