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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 281, Issue 9, 6087-6095, March 3, 2006
TAB-1 Modulates Intracellular Localization of p38 MAP Kinase and Downstream Signaling*![]() ![]() ||![]() ![]() 1
From the
Received for publication, July 13, 2005 , and in revised form, November 30, 2005.
Stress-activated mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase p38 mediates stress signaling in mammalian cells via threonine and tyrosine phosphorylation in its conserved TGY motif by upstream MAP kinase kinases (MKKs). In addition, p38 MAP kinase can also be activated by an MKK-independent mechanism involving TAB-1 (TAK-1-binding protein)-mediated autophosphorylation. Although TAB-1-mediated p38 activation has been implicated in ischemic heart, the biological consequences and downstream signaling of TAB-1-mediated p38 activation in cardiomyocytes is largely unknown. We show here that TAB-1 expression leads to a significant induction of p38 autophosphorylation and consequent kinase activation in cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes. In contrast to MKK3-induced p38 kinase downstream effects, TAB-1-induced p38 kinase activation does not induce expression of pro-inflammatory genes, cardiac marker gene expression, or changes in cellular morphology. Rather, TAB-1 binds to p38 and prevents p38 nuclear localization. Furthermore, TAB-1 disrupts p38 interaction with MKK3 and redirects p38 localization in the cytosol. Consequently, TAB-1 expression antagonizes the downstream activity of p38 kinase induced by MKK3 and attenuates interleukin-1 -induced inflammatory gene induction in cardiomyocytes. These data suggest that TAB-1 can mediate MKK-independent p38 kinase activation while negatively modulating MKK-dependent p38 function. Our study not only redefines the functional role of TAB-1 in p38 kinase-mediated signaling pathways but also provides the first evidence that intracellular localization of p38 kinase and complex interaction dictates its downstream effects. These results suggest a previously unknown mechanism for stress-MAP kinase regulation in mammalian cells.
Stress-activated protein kinase p38 is a member of a highly conserved subfamily of mitogen-activated protein (MAP)2 kinases involved in a wide variety of stress responses in organisms ranging from yeast to mammals (14). Activation of the p38 pathway is achieved by a cascade of phosphorylation events involving proximal upstream MAP kinase kinases, such as MKK3 and 6, and further upstream MAP kinase kinase kinases, such as TAK1 and ASK1 (3). Phosphorylation of both threonine and tyrosine at a conserved TGY motif leads to p38 kinase activation. This phosphorylation is therefore used widely as a biochemical marker for p38 activation status (5, 6). Phosphorylated (activated) p38 phosphorylates a large number of transcription factors that include NFAT, CHOP, p53, ATF-2, and MEF-2 (3, 4) to regulate gene expression. Through downstream kinases, such as MAP kinase-activated protein kinase (MAPKAP)-2/3 (MK2, MK3), MNK, and MSK1, p38 activity is also responsible for the phosphorylation of additional downstream targets that include cytosolic PLA2, heat shock proteins, and histone3/HMG-14 (3, 4).
p38 activation plays a critical role in the regulation of pro-inflammatory genes, including TNF
In addition to MKK-dependent p38 kinase activation, an alternative pathway leading to p38 activation involving TAB-1 (TAK-1-binding protein) was recently identified (21). Although TAB-1 was originally found to interact with and activate an upstream MAP kinase kinase kinase, TAK-1, Ge et al. (21) showed that TAB-1 can also directly bind to p38 and promote SB203580-sensitive, but MKK-independent, p38 autophosphorylation. Recently, Tanno et al. (22) also implicated TAB-1 in p38 activation in ischemic mouse hearts with homozygous MKK3 null alleles, whereas Li et al. (23) showed an increase in TAB-1 recruitment by p38 in ischemia heart in response to activated AMP-activated protein kinase. Furthermore, TAB-1 expression induces p38
In this report, we demonstrate that TAB-1 expression in cultured neonatal cardiac myocytes is sufficient to induce p38 activity via autophosphorylation. However, TAB-1-mediated p38 activity does not lead to the classical downstream effects of p38 induced by MKK3 activation. In contrast, TAB-1 expression attenuates MKK3-induced downstream signaling, at least in part via competitive binding with p38, removal of p38 from the MKK3 signaling complex, and translocation of p38 to alternative intracellular compartments. Consequently, TAB-1 negatively modulates IL-1
Plasmids and Adenoviral ConstructsPlasmids encoding TAB-1 (21), TAB-1 (27) and TAB-1 (1373) (21) were subcloned into the pShuttle-CMV vectors of the Adeasy adenovirus system (Stratagenes). A full-length TAB-1 cDNA with a DsRed tag was subcloned by PCR into the pShuttle-CMV vector. The C-terminal truncation mutant TAB-1(333504) with 3xFLAG tag was generated by PCR-mediated mutagenesis and subcloned into a modified pShuttle-CMV vector. A nuclear localization signal sequence coding for GPKKKRKVG was fused by PCR to the C termini of TAB-1 and TAB-1(333504). Subsequently, recombinant adenoviruses were prepared as described (28). Other adenoviral expressing vectors, including AdvHA-MKK3bE, AdvGFP-P38 , AdvFLAG-dnp38 , AdvLacZ, and AdvGFP, were constructed as described previously (28).
