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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 281, Issue 15, 10174-10181, April 14, 2006
A Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase-regulated Akt-Independent Signaling Promotes Cigarette Smoke-induced FRA-1 Expression*![]() ![]() 1 ¶2
From the
Received for publication, December 6, 2005 , and in revised form, January 27, 2006.
The FRA-1 proto-oncogene is overexpressed in a variety of human tumors and is known to up-regulate the expression of genes involved in tumor progression and invasion. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt pathway is also known to regulate these cellular processes. More importantly, respiratory toxicants and carcinogens activate both the PI3K-Akt pathway and FRA-1 expression in human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells. In this study we investigated a potential link between the PI3K-Akt pathway and the cigarette smoke (CS)-stimulated epidermal growth factor receptor-mediated FRA-1 induction in non-oncogenic HBE cells. Treatment of cells with LY294002, an inhibitor of the PI3K-Akt pathway, completely blocked CS-induced FRA-1 expression. Surprisingly pharmacological inhibition of Akt had no significant effect on CS-induced FRA-1 expression. Likewise the inhibition of protein kinase C , which is a known downstream effector of PI3K, did not alter FRA-1 expression. We found that the PI3K through p21-activated kinase 1 regulates FRA-1 proto-oncogene induction by CS and the subsequent activation of the Elk1 and cAMP-response element-binding protein transcription factors that are bound to the promoter in HBE cells.
Exposure to cigarette smoke (CS)3 has been linked to the development of various respiratory diseases including lung cancer (1). Furthermore CS aggravates the incidence of other toxicant-induced respiratory disease (2). Although the molecular mechanisms underlying the CS-promoted respiratory pathogenesis remain unclear, emerging data suggest a role for phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling in this process. PI3K regulates a number of diverse cellular responses, which include cell survival, motility and invasiveness (3). PI3K stimulates the activation of phosphoinositide-dependent kinases-1/2 (PDK1/2), which then phosphorylate Akt at two critical threonine and serine residues. Phosphorylation of these residues is required for Akt activation (4). Activated Akt phosphorylates various effector molecules. In addition to Akt, PI3K-dependent activation of MAP kinases, such as ERK1/2, and of certain PKC isoenzymes, such as PKC and PKC , has also been documented in various cell types (3).
CS and its individual components, such as NNK (4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone) and nicotine, have been shown to activate PI3K-Akt pathway in vitro and in vivo (5, 6). Moreover an elevated level of phosphospecific form of AKT (Ser473) has been found in pulmonary metaplasias and dysplasias (7), NNK-induced lung tumors (5), and human lung tumors derived from smokers (5, 8). These data suggest a potential role for PI3K-Akt pathway in CS-induced respiratory pathogenesis. Consistent with this observation, an enhanced activity of Akt, a major downstream effector of PI3K, has been found in various cancer cell lines/tumor tissues (3, 9). However, the downstream mechanisms of CS-induced P13K-Akt pathway are unclear. The activator protein-1 family of transcription factors (c-JUN, JUNB, JUND, c-FOS, FOSB, FRA-1, and FRA-2) regulate several cellular responses induced by various oxidants and toxicants (10). These proteins play key roles in the initiation and progression of tumors (11). However, the links between PI3K-Akt signaling and CS-induced activator protein-1 activation have not been defined in HBE cells. A high level of FRA-1 expression has been detected in various tumors and lung cancer cells (12-15), and some known carcinogens, such as CS and asbestos, persistently activate FRA-1 expression in lung epithelial cells (16). Several observations suggest that FRA-1 may play a key role in carcinogen-induced lung epithelial cell proliferation and transformation. For example, FRA-1 is required for asbestos-induced mesothelial cell transformation (17). It up-regulates the expression of genes coding for airway squamous cell metaplastic marker (18), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (19), and CD44 and c-met proto-oncogene (20), which are implicated in toxin-induced respiratory pathogenesis. FRA-1 controls cell motility, invasion, and maintenance and progression of the transformed state in several cell types (for reviews, see Refs. 11 and 21). Recently several studies demonstrated a critical role for this transcription factor in controlling both cell motility and invasiveness of several tumorigenic cell lines (22-24). Mutational induction of FRA-1 gene in tumor tissues or cell lines is not known to date. Thus, an abnormal signaling and subsequent transcription factor activation may contribute to high level expression of FRA-1. Recently we have shown that metalloproteinase (MMP)-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mediated MAP kinase signaling plays an obligatory role in controlling CS-stimulated FRA-1 proto-oncogene induction in HBE cells (25). Although the activation of PI3K-AKt pathway by cigarette smoke and NNK has been reported earlier by others (5-7), none of these studies showed the upstream signals that activate P13K pathway by CS and the subsequent downstream effectors that control activator protein-1 proto-oncogene induction. Here we show, for the first time, that EGFR-dependent PI3K-regulated CS-stimulated FRA-1 expression occurs through a PAK1-c-Raf-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 pathway that culminates in the activation of transcription factors Elk1 and CREB independently of Akt.
