Preparation and characterization of diethoxy- and monoethoxy phosphylated ('aged') serine haptens and use in the production of monoclonal antibodies.

In this study, the first mechanism-based monoclonal antibodies have been produced that recognize and differentiate diethoxy- and monoethoxyphosphorylated serine residues. Haptens were synthesized as the stable phosphonate form of phosphoserine esters to improve the immunoresponse. Following condensation with a glutaric anhydride to link the phosphoserine moieties to carrier protein, the hapten densities attached to bovine serum albumin and keyhole limpet henocyanin were determined by partial trypsin digestion and MALDI mass spectrometry, and confirmed using a fluorescent assay (FITC) to quantify unmodified lysine residues. The conjugation reactions were pH optimized to improve hapten density. Screening of subclones led to the identification of two monoclonal antibodies: (a) N257/25.11 that specifically recognizes (EtO)2P(O)-Ser as the phosphylated or inhibited form, and (b) N262/16 that recognizes (EtO)(HO)P(O)-Ser as the 'aged' form. Analysis of blood samples treated with paraoxon (EtO)2P(O)-OPhNO2 showed a concentration dependent recognition of the phosphylated form.

Increased anti-phospholipid antibodies in autism spectrum disorders.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by impairments in communication, social interactions, and repetitive behaviors. While the etiology of ASD is complex and likely involves the interplay of genetic and environmental factors, growing evidence suggests that immune dysfunction and the presence of autoimmune responses including autoantibodies may play a role in ASD. Anti-phospholipid antibodies are believed to occur from both genetic and environmental factors and have been linked to a number of neuropsychiatric symptoms such as cognitive impairments, anxiety, and repetitive behaviors. In the current study, we investigated whether there were elevated levels of anti-phospholipid antibodies in a cross-sectional analysis of plasma of young children with ASD compared to age-matched typically developing (TD) controls and children with developmental delays (DD) other than ASD. We found that levels of anti-cardiolipin, ß 2-glycoprotein 1, and anti-phosphoserine antibodies were elevated in children with ASD compared with age-matched TD and DD controls. Further, the increase in antibody levels was associated with more impaired behaviors reported by parents. This study provides the first evidence for elevated production of anti-phospholipid antibodies in young children with ASD and provides a unique avenue for future research into determining possible pathogenic mechanisms that may underlie some cases of ASD.

ATP11C is critical for the internalization of phosphatidylserine and differentiation of B lymphocytes.

Subcompartments of the plasma membrane are believed to be critical for lymphocyte responses, but few genetic tools are available to test their function. Here we describe a previously unknown X-linked B cell-deficiency syndrome in mice caused by mutations in Atp11c, which encodes a member of the P4 ATPase family thought to serve as 'flippases' that concentrate aminophospholipids in the cytoplasmic leaflet of cell membranes. Defective ATP11C resulted in a lower rate of phosphatidylserine translocation in pro-B cells and much lower pre-B cell and B cell numbers despite expression of pre-rearranged immunoglobulin transgenes or enforced expression of the prosurvival protein Bcl-2 to prevent apoptosis and abolished pre-B cell population expansion in response to a transgene encoding interleukin 7. The only other abnormalities we noted were anemia, hyperbilirubinemia and hepatocellular carcinoma. Our results identify an intimate connection between phospholipid transport and B lymphocyte function.

Issues associated with the use of phosphospecific antibodies to localise active and inactive pools of GSK-3 in cells.

