Activation of Src in human breast tumor cell lines: elevated levels of phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity that preferentially recognizes the Src carboxy terminal negative regulatory tyrosine 530.
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Elevated levels of Src kinase activity have been reported in a number of human cancers, including colon and breast cancer. We have analysed four human breast tumor cell lines that exhibit high levels of Src kinase activity, and have determined that these cell lines also exhibit a high level of a phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity that recognizes the Src carboxy-terminal P-Tyr530 negative regulatory site. Total Src kinase activity in these cell lines is elevated as much as 30-fold over activity in normal control cells and specific activity is elevated as much as 5.6-fold. When the breast tumor cells were grown in the presence of the tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor vanadate, Src kinase activity was reduced in all four breast tumor cell lines, suggesting that Src was being activated by a phosphatase which could recognize the Tyr530 negative regulatory site. In fractionated cell extracts from the breast tumor cells, we found elevated levels of a membrane associated tyrosine phosphatase activity that preferentially dephosphorylated a Src family carboxy-terminal phosphopeptide containing the regulatory tyrosine 530 site. Src was hypophosphorylated in vivo at tyrosine 530 in at least two of the tumor cell lines, further suggesting that Src was being activated by a phosphatase in these cells. In preliminary immunoprecipitation and antibody depletion experiments, we were unable to correlate the major portion of this phosphatase activity with several known phosphatases. (+info)
Function of WW domains as phosphoserine- or phosphothreonine-binding modules.
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Protein-interacting modules help determine the specificity of signal transduction events, and protein phosphorylation can modulate the assembly of such modules into specific signaling complexes. Although phosphotyrosine-binding modules have been well-characterized, phosphoserine- or phosphothreonine-binding modules have not been described. WW domains are small protein modules found in various proteins that participate in cell signaling or regulation. WW domains of the essential mitotic prolyl isomerase Pin1 and the ubiquitin ligase Nedd4 bound to phosphoproteins, including physiological substrates of enzymes, in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. The Pin1 WW domain functioned as a phosphoserine- or phosphothreonine-binding module, with properties similar to those of SRC homology 2 domains. Phosphoserine- or phosphothreonine-binding activity was required for Pin1 to interact with its substrates in vitro and to perform its essential function in vivo. (+info)
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue conjugates with strong selective antitumor activity.
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Conjugation of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues GnRH-III, MI-1544, and MI-1892 through lysyl side chains and a tetrapeptide spacer, Gly-Phe-Leu-Gly (X) to a copolymer, poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone-co-maleic acid) (P) caused increased antiproliferative activity toward MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast, PC3 and LNCaP prostate, and Ishikawa endometrial cancer cell lines in culture and against tumor development by xenografts of the breast cancer cells in immunodeficient mice. MCF-7 cells treated with P-X-1544 and P-X-1892 displayed characteristic signs of apoptosis, including vacuoles in the cytoplasm, rounding up, apoptotic bodies, bleb formation, and DNA fragmentation. Conjugates, but not free peptides, inhibited cdc25 phosphatase and caused accumulation of Ishikawa and PC3 cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle after 24 h at lower doses and in the G1 and G2 phases after 48 h. Since P-X-peptides appear to be internalized, the increased cytotoxicity of the conjugates is attributed to protection of peptides from proteolysis, enhanced interaction of the peptides with the GnRH receptors, and/or internalization of P-X-peptide receptor complexes so that P can exert toxic effects inside, possibly by inhibiting enzymes involved in the cell cycle. The additional specificity of P-X-peptides compared with free peptides for direct antiproliferative effects on the cancer cells but not for interactions in the pituitary indicates the therapeutic potential of the conjugates. (+info)
Involvement of Chk1 kinase in prophase I arrest of Xenopus oocytes.
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Chk1 kinase, a DNA damage/replication G2 checkpoint kinase, has recently been shown to phosphorylate and inhibit Cdc25C, a Cdc2 Tyr-15 phosphatase, thereby directly linking the G2 checkpoint to negative regulation of Cdc2. Immature Xenopus oocytes are arrested naturally at the first meiotic prophase (prophase I) or the late G2 phase, with sustained Cdc2 Tyr-15 phosphorylation. Here we have cloned a Xenopus homolog of Chk1, determined its developmental expression, and examined its possible role in prophase I arrest of oocytes. Xenopus Chk1 protein is expressed at approximately constant levels throughout oocyte maturation and early embryogenesis. Overexpression of wild-type Chk1 in oocytes prevents the release from prophase I arrest by progesterone. Conversely, specific inhibition of endogenous Chk1 either by overexpression of a dominant-negative Chk1 mutant or by injection of a neutralizing anti-Chk1 antibody facilitates prophase I release by progesterone. Moreover, when ectopically expressed in oocytes, a Chk1-nonphosphorylatable Cdc25C mutant alone can induce prophase I release much more efficiently than wild-type Cdc25C; if endogenous Chk1 function is inhibited, however, even wild-type Cdc25C can induce the release very efficiently. These results suggest strongly that Chk1 is involved in physiological prophase I arrest of Xenopus oocytes via the direct phosphorylation and inhibition of Cdc25C. We discuss the possibility that Chk1 might function either as a G2 checkpoint kinase or as an ordinary cell cycle regulator in prophase-I-arrested oocytes. (+info)
Calcium/calmodulin-dependent phosphorylation and activation of human Cdc25-C at the G2/M phase transition in HeLa cells.