Reagents and PlasmidsResearch-grade 1R4F cigarettes (9 mg of tar and 0.8 mg of nicotine/cigarette) without filters were obtained from the University of Kentucky Tobacco Research Institute. LY294002, AG1478, Akt inhibitor II (catalog number 124011), Akt inhibitor IV (catalog number 124008), rapamycin, rottlerin, and PKC myristoylated pseudosubstrate inhibitor (catalog number 539624) were from Calbiochem. GW5074 (catalog number G6416) was from Sigma. c-JUN (SC-45X), FRA-1 (SC-605X), and phospho-Elk1 (sc-8406) antibodies were all obtained from Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc. (Santa Cruz, CA). Native and phosphospecific antibodies for c-JUN (Ser73), PDK1 (Ser241), Akt (Ser473), EGFR (Tyr845), CREB (Ser133), MEK1 (Ser217/221), c-Raf (Ser338), PAK1 (Thr423/402), and PKC (Thr410/403) were obtained from Cell Signaling Technology (Beverly, MA). The 379-Luc construct was generated by cloning the -379 to +32 bp human FRA-1 upstream of the reporter firefly luciferase (Luc) gene. Mutations in the serum response element (SRE) (CArG mutant) and ATF binding sites in the context of 379-Luc were generated as described previously (26). A GST-tagged PAK1 vector (encoding amino acids 83-149), which acts as genetic mutant (27), was provided by Rakesh Kumar (M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX). Cell Culture and CS ExposureThe 1HAEo cell line, an SV40-transformed nonmalignant HBE cell line (28), was maintained in minimum essential medium containing 10% fetal calf serum. Cells were grown in 25-cm2 flasks (BD Biosciences) to 90% confluence, serum-starved for 14 h, and then exposed to mainstream CS as described previously (25). In brief, CS was drawn into a syringe-driven device and then delivered via the tube into cell culture flasks that were inverted to expose cells directly to smoke for 2 min. After that the flasks were restored to their original orientation so that the cells were covered with culture medium, and the flasks were placed in the 37 °C incubator. Throughout this study, we used CS at a dose of 2 cc/25-cm2 flask. No cell cytotoxicity was observed under the conditions of CS exposure.
Kinase Immunoblot AnalysisCells were exposed to CS for various time points, washed three times with chilled phosphate-buffered saline containing 1 mM Na3VO4 and then lysed in MAP kinase lysis buffer (20 mM Tris, pH 7.5, with 150 mM NaCl, 0.2 mM dithiothreitol, 0.5 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM EGTA, 1% Triton X-100, 2.5 mM sodium pyrophosphate, 1 mM Na3VO4, 5 mM
Immunoprecipitation of PAK1 and c-RafCells were exposed to CS for various time points and then harvested in ice-cold cell lysis buffer. Lysates (
Gene Expression AnalysisAfter CS exposure, cells were washed extensively with cold phosphate-buffered saline containing 1 mM Na3VO4 and harvested into MAP kinase lysis buffer. Protein samples ( Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA)Serum-starved cells were exposed to CS, and nuclear extracts were prepared as described previously (26). Briefly the EMSAs were performed using 2-3 µg of nuclear extract in 20 µl of binding buffer on ice for 10 min prior to the addition of the appropriate 32P-labeled double-stranded oligo probe. After incubating for 30 min at room temperature, samples were resolved on a 4% polyacrylamide gel containing 2% glycerol. To demonstrate the presence of a specific protein in the complexes, nuclear extracts were mixed with 1-2 µg of anti-CREB (catalog number 06-519, Upstate Cell Signaling) antibodies and incubated on ice for 2 h prior to adding the probe.
Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) AssaysChIP assays were carried out as described earlier (26). Briefly cells ( Statistical AnalysisData are expressed as the mean ± S.E. Statistical significance was determined using t test and accepted at p < 0.05. All assays were performed in two or three (n = 2-3) independent samples, and each experiment was repeated at least two times.
