Paula Portela

Characterization of yeast pyruvate kinase 1 as a protein kinase A substrate, and specificity of the phosphorylation site sequence in the whole protein

Pyk1 (pyruvate kinase 1) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was characterized as a substrate for PKA (protein kinase A) from bovine heart and yeast. By designing Pyk1 synthetic peptides containing potential PKA sequence targets (Ser22, Thr94 and Thr478) we determined that the peptide S22 was a substrate for PKA in vitro, with a K(sp)* (specificity constant) 10-fold and 3-fold higher than Kemptide for bovine heart and yeast PKA respectively. In vitro phosphorylation of the Pyk1 S22A mutant protein was decreased by as much as 90% when compared with wild-type Pyk1 and the Pyk1 T94A mutant. The K(sp)* values for Pyk1 and Pyk1 T94A were the same, indicating that both proteins are phosphorylated at the same site by PKA. Two-dimensional PAGE of Pyk1 and Pyk1 S22A indicates that in vivo the S22A mutation prevented the formation of one of the Pyk1 isoforms. We conclude that in yeast the major PKA phosphorylation site of Pyk1 is Ser22. Phosphorylation of Ser22 leads to a Pyk1 enzyme that is more active in the absence of FBP (fructose 1,6-bisphosphate). The specificity of yeast and mammalian PKA towards the S22 peptide and towards whole Pyk1 protein was measured and compared. The K(sp)* for the S22 peptide is higher than that for Pyk1, indicating that the peptide modelled on Pyk1 is a much better substrate than Pyk1, regardless of which tissue was used as the source of PKA. However, the K(m) of Pyk1 protein is lower than that of the better substrate, the S22 peptide, indicating that ground-state substrate binding is not the major determinant of substrate specificity for PKA.

Characterization of Substrates That Have a Differential Effect on Saccharomyces cerevisiae Protein Kinase A Holoenzyme Activation

The specificity in phosphorylation by kinases is determined by the molecular recognition of the peptide target sequence. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the protein kinase A (PKA) specificity determinants are less studied than in mammalian PKA. The catalytic turnover numbers of the catalytic subunits isoforms Tpk1 and Tpk2 were determined, and both enzymes are shown to have the same value of 3 s−1. We analyze the substrate behavior and sequence determinants around the phosphorylation site of three protein substrates, Pyk1, Pyk2, and Nth1. Nth1 protein is a better substrate than Pyk1 protein, and both are phosphorylated by either Tpk1 or Tpk2. Both enzymes also have the same selectivity toward the protein substrates and the peptides derived from them. The three substrates contain one or more Arg-Arg-X-Ser consensus motif, but not all of them are phosphorylated. The determinants for specificity were studied using the peptide arrays. Acidic residues in the position P+1 or in the N-terminal flank are deleterious, and positive residues present beyond P-2 and P-3 favor the catalytic reaction. A bulky hydrophobic residue in position P+1 is not critical. The best substrate has in position P+4 an acidic residue, equivalent to the one in the inhibitory sequence of Bcy1, the yeast regulatory subunit of PKA. The substrate effect in the holoenzyme activation was analyzed, and we demonstrate that peptides and protein substrates sensitized the holoenzyme to activation by cAMP in different degrees, depending on their sequences. The results also suggest that protein substrates are better co-activators than peptide substrates.

PKA isoforms coordinate mRNA fate during nutrient starvation

Summary A variety of stress conditions induce mRNA and protein aggregation into mRNA silencing foci, but the signalling pathways mediating these responses are still elusive. Previously we demonstrated that PKA catalytic isoforms Tpk2 and Tpk3 localise with processing and stress bodies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we show that Tpk2 and Tpk3 are associated with translation initiation factors Pab1 and Rps3 in exponentially growing cells. Glucose starvation promotes the loss of interaction between Tpk and initiation factors followed by their accumulation into processing bodies. Analysis of mutants of the individual PKA isoform genes has revealed that the TPK3 or TPK2 deletion affects the capacity of the cells to form granules and arrest translation properly in response to glucose starvation or stationary phase. Moreover, we demonstrate that PKA controls Rpg1 and eIF4G1 protein abundance, possibly controlling cap-dependent translation. Taken together, our data suggest that the PKA pathway coordinates multiple stages in the fate of mRNAs in association with nutritional environment and growth status of the cell.

