Tyrosine phosphorylation at the membrane-microfilament interface: a p185neu-associated signal transduction particle containing Src, Abl and phosphorylated p58, a membrane- and microfilament-associated retroviral gag-like protein.

Microfilaments are associated with the microvillar membrane in the 13762 ascites rat mammary carcinoma cells by stable interaction with a large, multimeric signal transduction particle (STP) containing the (proto)oncogene receptor p185(neu). In vitro kinase assays on isolated microvilli and microvillar fractions enriched in the putative signal transduction particle showed a high specific activity of tyrosine kinase activity compared to that of membranes from EGF receptor-overexpressing A431 cells maximally activated by EGF. Assays of velocity sedimentation fractions from microvillar lysates in the presence and absence of the exogenous tyrosine kinase substrate poly-glu-tyr polypeptide (poly-E(4)Y) suggested association of the tyrosine kinase activity with STP-enriched microvillar fractions. The particulate fractions also contained discrete endogenous tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins, including prominent bands of approximately 42 and 58 kDa. Addition of ATP to these fractions resulted in a rapid increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of these and several other proteins, as detected by anti-phosphotyrosine blots. Immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting with anti-phosphotyrosine antibody of SDS-solubilized ascites cells and microfilament core fractions showed nine major bands; the electrophoretic mobilities of most of these in the cell immunoprecipitate and microfilament core were the same. In vivo and in situ phosphorylation, phosphoamino acid analysis, immunoprecipitation, 2-dimensional isoelectric focusing/SDS PAGE and immunoblot analysis showed that one of the prominent substrates is p58(gag), a retroviral Gag-like cytoplasmic STP component implicated in stabilizing microfilament-membrane interactions. Immunoblotting identified two peripheral membrane tyrosine kinases, p6O(src) and p120(abl), stably associated with the p185(neu)-containing signal transduction particle. These results provide further evidence for the constitutive activation of this aggressive mammary tumor and suggest a rote for phosphorylation of p58(gag) in organization of the STP at the membrane-microfilament interface in these cells.

Multiple facets of sialomucin complex/MUC4, a membrane mucin and erbb2 ligand, in tumors and tissues (Y2K update).

Sialomucin complex (SMC, MUC4) is a high Mr glycoprotein heterodimer, composed of mucin (ASGP-1) and transmembrane (ASGP-2) subunits. ASGP-2 contains two EGF-like domains and acts as an intramembrane ligand for the receptor tyrosine kinase ErbB2. Transfection studies with SMC DNAs showed that SMC expression could markedly reduce both cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in vitro and increase the growth of primary tumors and the formation of metastatic foci of human A375 melanoma cells as xenotransplants in nude mice, possibly through the ability to suppress apoptosis. SMC is expressed in most vulnerable epithelia as a protective agent, which is found in both membrane and soluble forms at luminal surfaces and secreted into fluids such as milk and tears. SMC appears to be constitutively expressed by most accessible epithelia, notable exceptions being the mammary gland and uterine luminal epithelium, in which it is tightly regulated during pregnancy. Down-regulation at the luminal uterine surface appears necessary for blastocyst implantation. TGF-b is a potent repressor of SMC expression in the mammary gland and uterus, though by different mechanisms. These combined results suggest that SMC has multiple functions in epithelia and is tightly regulated in those tissues where its special functions are required.

Detection of sialomucin complex (MUC4) in human ocular surface epithelium and tear fluid.

PURPOSE: To evaluate human ocular surface epithelium and tear fluid for the presence of sialomucin complex (MUC4), a high-molecular-weight heterodimeric glycoprotein composed of mucin (ASGP-1) and transmembrane (ASGP-2) subunits. METHODS: Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Northern blot analysis assays were used to identify sialomucin complex RNA in ocular surface epithelia. Immunoprecipitation and immunoblot analysis were used to identify immunoreactive species in human tears and in the corneal and conjunctival epithelia using antibodies specific for carbohydrate and peptide epitopes on the sialomucin complex subunits. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect sialomucin complex in frozen sections and impression cytology specimens of human cornea and conjunctival epithelia. RESULTS: ASGP-1- and ASGP-2-specific sequences were amplified from RNA extracted from both conjunctival and corneal epithelial biopsies by RT-PCR. Sialomucin complex transcripts were also detected in these tissues by Northern blot analysis, with a greater level of RNA detected in the peripheral than the central corneal epithelium. Sialomucin complex was immunoprecipitated from tear fluid samples and both corneal and conjunctival epithelia and detected by immunoblot analysis with specific anti-ASGP-1 and anti-ASGP-2 antibodies. The ASGP-1 peptide antibody HA-1 stained the full thickness of the corneal and conjunctival epithelia. In contrast, antibody 15H10, which reacts against a carbohydrate epitope on ASGP-1, stained only the superficial epithelial layers of these tissues. No staining was observed in the conjunctival goblet cells. CONCLUSIONS: Sialomucin complex was originally identified in rat mammary adenocarcinoma cells and has recently been shown to be produced by the ocular surface epithelia of rats. Furthermore, it has been identified as the rat homologue of human MUC4 mucin. The present studies show that it is expressed in the stratified epithelium covering the surface of the human eye and is present in human tear fluid. Expression of a carbohydrate-dependent epitope on the mucin subunit (ASGP-1) of sialomucin complex occurs in a differentiation-dependent fashion. Sialomucin complex joins MUC1 as another membrane mucin produced by the human ocular surface epithelia but is also found in the tear fluid, presumably in a soluble form, as found on the rat ocular surface.