PI3K-mediated Signaling Is Required for CS-stimulated FRA-1 ExpressionTo determine whether the PI3K-mediated signaling is necessary for CS-induced FRA-1 expression, HBE cells were treated with LY294002 for 30 min and then exposed to CS for 3 h, and FRA-1 mRNA and protein expression was analyzed by Northern and Western blot analyses, respectively (Fig. 1). Consistent with our previous results (25), CS significantly ( 3-fold) stimulated the expression of FRA-1 mRNA (Fig. 1A) and protein levels (Fig. 1B) as compared with the cells exposed to filtered air. However, pretreatment of cells with PI3K inhibitor LY294002 completely suppressed CS-induced FRA-1 mRNA expression. Previously we have shown that CS stimulates FRA-1 induction mainly at the transcription level, and the -379 bp promoter contains sufficient information to mediate such induction (26). To verify that PI3K signaling regulates FRA-1 transcription, cells were transfected with the 379-Luc promoter reporter construct along with the pRK-TL reference plasmid. Promoter activity in response to CS was analyzed in the absence or presence of LY294002 (Fig. 1C). As expected, CS significantly elevated luciferase activity, which was abrogated in the presence of LY294002. No effect of CS on the basal promoter activity was observed. Collectively these observations strongly support a prominent role for PI3K-dependent signaling in mediating the CS-stimulated FRA-1 transcription in pulmonary epithelial cells. CS Activates PI3K Signaling in HBE CellsTo determine whether CS activates PI3K signaling, we monitored the activation of PDK1 (Fig. 2A) and its downstream effector Akt (Fig. 2B). Cells were exposed to CS for 0-60 min, and equal amounts of total lysates from duplicate samples were separated by PAGE and immunoblotted using phosphospecific PDK1 (Ser241) and Akt (Ser473) antibodies. As shown in Fig. 2A, CS significantly stimulated the phosphorylation of PDK1 as early as 15 min of exposure (lanes 3 and 4); phosphorylation remained above the basal level through 60 min (lanes 7 and 8) compared with the control group (lanes 1 and 2). Consistent with this result, CS markedly stimulated the phosphorylation of the Ser473 residue of Akt (Fig. 2B) as early as 30 min (lane 2); phosphorylation stayed elevated above the basal level through 60 min (lane 3). A quantification of phosphorylated Ser473 signals on these blots revealed a 147 and 128% increase over the basal level at 30 and 60 min post-CS exposure, respectively. We also found that CS stimulates phosphorylation of Ser473 in another HBE cell line and in the lung tissues of mice exposed to CS (data not shown). Collectively these data suggest that CS stimulates the PI3K-Akt signaling, consistent with results reported by others in the lung cell types (5, 6).
CS Activates PI3K-Akt Pathway through EGFRRecently we have shown that the activation of EGFR is essential for CS-stimulated FRA-1 induction (25). Given the observation that PI3K inhibitor completely blocks FRA-1 induction and EGFR-mediated signaling activates the PI3K-Akt pathway in response to growth factors in other cell types (30, 31), we next examined whether the activation of PI3K-Akt pathway was mediated through EGFR. Cells were treated with AG1478 prior to the exposure, and CS-stimulated Akt phosphorylation was analyzed by immunoblot analysis using phospho-Ser473 antibodies (Fig. 2C). AG1478 (lanes 7 and 8) completely inhibited CS-stimulated (lanes 3 and 4) Akt phosphorylation. Interestingly inhibition of EGFR activity with AG1478 significantly stimulated basal levels Akt phosphorylation (lanes 5 and 6) indicating a negative cross-talk between EGFR and Akt signaling in the unstimulated state. We have shown earlier that MMP activity is required for CS-stimulated EGFR mediated signaling in the lung. Consistent with this result, treatment of cells with MMP inhibitor GM6001 markedly blocked (Fig. 2D, lanes 7 and 8) CS-induced Akt phosphorylation (Fig. 2D, lanes 3 and 4). Collectively these results suggest that signaling pathways involving EGFR and MMP regulate the activation of PI3K-Akt pathway in response to CS.
