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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 282, Issue 31, 22406-22413, August 3, 2007
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From the Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa," Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas/Universidad Autónoma(CSIC/UAM), Fac. Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Received for publication, April 2, 2007 , and in revised form, June 13, 2007.
| ABSTRACT |
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40 and 30 kDa, a proteolytic process that was inhibited by specific calpain inhibitors. Interestingly, instead of inhibiting this enzyme, GSK-3 truncation augmented its kinase activity. When we digested recombinant GSK-3
and GSK-3
protein with calpain, each isoform was cleaved differently, yet the truncated GSK-3 isoforms were still active kinases. We also found that lithium, a GSK-3 inhibitor, inhibits full-length and cleaved GSK-3 isoforms with the same IC50 value. Calpain removed the N-terminal ends of His-tagged GSK-3 isoenzymes, and exposing cultured cortical neurons with ionomycin, glutamate, or N-methyl-D-aspartate led to the truncation of GSK-3. This truncation was blocked by the calpain inhibitor calpeptin, at the same concentration at which it inhibits calpain-mediated cleavage of NMDAR-2B and of p35 (the regulatory subunit of CDK5). Together, our data demonstrate that calpain activation produces a truncation of GSK-3 that removes an N-terminal inhibitory domain. Furthermore, we show that GSK-3
and GSK-3
isoenzymes have a different susceptibility to this cleavage, suggesting a means to specifically regulate these isoenzymes. These data provide the first direct evidence that calpain promotes GSK-3 truncation in a way that has implications in signal transduction, and probably in pathological disorders such as Alzheimer disease. | INTRODUCTION |
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-amyloid production from its precursor amyloid precursor protein (11) and its accumulation in the cytoplasm of pretangle neurons (12, 13).
In mammals, two GSK-3 isoenzymes (
and
) that share 95% amino acid identity have been described (14), although there is weaker homology at the N- and C-terminal ends than the central portions. Both isoenzymes are the products of two independent genes (mapped to chromosome 19q12.3 and 3q13.3, respectively (15, 160), and whereas the GSK-3
gene encodes a 51-kDa protein, the GSK-3
gene encodes a 47-kDa protein. Recently, a new alternative splice isoform of GSK-3
with an additional 13-amino-acid insert in the catalytic domain has also been described (17). Furthermore, the GSK-3
gene has been analyzed (18) and its promoter studied to identify variations that could be associated with abnormal function (19).
GSK-3 can phosphorylate a variety of cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins, and its substrates include cytoskeletal proteins, transcription factors, and metabolic regulators. Thus, GSK-3 plays a prominent role in establishing and maintaining cell architecture, gene expression, and apoptosis (3). Many GSK-3 substrates require prior phosphorylation by a priming kinase on a Ser or Thr residue four amino acids C-terminal to the GSK-3 target residue. Indeed, the crystal structure of human GSK-3
has provided a model for the binding of prephosphorylated substrates to the kinase (Protein Data Bank ID are 1I09
[PDB]
(20) and 1H8F (21)). Thus, the primed Ser/Thr is recognized by a positively charged "binding pocket" that facilitates the binding of primed substrates. Identifying the priming kinase is clearly of interest, and kinases such as cdk-5 (22–24), PAR-1 (25), casein kinase I (26), or protein kinase A (27) could act as priming kinases for GSK-3 phosphorylation.
GSK-3 is regulated at the post-translational level by phosphorylation, and autophosphorylation at Tyr-216 of GSK-3
or Tyr-276 of GSK-3
is necessary for its activation (28, 29). From the crystal structure, it has been proposed that unphosphorylated Tyr-216/276 blocks the access of primed substrates. Indeed, the published structure of phosphorylated GSK-3
(30) shows that phosphorylated Tyr-216 suffers a conformational change that allows the primed substrate to bind the enzyme. In Dictyostelium, the Zaphod kinase activates GSK-3 by Tyr-phosphorylation (31), whereas in mammals, Fyn tyrosine kinase (32) or some related tyrosine kinase may be involved in this process. However, it seems that phosphorylation of these residues may also be the result of autophosphorylation (29, 33).
