Xiu Bao Chang

Removal of multiple arginine-framed trafficking signals overcomes misprocessing of ΔF508 CFTR present in most patients with cystic fibrosis

Many cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mutants are recognized as aberrant by the quality control apparatus at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and are targeted for degradation. The mechanism whereby nascent chains are distinguished as either competent or incompetent for ER export has not been elucidated. Here we show that export-incompetent chains display multiple arginine-framed tripeptide sequences like the one recently identified in ATP-sensitive K+ channels. Replacement of arginine residues at positions R29, R516, R555, and R766 with lysine residues to inactivate four of these motifs simultaneously causes delta F508 CFTR, present in approximately 90% of CF patients, to escape ER quality control and function at the cell surface. Interference with recognition of these signals may be helpful in the management of CF.

Allosteric interactions between the two non-equivalent nucleotide binding domains of multidrug resistance protein MRP1.

Membrane transporters of the adenine nucleotide binding cassette (ABC) superfamily utilize two either identical or homologous nucleotide binding domains (NBDs). Although the hydrolysis of ATP by these domains is believed to drive transport of solute, it is unknown why two rather than a single NBD is required. In the well studied P-glycoprotein multidrug transporter, the two appear to be functionally equivalent, and a strongly supported model proposes that ATP hydrolysis occurs alternately at each NBD (Senior, A. E., al-Shawi, M. K., and Urbatsch, I. L. (1995) FEBS Lett 377, 285–289). To assess how applicable this model may be to other ABC transporters, we have examined adenine nucleotide interactions with the multidrug resistance protein, MRP1, a member of a different ABC family that transports conjugated organic anions and in which sequences of the two NBDs are much less similar than in P-glycoprotein. Photoaffinity labeling experiments with 8-azido-ATP, which strongly supports transport revealed ATP binding exclusively at NBD1 and ADP trapping predominantly at NBD2. Despite this apparent asymmetry in the two domains, they are entirely interdependent as substitution of key lysine residues in the Walker A motif of either impaired both ATP binding and ADP trapping. Furthermore, the interaction of ADP at NBD2 appears to allosterically enhance the binding of ATP at NBD1. Glutathione, which supports drug transport by the protein, does not enhance ATP binding but stimulates the trapping of ADP. Thus MRP1 may employ a more complex mechanism of coupling ATP utilization to the export of agents from cells than P-glycoprotein.

ATPASE ACTIVITY OF PURIFIED MULTIDRUG RESISTANCE-ASSOCIATED PROTEIN

Human multidrug resistance protein (MRP) was expressed at high levels in stably transfected baby hamster kidney (BHK-21) cells. These cells exhibited a pattern of cross-resistance to several different drugs typical of an MRP-mediated phenotype despite the addition of 10 histidine residues at the C terminus to facilitate purification. Consistent with this functional evidence of the presence of MRP at the surface of these transfectants, strong signals were detected by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence using a specific monoclonal antibody to MRP. There was intense uniform staining of the cell surface as well as weaker staining of intracellular membranes. MRP-containing membranes were solubilized in 1%N-dodecyl-β-d-maltoside in the presence of 0.4% sheep brain phospholipids. Two sequential affinity purification steps on Ni-NTA agarose and wheat germ agglutinin agarose provided substantial enrichment, and contaminating bands were not detected. ATPase activity of the purified protein was assayed in the presence of the phospholipids, which had been maintained throughout all purification steps. ATP was hydrolyzed in proportion to the amount of purified protein assayed, and typical Michaelis-Menten behavior was exhibited, yielding estimations of K m of ∼3.0 mm and V max of 0.46 μmol mg−1 min−1. This activity was moderately stimulated by the drugs that others have shown to be transported by MRP-containing membrane vesicles. This stimulation was enhanced by reduced glutathione as is its drug transport, and oxidized glutathione, itself a substrate for transport, caused a strong stimulation. These data describe the first purification of MRP and provide the first direct evidence that the molecule possesses drug-stimulated ATPase activity.

The non‐hydrolytic pathway of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator ion channel gating

1 It has been suggested that the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channel may utilize a novel gating mechanism in which open and closed states are not in thermodynamic equilibrium. This suggestion is based on the assumption that energy of ATP hydrolysis drives the gating cycle. 2 We demonstrate that CFTR channel gating occurs in the absence of ATP hydrolysis and hence does not depend on an input of free energy from this source. The binding of ATP or structurally related analogues that are poorly or non‐hydrolysable is sufficient to induce opening. Closing occurs on dissociation of these ligands or the hydrolysis products of those that can be cleaved. 3 Not only can channel opening occur without ATP hydrolysis but the temperature dependence of the open probability (Po) is reversed, i.e. Po increases as temperature is lowered whereas under hydrolytic conditions, Po increases as temperature is elevated. This indicates that there are different rate‐limiting steps in the alternate gating pathways (hydrolytic and non‐hydrolytic). 4 These observations demonstrate that phosphorylated CFTR behaves as a conventional ligand‐gated channel employing cytoplasmic ATP as a readily available cytoplasmic ligand; under physiological conditions ligand hydrolysis provides efficient reversibility of channel opening.

