Martin W. Berchtold

The many faces of calmodulin in cell proliferation, programmed cell death, autophagy, and cancer

Calmodulin (CaM) is a ubiquitous Ca(2+) receptor protein mediating a large number of signaling processes in all eukaryotic cells. CaM plays a central role in regulating a myriad of cellular functions via interaction with multiple target proteins. This review focuses on the action of CaM and CaM-dependent signaling systems in the control of vertebrate cell proliferation, programmed cell death and autophagy. The significance of CaM and interconnected CaM-regulated systems for the physiology of cancer cells including tumor stem cells, and processes required for tumor progression such as growth, tumor-associated angiogenesis and metastasis are highlighted. Furthermore, the potential targeting of CaM-dependent signaling processes for therapeutic use is discussed.

Comparison of the high-performance liquid chromatography of peptides and proteins on 100- and 300-Å reversed-phase supports

Abstract The chromatographic separations of peptides and proteins on commercially available 100- and 300-A pore size reversed-phase columns have been compared using various buffer systems. The larger-pore-size packing exhibits a slightly more hydrophilic character while maintaining flow and back-pressure characteristics typical of 10-μm supports. In addition to equal or improved resolving capabilities for smaller amino acid derivatives and peptides, this column material is notably superior to the 100-A for the chromatography of proteins with molecular weights exceeding ca . 15,000.

Structure of apoptosis-linked protein ALG-2: insights into Ca2+-induced changes in penta-EF-hand proteins.

BACKGROUND The Ca2+ binding apoptosis-linked gene-2 (ALG-2) protein acts as a proapoptotic factor in a variety of cell lines and is required either downstream or independently of caspases for apoptosis to occur. ALG-2 belongs to the penta-EF-hand (PEF) protein family and has two high-affinity and one low-affinity Ca2+ binding sites. Like other PEF proteins, its N terminus contains a Gly/Pro-rich segment. Ca2+ binding is required for the interaction with the target protein, ALG-2 interacting protein 1 (AIP1). RESULTS We present the 2.3 A resolution crystal structure of Ca2+-Ioaded des1-20ALG-2 (aa 21-191), which was obtained by limited proteolysis of recombinant ALG-2 with elastase. The molecule contains eight alpha helices that fold into five EF-hands, and, similar to other members of this protein family, the molecule forms dimers. Ca2+ ions bind to EF1, EF3, and, surprisingly, to EF5. In the related proteins calpain and grancalcin, the EF5 does not bind Ca2+ and is thought to primarily facilitate dimerization. Most importantly, the conformation of des1-20ALG-2 is significantly different from that of calpain and grancalcin. This difference can be described as a rigid body rotation of EF1-2 relative to EF4-5 and the dimer interface, with a hinge within the EF3 loop. An electron density, which is interpreted as a hydrophobic Gly/Pro-rich decapeptide that is possibly derived from the cleaved N terminus, was found in a hydrophobic cleft between these two halves of the molecule. CONCLUSIONS A different relative orientation of the N- and C-terminal halves of des1-20ALG-2 in the presence of Ca2+ and the peptide as compared to other Ca2+loaded PEF proteins changes substantially the shape of the molecule, exposing a hydrophobic patch on the surface for peptide binding and a large cleft near the dimer interface. We postulate that the binding of a Gly/ Pro-rich peptide in the presence of Ca2+ induces a conformational rearrangement in ALG-2, and that this mechanism is common to other PEF proteins.

Calmodulin Binds to and Inhibits GTP Binding of the Ras-like GTPase Kir/Gem

Recently, a new subfamily of Ras-related GTP-binding proteins consisting of Rad (as ssociated with iabetes), Gem (immediate early ene xpressed in itogen-stimulated T-cells), and Kir (tyrosine inase-nducible as-like) was discovered. The C terminus of these proteins contains an extension of approximately 30 amino acids not present in other members of the Ras family and which exhibits all the hallmarks typical for calmodulin (CaM)-binding domains. A peptide corresponding to the putative CaM-binding domain of the Kir/Gem protein was synthesized, and its affinity for CaM was determined by fluorescence spectrometry. Titration of dansyl-CaM with the Kir/Gem peptide gave an affinity constant of 1 nM. Furthermore, a single point mutation of the peptide, W269G, abolished this high affinity interaction. Gel-shift analysis showed that the complex formation between CaM and the Kir/Gem peptide is strictly calcium-dependent. We also demonstrate with a newly developed [32P]CaM overlay technique that full-length Kir/Gem and Rad proteins bind CaM in a Ca2+-dependent fashion. The binding of CaM to glutathione S-transferase-Kir and GST-Gem inhibited the binding of GTP to Kir/Gem significantly. These results suggest the existence of a direct link between Ca2+/CaM and growth factor signal transduction pathways at the level of small Ras-like GTPases.

Parvalbumin in Human Brain

Abstract: Parvalbumin was isolated from human cerebral cortex and biceps and triceps muscles by HPLC. The immunological properties of the human protein and the mobility in two‐dimensional polyacrylamide gels were similar to that of parvalbumin isolated from the muscles of rat, mouse, rabbit, and chicken. The tryptic peptide maps of the human parvalbumin, however, differed considerably from all other parvalbumins, indicating a distinct primary structure. The immunolabeled cells in the hippocampus of the human brain were of different sizes and forms; they occurred in all subfields and probably represent interneurons.

Up-regulation of ALG-2 in hepatomas and lung cancer tissue.