Inhibition of the enzyme can be achieved by two different mechanisms (2). The first mechanism is triggered by insulin and growth factors, and it is mainly mediated by protein kinase B, which phosphorylates Ser-9 in GSK-3
and Ser-21 in GSK-3
. A model for this inhibition has been generated through structural studies (20, 21), and accordingly, the phosphorylated Ser-9/21 binds as a competitive pseudosubstrate to the primed-binding site, inhibiting the binding of the protein and its ensuing phosphorylation. The second mechanism of GSK-3 inhibition involves the wingless (Wnt) signaling pathway. GSK-3 contributes to a multiprotein complex formed by axin and adenomatous polyposis coli, in which it is able to phosphorylate
-catenin, targeting it for proteasome degradation (34). Wnt proteins bind to the Frizzled receptor, activating the Dishevelled protein, which in turn inhibits GSK-3 activity by disrupting this multiprotein complex. As a consequence,
-catenin accumulates and translocates into the nucleus, where it activates transcription by interacting with certain transcription factors.
In addition to these regulatory mechanisms, the mechanisms governing the turnover of GSK-3 may be critical in diseases in which GSK-3 activity is altered. The GSK-3
promoter is a TATA-less promoter with the characteristics of housekeeping genes, and with regard to Alzheimer disease, there are no reports of alterations in GSK-3
transcription (18, 19). On the other hand, the degradation of GSK-3 is poorly understood. In this context, we have consistently observed additional lower apparent molecular weight bands in overexposed immunoblots probed with some anti-GSK-3 antibodies, suggesting the presence of specific proteolytic fragments. Here, we have examined the effects of calpain on the cleavage of GSK-3. First we demonstrate that GSK-3
is truncated by calpain in vitro, whereas GSK-3
is not such a good substrate. We then identified the kinase region that is cleaved by calpain and demonstrated that this cleavage of GSK-3 takes place in cortical neurons after glutamatergic stimulation. Together, these data demonstrate a new means of regulating GSK-3 with important implications for all its physiological and pathological roles.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
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/
(pS9/21) and anti-GSK-3
/
obtained from BioSource (Camarillo, CA); anti-p35/25 obtained from Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA); anti-His and anti-
-tubulin obtained from Sigma; and anti-NR2C (35) obtained from Molecular Probes (Eugene, OR). Calpain was purchased from Calbiochem (catalogue number 208718), GSK-3
was from Upstate-Millipore (Chicago, IL; catalogue number 14-492), and GSK-3
was from Sigma (catalogue number G1663). Ionomycin, aprotinin, and pepstatin were all obtained from Sigma, whereas MK801, ALLN, and calpeptin were from Calbiochem.
Calpain Cleavage of GSK-3—Cortical mouse brain extracts were homogenized in 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4, containing 1.0 mM EDTA. Samples were then incubated at 30 °C for several minutes with or without 5.0 mM CaCl2 and in the presence or absence of protease inhibitors. The samples were then mixed with Laemmli sample buffer, electrophoresed, and Western blotted to identify the products of proteolysis by probing with antibodies against GSK-3. Commercial GSK-3 isoforms (0.5 µg) were incubated in 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4, 50 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM EGTA, and 5 mM
-mercaptoethanol and 0.2 units calpain/ml. Samples were then incubated at 30 °C for several minutes in the presence or absence of 5.0 mM CaCl2 and 10 µM calpeptin. Samples were then mixed with Laemmli sample buffer supplemented with 10 µM calpeptin and separated by electrophoresis.
GSK-3 Activity Assay—Cortical mouse brain extracts were homogenized in 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4, containing 1.0 mM EDTA. Samples were then incubated at 30 °C for several minutes in the presence or absence of 5.0 mM CaCl2 and 10 µM calpeptin. Reactions were terminated by adding a mixture of peptidase inhibitors (Roche Applied Science, Basel, Switzerland) supplemented with 20 µM calpeptin. Extracts were centrifuged at 14,000 x g for 15 min, and the supernatants were collected to assay GSK-3 activity. The GS1 peptide (YRRAAVPPSPSLSRHSSPHQS*EDEE) in which Ser-21 is phosphorylated was used as a substrate as described previously (36). Samples were incubated at 30 °C with 30 µM GS1 peptide in the presence of 50 µM ATP (1,000 cpm/pmol of [
-32P]ATP, PerkinElmer Life Sciences) in 25 mM Tris, pH 7.5, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 10 mM MgCl2, and either 10 mM NaCl or 10 mM LiCl. The assays were stopped by spotting aliquots onto P81 phosphocellulose paper, and the filters were processed as described previously (36). GSK-3 activity was calculated as the difference between the activity in the presence of 10 mM NaCl and the activity in the presence of 10 mM LiCl. The results were expressed as the percentage of activity with respect to the wild-type extracts. Commercial GSK-3 isoforms (0.5 µg) were incubated in 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4, 50 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM EGTA, 5 mM
-mercaptoethanol, and 0.2 units calpain/ml. Samples were then incubated at 30 °C for several minutes in the presence or absence of 5.0 mM CaCl2. The reactions were stopped with calpeptin 20 µM and a mixture of peptidase inhibitors (Roche Applied Science). GSK-3 activity was then measured as described above in the presence or absence of LiCl at different concentrations (0.01–20 mM). GSK-3 activity was normalized to the total GSK-3 protein levels measured after SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting.
