Originally published In Press as doi:10.1074/jbc.M700944200 on April 15, 2007
J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 282, Issue 24, 17806-17815, June 15, 2007
Association of the Tensin N-terminal Protein-tyrosine Phosphatase Domain with the
Isoform of Protein Phosphatase-1 in Focal Adhesions*
Masumi Eto
,
Jason Kirkbride
,
Elizabeth Elliott
,
Su Hao Lo¶, and
David L. Brautigan
||1
From the
Center for Cell Signaling, ||Department of Microbiology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, ¶Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Center for Tissue Regeneration and Repair, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, California 95817, and
Department of Physiology, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107
Received for publication, January 31, 2007
, and in revised form, March 23, 2007.
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ABSTRACT
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Focal adhesions attach cultured cells to the extracellular matrix, and we found endogenous protein phosphatase-1
isoform (PP1
) localized in adhesions across the entire area of adherent fibroblasts. However, in fibroblasts migrating into a scrape wound or spreading after replating PP1
did not appear in adhesions near the leading edge but was recruited into other adhesions coincident in time and space with incorporation of tensin. Endogenous tensin and PP1
co-precipitated from cell lysates with isoform-specific PP1 antibodies. Chemical cross-linking of focal adhesion preparations with Lomant's reagent demonstrated molecular proximity of endogenous PP1
and tensin, whereas neither focal adhesion kinase nor vinculin was cross-linked and co-precipitated with PP1
, suggesting distinct spatial subdomains within adhesions. Transient expression of truncated tensin showed the N-terminal 360 residues, which comprise a protein-tyrosine phosphatase domain, alone were sufficient for isoform-selective co-precipitation of co-expressed PP1
. Human prostate cancer PC3 cells are deficient in tensin relative to fibroblasts and have fewer, mostly peripheral adhesions. Transient expression of green fluorescent protein tensin in these cancer cells induced formation of adhesions and recruited endogenous PP1
into those adhesions. Thus, the protein-tyrosine phosphatase domain of tensin exhibits isoform-specific association with PP1
in a restricted spatial region of adhesions that are formed during cell migration.
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INTRODUCTION
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Focal adhesions link force-generating elements of the actin cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix. These adhesions are assembled initially in response to integrin engagement as cells protrude their leading edge in the process of spreading and migration (13). These initial adhesions contain focal adhesion kinase, paxillin, vinculin, and other proteins (4, 5). Phosphorylation of these proteins on Tyr residues accompanies the assembly of these adhesions and P-Tyr2 immunostaining is concentrated at these sites (6). Focal adhesions dynamically exchange protein components as they connect to F-actin filaments and develop contractile force for cell locomotion. Adhesions that produce actomyosin-dependent movement of fibronectin receptors have been called "fibrillar adhesions" (7) to distinguish them from adhesions near the leading edge of the cell. These adhesions are relatively enriched in tensin, a protein that has a protein-tyrosine phosphatase domain related to PTEN (phosphatase and tensin1 homologue on chromosome 10), an Src homology 2 (SH2) domain, and a phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domain (8, 9). The overall process of focal adhesion maturation can be followed either in cells migrating on two-dimensional surfaces or after re-plating onto matrix-coated surfaces as cells spread. It is now appreciated that focal adhesions are dynamic structures rapidly exchanging constituent proteins (10). Current work on the dynamics of focal adhesions suggests that Tyr phosphorylation is a major requirement for their turnover. However, results also show Ser/Thr phosphorylation has a role in the assembly and disassembly of focal adhesions (11). Accumulating data show that focal adhesion proteins are phosphorylated at many Ser and Thr residues (Cell Migration Consortium), and understanding the control of and the functional consequences of these modifications is a challenge for future work. One step will be defining which Ser/Thr kinases and phosphatases are in focal adhesions and the basis for their localization.