Cell CultureNeonatal ventricular cardiomyocytes from 12-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were isolated using a Percoll gradient method as described previously (28). Cardiomyocytes were plated overnight in medium containing Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium/medium 199 (4:1) supplemented with 10% horse serum, 5% fetal bovine serum, 100 units/ml penicillin, 100 µg/ml streptomycin, and 10 mM glutamine. Subsequently, cardiomyocytes were infected with adenoviruses at MOI between 10 and 100 (optimized by protein expression level of the transgene) and incubated for 48 h in serum free medium supplemented with 1% ITS (BD Biosciences). p38-specific inhibitor SB203580 (Calbiochem) or IL-1
Immunoblotting and ImmunoprecipitationThe cells were washed twice with ice-cold PBS and harvested in lysis buffer composed of 50 mM Tris·Cl (pH 7.4), 150 mM NaCl, 1% Triton X-100, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM EGTA, 1 mM Real Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription-PCRTotal RNA was isolated from cultured neonatal cardiac myocytes 48 h after adenoviruses infection using TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Five µg of RNA was used to reverse transcribe the first strand cDNA using Superscript first strand synthesis kit (Invitrogen). Then cDNA transcripts were quantified by iCycler iQ real time PCR detection system (Bio-Rad) using iQ SYBR Green Supermix (Bio-Rad). Each reaction was performed in duplicate, and the values were averaged to calculate the relative expression level. The specific primers for quantitative PCR were: COX-2, 5'-CCAGATGCTATCTTTGGGGA-3' (sense) and 5'-CGCCTTTTGATTAGTACTGTAGGG-3' (antisense); ANF, 5'-CTGATGGATTTCAAGAACCTGCT-3' (sense) and 5'-CTCTGGGCTCCAATCCTGTC-3' (antisense); and GAPDH, 5'-TCCTGCACCACCAACTGCTTAG-3' (sense) and 5'-GATGACCTTGCCCACAGCCTTG-3' (antisense). Immunostaining and Fluorescence MicroscopyCardiomyocytes and Cos-1 cells were cultured on 12-mm coverslips coated with 10 µg/ml Laminin (Invitrogen). 48 h after adenoviral infection, the cells were washed with PBS, fixed for 5 min with 4% paraformaldehyde, permeablized for 5 min with 0.2% Triton X-100, and then blocked in PBS for 1 h with 3% bovine serum albumin and 5% donkey serum. The cells were then stained with primary antibodies and secondary antibodies diluted in 3% bovine serum albumin and 1% donkey serum in PBS for 2 h, respectively. The primary antibodies used were rabbit anti-rat ANF antiserum (Peninsula Laboratory) (1:1000), rabbit anti-HA polyclonal antibody (Santa Cruz) (1:1000), and mouse anti-FLAG M2 monoclonal antibody (Sigma) (1:5000). Secondary antibodies include Alexa568-conjugated donkey anti-rabbit IgG, Alexa568-conjugated donkey anti-mouse IgG, and Alexa640-conjugated donkey anti-rabbit IgG (Molecular Probes). F-actin was probed with fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated phalloidin (Molecular Probes). Fluorescence images were obtained with a laser scanning confocal microscope (Olympus Fluoview) and analyzed with MetaMorph (Universal Imaging Corp.) and Auto Deblur (AutoQuant). The co-localization and the proximity of proteins were analyzed using custom made software described in Fig. 7.