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The human tyrosine phosphatase (p54(cdc25-c)) is activated by phosphorylation at mitosis entry. The phosphorylated p54(cdc25-c) in turn activates the p34-cyclin B protein kinase and triggers mitosis. Although the active p34-cyclin B protein kinase can itself phosphorylate and activate p54(cdc25-c), we have investigated the possibility that other kinases may initially trigger the phosphorylation and activation of p54(cdc25-c). We have examined the effects of the calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaM kinase II) on p54(cdc25-c). Our in vitro experiments show that CaM kinase II can phosphorylate p54(cdc25-c) and increase its phosphatase activity by 2.5-3-fold. Treatment of a synchronous population of HeLa cells with KN-93 (a water-soluble inhibitor of CaM kinase II) or the microinjection of AC3-I (a specific peptide inhibitor of CaM kinase II) results in a cell cycle block in G2 phase. In the KN-93-arrested cells, p54(cdc25-c) is not phosphorylated, p34(cdc2) remains tyrosine phosphorylated, and there is no increase in histone H1 kinase activity. Our data suggest that a calcium-calmodulin-dependent step may be involved in the initial activation of p54(cdc25-c). (+info)
Nucleo-cytoplasmic interactions that control nuclear envelope breakdown and entry into mitosis in the sea urchin zygote.
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In sea urchin zygotes and mammalian cells nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB) is not driven simply by a rise in cytoplasmic cyclin dependent kinase 1-cyclin B (Cdk1-B) activity; the checkpoint monitoring DNA synthesis can prevent NEB in the face of mitotic levels of Cdk1-B. Using sea urchin zygotes we investigated whether this checkpoint prevents NEB by restricting import of regulatory proteins into the nucleus. We find that cyclin B1-GFP accumulates in nuclei that cannot complete DNA synthesis and do not break down. Thus, this checkpoint limits NEB downstream of both the cytoplasmic activation and nuclear accumulation of Cdk1-B1. In separate experiments we fertilize sea urchin eggs with sperm whose DNA has been covalently cross-linked to inhibit replication. When the pronuclei fuse, the resulting zygote nucleus does not break down for >180 minutes (equivalent to three cell cycles), even though Cdk1-B activity rises to greater than mitotic levels. If pronuclear fusion is prevented, then the female pronucleus breaks down at the normal time (average 68 minutes) and the male pronucleus with cross-linked DNA breaks down 16 minutes later. This male pronucleus has a functional checkpoint because it does not break down for >120 minutes if the female pronucleus is removed just prior to NEB. These results reveal the existence of an activity released by the female pronucleus upon its breakdown, that overrides the checkpoint in the male pronucleus and induces NEB. Microinjecting wheat germ agglutinin into binucleate zygotes reveals that this activity involves molecules that must be actively translocated into the male pronucleus. (+info)
Cis-regulatory elements of the mitotic regulator, string/Cdc25.
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Mitosis in most Drosophila cells is triggered by brief bursts of transcription of string (stg), a Cdc25-type phosphatase that activates the mitotic kinase, Cdk1 (Cdc2). To understand how string transcription is regulated, we analyzed the expression of string-lacZ reporter genes covering approximately 40 kb of the string locus. We also tested protein coding fragments of the string locus of 6 kb to 31.6 kb for their ability to complement loss of string function in embryos and imaginal discs. A plethora of cis-acting elements spread over >30 kb control string transcription in different cells and tissue types. Regulatory elements specific to subsets of epidermal cells, mesoderm, trachea and nurse cells were identified, but the majority of the string locus appears to be devoted to controlling cell proliferation during neurogenesis. Consistent with this, compact promotor-proximal sequences are sufficient for string function during imaginal disc growth, but additional distal elements are required for the development of neural structures in the eye, wing, leg and notum. We suggest that, during evolution, cell-type-specific control elements were acquired by a simple growth-regulated promoter as a means of coordinating cell division with developmental processes, particularly neurogenesis. (+info)
Cdc25 inhibited in vivo and in vitro by checkpoint kinases Cds1 and Chk1.
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In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the protein kinase Cds1 is activated by the S-M replication checkpoint that prevents mitosis when DNA is incompletely replicated. Cds1 is proposed to regulate Wee1 and Mik1, two tyrosine kinases that inhibit the mitotic kinase Cdc2. Here, we present evidence from in vivo and in vitro studies, which indicates that Cds1 also inhibits Cdc25, the phosphatase that activates Cdc2. In an in vivo assay that measures the rate at which Cdc25 catalyzes mitosis, Cds1 contributed to a mitotic delay imposed by the S-M replication checkpoint. Cds1 also inhibited Cdc25-dependent activation of Cdc2 in vitro. Chk1, a protein kinase that is required for the G2-M damage checkpoint that prevents mitosis while DNA is being repaired, also inhibited Cdc25 in the in vitro assay. In vitro, Cds1 and Chk1 phosphorylated Cdc25 predominantly on serine-99. The Cdc25 alanine-99 mutation partially impaired the S-M replication and G2-M damage checkpoints in vivo. Thus, Cds1 and Chk1 seem to act in different checkpoint responses to regulate Cdc25 by similar mechanisms. (+info)