BACKGROUND: Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is a ubiquitously expressed serine/threonine (Ser/Thr) kinase comprising two isoforms, GSK-3α and GSK-3ß. Both enzymes are similarly inactivated by serine phosphorylation (GSK-3α at Ser21 and GSK-3ß at Ser9) and activated by tyrosine phosphorylation (GSK-3α at Tyr279 and GSK-3ß at Tyr216). Antibodies raised to phosphopeptides containing the sequences around these phosphorylation sites are frequently used to provide an indication of the activation state of GSK-3 in cell and tissue extracts. These antibodies have further been used to determine the subcellular localisation of active and inactive forms of GSK-3, and the results of those studies support roles for GSK-3 phosphorylation in diverse cellular processes. However, the specificity of these antibodies in immunocytochemistry has not been addressed in any detail. RESULTS: Taking advantage of gene silencing technology, we examined the specificity of several commercially available anti-phosphorylated GSK-3 antibodies. We show that antibodies raised to peptides containing the phosphorylated Ser21/9 epitope crossreact with unidentified antigens that are highly expressed by mitotic cells and that mainly localise to spindle poles. In addition, two antibodies raised to peptides containing the phosphorylated Tyr279/216 epitope recognise an unidentified protein at focal contacts, and a third antibody recognises a protein found in Ki-67-positive cell nuclei. While the phosphorylated Ser9/21 GSK-3 antibodies also recognise other proteins whose levels increase in mitotic cells in western blots, the phosphorylated Tyr279/216 antibodies appear to be specific in western blotting. However, we cannot rule out the posssibility that they recognise very large or very small proteins that might not be detected using a standard western blotting approach. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that care should be taken when examining the subcellular localisation of active or inactive GSK-3 and, furthermore, suggest that the role of GSK-3 phosphorylation in some cellular processes be reassessed.

CdSe/ZnS quantum dots based electrochemical immunoassay for the detection of phosphorylated bovine serum albumin.

A CdSe/ZnS quantum dot (QD) based electrochemical immunoassay of phosphorylated bovine serum albumin (BSA-OP) as a protein biomarker is presented. The QDs were used as labels for amplifying electrochemical signals and were conjugated with a secondary anti-phosphoserine antibody in a heterogeneous sandwich immunoassay. In this assay, the model phosphorylated protein BSA-OP was added to the primary BSA antibody coated polystyrene microwells, and then the QD labeled anti-phosphoserine antibody was added for completing immunorecognition. Finally, the bound QD was dissolved in an acid-dissolution step and was detected by electrochemical stripping analysis. The measured current responses were proportional to the concentration of BSA-OP. Under optimal conditions, the voltammetric response was linear over the range of 0.5-500 ngmL(-1) of BSA-OP, with a detection limit of 0.5 ngmL(-1). It also shows good reproducibility with a relative standard deviation of 8.6%. This QD-based electrochemical immunoassay offers great promise for simple and cost-effective analysis of protein biomarkers.

Screening kinase inhibitors with a microarray-based fluorescent and resonance light scattering assay.

In this technical note, a microarray-based spectroscopic assay with two readout principles, fluorescence and resonance light scattering (RLS), for screening kinase inhibitors has been reported. In this assay, the phosphorylation and inhibition events are marked by biotinylated antiphosphoserinen/antiphosphotyrosine antibodies, and gold nanoparticles are attached to the antibodies by standard avidin-biotin chemistry followed by silver deposition for RLS signal enhancement. The avidin conjugated fluorescein is used as a fluorescent probe. Assays for both serine kinase, the alpha-catalytic subunit of cyclic adenosine 5'-monophosphate (cAMP) dependent protein kinase (PKA), and tyrosine kinase, leukocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase (LCK), have been developed. The utility of this assay to high-throughput screening was demonstrated with a commercial inhibitor library, a collection of 80 kinase inhibitors, and satisfactory results were obtained. In addition, quantitative determination of binding strength and the inhibiting type (type I) of these inhibitors are also demonstrated by the adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) competing assays.

Dual regulation of a Dictyostelium STAT by cGMP and Ca2+ signalling.