Sialomucin complex (rMuc4) expression during development of the rat cornea.

PURPOSE: To determine changes in sialomucin complex (SMC, rat Muc4) expression in rat ocular surface tissue during development from birth to adult. METHODS: Immunoblot and immunocytochemical analyses were performed on isolated corneal tissue and rat eyes, respectively, from animals at days 1, 9 and 15 after birth. Adult animals were used for comparison. RESULTS: SMC was detected by immunoblotting at all ages (day 1-adult) and increased into adulthood. Immunocytochemical localization also showed steadily increasing amounts of SMC to adulthood. The SMC was located at the apical surface of the corneal epithelium and in the superficial layers of the stratified corneal epithelium. CONCLUSIONS: SMC at the corneal surfaces steadily increases during development to adulthood, but does not exhibit a marked transition in expression at the time of eye-opening.

MUC4 (sialomucin complex) expression in salivary gland tumors and squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates MUC4 expression in normal squamous epithelia and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT), and in salivary gland neoplasms. STUDY DESIGN: MUC4 antigens in tumor and adjacent normal tissue are localized by immunocytochemical studies. Fresh frozen tissues from surgical resection specimens are further analyzed by Western blot. RESULTS: MUC4 is identified by immunocytochemical staining throughout the normal UADT mucosa, in 34 of 40 primary UADT SCC, and in 11 of 12 metastatic cervical lymph nodes. A trend toward decreased MUC4 staining in moderately and poorly differentiated tumors is noted. Immunoblots show MUC4 in 4 of 5 SCC analyzed. Immunocytochemical staining of MUC4 in 13 major and minor salivary gland neoplasms reveal variable staining of normal and neoplastic tissue. MUC4 is demonstrated in immunoblots of normal parotid tissue and in the single parotid malignancy analyzed, but is not demonstrated in one minor salivary gland malignancy. These findings characterize normal UADT mucosal and salivary MUC4 expression, and MUC4 expression in SCC of the UADT and in salivary gland tumors. SIGNIFICANCE: Correlation of MUC4 expression with clinical outcomes may establish MUC4 as a potential molecular prognostic marker for these tumors.

Effect of cassava bread supplementation on energy intake of rats.

The effect of supplementing semi-purified diet of rats with milled cassava bread was investigated. Total food intake and weight gain were measured in ad libitum and pair fed animals. Plasma triglyceride levels were determined at the beginning and end of the experimental period. Cassava bread supplementation did not increase total food intake of the animals therefore resulted in a lower food efficiency ratio (FER) of the diet when animals were fed ad libitum. When the animals were pair fed, FER was similar for both diets suggesting that cassava supplementation does not increase significantly the energy content of the diet. Addition of milled cassava bread to the diet did not modify plasma lipid levels. This results support that cassava starch is partially available to the rats. Clinical use of cassava bread is suggested for diabetic and obese patients.

Association of the Ras to mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction pathway with microfilaments. Evidence for a p185(neu)-containing cell surface signal transduction particle linking the mitogenic pathway to a membrane-microfilament association site.

Microvilli of the aggressive 13762 ascites mammary adenocarcinoma contain a large, microfilament-associated signal transduction particle whose scaffolding is a stable glycoprotein complex (Li, Y., Hua, F., Carraway, K. L., and Carraway, C. A. C. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 25651-25658) associated with the growth factor receptor p185(neu). The receptor is constitutively tyrosine-phosphorylated in the cells and microvilli, predicting that it should recruit mitogenic pathway components to this membrane-microfilament interaction site. Immunoprecipitation of cell lysates with anti-phosphotyrosine and immunoblotting showed phosphorylated forms of the mitogenic pathway proteins Shc and MAPK in addition to p185(neu), suggesting that the Ras to MAPK mitogenic pathway is activated. Immunoblotting of p185(neu)-containing microvillar fractions revealed the presence in each of stably associated Shc, Grb-2, Sos, Ras, Raf, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase, and mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase, as well as the transcription factor-phosphorylating kinase Rsk. All of these pathway components co-immunoprecipitated with p185(neu) from cleared lysates of microvilli solubilized under microfilament-depolymerizing conditions. The recruitment of constitutively phosphorylated p185(neu) and the activated mitogenic pathway proteins to this membrane-microfilament interaction site provides a physical model for integrating the assembly of the mitogenic pathway with the transmission of growth factor signal to the cytoskeleton. This linkage is probably a requisite step in the global cytoskeleton remodeling accompanying mitogenesis.

Association of p185neu with microfilaments via a large glycoprotein complex in mammary carcinoma microvilli. Evidence for a microfilament-associated signal transduction particle.

