The protein phosphatase 7 regulates phytochrome signaling in Arabidopsis.

The psi2 mutant of Arabidopsis displays amplification of the responses controlled by the red/far red light photoreceptors phytochrome A (phyA) and phytochrome B (phyB) but no apparent defect in blue light perception. We found that loss-of-function alleles of the protein phosphatase 7 (AtPP7) are responsible for the light hypersensitivity in psi2 demonstrating that AtPP7 controls the levels of phytochrome signaling. Plants expressing reduced levels of AtPP7 mRNA display reduced blue-light induced cryptochrome signaling but no noticeable deficiency in phytochrome signaling. Our genetic analysis suggests that phytochrome signaling is enhanced in the AtPP7 loss of function alleles, including in blue light, which masks the reduced cryptochrome signaling. AtPP7 has been found to interact both in yeast and in planta assays with nucleotide-diphosphate kinase 2 (NDPK2), a positive regulator of phytochrome signals. Analysis of ndpk2-psi2 double mutants suggests that NDPK2 plays a critical role in the AtPP7 regulation of the phytochrome pathway and identifies NDPK2 as an upstream element involved in the modulation of the salicylic acid (SA)-dependent defense pathway by light. Thus, cryptochrome- and phytochrome-specific light signals synchronously control their relative contribution to the regulation of plant development. Interestingly, PP7 and NDPK are also components of animal light signaling systems.

Differential pattern of glycogen accumulation after protein phosphatase 1 glycogen-targeting subunit PPP1R6 overexpression, compared to PPP1R3C and PPP1R3A, in skeletal muscle cells

Background PPP1R6 is a protein phosphatase 1 glycogen-targeting subunit (PP1-GTS) abundant in skeletal muscle with an undefined metabolic control role. Here PPP1R6 effects on myotube glycogen metabolism, particle size and subcellular distribution are examined and compared with PPP1R3C/PTG and PPP1R3A/GM. Results PPP1R6 overexpression activates glycogen synthase (GS), reduces its phosphorylation at Ser-641/0 and increases the extracted and cytochemically-stained glycogen content, less than PTG but more than GM. PPP1R6 does not change glycogen phosphorylase activity. All tested PP1-GTS-cells have more glycogen particles than controls as found by electron microscopy of myotube sections. Glycogen particle size is distributed for all cell-types in a continuous range, but PPP1R6 forms smaller particles (mean diameter 14.4 nm) than PTG (36.9 nm) and GM (28.3 nm) or those in control cells (29.2 nm). Both PPP1R6- and GM-derived glycogen particles are in cytosol associated with cellular structures; PTG-derived glycogen is found in membrane- and organelle-devoid cytosolic glycogen-rich areas; and glycogen particles are dispersed in the cytosol in control cells. A tagged PPP1R6 protein at the C-terminus with EGFP shows a diffuse cytosol pattern in glucose-replete and -depleted cells and a punctuate pattern surrounding the nucleus in glucose-depleted cells, which colocates with RFP tagged with the Golgi targeting domain of β-1,4-galactosyltransferase, according to a computational prediction for PPP1R6 Golgi location. Conclusions PPP1R6 exerts a powerful glycogenic effect in cultured muscle cells, more than GM and less than PTG. PPP1R6 protein translocates from a Golgi to cytosolic location in response to glucose. The molecular size and subcellular location of myotube glycogen particles is determined by the PPP1R6, PTG and GM scaffolding.

