Regulation of Drosophila tracheal system development by protein kinase B.

Protein kinase B (PKB, also termed Akt) is a phosphatidylinositol 3' kinase (PI3'K)-dependent enzyme implicated in survival signaling and human tumorigenesis. To identify potential targets of this protein kinase, we employed a genetic screen in Drosophila. Among several genes that genetically interacted with PKB was trachealess (trh), which encodes a bHLH-PAS domain transcription factor required for development of the trachea and other tubular organs. Trh activates expression of the fibroblast growth factor receptor Breathless, which, in turn, is required for directed migration of all tracheal branches. Using a combination of biochemical and transgenic approaches, we show that direct phosphorylation of Trh by PKB at serine 665 is essential for nuclear localization and functional activation of this regulator of branching morphogenesis.

A role for the segment polarity gene shaggy/GSK-3 in the Drosophila circadian clock.

Tissue-specific overexpression of the glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) ortholog shaggy (sgg) shortens the period of the Drosophila circadian locomotor activity cycle. The short period phenotype was attributed to premature nuclear translocation of the PERIOD/TIMELESS heterodimer. Reducing SGG/GSK-3 activity lengthens period, demonstrating an intrinsic role for the kinase in circadian rhythmicity. Lowered sgg activity decreased TIMELESS phosphorylation, and it was found that GSK-3 beta specifically phosphorylates TIMELESS in vitro. Overexpression of sgg in vivo converts hypophosphorylated TIMELESS to a hyperphosphorylated protein whose electrophoretic mobility, and light and phosphatase sensitivity, are indistinguishable from the rhythmically produced hyperphosphorylated TIMELESS of wild-type flies. Our results indicate a role for SGG/GSK-3 in TIMELESS phosphorylation and in the regulated nuclear translocation of the PERIOD/TIMELESS heterodimer.

The conserved PI3'K/PTEN/Akt signaling pathway regulates both cell size and survival in Drosophila.

Akt (or PKB) is an oncogene involved in the regulation of cell survival. Akt is regulated by phosphatidylinositol 3-OH kinase (PI3'K) signaling and has shown to be hyperactivated through the loss of the PTEN tumor suppressor. In Drosophila, insulin signaling as studied using the Drosophila IRS-4 homolog (Chico) has been shown to be a crucial regulator of cell size. We have studied Drosophila Akt (Dakt1) and have shown that it is also involved in the regulation of cell size. Furthermore we have performed genetic epistasis tests to demonstrate that in Drosophila, PI3'K, PTEN and Akt comprise a signaling cassette that is utilized during multiple stages of development. In addition, we show that this signaling cassette is also involved in the regulation of cell survival during embryogenesis. This study therefore establishes the evolutionary conservation of this signaling pathway in Drosophila. Oncogene (2000) 19, 3971 - 3977.

Co-localization of patched and activated sonic hedgehog to lysosomes in neurons.

We demonstrate co-localization of the Patched 1 (Ptc1) receptor and its ligand sonic hedgehog (Shh) in lysosomes suggests an intracellular sorting mechanism for this receptor and its ligand. Treatment of murine brain primary cultures and a human teratoma cell line with the N-terminal activated form of Shh (ShhNT), a Ptc1-Shh complex was observed in lysosomes. Consistent with this interaction, Western immunoblot analysis revealed intracellular localization of native Ptc1 and ShhNT. Examination of the topological model of the Ptc1 receptor revealed a number of Yxxphi lysosomal targeting sequences consistent with our observations for Ptc1 sorting.

Regulation of the protein kinase activity of Shaggy(Zeste-white3) by components of the wingless pathway in Drosophila cells and embryos.