The protein product of the neu (proto)oncogene p185neu is an analog of the epidermal growth factor receptor. Immunoblot analyses of cell surface fractions (microvilli) from the ascites 13762 rat mammary adenocarcinoma indicate that these cells contain p185neu but not epidermal growth factor receptor. Phalloidin shift velocity sedimentation analysis indicated that essentially all of the microvillar p185 co-migrated with microvillar microfilament cores when extractions were performed under microfilament-stabilizing conditions. Fractionation studies of these microvilli indicated that the association of p185 with the microfilament core is mediated by its stable interaction with a previously described transmembrane complex (TMC), composed minimally of at least four glycoproteins, a 58-kDa cytoplasmic membrane protein, and actin (Carraway, C. A. C., Jung, G., and Carraway, K. L. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 80, 430-434). A fraction of the p185 co-purifies with a large (> 2 x 10(6) kDa) complex of the TMC glycoproteins on gel filtration of microvilli, microfilament cores, or microvillar membranes in buffer containing 1 M KCl at pH 9.5, which are conditions required for the dissociation of actin from the complex. We propose that p185-containing TMC serves as a signal transduction particle at the surface of the 13762 cells and may be a prototype for similar microfilament-associated signal-transducing complexes in other cells.

Membrane-microfilament interactions in ascites tumor cell microvilli. Identification and isolation of a large microfilament-associated membrane glycoprotein complex.

[14C]Glucosamine metabolic labeling and concanavalin A blots were used to identify four major glycoprotein species associated with ascites tumor cell microvillar microfilament cores and with a transmembrane complex containing actin. Phalloidin shift analysis of glucosamine-labeled microvilli showed that glycoproteins of 110-120, 80, 65, and 55 kDa are stably associated with the microfilament cores. Analysis of large (greater than 10(6) kDa) transmembrane complexes from microvillar membranes made under microfilament-depolymerizing conditions (Carraway, C. A. C., Jung, G., and Carraway, K. L. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 80, 430-434) revealed glycoproteins of the same Mr values, showing the same relative staining or labeling patterns as those observed with the microfilament cores. Gel filtration of high salt, high pH extracts of intact microvilli, microfilament cores, or transmembrane complexes showed that in all of these fractions the glycoproteins are associated in a very large, stable complex. The glycoprotein multimer was isolated essentially free of actin and other components by Sephacryl S-1000 chromatography of microvilli, microvillar membranes prepared at pH 11, microfilament cores, or transmembrane complex fractions in Triton X-100, 1 M KCl, glycine, pH 9.5. Purified glycoprotein complex bound actin when incubated under polymerizing conditions. The presence of the glycoprotein heteromultimer in both microfilament cores and transmembrane complex from isolated membranes and the association of the purified glycoprotein complex with actin are consistent with our hypothesis that the glycoprotein-containing transmembrane complex is an association site for microfilaments at the plasma membrane.

Sialomucin complex at the rat ocular surface: a new model for ocular surface protection.

The ocular surface, which is among the most accessible and vulnerable tissues in mammals, is protected by a complex tear film composed of lipid, aqueous and mucin layers. In spite of its importance, the molecular nature of the mucin contribution remains uncertain. Since membrane mucins have been implicated in the protection of other epithelia, we have analysed rat corneal and conjunctival tissues for sialomucin complex (SMC), a membrane mucin found at the apical epithelial cell surfaces in the airway and uterus. Using Northern and Western blot analyses, SMC expression was found in both ocular tissues, being particularly abundant in the cornea. In contrast with the other known membrane mucin, MUC1, SMC was localized more heavily towards the apical surface of the epithelial cells. SMC in ocular surface epithelia was produced in both soluble and membrane forms, the latter being found predominantly in the most superficial cells and at apical surfaces. The soluble form was found loosely adsorbed to apical cell surfaces, particularly of the cornea, as indicated by a mild rinsing protocol. Finally, the tear fluid contained substantial amounts of SMC. From these results, we propose a new model for tear mucin components in which SMC is expressed at the apical ocular surface in both membrane-bound and adsorbed soluble forms to provide a direct protective barrier. SMC secreted into the tear fluid may also participate in maintaining the stability of the preocular tear film by acting with other secreted mucins to determine the physical properties and protective behaviour of the tear film.

An intramembrane modulator of the ErbB2 receptor tyrosine kinase that potentiates neuregulin signaling.

The ErbB2 receptor tyrosine kinase plays a critical role in a variety of developmental processes, and its aberrant activation may contribute to the progression of some breast and ovarian tumors. ASGP2, a transmembrane glycoprotein found on the surface of the highly metastatic ascites 13762 rat mammary adenocarcinoma cell line, is constitutively associated with ErbB2 in these cells and in mammary tissue from pregnant rats. Expression studies indicate that ASGP2 interacts directly and specifically with ErbB2 through one of its epidermal growth factor-like domains and that the co-expression of the two proteins in the same cell dramatically facilitates their direct stable interaction. Ectopic expression of ASGP2 in human melanoma tumor cells potentiates the response of endogenous ErbB2 to the neuregulin-1 growth factor. These observations point to a novel intramembrane mechanism for the modulation of receptor tyrosine kinase activity.