Our interest in Ser/Thr phosphorylation of myosin and focal adhesion proteins led us some years ago to find protein-Ser/Thr phosphatase-1 (PP1) in focal adhesions of adherent fibroblasts (12). There are three predominant PP1 isoforms, named
,
(or
), and
-1, that are widely expressed in somatic cells, with nearly identical catalytic domains of about 300 residues, plus 2030 C-terminal residues that are distinctive between isoforms (13). These C-terminal sequences have been used to prepare isoform-specific antibodies to study the cellular distribution of individual isoforms (14, 15). One example of isoform specificity is the binding of the PP1
isoform to MYPT1 and GM regulatory subunits (16, 17). The PP1
isoform also has been reported to associate directly with focal adhesion kinase (FAK), which might account for its localization in focal adhesions (18). A more recent study indicates that PP1 and glycogen synthase kinase 3 react with different Ser phosphorylation sites in FAK (18). In this study we used isoform-specific antibodies to visualize the
isoform of PP1 in focal adhesions. During cell migration or cell spreading, the PP1
was not seen in focal adhesions near the leading edge, but it was seen in other adhesions and co-localized with tensin. We co-precipitated tensin and PP1
and chemically cross-linked these proteins in preparations of focal adhesions made by detergent extraction of adherent cells. Furthermore, the N-terminal domain of tensin is the domain that resembles a protein-tyrosine phosphatase (8). This protein-tyrosine phosphatase domain is the basis for relationship to PTEN protein and is one of two regions of tensin that mediates binding to adhesions (19). Here we show the tensin protein-tyrosine phosphatase domain is sufficient for isoform-specific association with PP1
. The results reveal a new spatial domain within cells where PP1
is targeted, where it can potentially alter the Ser/Thr phosphorylation of select focal adhesion proteins.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS
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ReagentsAntibodies against vinculin, paxillin, and tensin were purchased from Sigma, BD Transduction Laboratories (San Diego, CA), and Chemicon-Upstate (Temecula, CA), respectively. Chemicals not otherwise specified were purchased from Fisher. Rabbit polyclonal antibody against a C-terminal 11-residue peptide of human PP1
with an N-terminal Cys added was affinity-purified using the SulfoLink Coupling Gel Protocol (Pierce) from serum recovered after immunization with peptide conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin. Anti-PP1
antibody was produced in parallel. The cDNAs of PP1
and PP1
were cloned by the reverse transcription-PCR method using cDNA libraries of human placenta and pig aorta, respectively, and confirmed by automated DNA sequencing. The amino acid sequence of pig PP1
is identical to other mammalian PP1
(accession number AB016735
[GenBank]
). GFP-tensin vector was characterized previously (19).
Cell Culture and MicroscopyRat embryo fibroblasts (REF52) and COS7 cells were maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (Invitrogen) supplemented with 10% newborn calf serum (Invitrogen) in a humidified atmosphere at 37 °C with 5% CO2. Human prostate carcinoma cells (PC3) were grown in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Invitrogen).
Cells on coverslips were rinsed with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), fixed, and permeabilized with -20 °C methanol for 2 min, rinsed twice again with PBS, and incubated in a 3% bovine serum albumin in PBS solution for 1 h at room temperature. Primary antibodies diluted in 3% bovine serum albumin-PBS were incubated with the specimen for at least 1 h at room temperature or overnight at 4 °C. After washing for 5 min with PBS 3 times, the appropriate secondary antibodies (goat anti-rabbit rhodamine or goat anti-mouse TRITC) diluted in 3% bovine serum albumin in PBS were incubated with the specimen. Coverslips were then washed as above and mounted onto glass slides with 10 µl of Vectashield mounting medium (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA). Staining without primary antibody was done with parallel specimens side-by-side. In each case this yielded a blank image as a negative control. Digital images of fixed cells were captured using OpenLab software (Improvision, Lexington, MA) with a Nikon Microphot-SA epifluorescence microscope equipped with a Nikon Plan Apo 60x/1.4 oil immersion objective, filter sets for fluorescein isothiocyanate, Texas Red, and 4', 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole fluorophores, and a Hamamatsu Orca II digital camera. Raw digital images (LIF files) were converted to 8-bit TIFF files in OpenLab and further processed (contrast-enhanced, pseudo colored, and merged) using Photoshop 5.5 software (Adobe).
Cell Migration and ReplatingREF52 cells were replated onto fibronectin-coated coverslips and incubated at 37 °C for 30 min, 60 min, or 5 h. Cells were fixed with methanol and stained with a mixture of rabbit polyclonal anti-PP1
(green) and one of the following mouse monoclonal antibodies to known focal adhesion proteins: anti-tensin, anti-paxillin, and anti-vinculin (red). Cells were visualized, and images were processed as above. For two-dimensional migration REF52 cells were grown to 100% confluence on fibronectin-coated coverslips, and the monolayer was "wounded" with a razor blade to remove cells from a stripe across the culture. Cells were allowed to migrate into the wound for 8 h before fixation with methanol and double staining with rabbit anti-PP1
and monoclonal mouse anti-vinculin.
Expression and Immunoblotting of HA-PP1
and -
COS7 cells in 35-mm dishes were transfected with 3.5 µg of HA3-PP1
or HA3-PP1
in the pRK7 vector using EscortV transfection reagent (Sigma) following the manufacturer's protocol. After a 24-h transfection, cells were lysed with 50 µl of Laemmli sample buffer. The samples were boiled for 10 min and were subjected to 10% SDS-PAGE plus immunoblotting. Triplicate replica membranes were prepared and stained in parallel with anti-HA, anti-PP1
, and anti-PP1
.
Immunoprecipitation and ImmunoblottingFor immunoprecipitation, a 100-mm dish of confluent rat aorta smooth muscle cells was lysed on ice for 10 min in 1.0 ml of 50 mM MOPS, pH 7.0, 0.1 M NaCl, 1 mM EGTA, 5% glycerol, 0.1% Triton X-100, 0.3% 2-mercaptoethanol, 0.4 mM PefaBloc. The lysate was centrifuged at 20,000 x g for 20 min, and the supernatant was split in half; half was mixed with 20 µl of anti-PP1
antiserum, the other half was mixed with 20 µl of pre-immune serum, and 15 µl of a 50% slurry of protein A-agarose beads was added to both samples. After incubation overnight at 4 °C, the beads were washed 4x by centrifugation with 0.15 ml of the lysis buffer, and proteins were eluted with SDS sample buffer and separated by SDS-PAGE. Proteins were electrotransferred to nitrocellulose membranes (Bio-Rad 0.22 µm) that were blocked with 5% nonfat milk in Tris-buffered saline plus 0.1% Tween 20. Primary and secondary antibodies were diluted with the blocking buffer. The immunocomplexes were detected using SuperSignal West Pico Luminol/Enhancer Solution (Pierce) and x-ray film (Kodak X-Omat).