Dephosphorylation Experiments—Commercial GSK-3 isoenzymes were dephosphorylated with
-phosphatase (BioLabs, IZASA SA, Barcelona, Spain) in 50 mM Tris, pH 7.8, 300 mM NaCl, 10% glycerol, 0.5 mM MnCl2, 5 mM dithiothreitol, and a mixture of peptidase inhibitors (Roche Applied Science) for 0.5 h at 30 °C to remove the adventitious phosphorylation that occurs during expression. The dephosphorylation of the protein was confirmed by Western blotting using the antibody anti-GSK-3
/
(pS9/21) and the anti-GSK-3
/
antibody as loading control.
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Drug Treatment—Dizocilpine maleate (MK-801) was dissolved in Me2SO, and the final concentration of Me2SO in the medium was 0.2–0.4%. NMDA and glutamate were dissolved in culture medium, and the drugs were added 30 min before the stimulation of NMDA receptors with 100 µM NMDA or 1 mM glutamate. Experiments were performed in the presence of glycine 100 µM.
SDS-PAGE and Immunoblotting—Samples were resolved on 10% SDS-polyacrylamide gel and transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane (Schleicher & Schuell). The membranes were probed with the following primary monoclonal antibodies: anti-GSK-3
/
(1/1,000), anti-
-tubulin (1/5,000), anti-His (1/1,000), anti-NR2C (1/100), anti-p35/25 (1/200), and anti-GSK-3
/
(pS9/21) (1/200). The filters were incubated with the antibody at 4 °C overnight in 5% nonfat dried milk. The immunoreactive bands were detected with a secondary goat anti-mouse antibody (1/5,000; Invitrogen) and visualized by ECL (Amersham Biosciences). Quantification of GSK-3 was performed by densitometric scanning, and the densitometry values were obtained in the linear range of detection with these antibodies. These values were normalized with respect to the values obtained with an anti-
-tubulin antibody to correct for any deviation in protein loading or with respect to the values obtained with anti-tubulin antibody to correct for total protein content.
Statistical Analysis—Statistical analysis of the data were performed using one-way analysis of variance.
| RESULTS |
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40 (fragment I) and 30 (fragment II) kDa were observed, although the 30-kDa band was fainter. The Ca2+-induced degradation was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by ALLN and calpeptin, two calpain inhibitors, with an IC50 of 11 and 60 nM, respectively (Fig. 1, B and D). To confirm that GSK-3 is proteolyzed by calpain, we studied the inhibition of the Ca2+-stimulated proteolysis of GSK-3 with selective inhibitors of different proteases. Neither aprotinin nor pepstatin, serine, and aspartic protease inhibitors, respectively, significantly inhibited the Ca2+-induced degradation of GSK-3 (Fig. 1, C and D), excluding the involvement of these types of proteases in the GSK-3 proteolysis. Taken together, these results indicated that elevated Ca2+ most probably activates calpain, which in turn cleaves GSK-3 (38).
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Calpain Cleaves GSK-3
and GSK-3
at Their N-terminal End—To assess whether both GSK-3 isoenzymes were substrates for calpain, recombinant GSK-3
and GSK-3
were incubated with the protease. Both isoenzymes were cleaved by calpain, producing two calpain-derived fragments (Fig. 2A). When these fragments were analyzed in the same gel (Fig. 2C), we observed that both isoenzymes produce a fragment of apparent molecular mass of 30 kDa (fragment II), whereas fragment I of GSK-3
had a slightly higher apparent molecular mass (42 kDa) than that from the
-isoform (40 kDa). Quantification of these proteolytic products (Fig. 2B) showed that both full-length isoforms were rapidly digested by calpain (Fig. 2B, open circles). However, fragment I generated from the
-isoform is a better substrate for calpain than the one generated from the
-isoform since after 5 min of calpain digestion, fragment I generated from GSK-3
represented about 25% of the total GSK-3
, whereas in the same experimental conditions, the equivalent fragment represented the 60% of the GSK-3
protein.
