Aquaporins differentially regulate cell-cell adhesion in MDCK cells.

Plasticity of epithelial cell-cell adhesion is vital in epithelial homeostasis and is regulated in multiple processes associated with cell migration, such as embryogenesis and wound healing. In cancer, cell-cell adhesion is compromised and is associated with increased cell migration and metastasis. Aquaporin (AQP) water channels facilitate water transport across cell membranes and are essential in the regulation of body water homeostasis. Increased expression of several AQPs, especially AQP5, is associated with increased cancer cell migration, metastasis, and poor prognosis. We found that AQP5 overexpression in normal epithelial cells induced cell detachment and dissemination from migrating cell sheets. AQP5 reduced both cell-cell coordination during collective migration and overall distance covered by the migrating cell sheets. AQP5 and the isoforms AQP1 and AQP4 decreased, whereas AQP3 increased, levels of plasma membrane-associated lateral junctional proteins. This regulation was mediated by the cytoplasmic domains of the AQPs. This shows that the AQPs have dual functions in epithelial physiology: as channel proteins and as differential regulators of cell-cell adhesiveness. This regulation may contribute to dynamic regulation of cell junctions in processes such as embryogenesis and wound healing and also explain the pivotal roles of AQPs in carcinogenesis and metastasis.-Login, F. H., Jensen, H. H., Pedersen, G. A., Koffman, J. S., Kwon, T.-H., Parsons, M., Nejsum, L. N. Aquaporins differentially regulate cell-cell adhesion in MDCK cells.

AQP2 Plasma Membrane Diffusion Is Altered by the Degree of AQP2-S256 Phosphorylation.

Fine tuning of urine concentration occurs in the renal collecting duct in response to circulating levels of arginine vasopressin (AVP). AVP stimulates intracellular cAMP production, which mediates exocytosis of sub-apical vesicles containing the water channel aquaporin-2 (AQP2). Protein Kinase A (PKA) phosphorylates AQP2 on serine-256 (S256), which triggers plasma membrane accumulation of AQP2. This mediates insertion of AQP2 into the apical plasma membrane, increasing water permeability of the collecting duct. AQP2 is a homo-tetramer. When S256 on all four monomers is changed to the phosphomimic aspartic acid (S256D), AQP2-S256D localizes to the plasma membrane and internalization is decreased. In contrast, when S256 is mutated to alanine (S256A) to mimic non-phosphorylated AQP2, AQP2-S256A localizes to intracellular vesicles as well as the plasma membrane, with increased internalization from the plasma membrane. S256 phosphorylation is not necessary for exocytosis and dephosphorylation is not necessary for endocytosis, however, the degree of S256 phosphorylation is hypothesized to regulate the kinetics of AQP2 endocytosis and thus, retention time in the plasma membrane. Using k-space Image Correlation Spectroscopy (kICS), we determined how the number of phosphorylated to non-phosphorylated S256 monomers in the AQP2 tetramer affects diffusion speed of AQP2 in the plasma membrane. When all four monomers mimicked constitutive phosphorylation (AQP2-S256D), diffusion was faster than when all four were non-phosphorylated (AQP2-S256A). AQP2-WT diffused at a speed similar to that of AQP2-S256D. When an average of two or three monomers in the tetramer were constitutively phosphorylated, the average diffusion coefficients were not significantly different to that of AQP2-S256D. However, when only one monomer was phosphorylated, diffusion was slower and similar to AQP2-S256A. Thus, AQP2 with two to four phosphorylated monomers has faster plasma membrane kinetics, than the tetramer which contains just one or no phosphorylated monomers. This difference in diffusion rate may reflect behavior of AQP2 tetramers destined for either plasma membrane retention or endocytosis.

Measuring localization and diffusion coefficients of basolateral proteins in lateral versus basal membranes using functionalized substrates and kICS analysis.

Micropatterning enabled semiquantitation of basolateral proteins in lateral and basal membranes of the same cell. Lateral diffusion coefficients of basolateral aquaporin-3 (AQP3-EGFP) and EGFP-AQP4 were extracted from "lateral" and "basal" membranes using identical live-cell imaging and k-space Image Correlation Spectroscopy (kICS). To simultaneously image proteins in "lateral" and "basal" membranes, micropatterning with the extracellular domain of E-cadherin and collagen, to mimic cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion, respectively, was used. In kidney collecting duct principal cells AQP3 localizes lateral and basal whereas AQP4 localizes mainly basal. On alternating stripes of E-cadherin and collagen, AQP3-EGFP was predominantly localized to "lateral" compared to "basal" membranes, whereas Orange-AQP4 was evenly distributed. Average diffusion coefficients were extracted via kICS analysis of rapid time-lapse sequences of AQP3-EGFP and EGFP-AQP4 on uniform substrates of either E-cadherin or collagen. AQP3-EGFP was measured to 0.022±0.010µm(2)/s on E-cadherin and 0.019±0.004µm(2)/s on collagen, whereas EGFP-AQP4 was measured to 0.044±0.009µm(2)/s on E-cadherin and 0.037±0.009µm(2)/s on collagen, thus, diffusion did not differ between substrates. Cholesterol depletion by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MBCD) reduced the AQP3-EGFP diffusion coefficient by 43% from 0.024±0.007µm(2)/s (water) to 0.014±0.003µm(2)/s (MBCD) (p<0.05) on collagen surfaces, and by 41% from 0.023±0.011µm(2)/s (water) to 0.014±0.005µm(2)/s (MBCD) (p<0.05) on E-cadherin surfaces. Thus, protein patterning enables the semiquantitation of protein distribution between the "lateral" and "basal" membranes as well as measurements of lateral diffusion coefficients.