Stimulatory and inhibitory protein kinase C consensus sequences regulate the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator.

Protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylation stimulates the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) channel and enhances its activation by protein kinase A (PKA) through mechanisms that remain poorly understood. We have examined the effects of mutating consensus sequences for PKC phosphorylation and report here evidence for both stimulatory and inhibitory sites. Sequences were mutated in subsets and the mutants characterized by patch clamping. Activation of a 4CA mutant (S707A/S790A/T791A/S809A) by PKA was similar to that of wild-type CFTR and was enhanced by PKC, whereas responses of 3CA (T582A/T604A/S641A) and 2CA (T682A/S686A) channels to PKA were both drastically reduced (>90%). When each mutation in the 3CA and 2CA constructs was studied individually in a wild-type background, T582, T604, and S686 were found to be essential for PKA activation. Responses were restored when these three residues were reintroduced simultaneously into a 9CA mutant lacking all nine PKC consensus sequences (R6CA revertant); however, PKC phosphorylation was not required for this rescue. Nevertheless, two of the sites (T604 and S686) were phosphorylated in vitro, and PKC alone partially activated wild-type CFTR, the 4CA mutant, and the point mutants T582A and T604A, but not S686A channels, indicating that PKC does act at S686. The region encompassing S641 and T682 is inhibitory, because S641A enhanced activation by PKA, and T682A channels had 4-fold larger responses to PKC compared to wild-type channels. These results identify functionally important PKC consensus sequences on CFTR and will facilitate studies of its convergent regulation by PKC and PKA.

Dibasic protein kinase A sites regulate bursting rate and nucleotide sensitivity of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator chloride channel

1 The relationship between phosphorylation of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channel and its gating by nucleotides was examined using the patch clamp technique by comparing strongly phosphorylated wild‐type (WT) channels with weakly phosphorylated mutant channels lacking four (4SA) or all ten (10SA) dibasic consensus sequences for phosphorylation by protein kinase A (PKA). 2 The open probability (Po) of strongly phosphorylated WT channels in excised patches was about twice that of 4SA and 10SA channels, after correcting for the number of functional channels per patch by addition of adenylylimidodiphosphate (AMP‐PNP). The mean burst durations of WT and mutant channels were similar, and therefore the elevated Po of WT was due to its higher bursting rate. 3 The ATP dependence of the 10SA mutant was shifted to higher nucleotide concentrations compared with WT channels. The relationship between Po and [ATP] was noticeably sigmoid for 10SA channels (Hill coefficient, 1.8), consistent with positive co‐operativity between two sites. Increasing ATP concentration to 10 mM caused the Po of both WT and 10SA channels to decline. 4 Wild‐type and mutant CFTR channels became locked in open bursts when exposed to mixtures of ATP and the non‐hydrolysable analogue AMP‐PNP. The rate at which the low phosphorylation mutants became locked open was about half that of WT channels, consistent with Po being the principal determinant of locking rate in WT and mutant channels. 5 We conclude that phosphorylation at ‘weak’ PKA sites is sufficient to sustain the interactions between the ATP binding domains that mediate locking by AMP‐PNP. Phosphorylation of the strong dibasic PKA sites controls the bursting rate and Po of WT channels by increasing the apparent affinity of CFTR for ATP.

Role of N-linked oligosaccharides in the biosynthetic processing of the cystic fibrosis membrane conductance regulator.

The epithelial chloride channel CFTR is a glycoprotein that is modified by two N-linked oligosaccharides. The most common mutant CFTR protein in patients with cystic fibrosis, ΔF508, is misfolded and retained by ER quality control. As oligosaccharide moieties of glycoproteins are known to mediate interactions with ER lectin chaperones, we investigated the role of N-linked glycosylation in the processing of wild-type and ΔF508 CFTR. We found that N-glycosylation and ER lectin interactions are not major determinants of trafficking of wild-type and ΔF508 from the ER to the plasma membrane. Unglycosylated CFTR, generated by removal of glycosylation sites or treatment of cells with the N-glycosylation inhibitor tunicamycin, did not bind calnexin, but did traffic to the cell surface and exhibited chloride channel activity. Most importantly, unglycosylated ΔF508 CFTR still could not escape quality control in the early secretory pathway and remained associated with the ER. However, the absence of N-linked oligosaccharides did reduce the stability of wild-type CFTR, causing significantly more-rapid turnover in post-ER compartments. Surprisingly, the individual N-linked carbohydrates do not play equivalent roles and modulate the fate of the wild-type protein in different ways in its early biosynthetic pathway.

