Toshihiro Sekimoto

PGC7/Stella protects against DNA demethylation in early embryogenesis

DNA methylation is an important means of epigenetic gene regulation and must be carefully controlled as a prerequisite for normal early embryogenesis. Although global demethylation occurs soon after fertilization, it is not evenly distributed throughout the genome. Genomic imprinting and epigenetic asymmetry between parental genomes, that is, delayed demethylation of the maternal genome after fertilization, are clear examples of the functional importance of DNA methylation. Here, we show that PGC7/Stella, a maternal factor essential for early development, protects the DNA methylation state of several imprinted loci and epigenetic asymmetry. After determining that PGC7/Stella binds to Ran binding protein 5 (RanBP5; a nuclear transport shuttle protein), mutant versions of the two proteins were used to examine exactly when and where PGC7/Stella functions within the cell. It is likely that PGC7/Stella protects the maternal genome from demethylation only after localizing to the nucleus, where it maintains the methylation of several imprinted genes. These results demonstrate that PGC7/Stella is indispensable for the maintenance of methylation involved in epigenetic reprogramming after fertilization.

Extracellular signal-dependent nuclear import of Stat1 is mediated by nuclear pore-targeting complex formation with NPI-1, but not Rch1

In response to interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ), Stat1 is tyrosine phosphorylated and translocates to the nucleus where it activates transcription. In this study, we identified factors which mediate the nuclear import of Stat1. Tyrosine‐phosphorylated Stat1 associated with the β subunit (a 97 kDa component) of the nuclear pore‐targeting complex via the NPI‐1 family, but not the Rch1 family, of α subunit (a 58 kDa component) as a result of IFN‐γ stimulation. Antibodies against NPI‐1 or β subunit consistently inhibited the IFN‐γ‐dependent nuclear import of Stat1 in living cells, although antibodies reactive to Rch1 had no effect. Solution binding assays with deletion mutants of NPI‐1 showed that the Stat1‐binding domain of NPI‐1 was located in the carboxy‐terminal region, which is clearly distinct from the SV40 large T antigen nuclear localization signal (NLS)‐binding region. These results indicate that the extracellular signal‐dependent nuclear transport of Stat1 is mediated by NPI‐1, but not Rch1, in conjunction with β subunit, and that these factors participate in, not only constitutive, but also the conditional nuclear import of proteins.

In vivo evidence for involvement of a 58 kDa component of nuclear pore-targeting complex in nuclear protein import.

We recently showed that a nuclear location signal (NLS)‐containing karyophile forms a stable complex with cytoplasmic components for nuclear pore‐targeting The complex, termed nuclear pore‐targeting complex (PTAC), contained two essential proteins of 54 and 90 kDa, respectively, as estimated by electrophoresis. In this study, we found that the 54 kDa component of PTAC is the mouse homologue of Xenopus importin (m‐importin). Cytoplasmic injection of the antibodies raised against recombinant m‐importin showed an inhibitory effect on nuclear import of a karyophile in living mammalian cells. A portion of cytoplasmically injected antibodies migrated rapidly into the nucleus, indicating dynamic movement of this protein across the nuclear envelope. Moreover, the injected antibodies co‐precipitated the karyophile, in an NLS‐dependent manner, with endogenous m‐importin in the cytoplasm. These results provide in vivo evidence that m‐importin is involved in nuclear protein import through association with a NLS in the cytoplasm before nuclear pore binding.

Differential Modes of Nuclear Localization Signal (NLS) Recognition by Three Distinct Classes of NLS Receptors

The targeting of karyophilic proteins to nuclear pores is mediated via the formation of a nuclear pore-targeting complex, through the interaction of nuclear localization signal (NLS) with its NLS receptor. Recently, a novel human protein, Qip1, was identified from a yeast two-hybrid system with DNA helicase Q1. This study demonstrates that Qip1 is a novel third class of NLS receptor that efficiently recognizes the NLS of the helicase Q1. Moreover, the data obtained in this study show that the specific interaction between Qip1 and the NLS of the helicase Q1 requires its upstream sequence of the minimal essential NLS. By using purified recombinant proteins alone in the digitonin-permeabilized cell-free transport system, it was demonstrated that the two known human NLS receptors, Rch1 and NPI-1, are able to transport all the tested NLS substrates into the nucleus, while Qip1 most efficiently transports the helicase Q1-NLS substrates, which contain its upstream sequence in so far as we have examined the system. Furthermore, in HeLa cell crude cytosol, it was found that endogenous Rch1 binds to all the tested NLS substrates, while the binding of endogenous NPI-1 is restricted to only some NLSs, despite the fact that NPI-1 itself shows binding activity to a variety of NLSs. These results indicate that at least three structurally and functionally distinct NLS receptors exist in the human single cell population, and suggest that the nuclear import of karyophilic proteins may be controlled in a complex manner at the NLS recognition step by the existence of a variety of NLS receptors with various specificities to each NLS.