ALG-2 was isolated in a screen for proteins involved in programmed cell death and is the first Ca(2+)-binding protein found to be directly involved in apoptosis. We have generated polyclonal antibodies that are suitable for detecting ALG-2 using different immunological methods. Three commercial antibodies against ALG-2 did neither detect mouse recombinant ALG-2 nor endogenous ALG-2 in Jurkat cell lysates, whereas our own affinity-purified antibody recognized recombinant as well as endogenous ALG-2. The specificity of the antibody was shown by preabsorbtion experiments and on ALG-2-deficient cells using Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Western blot analysis of 15 different adult mouse tissues demonstrated that ALG-2 is ubiquitously expressed. We found that ALG-2 was more than threefold overexpressed in rat liver hepatoma compared to normal rat liver using Western blot analysis, a result confirmed by immunohistochemical analysis. Staining of four different lung cancer tissue microarrays including specimens of 263 patients showed that ALG-2 is mainly localized to epithelial cells and significantly up-regulated in small-cell lung cancers and in non-small-cell lung cancers. Our results lead to the conclusion that ALG-2 beside its known proapoptotic functions may be a player in survival pathways.

Re-evaluation of the prolactin receptor expression in human breast cancer

The pituitary hormone PRL is involved in tumorigenesis in rodents and humans. PRL promotes proliferation, survival and migration of cancer cells acting via the PRL receptor (PRLR). Aiming to perform a large-scale immunohistochemical (IHC) screening of human mammary carcinomas for PRLR expression, we evaluated the specificity of commercially available anti-human PRLR antibodies (B6.2, U5, PRLRi pAb, 1A2B1, 250448 and H-300). The latter three antibodies were found to specifically recognise PRLR. The relative PRLR expression level detected with these antibodies closely reflected the level of (125)I-PRL binding to the cell surface. The monoclonal antibody (mAb) 250448 was specific for the N-()glycosylated form of PRLR and blocked PRL binding and signalling. The PRLRi polyclonal antibody recognised cytokeratin-18. The mAb B6.2, previously used in a number of studies, was found to lack specificity for PRLR and to rather recognise a PRLR-associated protein. The mAb U5 raised against the rat PRLR did not cross-react with the human receptor. Only one mAb, 1A2B1, was found useful for detection of PRLR in IHC applications. This antibody recognised PRLR expressed in human breast cancer cell lines and decidual cells in tissue sections of human placenta. Screening of 160 mammary adenocarcinomas demonstrated significant immunoreactivity in only four tumours, indicating that PRLR is generally not strongly upregulated in human breast cancer. However, even a very low level of PRLR expression was found to be sufficient to mediate PRL responsiveness in breast cancer cell lines.

Over-expression of parvalbumin in transgenic mice rescues motoneurons from injury-induced cell death

Following nerve injury in neonatal rats, a large proportion of motoneurons die, possibly as a consequence of an increase in vulnerability to the excitotoxic effects of glutamate. Calcium-dependent glutamate excitotoxicity is thought to play a significant role not only in injury-induced motoneuron death, but also in motoneuron degeneration in diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Motoneurons are particularly vulnerable to calcium influx following glutamate receptor activation, as they lack a number of calcium binding proteins, such as calbindin-D(28k) and parvalbumin. Therefore, it is possible that increasing the ability of motoneurons to buffer intracellular calcium may protect them from cell death and prevent the decline in motor function that usually occurs as a consequence of motoneuron loss. In this study we have tested this possibility by examining the effect of neonatal axotomy on motoneuron survival and muscle force production in normal and transgenic mice that over-express parvalbumin in their motoneurons.The sciatic nerve was crushed in one hindlimb of new-born transgenic and wildtype mice. The effect on motoneuron survival was assessed 8 weeks later by retrograde labelling of motoneurons innervating the tibialis anterior muscle. Following nerve injury in wildtype mice, only 20.2% (+/-2.2, S.E.M.; n=4) of injured motoneurons survive long term compared with 47.2% (+/-4.4, S.E.M.; n=4) in parvalbumin over-expressing mice. Surprisingly, this dramatic increase in motoneuron survival was not reflected in a significant improvement in muscle function, since 8 weeks after injury there was no improvement in either maximal twitch and tetanic force, or muscle weights.Thus, inducing spinal motoneurons to express parvalbumin protects a large proportion of motoneurons from injury-induced cell death, but this is not sufficient to restore muscle function.

High affinity calmodulin target sequence in the signalling molecule PI 3‐kinase

In this study we report that phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI 3‐kinase), a lipid kinase which participates in downstream signalling events of heterotrimeric G protein‐coupled receptors and receptor tyrosine kinases, contains a high affinity binding site for calmodulin (CaM). The putative CaM‐binding peptide derived from the p110γ isoform interacts with CaM in a calcium‐dependent way. Using gel shift analysis and fluorescence spectrophotometry we discovered that the peptide forms a high affinity complex with CaM. Titration experiments using dansylated CaM gave an affinity constant of 5 nM. Furthermore, a sequence comparison among different PI 3‐kinase isoforms revealed that the sequence which can bind CaM is highly conserved within different PI 3‐kinase isoforms. These results indicate a novel mechanism for regulating PI 3‐kinase and provide a new direct link between Ca2+ and phospholipid signalling pathways.

Localization of parvalbumin mRNA in rat brain by in situ hybridization histochemistry

SummaryParvalbumin mRNA was localized in rat brain by in situ hybridization using a 35S labelled rat parvalbumin cDNA and a synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotide (corresponding to base sequences 140 to 183 of rat parvalbumin cDNA). Strongest hybridization signals were detected in the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum and in neurones of the reticular nucleus of the thalamus. Signal was also detected in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia and brain stem in agreement with the distribution of parvalbumin immunoreactivity.