Cell Permeabilization, Cross-linking, and Immunoprecipitation of PP1 ComplexesREF52 cells were grown to between 75 and 95% confluency in 10-cm dishes, rinsed with PBS, and permeabilized with 0.1% Triton X-100 and 5 mM MgCl2 in PBS for 0.5 min at room temperature to prepare cytoskeletons. The chemical cross-linker Lomant's reagent, dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate) (Pierce) dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO) was combined with PBS to a final concentration of 4 µg/ml and incubated with these cytoskeletons for 30 min at room temperature. Quenching of the reaction used 50 mM NH4Cl in PBS for 10 min at room temperature. Samples were scraped from the dish in RIPA buffer (50 mM MOPS, pH 7.5, 1% IGEPAL CA-630 (Nonidet P-40), 0.25% deoxycholate, 0.1% SDS, 150 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 20 mM
-glycerol phosphate, and 1 mM PefaBloc). After sonication for 30 s the suspension was centrifuged for 10 min at 13,800 rpm at 4 °C. The pellet was resuspended in RIPA buffer, and aliquots were taken from both pellet and supernatant (RIPA Insoluble and RIPA Extract). The RIPA extract was divided into two aliquots. Rabbit pre-immune or rabbit anti-PP1
serum coupled to protein A resin (Sigma P-3476) was incubated with the extract overnight at 4 °C. The resin was pelleted by centrifugation at 8000 rpm for 2 min, and the supernatant was taken as the sample for immunoblot analysis. Resin was washed 3x with RIPA buffer, then 2x SDS sample buffer was added to the resin. Samples were boiled for 10 min and subjected to 415% gradient SDS-PAGE using precast gels (Bio-Rad) followed by immunoblotting.
Tensin and PP1 Co-expression and PulldownEither COS7 or HEK293 cells were seeded at 30% confluence and plated overnight, then transfected using calcium phosphate with 5 µg of pTriEx4 plasmid (Novagen) encoding tensin plus 0.5 µg of pKR7 plasmid encoding HA3-PP1
. After 2448 h cells were washed with PBS and lysed in buffer containing 50 mM MOPS, pH 7.0, 0.1 M NaCl, 1 mM EGTA, 5% glycerol, 0.1% Tween 20, 0.1% 2-mercaptoethanol, and 0.8 mM PefaBloc. An extract was recovered as the supernatant after 15 min centrifugation at 13,800 rpm, and a sample was reserved before adsorption to S-protein beads (Novagen) for 1 h. The beads were washed three times by centrifugation with the lysis buffer, and the proteins were eluted with SDS sample buffer and boiling. Proteins were resolved by SDS-PAGE using a double-layered gel that was 10% in the bottom half and 6% in the top half to afford resolution of both the tensin proteins and the PP1. Proteins were transferred onto nitrocellulose submerged in transfer buffer by overnight electrophoresis at 50 V and 120 mA. Filters were blocked with 5% nonfat milk and immunoblotted with horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated S-probe (Novagen) at 1:10,000 or anti-HA at 1:10,000 followed by anti-mouse-HRP at 1:10,000 dilution and developed as described above.
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RESULTS
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Dynamic Recruitment of PP1 into Focal AdhesionsRat embryo fibroblasts (REF52 cells) grown on fibronectin-coated coverslips develop focal adhesions across the entire bottom of the cell, and these adhesions contain both vinculin and PP1
, based on immunofluorescent staining after fixation (Fig. 1, A and B). By comparison, REF52 fibroblasts showed localization of the PP1
isoform primarily along actin stress fibers (Fig. 1, C and D). The specificity of these anti-PP1
and anti-PP1
antibodies was demonstrated by selective immunostaining of the respective epitope-tagged PP1 isoforms expressed in COS7 cells (Fig. 1E) using anti-HA staining (top panel) to show that equivalent amounts of the PP1 proteins were in each lane. The results demonstrate differential localization of these PP1 isoforms in fibroblasts and isoform-specific targeting of PP1
to focal adhesions. The same results using these antibodies were obtained with rat aorta smooth muscle cells (not shown). Thus, differential targeting of these PP1 isoforms occurs in multiple cell types.
Focal adhesions are dynamic structures that undergo reorganization in migrating cells. Polarized migration of cells occurs when confluent monolayers are wounded to scrape away cells. Migrating REF52 cells at the edge of the wound formed protrusions with prominent adhesions behind the leading edge that stained for vinculin (Fig. 2, arrows in the bottom panel) but not PP1
(compare Fig. 2, upper panel). PP1
was localized in focal adhesions in the same cell but only in those adhesions further away from the front of the cell nearer to the center of the cell (arrows in top panel, Fig. 2). Vinculin served as a marker for focal adhesions across the entire area of the cell whether or not the adhesions stained for PP1
(Fig. 2, merged image). Because PP1
was not detected in adhesions near the leading edge but in other adhesions in the same cell, we suspected it was being dynamically recruited into adhesions during cell migration.