Protein phosphatase 2A mediates resensitization of the neurokinin 1 receptor

Activated G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are phosphorylated and interact with beta-arrestins, which mediate desensitization and endocytosis. Endothelin-converting enzyme-1 (ECE-1) degrades neuropeptides in endosomes and can promote recycling. Although endocytosis, dephosphorylation, and recycling are accepted mechanisms of receptor resensitization, a large proportion of desensitized receptors can remain at the cell surface. We investigated whether reactivation of noninternalized, desensitized (phosphorylated) receptors mediates resensitization of the substance P (SP) neurokinin 1 receptor (NK(1)R). Herein, we report a novel mechanism of resensitization by which protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is recruited to dephosphorylate noninternalized NK(1)R. A desensitizing concentration of SP reduced cell-surface SP binding sites by only 25%, and SP-induced Ca(2+) signals were fully resensitized before cell-surface binding sites started to recover, suggesting resensitization of cell-surface-retained NK(1)R. SP induced association of beta-arrestin1 and PP2A with noninternalized NK(1)R. beta-Arrestin1 small interfering RNA knockdown prevented SP-induced association of cell-surface NK(1)R with PP2A, indicating that beta-arrestin1 mediates this interaction. ECE-1 inhibition, by trapping beta-arrestin1 in endosomes, also impeded SP-induced association of cell-surface NK(1)R with PP2A. Resensitization of NK(1)R signaling required both PP2A and ECE-1 activity. Thus, after stimulation with SP, PP2A interacts with noninternalized NK(1)R and mediates resensitization. PP2A interaction with NK(1)R requires beta-arrestin1. ECE-1 promotes this process by releasing beta-arrestin1 from NK(1)R in endosomes. These findings represent a novel mechanism of PP2A- and ECE-1-dependent resensitization of GPCRs.

Protein phosphatase activities in the serum and saliva of healthy children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the activities of the total acid phosphatase (TAP), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMW-PTP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) enzymes, as well as the possible correlation in the serum and in unstimulated whole saliva of children. Enzymatic activities were measured in pairs of concurrently obtained serum and salivary samples from 32 children in good oral and systemic health (16 of each sex) with a median age of 6.4 ± 3.3 years (range 1.08 – 12.92 years). All collections were made between the hours of 08:00 – 10:00 a.m. We used p-nitrophenyl phosphate as the substrate in the enzymatic assay for TAP, TRAP and LMW-PTP, and thymolphthalein monophosphate as the substrate for ALP. The enzymatic activities of all the studied enzymes were higher in serum than in saliva. The mean of enzymatic activities of serum TAP, TRAP, LMW-PTP and ALP were 36.51 ± 8.21, 23.99 ± 5.73, 11.16 ± 5.65 and 76.50 ± 17.32 U/L, respectively, while the mean salivary TAP, TRAP, LMW-PTP and ALP enzymatic activities were 9.60 ± 5.04, 1.36 ± 0.87, 5.65 ± 3.07 and 4.08 ± 1.83 U/L in this order. The TRAP revealed a positive linear correlation between its activity in the serum and saliva (Spearman r = 0,4685, p < 0,05). We concluded that the salivary TRAP has a potential to be use as biomarkers of pathologies and states that modify its activity in the serum.

Protein phosphatase 1 regulation by inhibitors and targeting subunits

Regulation of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) by protein inhibitors and targeting subunits has been previously studied through the use of recombinant protein expressed in Escherichia coli. This preparation is limited by several key differences in its properties compared with native PP1. In the present study, we have analyzed recombinant PP1 expressed in Sf9 insect cells using baculovirus. Sf9 PP1 exhibited properties identical to those of native PP1, with respect to regulation by metals, inhibitor proteins, and targeting subunits, and failure to dephosphorylate a phosphotyrosine-containing substrate or phospho-DARPP-32 (Dopamine and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein, Mr 32,000). Mutations at Y272 in the β12/β13 loop resulted in a loss of activity and reduced the sensitivity to thiophospho-DARPP-32 and inhibitor-2. Mutations of Y272 also increased the relative activity toward a phosphotyrosine-containing substrate or phospho-DARPP-32. Mutation of acidic groove residues caused no change in sensitivity to thiophospho-DARPP-32 or inhibitor-2, but one mutant (E252A:D253A:E256R) exhibited an increased Km for phosphorylase a. Several PP1/PP2A chimeras were prepared in which C-terminal sequences of PP2A were substituted into PP1. Replacement of residues 274–330 of PP1 with the corresponding region of PP2A resulted in a large loss of sensitivity to thiophospho-DARPP-32 and inhibitor-2, and also resulted in a loss of interaction with the targeting subunits, spinophilin and PP1 nuclear targeting subunit (PNUTS). More limited alterations in residues in β12, β13, and β14 strands highlighted a key role for M290 and C291 in the interaction of PP1 with thiophospho-DARPP-32, but not inhibitor-2.

