Ross J. Resnick

A phosphotyrosine displacement mechanism for activation of Src by PTPα

Protein tyrosine phosphatase α (PTPα) is believed to dephosphorylate physiologically the Src proto‐oncogene at phosphotyrosine (pTyr)527, a critical negative‐regulatory residue. It thereby activates Src, and PTPα overexpression neoplastically transforms NIH 3T3 cells. pTyr789 in PTPα is constitutively phosphorylated and binds Grb2, an interaction that may inhibit PTPα activity. We show here that this phosphorylation also specifically enables PTPα to dephosphorylate pTyr527. Tyr789→Phe mutation abrogates PTPα–Src binding, dephosphorylation of pTyr527 (although not of other substrates), and neoplastic transformation by overexpressed PTPα in vivo. We suggest that pTyr789 enables pTyr527 dephosphorylation by a pilot binding with the Src SH2 domain that displaces the intramolecular pTyr527–SH2 binding. Consistent with model predictions, we find that excess SH2 domains can disrupt PTPα–Src binding and can block PTPα‐mediated dephosphorylation and activation in proportion to their affinity for pTyr789. Moreover, we show that, as predicted by the model, catalytically defective PTPα has reduced Src binding in vivo. The displacement mechanism provides another potential control point for physiological regulation of Src‐family signal transduction pathways.

Sam68 exerts separable effects on cell cycle progression and apoptosis

BackgroundThe RNA-binding protein Sam68 has been implicated in a number of cellular processes, including transcription, RNA splicing and export, translation, signal transduction, cell cycle progression and replication of the human immunodeficiency virus and poliovirus. However, the precise impact it has on essential cellular functions remains largely obscure.ResultsIn this report we show that conditional overexpression of Sam68 in fibroblasts results in both cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Arrest in G1 phase of the cell cycle is associated with decreased levels of cyclins D1 and E RNA and protein, resulting in dramatically reduced Rb phosphorylation. Interestingly, cell cycle arrest does not require the specific RNA binding ability of Sam68. In marked contrast, induction of apoptosis by Sam68 absolutely requires a fully-functional RNA binding domain. Moreover, the anti-cancer agent trichostatin A potentiates Sam68-driven apoptosis.ConclusionsFor the first time we have shown that Sam68, an RNA binding protein with multiple apparent functions, exerts functionally separable effects on cell proliferation and survival, dependent on its ability to bind specifically to RNA. These findings shed new light on the ability of signal transducing RNA binding proteins to influence essential cell function. Moreover, the ability of a class of anti-cancer therapeutics to modulate its ability to promote apoptosis suggests that Sam68 status may impact some cancer treatments.

Apoptosis of estrogen‐receptor negative breast cancer and colon cancer cell lines by PTPα and src RNAi

We show that siRNA‐mediated suppression of protein tyrosine phosphatase α (PTPα) reduces Src activity 2 to 4‐fold in breast, colon and other human cancer cell lines. Src and PTPα RNAi induced apoptosis in estrogen receptor (ER)‐negative breast cancer and colon cancer cells, but not in immortalized noncancerous breast cells, ER‐positive breast cancer cells or other cancer cell types tested. RNAi of other Src family members (Fyn and Yes) or of PTP1B, a phosphatase previously suggested to be an activator of Src in breast cancer, had no effect. Although further tests with primary tumor tissues are required, the unexpected correlation between ER status and Src/PTPα dependence in breast cancer cell lines may be important for planning therapeutic strategies, and the insensitivity of normal breast cells to the RNAi highlights the potential of PTPα, which may be easier to target than Src, as a therapeutic target in ER‐negative breast cancer.

Regulation of 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase activity in ras-transformed rat-1 fibroblasts

Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (F-2,6-P2) stimulated glycolysis in cell-free extracts of both normal and ras-transfected rat-1 fibroblasts. The extract of the transformed cell glycolyzed more rapidly in both the absence and the presence of F-2,6-P2 than the extract of the parent fibroblast. Addition of mitochondrial ATPase (F1) or inorganic phosphate (Pi) further stimulated lactate production in both cell lines. F-2,6-P2 stimulated the 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase (PFK-1) activity in extracts of normal and transfected cells. The activity in extracts of transformed cells tested with a fructose 6-phosphate regenerating system was considerably higher than in the extract of normal cells. Stimulation of PFK-1 activity by cAMP of both cell lines was not as pronounced as that by F-2,6-P2. In the absence of F-2,6-P2 the PFK-1 activity was strongly inhibited in the transformed cell by ATP concentrations higher than 1 mM, whereas in the normal cell only a marginal inhibition was noted even at 2 or 3 mM ATP. F-2,6-P2 reversed the inhibition of PFK-1 by ATP. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) at 100 microM (in the presence of 2 mM ATP and 1 microM F-2,6-P2) stimulated PFK-1 activity only in the transformed cell, whereas nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) inhibited PFK-1 activity (in the presence or absence of 1 microM F-2,6-P2) in extracts of both cell lines. No previous observations of stimulation or inhibition by NAD or NADP on PFK-1 activity appear to have been reported. A threefold increase in the intracellular concentration of F-2,6-P2 was observed after transfection of rat-1 fibroblast by the ras oncogene. We conclude from these data that the PFK-1 activity of ras-transfected rat-1 fibroblasts shows a greater response to certain stimulating and inhibitory regulating factors than that of the parent cell.

Phosphorylation of the Src substrate Sam68 by Cdc2 during mitosis

Sam68 (Src-associated in mitosis) is an SH3 (Src-homology 3), SH2 (Src-homology 2), and RNA binding protein which associates with and is tyrosine phosphorylated by wild-type and activated forms of c-Src in a mitosis-specific manner. We now show that Sam68 immunoprecipitated from either HeLa S3 or NIH3T3 cells is phosphorylated on threonine residues exclusively during mitosis as well as on serine residues during both interphase and mitosis. Recombinant Sam68, expressed as a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein, was phosphorylated on threonine and serine residues after incubation with mitotic lysates several-fold more extensively than after incubation with unsynchronized lysates. Cdc2 was identified as the kinase responsible for the mitotic threonine phosphorylation by (1) immunodepletion of the mitotic Sam68 kinase from cell lysates with anti-Cdc2 antibodies, (2) inhibition of Sam68 phosphorylation in vitro and in vivo by the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor olomoucine and (3) phosphorylation of Sam68 by purified Cdc2. These data demonstrate that Sam68 is a direct target of Cdc2 and may therefore mediate some of its biological effects during mitosis.

Extracellular domain dependence of PTPα transforming activity

Two isoforms of the transmembrane protein tyrosine phosphatase PTPα, which differ by nine amino acids in their extracellular regions, are expressed in a tissue‐specific manner. Over‐expression of the shorter isoform transforms rodent cells, and it has previously been reasonable to assume that this was a direct consequence of its dephosphorylation and activation of Src. Transformation by the longer wild‐type isoform has not previously been studied. We tested the activities of both isoforms in NIH3T3 cells and found that, while both dephosphorylated and activated Src similarly, only the shorter isoform induced focus formation or anchorage‐independent growth. Differences in phosphorylation of PTPα at its known regulatory sites, Grb2 binding to PTPα, phosphorylation level of focal adhesion kinase by PTPα, or overall localization were excluded as possible explanations for the differences in transforming activities. The results suggest that transformation by PTPα involves at least one function other than, or in addition to, its activation of Src and that this depends on PTPα’s extracellular domain. Previous studies have suggested that PTPα might be a useful target in breast and colon cancer therapy, and the results presented here suggest that it may be advantageous to develop isoform‐specific therapeutic reagents.

Enrichment of Yeast Protein Tyrosine Kinase Activity by Substrate Affinity Chromatography

The direct biochemical analysis of protein tyrosine kinases from yeast has been difficult due to their very low activity in crude cell lysates. Here we present a procedure for the enrichment and partial purification of protein tyrosine kinases from Saccharomyces cerevisiae based on single‐step substrate affinity chromatography using a synthetic random co‐polymer of glutamic acid and tyrosine. Fractionation of cell lysates on a poly‐glutamic acid: tyrosine (4 : 1)‐Sepharose affinity column resulted in a 4000‐fold increase in tyrosine kinase activity. Active fractions contain at least six potential protein kinases as judged by in situ phosphorylation assay and Western blot analysis using anti‐phosphotyrosine. We propose that this protocol may also be useful for the initial identification and purification of tyrosine kinases from other organisms exhibiting low levels of this enzymatic activity in cell lysates.