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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 282, Issue 23, 16838-16845, June 8, 2007
Regulation of Snf1 Protein Kinase in Response to Environmental Stress*From the Departments of Genetics & Development and Microbiology, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032
Received for publication, January 5, 2007 , and in revised form, April 16, 2007.
The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Snf1 protein kinase, a member of the Snf1/AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) family, has important roles in metabolic control, particularly in response to nutrient stress. Here we have addressed the role of Snf1 in responses to other environmental stresses. Exposure of cells to sodium ion stress, alkaline pH, or oxidative stress caused an increase in Snf1 catalytic activity and phosphorylation of Thr-210 in the activation loop, whereas treatment with sorbitol or heat shock did not. Inhibition of respiratory metabolism by addition of antimycin A to cells also increased Snf1 activity. Analysis of mutants indicated that the kinases Sak1, Tos3, and Elm1, which activate Snf1 in response to glucose limitation, are also required under other stress conditions. Each kinase sufficed for activation in response to stress, but Sak1 had the major role. In sak1 tos3 elm1 cells expressing mammalian Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase , Snf1 was activated by both sodium ion and alkaline stress, suggesting that stress signals regulate Snf1 activity by a mechanism that is independent of the upstream kinase. Finally, we showed that Snf1 protein kinase is regulated differently during adaptation of cells to NaCl and alkaline pH with respect to both temporal regulation of activation and subcellular localization. Snf1 protein kinase becomes enriched in the nucleus in response to alkaline pH but not salt stress. Such differences could contribute to specificity of the stress responses.
The Snf1/AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)2 family is highly conserved among eukaryotes and plays a central role in responses to metabolic stress (1, 2). In mammals, AMPK regulates glucose and lipid metabolism and is involved in regulating the energy balance both at the cellular and whole body levels. AMPK is activated by hormones, including leptin and adiponectin, and by stresses that cause depletion of cellular ATP and hence elevation of the AMP:ATP ratio, including glucose deprivation, exercise, hypoxia, ischemia, heat shock, oxidative stress, and metabolic poisons such as inhibitors of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and the respiratory chain (24). Hyperosmotic stress also activates AMPK, although exposure of cells to sorbitol does not appear to increase the cellular AMP:ATP ratio (5).
In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Snf1 protein kinase similarly has important functions in metabolic control. Snf1 protein kinase is required for the adaptation of yeast cells to glucose limitation and for growth on carbon sources that are less preferred than glucose, such as sucrose (hence the name Snf, for sucrose-nonfermenting) and nonfermentable carbon sources (6). The kinase is activated by glucose limitation (710), and although the glucose signal(s) regulating Snf1 protein kinase is not known, AMP does not activate Snf1 in vitro (7, 8, 11, 12). Snf1 protein kinase has also been implicated in responses to starvation for other nutrients besides carbon, notably nitrogen (1315). Snf1 regulates the transcription of a large set of genes (16), controls the activity of metabolic enzymes involved in fatty acid metabolism and carbohydrate storage (7, 12, 17), and has roles in such nutrient-responsive cellular processes as meiosis (18), aging (19, 20), autophagy (21), and filamentous invasive growth (14, 22, 23).
Genetic evidence indicates that Snf1, like AMPK, also has roles in responses to a variety of other environmental stresses. The snf1 Three upstream kinases, Sak1, Tos3, and Elm1, phosphorylate Thr-210 in the activation segment of the Snf1 catalytic subunit (3335). Mutants lacking all three kinases do not activate Snf1 in response to glucose limitation. Evidence suggests that the three kinases make different contributions to cellular regulation under conditions of different carbon source availability; however, in all cases tested, Sak1 was the major player (3638). It remains possible that the other two kinases are more prominently involved in responses to other types of stress besides carbon stress.