Akt-mediated Signaling Is Not Required for CS-stimulated FRA-1 InductionEnhanced Akt activity has been linked to tobacco-induced cellular responses (5, 6) and tumorigenesis (3). Because both Akt and FRA-1 regulate cellular processes such as cell motility and invasiveness, we sought to determine whether Akt-dependent signaling was required for PI3K-mediated CS-stimulated FRA-1 induction. To examine this aspect, we used two pharmacological inhibitors of Akt, Akt inhibitor II and Akt inhibitor IV. Akt inhibitor II specifically inhibits the activation of Akt without affecting other upstream or downstream kinases (32). Akt inhibitor IV inhibits phosphorylation/activation of Akt by targeting its immediate upstream kinase, PDK1, but not PI3K (33). We first examined the effects of these inhibitors on Akt-mediated signaling under our experimental conditions by monitoring the activation of glycogen synthase kinase, a major downstream target of Akt, in response to EGF. As shown in Fig. 3A, pretreatment of cells with either Akt inhibitor II (top panel, lanes 4 and 5) or Akt inhibitor IV (bottom panel, lanes 4-6) markedly suppressed EGF-stimulated glycogen synthase kinase phosphorylation (lanes 2 and 3). To confirm the specificities of these inhibitors, these membranes were stripped and probed with phosphospecific ERK1/2 antibodies. As anticipated, both Akt inhibitor II and Akt inhibitor IV had no significant effect on EGF-induced ERK1/2 activation (Fig. 3A). To determine whether Akt-mediated signaling is required for FRA-1 induction, cells were exposed to CS in the presence or absence of either Akt inhibitor II or Akt inhibitor IV, RNA was isolated, and Northern blot analysis was performed. Neither Akt inhibitor II (top panel, lanes 4-6) nor Akt inhibitor IV (bottom panel, lanes 4-6) had an appreciable inhibitory effect on the CS-induced expression of FRA-1 mRNA (Fig. 3B, lanes 2 and 3). Thus, although CS-activates Akt, it is not required for regulating FRA-1 expression in response to CS.
We next examined whether PKC , which is a known downstream targets of PI3K (3), is involved in this process using the PKC myristoylated pseudosubstrate inhibitor (Fig. 3C). This inhibitor had no effect on CS-stimulated of FRA-1 expression. To determine whether or not CS-activates PKC , we monitored the levels of phosphorylation of this kinase using phosphospecific antibodies. As shown in Fig. 3D, CS stimulated the phosphorylation of PKC in HBE cells as early as 5 min (lane 2) compared with unstimulated cells (lane 1); phosphorylation remained above the basal level through 60 min (lane 5). However, pretreatment of cells with PI3K inhibitor markedly suppressed both basal (Fig. 3E, compare lane 1 and lane 3) and CS-stimulated PKC phosphorylation (Fig. 3E, compare lane 2 and lane 4).
The PI3K Regulates CS-induced FRA-1 Expression via the MEK1/2-ERK1/2 PathwayThe above results indicate that PI3K regulates FRA-1 induction independently of Akt and PKC
PAK1 via c-Raf Mediates CS-activated PI3K-MEK-ERK Pathway Both PAK1 and/or Raf kinases have been shown to mediate the cross-talk between the PI3K and ERK pathways (34). To examine whether PI3K activates MEK-ERK signaling via PAK1 or Raf, cells were exposed to CS for 0, 15, and 30 min, and CS-induced PAK1 and c-Raf kinase activation was assessed by immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis using the respective total and phosphospecific antibodies (Fig. 5). As shown in Fig. 5A, CS stimulated both PAK1 (top panel) and c-Raf phosphorylation (bottom panel). Also pretreatment of cells with PI3K inhibitor LY 294002 markedly suppressed CS-stimulated PAK1 and c-Raf phosphorylation (Fig. 5B, compare lanes 2 and 4). The basal level c-Raf phosphorylation was high in the presence of LY294002 (Fig. 5B, lane 3). To determine the role of PAK1 in CS-stimulated MEK-ERK1/2 pathway, cells were transfected with a GST-tagged dominant mutant PAK1 expression vector encoding amino acids 83-149 of PAK1 (hereafter referred to as GST-PAK1). When expressed mutant GST-PAK1 inhibits PAK1 kinase activity and blocks PAK1 translocation to the centrosomes during mitosis (27). Cells were then exposed to CS, and the activation of c-Raf was monitored by immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis (Fig. 6A). Overexpression of GST-PAK1 (lanes 3 and 4) significantly inhibited CS-stimulated c-Raf phosphorylation (Fig. 6A) as compared with empty vector-transfected CS exposed cells (lanes 1 and 2). Likewise expression of GST-PAK1 markedly suppressed CS-stimulated MEK1/2 phosphorylation (Fig. 6B). To determine whether c-Raf activation is necessary for CS-stimulated MEK-ERK pathway, cells were treated with c-Raf-specific inhibitor GW5074 prior to CS exposure, and MEK-ERK activation was monitored (Fig. 6C). CS-stimulated MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 activation was significantly suppressed by c-Raf inhibitor (lane 4) as compared with vehicle-treated CS-exposed cells (lane 2). Collectively these results indicate an important role for PAK1 in mediating a cross-talk between the PI3K and Raf-MEK-ERK1/2 signaling pathways.