14-3-3 suppresses the nuclear localization of threonine 157-phosphorylated p27Kip1

p27Kip1 (p27), a CDK inhibitor, migrates into the nucleus, where it controls cyclin–CDK complex activity for proper cell cycle progression. We report here that the classical bipartite‐type basic amino‐acid cluster and the two downstream amino acids of the C‐terminal region of p27 function as a nuclear localization signal (NLS) for its full nuclear import activity. Importin α3 and α5, but not α1, transported p27 into the nucleus in conjunction with importin β, as evidenced by an in vitro transport assay. It is known that Akt phosphorylates Thr 157 of p27 and this reduces the nuclear import activity of p27. Using a pull‐down experiment, 14‐3‐3 was identified as the Thr157‐phosphorylated p27NLS‐binding protein. Although importin α5 bound to Thr157‐phosphorylated p27NLS, 14‐3‐3 competed with importin α5 for binding to it. Thus, 14‐3‐3 sequestered phosphorylated p27NLS from importin α binding, resulting in cytoplasmic localization of NLS‐phosphorylated p27. These findings indicate that 14‐3‐3 suppresses importin α/β‐dependent nuclear localization of Thr157‐phosphorylated p27, suggesting implications for cell cycle disorder in Akt‐activated cancer cells.

INTERFERON-GAMMA -DEPENDENT NUCLEAR IMPORT OF STAT1 IS MEDIATED BY THE GTPASE ACTIVITY OF RAN/TC4

In response to interferon-γ (IFN-γ), Stat1 enters the nucleus, where it activates transcription. In order to better understand the mechanism of the extracellular signal-induced protein import into the nucleus, we have established an in vivo assay system that uses recombinant Stat1 protein as a model transport substrate. Using this system, we found that Stat1 is actively transported through the nuclear pores in an IFN-γ-dependent manner and tyrosine (Tyr701) phosphorylation of Stat1 is actually required for its nuclear import. When the antibody against Ran, which was identified as an essential factor for active nuclear protein transport, was injected, the IFN-γ-dependent nuclear transport of Stat1 was completely inhibited. Furthermore, nuclear import of Stat1 was suppressed by microinjection of two mutant Ran proteins, one defective in GTP hydrolysis (G19V) and the other with little or no binding to GTP (T24N), both of which are known to act as dominant negative inhibitors of nuclear import. These results indicate that the conditional nuclear import of Stat1 requires GTP hydrolysis by Ran.

Importin α transports CaMKIV to the nucleus without utilizing importin β

Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase type IV (CaMKIV) plays an essential role in the transcriptional activation of cAMP response element‐binding protein‐mediated signaling pathways. Although CaMKIV is localized predominantly in the nucleus, the molecular mechanism of the nuclear import of CaMKIV has not been elucidated. We report here that importin α is able to carry CaMKIV into the nucleus without the need for importin β or any other soluble proteins in digitonin‐permeabilized cells. An importin β binding‐deficient mutant (ΔIBB) of importin α also carried CaMKIV into the nucleus, which strongly suggests that CaMKIV is transported in an importin β‐independent manner. While CaMKIV directly interacted with the C‐terminal region of importin α, the CaMKIV/importin α complex did not form a ternary complex with importin β, which explains the nonrequirement of importin β for the nuclear transport of CaMKIV. The cytoplasmic microinjection of importin α‐ΔIBB enhanced the rate of nuclear translocation of CaMKIV in vivo. This is the first report to demonstrate definitely that mammalian importin α solely carries a cargo protein into the nucleus without utilizing the classical importin β‐dependent transport system.

