Matias Simons

Inversin, the gene product mutated in nephronophthisis type II, functions as a molecular switch between Wnt signaling pathways

Cystic renal diseases are caused by mutations of proteins that share a unique subcellular localization: the primary cilium of tubular epithelial cells. Mutations of the ciliary protein inversin cause nephronophthisis type II, an autosomal recessive cystic kidney disease characterized by extensive renal cysts, situs inversus and renal failure. Here we report that inversin acts as a molecular switch between different Wnt signaling cascades. Inversin inhibits the canonical Wnt pathway by targeting cytoplasmic dishevelled (Dsh or Dvl1) for degradation; concomitantly, it is required for convergent extension movements in gastrulating Xenopus laevis embryos and elongation of animal cap explants, both regulated by noncanonical Wnt signaling. In zebrafish, the structurally related switch molecule diversin ameliorates renal cysts caused by the depletion of inversin, implying that an inhibition of canonical Wnt signaling is required for normal renal development. Fluid flow increases inversin levels in ciliated tubular epithelial cells and seems to regulate this crucial switch between Wnt signaling pathways during renal development.

Podocin, a raft-associated component of the glomerular slit diaphragm, interacts with CD2AP and nephrin

NPHS2 was recently identified as a gene whose mutations cause autosomal recessive steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome. Its product, podocin, is a new member of the stomatin family, which consists of hairpin-like integral membrane proteins with intracellular NH(2)- and COOH-termini. Podocin is expressed in glomerular podocytes, but its subcellular distribution and interaction with other proteins are unknown. Here we show, by immunoelectron microscopy, that podocin localizes to the podocyte foot process membrane, at the insertion site of the slit diaphragm. Podocin accumulates in an oligomeric form in lipid rafts of the slit diaphragm. Moreover, GST pull-down experiments reveal that podocin associates via its COOH-terminal domain with CD2AP, a cytoplasmic binding partner of nephrin, and with nephrin itself. That podocin interacts with CD2AP and nephrin in vivo is shown by coimmunoprecipitation of these proteins from glomerular extracts. Furthermore, in vitro studies reveal direct interaction of podocin and CD2AP. Hence, as with the erythrocyte lipid raft protein stomatin, podocin is present in high-order oligomers and may serve a scaffolding function. We postulate that podocin serves in the structural organization of the slit diaphragm and the regulation of its filtration function.

Planar Cell Polarity Signaling: From Fly Development to Human Disease

Most, if not all, cell types and tissues display several aspects of polarization. In addition to the ubiquitous epithelial cell polarity along the apical-basolateral axis, many epithelial tissues and organs are also polarized within the plane of the epithelium. This is generally referred to as planar cell polarity (PCP; or historically, tissue polarity). Genetic screens in Drosophila pioneered the discovery of core PCP factors, and subsequent work in vertebrates has established that the respective pathways are evolutionarily conserved. PCP is not restricted only to epithelial tissues but is also found in mesenchymal cells, where it can regulate cell migration and cell intercalation. Moreover, particularly in vertebrates, the conserved core PCP signaling factors have recently been found to be associated with the orientation or formation of cilia. This review discusses new developments in the molecular understanding of PCP establishment in Drosophila and vertebrates; these developments are integrated with new evidence that links PCP signaling to human disease.

Podocin and MEC-2 bind cholesterol to regulate the activity of associated ion channels

The prohibitin (PHB)-domain proteins are membrane proteins that regulate a variety of biological activities, including mechanosensation, osmotic homeostasis, and cell signaling, although the mechanism of this regulation is unknown. We have studied two members of this large protein family, MEC-2, which is needed for touch sensitivity in Caenorhabditis elegans, and Podocin, a protein involved in the function of the filtration barrier in the mammalian kidney, and find that both proteins bind cholesterol. This binding requires the PHB domain (including palmitoylation sites within it) and part of the N-terminally adjacent hydrophobic domain that attaches the proteins to the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane. By binding to MEC-2 and Podocin, cholesterol associates with ion-channel complexes to which these proteins bind: DEG/ENaC channels for MEC-2 and TRPC channels for Podocin. Both the MEC-2-dependent activation of mechanosensation and the Podocin-dependent activation of TRPC channels require cholesterol. Thus, MEC-2, Podocin, and probably many other PHB-domain proteins by binding to themselves, cholesterol, and target proteins regulate the formation and function of large protein–cholesterol supercomplexes in the plasma membrane.

Involvement of Lipid Rafts in Nephrin Phosphorylation and Organization of the Glomerular Slit Diaphragm

NPHS1 has recently been identified as the gene whose mutations cause congenital nephrotic syndrome of the Finnish type. The respective gene product nephrin is a transmembrane protein expressed in glomerular podocytes and primarily localized to the glomerular slit diaphragm. This interpodocyte junction functions in the glomerular filtration by restricting the passage of plasma proteins into the urinary space in a size-selective manner. The functional role of nephrin in this filtration process is so far not very well understood. In this study, we show that nephrin associates in an oligomerized form with signaling microdomains, also known as lipid rafts, and that these localize to the slit diaphragm. We also show that the nephrin-containing rafts can be immunoisolated with the 27A antibody recognizing a podocyte-specific 9-O-acetylated GD3 ganglioside. In a previous study it has been shown that the in vivo injection of this antibody leads to morphological changes of the filtration slits resembling foot process effacement. Here, we report that, in this model of foot process effacement, nephrin dislocates to the apical pole of the narrowed filtration slits and also that it is tyrosine phosphorylated. We suggest that lipid rafts are important in the spatial organization of the glomerular slit diaphragm under physiological and pathological conditions.

