![]()
|
|
||||||||
J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 281, Issue 11, 7302-7308, March 17, 2006
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||






1
From the
Departments of
Cell Biology and Anatomy and
Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York 10595
Received for publication, August 3, 2005 , and in revised form, December 27, 2005.
| ABSTRACT |
|---|
|
|
|---|
5% of cytoplasmic STAT3 was constitutively associated with the purified early endosome (EE) fraction in human Hep3B liver cells. By 15-30 min after interleukin-6 (IL-6) treatment, up to two-thirds of cytoplasmic Tyr-phosphorylated STAT3 can be associated with the purified early endosome fraction (Rab-5-, EEA1-, transferrin receptor-, and clathrin-positive fraction). Electron microscopy, immunofluorescence, and detergent dissection approaches confirmed the association of STAT3 and PY-STAT3 with early endosomes. STAT3 was constitutively associated with clathrin heavy chain in membrane and in the 1- to 2-MDa cytosolic complexes. The membrane association was dynamic in that, within 15 min of treatment with the vicinal-thiol cross-linker phenylarsine oxide, there was a dramatic increase in bulk STAT3 association with sedimentable membranes. The functional contribution of PY-STAT3 association with the endocytic pathway was evaluated in transient transfection assays using IL-6-inducible STAT3-reporter-luciferase constructs and selective regulators of this pathway. STAT3-transcriptional activation was inhibited by expression constructs for dominant negative dynamin K44A, epsin 2a, amphiphysin A1, and clathrin light chain but enhanced by that for the active dynamin species MxA. Taken together, these studies emphasize the contribution of the endocytic pathway to productive IL-6/STAT3 signaling. | INTRODUCTION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
That different growth factor and cytokine receptors are associated with the endocytic pathway and can even maintain their ongoing signaling function from this membrane-bound compartment has been clearly delineated (18-20). Nevertheless, today, the widely represented model of IL-6/STAT3 signaling is that of an activation process at the cytosolic face of the plasma membrane with departure of "activated" STATs into the free soluble cytosol with little consideration of membrane-associated transit through the cytoplasm (see Ref. 2 for a depiction of this model). We earlier reported that the IL-6-activated STAT3 transcription factor had a cytoplasmic punctate appearance in human liver Hep3B cells in immunofluorescence studies (21, 22). In cell fractionation experiments we reported the association of Western-blottable STAT3 and PY-STAT3 as well as DNA-binding competent PY-STAT3 with a large granular membrane fraction (the "P15 fraction") as well as a P100 sedimentable cytoplasmic fraction (6, 7). These data were at variance with the idea of IL-6/STAT3 signaling as exclusively a soluble cytosolic process. In this report we demonstrate the association of STAT3 and PY-STAT3 with the purified early endosome fraction and provide evidence for a significant role of this pathway in the transcriptional activation function of STAT3.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Purification of Early Endosomal FractionThis was carried out using the procedure of Aniento et al. (26). Briefly, Hep3B cells were scraped into 2 ml of buffer H (3 mM imidazole, 1 mM EGTA, 8.55% sucrose, pH 7.4), broken by Dounce homogenization, the postnuclear supernatant adjusted to 40.6% sucrose, and subjected to equilibrium flotation through layers of 35%, 25%, and 8.55% sucrose. As previously characterized (26), the visible band at the 35/25% interface corresponds to the early endosome (EE) fraction, that at the 25/8.55% interface to late endosomes (LE), and the one at the 40.6/35% interface to heavy membranes (HM). Aliquots of the soluble (S) and the pellet (P) fractions were also collected from within the 40.6% loading region (1 ml out of 4 ml loaded) and the bottom, respectively.
Immunoisolation Using Anti-STAT3 pAb-coupled Magnetic Beads Anti-STAT3 rabbit IgG (H190X, gelatin-free, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA) was coupled to tosyl-activated 2.8-µm paramagnetic Dynabeads (Dynal Biotech Inc., Brown Deer, WI) using procedures provided by the manufacturer (100 µg of IgG coupled to 4 x 108 beads). As a control, non-immune rabbit IgG (Sigma) was also coupled to Dynabeads in parallel. Intact membrane elements were isolated using these beads in buffer H while protein complexes were isolated in detergent-containing buffers (e.g. 0.05-0.5% Triton X-100 and 0.1% SDS) as described earlier (7, 25). Alternatively immunopanning for protein complexes was carried out using anti-STAT3 pAb (C-20) in buffer adjusted to 0.5% Triton X-100 and 0.1% SDS and Protein A-magnetic beads.