TAB-1 Induces p38 Activity via Autophosphorylation in Cultured Rat MyocytesRat neonatal ventricular cardiomyocytes (RNVC) have very low level expression of endogenous TAB-1, based on Western blotting. They have an abundant level of p38 protein, mostly in inactive form under basal condition (Fig. 1). These cells present a good model system to investigate the functional effect of TAB-1 on p38 kinase signaling. We expressed human wild-type, full-length TAB-1 in rat neonatal cardiomyocytes via a recombinant adenovirus vector. TAB-1 expression leads to significant activation of the p38 kinase, as determined either by anti-phospho-p38 immunoblotting or by ATF-2 phosphorylation activity of p38 immunocomplexes (Fig. 1). p38 phosphorylation is partially blocked by p38 kinase-selective inhibitor SB203580 (Fig. 1A), in good agreement with previous observations suggesting that TAB-1-mediated p38 activation involves autophosphorylation (21). A splicing variant of TAB-1 (TAB-1 ) containing both the p38-binding domain and the protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C)-like domain but lacking the TAK-1-binding domain (27) also activates p38 kinase as reported (21). All of these results suggest that TAB-1 induces bona fide p38 kinase activation in a SB203580-sensitive manner via autophosphorylation.
TAB-1 Does Not Induce p38 Downstream Signaling Events Associated with MKK3-p38 ActivationExpression of MKK3bE, an activated mutant of the p38 upstream activating kinase, in RNVC cells results in significant activation of p38 kinase activity as determined by phospho-p38-specific Western blot (Fig. 2A) (28). As a consequence, TNF and COX-2 expression are induced at both the protein and mRNA levels (Fig. 2, A and B). In addition, cardiac ANF gene expression is induced, and myofilament organization is enhanced as part of the p38-mediated stress response as reported previously (28) (Fig. 2, C and D). In contrast, TAB-1 expression in RNVC cells does not activate any of these well established p38 downstream responses or target gene induction in cardiomyocytes, despite the fact that comparable levels of p38 activation by MKK3bE and TAB-1 are achieved (Fig. 2).
TAB-1 Antagonizes MKK3-mediated p38 Downstream SignalsWe further investigated the impact of TAB-1 expression on the downstream signaling of p38 kinase in RNVC cells. As shown in Fig. 3A, MKK3bE expression induces phosphorylation of downstream kinase MAPKAPK-2 (MK2) and HSP27 as expected and SB203580 (10 µM) significantly reduces MK2 and HSP27 phosphorylation without affecting the total p38 phosphorylation level (Fig. 3A). In contrast, TAB-1 expression does not result in any significant MK2 or HSP27 phosphorylation (Fig. 3B), suggesting that TAB-1-mediated p38 activation does not induce previously characterized downstream signaling. Furthermore, co-expression of TAB-1 with MKK3bE significantly reduces MK2 and HSP27 phosphorylation, without reducing the total level of phosphorylated p38 (Fig. 3B). TAB-1 also attenuates MKK3bE-induced COX-2 expression (Fig. 3C), further supporting the notion that TAB-1 antagonizes MKK3-dependent p38 downstream activity.
We also investigated whether TAB-1 binding to p38 was required for the observed antagonistic activity toward MKK3-induced downstream signaling. When co-expressed in RNVC cells, the full-length TAB-1 and C-terminal fragment (333504) of TAB-1 can be readily detected in immunocomplexes with p38 TAB-1 Binds to p38 and Excludes p38 from the NucleusTo determine why the TAB-1/p38 interaction down-regulates MKK3-induced downstream signaling, we investigated the effect of TAB-1 on the intracellular localization of p38 kinase. For these experiments, we used a p38-GFP fusion protein as a reporter. In RNVC cells, p38-GFP and HA-MKK3bE are located both in nuclei and in specific reticular patterned structures in the cytosol (Fig. 5A, panels a and b). In contrast, a TAB-1-RFP fusion protein is detectable exclusively in the cytoplasm but not in the nucleus (Fig. 5A, panel c). Co-expression of HA-MKK3bE and p38-GFP demonstrates extensive overlapping of their intracellular distribution in both cytosol and nuclear compartments (Fig. 5A, panels df). In contrast, co-expression of TAB-1-RFP with p38-GFP excludes p38-GFP from the nucleus and retains the kinase only in the cytosol (Fig. 5A, panels gi). This result suggests that TAB-1 is a cytosol localized protein and that TAB-1 expression can alter the intracellular location of p38.
