SHARPIN is a component of the NF-κB-activating linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex.

Cpdm (chronic proliferative dermatitis) mice develop chronic dermatitis and an immunodeficiency with increased serum IgM, symptoms that resemble those of patients with X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome and hypohydrotic ectodermal dysplasia (XHM-ED), which is caused by mutations in NEMO (NF-κB essential modulator; also known as IKBKG). Spontaneous null mutations in the Sharpin (SHANK-associated RH domain interacting protein in postsynaptic density) gene are responsible for the cpdm phenotype in mice. SHARPIN shows significant similarity to HOIL-1L (also known as RBCK1), a component of linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex (LUBAC), which induces NF-κB activation through conjugation of linear polyubiquitin chains to NEMO. Here, we identify SHARPIN as an additional component of LUBAC. SHARPIN-containing complexes can linearly ubiquitinate NEMO and activated NF-κB. Thus, we re-define LUBAC as a complex containing SHARPIN, HOIL-1L, and HOIP (also known as RNF31). Deletion of SHARPIN drastically reduced the amount of LUBAC, which resulted in attenuated TNF-α- and CD40-mediated activation of NF-κB in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) or B cells from cpdm mice. Considering the pleomorphic phenotype of cpdm mice, these results confirm the predicted role of LUBAC-mediated linear polyubiquitination in NF-κB activation induced by various stimuli, and strongly suggest the involvement of LUBAC-induced NF-κB activation in various disorders.

Conserved function of caspase-8 in apoptosis during bony fish evolution.

Caspase-8, a member of the caspase family, plays an important role in apoptotic signal transduction in mammals. Here we report the identification and characterization of the caspase-8 (casp8) gene in the zebrafish Danio rerio. The zebrafish casp8 gene has a genomic organization similar to mammalian casp8 genes, consisting of 10 exons. By chromosome mapping, we found that casp8 maps on linkage group 6 (LG6), a zebrafish chromosome segment orthologous to the long arm of human Chr. 2, which carries CASP8. In contrast, the zebrafish casp10-like gene and the cflar gene separately localize on LG9 and LG11, respectively, and these genes form a cluster with CASP8 on the human chromosome. This chromosomal segregation is unique to fish but not other vertebrates. Furthermore, we examined the function of zebrafish Casp8 protein in mammalian cells, and showed that it has pro-apoptotic activity when overexpressed. In addition, this molecule was capable of transmitting apoptotic signals mediated through not only Fas but also the TNF receptor in mouse Casp8-deficient cells. Expression analysis showed that casp8 is maternally expressed, and transcripts continue to be present throughout embryogenesis and into larval stages. These results show that zebrafish casp8 has a structure and function similar to mammalian CASP8 orthologs, and our study suggests that the role of caspase-8 in the apoptotic signal pathway has been conserved over at least 450 million years of vertebrate evolution.

Possible involvement of iron-induced oxidative insults in neurodegeneration.

Involvement of iron in the development of neurodegenerative disorders has long been suggested, and iron that cannot be stored properly is suggested to induce iron toxicity. To enhance iron uptake and suppress iron storage in neurons, we generated transgenic (Tg) mice expressing iron regulatory protein 2 (IRP2), a major regulator of iron metabolism, in a neuron-specific manner. Although very subtle, IRP2 was expressed in all regions of brain examined. In the Tg mice, mitochondrial oxidative insults were observed including generation of 4-hydroxynonenal modified proteins, which appeared to be removed by a mitochondrial quality control protein Parkin. Inter-crossing of the Tg mice to Parkin knockout mice perturbed the integrity of neurons in the substantia nigra and provoked motor symptoms. These results suggest that a subtle, but chronic increase in IRP2 induces mitochondrial oxidative insults and accelerates neurodegeneration in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease. Thus, the IRP2 Tg may be a useful tool to probe the roles of iron-induced mitochondrial damages in neurodegeraration research.

Dendritic differentiation of cerebellar Purkinje cells is promoted by ryanodine receptors expressed by Purkinje and granule cells.

Cerebellar Purkinje cells have the most elaborate dendritic trees among neurons in the brain. We examined the roles of ryanodine receptor (RyR), an intracellular Ca(2+) release channel, in the dendrite formation of Purkinje cells using cerebellar cell cultures. In the cerebellum, Purkinje cells express RyR1 and RyR2, whereas granule cells express RyR2. When ryanodine (10 µM), a blocker of RyR, was added to the culture medium, the elongation and branching of Purkinje cell dendrites were markedly inhibited. When we transferred small interfering RNA (siRNA) against RyR1 into Purkinje cells using single-cell electroporation, dendritic branching but not elongation of the electroporated Purkinje cells was inhibited. On the other hand, transfection of RyR2 siRNA into granule cells also inhibited dendritic branching of Purkinje cells. Furthermore, ryanodine reduced the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the culture medium. The ryanodine-induced inhibition of dendritic differentiation was partially rescued when BDNF was exogenously added to the culture medium in addition to ryanodine. Overall, these results suggest that RyRs expressed by both Purkinje and granule cells play important roles in promoting the dendritic differentiation of Purkinje cells and that RyR2 expressed by granule cells is involved in the secretion of BDNF from granule cells.