Evaluation of in vivo activation of protein kinase A under non-dissociable conditions through the overexpression of wild-type and mutant regulatory subunits in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

BCY1-encoded protein kinase A (PKA) wild-type and mutant regulatory (R) subunits from Saccharomyces cerevisiae were inducibly overexpressed in their corresponding background strains containing the same mutation in the bcy1 gene. The aim of this approach was to shift the catalytic activity of PKA within the cell to the undissociated holoenzyme form(s) in order to evaluate whether the wild-type or the mutant forms of the holoenzyme could display catalytic activity. Two mutants of R subunits were used: bcy1-16, with a complete deletion of cAMP-binding domain B; and bcy1-14, with a small deletion in the carboxy terminus of cAMP-binding domain A. Their overexpression caused an increase in the level of R subunits in the range 40-90-fold, as detected by cAMP-binding activity, Coomasie-stained SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. The change in PKA activity attained by overexpression of R was assessed in three ways: (i) through the analysis of PKA-dependent phenotypes, and (ii, iii) by measurement of PKA activity -/+ cAMP using the specific substrate kemptide in crude extracts (ii) and permeabilized cells (iii). Upon overexpression of the R subunits, PKA-dependent phenotypes were less severe when compared with their own background. However, a gradient in the degree of severity of phenotypes bcy1-14>bcy1-16> wild-type was observed in the background strains and was maintained in the strains overexpressing the R subunits. cAMP levels measured in background and in R-overexpressing strains showed an increase of around two orders accompanying the overexpression of the R subunits. Three main conclusions could be drawn from the PKA activity measurements -/+ cAMP in crude extracts: (i) catalytic activity was not increased in compensation for the increase in R subunits in any of the three cases (wild-type, bcy1-16 or bcy1-14 overexpression); (ii) PKA activity assayed in the absence of cAMP was lower in the case of extracts from strains overexpressing wild-type or bcy1-16 R subunits when compared with the corresponding extracts without overexpression; and (iii) in these two cases, the great excess of R subunits in the crude extracts displayed additional inhibitory capacity towards exogenously added catalytic (C) subunits. To provide an estimate of the in vivo activation of PKA, permeabilized cells from control strains and strains transformed with either wild-type, bcy1-16 or bcy1-14 R subunits were used to measure PKA activity in the presence of variable concentrations of cAMP. There were two main observations from the results: (i) the activity of PKA detected in the absence of exogenous cAMP was decreased in the strains overexpressing the R subunits when compared to their corresponding backgrounds, and (ii) the sensitivity to activation by cAMP was decreased or almost nil. The biochemical and genetic results obtained are consistent with the hypothesis that within the cell it is possible to have catalytically active, cAMP-bound, undissociated PKA holoenzyme.

The activation loop of PKA catalytic isoforms is differentially phosphorylated by Pkh protein kinases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

PDK1 (phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1) phosphorylates and activates PKA (cAMP-dependent protein kinase) in vitro. Docking of the HM (hydrophobic motif) in the C-terminal tail of the PKA catalytic subunits on to the PIF (PDK1-interacting fragment) pocket of PDK1 is a critical step in this activation process. However, PDK1 regulation of PKA in vivo remains controversial. Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains three PKA catalytic subunits, TPK1, TPK2 and TPK3. We demonstrate that Pkh [PKB (protein kinase B)-activating kinase homologue] protein kinases phosphorylate the activation loop of each Tpk in vivo with various efficiencies. Pkh inactivation reduces the interaction of each catalytic subunit with the regulatory subunit Bcy1 without affecting the specific kinase activity of PKA. Comparative analysis of the in vitro interaction and phosphorylation of Tpks by Pkh1 shows that Tpk1 and Tpk2 interact with Pkh1 through an HM-PIF pocket interaction. Unlike Tpk1, mutagenesis of the activation loop site in Tpk2 does not abolish in vitro phosphorylation, suggesting that Tpk2 contains other, as yet uncharacterized, Pkh1 target sites. Tpk3 is poorly phosphorylated on its activation loop site, and this is due to the weak interaction of Tpk3 with Pkh1 because of the atypical HM found in Tpk3. In conclusion, the results of the present study show that Pkh protein kinases contribute to the divergent regulation of the Tpk catalytic subunits.