The protein-serine kinase Shaggy(Zeste-white3) (Sgg(Zw3)) is the Drosophila homolog of mammalian glycogen synthase kinase-3 and has been genetically implicated in signal transduction pathways necessary for the establishment of patterning. Sgg(Zw3) is a putative component of the Wingless (Wg) pathway, and epistasis analyses suggest that Sgg(Zw3) function is repressed by Wg signaling. Here, we have investigated the biochemical consequences of Wg signaling with respect to the Sgg(Zw3) protein kinase in two types of Drosophila cell lines and in embryos. Our results demonstrate that Sgg(Zw3) activity is inhibited following exposure of cells to Wg protein and by expression of downstream components of Wg signaling, Drosophila frizzled 2 and dishevelled. Wg-dependent inactivation of Sgg(Zw3) is accompanied by serine phosphorylation. We also show that the level of Sgg(Zw3) activity regulates the stability of Armadillo protein and modulates the level of phosphorylation of D-Axin and Armadillo. Together, these results provide direct biochemical evidence in support of the genetic model of Wg signaling and provide a model for dissecting the molecular interactions between the signaling proteins.

Genetic analysis of protein kinase B (AKT) in Drosophila.

The decision between survival and death is an important aspect of cellular regulation during development and malignancy. Central to this regulation is the process of apoptosis, which is conserved in multicellular organisms [1]. A variety of signalling cascades have been implicated in modulation of apoptosis, including the phosphatidylinositol (Pl) 3-kinase pathway. Activation of Pl 3-kinase is protective, and inhibition of this lipid kinase enhances cell death under several conditions including deregulated expression of c-Myc, neurotrophin withdrawal and anoikis [2-7]. Recently, the protective effects of Pl 3-kinase have been linked to its activation of the pleckstrin homology (PH)-domain-containing protein kinase B (PKB or AKT) [8]. PKB/AKT was identified from an oncogene, v-akt, found in a rodent T-cell lymphoma [9]. To initiate a genetic analysis of PKB, we have isolated and characterized a Drosophila PKB/AKT mutant (termed Dakt1) that exhibits ectopic apoptosis during embryogenesis as judged by induction of membrane blebbing, DNA fragmentation and macrophage infiltration. Apoptosis caused by loss of Dakt function is rescued by caspase suppression but is distinct from the previously described reaper/grim/hid functions. These data implicate Dakt1 as a cell survival gene in Drosophila, consistent with cell protection studies in mammals.

Genetic evidence that heparin-like glycosaminoglycans are involved in wingless signaling.

We have identified the Drosophila UDP-glucose dehydrogenase gene as being involved in wingless signaling. Mutations in this gene, called kiwi, generate a phenotype identical to that of wingless. UDP-glucose dehydrogenase is required for the biosynthesis of UDP-glucuronate, which in turn is utilized in the biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycans. By rescuing the kiwi phenotype with both UDP-glucuronate and the glycosaminoglycan heparan sulfate, we show that kiwi function in the embryo is crucial for the production of heparan sulfate in the extracellular matrix. Further, injection of heparin degrading enzyme, heparinase (and not chondroitin, dermatan or hyaluronic acid degrading enzyme) into wild-type embryos leads to the degradation of heparin-like glycosaminoglycans and a 'wingless-like' cuticular phenotype. Our study thus provides the first genetic evidence for the involvement of heparin-like glycosaminoglycans in signal transduction.

The porcupine gene is required for wingless autoregulation in Drosophila.

The Drosophila segment polarity gene wingless (wg) is required in the regulation of engrailed (en) expression and the determination of cell fates in neighboring cells. This paracrine wg activity also regulates transcription of wg itself, through a positive feedback loop including en activity. In addition, wg has a second, more direct autoregulatory requirement that is distinct from the en-dependent feedback loop. Four gene products, encoded by armadillo (arm), dishevelled (dsh), porcupine (porc) and zeste-white 3 (zw3), have been previously implicated as components of wg paracrine signaling. Here we have used three different assays to assess the requirements of these genes in the more direct wg autoregulatory pathway. While the activities of dsh, zw3 and arm appear to be specific to the paracrine feedback pathway, the more direct autoregulatory pathway requires porc.

Evidence for engrailed-independent wingless autoregulation in Drosophila.