Electron Microscopy of STAT3-carrying Membrane ElementsImmunoisolates derived from purified early endosome fractions using anti-STAT3- or IgG-coupled Dynabeads (2.8 ± 0.2-µm diameter) in buffer H, and fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde and 0.1% glutaraldehyde. Whole mount negatively stained specimens spotted on Formvar-coated grids were examined using an Hitachi H7000 electron microscope.
Confocal Immunofluorescence MicroscopyThis was carried out as described previously using several different fixation protocols as indicated in respective figures (methanol-acetone fixation, fixation in cold paraformaldehyde/Triton, or with formaldehyde (37 °C)/Triton (21, 22, 25)) and various primary rabbit pAb and murine mAb. Secondary antibodies included corresponding AlexaFluor 488-, AlexaFluor 594-, and AlexaFluor 647-tagged antibodies (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR). Images were collected using an MRC 1024 ES (Bio-Rad) confocal microscopy system. All data within each experiment were collected at identical imaging settings. Deconvolution of collected images was carried out using the Iterative Deconvolve 3D plugin (DAMAS3 algorithm) for National Institutes of Health (NIH) Image J.
Colocalization Image AnalysesDual channel colocalization analysis was performed on randomly selected sections of the images representing cytoplasmic signals using the NIH Image J software and the Colocalization Threshold and Colocalization Test plug-ins. The Colocalization Threshold tool calculates the Mander's coefficients M1 and M2 representing the number of colocalized pixels expressed as a fraction of the number of the pixels within the respective channels. Zero-zero pixels are ignored for purposes of this calculation. The Mander's coefficients range from 0 to 1 and are independent of the pixel intensities within the individual channels (27). Pearson's correlation co-efficient (R), a well known index to determine pattern similarity (28), was determined by both plug-ins and matched well.
The Colocalization Test tool was used to generate random images using an approach described by Costes et al. (29). Briefly, scrambled images from the second channel are compared with the first channel to determine if the colocalization occurs as a matter of chance. To generate the scrambled images, blocks of pixels are rearranged at random and the Pearson's R is calculated for each new random image. For each comparison, 3000 such random images were generated, and the values of the random R (R(rand)) were compared with the actual R.
Plasmids, Transient Transfection, and Luciferase Reporter Assays The pSTAT3/Luciferase reporter was a gift from Dr. David Levy, New York University and carried two tandem repeats of the acute phase response element of
2-macroglobulin (30). The p950M4/luciferase reporter, containing four copies of the STAT3-binding DNA element from the human angiotensinogen promoter (5'-CGTTTCTGGGAACCT-3') cloned into pBL2Luc, was a gift from Dr. Ashok Kumar, New York Medical College (7). The expression vector for dynaminK44A and for clathrin light chain were gifts from Dr. Lois Greene, NHLBI, National Institutes of Health (31). Vectors for a truncated amphiphysin A1 dominant negative mutant and for epsin2a were provided by Dr. Richard Jove, University of South Florida (32), and that for the MxA dynamin species was a gift from Dr. Otto Haller (Universität Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany) (33). Transient transfection assays in cultures of Hep3B cells in 6-well plates were carried out as described earlier (7). Transfections were carried out at least in triplicate for each variable, and luciferase activity is expressed in arbitrary units (as mean ± S.E.) after normalization with the
-galactosidase activity among different samples. The Student's t test was used to assess statistical significance.