The Inhibition of PI3K or ERK Pathways Suppresses CS-induced Elk1 and CREB PhosphorylationTo determine other pathways activated by the PI3K, we examined the effect of LY294002 on Elk1 and CREB protein phosphorylation (Fig. 7A). These two transcription factors are downstream targets of ERK signaling and are known to regulate the induction of c-FOS (35) and FRA-1 (26) in response to tumor promoters and mitogens. We also used the MEK-ERK pathway inhibitor PD98059 (Fig. 7B) to compare with the results obtained with the PI3K inhibitor LY294002. As shown in Fig. 7A, CS stimulated the phosphorylation of Elk1 and CREB (lanes 3 and 4) compared with filtered air-exposed samples (lanes 1 and 2). Both LY294002 (Fig. 7A, lanes 7 and 8) and PD98059 (Fig. 7B, lanes 7 and 8) completely blocked such phosphorylation. Together these results show that PI3K-ERK pathway controls the activation of transcription factors Elk1 and CREB in response to CS. To further confirm the role of Elk1 and ATF/CREB proteins in the transcriptional up-regulation of FRA-1 by CS, cells were transfected with the wild-type 379-Luc promoter-reporter construct or with 379-Luc constructs bearing mutations in the SRE or in the ATF binding site (Fig. 7C). The SRF has been shown to be critically required for an efficient binding of Elk1 to the SRE (35). After overnight incubation, cells were exposed to CS for 5 h, and reporter expression was analyzed. Consistent with our previous results (25), CS significantly stimulated luciferase activity driven by the wild-type FRA-1 promoter. However, mutations either in the SRE or ATF site significantly reduced CS-stimulated FRA-1 promoter activity. This result implies that protein binding to these sites is required for the induction of FRA-1 transcription in HBE cells.
CS Exposure Does Not Alter Elk1 Protein Binding at the FRA-1 Promoter in VivoRecently we have reported that the -276 to -239 bp segment composed of SRE (containing a ternary complex factor site and the CArG box) and a putative ATF site plays a critical role in mitogen-induced FRA-1 transcription in lung epithelial cells (26). Furthermore we have shown that specific knock-down of Elk1 transcription factor significantly attenuates tumor promoter-stimulated FRA-1 transcription (26). To examine whether PI3K signaling altered the engagement of Elk1 with the endogenous FRA-1 promoter, we performed a ChIP assay (Fig. 8). Cells were treated with Me2SO (lanes 1-4), LY294002 (lanes 5-8), or PD98059 (lanes 9-12) prior to CS exposure. After a 60-min incubation with CS, DNA-protein complexes were cross-linked by formaldehyde, soluble chromatin was immunoprecipitated using the anti-Elk1 antibodies and non-immune IgG, and DNA fragments were recovered from the immunoprecipitation products were used as templates for PCR with FRA-1 promoter-specific primers (Fig. 8A). As expected, ChIP assays with the non-immune IgG showed no amplification of the FRA-1 promoter. Elk1 was constitutively engaged with the promoter irrespective of CS exposure (lanes 1-4). Treatment of cells either with PI3K inhibitor (lanes 5-8) or ERK inhibitor (lanes 9-12) did not significantly alter the binding of Elk1 to the promoter. Inhibition of PI3K and ERK Signaling Does Not Affect CREB Binding to the FRA-1 PromoterUnlike Elk1, we were unable to amplify the FRA-1 promoter to detectable levels in ChIP assays using CREB antibodies even at greater than 50 PCR cycles. We therefore performed EMSA assays to examine whether CS enhanced the recruitment of CREB to the ATF site located at position -248 of the FRA-1 promoter (Fig. 9A) and whether PI3K and ERK inhibitors affected such binding. Cells were exposed to CS for 60 min in the presence or absence of LY294002 or ERK inhibitor PD98059, nuclear extracts were prepared, and EMSA was performed using the ATF site of FRA-1 promoter as a probe. Incubation of both filtered air-exposed and CS-exposed nuclear extracts with the ATF probe yielded a single specific complex (Fig. 9B, indicated with an arrow). There was no difference in the binding of CREB to ATF site. When incubated with the CREB antibodies (lanes 3 and 4) this complex was supershifted. CREB antibodies used in the present study do not cross-react with other ATFs. Collectively these results (Figs. 8 and 9) indicate that both Elk1 and CREB bind to the SRE and the ATF sites of the FRA-1 promoter in unstimulated cells, and CS stimulation has little effect on their steady-state DNA binding.