Activation and phosphorylation of a pleckstrin homology domain containing protein kinase (RAC-PK/PKB) promoted by serum and protein phosphatase inhibitors.

Treatment of quiescent Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts with serum, or with the phosphatase inhibitors okadaic acid and vanadate, induced a 2- to 11-fold activation of the serine/ threonine RAC protein kinase (RAC-PK). Kinase activation was accompanied by decreased mobility of RAC-PK on SDS/PAGE such that three electrophoretic species (a to c) of the kinase were detected by immunoblot analysis, indicative of differentially phosphorylated forms. Addition of vanadate to arrested cells increased the RAC-PK phosphorylation level 3-to 4-fold. Unstimulated RAC-PK was phosphorylated predominantly on serine, whereas the activated kinase was phosphorylated on both serine and threonine residues. Treatment of RAC-PK in vitro with protein phosphatase 2A led to kinase inactivation and an increase in electrophoretic mobility. Deletion of the N-terminal region containing the pleckstrin homology domain did not affect RAC-PK activation by okadaic acid, but it reduced vanadate-stimulated activity and also blocked the serum-induced activation. Deletion of the serine/threonine rich C-terminal region impaired both RAC-PKalpha basal and vanadate-stimulated activity. Studies using a kinase-deficient mutant indicated that autophosphorylation is not involved in RAC-PKalpha activation. Stimulation of RAC-PK activity and electrophoretic mobility changes induced by serum were sensitive to wortmannin. Taken together the results suggest that RAC-PK is a component of a signaling pathway regulated by phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase, whose action is required for RAC-PK activation by phosphorylation.

Sensitivity to abscisic acid of guard-cell K+ channels is suppressed by abi1-1, a mutant Arabidopsis gene encoding a putative protein phosphatase.

Abscisic acid (ABA) modulates the activities of three major classes of ion channels--inward- and outward-rectifying K+ channels (IK,in and IK,out, respectively) and anion channels--at the guard-cell plasma membrane to achieve a net efflux of osmotica and stomatal closure. Disruption of ABA sensitivity in wilty abi1-1 mutants of Arabidopsis and evidence that this gene encodes a protein phosphatase suggest that protein (de)-phosphorylation contributes to guard-cell transport control by ABA. To pinpoint the role of ABI1, the abi1-1 dominant mutant allele was stably transformed into Nicotiana benthamiana and its influence on IK,in, IK,out, and the anion channels was monitored in guard cells under voltage clamp. Compared with guard cells from wild-type and vector-transformed control plants, expression of the abi1-1 gene was associated with 2- to 6-fold reductions in IK,out and an insensitivity of both IK,in and IK,out to 20 microM ABA. In contrast, no differences between control and abi1-1 transgenic plants were observed in the anion current or its response to ABA. Parallel measurements of intracellular pH (pHi) using the fluorescent dye 2',7'-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5-(and -6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) in every case showed a 0.15- to 0.2-pH-unit alkalinization in ABA, demonstrating that the transgene was without effect on the pHi signal that mediates in ABA-evoked K+ channel control. In guard cells from the abi1-1 transformants, normal sensitivity of both K+ channels to and stomatal closure in ABA was recovered in the presence of 100 microM H7 and 0.5 microM staurosporine, both broad-range protein kinase antagonists. These results demonstrate an aberrant K+ channel behavior--including channel insensitivity to ABA-dependent alkalinization of pHi--as a major consequence of abi1-1 action and implicate AB11 as part of a phosphatase/kinase pathway that modulates the sensitivity of guard-cell K+ channels to ABA-evoked signal cascades.

p56Lck and p59Fyn regulate CD28 binding to phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, growth factor receptor-bound protein GRB-2, and T cell-specific protein-tyrosine kinase ITK: implications for T-cell costimulation.