In this paper, we have addressed the role of Snf1 protein kinase in the response to environmental stresses, including ionic, hyperosmotic, and oxidative stress, alkaline pH, and heat shock. To determine whether Snf1 is activated by stress, we assayed Snf1 activity and phosphorylation of Thr-210 after exposure of cells to various stress conditions, and we examined the subcellular localization of Snf1 protein kinase. We have also addressed the roles of the Snf1-activating kinases Sak1, Tos3, and Elm1 in stress responses.
Strains and MediaS. cerevisiae strains were derivatives of W303-1A (MATa trp1 leu2 his3 ura3 ade2 can1) and W303-1B (MAT trp1 leu2 his3 ura3 ade2 can1). Relevant mutant alleles were sak1 ::KanMX4, tos3 ::KanMX4, elm1 ::KanMX4, elm1 ::ADE2, and elm1 ::URA3. The hog1::LEU2 allele (39) was a gift from F. Posas. Yeast cultures were grown in yeast extract-peptone (YEP) containing 2% dextrose (YPD) at 30 °C unless otherwise specified. For cells carrying a plasmid, cultures were grown in synthetic complete medium lacking uracil and containing 2% dextrose. To prepare liquid medium at alkaline pH, medium containing 0.1 M HEPES was adjusted to the desired pH with 5 M NaOH. To prepare solid medium at alkaline pH, 4x YPD containing 0.4 M HEPES was adjusted to the desired pH at room temperature and was then mixed with agar precooled to 50 °C. Assay of Snf1 Catalytic Activity by Phosphorylation of SAMS PeptideCultures were grown to exponential phase (A600 of 1.0) in YPD, and cells (100 ml) were harvested by filtration. The filter was immediately transferred to the appropriate media, and cells were resuspended, incubated for the indicated time, and harvested again by filtration. Cells were then scraped from the filter and frozen immediately in liquid nitrogen. In the case of oxidative stress, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2; 30% v/v) was added to the YPD culture to the indicated final concentration, and the culture was incubated for 5 min before harvesting. Cell extracts were prepared as described (36), and protein concentrations were determined by Bio-Rad assay. Assays for phosphorylation of a synthetic peptide (HMRSAMSGLHLVKRR; SAMS peptide) (40) were performed as described (7, 36) using different protein concentrations to confirm linearity. Kinase activity is expressed as nmol of phosphate incorporated into the peptide per min per mg of protein (40). Immunoblot AnalysisProteins (2 µg) were separated on 7.5% SDS-PAGE and analyzed by immunoblotting using anti-phospho-Thr-172-AMPK antibody (Cell Signaling Technologies). Before the membrane was reprobed with anti-Snf1 antibody (6), it was incubated in 0.2 M glycine, pH 2, for 5 min. ECL-Plus or ECL-Advance (Amersham Biosciences) was used for visualization.
Snf1 Protein Kinase Is Activated in Response to Some Environmental StressesWe first examined Snf1 protein kinase activity in cells exposed to salt stress. For this and other experiments, wild-type cells of the W303 genetic background were grown to exponential phase in rich medium containing 2% glucose (YPD). Cells were collected by rapid filtration, resuspended in YPD medium containing 1 M NaCl and harvested at time points from 5 to 60 min. Extracts were prepared, Snf1 was partially purified, and Snf1 catalytic activity was assayed by phosphorylation of the SAMS peptide substrate. Snf1 activity increased about 3-fold within 5 min, and the activation persisted for more than 1 h (Fig. 1A). In cultures grown to mid-log phase in YPD containing 1 M NaCl, Snf1 catalytic activity was elevated (0.87 ± 0.14 nmol/min/mg). To determine the effects of NaCl concentration, cells were shifted to medium containing 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 M NaCl for 5 min, and Snf1 activity was assayed; activation was maximal in 1 M NaCl (Fig. 1B). To determine whether ionic or hyperosmotic stress was responsible, we exposed cells to sorbitol at concentrations up to 1.5 M; Snf1 activity did not increase substantially (Fig. 1C).