The recombinant GSK-3 isoenzymes used were His-tagged at their N-terminal ends, and when assayed as above and probed with an antibody against the His tag, the breakdown products generated from both GSK-3 isoforms were not detected, indicating that the N-terminal end was that removed by calpain (Fig. 2D). Furthermore, this confirms that calpain digests both full-length isoforms rapidly to generate fragment I. Indeed, the antibody that recognizes the His-tagged epitope is unable to detect the full-length GSK-3 isoforms 2 min after exposure to calpain.
Truncated GSK-3 Isoenzymes Are Active Kinases—To determine whether calpain-mediated GSK-3 proteolysis alters its kinase activity, the effects of calpain on recombinant GSK-3 isoenzymes were studied. The study was performed with GSK-3 isoforms treated with calpain for 0.5–5 min. Fig. 3A shows that the GSK-3
kinase activity increased over incubation time. Thus, calpain-mediated proteolysis of recombinant GSK-3
showed a significant (p < 0.01) increase in GSK-3 activity (330.1 ± 7.3% at 5 min) when compared with the untreated enzyme. When the same experiment was carried out with the GSK-3
isoform, a similar increase in kinase activity was not observed. These data demonstrate that the GSK-3 fragments are catalytic and suggest that calpain-mediated proteolysis selectively augments the kinase activity of the
isoform.
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was phosphorylated at Ser-9, there was very little phosphorylation of Ser-21 in the
-isoform (Fig. 3B). These results were confirmed by treating GSK-3 isoforms with phosphatase-
, which abolished the binding of the anti-P-Ser 21/9-GSK-3
/
antibody without altering the total amount of protein (Fig. 3B). Thus, the differential effect on the
-isoform can be explained by the removal of its inhibitory domain, leading to increased kinase activity. On the contrary, the
-isoform was not phosphorylated at Ser-21, and therefore, its cleavage did not affect the kinase activity.
Li+ selectively inhibits GSK-3, which may explain some of its pharmacological effects (39). Although its binding site has not been identified, Li+ is a competitive inhibitor of magnesium with respect to GSK-3 (40). We investigated the effects of Li+ on truncated GSK-3 activity using commercial GSK-3 isoenzymes (Fig. 3C). Li+ inhibited GSK-3
and GSK-3
with IC50 values of 3.91 ± 1.25 and 2.63 ± 1.13 mM, respectively, reducing kinase activity by 90% at 20 mM LiCl. Interestingly, lithium inhibited the truncated GSK-3 isoforms generated after 0.5 and 5 min of calpain treatment with a similar IC50. Therefore, full-length and truncated GSK-3
and GSK-3
are inhibited by Li+ in the same way, suggesting that GSK-3 cleavage does not affect the Li+-binding site.
Calcium Influx in Cultured Cortical Neurons Induces GSK-3 Proteolysis through Calpain Activation—Treatment of cultured cortical neurons with the calcium ionophore ionomycin in the presence of extracellular calcium induced GSK-3 truncation in a time-dependent manner (Fig. 4). This GSK-3 truncation was prevented by the addition of the calpain inhibitor calpeptin to the culture. Thus, we addressed whether the GSK-3 truncation by calpain could also be observed after stimulation of ionotropic NMDA receptors, which upon activation, increase intracellular Ca2+ concentrations. We first analyzed the cleavage of NMDA subunits by calpain in primary neuronal cultures, a well characterized system where calpain activation occurs (35, 41). Activation of the NMDA receptor by NMDA or glutamate led to calpain-specific proteolysis of the NR2B subunit (Fig. 5A). This activation of NMDA receptors increased the levels of a 115-kDa product recognized by a specific antibody (35), whereas a parallel decrease of the 170-kDa full-length NR2B subunit was observed. The effect of NMDA was mediated by calpain as calpeptin and ALLN prevented the formation of the 115-kDa product (Fig. 5B). MK-801 preincubation blocked both the decrease of the full-length NR2B subunit and the increase of the low molecular weight form. We then analyzed the status of GSK-3 in Western blots of the same samples, and we detected the additional low molecular weight isoforms of GSK-3 (Fig. 5A). This effect was time-dependent (Fig. 5B) and mediated by NMDA receptors as MK-801 abolished GSK-3 truncation (Fig. 5A). Glutamate, the physiological ligand of NMDA receptors, induced the same response in cultured cortical neurons. Moreover, since MK-801 prevented both effects (GSK-3 and NR2B subunit truncation, Fig. 5A), the effect of glutamate was mediated by NMDA receptors. Thus, glutamate induces calpain-mediated truncation of GSK-3 by acting on NMDA receptors, which can be inhibited by calpeptin in a dose-dependent manner (Fig. 5C), confirming the involvement of calpains. Although fragment I was prominent in these experiments (Fig. 5), fragment II was only detected in overexposed immunoblots.
