ThrH, a homoserine kinase isozyme with in vivo phosphoserine phosphatase activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
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Homoserine kinase, the product of the thrB gene, catalyses an obligatory step of threonine biosynthesis. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, unlike Escherichia coli, inactivation of the previously identified thrB gene does not result in threonine auxotrophy. A new gene, named thrH, was isolated that, when expressed in E. coli thrB mutant strains, results in complementation of the mutant phenotype. In P. aeruginosa, threonine auxotrophy is observed only when both thrB and thrH are simultaneously inactivated. Thus, thrH encodes a protein with an in vivo homoserine-kinase-like activity. Surprisingly, thrH overexpression allows complementation of serine auxotrophy of E. coli and P. aeruginosa serB mutants. These mutants are affected in the phosphoserine phosphatase protein, an enzyme involved in serine biosynthesis. Comparison analysis revealed sequence homology between ThrH and the SerB proteins from different organisms. This could explain the in vivo phosphoserine phosphatase activity of ThrH when overproduced. ThrH differs from the protein encoded by the serB gene which was identified in P. aeruginosa. Thus, two SerB-like proteins co-exist in P. aeruginosa, a situation also found in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. (+info)
SAC1-like domains of yeast SAC1, INP52, and INP53 and of human synaptojanin encode polyphosphoinositide phosphatases.
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The SAC1 gene product has been implicated in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton, secretion from the Golgi, and microsomal ATP transport; yet its function is unknown. Within SAC1 is an evolutionarily conserved 300-amino acid region, designated a SAC1-like domain, that is also present at the amino termini of the inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases, mammalian synaptojanin, and certain yeast INP5 gene products. Here we report that SAC1-like domains have intrinsic enzymatic activity that defines a new class of polyphosphoinositide phosphatase (PPIPase). Purified recombinant SAC1-like domains convert yeast lipids phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-phosphate, PI 4-phosphate, and PI 3,5-bisphosphate to PI, whereas PI 4,5-bisphosphate is not a substrate. Yeast lacking Sac1p exhibit 10-, 2.5-, and 2-fold increases in the cellular levels of PI 4-phosphate, PI 3,5-bisphosphate, and PI 3-phosphate, respectively. The 5-phosphatase domains of synaptojanin, Inp52p, and Inp53p are also catalytic, thus representing the first examples of an inositol signaling protein with two distinct lipid phosphatase active sites within a single polypeptide chain. Together, our data provide a long sought mechanism as to how defects in Sac1p overcome certain actin mutants and bypass the requirement for yeast phosphatidylinositol/phosphatidylcholine transfer protein, Sec14p. We demonstrate that PPIPase activity is a key regulator of membrane trafficking and actin cytoskeleton organization and suggest signaling roles for phosphoinositides other than PI 4,5-bisphosphate in these processes. Additionally, the tethering of PPIPase and 5-phosphatase activities indicate a novel mechanism by which concerted phosphoinositide hydrolysis participates in membrane trafficking. (+info)
CDw150 associates with src-homology 2-containing inositol phosphatase and modulates CD95-mediated apoptosis.
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CDw150, a receptor up-regulated on activated T or B lymphocytes, has a key role in regulating B cell proliferation. Patients with X-linked lymphoproliferative disease have mutations in a gene encoding a protein, DSHP/SAP, which interacts with CDw150 and is expressed in B cells. Here we show that CDw150 on B cells associates with two tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins, 59 kDa and 145 kDa in size. The 59-kDa protein was identified as the Src-family kinase Fgr. The 145-kDa protein is the inositol polyphosphate 5'-phosphatase, SH2-containing inositol phosphatase (SHIP). Both Fgr and SHIP interact with phosphorylated tyrosines in CDw150's cytoplasmic tail. Ligation of CDw150 induces the rapid dephosphorylation of both SHIP and CDw150 as well as the association of Lyn and Fgr with SHIP. CD95/Fas-mediated apoptosis is enhanced by signaling via CDw150, and CDw150 ligation can override CD40-induced rescue of CD95-mediated cell death. The ability of CDw150 to regulate cell death does not correlate with serine phosphorylation of the Akt kinase, but does correlate with SHIP tyrosine dephosphorylation. Thus, the CDw150 receptor may function to regulate the fate of activated B cells via SHIP as well as via the DSHP/SAP protein defective in X-linked lymphoproliferative disease patients. (+info)
The SH2-containing inositol-5'-phosphatase enhances LFA-1-mediated cell adhesion and defines two signaling pathways for LFA-1 activation.
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The inside-out signaling involved in the activation of LFA-1-mediated cell adhesion is still poorly understood. Here we examined the role of the SH2-containing inositol phosphatase (SHIP), a major negative regulator of intracellular signaling, in this process. Wild-type SHIP and a phosphatase-deficient mutant SHIP were overexpressed in the murine myeloid cell line, DA-ER, and the effects on LFA-1-mediated cell adhesion to ICAM-1 (CD54) were tested. Overexpression of wild-type SHIP significantly enhanced cell adhesion to immobilized ICAM-1, and PMA, IL-3, or erythropoietin further augmented this adhesion. In contrast, phosphatase dead SHIP had no enhancing effects. Furthermore, PMA-induced activation of LFA-1 on DA-ER cells overexpressing wild-type SHIP was dependent on protein kinase C but independent of mitogen-activated protein kinase activation, whereas cytokine-induced activation was independent of protein kinase C and mitogen-activated protein kinase activation but required phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase activation. These results suggest that SHIP may regulate two distinct inside-out signaling pathways and that the phosphatase activity of SHIP is essential for both of them. (+info)
Novel PTEN mutations in patients with Cowden disease: absence of clear genotype-phenotype correlations.