We then tested other stress conditions, including alkaline pH, heat shock, and oxidative stress. Yeast cells prefer an acidic environment, and a shift to alkaline pH causes stress. To assay the effects of alkaline pH on Snf1 activity, cells were grown to exponential phase in YPD (pH of the culture To test the effects of heat shock, we resuspended the cells in prewarmed YPD at 42 and 50 °C and incubated them for 5 min; no activation of Snf1 was detected in response to heat shock (Fig. 1E). In similar experiments, no increase in Snf1 activity was observed when cells were incubated at 40 or 45 °C for 20 and 40 min (data not shown). Immunoblot analysis showed that levels of Snf1 protein did not decrease (data not shown). To examine the response to oxidative stress, we added H2O2 to the culture at concentrations up to 1 mM for 5 min. Treatment with 0.3 mM H2O2 caused a modest (2-fold) increase in Snf1 activity (Fig. 1F), which was evident by 1 min (data not shown); results were similar for 0.31 mM H2O2 after 10 min (data not shown). We next examined the effect of sudden inhibition of respiratory metabolism. Cells were grown in YEP containing 2% glycerol, a nonfermentable carbon source; utilization of glycerol requires Snf1 function, and the kinase was active in these cells (Fig. 1G). Respiration was then blocked by the addition of antimycin A, an inhibitor of the cytochrome bc1 complex (41, 42). Snf1 activity increased within 5 min (Fig. 1G). The addition of antimycin A to cells growing by fermentation of glucose had little effect on Snf1 activity (data not shown). In mammalian cells, antimycin A causes depletion of ATP and activates AMPK (2). Finally, we tested whether metformin or 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide (AICA) riboside, which activate AMPK in mammalian cells, would similarly activate Snf1 protein kinase in yeast cells. The biguanide metformin is widely used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and causes activation of AMPK (43), apparently as an indirect effect of inhibition of complex 1 of the respiratory chain (44). In mammalian cells, AICA-riboside is phosphorylated to yield an AMP mimetic, which activates AMPK (45). The addition of metformin (up to 10 mM) to yeast cells grown in YPD or in YEP containing 2% glycerol did not affect Snf1 activity after 5 or 30 min (data not shown). In a similar experiment, the addition of AICA-riboside (2 mM) to yeast cells had no effect. Phosphorylation of Thr-210 of Snf1 in Response to StressSnf1 is phosphorylated on Thr-210 in the activation loop in response to glucose limitation (9). To examine the phosphorylation of Thr-210 in cells exposed to NaCl, alkaline pH, or oxidative stress, we carried out immunoblot analysis of the protein samples assayed above using antibody against phospho-Thr-172 of AMPK, which also specifically recognizes phospho-Thr-210 of Snf1 (15, 34, 46). In each case, Thr-210 was phosphorylated, whereas Snf1 protein levels did not significantly change (Figs. 2 and 3D). The extent of phosphorylation in cells exposed to different salt concentrations or pH roughly paralleled the activation of Snf1 catalytic activity (compare with Fig. 1). These results are in agreement with a previous report that Thr-210 is phosphorylated in cells exposed to 0.8 M NaCl for 1 h (9). We did not detect increased phosphorylation after heat shock (5 min at 42 or 50 °C and 20 or 40 min at 45 °C; data not shown).
Protein Kinases Sak1, Tos3, and Elm1 Activate Snf1 in Response to Environmental StressSak1, Tos3, and Elm1 are responsible for activation of Snf1 when cells are subjected to centrifugation or carbon stress (33, 34). To determine whether these kinases also activate Snf1 in response to other stresses, we exposed sak1 tos3 elm1 triple mutant cells to 1 M NaCl, pH 8, or 0.3 mM H2O2 for 5 min as described above. Snf1 protein kinase was not activated, as determined by assaying phosphorylation of the SAMS peptide (<0.1 nmol/mg/min; Fig. 3A and data not shown), and no phosphorylation of Thr-210 was detected by immunoblot analysis (Fig. 3C). These findings indicate that activation of Snf1 protein kinase in response to all of these different stress conditions requires Sak1, Tos3, or Elm1.
