Neurotrophin Responsiveness of Sympathetic Neurons Is Regulated by Rapid Mobilization of the p75 Receptor to the Cell Surface through TrkA Activation of Arf6.

The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) plays an integral role in patterning the sympathetic nervous system during development. Initially, p75NTR is expressed at low levels as sympathetic axons project toward their targets, which enables neurotrophin-3 (NT3) to activate TrkA receptors and promote growth. Upon reaching nerve growth factor (NGF) producing tissues, p75NTR is upregulated, resulting in formation of TrkA-p75 complexes, which are high-affinity binding sites selective for NGF, thereby blunting NT3 signaling. The level of p75NTR expressed on the neuron surface is instrumental in regulating trophic factor response; however, the mechanisms by which p75NTR expression is regulated are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate a rapid, translation independent increase in surface expression of p75NTR in response to NGF in rat sympathetic neurons. p75NTR was mobilized to the neuron surface from GGA3-postitive vesicles through activation of the GTPase Arf6, which was stimulated by NGF, but not NT3 binding to TrkA. Arf6 activation required PI3 kinase activity and was prevented by an inhibitor of the cytohesin family of Arf6 guanine nucleotide exchange factors. Overexpression of a constitutively active Arf6 mutant (Q67L) was sufficient to significantly increase surface expression of p75NTR even in the absence of NGF. Functionally, expression of active Arf6 markedly attenuated the ability of NT3 to promote neuronal survival and neurite outgrowth, whereas the NGF response was unaltered. These data suggest that NGF activation of Arf6 through TrkA is critical for the increase in p75NTR surface expression that enables the switch in neurotrophin responsiveness during development in the sympathetic nervous system.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT p75NTR is instrumental in the regulation of neuronal survival and apoptosis during development and is also implicated as a contributor to aberrant neurodegeneration in numerous conditions. Therefore, a better understanding of the mechanisms that mediate p75NTR surface availability may provide insight into how and why neurodegenerative processes manifest and reveal new therapeutic targets. Results from this study indicate a novel mechanism by which p75NTR can be rapidly shuttled to the cell surface from existing intracellular pools and explores a unique pathway by which NGF regulates the sympathetic innervation of target tissues, which has profound consequences for the function of these organs.

Tyrosine-phosphorylated caveolin-1 (Tyr-14) increases sensitivity to paclitaxel by inhibiting BCL2 and BCLxL proteins via c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK).

Paclitaxel, an anti-microtubule agent, is an effective chemotherapeutic drug in breast cancer. Nonetheless, resistance to paclitaxel remains a major clinical challenge. The need to better understand the resistant phenotype and to find biomarkers that could predict tumor response to paclitaxel is evident. In estrogen receptor α-positive (ER(+)) breast cancer cells, phosphorylation of caveolin-1 (CAV1) on Tyr-14 facilitates mitochondrial apoptosis by increasing BCL2 phosphorylation in response to low dose paclitaxel (10 nM). However, two variants of CAV1 exist: the full-length form, CAV1α (wild-type CAV1 or wtCAV1), and a truncated form, CAV1ß. Only wtCAV1 has the Tyr-14 region at the N terminus. The precise cellular functions of CAV1 variants are unknown. We now show that CAV1 variants play distinct roles in paclitaxel-mediated cell death/survival. CAV1ß expression is increased in paclitaxel-resistant cells when compared with sensitive cells. Expression of CAV1ß in sensitive cells significantly reduces their responsiveness to paclitaxel. These activities reflect an essential role for Tyr-14 phosphorylation because wtCAV1 expression, but not a phosphorylation-deficient mutant (Y14F), inactivates BCL2 and BCLxL through activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). MCF-7 cells that express Y14F are resistant to paclitaxel and are resensitized by co-treatment with ABT-737, a BH3-mimetic small molecule inhibitor. Using structural homology modeling, we propose that phosphorylation on Tyr-14 enables a favorable conformation for proteins to bind to the CAV1 scaffolding domain. Thus, we highlight novel roles for CAV1 variants in cell death; wtCAV1 promotes cell death, whereas CAV1ß promotes cell survival by preventing inactivation of BCL2 and BCLxL via JNK in paclitaxel-mediated apoptosis.

Retrograde Degenerative Signaling Mediated by the p75 Neurotrophin Receptor Requires p150Glued Deacetylation by Axonal HDAC1.

During development, neurons undergo apoptosis if they do not receive adequate trophic support from tissues they innervate or when detrimental factors activate the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) at their axon ends. Trophic factor deprivation (TFD) or activation of p75NTR in distal axons results in a retrograde degenerative signal. However, the nature of this signal and the regulation of its transport are poorly understood. Here, we identify p75NTR intracellular domain (ICD) and histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) as part of a retrograde pro-apoptotic signal generated in response to TFD or ligand binding to p75NTR in sympathetic neurons. We report an unconventional function of HDAC1 in retrograde transport of a degenerative signal and its constitutive presence in sympathetic axons. HDAC1 deacetylates dynactin subunit p150Glued, which enhances its interaction with dynein. These findings define p75NTR ICD as a retrograde degenerative signal and reveal p150Glued deacetylation as a unique mechanism regulating axonal transport.