To further demonstrate that TAB-1 can directly modulate p38 intracellular distribution, we generated nucleus-targeted mutants of TAB-1 (TAB-1-NLS-FLAG) and the TAB-1(333504) C-terminal fragment (TAB-1(333504)-NLS-FLAG) by adding a nuclear localization signal at the C-terminal of the coding regions (Fig. 5B). The nucleus-targeted TAB-1 and the TAB-1 C-terminal fragment retain p38 binding activity in cells, as determined from co-immunoprecipitation assays (Fig. 5C) and are effectively targeted to nuclei in cardiomyocytes (Fig. 5D, panels b and c). Co-expression of p38
TAB-1 Modulates p38 Intracellular Distribution and the Interaction of p38 with MKK3The above results suggest that TAB-1 not only modulates p38 intracellular localization but also changes the MKK-mediated downstream effects of p38. To investigate the underlying mechanism, we analyzed the effects of TAB-1 expression on the protein-protein interaction between p38 and its upstream activating kinase MKK3. Co-immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrates that TAB-1 expression significantly reduces p38 binding to MKK3 in COS-1 cells (Fig. 6). Supporting this finding, intracellular localization of MKK3bE and p38 were analyzed by immunofluorescent confocal microscopy (Figs. 7, panels af). The protein proximity index analyses of these images (Fig. 7, panels m and n) indicate a highly significant degree of overlap between MKK3bE and p38 -GFP proteins (Fig. 7, panel q). However, in the presence of TAB-1, p38 is retained in the cytosol where its co-localization with MKK3 is significantly disrupted (Fig. 4B, panels gl). The MKK3/p38 protein proximity index changes from 0.96 ± 0.02 to 0.59 ± 0.04 (mean ± S.E., n = 6, p < 0.001) when TAB-1 is co-expressed (Fig. 7, panel q). As shown more clearly in the high magnitude images (Fig. 7, panels df and jk), p38 -GFP and MKK3bE both have a reticular distribution pattern in the cytosol. However, in the presence of TAB-1, the degree of overlap is substantially reduced (illustrated by the appearance of red and green areas). Therefore, both immunoprecipitation and co-localization analysis provide clear evidence that TAB-1 directly competes with MKK3 for p38 protein binding and restricts p38 intracellular distribution in the cytosol to a specific compartment away from the MKK3 kinase. All of these observations, along with previous functional studies, suggest a previously unknown mechanism in p38 kinase regulation in which different upstream activators can dictate the downstream signaling of p38 kinase by modulating its intracellular localization and complex interactions.
TAB-1 Modulates Cytokine-induced Inflammatory Gene Expression p38 is known to mediate cytokine-induced inflammatory gene expression, such as COX-2, in cultured cardiac myocytes (12). To investigate the functional significance of TAB-1/p38 interaction in inflammatory gene regulation, we determined the effect of TAB-1 p38 binding activity on IL-1
To further investigate the functional role of TAB-1 in cytokine-mediated signaling, we studied mouse embryonic fibroblast in which significant endogenous TAB-1 is present (Fig. 9A). Two MEF cell lines are established using different small interfering RNAs against endogenous TAB-1 mRNA. As shown in Fig. 9A, TAB-1 protein expression is significantly lowered in both small interfering RNA-treated MEF cell lines. TNF
Stress-activated MAP kinase p38 is a highly conserved signaling molecule responsible for a variety of stress responses in different mammalian cells. Like other MAP kinase family members, the p38 kinase catalytic activity is activated by upstream MAP kinase kinases, including MKK3, MKK6, and, with lesser specificity, by MKK4 (3, 6). p38 activation is implicated in many critical cellular functions, including gene regulation, apoptosis, energy metabolism, cellular differentiation, and proliferation, presumably via an array of downstream target molecules (4). However, it is unclear how these diverse downstream signaling pathways are regulated in response to a variety of different stimuli that activate p38 kinase activity. Our data suggest that TAB-1 is not only a MKK3-independent activator of p38 MAP kinase but is also a potent modulator of p38 intracellular localization and p38 signal complex formation in the cytosol. By competing with MKK3 for p38 binding, TAB-1 antagonizes MKK3-mediated activation of downstream kinases and, consequently, inflammatory gene induction. Our observations demonstrate that the differential intracellular localization of activated p38 MAP kinase can be dictated by two different upstream molecules, MKK3 versus TAB-1, and result in dramatically different downstream consequences. Thus, the modulating effect of TAB-1 may offer a potentially important molecular mechanism contributing to the fine tuning and the functional diversity of p38 pathways in mammalian cells.