When cells are exposed to hyperosmotic stress, the Dictyostelium STAT orthologue STATc is rapidly tyrosine phosphorylated. Previous observations suggest a non-paradigmatic mode of STAT activation, whereby stress-induced serine phosphorylation of the PTP3 protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibits its activity towards STATc. We show that two serine residues in PTP3, S448 and S747, are rapidly phosphorylated after osmotic stress. cGMP is a second messenger for hyperosmotic stress response and 8-bromo-cGMP, a membrane-permeable form of cGMP, is a known activator of STATc. GbpC, a cGMP-binding Ras guanine nucleotide exchange factor protein, is a founder member of a protein family that includes LRRK2, the gene commonly mutated in familial Parkinson's disease. Genetic ablation of gbpC prevents STATc activation by 8-bromo-cGMP. However, osmotic-stress-induced activation of STATc occurs normally in the gbpC null mutant. Moreover, 8-bromo-cGMP does not stimulate phosphorylation of S448 and S747 of PTP3 in a wild-type strain. These facts imply the occurrence of redundant activation pathways. We present evidence that intracellular Ca(2+) is a parallel second messenger, by showing that agents that elevate intracellular Ca(2+) levels are potent STATc activators that stimulate phosphorylation of S448 and S747. We propose that stress-induced cGMP signalling exerts its stimulatory effect by potentiating the activity of a semi-constitutive tyrosine kinase that phosphorylates STATc, whereas parallel, stress-induced Ca(2+) signalling represses STATc dephosphorylation through its inhibitory effect on PTP3.

Urgent termination of pregnancy in pre-eclampsia and panel of antiphospholipid antibodies.

PROBLEM: The present work was undertaken to investigate the occurence of autoantibodies to eight various phospholipids in time of urgent termination of the pregnancy (sectio caesarea) in patients in reproductive age with severe preeclamptic symptoms. METHOD OF STUDY: Autoantibodies against annexin V, ph-serine, ph-ethanolamine, ph-inositol, ph-DL-glycerol, cardiolipin, beta2-glycoprotein I (beta2-GPI), and phosphatidic acid were studied by ELISA methods. RESULTS: Increased levels of IgA-beta2-glycoprotein I, IgG-beta2-glycoprotein I, IgG- anti-ph-serine, and IgG-anticardiolipin were found in sera of preeclamptic women in the time of urgent sectio caesarea when compared to the control group with physiological pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Supposed increase in various antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) levels due to the stress during the short time of admission and a need for a quick medical decision to terminate the pregnancy was not unambiguously proven, but our results are evidently influenced by the current urgent life-saving treatment.

Activation of mTORC1 signaling pathway in AIDS-related lymphomas.

Using immunohistochemistry with antibodies against the phosphoserine residues in both S6rp and 4E binding protein 1, we identified the activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTORC)1 pathway in 29 cases of AIDS-related lymphoma. These cases represented a diverse spectrum of histological types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (24 cases) and classic Hodgkin lymphoma (five cases). mTORC1 was also activated in the hyperplastic but not involuted follicles of HIV-associated lymphadenopathy in eight cases, supporting the notion that mTORC1 activation is a common feature of transformed lymphocytes irrespective of either their reactive or malignant phenotype. We also found that in B-cell lines that represent diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma, Epstein-Barr virus-infected lymphocytes, and human herpesvirus 8-positive primary effusion lymphoma, inhibitors of Syk, MEK, and, seemingly, phosphoinositide 3 kinases suppressed mTORC1 activation, in particular when these inhibitors were used in combination. These findings indicate that AIDS-related lymphoma and other histologically similar types of lymphomas that are derived from transformed B lymphocytes may display clinical responses to inhibitors that directly target mTORC1 or, possibly, upstream activators of the mTORC1 pathway.

Detection of histone H3 phosphorylation in cultured cells and tissue sections by immunostaining.