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FIGURE 2. Focal adhesions in migrating fibroblasts. REF52 cells were grown to 100% confluence on fibronectin-coated coverslips and wounded to scrape away cells. Cells migrated into the wound area (from left to right) for 8 h before fixation and double staining, as described for Fig. 1, with anti-PP1 (top) and anti-vinculin (bottom) antibodies. Arrows highlight different populations of focal adhesions that stained for both proteins (top panel) or those that stained for vinculin but not PP1 (bottom panel). Immunofluorescent images were merged (center), with yellow revealing overlap. We note that these experiments were restricted to methanol fixation. Paraformaldehyde fixation gives higher contrast and better-defined images of focal adhesions but poor immunostaining of endogenous PP1.
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To test this hypothesis REF52 cells were taken into suspension and replated onto fibronectin-coated coverslips. At various times cells were fixed, and focal adhesions were visualized by immunofluorescent staining of endogenous proteins (Fig. 3). The three larger images are merged from the smaller images at the upper left of cells stained for PP1
(green) and the images at upper right for vinculin, P-Tyr, and tensin (red/orange, top to bottom). Adhesions around the perimeter of the cells nearest to the leading edge contained vinculin and P-Tyr proteins but did not stain for PP1
, as seen in the outermost red/orange adhesions in the merged images (Fig. 3, A and B). In these same cells other adhesions localized nearer the center of the cells were double-immunostained for vinculin and PP1
(Fig. 3A) or separately for P-Tyr and PP1
(Fig. 3B). These double-positive adhesions appear yellowish-green in the merged images. Thus, in both cells migrating into a wound (Fig. 2) and cells spreading after replating (Fig. 3) there were two populations of adhesions; peripheral adhesions without PP1
and other, more central focal adhesions that contained PP1
. This differential distribution of PP1
relative to vinculin or P-Tyr (or paxillin, data not shown) was a transient phenomenon only seen while cells were actively spreading. At later times after cells were spread and stationary (t > 4 h) all the focal adhesions were double-stained for both vinculin and PP1
, as seen in Fig. 1, A and B.
Tensin is a protein previously localized in a particular subset of focal adhesions called fibrillar adhesions that develop from peripheral adhesions in the course of cell migration (7). Prompted by the differential PP1
localization in adhesions of migrating and spreading cells, we immunostained for endogenous tensin and found co-localization with PP1
in spreading, migrating, and static cells (Fig. 3C). There was full overlap of staining for PP1
and tensin even as early as 30 min after replating. Furthermore, throughout the process of cell spreading in specimens fixed and stained at various times from 30 min to 4 h, we observed spatial coincidence of tensin and PP1
in adhesions. Similar observations were made during spreading of rat aorta smooth muscle cells after replating (not shown), so the phenomenon was not unique to REF52 fibroblasts. We found tensin and PP1
are recruited together at the same time into the same sites during dynamic remodeling of focal adhesions in migrating cells.
Spatial Proximity of Tensin and PP1
in Focal AdhesionsBecause of the limited spatial resolution of light microscopy, it is not possible to determine whether co-localization of endogenous tensin and PP1
by immunofluorescent staining is due to interaction between the proteins. Therefore, we immunoprecipitated PP1
from extracts of rat smooth muscle cells and by immunoblotting found co-precipitation of a fraction of tensin from the lysate (Fig. 4). The co-immunoprecipitation of tensin was specific for PP1
antiserum relative to an equivalent amount of pre-immune serum as a negative control. As an additional control for specificity, we immunoprecipitated PP1
from the same extracts and did not recover any detectable tensin (not shown). The results indicated that endogenous PP1
and tensin in fibroblasts were together in a complex that was stable enough to be immunoprecipitated.
For additional evidence of endogenous tensin-PP1
association, we optimized conditions to permeabilize REF52 cells without dissociating all the PP1
from focal adhesions using minimal time and low concentrations of Triton X-100 detergent (Fig. 5A). Focal adhesions are complex, relatively insoluble protein assemblies like the cytoskeleton itself, so one faces the experimental challenge of solubilizing these assemblies for analysis while attempting to preserve protein-protein interactions between specific constituents. We resorted to chemical cross-linking of the focal adhesion preparations to identify near-neighbor interactions. Different reaction times and a range of conditions were tested to establish the highest concentration of Lomant's reagent, dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate) that could be used without diminishing immunostaining of the PP1
in the preparations. Using this optimized protocol, we solubilized the PP1
complexes from dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate) cross-linked cytoskeleton preparations with a buffer containing both dodecyl sulfate and Triton X-100 and then immunoprecipitated with anti-PP1
antibodies. Cross-links between PP1
and its neighbors were cleaved by chemical reduction of the central disulfide bridge in the reagent, and the separate proteins were resolved by SDS-PAGE. The amount of PP1
recovered at each individual step of the protocol was assayed by immunoblotting (Fig. 5B). These results showed that essentially all the PP1
complexes in the preparations were solubilized (lane 1, extract versus lane 2, residual pellet). Most of the PP1
complexes in the extract were recovered in the specific anti-PP1
immunoprecipitate (lane 7), clearing the remaining supernatant (lane 5). The anti-PP1
precipitation was compared with a non-immune control precipitate, where the complexes remained in the supernatant (lane 4) and were not concentrated in the immunoprecipitated pellet (lane 6). These data demonstrated selective immunoprecipitation of chemically cross-linked PP1
complexes that were solubilized from Triton X-100-resistant cytoskeletons of REF52 fibroblasts.