Proper spatial expression of the wingless (wg) gene in the Drosophila embryonic epidermis is crucial to intrasegmental patterning. Single cell wide wg expression is initiated at the blastoderm stage in response to combinatorial regulation by the pair rule genes. Later, during gastrulation, when the epidermal expression of the pair rule genes has disappeared, wg becomes regulated by the activity of the segment polarity genes. The segment polarity gene engrailed (en) is expressed in cells adjacent to the wg-expressing cells and is required to maintain wg transcription. Since wg is in turn required to maintain en expression, wg appears to autoregulate its own expression through an endependent paracrine feedback loop. In this paper, we demonstrate that wild-type wg expression requires wg activity during stage 9, prior to its requirement for en maintenance, indicating that wg has an autoregulatory role that is distinct from its paracrine feedback loop through en. In addition, by misexpressing Wg and En in distinct spatial patterns in the epidermis, we find that En is capable of inducing expression from the endogenous wg gene only in immediate adjacent cells which have been exposed to Wg. Furthermore, exogenous Wg expression enables maintenance of endogenous wg transcription in both wg and en mutant embryos. Our results support the model that in the wild-type embryo, wg has an autoregulatory function which is distinct and separable from paracrine regulation via en. We also provide evidence that late, localized Wg expression is crucial for the asymmetric patterning of epidermal cell types as reflected in the larval cuticle.

Control of segmental asymmetry in Drosophila embryos.

During Drosophila development, an important aspect of body patterning is the division of the embryo into repeating morphological units referred to as parasegments. The parasegmental domains are first defined at the blastoderm stage by alternating stripes of transcripts encoded by the pair-rule genes fushi tarazu (ftz) and even-skipped (eve) and later by stripes encoded by the segment polarity genes engrailed (en) and wingless. Here, we show that the runt gene (run) is required to generate asymmetries within these parasegmental domains. Using a heat-shock-inducible run transgene, we found that ectopic run expression leads to rapid repression of eve stripes and a somewhat delayed expansion of ftz stripes. Unexpectedly, we also found that ectopic run was a rapid and potent repressor of odd-numbered en stripes. Two remarkably different segmental phenotypes were generated as a consequence of these effects. In solving the mechanisms underlying these phenotypes, we discovered that the positioning of en stripes is largely determined by the actions of negative regulators. Our data indicate that run is required to limit the domains of en expression in the odd-numbered parasegments, while the odd-skipped gene is required to limit the domains of en expression in the even-numbered parasegments. Activation of en at the anterior margins of both sets of parasegments requires the repression of run and odd by the product of the eve gene. The spatial restriction of gene expression via negative and double negative pathways such as these is likely to be a common theme during development.

Concentration-dependent activities of the even-skipped protein in Drosophila embryos.

The Drosophila pair-rule gene even-skipped (eve) encodes a homeo-domain-containing protein (Eve) that is required for the development of both odd- and even-numbered parasegments. We have used a heat shock-inducible eve transgene to study the regulatory functions of Eve in vivo. Transcripts encoded by eight other segmentation genes were monitored for changes in distribution and abundance following short pulses of ectopic Eve expression. Two tiers of response times appeared to distinguish between genes that were direct [fushi tarazu (ftz), odd-skipped (odd), runt (run), paired, and wingless] and indirect [eve, hairy, and engrailed (en)] targets of Eve. Genes that appeared to be directly regulated by Eve were differentially repressed in a concentration-dependent fashion. Interestingly, the run and ftz genes could also be activated by Eve during a brief 20- to 30-min stage in development. The delayed actions upon the eve and en genes appeared to be mediated by run and odd. As in eve- embryos, these effects on segmentation gene expression patterns caused defects in both odd- and even-numbered parasegments. Four sequential phenotypes could be induced, each of which was attributable to the altered expression of a unique subset of target genes.

Modifiers of bx1 alter the distribution of Ubx proteins in haltere imaginal discs of Drosophila.

The bithorax (bx) mutations in the Ultrabithorax (Ubx) gene of Drosophila melanogaster cause homeotic transformations of anterior third thoracic structures (T3a) toward anterior second thoracic structures (T2a) in the adult fly. A corresponding loss of Ubx protein expression in T3a of bx imaginal discs has been observed (White and Wilcox, 1985). We describe two genetic loci which modify the bx-induced transformation. A locus which we map very close to the pink peach (pp) gene suppresses the bx1 phenotype. In contrast, mutations in the suppressor of sable (su(s)) gene enhance the bx1 phenotype. A correlation was observed between patterns of Ubx protein expression and the phenotypic transformations observed.