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Cdk5 is another proline-directed Ser/Thr protein kinase that is expressed in neurons together with its regulatory subunit p35. The N-terminal truncation of p35 to p25 by calpain results in deregulation of Cdk5 and contributes to the neuronal cell death associated with several neurodegenerative diseases (42–44). We tested whether the breakdown of p35 to p25 also occurs in our experimental conditions. When primary cultures were probed with an antibody that recognizes the p35/p25 protein, the p25 fragment was generated in parallel with the truncated GSK-3 isoforms (Fig. 5B) and with a similar sensitivity to the increase in the concentration of the calpain inhibitor calpeptin (Fig. 5C).
| DISCUSSION |
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and GSK-3
isoenzymes, suggesting that this may be a means to differentially regulate both isoenzymes. Collectively, these data identify a novel role for calpain in the regulation of GSK-3 activity and describe a new way of regulating GSK-3. Calcium influx into cortical neurons caused by an ionophore increased GSK-3 truncation in a time-dependent manner. This increase was prevented by calpain inhibitors, indicating that calpains were required to mediate the effect of intracellular calcium on GSK-3 truncation. Incubation of cortical neurons with glutamate or NMDA caused the same calpain-dependent GSK-3 truncation. Interestingly, this proteolytic event correlates with an increase in GSK-3 activity (Fig. 5D). As an indicator of calpain activation, we measured the degradation of the NMDA subunit NR2B, a well characterized calpain-dependent process (45), as well as the truncation of the p35 regulatory subunit of CDK-5 into the p25 truncated form. Our data show that the proteolytic fragment generated by NMDA/glutamate stimulation is not accumulated. This suggests that calpain cleaves the regulatory N-terminal end, yielding a short-lived, constitutively active form of the enzyme. It is interesting to note that in in vitro assays with recombinant GSK-3 isoenzymes, the truncated fragment I does not accumulate, and it is the 30-kDa fragment that accumulates. When similar studies were performed on primary neuronal cultures and on brain tissue, only the 40-kDa form accumulates. A possible explanation for this is that when GSK-3 is sequentially truncated by calpain first into the fragment I and then into fragment II, this latter product is rapidly degraded, and it is, therefore, not easily detected.
Calpains can regulate protein kinases involved in several signal transduction pathways (38). Thus, calpains cleave the regulatory domain of protein kinase C, yielding a short-lived, constitutively active form of the enzyme (46, 47). Cdk5 is also altered by the calpain-mediated generation of two cdk5 activators, p25 and p29, from their respective p35/p39 precursors (42–44). Calmodulin kinase II is degraded by calpain to an active fragment, which is not regulated by calmodulin (48). We add here GSK-3 as a new protein kinase whose activity is up-regulated by proteolysis. Together, these data suggest a common pattern that connects calpain and different protein kinases. Thus, calpains release kinase from the inhibitory mechanisms that ensure the normal repression of catalytic domains.
The generation of a similar GSK-3 fragment with a higher specific activity than the intact form has been reported previously (49). The generation of such a proteolytic fragment was described as an aberrant process thought to take place during the purification procedure. Our data demonstrate that this fragment is not merely due to aberrant proteolysis but that it reflects a regulated mechanism with physiological implications. More precisely, N-terminal truncation eliminates the regulatory domain that inhibits the catalytic activity and offers a new way to regulate GSK-3 that is independent of the protein kinase/protein phosphatase equilibrium.
The present results have clear implications in all the transduction pathways in which GSK-3 is involved and especially in neurodegenerative processes such as AD. Thus, it is well established that aberrant Tau phosphorylation in AD is due to GSK-3 and/or CDK5 activation, although the connection and the relative contribution of each protein remains unclear. Taking into account that calpains induce p35 truncation (42, 43) and that calpain also induces GSK-3 activation through N-terminal truncation (present data), it is possible that the deregulation of calcium homeostasis may contribute to AD neuropathology through the calpain/GSK-3/CDK5 system. Thus, our data support the view that calpains may provide a link between both kinases (Fig. 6).
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| FOOTNOTES |
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1 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 34-91-497-8443; Fax: 34-91-497-4799; E-mail: fhernandez{at}cbm.uam.es.
2 The abbreviations used are: AD, Alzheimer disease; NMDA, N-methyl-D-aspartate; ALLN, acetylleucine, leucine, norleucinal; DIV, days in vitro. ![]()
| REFERENCES |
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