T-cell activation requires cooperative signals generated by the T-cell antigen receptor zeta-chain complex (TCR zeta-CD3) and the costimulatory antigen CD28. CD28 interacts with three intracellular proteins-phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase), T cell-specific protein-tyrosine kinase ITK (formerly TSK or EMT), and the complex between growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 and son of sevenless guanine nucleotide exchange protein (GRB-2-SOS). PI 3-kinase and GRB-2 bind to the CD28 phosphotyrosine-based Tyr-Met-Asn-Met motif by means of intrinsic Src-homology 2 (SH2) domains. The requirement for tyrosine phosphorylation of the Tyr-Met-Asn-Met motif for SH2 domain binding implicates an intervening protein-tyrosine kinase in the recruitment of PI 3-kinase and GRB-2 by CD28. Candidate kinases include p56Lck, p59Fyn, zeta-chain-associated 70-kDa protein (ZAP-70), and ITK. In this study, we demonstrate in coexpression studies that p56Lck and p59Fyn phosphorylate CD28 primarily at Tyr-191 of the Tyr-Met-Asn-Met motif, inducing a 3- to 8-fold increase in p85 (subunit of PI 3-kinase) and GRB-2 SH2 binding to CD28. Phosphatase digestion of CD28 eliminated binding. In contrast to Src kinases, ZAP-70 and ITK failed to induce these events. Further, ITK binding to CD28 was dependent on the presence of p56Lck and is thus likely to act downstream of p56Lck/p59Fyn in a signaling cascade. p56Lck is therefore likely to be a central switch in T-cell activation, with the dual function of regulating CD28-mediated costimulation as well as TCR-CD3-CD4 signaling.

The G-protein-coupled receptor phosphatase: a protein phosphatase type 2A with a distinct subcellular distribution and substrate specificity.

Phosphorylation of G-protein-coupled receptors plays an important role in regulating their function. In this study the G-protein-coupled receptor phosphatase (GRP) capable of dephosphorylating G-protein-coupled receptor kinase-phosphorylated receptors is described. The GRP activity of bovine brain is a latent oligomeric form of protein phosphatase type 2A (PP-2A) exclusively associated with the particulate fraction. GRP activity is observed only when assayed in the presence of protamine or when phosphatase-containing fractions are subjected to freeze/thaw treatment under reducing conditions. Consistent with its identification as a member of the PP-2A family, the GRP is potently inhibited by okadaic acid but not by I-2, the specific inhibitor of protein phosphatase type 1. Solubilization of the membrane-associated GRP followed by gel filtration in the absence of detergent yields a 150-kDa peak of latent receptor phosphatase activity. Western blot analysis of this phosphatase reveals a likely subunit composition of AB alpha C. PP-2A of this subunit composition has previously been characterized as a soluble enzyme, yet negligible soluble GRP activity was observed. The subcellular distribution and substrate specificity of the GRP suggests significant differences between it and previously characterized forms of PP-2A.

Dragmacidins: New protein phosphatase inhibitors from a southern Australian deep-water marine sponge, Spongosorites sp.

A Spongosorites sp. collected during trawling operations off the southern coast of Australia returned the new alkaloid dragmacidin E (3), the structure of which was secured by detailed spectroscopic analysis. Dragmacidin E (3), and its co-metabolite dragmacidin D (1) have been identified as potent inhibitors of serine-threonine protein phosphatases.