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Cowden disease (CD) is characterised by multiple hamartomas in a variety of tissues. The pathological hallmark is the presence of a number of trichilemmomas. Several neurological symptoms are also part of CD with megalencephaly and Lhermitte-Duclos disease (LDD) as the most important features. Early recognition of CD patients is important because of the increased risk of developing malignancies. Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy, but also urogenital, digestive tract, and thyroid cancers are found with higher frequencies. CD was localised to chromosome 10q23 and the PTEN gene (also known as MMAC1 or TEP1) was shown to be involved. Germline mutations were identified in both familial and sporadic CD patients. We identified eight PTEN mutations, of which seven were novel, in 13 CD patients. Combined with previous data we have identified 17 independent CD mutations. Gross DNA alterations in CD patients were not detected. Genotype-phenotype relations are discussed. The only correlation suggested to exist is that missense mutations are not detected in LDD patients. However, larger numbers are needed to confirm this. Association of PTEN mutations and the occurrence of malignant breast disease found in an earlier study cannot be confirmed. Clinical features of five CD patients without a PTEN mutation in the coding sequence do not differ from CD patients with a PTEN mutation. Furthermore, it is likely that we have identified the majority of CD patients in the Netherlands. From this we estimate that CD has a prevalence of about 1 in 250,000 in the Dutch population with a low mutation frequency. (+info)
Isolation and partial characterization of monophosphoglycerate mutase from human erythrocytes.
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Monophosphoglycerate mutase has been purified to homogeneity from outdated human erythrocytes as indicated by exclusion chromatography, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and equilibrium centrifugation. Occasionally, the recommended purification procedure yields a small amount (3% or less) of a single extraneous protein which can be deleted from the enzyme preparation by employing an additional purification step. The native enzyme has a molecular weight of 54,000 to 56,000 as determined by equilibrium centrifugation and exclusion chromatography. Disc gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate yields a single protein band with a molecular weight of 28,600, indicating that the native macromolecule is a dimer composed of subunits of similar mass. Homogeneous monophosphoglycerate mutase is free of diphosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, and nonspecific phosphatase activities; however, the enzyme manifests intrinsic 2,3-diphospho-D-glycerate phosphatase activity as shown by thermal denaturation studies. The diphosphatase activity is stimulated by PPi and glycolate-2-P, but is inhibited by Cl-, HSO3-, and Pi. The pH optimum for both the diphosphatase and the mutase is 6.8. The Km for 2,3-diphospho-D-glycerate in the phosphatase reaction is 82 muM at 37 degrees and pH 7.2. The amino acid composition of homogeneous monophosphoglycerate mutase is given. (+info)
Transient and sustained increases in inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate precede the differential growth response in gravistimulated maize pulvini.
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The internodal maize pulvinus responds to gravistimulation with differential cell elongation on the lower side. As the site of both graviperception and response, the pulvinus is an ideal system to study how organisms sense changes in orientation. We observed a transient 5-fold increase in inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) within 10 s of gravistimulation in the lower half of the pulvinus, indicating that the positional change was sensed immediately. Over the first 30 min, rapid IP3 fluctuations were observed between the upper and lower halves. Maize plants require a presentation time of between 2 and 4 h before the cells on the lower side of the pulvinus are committed to elongation. After 2 h of gravistimulation, the lower half consistently had higher IP3, and IP3 levels on the lower side continued to increase up to approximately 5-fold over basal levels before visible growth. As bending became visible after 8-10 h, IP3 levels returned to basal values. Additionally, phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase activity in the lower pulvinus half increased transiently within 10 min of gravistimulation, suggesting that the increased IP3 production was accompanied by an up-regulation of phosphatidylinositol 4, 5-bisphosphate biosynthesis. Neither IP3 levels nor phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase activity changed in pulvini halves from vertical control plants. Our data indicate the involvement of IP3 and inositol phospholipids in both short- and long-term responses to gravistimulation. As a diffusible second messenger, IP3 provides a mechanism to transmit and amplify the signal from the perceiving to the responding cells in the pulvinus, coordinating a synchronized growth response. (+info)
A nod factor binding lectin with apyrase activity from legume roots.
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A lectin isolated from the roots of the legume, Dolichos biflorus, binds to Nod factors produced by rhizobial strains that nodulate this plant and has a deduced amino acid sequence with no significant homology to any lectin reported to date. This lectin also is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphoanhydride bonds of nucleoside di- and triphosphates; the enzyme activity is increased in the presence of carbohydrate ligands. This lectin-nucleotide phosphohydrolase (LNP) has a substrate specificity characteristic of the apyrase category of phosphohydrolases, and its sequence contains four motifs characteristic of this category of enzymes. LNP is present on the surface of the root hairs, and treatment of roots with antiserum to LNP inhibits their ability to undergo root hair deformation and to form nodules on exposure to rhizobia. These properties suggest that this protein may play a role in the rhizobium-legume symbiosis and/or in a related carbohydrate recognition event endogenous to the plant. (+info)