We next addressed the possibility that the three upstream kinases exhibit specificity for activation of Snf1 in response to different stresses. To examine the requirement for individual upstream kinases in the response to salt stress, we treated the sak1
To determine whether each of the upstream kinases alone suffices for activation of Snf1 by salt stress, we examined double mutants expressing only Tos3 (sak1 elm1 ), Elm1 (sak1 tos3 ), or Sak1 (tos3 elm1 ). Although basal Snf1 catalytic activity was low in cells expressing only Tos3 or Elm1, activity increased upon exposure to 1 M NaCl for 5 min (Fig. 3A). Sak1 was sufficient for nearly normal activity in glucose-grown tos3 elm1 cells and for activation to wild-type levels upon salt stress. Thus, activation of Snf1 in response to salt stress signals can be mediated by any one of these upstream kinases, with Sak1 being the most effective. We further assessed the possibility that the different upstream kinases have different relative importance after adaptation to high salt concentration than during acute stress. Cultures of single mutant cells were grown to mid-log phase in YPD containing 1 M NaCl, and Snf1 catalytic activity was assayed; Sak1 remained the primary upstream kinase under these conditions (Fig. 3D).
Finally, we considered the possibility that the high osmolarity glycerol (HOG) mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway (47) has a role in regulating the activation of Snf1 in response to salt stress. Wild-type and hog1
Snf1 Is Regulated by Sodium Ion and Alkaline Stress When Activated by a Heterologous Upstream KinaseThese findings that each of the three upstream kinases activates Snf1 in response to salt stress suggest that each kinase mediates salt stress signaling or that signaling is independent of the upstream kinase. To distinguish between these possibilities, we took advantage of the ability of a heterologous kinase, mammalian Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase
To assess the requirement for native yeast upstream kinases to mediate salt and alkaline pH stress signals, we examined sak1 tos3 elm1 cells expressing CaMKK from a plasmid. Cells were grown to mid-log phase in synthetic medium with selection for the plasmid and were shifted to medium containing 1 M NaCl or buffered to pH 8 for 5 min. In both cases, stress caused elevation of Snf1 catalytic activity, as judged by phosphorylation of the SAMS peptide; in control cells carrying the vector, virtually no activity was detected (Fig. 4). Thus, mammalian CaMKK conferred activation of Snf1 in response to two different stress signals. As it is unlikely that CaMKK is positively regulated by both sodium ion and alkaline stress signals in yeast cells, these findings provide strong evidence that both of these stress signals regulate Snf1 protein kinase activity by a mechanism that is independent of the upstream kinases.
Requirement for Snf1 and Snf1-activating Kinases for Cellular Resistance to StressPrevious studies indicated that phosphorylation of Snf1 on Thr-210 is not essential for resistance to hydroxyurea (28) or for resistance to toxic cations such as hygromycin B, mediated by the Trk high-affinity potassium transporter (24). To determine whether phosphorylation of Snf1 protein kinase by the upstream kinases is required for tolerance of cells to the stress conditions examined here, we compared wild-type, snf1
We did not detect sensitivity of the snf1 mutant to H2O2, as judged by an assay for growth inhibition (data not shown), in accord with a previous report (28). The modest activation of the kinase observed upon treatment of cells with H2O2 (Fig. 1F) is apparently not critical for cell survival.