Effects of 1-naphthyl acetyl spermine on dendrite formation by cultured cerebellar Purkinje cells.

Cerebellar Purkinje cells have the most elaborate dendritic trees among neurons in the brain. To date, the contributions of calcium-permeable AMPA receptors (CP-AMPARs) in calcium signaling and dendrite formation of Purkinje cells remain to be elucidated. In the present study, therefore, we examined the effects of 1-naphthyl acetyl spermine (NAS), a blocker of CP-AMPARs, on dendrite formation by cultured Purkinje cells. NAS markedly inhibited elongation and branching of Purkinje cell dendrites. Calcium imaging experiments using caged glutamate demonstrated that NAS inhibits the increase of intracellular calcium concentration in Purkinje cells after glutamate release. These results suggest that calcium signaling mediated through CP-AMPARs plays an important role in Purkinje cell dendrite formation.

Involvement of linear polyubiquitylation of NEMO in NF-kappaB activation.

Nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) is a key transcription factor in inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and immune processes. The ubiquitin pathway is crucial in regulating the NF-kappaB pathway. We have found that the LUBAC ligase complex, composed of the two RING finger proteins HOIL-1L and HOIP, conjugates a head-to-tail-linked linear polyubiquitin chain to substrates. Here, we demonstrate that LUBAC activates the canonical NF-kappaB pathway by binding to NEMO (NF-kappaB essential modulator, also called IKKgamma) and conjugates linear polyubiquitin chains onto specific Lys residues in the CC2-LZ domain of NEMO in a Ubc13-independent manner. Moreover, in HOIL-1 knockout mice and cells derived from these mice, NF-kappaB signalling induced by pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-alpha and IL-1beta was suppressed, resulting in enhanced TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis in hepatocytes of HOIL-1 knockout mice. These results indicate that LUBAC is involved in the physiological regulation of the canonical NF-kappaB activation pathway through linear polyubiquitylation of NEMO.

Mutual regulation of conventional protein kinase C and a ubiquitin ligase complex.

Several isoforms of protein kinase C (PKC) are degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway after phorbol ester-mediated activation. However, little is known about the ubiquitin ligase (E3) that targets activated PKCs. We recently showed that an E3 complex composed of HOIL-1L and HOIP (LUBAC) generates linear polyubiquitin chains and induces the proteasomal degradation of a model substrate. HOIL-1L has also been characterized as a PKC-binding protein. Here we show that LUBAC preferentially binds activated conventional PKCs and their constitutively active mutants. LUBAC efficiently ubiquitinated activated PKC in vitro, and degradation of activated PKCalpha was delayed in HOIL-1L-deficient cells. Conversely, PKC activation induced cleavage of HOIL-1L and led to downregulation of the ligase activity of LUBAC. These results indicate that LUBAC is an E3 for activated conventional PKC, and that PKC and LUBAC regulate each other for proper PKC signaling.

The adaptor molecule FADD from Xenopus laevis demonstrates evolutionary conservation of its pro-apoptotic activity.

FADD is an adaptor protein that transmits apoptotic signals from death receptors such as Fas to downstream initiator caspases in mammals. We have identified and characterized the Xenopus orthologue of mammalian FADD (xFADD). xFADD contains both a death effector domain (DED) and a death domain (DD) that are structurally homologous to those of mammalian FADD. We observed xFADD binding to Xenopus caspase-8 and caspase-10 as well as to human caspase-8 and Fas through interactions with their homophilic DED and DD domains. When over-expressed, xFADD was also able to induce apoptosis in wild-type mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF), but not in caspase-8-deficient MEF cells. In contrast, DED-deficient xFADD (xFADDdn) acted as a dominant-negative mutant and prevented Fas-mediated apoptosis in mammalian cell lines. These results indicate that xFADD transmits apoptotic signals from Fas to caspase-8. Furthermore, we found that transgenic animals expressing xFADD in the developing heart or eye under the control of tissue-specific promoters show abnormal phenotypes. Taken together, these results suggest that xFADD can substitute functionally for its mammalian homologue in death receptor-mediated apoptosis, and we suggest that xFADD functions as a pro-apoptotic adaptor molecule in frogs. Thus, the structural and functional similarities between xFADD and mammalian FADD provide evidence that the apoptotic pathways are evolutionally conserved across vertebrate species.