Our study redefines the role of TAB-1 in p38 regulation. TAB-1 In addition, local signaling complex interaction appears to be critical to achieve spatio-temporal regulation of other protein kinases, including cAMP-dependent protein kinase, protein kinase C, and tyrosine kinases, as revealed by genetic fluorescent probes (3438). Indeed, nuclear localized TAB-1 fails to activate p38 downstream signaling, suggesting that TAB-1 and MKK form different signaling complexes for p38. TAB-1 appears to be a unique signaling molecule that functions both as an upstream MKK-independent activator of p38 activity and as a scaffold protein that modulates the intracellular localization and signal complex interaction of the activated p38 kinase.
TAB-1 gene inactivation leads to an embryonic lethal phenotype with impaired TGF- signaling and cardiovascular defects (39), suggesting a vital role of TAB-1 in cardiovascular development and function. However, the specific role of TAB-1 in p38-mediated function versus TGF- /TAK-1 signaling in heart or other cell systems is unknown. Tanno et al. (22) demonstrated that TAB-1 binding to p38 was induced in ischemic hearts but not in TNF -treated hearts, suggesting that different mechanisms are involved in p38 activation under different stress conditions. Li et al. (23) also recently reported some interesting observations on AMP-activated protein kinase-mediated p38 activation that involves TAB-1. The data from this study indicate that these different mechanisms of p38 activation would lead to distinct downstream signaling events. Although a negative modulating role of TAB-1 for MKK3-mediated signaling has been clearly demonstrated in our study, the selective downstream effect of TAB-1-mediated p38 activity in the cytosol remains unclear and requires further studies. Given the diverse roles of p38 in various cellular functions, it is conceivable that TAB-1-mediated p38 activity is responsible for a specific subset of these activities. In fact, early studies from our laboratory and from others have demonstrated a potent negative inotrophic effect of p38 activity on cardiomyocyte contractility (19) and cytokine release (20) in addition to gene regulation. Clearly, although our study implicates a negative modulatory role for TAB-1 in the p38 kinase pathway, further studies are needed to identify the specific downstream effect of TAB-1-induced p38 kinase activity and its physiological implication in normal and pathological stress responses.
* This work was supported by funds from Division of Molecular Medicine, NIH Grants HL62311 and HL08111 (to Y. W.), NCI R01-CA84572 (to H. R. H.), and AI41637 and GM037696 (to J. H.). 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 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Division of Molecular Medicine, Depts. of Anesthesiology and Medicine, BH-569, CSH, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095. Tel.: 310-206-5197; E-mail: yibinwang{at}mednet.ucla.edu.
2 The abbreviations used are: MAP, mitogen-activated protein; IL, interleukin; MAPKAP, MAP kinase-activated protein kinase; TNF, tumor necrosis factor; ERK, extracellular signal-regulated kinase; MOI, multiplicity of infection; MEF, mouse embryonic fibroblast; PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; GFP, green fluorescent protein; HA, hemagglutinin; GAPDH, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; ANF, atrial naturetic factor; RNVC, rat neonatal ventricular cardiomyocyte(s); PP2C, protein phosphatase 2C; COX, cyclooxygenase; MK2, MAPKAPK-2; HSP, heat shock protein; RFP, red fluorescent protein; MKK, MAP kinase kinase.
We thank Jiexiao Chen and Dr. Robb MacLallen for providing rat neonatal myocytes and core support from Cardiovascular Research Laboratories.
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