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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 280, Issue 37, 32133-32140, September 16, 2005
Highly Conserved O-Fucose Sites Have Distinct Effects on Notch1 Function*
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| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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1,3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (8, 9). Modification of Notch by Fringe modulates its response to ligands, inhibiting signaling from Serrate/Jagged ligands but potentiating signaling from Delta ligands (8, 1014).
Work from several laboratories has established that protein O-fucosyltransferase-1 (O-FucT-1), which catalyzes O-fucosylation of EGF repeats, is essential for Notch function. Experiments carried out in mice and Drosophila have demonstrated that deletion or reduction in levels of O-FucT-1 results in embryonic lethality and, more importantly, that the phenotypes observed are consistent with those observed due to loss of Notch signaling (1517). The mechanism by which O-fucose exerts its effects on Notch signaling is not entirely clear. Several studies have demonstrated that lack of O-fucose alters the interaction of Notch with its ligands (17, 18). With regard to specific O-fucose sites, a previous study revealed that Drosophila Notch bearing a mutation of a highly conserved O-fucose site within EGF repeat 12 is still able to support neurogenesis while showing defects in wing development (19). This mutant also demonstrated increases in both Delta and Serrate binding to Notch in in vitro binding assays. This effect was specific to the EGF repeat 12 mutant, as mutation of other O-fucose sites did not result in changes in Notch activity. The role of individual O-fucose sites in mammalian Notch signaling has not yet been established. The recent demonstration that O-FucT-1 is localized to the endoplasmic reticulum where it could function in quality control or possibly even as a molecular chaperone raises the possibility that specific O-fucose sites may be necessary for the processing and maturation of the Notch receptor (20, 21). Thus, evaluation of the role of O-fucose at various sites is essential to dissect the mechanism by which these sugars affect Notch function.
Notch contains multiple sites for O-fucose modification scattered throughout its EGF repeats. An important clue in evaluating which sites are most important for the regulation of Notch is their degree of conservation (Fig. 1) (7). Three sites, found in EGF repeats 12, 26, and 27, are invariantly conserved in all known Notch homologues with 36 EGF repeats. In this work, we have sought to determine the role these three O-fucose sites in mouse Notch1 by analyzing the effects of mutation on ligand-mediated signaling, S1 processing, and cellsurface expression. As well, we have analyzed less highly conserved O-fucose sites scattered throughout the extracellular domain. This analysis has revealed that mutation of two highly conserved O-fucose sites results in altered ligand-mediated Notch signaling and in a third site alteration of the processing of the Notch receptor.
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| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
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Cell LinesCOS-7 cells or COS-7 cells stably transfected with empty vector (pCDNA4) were maintained in DMEM (Invitrogen) supplemented 10% bovine calf serum and 250 µg/ml Zeocin (Invitrogen). L-cells were obtained from American Type Culture Collection and maintained in DMEM supplemented with 10% bovine calf serum. L-cells stably expressing rat Jagged1 and rat Delta1 (Dl-19) (generously provided by Dr. Gerry Weinmaster) were maintained in DMEM supplemented with 10% bovine calf serum.
Co-culture AssayThese assays were adapted from previously described co-culture assays (11). COS-7 cells (1 x 106) stably transfected with empty vector (pCDNA4) were plated in a 10-cm tissue culture dish and the next day transiently transfected with 12.8 µg of wild type or mutant Notch1-pCS2+, 2.98 µg of TP-1 luciferase reporter construct (Ga981-6, a kind gift of Dr. Georg Bornkamm, Munich, Germany), and 1.49 µgofgWIZ
-galactosidase construct (Gene Therapy Systems) to normalize transfection efficiency using Lipofectamine 2000 (Invitrogen) according to manufacturer's specifications. Four hours after transfection, Lipofectamine reagent was removed, and cells were allowed to recover in fresh DMEM for 1.5 h. L-cells (1.0 x 105) or L-cells expressing Jagged1 or Delta1 were then plated in each well of a 12-well tissue culture plate. Co-culture was established by overlaying L-cells with the transfected COS-7 cells (7.5 x 104). After 42.5 h of co-culture, cell lysates were prepared in reporter lysis buffer (Promega). Luciferase assays were performed as described previously (28). Each co-culture was performed in triplicate, and co-cultures resulting in significant changes as compared with co-culture of wild type Notch were performed at least twice.
