|
Advertisement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 282, Issue 43, 31675-31687, October 26, 2007
The eIF2
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ABSTRACT |
|---|
|
|
|---|
(eIF2
) is mediated by a family of kinases that respond to various forms of environmental stress. The eIF2
kinases are critical for mRNA translation, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. Activation of the tumor suppressor p53 results in cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in response to various types of stress. We previously showed that, unlike the majority of stress responses that stabilize and activate p53, induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress leads to p53 degradation through an Mdm2-dependent mechanism. Here, we demonstrate that the endoplasmic reticulum-resident eIF2
kinase PERK mediates the proteasomal degradation of p53 independently of translational control. This role is not specific for PERK, because the eIF2
kinase PKR also promotes p53 degradation in response to double-stranded RNA. We further establish that the eIF2
kinases induce glycogen synthase kinase 3 to promote the nuclear export and proteasomal degradation of p53. Our findings reveal a novel cross-talk between the eIF2
kinases and p53 with implications in cell proliferation and tumorigenesis. | INTRODUCTION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
50% of human cancers (1). In normal cells, p53 plays a pivotal role in controlling cell cycle, apoptosis, and DNA repair in response to various forms of genotoxic stress (2, 3). The regulation of p53 is complex and occurs mainly at the post-translational level (4). This is mediated by various post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation and acetylation, which contribute to its stabilization and activation (5). The stability of p53 is regulated by its interaction with Hdm2 (human Mdm2), an E3-ubiquitin ligase that acts as an antagonist limiting p53 tumor suppressor function (6). Both p53 and Hdm2 are in an autoregulatory feedback loop in which p53 induces Hdm2 expression at the transcriptional level. The Hdm2 protein then binds to and ubiquitinates p53 in the nucleus, a process that allows the nuclear export and the cytoplasmic proteasome-dependent degradation of the tumor suppressor (6). In addition to Hdm2, other ubiquitin ligases, such as COP1 (7) and Pirh2 (8), have been shown to disrupt p53 stability. However, compared with Hdm2, little is currently known about how these ligases act on p53 (9). The majority of stress responses that activate p53 require its nuclear accumulation and function (10). This is mediated mainly through inactivation of the Hdm2-dependent degradation pathway as well as through interactions with nuclear proteins that promote post-translational modifications of p53 leading to its stabilization and activation (10). The current interest in p53 is underscored by the tremendous therapeutic benefits of its reactivation in cancer cells. Small molecules or peptides that restore the function of mutant p53 proteins have a great anti-tumor potential by enhancing the apoptotic sensitivity of tumor cells (11-13). Because p53 activity is influenced by many factors, targeting of proteins that regulate p53 function may also be necessary to ensure its ability to switch on its apoptotic programs (1, 6). Thus, more information is needed about the partners of p53 and their role in regulating signaling pathways that modulate p53 tumor suppressor function in both normal and tumor cells.
Regulation of gene expression at the translational level plays a critical role in cell growth, proliferation, and tumor development (14, 15). Translation can be controlled at each of the three steps: initiation, elongation, and termination (16). However, most regulation is exerted at the level of initiation, when the ribosome is recruited to an mRNA and positioned at the initiation codon (17). A critical event in this process is the phosphorylation of the
subunit of translation initiation factor eIF25 at serine 51 (Ser51), a modification that blocks initiation (18). This is because phosphorylated eIF2 acts as a dominant inhibitor of the guanine exchange factor eIF2B and prevents recycling of eIF2 between successive rounds of protein synthesis. Phosphorylation of eIF2
is mediated by kinases that respond to distinct forms of stress (18). The eIF2
kinase family includes the heme-regulated inhibitor (HRI), whose activity is prevented by heme in vitro and in vivo, and which becomes activated when cells are deficient in iron or heme or exposed to oxidative stress (19). The general control non-derepressible-2 is activated by uncharged tRNA as a result of amino acid starvation resulting in the induction of amino acid biosynthetic genes (20, 21). The activity of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident protein kinase PERK/PEK is induced by the presence of unfolded proteins in the ER and results in a decrease of protein synthesis to prevent the accumulation of incorrectly folded or unfolded proteins (22, 23). Finally, the interferon-inducible protein kinase PKR, the prototype of the eIF2
kinases, is activated by double-stranded (ds) RNA produced during virus replication and results in the inhibition of viral and host protein synthesis (24, 25). Each of these enzymes exhibit a number of significant sequence similarities between them, particularly in the protein kinase domain (KD) (18). This may account for the common substrate specificity toward eIF2
and indicate the conserved properties of the kinases throughout evolution (18).