|
|
| RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Early and late endosome fractions were purified from control and IL-6-treated Hep3B cells using an established approach (26). Fig. 2A provides evidence for the constitutive association of STAT3 with both the early and late endosome fractions as well as the clear association of PY-STAT3 with purified early endosomes. It is also clear that in these fractions most of the STAT3 and PY-STAT3 was not associated with the gp130 chain of the IL-6 receptor per se. Fig. 2B illustrates the characterization of the purification scheme used to obtain the early endosome fraction and provides a "bookkeeping" account of the distribution of STAT3 and PY-STAT3 and various markers in different fractions. As expected, the purified EE fraction was positive for the early endosome markers EEA1 and Rab5, for CHC and for the transferrin receptor. Remarkably, although >90% of bulk cytoplasmic STAT3 was present in the soluble fraction, up to two-thirds of cytoplasmic PY-STAT3 was in the EE fraction. Fig. 2C shows negative-stained whole mount electron microscopy of anti-STAT3-immunoisolated vesicles from the LE and EE fractions. These data show that the STAT3-bearing vesicles in the LE and EE fractions are different in appearance and that those in the EE fraction are clearly "coated." As controls, non-immune rabbit IgG-coupled beads failed to pull out any detectable vesicular elements (data not shown). The anti-STAT3 immunoisolates from the EE fraction were positive for CHC, and the hepatocyte growth factor regulated tyrosine kinase substrate (HRS) (34) but not for the Smad anchor for receptor activation as assayed by Western blotting (data not shown).
Confocal Immunofluorescence StudiesAs an independent approach, we used confocal double-label immunofluorescence microscopy to identify the punctuate structures with which STAT3 was associated in the cytoplasm (21, 22). Supplemental Fig. S1 shows that this punctate cytoplasmic STAT3 immunostaining was observed using three different fixation methods. A relevant, but not an irrelevant peptide, specifically inhibited this immunostaining; three different antibodies to STAT3 all immunostained punctate cytoplasmic organelles with a perinuclear preponderance (Supplemental Fig. S1B), whereas non-immune rabbit IgG did not display any immunostaining (Supplemental Fig. S1C). IL-6 clearly and markedly enhanced immunostaining for STAT3 in the nuclear compartment further validating our anti-STAT3 reagents. In additional control experiments using Western blotting we observed that cellular STAT3 was partially lost during fixation (data not shown). The methanol-acetone fixation method produced the least loss with the paraformaldehyde/Triton and formaldehyde/Triton fixations producing losses of up to half of total cellular STAT3. Thus we infer that the cytoplasmic punctate immunostaining of STAT3 observed likely reflects an image following removal of some cytosolic STAT3.
|
-adaptin). The insets within each panel point specifically to vesicular cytoplasmic elements showing overlap. Importantly, Table 1 summarizes statistical colocalization metrics of respective analyses of pair-wise antigen comparisons. The statistical analyses in Table 1 of the images in Fig. 3 demonstrate rigorously the colocalization of cytoplasmic STAT3 and PY-STAT3 with markers of the endocytic pathway.
|
Dynamic Constitutive Cycling of STAT3 at Cellular MembranesClathrin is known to dynamically associate with the cytosolic face of the plasma membrane and dissociate from internalized cytoplasmic vesicular elements in a constitutive manner with a t
of
30 s (31, 38, 39). Does STAT3 (which is associated with CHC; see Fig. 1, B-D) have a similar constitutive dynamic behavior? We have used the vicinal-thiol cross-linker PAO to explore this question (32, 40-42). The partitioning of STAT3 between the soluble and sedimentable membrane structures can be illustrated conveniently in an assay in which cellular STAT3 in Hep3B cells was separated into a saponin-soluble supernatant fraction and a saponin-insoluble pellet fraction. Within 15 min of PAO treatment approximately one-third to one-half of bulk total cellular STAT3 shifted from the saponin-soluble to the pellet fraction (Fig. 4A). This association appeared to be on the cytosolic face of the pelleted organelles in that the STAT3 and CHC but not LAMP1 were accessible to digestion by trypsin without the need to add Triton X-100 (Fig. 4B). This PAO-enhanced association of STAT3 with sedimentable membranes was reversible by addition of a 10-fold molar excess of 2,3-dimercaptopropanol (41) to cultures first treated with PAO for 15 min (data not shown). Fig. 4C shows a dramatic recruitment of STAT3 to sedimentable membrane elements coinciding with CHC and included fractions, which were EEA1- and LAMP1-positive. The occurrence of a marked increase in association of STAT3 with cytoplasmic membranes within 15-30 min of PAO (Fig. 4, A and C) is indicative of a rapid constitutive cycling of STAT3 at such membranes and the ability of the cross-linker PAO to inhibit the departure reaction. We suggest that STAT3 constitutively and rapidly cycles at the plasma membrane and the cytosolic face of the endocytic pathway, perhaps in association with CHC.