Growth factor stimulation results in phosphorylation of histone H3 at ser 10 and this correlated with expression of immediate early genes suggesting that this phosphorylation is associated with transcriptional activation. Although Western immunoblot analysis allows the detection of protein modifications in histones, in order to determine the localization of histones during different phases of cell cycle or during treatment of cells with different drugs we have to use immunohistochemistry. The protocol described here allows the detection of phosphorylated histones in tissue-cultured cells and tissue sections by fluorescent or bright-field immunostaining analysis. Here we used a serine 10 specific P-histone H3 antibody to determine the localization of this phosphoprotein in an asynchronously growing H4 glioma cell line and brain sections. It has been shown that long-term potentiation (LTP) is associated with gene transcription, and histone acetylation plays a major role in LTP formation (Wood et al., Learn Mem 13:241-244, 2006; Wood et al., Hippocampus 15:610-621, 2005; Alarcon et al., Neuron 42:947-959, 2004; Korzus et al., Neuron 42:961-972, 2004). Stimulus-induced phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 10 has also been implicated in hippocampal neurons and striatal neurons (Li et al., J Neurochem 90:1117-1131, 2004; Crosio et al., J Cell Sci 116:4905-4914, 2003). Co-staining with a cell-specific antibody will allow us to determine the type of cells that show activation of histone phosphorylation in the brain.

Cell cycle regulation of the BRCA1/acetyl-CoA-carboxylase complex.

Germ-line alterations in BRCA1 are associated with an increased susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer. The BRCA1 protein has been implicated in multiple cellular functions. We have recently demonstrated that BRCA1 reduces acetyl-CoA-carboxylase alpha (ACCA) activity through its phospho-dependent binding to ACCA, and further established that the phosphorylation of the Ser1263 of ACCA is required for this interaction. Here, to gain more insight into the cellular conditions that trigger the BRCA1/ACCA interaction, we designed an anti-pSer1263 antibody and demonstrated that the Ser1263 of ACCA is phosphorylated in vivo, in a cell cycle-dependent manner. We further showed that the interaction between BRCA1 and ACCA is regulated during cell cycle progression. Taken together, our findings reveal a novel mechanism of regulation of ACCA distinct from the previously described phosphorylation of Ser79, and provide new insights into the control of lipogenesis through the cell cycle.

Ryanodine receptor phosphorylation at Serine 2030, 2808 and 2814 in rat cardiomyocytes.

The cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR) controls Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) during excitation-contraction coupling. Three phosphorylation sites have been identified: Serine-(S)2808, S2814 and recently S2030. We measured phosphorylation with at least two different antibodies per site and demonstrate that for S2808 results were highly antibody-dependent and two out of three S2808 antibodies did not accurately report phosphorylation level. The RyR was substantially phosphorylated in quiescent rat cardiomyocytes at S2808 and less so at S2814, but appeared to be unphosphorylated at S2030. Basal phosphorylation at S2808/S2814 was maintained by a Ca2+ dependent kinase other than Ca2+/Calmodulin-dependent kinase (CaMKII). During stimulation with Isoproterenol S2808 was phosphorylated by protein kinase A (PKA) and S2814 was phosphorylated by CaMKII. Phosphatase 1 appears to be the main phosphatase dephosphorylating S2808/S2814, but phosphatase 2a may also dephosphorylate S2814. RyR phosphorylation is complex, but important in understanding RyR functional modulation.

Abnormal phosphorylation of Ser409/410 of TDP-43 in FTLD-U and ALS.

A monoclonal antibody specific for phosphoserines 409 and 410 of TDP-43 (mAb pS409/410) has been produced. It strongly stained TDP-43-positive inclusions in brain of patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, but did not stain nuclei, in which normal TDP-43 is localized. It did not recognize TDP-43 rapidly extracted from brains of rats at various developmental stages, strongly suggesting that phosphorylation of Ser409/410 is an abnormal event. Analysis of postmortem changes of TDP-43 revealed that the amounts of Sarkosyl-insoluble, urea-soluble full-length TDP-43 and a 35kDa N-terminal fragment increased time-dependently.

ERK is a novel regulatory kinase for poly(A) polymerase.