Metabolic LabelingCOS-7 cells were transiently transfected with pSecTag2 (Invitrogen) constructs encoding EGF repeats 1115, 26, or 27 of mouse Notch1 using Lipofectamine 2000 (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The production of the EGF repeat 1115 and 26 constructs have been described previously (6). The EGF repeat 27 construct was produced by amplifying EGF repeat 27 from full-length Notch1 template using primers: 5'-GCTAAAGCTTCGGATGTCAATGAGTGTGAT and 3'-CGATCTCGAGTCACAAGGTTCTGGCAG. The products were digested with HindIII and XhoI and subcloned into pSecTag2 and sequenced. Following transfection, cells were incubated with 20 µCi/ml [6-3H]fucose for 48 h. Proteins were purified from media, and O-glycans were released by alkali-induced
-elimination and analyzed by gel-filtration chromatography as described previously (8, 29).
Determination of Percent FucitolSaccharide species obtained from gel-filtration chromatography were pooled and dried in a SpeedVac evaporator (Savant). Samples were then hydrolyzed for 2 h in 2 M trifluoroacetic acid at 100 °C. The hydrolysates were dried in a SpeedVac, resuspended in water, and dried again to ensure complete removal of acid. Samples were then analyzed by high pH anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) on a Dionex DX300 using an MA-1 column (Dionex) as described previously (30). Samples were mixed with internal standards (1 nmol each of fucitol, fucose, and glucose) prior to injection. Fractions (0.5 min) were collected, and radioactivity corresponding to fucose and fucitol peaks was determined by liquid scintillation counting. The percentage of radioactivity corresponding to fucitol in each sample was determined by dividing cpms in fucitol by the total cpms in both fucitol and fucose. These percentages were then used to calculate the amount of O-fucose in each pooled peak by multiplying the total cpm in the peak by the percent fucitol.
Cell-surface BiotinylationCOS-7 cells (5 x 105) were plated in a 35-mm tissue culture dish and transfected the next day with 4 µg of wild type or mutant Notch1-pCS2+ using Lipofectamine 2000. Cells were incubated for 24 h. Cells were washed three times with Hanks' balanced salt solution (HBSS) (Invitrogen) and then incubated with 2.5 mM EZ-link sulfo-NHS-biotin (Pierce) or with HBSS (as a control) two times for 10 min each time. The biotinylation reagent was then removed, and cells were incubated with 100 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) for 15 min to quench the biotinylation reaction. Cells were lysed in 1.0 ml of RIPA buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl, 150 mM NaCl, 1% Nonidet P-40, 0.5% deoxycholic acid, 0.1% SDS) containing protease inhibitor mixture (Roche Applied Science). Lysates were cleared by centrifugation. ImmunoPure avidin-agarose (25 µl) (Pierce) was added to 100 µl of lysate and incubated for 16 h at 4 °C. The avidin-agarose was pelleted by brief centrifugation and the lysate removed. Avidin-agarose was washed three times with RIPA buffer and then boiled in 100 µl of SDS sample buffer. Avidin-bound biotinylated and non-biotinylated samples along with their respective lysates were then run on a 10% SDS-PAGE, transferred to nitrocellulose, and detected using a mouse anti-myc epitope antibody (generously provided by Dr. Jen-Chih Hsieh, Stony Brook University). Cadherin expression was determined by blotting samples with mouse anti-Pan cadherin antibody (Sigma). A mouse anti-
-actin antibody (Abcam) was used to analyze
-actin expression. A horseradish peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-mouse antibody (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories) was used as a secondary antibody. Quantification of immunoblots was performed using NIH image software.
S1 Cleavage AnalysisCOS-7 cells (5 x 105) were plated in a 35-mm tissue culture dish and transfected the next day with 0.5 µg of wild type or mutant Notch1-pCS2+ plus 3.5 µg of empty vector (pCS2+) using Lipofectamine 2000. Following a 24-h incubation, cells were washed three times in HBSS and then lysed in 1.0 ml of RIPA buffer containing protease inhibitor mixture (Roche Applied Science) and a proteosome inhibitor (50 µM benzyloxycarbonyl-Leu-Leu-Leu-al) (Sigma). Lysates were cleared by centrifugation. A portion (10 µl) of each sample was then resolved on an 8% SDS-PAGE, transferred to nitrocellulose, and detected with mouse anti-myc epitope antibody (generously provided by Dr. Jen-Chih Hsieh, Stony Brook University). To exclude the possibility that the S1 processing was influenced by the amount of DNA transfected, variable amounts of DNA (0.54 µg) were used in transfection and S1-processing evaluated. While there was an increase in the amount of S1-cleaved Notch, there was no detectable change in the proportion of cleaved versus uncleaved Notch1 in either the wild type or mutant samples (data not shown).