Role of Endocytic Trafficking in the IL-6-stimulated Transcriptional Activation Function of STAT3We used transient transfection assays to evaluate the effects of modulators of endocytic function on transcriptional signaling by IL-6-activated STAT3. Fig. 5 is a composite summary of some of these experiments using the STAT3-responsive p950M4 reporter construct (7); similar data were obtained using pSTAT3/luc (not shown). Vectors expressing proteins with a dominant-negative phenotype per se for dynamin, clathrin light chain, epsin 2A, and amphiphysin A1 function also had an inhibitory effect (Fig. 5, A and B). However, increasing dynamin activity by expression of the interferon-inducible MxA dynamin species further enhanced STAT3 signaling (Fig. 5C). Taken together, the data in Fig. 5 provide support for a functional contribution of the endocytic pathway toward IL-6/STAT3 transcriptional signaling.
|
| DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
The importance of the endocytic pathway in the regulation of cellular signaling is becoming apparent in many experimental systems (43, 44). The formulation of a "signaling endosome hypothesis" (45-49) has drawn attention to the ability of clathrin-coated endosomal vesicles to mediate rapid and directional transit of signaling molecules through the cytoplasm. In recent years signaling by nerve growth factor, transforming growth factor-
, and epidermal growth factor (EGF) have all been shown to include a major endocytic component. Giri and colleagues (50) have recently characterized the nuclear import of ErbB-2 activated at the plasma membrane and have shown that the transcytoplasmic transit takes place along the endocytic pathway with a hand-off to the importin and nuclear pore machinery for subsequent and specific nuclear import.
With respect to membrane-associated STAT signaling, Bild and colleagues (32) have shown that EGF- and platelet-derived growth factor-activated STAT3 colocalized in the cytoplasm with vesicular elements, which also contained the
-adaptin polypeptide of the AP2 complex. PAO, and dominant-negative expression vectors for dynamin K44A, epsin 2a, and amphiphysin A1 inhibited growth factor-stimulated transcriptional activation by STAT3 (32). Independently, Scoles et al. (51) have shown a role for the endosome regulator HRS in EGF/STAT3 signaling. In these experiments, overexpression of HRS inhibited transcriptional EGF/STAT3 signaling. We have confirmed that fractions of the immunoisolated STAT3-bearing early endosomes derived from IL-6-treated Hep3B cells (such as in Fig. 2C) contain HRS by Western blotting (data not shown). HRS, best known for targeting ubiquitinated receptor molecules (such as EGFR) for internalization, nevertheless has multiple roles in membrane trafficking, including recycling mechanisms and regulation of signaling such as that of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway (52).
|
The membrane association of cytoplasmic STAT3 may have a role in STAT3 metabolism in addition to efficient signal transduction. STAT3 contains the canonical YXX
, motif which is known to mark cargo for internalization along the vesicular pathway (54). In light of the evidence of the association of STAT3 with endosomes, it can be hypothesized that pools of STAT3 and PY-STAT3 may also associate with other cytoplasmic vesicular elements. Indeed, preliminary work from this laboratory suggests that a pool of STAT3 associates with purified lysosomes and may even undergo chaperone-mediated autophagy, a well known pathway for degradation of cytoplasmic proteins.
STAT3 has also been shown to associate with several proteins containing the YXXQ motif such as gp130, EGF receptor (EGFR), erythropoietin receptor, leukemia inhibitory factor receptor and STAP-2/BKS (55-58). CHC also contains the YXXQ motif; however, it remains to be determined whether the STAT3-CHC interaction is mediated via these motifs. Moreover, IL-6-induced enhancement of transforming growth factor-
-signaling (which takes place along the previously well characterized raft/endocytic pathway; see Refs. 59 and 60) involved STAT3 as "scaffold" for the transforming growth factor-
-activated kinase 1/Nemo-like kinase (TAK1-NLK) kinases, specifically in the YXXQ motif-derived pathway emanating from gp130 (23). In turn, the TAK1-NLK kinases contributed to Ser-727 phosphorylation of STAT3.