Elevated cAMP increases aquaporin-3 plasma membrane diffusion.

Regulated urine concentration takes place in the renal collecting duct upon arginine vasopressin (AVP) stimulation, where subapical vesicles containing aquaporin-2 (AQP2) are inserted into the apical membrane instantly increasing water reabsorption and urine concentration. The reabsorped water exits via basolateral AQP3 and AQP4. Upon long-term stimulation with AVP or during thirst, expression levels of both AQP2 and AQP3 are increased; however, there is so far no evidence for short-term AVP regulation of AQP3 or AQP4. To facilitate the increase in transepithelial water transport, AQP3 may be short-term regulated via changes in protein-protein interactions, incorporation into lipid rafts, and/or changes in steady-state turnover, which could result in changes in the diffusion behavior of AQP3. Thus we measured AQP3 diffusion coefficients upon stimulation with the AVP mimic forskolin to reveal if AQP3 could be short-term regulated by AVP. k-Space image correlation spectroscopy (kICS) analysis of time-lapse image sequences of basolateral enhanced green fluorescent protein-tagged AQP3 (AQP3-EGFP) revealed that the forskolin-mediated elevation of cAMP increased the diffusion coefficient by 58% from 0.0147 ± 0.0082 µm(2)/s (control) to 0.0232 ± 0.0085 µm(2)/s (forskolin, P < 0.05). Quantum dot-conjugated antibody labeling also revealed a significant increase in AQP3 diffusion upon forskolin treatment by 44% [0.0104 ± 0.0040 µm(2)/s (control) vs. 0.0150 ± 0.0016 µm(2)/s (forskolin, P < 0.05)]. Immunoelectron microscopy showed no obvious difference in AQP3-EGFP expression levels or localization in the plasma membrane upon forskolin stimulation. Thus AQP3-EGFP diffusion is altered upon increased cAMP, which may correspond to basolateral adaptations in response to the increased apical water readsorption.

The role of aquaporin-5 in cancer cell migration: A potential active participant.

Emerging data identifies the water channel aquaporin-5 as a major player in multiple cancers. Over-expression of aquaporin-5 has been associated with increased metastasis and poor prognosis, suggesting that aquaporin-5 may enhance cancer cell migration. This review aims to highlight the current knowledge and hypothesis regarding downstream signaling partners of aquaporin-5 in relation to cancer cell migration. The molecular mechanisms that link aquaporin-5 to cell migration are not completely understood. Aquaporin-5 may promote cell movement by increasing water uptake into the front of the cell allowing local swelling. Aquaporin-5 may also activate extracellular-regulated kinases, increasing proliferation and potentially stimulating the migration machinery. Thus, further studies are warranted to identify the underlying mechanisms and signaling pathways. This will reveal whether aquaporin-5 and downstream effectors could be targets for developing new cancer therapeutics.

Opposing Effects of cAMP and T259 Phosphorylation on Plasma Membrane Diffusion of the Water Channel Aquaporin-5 in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Cells.

Aquaporin-5 (AQP5) facilitates passive water transport in glandular epithelia in response to secretory stimuli via intracellular pathways involving calcium release, cAMP and protein kinase A (PKA). In epithelial plasma membranes, AQP5 may be acutely regulated to facilitate water transport in response to physiological stimuli by changes in protein modifications, interactions with proteins and lipids, nanoscale membrane domain organization, and turnover rates. Such regulatory mechanisms could potentially be associated with alteration of diffusion behavior, possibly resulting in a change in the plasma membrane diffusion coefficient of AQP5. We aimed to test the short-term regulatory effects of the above pathways, by measuring lateral diffusion of AQP5 and an AQP5 phospho-mutant, T259A, using k-space Image Correlation Spectroscopy of quantum dot- and EGFP-labeled AQP5. Elevated cAMP and PKA inhibition significantly decreased lateral diffusion of AQP5, whereas T259A mutation showed opposing effects; slowing diffusion without stimulation and increasing diffusion to basal levels after cAMP elevation. Thus, lateral diffusion of AQP5 is significantly regulated by cAMP, PKA, and T259 phosphorylation, which could be important for regulating water flow in glandular secretions.

Easy measurement of diffusion coefficients of EGFP-tagged plasma membrane proteins using k-Space Image Correlation Spectroscopy.

Lateral diffusion and compartmentalization of plasma membrane proteins are tightly regulated in cells and thus, studying these processes will reveal new insights to plasma membrane protein function and regulation. Recently, k-Space Image Correlation Spectroscopy (kICS)(1) was developed to enable routine measurements of diffusion coefficients directly from images of fluorescently tagged plasma membrane proteins, that avoided systematic biases introduced by probe photophysics. Although the theoretical basis for the analysis is complex, the method can be implemented by nonexperts using a freely available code to measure diffusion coefficients of proteins. kICS calculates a time correlation function from a fluorescence microscopy image stack after Fourier transformation of each image to reciprocal (k-) space. Subsequently, circular averaging, natural logarithm transform and linear fits to the correlation function yields the diffusion coefficient. This paper provides a step-by-step guide to the image analysis and measurement of diffusion coefficients via kICS. First, a high frame rate image sequence of a fluorescently labeled plasma membrane protein is acquired using a fluorescence microscope. Then, a region of interest (ROI) avoiding intracellular organelles, moving vesicles or protruding membrane regions is selected. The ROI stack is imported into a freely available code and several defined parameters (see Method section) are set for kICS analysis. The program then generates a "slope of slopes" plot from the k-space time correlation functions, and the diffusion coefficient is calculated from the slope of the plot. Below is a step-by-step kICS procedure to measure the diffusion coefficient of a membrane protein using the renal water channel aquaporin-3 tagged with EGFP as a canonical example.