A Chimeric Egfr Protein Reporter Mouse Reveals Egfr Localization and Trafficking In Vivo.

EGF receptor (EGFR) is a critical signaling node throughout life. However, it has not been possible to directly visualize endogenous Egfr in mice. Using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, we appended a fluorescent reporter to the C terminus of the Egfr. Homozygous reporter mice appear normal and EGFR signaling is intact in vitro and in vivo. We detect distinct patterns of Egfr expression in progenitor and differentiated compartments in embryonic and adult mice. Systemic delivery of EGF or amphiregulin results in markedly different patterns of Egfr internalization and trafficking in hepatocytes. In the normal intestine, Egfr localizes to the crypt rather than villus compartment, expression is higher in adjacent epithelium than in intestinal tumors, and following colonic injury expression appears in distinct cell populations in the stroma. This reporter, under control of its endogenous regulatory elements, enables in vivo monitoring of the dynamics of Egfr localization and trafficking in normal and disease states.

Expression of MYCN in Multipotent Sympathoadrenal Progenitors Induces Proliferation and Neural Differentiation, but Is Not Sufficient for Tumorigenesis.

Neuroblastoma is a pediatric malignancy of the sympathetic ganglia and adrenal glands, hypothesized to originate from progenitors of the developing sympathetic nervous system. Amplification of the MYCN oncogene is a genetic marker of risk in this disease. Understanding the impact of oncogene expression on sympathoadrenal progenitor development may improve our knowledge of neuroblastoma initiation and progression. We isolated sympathoadrenal progenitor cells from the postnatal murine adrenal gland by sphere culture and found them to be multipotent, generating differentiated colonies of neurons, Schwann cells, and myofibroblasts. MYCN overexpression in spheres promoted commitment to the neural lineage, evidenced by an increased frequency of neuron-containing colonies. MYCN promoted proliferation of both sympathoadrenal progenitor spheres and differentiated neurons derived from these spheres, but there was also an increase in apoptosis. The proliferation, apoptosis, and neural lineage commitment induced by MYCN are tumor-like characteristics and thereby support the hypothesis that multipotent adrenal medullary progenitor cells are cells of origin for neuroblastoma. We find, however, that MYCN overexpression is not sufficient for these cells to form tumors in nude mice, suggesting that additional transforming mutations are necessary for tumorigenesis.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress, the unfolded protein response, and gene network modeling in antiestrogen resistant breast cancer.

Lack of understanding of endocrine resistance remains one of the major challenges for breast cancer researchers, clinicians, and patients. Current reductionist approaches to understanding the molecular signaling driving resistance have offered mostly incremental progress over the past 10 years. As the field of systems biology has begun to mature, the approaches and network modeling tools being developed and applied therein offer a different way to think about how molecular signaling and the regulation of critical cellular functions are integrated. To gain novel insights, we first describe some of the key challenges facing network modeling of endocrine resistance, many of which arise from the properties of the data spaces being studied. We then use activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) following induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress in breast cancer cells by antiestrogens, to illustrate our approaches to computational modeling. Activation of UPR is a key determinant of cell fate decision making and regulation of autophagy and apoptosis. These initial studies provide insight into a small subnetwork topology obtained using differential dependency network analysis and focused on the UPR gene XBP1. The XBP1 subnetwork topology incorporates BCAR3, BCL2, BIK, NFκB, and other genes as nodes; the connecting edges represent the dependency structures amongst these nodes. As data from ongoing cellular and molecular studies become available, we will build detailed mathematical models of this XBP1-UPR network.

A novel predicted bromodomain-related protein affects coordination between meiosis and spermiogenesis in Drosophila and is required for male meiotic cytokinesis.

Temporal coordination of meiosis with spermatid morphogenesis is crucial for successful generation of mature sperm cells. We identified a recessive male sterile Drosophila melanogaster mutant, mitoshell, in which events of spermatid morphogenesis are initiated too early, before meiotic onset. Premature mitochondrial aggregation and fusion lead to an aberrant mitochondrial shell around premeiotic nuclei. Despite successful meiotic karyokinesis, improper mitochondrial localization in mitoshell testes is associated with defective astral central spindles and a lack of contractile rings, leading to meiotic cytokinesis failure. We mapped and cloned the mitoshell gene and found that it encodes a novel protein with a bromodomain-related region. It is conserved in some insect lineages. Bromodomains typically bind to histone acetyl-lysine residues and therefore are often associated with chromatin. The Mitoshell bromodomain-related region is predicted to have an alpha helical structure similar to that of bromodomains, but not all the crucial residues in the ligand-binding loops are conserved. We speculate that Mitoshell may participate in transcriptional regulation of spermatogenesis-specific genes, though perhaps with different ligand specificity compared to traditional bromodomains.