| RESULTS |
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-galactosidase reporter (for normalization of transfection efficiency). The Notch1-expressing COS-7 cells were then co-cultured with L-cells or L-cells stably expressing Delta1 or Jagged1 ligand. The cells were subsequently lysed, and luciferase and
-galactosidase were assayed to determine relative-fold activation as described previously (11). Co-culture of Notch1-expressing COS-7 cells with either Delta1- or Jagged1-expressing L-cells resulted in a statistically significant increase in relative-fold activation (RFA) when compared with co-culture with L-cells expressing no ligand (Fig. 2, A and B). Interestingly, in contrast to what has been observed using the same assay system in other cells (11, 14), the activation of Notch1 in COS-7 cells by Delta1-expressing L-cells was greater than that from the Jagged1-expressing cells. This suggests the COS-7 cells may express an endogenous Fringe homologue (see below). Co-culture of control COS-7 cells (transfected with empty vector, pCS2+) and ligand-expressing L-cells resulted in a slight increase over controls, presumably due to activation of endogenous Notch in COS-7 cells. Thus, activation of exogenous mouse Notch1 by both Delta1 and Jagged1 can be assayed using the COS-7 cell system.
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-elimination, and the released saccharides were analyzed by gel-filtration chromatography (Fig. 4). In the case of both EGF repeats 26 and 27, significant elongation of the monosaccharide to di-, tri-, and tetrasaccharide species is observed (Fig. 4, BD). This indicates that COS-7 cells contain an endogenous Fringe activity. Immunoblot analysis shows the presence of Lunatic fringe in extracts of COS-7 cells, indicating the presence of at least one endogenous Fringe (data not shown). This is consistent with the higher level of Delta1 than Jagged1 activation seen in Fig. 2 and suggests that Fringe modification at EGF repeats 26 and 27 may contribute to this effect. Importantly, this also raises the possibility that the effects observed in the co-culture assay with regard to the mutations at EGF repeats 26 and 27 (Fig. 3) may in part be attributable to Fringe modulation of Notch signaling. In contrast EGF repeat 12 is modified almost exclusively by O-fucose monosaccharide (Fig. 4, A and D), suggesting that this site is a poorer substrate for Fringe than EGF repeats 26 and 27. Similar results were obtained in analysis of the glycosylation of EGF repeat 12 in CHO (Chinese hamster ovary) cells, which also express endogenous Lunatic fringe (6). These results suggest that the effects of the mutation at EGF repeat 12 in the co-culture assay (Fig. 3) are mediated largely by loss of the O-fucose monosaccharide.
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-actin) were performed with each sample to demonstrate the efficacy of the biotinylation procedure. A ratio of cell-surface Notch1 to cell-surface cadherin was performed to normalize for any differences in sample loading. This analysis showed that Notch1 bearing O-fucose site mutations in either EGF repeats 12 or 26 were expressed on the cell surface similar to wild type. In contrast, there was decreased cell-surface expression of Notch bearing an O-fucose mutation in EGF repeat 27 compared with wild type. Thus, mutation of the O-fucose site in EGF repeat 27 results in reduced cell-surface expression of the Notch protein.
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| DISCUSSION |
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The mutation in EGF repeat 12 resulted in loss of activation by both Delta1 and Jagged1 but no change in S1 processing or cell-surface expression. The fact that it proceeds through endoplasmic reticulum quality control checkpoints and is properly processed suggests that the EGF repeat 12 mutation does not cause a global folding defect. EGF repeats 11 and 12 have been identified as necessary and sufficient for ligand interactions (see Fig. 1) (24) suggesting that the signaling effects observed in the EGF repeat 12 mutant are mediated by direct effects on Notch-ligand interactions. Nonetheless, several other studies have suggested that the O-fucose on EGF repeat 12 is not essential for ligand binding but may instead be modulatory. For instance, a recent report demonstrated that bacterially expressed (and therefore unfucosylated) fragment containing EGF repeats 1113 from mouse Notch1 can bind to cells expressing Delta1 in a calcium dependent fashion, although the EGF 1113 fragment needed to be aggregated on streptavidin to obtain significant binding activity (25). Similarly, Lei et al. (19) revealed that Notch bearing a mutation in the O-fucose glycosylation site at EGF 12 still functions during neurogenesis (Delta-mediated Notch signaling) in Drosophila. This same mutation results in alterations of Delta and Serrate binding and shows changes in Notch activation in developing wing discs. Taken together, these studies seem to suggest that the cellular context greatly affects the importance of O-fucose on EGF 12. Presence or absence of O-fucose on EGF repeat 12 appears to modulate Notch-ligand interactions, but it does not appear to be essential in all contexts (e.g. Delta-mediated activation of Notch during neurogenesis in Drosophila). The specific context in which Notch exists, with respect to ligands, Fringe, and other modulators of Notch activity, appear to affect the relative importance of the O-fucose at this site. The fact that mutation of the O-fucose site on EGF repeat 12 has such a profound effect on Notch activation in COS-7 cells suggests that these cells do not have mechanisms to compensate for this loss.