We analyzed these PP1
complexes for recovery of focal adhesion proteins by immunoblotting (Fig. 5C). Both PP1
and tensin were concentrated and greatly enriched in the cross-linked immunocomplexes relative to the amounts of these respective proteins in the permeabilized cells (Input). Control precipitations with pre-immune serum (Fig. 5C, Preim) did not enrich either tensin or PP1
, showing the specificity of immunoprecipitation. In contrast, FAK was not detected in the anti-PP1
immunoprecipitates but was present in the extracts of the cytoskeletons (Fig. 5C). Some vinculin co-immunoprecipitated with PP1
, not pre-immune serum; however, this represented only a miniscule fraction of vinculin in the input fraction, where it was very prominently stained. Thus, despite its relative abundance in cytoskeletons, vinculin was not efficiently cross-linked to PP1
. Our interpretation was that vinculin and PP1
do not exist in molecular proximity to one another in focal adhesions. As an additional control we immunoblotted for actin, but it was not detected in the specific anti-PP1
immunoprecipitates (not shown), so binding to F-actin could not account for an indirect recruitment of tensin to PP1
. The specific co-precipitation after chemical cross-linking showed that endogenous PP1
and tensin were in molecular proximity to one another in focal adhesions.

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FIGURE 5. Isolation of chemically cross-linked PP1 -tensin complexes from focal adhesions. A, REF52 cells were permeabilized with low concentrations of Triton X-100 and stained with rabbit anti-PP1 antiserum to show preservation of focal adhesions and exposure of the epitope. B, the permeabilized cell preparations were chemically cross-linked with Lomant's reagent, solubilized with RIPA buffer, and analyzed by immunoblotting for PP1 . The RIPA extract of the cross-linked cytoskeletons (lanes 1 and 3) was compared with the insoluble residue (pellet) remaining after extraction (lane 2). RIPA extracts were immunoprecipitated, and the pre-immune control supernatant (lane 4) and immunoprecipitate (lane 5) were compared with the anti-PP1 supernatant (lane 6) and immunoprecipitate (lane 7). This shows concentration of solubilized PP1 complexes by specific immunoprecipitation (lane 7). C, the chemically cross-linked complexes recovered by preimmune serum (Preim) and PP1 immunoprecipitations (IP) were analyzed by immunoblotting, in comparison to the extract of cross-linked cytoskeletons (Input). Immunoblotting used rabbit anti-PP1 , mouse anti-tensin, mouse anti-FAK, and mouse anti-vinculin, as described under "Materials and Methods." These results were reproduced in three independent experiments.
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Tensin N-terminal Domain Mediates Association with PP1In addition to examination of endogenous proteins, we used overexpression of tagged tensin and tagged PP1
in COS7 cells to test for which region of tensin was necessary or sufficient to mediate association with PP1
. Full-length tensin (1735 residues) was fused with a His6-S-peptide tag at the N terminus, and from this construct a series of truncated fusion proteins containing tensin residues 1360, 1740, and 11462 were created by introducing stop codons by site-directed mutagenesis. These proteins were co-expressed with HA-tagged PP1
, and protein complexes were pulled down from cell extracts using beads conjugated with S-protein. The bound proteins were resolved by SDS-PAGE and analyzed by staining with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated S-protein and immunoblotting for the HA epitope tag. The three truncated tensin His-S tagged proteins were expressed and migrated at the expected sizes in SDS-PAGE. Despite efforts to express nearly comparable amounts of the His-S-tensin proteins, the full-length wild-type tensin was barely detected in pulldown assays, and we suggest this is probably due to a combination of factors, including low level of expression, limited solubilization, and resistance to electrotransfer during immunoblotting. Cells expressing HA-PP1
but no S-peptide tensin fusion protein were used to prepare control extracts to show no HA-PP1
bound to S-protein beads (Fig. 6A, BLK). Even the trace amounts of the full-length, wild-type tensin effectively pulled down HA-PP1
(right lane). Truncations of tensin from the C terminus did not much reduce pulldown of HA-PP1
. Even the shortest protein tested, which contained only residues 1360 of tensin, pulled down HA-PP1
in this assay. We concluded that the N-terminal residues 1360 in tensin were sufficient to provide stable association with HA-PP1
.