The present study, for the first time, demonstrated a potential link between the EGFR-activated PI3K-dependent ERK MAP kinase signaling and CS-induced FRA-1 proto-oncogene expression (Fig. 1). We showed that the inhibition of EGFR kinase activity markedly suppressed both CS-induced PI3K-Akt signaling (Fig. 2C) and FRA-1 induction (25). Consistent with this result, a general inhibitor of MMP activity, which is essential for CS-induced EGFR activation (36-38), also had similar effects on CS-induced PI3K-Akt signaling (Fig. 2D) and FRA-1 expression (25). Thus, PI3K appears to be one of the downstream effectors of CS-induced MMP-EGFR signaling. The Akt pathway has been shown to regulate HBE cell survival and transformation promoted by NNK (5, 6), a potent carcinogen present in the CS. However, results obtained with Akt-specific pharmacological inhibitors in this study indicate that Akt has no significant effect on CS-induced transcriptional activation of FRA-1. Previous studies have shown that Akt both negatively and positively regulates expression of activator protein-1. For example, Akt inhibits the expression of c-FOS, a close relative of FRA-1, by down-regulating the ERK MAP kinase pathway, and a high level of Akt activity is inversely correlated with c-FOS expression in glioblastoma cells (39). In contrast, enhanced Akt activity is required for a high level expression of FRA-1 in prostate cancer cells (40). A different study showed Akt-dependent stimulation of c-FOS occurs through its SRE in HeLa cells (41). Thus, it appears that Akt distinctly regulates the expression of FOS family members in a cell type- and signal-specific manner. Our data indicate that PI3K signals activate ERKs (Fig. 4A), which are essential for high level induction of FRA-1 by CS (25), tumor promoters, and mitogens in HBE cells (data not shown). Consistent with this, a prominent role for ERK signaling in mitogen-inducible FRA-1 mRNA expression has been shown in other cell types (17, 42-44). Although a requirement for PI3K pathway in mitogen-induced ERK activation has been suggested in other cells, the present study went further to demonstrate a link between CS-induced PI3K signaling and ERK activation for the first time in HBE cells (Fig. 4A). The activation of ERKs occurred via MEK1 in a PI3K-dependent manner. Consistent with our studies, the inhibition of PI3K pathway blocks platelet-derived growth factor- and epidermal growth factor-stimulated c-FOS expression via ERK signaling (45, 46). The PI3K inhibitor blocked CS-induced ERK1/2 activation (Fig. 4A). Supporting this observation, several studies have shown that PI3K modulates MEK-ERK pathway at the level of PAK1 and/or Raf (47-49). PAK1 is a member of the serine/threonine kinase family that is known to control various cellular processes including cytoskeletal reorganization, cell migration, and MAP kinase signaling (50). PAK1 has been shown to facilitate the cross-talk between the PI3K and ERK signaling pathways (34). For example, PI3K may act through either Raf-1 or PAK1 to phosphorylate MEK1 (47-49), an upstream activator of ERK1/2 kinases. Furthermore the activation of PAK1 by benzo-(a)pyrene, a carcinogen found in CS, in 293T and HeLa cells has been reported (51). Our studies demonstrated that inhibition of PI3K pathway blocked the activation of PAK1 (Fig. 5), and the ectopic expression of a PAK1 mutant inhibited CS-activated c-Raf and MEK1 phosphorylation (Fig. 6). Our novel findings indicate that PAK1 mediates the cross-talk between the PI3K and ERK pathways by activating c-Raf and MEK1 kinases in response to CS in HBE cells.