To summarize, we suggest a view of cytoplasmic STAT3 dynamics in which STAT3 in association with CHC and perhaps other protein partners constitutively shuttles on and off the cytoplasmic face of vesicular elements, including early endosomes. Stimulation by IL-6 results in a more selective association of PY-STAT3 with such membranes, which could be due to a selective affinity of the Tyr-phosphorylated form for such membranes or relevant adaptors. As in the case of the ErbB2 receptor, early endosomes may serve as a platform for handing-off STAT3 from the plasma membrane to the importin-nuclear pore complex for subsequent nuclear entry.
Note Added in ProofThe association of STAT3 with vesicular elements in the early and late endosome fractions as in Fig. 2C has been further confirmed by us using whole mount anti-STAT3 immunogold electron microscopy.
| FOOTNOTES |
|---|
The on-line version of this article (available at http://www.jbc.org) contains supplemental Figs. S1 and S2. ![]()
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Dept. of Cell Biology & Anatomy, New York Medical College, Rm. 201, Basic Sciences Bldg., Valhalla, NY 10595. Tel.: 914-594-4196; Fax: 914-594-4825; E-mail: pravin_sehgal{at}nymc.edu.
2 The abbreviations used are: JAK, Janus kinase; STAT, signal transducer and activator of transcription; CHC, clathrin heavy chain; EE, early endosome; EEA, early endosome antigen; EGF, epidermal growth factor; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; HM, heavy membrane; HRS, hepatocyte growth factor-regulated tyrosine kinase substrate; IL, interleukin; LE, late endosome; PAO, phenylarsine oxide; PY, tyrosine-phosphorylated; Smad, anchor for receptor activation; pAb, polyclonal antibody; mAb, monoclonal antibody; MALDI-TOF, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
| REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
S. Mukhopadhyay, M. Shah, F. Xu, K. Patel, R. M. Tuder, and P. B. Sehgal Cytoplasmic provenance of STAT3 and PY-STAT3 in the endolysosomal compartments in pulmonary arterial endothelial and smooth muscle cells: implications in pulmonary arterial hypertension Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, March 1, 2008; 294(3): L449 - L468. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
F. Xu, S. Mukhopadhyay, and P. B. Sehgal Live cell imaging of interleukin-6-induced targeting of "transcription factor" STAT3 to sequestering endosomes in the cytoplasm Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, October 1, 2007; 293(4): C1374 - C1382. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
P. B. Sehgal and S. Mukhopadhyay Dysfunctional Intracellular Trafficking in the Pathobiology of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., July 1, 2007; 37(1): 31 - 37. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
P. B. Sehgal and S. Mukhopadhyay Pulmonary arterial hypertension: a disease of tethers, SNAREs and SNAPs? Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, July 1, 2007; 293(1): H77 - H85. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
P. B. Sehgal, S. Mukhopadhyay, F. Xu, K. Patel, and M. Shah Dysfunction of Golgi tethers, SNAREs, and SNAPs in monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, June 1, 2007; 292(6): L1526 - L1542. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
F. Meng, R. Henson, H. Wehbe-Janek, H. Smith, Y. Ueno, and T. Patel The MicroRNA let-7a Modulates Interleukin-6-dependent STAT-3 Survival Signaling in Malignant Human Cholangiocytes J. Biol. Chem., March 16, 2007; 282(11): 8256 - 8264. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. Mukhopadhyay, F. Xu, and P. B. Sehgal Aberrant cytoplasmic sequestration of eNOS in endothelial cells after monocrotaline, hypoxia, and senescence: live-cell caveolar and cytoplasmic NO imaging Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, March 1, 2007; 292(3): H1373 - H1389. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. Ghosh, R. Loper, M. H. Gelb, and C. C. Leslie Identification of the Expressed Form of Human Cytosolic Phospholipase A2beta (cPLA2beta): cPLA2beta3 IS A NOVEL VARIANT LOCALIZED TO MITOCHONDRIA AND EARLY ENDOSOMES J. Biol. Chem., June 16, 2006; 281(24): 16615 - 16624. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| |||||||||||||||||