Specificity of tensin for the endogenous
versus the
isoform of PP1 was confirmed in pulldown assays with overexpressed proteins (Fig. 6B). A tensin S-peptide fusion protein with residues 1740 was expressed alone as a control (Fig. 6B, left lanes) or co-expressed with either HA-PP1
(center lanes) or HA-PP1
(right lanes). Immunoblots with anti-HA show about equal levels of overexpressed HA-PP1
and HA-PP1
(Fig. 6B, upper left). Complexes recovered on S-protein beads (right panels) were analyzed for PP1 recovery by anti-HA immunoblotting for the epitope tag on both isoforms (upper panel) and for recovery of the tagged tensin (lower panel). Only HA-PP1
, not HA-PP1
, associated with the tensin 1740 fusion protein (Fig. 6B, upper right panel). These results confirm that the N-terminal half of tensin is sufficient to mediate association with PP1 and dictate isoform specificity.
Binding of PP1 to regulatory subunits involves (R/K)VXF motifs in the subunits that interact with a cleft on the backside of PP1 opposite the active site (20, 21). Tensin has 6 VXF motifs, 3 in the N-terminal 360 residues, and 3 in the C-terminal 300 residues. Deletion of the C-terminal region of tensin did not eliminate association with PP1, indicating these VXF motifs were not strictly required. However, there could be multiple sites in tensin for association with PP1; therefore, we further tested the N-terminal tensin domain residues 1360 versus the C-terminal domain, residues 14011735 (Fig. 6C). Single transfection to express HA-PP1
served as the control (Fig. 6C, left lanes) compared with dual transfection to express HA-PP1
plus S-peptide fusions with tensin N-terminal (center lanes) or C-terminal (right lanes) domains. Immunoblotting the cell extracts (left panels) demonstrated that expression levels of HA-PP1
were the same in control and both experimental samples. Detection with S-protein conjugated to horseradish peroxidase showed that both the expression levels and recovery by pulldown of S-peptide tensin (14011735) were higher than the levels of S-peptide tensin (1360) (Fig. 6C, lower panels). Only the N-terminal domain of tensin (residues 1360) associated with HA-PP1
, even when higher levels of the C-terminal domain were compared. We have mutated individually two of the VXF motifs in the 1360 region replacing the Phe with Ala; however, these point mutations did not abrogate pulldown of co-expressed HA-PP1
(not shown).

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FIGURE 6. Isoform-specific association of PP1 with the N-terminal domain of tensin. A, full-length wild-type tensin tagged at the N terminus with His6-S-peptide and versions truncated by stop codons after residues 1462, 740, or 360 were transiently expressed in COS7 cells. Control cells were transfected to express HA3-PP1 , and experimental cells were co-transfected to express tensin plus HA3-PP1 . The levels of HA-PP1 in the cell extracts were compared by anti-HA immunoblotting (top). Complexes were pulled down on S-protein beads and analyzed for S-peptide tensin and for HA3-PP1 . HRP, horseradish peroxidase. WT, wild type. B, cells were transfected to express His6-S-peptide-tensin (1740) alone or with co-expressed HA3-PP1 or HA3-PP1 . The levels of the proteins in the extracts are shown by staining for HA or S-peptide (left panels), and the recovery of the proteins pulled down on S-protein beads is shown in the right panels. C, HA3-PP1 was expressed in COS7 cells alone or with either tensin residues 1360 or 14011735 fused to His6-S-peptide. A pulldown assay was conducted and analyzed as described in B. Ctrl, control.
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GFP-tensin Recruits PP1 to Focal Adhesions in PC3 Prostate Cancer CellsTensin is a key component of focal adhesions, but certain human prostate carcinoma cell lines (PC3) have been reported to be essentially devoid of tensin (22). Indeed, we detected only trace levels of tensin protein by immunoblotting cell extracts of PC3 cells in contrast to intense staining of tensin in an equivalent amount of total protein from REF52 cells on the same blot (Fig. 7A, top panel). As loading controls, we showed that these cell extracts had essentially identical amounts of endogenous PP1
and vinculin by immunoblotting with specific antibodies (Fig. 7A). We noticed that PC3 cells had slightly higher levels of FAK relative to REF52 cells (Fig. 7A, lower panel). With anti-tensin antibody, PC3 cancer cells showed dim and diffuse cytoplasmic staining barely above background (Fig. 7B, upper panel), consistent with the absence of the protein on immunoblots. The same antibodies stained tensin in focal adhesions of HS68 human fibroblasts, showing that the antibodies recognized human as well as rat tensin. Immunostaining for endogenous PP1
in these cells showed it was located in the nucleus and was diffuse in the cytosol but not in distinct focal adhesions (Fig. 7B, center panel). There was some staining for PP1
along the perimeter of the cell. Focal adhesions in PC3 cells were immunostained with anti-vinculin, which exposed a ring of short, broad adhesions on the outermost edge of the cells (Fig. 7B, bottom panel). The PP1
staining did not overlap with these peripheral adhesions. Thus, low levels of endogenous tensin in human PC-3 prostate cancer cells was correlated with only a few focal adhesions at the perimeter of the cell and diffuse cytoplasmic distribution of endogenous PP1
. These cancer cells provided a near-null background for transient overexpression of ectopic tensin.