We also tested both overnight and mid-log phase cultures for heat sensitivity by exposing cells to 50 °C for up to 90 min, because reduced viability at 50° was reported previously for snf1
Snf1 Protein Kinase Relocalizes to the Nucleus in Response to Alkaline pH but Not Sodium Ion StressThe activation of Snf1 protein kinase in response to a variety of different stresses raises the question of how Snf1 activity is regulated to confer specificity with respect to phosphorylation of downstream targets in response to particular stresses. At least one major target, Mig1, a transcriptional repressor of many glucose-repressed genes, is phosphorylated by Snf1 in response to glucose limitation (49) but not in response to salt stress (9). One mechanism that could play a role in regulating substrate access of Snf1 protein kinase is control of its subcellular localization. In unstressed cells, the Snf1 catalytic subunit and the three subunits are cytosolic, and Snf4 shows partial nuclear enrichment (50). When cells are subjected to carbon stress, Snf1 and the Gal83 subunit become enriched in the nucleus, and nuclear import of Snf1 depends on Gal83 (50). To examine localization, we expressed Snf1 tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP) from its own promoter on a centromeric plasmid. Snf1-GFP was nuclear excluded in glucose-grown cells and became enriched in the nucleus during growth in nonfermentable carbon source (Fig. 6, A and B), as reported (50). When glucose-grown cells were shifted to pH 7.5, Snf1-GFP became enriched in the nucleus within 5 min (Fig. 6C). In contrast, when cells were exposed to 0.5 M NaCl for 5 min or 1 M NaCl for 1 h, no nuclear enrichment was observed, and in many cells Snf1-GFP was clearly excluded from the nucleus (Fig. 6, D and E). Similar results were observed for Gal83-GFP (data not shown).
We showed previously that nuclear localization of Snf1 requires activation (36). To exclude the possibility that activation by sodium ion stress is restricted to kinase complexes that do not contain Gal83, we assayed
Here we have addressed the role of Snf1 protein kinase in the response to various environmental stresses. Exposure of cells to sodium ion stress, alkaline pH, and oxidative stress resulted in phosphorylation of Thr-210 of Snf1 and elevation of Snf1 catalytic activity, whereas treatment with sorbitol and heat shock did not. Inhibition of respiratory metabolism by addition of antimycin A to cells growing on nonfermentable carbon sources also caused an increase in Snf1 activity. In mammalian cells, treatment with antimycin A is thought to elevate AMPK activity by depleting ATP; other stress conditions that activate AMPK are also associated with elevated AMP:ATP ratios (2, 4), with the notable exception of sorbitol treatment (5). It is not yet clear whether changes in the AMP:ATP ratio affect Snf1 activity, although published evidence does not support this idea (7, 8, 11, 12). Nonetheless, these findings indicate that Snf1, like AMPK, is activated in response to a variety of environmental stresses.
We determined the roles of the Snf1-activating kinases Sak1, Tos3, and Elm1 in stress responses. The sak1 We also showed that Snf1 protein kinase is regulated differently during adaptation of cells to NaCl and alkaline pH with respect to both temporal regulation of activation and subcellular localization. First, the time course of Snf1 activation was specific to the environmental stress. Upon exposure of cells to 1 M NaCl, activation was rapid and persistent. In contrast, upon exposure to alkaline pH, Snf1 was again rapidly activated, but activity returned to basal levels within 1 h. These findings are in accord with studies showing rapid alterations in genomic expression patterns in response to many stresses and, in particular, with findings that the changes in response to alkaline pH are generally more transient than those occurring as a result of exposure to increased salt concentration (52).
Second, Snf1 protein kinase was differently regulated in response to high salt and alkaline pH with respect to its subcellular localization. Snf1 and the
We found that sak1
The mechanism(s) that mediates regulation of Snf1 protein kinase activity by stress signals is not yet clear. We have presented evidence that the yeast Snf1-activating kinases are not required to mediate stress signaling. In sak1 It has long been recognized that Snf1 protein kinase and AMPK have similar roles in metabolic control in response to nutrient signals. These studies extend the parallels between Snf1 and AMPK and suggest that yeast will serve as a useful model system for understanding the roles of Snf1/AMPK pathways in responses to environmental stress.
* This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant GM34095 (to M. C.). 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: 701 W. 168th St., HSC922, New York, NY 10032. Tel.: 212-305-6314; Fax: 212-305-1741; E-mail: mbc1{at}columbia.edu.
2 The abbreviations used are: AMPK, AMP-activated protein kinase; YEP, yeast extract-peptone; YPD, yeast extract-peptone-dextrose; AICA, 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide; GFP, green fluorescent protein; CaMKK
We thank F. Posas and M.-D. Kim for strains.
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