Functional expression cloning reveals proapoptotic role for protein phosphatase 4

Functional expression cloning strategies are highly suitable for the analysis of the molecular control of apoptosis. This approach has two critical advantages. Firstly, it eliminates prior assumptions about the properties of the proteins involved, and, secondly, it selectively targets proteins that are causally involved in apoptosis control and which affect the crucial cellular decision between survival and death. The application of this strategy to the isolation of cDNAs conferring resistance to dexamethasone and gamma-irradiation resulted in the isolation of a partial cDNA for the catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 4 (PP4). Cells transfected with this partial cDNA in an expression vector downregulated PP4 and were resistant to both dexamethasone and UV radiation, as demonstrated by both membrane integrity and colony-forming assays. These observations suggest that PP4 plays an important proapoptotic role in T lymphocytes.

Reduction in the expression of glucose transporter protein GLUT 2 in preneoplastic and neoplastic hepatic lesions and reexpression of GLUT 1 in late stages of hepatocarcinogenesis.

Expression of two important glucose transporter proteins, GLUT 2 (which is the typical glucose transporter in hepatocytes of adult liver) and the erythroid/brain type glucose transporter GLUT 1 (representing the typical glucose transporter in fetal liver parenchyma), was studied immunocytochemically during hepatocarcinogenesis in rats at different time points between 7 and 65 wk after cessation of 7-wk administration of 12 mg/kg of body weight of N-nitrosomorpholine p.o. (stop model). Foci of altered hepatocytes excessively storing glycogen (GSF) and mixed cell foci (MCF) composed of both glycogenotic and glycogen-poor cells were present at all time points studied. Seven wk after withdrawal of the carcinogen, GSF were the predominant type of focus of altered hepatocytes. Morphometrical evaluation of the focal lesions revealed that the number and volume fraction of GSF increased steadily until Wk 65. MCF were rare at 7 wk, increased slightly in number and size until Wk 37, but showed a pronounced elevation in their number and volume fraction from Wk 37 to Wk 65. In both GSF and MCF, GLUT 2 was generally decreased or partially absent at all time points. Consequently, foci of decreased GLUT 2 expression showed a steady increase in number and volume fraction from Wk 7 to Wk 65. GLUT 1 was lacking in GSF but occurred in some MCF from Wk 50 onward. The liver type glucose transporter GLUT 2 was decreased in all adenomas and hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). In three of seven adenomas and 10 of 12 carcinomas, expression of GLUT 1 was increased compared with normal liver parenchyma. In two cases of adenoid HCC, cells of ductular formations coexpressed GLUT 2 and GLUT 1. In contrast, normal bile ducts, bile duct proliferations, and cystic cholangiomas expressed only GLUT 1. Seven of 12 HCC contained many microvessels intensely stained for GLUT 1, a phenomenon never observed in normal liver. Whenever adenoid tumor formations occurred, GLUT 1-positive microvessels were located in the immediate vicinity of these formations. Only in one HCC were such microvessels found in the absence of adenoid formations. Our studies indicate that a reduction of GLUT 2 expression occurs already in early preneoplastic hepatic foci and is maintained throughout hepatocarcinogenesis, including benign and malignant neoplasms. Reexpression of GLUT 1, however, appears in a few MCF and in the majority of adenomas and carcinomas.

Expression, purification and biochemical characterization of recombinant Ca-dependent protein kinase 2 of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.

Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are serine/threonine kinases that react in response to calcium which functions as a trigger for several mechanisms in plants and invertebrates, but not in mammals. Recent structural studies have defined the role of calcium in the activation of CDPKs and have elucidated the important structural changes caused by calcium in order to allow the kinase domain of CDPK to bind and phosphorylate the substrate. However, the role of autophosphorylation in CDPKs is still not fully understood. In Plasmodium falciparum, seven CDPKs have been identified by sequence comparison, and four of them have been characterized and assigned to play a role in parasite motility, gametogenesis and egress from red blood cells. Although PfCDPK2 was already discovered in 1997, little is known about this enzyme and its metabolic role. In this work, we have expressed and purified PfCDPK2 at high purity in its unphosphorylated form and characterized its biochemical properties. Moreover, propositions about putative substrates in P. falciparum are made based on the analysis of the phosphorylation sites on the artificial substrate myelin basic protein (MBP).