Would tensin induce formation of more focal adhesions in human cancer cells and also recruit PP1
to those focal adhesions? We tested this idea by transiently transfecting PC3 cells with a plasmid encoding GFP-tensin. The GFP-tensin expressed at low levels (Fig. 7C, right-hand cell) was localized into a few adhesions around the perimeter of the cell, and these same adhesions recruited endogenous PP1
(Fig. 7C, lower panel). The GFP-tensin co-localized with vinculin in these peripheral adhesions, confirmed with immunofluorescent double staining of fixed cells (not shown). At higher levels of expression the GFP-tensin was incorporated into adhesions along the perimeter and also induced the formation of new adhesions across the entire area of the cell (Fig. 7C, left cell). Importantly, endogenous PP1
became co-localized with GFP-tensin in both the perimeter and interior adhesions (Fig. 7C, lower panel, arrows). In addition there were green fluorescent foci in the cytoplasm of these high expressing cells that were more diffuse and circular in appearance, which distinguished them from adhesions. These could be merely cytoplasmic protein aggregates but were sites for recruitment of endogenous PP1
that was immunostained coincident with the GFP-tensin. Endogenous PP1
was not recruited or localized in the adhesions or foci in PC3 cells expressing GFP-tensin (not shown), consistent with the isoform specificity of tensin. If GFP was expressed in these cells as a control, it did not localize into adhesions or induce formation of additional adhesions or cytoplasmic foci and did not result in re-localization of endogenous PP1
. Cells overexpressing GFP-tensin were tested for GFP emission through the rhodamine filter at the same exposure times as used for staining PP1 to ensure that the images of PP1
were not due to fluorescence from GFP-tensin (bleed-through). These experiments demonstrated that expression of GFP-tensin in PC3 cells was sufficient to induce formation of new adhesions and cytoplasmic foci that specifically recruited endogenous PP1
.

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FIGURE 7. Expression of GFP-tensin in tensin-deficient human prostate cancer PC3 cells. A, whole cell extracts of rat REF52 cells and human prostate cancer PC3 cells were analyzed by immunoblotting the same amount of total protein with antibodies against (top to bottom) tensin (200 kDa), PP1 (37 kDa), vinculin (116 kDa), and FAK (125 kDa). B, human prostate cancer cells were grown on fibronectin-coated coverslips, fixed, and stained with either mouse anti-tensin (top panel), rabbit anti-PP1 (center panel), or mouse anti-vinculin (lower panel). Proteins were visualized with Oregon Green 488-conjugated anti-rabbit and rhodamine-conjugated anti-mouse secondary antibodies. Images with identical exposure times were processed in Photoshop 5. C, PC3 cells grown on coverslips were transfected with a plasmid encoding GFP-tensin and incubated overnight at 37 °C. Cells were fixed with methanol, and images were acquired for the localization of the GFP fluorescence by direct fluorescence (upper panel) and localization of the PP1 by immunofluorescence with rhodamine-conjugated anti-rabbit secondary antibody (bottom panel).
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DISCUSSION
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In this study we demonstrate that fibroblasts in a wound-healing model or replated on fibronectin to provoke cycling of focal adhesions revealed recruitment of tensin and PP1
together in time and space distinct from the recruitment of vinculin and paxillin, well recognized components of focal adhesions. Focal adhesions are now appreciated as dynamic structures, constantly remodeled by a cycle of formation, maturation, and dispersal. Initial adhesions formed at the leading edge of migrating or spreading cells mature and change composition by release and recruitment of protein components. Studies of this process have highlighted the striking differences in composition between early adhesions that are rich in the P-Tyr proteins vinculin and paxillin but lack tensin and adhesions that are tensin-rich but have little detectable P-Tyr (23, 24). Our working hypothesis is that tensin recruits PP1 into focal adhesions to catalyze selective dephosphorylation of Ser/Thr in nearby proteins. It is possible and even likely that tensin itself is a substrate of PP1
, because it is reported to be phosphorylated on Ser and Thr as well as Tyr residues (25). Which focal adhesion proteins are the substrates of PP1 and how their phosphorylation state affects adhesion dynamics or cell migration are complex unanswered questions. Though many focal adhesion proteins undergo Ser/Thr phosphorylation, the effects of phosphorylation on function is not understood and is generally understudied. One recent idea is that Ser/Thr phosphorylation regulates rates of focal adhesion assembly disassembly (11), a promising direction for new studies.
Tensin and PP1
were selectively co-precipitated from cell extracts and from chemically cross-linked focal adhesions, showing these proteins are associated together in complexes. Chemical cross-linking with Lomant's reagent (dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate)) forms spans
12 Å end to end. This distance is considerably less than the diameter of the cross-linked proteins themselves, such as PP1
, which is 50 x 35 x 35 Å (26), suggesting that tensin and PP1 are within close molecular proximity in adhesions. It was remarkable that neither FAK nor vinculin nor actin was cross-linked to PP1
in focal adhesions considering the abundance of these focal adhesion components and the attachment of actin filaments to tensin. We took the cross-linking results as evidence for distinct spatial domains within focal adhesions. We imagine that tensin-PP1
complexes are separate from complexes that contain FAK or vinculin.