Poly(A) polymerase (PAP), which adds poly(A) tails to the 3' end of mRNA, can be phosphorylated at several sites in the C-terminal domain. Phosphorylation often mediates regulation by extracellular stimuli, suggesting PAP may be regulated by such stimuli. In this study, we found that phosphorylation of PAP was increased upon growth stimulation and that the mitogen-activated protein kinase ERK was responsible for the increase in phosphorylation. We identified serine 537 of PAP as a unique phosphorylation site by ERK. PAP phosphorylation of serine 537 by ERK increased its nonspecific polyadenylation activity in vitro. This PAP activity was also activated by stimulation of ERK with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate in vivo. These data suggest that ERK is a novel regulatory kinase for PAP and further, that PAP activity could be regulated by extracellular stimuli through an ERK-dependent signaling pathway(s).

ATR-dependent pathways control hEXO1 stability in response to stalled forks.

Nucleases play important roles in DNA synthesis, recombination and repair. We have previously shown that human exonuclease 1 (hEXO1) is phosphorylated in response to agents stalling DNA replication and that hEXO1 consequently undergoes ubiquitination and degradation in a proteasome-dependent manner. In the present study, we have addressed the identity of the pathway transducing stalled-replication signals to hEXO1. Using chemical inhibitors, RNA interference, ATM- and ATR-deficient cell lines we have concluded that hEXO1 phosphorylation is ATR-dependent. By means of mass spectrometry, we have identified the sites of phosphorylation in hEXO1 in undamaged cells and in cells treated with hydroxyurea (HU). hEXO1 is phosphorylated at nine basal sites and three additional sites are induced by HU treatment. Analysis of single- and multiple-point mutants revealed that mutation to Ala of the three HU-induced sites of phosphorylation partially rescued HU-dependent degradation of hEXO1 and additionally stabilized the protein in non-treated cells. We have raised an antibody to pS(714), an HU-induced site of the S/T-Q type, and we provide evidence that S(714) is phosphorylated upon HU but not IR treatment. The antibody may be a useful tool to monitor signal transduction events triggered by stalled DNA replication.

The phosphorylation of myosin II at the Ser1 and Ser2 is critical for normal platelet-derived growth factor induced reorganization of myosin filaments.

Phosphorylation of the regulatory light chain of myosin II (MLC(20)) at the activation sites promotes both the motor activity and the filament formation of myosin II, thus playing an important role in various cell motile processes. In contrast, the physiological function of phosphorylation of MLC(20) at the inhibitory sites is unknown. Here we report for the first time the function of the inhibitory site phosphorylation in the cells. We successfully produced the antibodies specifically recognizing the phosphorylation sites of MLC(20) at Ser1, and the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced change in the phosphorylation at the Ser1 was monitored. The phosphorylation of MLC(20) at the Ser1 significantly increased during the PDGF-induced actin cytoskeletal reorganization. PDGF disassembled the stress fibers, and this was attenuated with the expression of unphosphorylatable MLC(20) at the Ser1/Ser2 phosphorylation sites. The present results suggest that the down-regulation of myosin II activity achieved by the phosphorylation at the Ser1/Ser2 sites plays an important role in the normal reorganization of actomyosin filaments triggered by PDGF receptor stimulation.

[The spliceosome and its interest for lupus therapy]. / Le splicéosome et son intérêt dans la recherche thérapeutique sur le lupus.

INTRODUCTION: The spliceosome, which is a particle containing a molecule of U-RNA and proteins that are specific to each U ribonuclear particle (U-snRNP) or common to every U-snRNPs, is one of the numerous nuclear targets recognized by the antibodies (Abs) and CD4+ T cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus mice. EXEGESIS: We recently characterized a peptide from the spliceosomal protein U1-70K (sequence 131-151), which is recognized by the Abs and CD4+ T cells from lupus mice and patients. This peptide contains a conserved RNP1 motif, which is also present in other spliceosomal proteins targeted by the Abs from individuals with lupus. We further showed that peptide 131-151 containing a phosphoserine at position 140 (peptide P140) possessed tolerogenic properties in lupus mice and was recognized by the Abs and CD4+ T cells from lupus patients. CONCLUSION: Thanks to its RNP1 motif, the peptide P140 might play an important role in the initiation and perpetuation steps of the humoral and cellular immune response diversification in lupus individuals. Therapeutic and particularly immunomodulating properties of P140 peptide are being evaluated in humans (a phase III clinical trial will be undertaken in the next weeks).