Electrochemical cues regulate assembly of the Frizzled/Dishevelled complex at the plasma membrane during planar epithelial polarization.

Dishevelled (Dsh) is a cytoplasmic multidomain protein that is required for all known branches of the Wnt signalling pathway. The Frizzled/planar cell polarity (Fz/PCP) signalling branch requires an asymmetric cortical localization of Dsh, but this process remains poorly understood. Using a genome-wide RNA interference (RNAi) screen in Drosophila melanogaster cells, we show that Dsh membrane localization is dependent on the Na+/H+ exchange activity of the plasma membrane exchanger Nhe2. Manipulating Nhe2 expression levels in the eye causes PCP defects, and Nhe2 interacts genetically with Fz. Our data show that the binding and surface recruitment of Dsh by Fz is pH- and charge-dependent. We identify a polybasic stretch within the Dsh DEP domain that binds to negatively charged phospholipids and appears to be mechanistically important. Dsh recruitment by Fz can be abolished by converting these basic amino-acid residues into acidic ones, as in the mutant, DshKR/E. In vivo, the DshKR/E(2×) mutant with two substituted residues fails to associate with the membrane during active PCP signalling but rescues canonical Wnt signalling defects in a dsh-background. These results suggest that direct interaction between Fz and Dsh is stabilized by a pH and charge-dependent interaction of the DEP domain with phospholipids. This stabilization is particularly important for the PCP signalling branch and, thus, promotes specific pathway selection in Wnt signalling.

Scribble participates in Hippo signaling and is required for normal zebrafish pronephros development

Spatial organization of cells and their appendages is controlled by the planar cell polarity pathway, a signaling cascade initiated by the protocadherin Fat in Drosophila. Vertebrates express 4 Fat molecules, Fat1–4. We found that depletion of Fat1 caused cyst formation in the zebrafish pronephros. Knockdown of the PDZ domain containing the adaptor protein Scribble intensified the cyst-promoting phenotype of Fat1 depletion, suggesting that Fat1 and Scribble act in overlapping signaling cascades during zebrafish pronephros development. Supporting the genetic interaction with Fat1, Scribble recognized the PDZ-binding site of Fat1. Depletion of Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1), a transcriptional co-activator inhibited by Hippo signaling, ameliorated the cyst formation in Fat1-deficient zebrafish, whereas Scribble inhibited the YAP1-induced cyst formation. Thus, reduced Hippo signaling and subsequent YAP1 disinhibition seem to play a role in the development of pronephric cysts after depletion of Fat1 or Scribble. We hypothesize that Hippo signaling is required for normal pronephros development in zebrafish and that Scribble is a candidate link between Fat and the Hippo signaling cascade in vertebrates.

Regulation of Frizzled-Dependent Planar Polarity Signaling by a V-ATPase Subunit

Frizzled (Fz) is a seven-pass transmembrane receptor that acts in both Wingless (Wg) and planar cell polarity (PCP) pathways. A prerequisite for PCP signaling is the asymmetric subcellular distribution of Fz. However, the regulation of Fz asymmetry is currently not well understood. Here we describe that the transmembrane protein CG8444 (here termed VhaPRR) is needed for PCP signaling in Drosophila. VhaPRR is an accessory subunit of the vacuolar (V)-ATPase proton pump, but it also functions as a receptor for (pro)renin (PRR) in mammals. We show that VhaPRR function is tightly linked with Fz but not other PCP core proteins. Fz fails to localize asymmetrically in the absence of VhaPRR, and this is accompanied by prehair mispolarization of pupal wing cells. In addition, VhaPRR forms a protein complex with Fz receptors and interacts genetically with Fz in the Drosophila eye. VhaPRR also acts as a modulator of canonical Wnt signaling in larval and adult wing tissue. Its loss leads to an expansion of the Wg morphogen gradient and a reduction of Wg target gene expression. The requirement for additional V-ATPase subunits suggests that proton fluxes contribute to normal Fz receptor function and signaling.

Wnt Signaling in Polycystic Kidney Disease

Wnt signaling cascades activate morphogenetic programs that range from cell migration and proliferation to cell fate determination and stem cell renewal. These pathways enable cells to translate environmental cues into the complex cellular programs that are needed to organize tissues and build organs. Wnt signaling is essential for renal development; however, the specific molecular underpinnings involved are poorly understood. Recent research has revealed an unexpected intersection between Wnt signaling and polycystic kidney disease. Some polycystic kidney disease proteins, such as Inversin and Bardet-Biedl syndrome family members, were found to use components of the Wnt signaling cascade to orient cells along a secondary polarity axis within the plane of the epithelium. These spatial cues may be needed to position nascent tubules with a defined geometry.

Regulation of ciliary polarity by the APC/C

Planar cell polarity signaling controls a variety of polarized cell behaviors. In multiciliated Xenopus epidermal cells, recruitment of Dishevelled (Dvl) to the basal body and its localization to the center of the ciliary rootlet are required to correctly position the motile cilia. We now report that the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C) recognizes a D-box motif of Dvl and ubiquitylates Dvl on a highly conserved lysine residue. Inhibition of APC/C function by knockdown of the ANAPC2 subunit disrupts the polarity of motile cilia and alters the directionality of the fluid movement along the epidermis of the Xenopus embryo. Our results suggest that the APC/C activity enables cilia to correctly polarize in Xenopus epidermal cells.