The mutation in EGF repeat 26 results in an increase in Notch activation by both ligands: a 2-fold increase in Delta1-mediated signaling and a 4-fold increase in Jagged1 signaling. The hyperactivation caused by this mutation does not correlate with alterations in processing or cell-surface expression, but it is reminiscent of the Abruptex mutations. These are gain-of-function point mutations in Drosophila Notch, which cluster in EGF repeats 2429 (Fig. 1). The Abruptex region of Notch is thought to act as a negative regulatory domain possibly mediated through cell-autonomous inhibition by ligands (26). It is possible that mutation of the O-fucose site in EGF repeat 26 in some manner mimics the effect of Abruptex mutations. Additionally, it has been observed that Abruptex mutations are refractory to Fringe in Drosophila, suggesting that the Abruptex mutations may induce a change in Notch similar to that induced by Fringe. Fringe modifies O-fucose residues in the Abruptex region (6). Taken together, these observations suggest that the O-fucose modification on EGF repeat 26 may in fact function as a site for Fringe to negatively regulate Notch activation. Loss of O-fucose at this site, and as a consequence, loss of the ability of Fringe to modify EGF repeat 26, may prevent negative regulation of Notch signaling by Fringe, thus resulting in a hyperactivatable form of the receptor. Hambleton et al. (25) have proposed that the majority of the EGF repeats in the Notch extracellular domain are fairly rigid, due to the presence of calcium-binding motifs between EGF repeats. Interestingly, EGF repeats 26, 28 and 29 (overlapping the Abruptex region) do not contain calcium-binding motifs and are thus predicted to be more flexible (see Fig. 1 (25). It is conceivable that the conformation of Notch may be altered by the extent of elongation on O-fucose moieties at this specific location (Fig. 6). The fact that the O-fucose glycans on both EGF repeats 26 and 27 are elongated supports this idea. Thus, we propose that the change in Notch activation caused by mutation at EGF repeat 26 may be caused by a change in the overall conformation of the extracellular domain.
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The finding that mutation of highly conserved O-fucose sites affects Notch processing and signaling supports the idea that O-fucosylation of individual sites is important for Notch function. Surprisingly, there appears to be heterogeneity in the roles of these highly conserved O-fucose sites. This may in part be explained by the fact some of these sites may also be important for Fringe regulation of Notch signaling. Indeed, our data suggests that the effects observed from the O-fucose on EGF repeat 26 might be most readily attributable to an alteration in the Fringe effect. In contrast, the effects of the O-fucose on EGF repeat 12 appear to be mediated mainly by the monosaccharide form of O-fucose. Interestingly, the O-fucose on EGF repeat 12 is mainly in the monosaccharide form in both CHO (6) and COS-7 (Fig. 4) cells, even though both cells express endogenous Lunatic fringe. In contrast, O-fucose on EGF repeat 26 is significantly elongated in both cell types. Overexpression of Lunatic or Manic fringe in CHO cells results in significant increases in O-fucose elongation at EGF repeat 12 (6) and loss of Jagged1-dependent activation (8, 13). Thus, cells expressing low levels of Fringe (e.g. Cos-7 or CHO) preferentially modify EGF repeats 26 and 27 and have an intermediate effect on Delta1 activation and Jagged1 inhibition (see "Moderate Fringe", Fig. 6). Increased expression of Fringe causes O-fucose elongation at EGF repeat 12 and further inhibition of Jagged1-dependent activation (see "High Fringe", Fig. 6). This suggests that EGF repeat 12 may play a key role in the ability of Fringe to fully inhibit Serrate/Jagged-dependent signaling. This is consistent with the results reported by Lei et al. (19) using the EGF repeat 12 mutant in Drosophila wing discs. Determination of the Fringe effect at specific sites and determination of the glycosylation effect on the overall conformation of the Notch extracellular domain are needed for further clarification of the roles of these O-fucosylation sites. Identification of specific amino acids within an EGF repeat necessary for recognition by Fringe will allow us to generate mutations that allow O-fucosylation but prevent Fringe elongation at a particular EGF repeat. This will allow us to differentiate between the effects of O-fucose monosaccharide and the elongated tetrasaccharide at a particular site (e.g. EGF repeat 26).
| FOOTNOTES |
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This article was selected as a Paper of the Week. ![]()
1 Supported in part by Medical Scientist Training Program Training Grant T32 GM008444. ![]()
2 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 631-632-7336; Fax: 631-632-8575;E-mail: rhaltiwanger{at}ms.cc.sunysb.edu.
3 The abbreviations used are: EGF, epidermal growth factor-like; O-FucT-1, O-fucosyltransferase-1; CHO, Chinese hamster ovary; HPAEC, high pH anion exchange chromatography; HBSS, Hanks' balanced salt solution; RIPA, radioimmune precipitation assay; RFA, relative-fold activation. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| REFERENCES |
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