RESUMO
The Hedgehog (Hh) pathway is essential for organ development, homeostasis, and regeneration. Dysfunction of this cascade drives several cancers. To control expression of pathway target genes, the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) Smoothened (SMO) activates glioma-associated (GLI) transcription factors via an unknown mechanism. Here, we show that, rather than conforming to traditional GPCR signaling paradigms, SMO activates GLI by binding and sequestering protein kinase A (PKA) catalytic subunits at the membrane. This sequestration, triggered by GPCR kinase (GRK)-mediated phosphorylation of SMO intracellular domains, prevents PKA from phosphorylating soluble substrates, releasing GLI from PKA-mediated inhibition. Our work provides a mechanism directly linking Hh signal transduction at the membrane to GLI transcription in the nucleus. This process is more fundamentally similar between species than prevailing hypotheses suggest. The mechanism described here may apply broadly to other GPCR- and PKA-containing cascades in diverse areas of biology.
Assuntos
Subunidades Catalíticas da Proteína Quinase Dependente de AMP Cíclico/antagonistas & inibidores , Proteínas Hedgehog/metabolismo , Receptor Smoothened/fisiologia , Animais , Animais Geneticamente Modificados , Domínio Catalítico/genética , Células Cultivadas , Subunidades Catalíticas da Proteína Quinase Dependente de AMP Cíclico/química , Subunidades Catalíticas da Proteína Quinase Dependente de AMP Cíclico/metabolismo , Embrião não Mamífero , Células HEK293 , Proteínas Hedgehog/genética , Humanos , Camundongos , Domínios e Motivos de Interação entre Proteínas/genética , Transdução de Sinais/genética , Receptor Smoothened/metabolismo , Peixe-ZebraRESUMO
Recent genome-wide studies have demonstrated that pausing of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) occurred on many vertebrate genes. By genetic studies in the zebrafish tif1gamma mutant moonshine we found that loss of function of Pol II-associated factors PAF or DSIF rescued erythroid gene transcription in tif1gamma-deficient animals. Biochemical analysis established physical interactions among TIF1gamma, the blood-specific SCL transcription complex, and the positive elongation factors p-TEFb and FACT. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays in human CD34(+) cells supported a TIF1gamma-dependent recruitment of positive elongation factors to erythroid genes to promote transcription elongation by counteracting Pol II pausing. Our study establishes a mechanism for regulating tissue cell fate and differentiation through transcription elongation.