PKA-chromatin association at stress responsive target genes from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Gene expression regulation by intracellular stimulus-activated protein kinases is essential for cell adaptation to environmental changes. There are three PKA catalytic subunits in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Tpk1, Tpk2, and Tpk3 and one regulatory subunit: Bcy1. Previously, it has been demonstrated that Tpk1 and Tpk2 are associated with coding regions and promoters of target genes in a carbon source and oxidative stress dependent manner. Here we studied five genes, ALD6, SED1, HSP42, RPS29B, and RPL1B whose expression is regulated by saline stress. We found that PKA catalytic and regulatory subunits are associated with both coding regions and promoters of the analyzed genes in a stress dependent manner. Tpk1 and Tpk2 recruitment was completely abolished in catalytic inactive mutants. BCY1 deletion changed the binding kinetic to chromatin of each Tpk isoform and this strain displayed a deregulated gene expression in response to osmotic stress. In addition, yeast mutants with high PKA activity exhibit sustained association to target genes of chromatin-remodeling complexes such as Snf2-catalytic subunit of the SWI/SNF complex and Arp8-component of INO80 complex, leading to upregulation of gene expression during osmotic stress. Tpk1 accumulation in the nucleus was stimulated upon osmotic stress, while the nuclear localization of Tpk2 and Bcy1 showed no change. We found that each PKA subunit is transported into the nucleus by a different β-karyopherin pathway. Moreover, β-karyopherin mutant strains abolished the chromatin association of Tpk1 or Tpk2, suggesting that nuclear localization of PKA catalytic subunits is required for its association to target genes and properly gene expression.

Transcriptional regulation of the protein kinase a subunits in Saccharomyces cerevisiae during fermentative growth: PKA and fermentative growth

Yeast cells can adapt their growth in response to the nutritional environment. Glucose is the favourite carbon source of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which prefers a fermentative metabolism despite the presence of oxygen. When glucose is consumed, the cell switches to the aerobic metabolism of ethanol, during the so‐called diauxic shift. The difference between fermentative and aerobic growth is in part mediated by a regulatory mechanism called glucose repression. During glucose derepression a profound gene transcriptional reprogramming occurs and genes involved in the utilization of alternative carbon sources are expressed. Protein kinase A (PKA) controls different physiological responses following the increment of cAMP as a consequence of a particular stimulus. cAMP–PKA is one of the major pathways involved in the transduction of glucose signalling. In this work the regulation of the promoters of the PKA subunits during respiratory and fermentative metabolism are studied. It is demonstrated that all these promoters are upregulated in the presence of glycerol as carbon source through the Snf1/Cat8 pathway. However, in the presence of glucose as carbon source, the regulation of each PKA promoter subunits is different and only TPK1 is repressed by the complex Hxk2/Mig1 in the presence of active Snf1. Copyright

The role of PKA in the translational response to heat stress in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Cellular responses to stress stem from a variety of different mechanisms, including translation arrest and relocation of the translationally repressed mRNAs to ribonucleoprotein particles like stress granules (SGs) and processing bodies (PBs). Here, we examine the role of PKA in the S. cerevisiae heat shock response. Under mild heat stress Tpk3 aggregates and promotes aggregation of eIF4G, Pab1 and eIF4E, whereas severe heat stress leads to the formation of PBs and SGs that contain both Tpk2 and Tpk3 and a larger 48S translation initiation complex. Deletion of TPK2 or TPK3 impacts upon the translational response to heat stress of several mRNAs including CYC1, HSP42, HSP30 and ENO2. TPK2 deletion leads to a robust translational arrest, an increase in SGs/PBs aggregation and translational hypersensitivity to heat stress, whereas TPK3 deletion represses SGs/PBs formation, translational arrest and response for the analyzed mRNAs. Therefore, this work provides evidence indicating that Tpk2 and Tpk3 have opposing roles in translational adaptation during heat stress, and highlight how the same signaling pathway can be regulated to generate strikingly distinct physiological outputs.

Identification of novel transcriptional regulators of PKA subunits in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by quantitative promoter-reporter screening

The cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) signaling is a broad pathway that plays important roles in the transduction of environmental signals triggering precise physiological responses. However, how PKA achieves the cAMP-signal transduction specificity is still in study. The regulation of expression of subunits of PKA should contribute to the signal specificity. Saccharomyces cerevisiae PKA holoenzyme contains two catalytic subunits encoded by TPK1, TPK2 and TPK3 genes, and two regulatory subunits encoded by BCY1 gene. We studied the activity of these gene promoters using a fluorescent reporter synthetic genetic array screen, with the goal of systematically identifying novel regulators of expression of PKA subunits. Gene ontology analysis of the identified modulators showed enrichment not only in the category of transcriptional regulators, but also in less expected categories such as lipid and phosphate metabolism. Inositol, choline and phosphate were identified as novel upstream signals that regulate transcription of PKA subunit genes. The results support the role of transcription regulation of PKA subunits in cAMP specificity signaling. Interestingly, known targets of PKA phosphorylation are associated with the identified pathways opening the possibility of a reciprocal regulation. PKA would be coordinating different metabolic pathways and these processes would in turn regulate expression of the kinase subunits.