Recently we have demonstrated that the -379 to +32 bp genomic fragment, devoid of introns, contains sufficient information to drive FRA-1 transcription in response to tumor promoters and CS exposure in pulmonary epithelial cells (25, 26, 29). A -379/-237 bp bipartite enhancer comprises the -318 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate response element, SRE (276/-237), and an ATF site, which are necessary for a high level induction of FRA-1 (26, 29) in response to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. The recruitment of c-JUN to the -318 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate response element and the binding of the Elk1, serum response factor, and CREB/ATF-1 proteins to the respective ternary complex factor, CArG, and ATF sites are necessary for FRA-1 expression (26, 29). In the present study, we found that CS stimulates the phosphorylation of Elk1 and CREB transcription factors, whereas inhibitors of PI3K or ERK1/2 blocked such activation. The inhibition of P13K did not block CS-stimulated p38 phosphorylation (data not shown) suggesting that ERK1/2 alone may integrate CS-induced PI3K-dependent signals into Elk1. Because Elk1 and CREB are also known to regulate the induction of c-FOS and FOSB (52, 53), it is likely that Elk1 and CREB act as downstream targets of CS-induced ERK1/2 signaling and regulate FRA-1 induction. Consistent with this notion, CS failed to significantly stimulate transcriptional activation from the FRA-1 promoter bearing mutations in CArG box and ATF sites suggesting a critical requirement of Elk1 and ATF/CREB protein binding at these sites for the induction of FRA-1 by CS (Fig. 7C). However, ChIP (Fig. 8) and EMSA (Fig. 9) analyses showed that CS did not significantly alter the constitutive binding of both Elk1 and CREB proteins to the FRA-1 promoter. Although inhibitors of PI3K and ERK signaling did not inhibit DNA binding of Elk1 and CREB, inhibitors markedly attenuated their CS-inducible phosphorylation status (Fig. 7, A and B) and FRA-1 mRNA expression (Fig. 1). These results are consistent with our previous ChIP analyses demonstrating the constitutive binding of Elk1, serum response factor, and CREB proteins to the FRA-1 promoter (26). What then prevents the Elk1 and CREB functions in the presence of PI3K-inhibtiors? Phosphorylation of Elk1 at Ser383 and Ser389 has been shown to enhance the recruitment of ternary complexes at the SRE and for transcriptional activation (54). Similarly phosphorylation of CREB at Ser133 has been shown to be required for its transcriptional activity (55). Thus, CS-induced phosphorylation of CREB and Elk1 may promote transcriptional activation via cofactor recruitment. Indeed the phosphorylation of Elk1 at Ser383 by ERK has been shown to facilitate the recruitment of the transcriptional co-activator p300 (56). In summary, based on the above observations, we propose the following model for the CS-induced expression of the FRA-1 (Fig. 10). In the unstimulated state, the Elk1 and CREB proteins are constitutively bound to the FRA-1 promoter. Upon CS stimulation, EGFR-mediated signaling activates PI3K pathway leading to both Akt and PAK1 activation (step 1). PAK1 then stimulates the phosphorylation of c-Raf/MEK/ERK1/2 (step 2). ERKs translocate into the nucleus and phosphorylate Elk1 and CREB proteins bound to the promoter (step 3) resulting in enhanced FRA-1 transcription (step 4).
* This work was supported in part by NIEHS, National Institutes of Health Grant ES11863 (to S. P. R.). The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
1 Supported by National Institutes of Health Grants CA78282 and CA105005. 2 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Dept. of Environmental Health Sciences, Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Rm. E7610, 615 North Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205. Tel.: 410-614-5442; Fax: 410-955-0299; E-mail: sreddy{at}jhsph.edu.
3 The abbreviations used are: CS, cigarette smoke; ATF, activating transcription factor; CREB, cAMP-response element-binding protein; ChIP; chromatin immunoprecipitation; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; EMSA, electrophoretic mobility shift assay; ERK, extracellular signal-regulated kinase; FRA-1 (or FOSL-1), FOS-related antigen 1; GST, glutathione S-transferase; HBE, human bronchial epithelial; Luc, luciferase; MAP, mitogen-activated protein; MEK, mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase; MMP, metalloproteinase; NNK, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone; PAK1, p21 (CDKN1A)-activated kinase 1; PDK, phosphoinositide-dependent kinase; PI3K, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; PKC, protein kinase C; SRE, serum response element; CArG, cytosine adenine-rich guanine.
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