Positive regulation of deoxycytidine kinase activity by phosphorylation of Ser-74 in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia lymphocytes.

Deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) activates several antileukaemic nucleoside analogues. We have recently reported that the activity of dCK, overexpressed in HEK 293T cells, correlates with its phosphorylation level on Ser-74. Here, we show that dCK from B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL) lymphocytes can be detected by an anti-phospho-Ser-74 antibody and that interindividual variability in dCK activity is related to its phosphorylation level on Ser-74. Moreover, pharmacological intervention modified Ser-74 phosphorylation, in close parallel with changes in dCK activity. These results suggest that activation of dCK via phosphorylation of Ser-74 might constitute a new therapeutic strategy to enhance activation and efficacy of nucleoside analogues.

Characterization of agonist stimulation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase and G protein-coupled receptor kinase phosphorylation of the beta2-adrenergic receptor using phosphoserine-specific antibodies.

Agonist-stimulated desensitization of the beta2-adrenergic receptor (beta2AR) is caused by both a potent cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA)-mediated phosphorylation and a less potent, occupancy-dependent, G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK)-mediated phosphorylation that leads to beta-arrestin binding and internalization. In this study the kinetics of phosphorylation of the third intracellular loop PKA site Ser262 and the putative C-tail GRK sites Ser355, Ser356 of the human beta2AR overexpressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells were characterized using phosphoserine-specific antibodies. Specificity of the antibodies was shown by their lack of reactivity with mutant beta2ARs lacking the respective sites. In addition, overexpression of GRK2 and GRK5 increased basal levels of phosphorylation of the GRK sites Ser355, Ser356 in both COS-7 and HEK 293 cells. Epinephrine, prostaglandin E1, and forskolin at maximum concentrations stimulated phosphorylation of the beta2AR PKA site (Ser262) by 4-fold, whereas PMA stimulated it by 2-fold. Epinephrine stimulated PKA site phosphorylation with an EC50 of 20 to 40 pM. In contrast, epinephrine stimulated GRK site phosphorylation (Ser355,Ser356) with an EC50 of 200 nM (1-min treatments), which is more than 4000-fold higher relative to PKA site phosphorylation, consistent with an occupancy-driven process. After 10 to 30 min, the EC50 for epinephrine stimulation of GRK site phosphorylation was reduced to 10 to 20 nM but was still approximately 200-fold greater than for the PKA site. The EC50 for internalization correlated with GRK site phosphorylation and showed a similar shift with time of epinephrine stimulation. The kinetics of epinephrine-stimulated GRK site phosphorylation were not altered in a mutant of the beta2AR lacking the PKA consensus sites. The initial levels (2 min) of a range of agonist-stimulated GRK site phosphorylations were correlated with their efficacy for activation of adenylyl cyclase, namely epinephrine > or = formoterol = fenoterol > terbutaline = zinterol = albuterol > salmeterol > dobutamine > or = ephedrine. However, after 20 to 30 min of treatment, agonists with intermediate strengths, such as albuterol and salmeterol, stimulate GRK site phosphorylations that are approximately equal to that produced by epinephrine, and the correlation breaks down. The GRK and PKA site antibodies were also effective in detecting phosphorylation of the endogenous beta2AR expressed in A431 human epidermoid carcinoma cells. To summarize, our results show a remarkable amplification of PKA site phosphorylation relative to the putative GRK site phosphorylation, heterologous stimulation of the PKA site phosphorylation, no dependence of GRK site phosphorylation on PKA sites, and a reasonable correlation of initial levels of GRK site phosphorylation with the strength of a range of agonists.