We favor the hypothesis that the tensin N-terminal domain directly binds PP1
and functions as a regulatory subunit. Many PP1 regulatory subunits act as targeting proteins and directly bind PP1 with a canonical RVXF motif for primary interaction (see 2021). Tensin has at least six sequences that conform to this motif, distributed in the N-terminal and C-terminal domains. By making truncated versions of tensin, expressing them in cells, and testing for co-precipitation of co-expressed PP1
, we found that the N-terminal domain (residues 1360) alone is sufficient for tensin to associate with PP1. This domain is related in sequence to protein-tyrosine phosphatase and PTEN and alone can target GFP to focal adhesions (22). The multiple VXF motifs in the C terminus of tensin might function to bind PP1 separately from the N terminus, but a fusion protein with the tensin C-terminal domain did not associate with PP1, arguing that the VXF motifs in this region are not used to bind PP1. However, we are mindful that a lack-of-function result in the assay is not conclusive. We do know the N-terminal domain associates with PP1
, not PP1
, and mutation of either one of two VXF motifs in this region did not eliminate association in a pulldown assay (not shown). Additional experiments are required to map residues in tensin (1360) that are required for PP1
association and to test for direct binding with purified recombinant proteins. As yet we cannot exclude participation of a scaffold protein that binds tensin and PP1
together in a complex, but at least such a protein must be specific for the PP1
isoform.
Transiently expressed GFP-tensin appears in focal adhesions and foci in human cancer PC3 cells otherwise deficient in tensin. Our results are consistent with previous reports that GFP-tensin localizes into focal adhesions in NIH3T3 cells (19). In the living cells visualized without fixation, these adhesions were well formed, elongated structures as seen in fibroblasts and were evenly distributed across the cell. We noted that after fixation, the peripheral adhesions were unchanged in appearance, but adhesions toward the center of the cell area were lost or became more diffuse foci. This offers a clue that perhaps the stability or organization of the focal adhesions induced by GFP-tensin in these cancer cells was different from native focal adhesions in fibroblasts. The sensitivity to fixation was not seen in fibroblasts, even those expressing GFP-tensin, so it was not just because of the overexpression but more likely due to the composition and/or modifications of focal adhesion proteins in the cancer cells. These GFP-tensin-induced focal adhesions did recruit endogenous PP1
but not PP1
, again revealing isoform-specific targeting of the phosphatase in living cells.
It has become evident that focal adhesions physically recruit and are modified by multiple Ser/Thr phosphatases that thereby have effects on cell migration. PP2A is co-precipitated with the focal adhesion protein paxillin, and in metastatic mouse melanoma BL6 cells a truncated version of a PP2A regulatory B subunit impairs targeting of the phosphatase to focal adhesions and prevents specific dephosphorylation of paxillin (27). Reduction in PP2A levels by antisense oligonucleotides increased paxillin phosphorylation and cell motility (28). Cytostatin, a specific chemical inhibitor for protein phosphatase 2A, suppresses cell adhesion to extracellular matrix (29). Other results have shown PP1
localizes in focal adhesions of rat smooth muscle cells and HeLa cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and keratinocytes (30). This localization possibly involves direct interaction of the PP1
isoform with the C-terminal domain of FAK (FRNK region). PP1
is proposed to mediate dephosphorylation of Ser in FAK when cells are released from mitosis (31). Our results may be complementary, not necessarily conflicting with the reported PP1
-FAK interaction. It is possible PP1
and -
isoforms may both function in regulation of focal adhesions by assembly into different complexes with different partners, i.e. tensin or FAK. Results here show specific interaction and cross-linking of PP1
with tensin but not with FAK. Interaction with regulatory subunits spatially restricts PP1 within cells as well as alters substrate specificity (32) and determines sensitivity to inhibitor proteins (33). Therefore, we presume that PP1
binds to the protein-tyrosine phosphatase domain of tensin to selectively regulate a specific subset of phosphoproteins in focal adhesions. Although dozens of possible Ser/Thr phosphorylation sites are predicted and are now found in focal adhesion proteins (34), not much is known about their effects on function or response to signaling, subjects for further study.
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FOOTNOTES
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* This work was supported in part by grants from the United States Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health Grants CA 40042 (NCI) and Grant GM 56362 (NIGMS) and by a Scientist Development grant from the American Heart Association, National Center (to M. E.). 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: University of Virginia, Box 800577, 1400 Jefferson Park Ave., Charlottesville, VA 22908. Tel.: 434-924-5892; Fax: 434-243-2829; E-mail: db8g{at}virginia.edu.
2 The abbreviations used are: P-Tyr, phosphorylated Tyr; PP1, protein-Ser/Thr phosphatase-1; FAK, focal adhesion kinase; PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; TRITC, tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate; HA, hemagglutinin; MOPS, 4-morpholinepropanesulfonic acid; RIPA, radioimmune precipitation assay buffer. 
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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We appreciate the cooperation and encouragement of J. Thomas Parsons.
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