ATP Binding to the First Nucleotide-binding Domain of Multidrug Resistance Protein MRP1 Increases Binding and Hydrolysis of ATP and Trapping of ADP at the Second Domain

Multidrug resistance protein (MRP1) utilizes two non-equivalent nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs) to bind and hydrolyze ATP. ATP hydrolysis by either one or both NBDs is essential to drive transport of solute. Mutations of either NBD1 or NBD2 reduce solute transport, but do not abolish it completely. How events at these two domains are coordinated during the transport cycle have not been fully elucidated. Earlier reports (Gao, M., Cui, H. R., Loe, D. W., Grant, C. E., Almquist, K. C., Cole, S. P., and Deeley, R. G. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 13098–13108; Hou, Y., Cui, L., Riordan, J. R., and Chang, X. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 20280–20287) indicate that intact ATP is observed bound at NBD1, whereas trapping of the ATP hydrolysis product, ADP, occurs predominantly at NBD2 and that trapping of ADP at NBD2 enhances ATP binding at NBD1 severalfold. This suggested transmission of a positive allosteric interaction from NBD2 to NBD1. To assess whether ATP binding at NBD1 can enhance the trapping of ADP at NBD2, photoaffinity labeling experiments with [α-32P]8-N3ADP were performed and revealed that when presented with this compound labeling of MRP1 occurred at both NBDs. However, upon addition of ATP, this labeling was enhanced 4-fold mainly at NBD2. Furthermore, the nonhydrolyzable ATP analogue, 5′-adenylylimidodiphosphate (AMP-PNP), bound preferentially to NBD1, but upon addition of a low concentration of 8-N3ATP, the binding at NBD2 increased severalfold. This suggested that the positive allosteric stimulation from NBD1 actually involves an increase in ATP binding at NBD2 and hydrolysis there leading to the trapping of ADP. Mutations of Walker A or B motifs in either NBD greatly reduced their ability to be labeled by [α-32P]8-N3ADP as well as by either [α-32P]- or [γ-32P]8-N3ATP (Hou et al.(2000), see above). These mutations also strongly diminished the enhancement by ATP of [α-32P]8-N3ADP labeling and the transport activity of the protein. Taken together, these results demonstrate directly that events at NBD1 positively influence those at NBD2. The interactions between the two asymmetric NBDs of MRP1 protein may enhance the catalytic efficiency of the MRP1 protein and hence of its ATP-dependent transport of conjugated anions out of cells.

cAMP- and Ca2+-independent Activation of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Channels by Phenylimidazothiazole Drugs

Patch-clamp, iodide efflux, and biochemical techniques were used to evaluate the ability of phenylimidazothiazoles to open normal and mutated cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channels and to investigate the mechanism of activation. As reported previously for bromotetramisole, levamisole activated wild-type CFTR channels stably expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells in the absence of other secretagogues and without elevating intracellular cAMP or calcium. The protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor N - (2-(p-bromocinnamylamino)ethyl)-5-isoquinolinesul-fonamide abolished activation by forskolin but only partially inhibited stimulation by levamisole, suggesting the involvement of other kinases. CFTR channels bearing mutations at multiple phosphorylation sites, in the membrane domains, and in the first nucleotide binding domain (including the disease-causing mutations G551D and ΔF508) all responded to phenylimidazothiazoles. Moreover, levamisole and bromotetramisole increased the activity of wild-type and mutant channels already exposed to PKA + MgATP, consistent with the inhibition of a constitutive, membrane-associated phosphatase activity. We conclude that phenylimidazothiazole drugs can open normal and mutated CFTR channels by stabilization of phosphoforms of CFTR that are produced by basal activity of PKA and alternative protein kinases. If similar stimulation is observed in humans in vivo, phenylimidazothiazoles may be useful in the development of pharmacological therapies for cystic fibrosis.

Misassembled mutant ΔF508 CFTR in the distal secretory pathway alters cellular lipid trafficking

Most patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have a single codon deletion (ΔF508) in the gene encoding the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) that impairs assembly of the multidomain glycoprotein. The mutant protein escapes endoplasmic reticulum (ER) quality control at low temperature, but is rapidly cleared from the distal secretory pathway and degraded in lysosomes. CF cells accumulate free cholesterol similar to Niemann-Pick disease type C cells. We show that this lipid alteration is caused by the presence of misassembled mutant CFTR proteins, including ΔF508, in the distal secretory pathway rather than the absence of functional CFTR. By contrast, cholesterol distribution is not changed by either D572N CFTR, which does not mature even at low temperature, or G551D, which is processed normally but is inactive. On expression of the ΔF508 mutant, cholesterol and glycosphingolipids accumulate in punctate endosomal structures and cholesterol esters are reduced, indicating a block in the translocation of cholesterol to the ER for esterification. This is overcome by Rab9 overexpression, resulting in clearance of accumulating intracellular cholesterol. Similar but less pronounced alterations in intracellular cholesterol distribution are observed on expression of a temperature-rescued mutant variant of the related ATP-binding cassette (ABC) protein multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1). Thus, on escape from ER quality control, misassembled mutants of CFTR and MRP1 impair lipid homeostasis in endocytic compartments.