Zinc finger domain of Snail functions as a nuclear localization signal for importin β‐mediated nuclear import pathway

Snail, a DNA‐binding zinc finger protein, functions as a transcriptional repressor for genes including E‐cadherin during development and the acquisition of tumor cell invasiveness. Human Snail is a 264‐amino acid nuclear protein with an amino‐terminal basic amino acid‐rich domain (SNAG domain) and a carboxyl‐terminal DNA‐binding domain (zinc finger domain). A series of fusion proteins composed of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and portions of the Snail protein were generated, and their subcellular localization was examined. Fusion of the four zinc fingers to GFP led to the targeting of GFP to the nucleus, demonstrating that the zinc finger domain is sufficient for nuclear localization. Using an in vitro transport system, the nuclear import of Snail was reconstituted by importin (karyopherin) β in the presence of Ran and NTF2. We further demonstrated that Snail binds directly to importin β in a zinc finger domain‐dependent manner. These results indicate that zinc finger domain of Snail functions as a nuclear localization signal and Snail can be transported into the nucleus in an importin β‐mediated manner.

mDia2 shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm through the importin-α/β- and CRM1-mediated nuclear transport mechanism

Mammalian homolog of Drosophila diaphanous (mDia) consisting of three isoforms, mDia1, mDia2, and mDia3, is an effector of Rho GTPases that catalyzes actin nucleation and polymerization. Although the mDia actions on actin dynamics in the cytoplasm have been well studied, whether mDia accumulates and functions in the nucleus remains largely unknown. Given the presence of actin and actin-associated proteins in the nucleus, we have examined nuclear localization of mDia isoforms. We expressed each of mDia isoforms as a green fluorescent protein fusion protein and examined their localization. Although all the mDia isoforms were localized predominantly in the cytoplasm under the steady-state conditions, mDia2 and not mDia1 or mDia3 accumulated extensively in the nucleus upon treatment with leptomycin B (LMB), an inhibitor of CRM1-dependent nuclear export. The LMB-induced nuclear accumulation was confirmed for endogenous mDia2 by using an antibody specific to mDia2. Studies using green fluorescent protein fusions of various truncation mDia2 mutants and point mutants of some of these proteins identified a functional nuclear localization signal in the N terminus of mDia2 and at least one functional nuclear export signal in the C terminus. The nuclear localization signal of mDia2 bound to importin-α and was imported into the nucleus by importin-α/β complex in an in vitro transport assay. Consistently, depletion of importin-β with RNA interference suppressed the LMB-induced nuclear localization of endogenous mDia2. These results suggest that mDia2 continuously shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm using specific nuclear transport machinery composing of importin-α/β and CRM1.

Nuclear Import of Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen 1 Mediated by NPI-1 (Importin α5) Is Up- and Down-Regulated by Phosphorylation of the Nuclear Localization Signal for Which Lys379 and Arg380 Are Essential

ABSTRACT Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1) is essential for replication of episomal EBV DNAs and maintenance of latency. Multifunctional EBNA-1 is phosphorylated, but the significance of EBNA-1 phosphorylation is not known. Here, we examined the effects on nuclear translocation of Ser phosphorylation of the EBNA-1 nuclear localization signal (NLS) sequence, 379Lys-Arg-Pro-Arg-Ser-Pro-Ser-Ser386. We found that Lys379Ala and Arg380Ala substitutions greatly reduced nuclear transport and steady-state levels of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-EBNA1, whereas Pro381Ala, Arg382Ala, Pro384Ala, and Glu378Ala substitutions did not. Microinjection of modified EBNA-1 NLS peptide-inserted proteins and NLS peptides cross-linked to bovine serum albumin (BSA) showed that Ala substitution for three NLS Ser residues reduced the efficiency of nuclear import. Similar microinjection analyses demonstrated that phosphorylation of Ser385 accelerated the rate of nuclear import, but phosphorylation of Ser383 and Ser386 reduced it. However, transfection analyses of GFP-EBNA1 mutants with the Ser-to-Ala substitution causing reduced nuclear import efficiency did not result in a decrease in the nuclear accumulation level of EBNA-1. The results suggest dynamic nuclear transport control of phosphorylated EBNA-1 proteins, although the nuclear localization level of EBNA-1 that binds to cellular chromosomes and chromatin seems unchanged. The karyopherin α NPI-1 (importin α5), a nuclear import adaptor, bound more strongly to Ser385-phosphorylated NLS than to any other phosphorylated or nonphosphorylated forms. Rch1 (importin α1) bound only weakly and Qip1 (importin α3) did not bind to the Ser385-phosphorylated NLS. These findings suggest that the amino-terminal 379Lys-Arg380 is essential for the EBNA-1 NLS and that Ser385 phosphorylation up-regulates nuclear transport efficiency of EBNA-1 by increasing its binding affinity to NPI-1, while phosphorylation of Ser386 and Ser383 down-regulates it.