In the past years, there has been much progress in identifying new conditions that induce the eIF2
phosphorylation pathway. For example, the cloning and characterization of PERK and mammalian general control non-derepressible-2 have revealed the important role of translational control in cells subjected to ER stress and nutrient deprivation (26). ER stress typically switches on cytoprotective measures that help cells adapt to this form of stress and induces apoptosis only when adaptation is not possible (27). One of these adaptive mechanisms requires the down-regulation of p53 (28). Specifically, we demonstrated that ER stress inhibits the apoptotic function of p53 (29). It does so by promoting the nuclear export and degradation of p53 through the activation of glycogen synthase kinase-3
(GSK-3
) (29). We further showed that ER stress enhances the Hdm2-dependent ubiquitination of p53, which requires GSK-3
-mediated phosphorylation of p53 at Ser315 and Ser376 (30). The negative role of GSK-3
in regulation of p53 is supported by other studies showing the ability of nuclear GSK-3
to phosphorylate Hdm2 and promote p53 degradation (31). Thus, unlike DNA damage and other types of stress that stabilize p53, ER stress is the only type of stress described so far that leads to p53 destabilization.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
S/S and eIF2
A/A MEFs were maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium plus non-heat inactivated calf serum, essential and non-essential amino acids (Invitrogen), and antibiotics. A549, U2OS, and HCT116 cells were maintained in F12K medium (Cellgro), Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium, and McCoy's 5A medium (Cellgro), respectively, supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Invitrogen) and antibiotics (penicillin/streptomycin, 100 units/ml). Tunicamycin (10 µg/ml, Sigma), thapsigargin (TG) (1 µM, Sigma), leptomycin B (3 ng/ml, Sigma), MG132 (10 µM, Biomol), and 1-azakenpaullone (1 µM, Calbiochem) were dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO). LiCl (Sigma) was dissolved in water, dsRNA (poly(rI-rC), 10 µg/ml) was dissolved in phosphate-buffered saline. The salubrinal derivative Sal003 (75 µM) and coumermycin (100 ng/ml, Sigma) were used as described (32, 33). For transient transfections, Lipofectamine 2000 reagent (Invitrogen) was used according to the manufacturer's specifications. Protein Extraction and Immunoblot Analysis—Cells were washed twice with ice-cold phosphate-buffered saline and proteins were extracted in ice-cold lysis buffer containing 10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 50 mM KCl, 2 mM MgCl2, 1% Triton X-100, 3 µg/ml aprotinin, 1 µg/ml pepstatin, 1 µg/ml leupeptin, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 0.1 mM Na3VO4, and 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride. Extracts were kept on ice for 15 min, centrifuged at 10,000 x g for 15 min (4 °C), and supernatants were stored at -80 °C. Proteins were quantified by Bradford assay (Bio-Rad).
For immunoblotting, whole cell extracts (50 µg of protein) were resolved by SDS-PAGE and proteins were then electroblotted onto polyvinylidene difluoride membranes (Immobilon P, Millipore). Primary antibodies (1:1000 dilution, unless specified) used were as follows: rabbit polyclonal antibody to PERK (generous gift from D. Ron), rabbit polyclonal antibody to phosphoserine 51-eIF2
(1:5000 dilution, BioSource), rabbit polyclonal anti-eIF2
(sc-11386, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA), mouse monoclonal antibody to PKR (B-10, sc-6282, Santa Cruz), mouse monoclonal antibody to actin (1:5000 dilution, Clone C4, ICN Biomedicals Inc.), mouse monoclonal antibody to human p53 (DO-1, Ab-6, Oncogene Science), a rabbit polyclonal antibody to mouse p53 (CM-5, Novocastra), rabbit polyclonal antibody to GSK-3
(number 9332, Cell Signaling), rabbit polyclonal antibody to phosphoserine 641/645 of glycogen synthase (Upstate), mouse monoclonal antibody to glycogen synthase (Cell Signaling), rabbit polyclonal antibody to PUMA (3041, ProSci Inc.), and rabbit polyclonal antibody to NOXA (2437, ProSci Inc.). Anti-mouse IgG-horseradish peroxidase or anti-rabbit IgG-horseradish peroxidase-conjugated antibodies were used as secondary antibodies (1:1000 dilution). Proteins were visualized by enhanced chemiluminescence (ECL) according to the manufacturer's specification (Amersham Biosciences). Quantification of bands was performed by densitometry using the NIH Image 1.54 software.
Immunofluorescence Studies—The detection of GFP-p53, GSK-3
, or p53 by immunofluorescence was performed as previously described (29). For immunofluorescence, cells were stained with a 1:200 dilution for mouse monoclonal antibody to p53 (DO-1, Oncogene Science) or a 1:100 dilution for rabbit polyclonal antibody to GSK-3
(number 9332, Cell Signaling). The nucleus was visualized after staining with 0.05 µg/ml of 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) (Sigma). Images were captured on a Zeiss microscope using equal exposure times. Nuclear/cytoplasmic ratios were determined by calculating total pixel intensity in a circle of 4 µm in diameter in the nucleus and the cytoplasm using AxioVision 4.5 software. The background was determined by calculating pixel intensity in a 4-µm diameter cell-free area. This area was then subtracted from the nuclear and cytoplasmic measurements for each cell within the microscopy field. Experiments were performed in triplicate.
|
Kinase Assay—Protein extracts (100 µg) were mixed with 15 µl of kinase buffer (50 mM HEPES, pH 7.2, 0.1 mM EDTA, 0.1 mM dithiothreitol, 1 µCi of [
-32P]ATP, 10 mM MgCl2) and 50 µM synthetic phospho-CREB substrate peptide (KRREILSRRP(pS)YR) with or without 1-azakenpaullone (1 µM). After 30 min of incubation at 30 °C, 10 µl of trichloroacetic acid was added and the reaction mixtures were centrifuged, and 20 µl of the supernatant was spotted onto Whatman P81 phosphocellulose paper. Filters were washed in three changes of 0.85% phosphoric acid, dried, and subjected to liquid scintillation counting. All kinase assays were performed in triplicate. siRNA Treatments—For siRNA transfection, 1.25 x 105 HT1080 cells were seeded onto 6-well plates. The following day, cells were transfected with 200 pmol of nonspecific (GL-2, Control) or human PERK siRNA (Dharmacon) using 4 µl of Lipofectamine 2000 (Invitrogen) in medium devoid of serum. Six hours post-transfection, the plates were washed with serum-free Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium and replenished with medium containing 10% serum. Cells were incubated at 37 °C for an additional 72 h before being treated with thapsigargin or coumermycin.
Polysome Profile Analysis and RNA Extraction—Polysome profiling protocol used was previously described (34). The gradients were prepared with the ISCO model 160 Gradient Former and were fractionated into 20 fractions of 500 µl using the ISCO density gradient fractionation system Foxy Jr. Fraction Collector while measuring the absorbance at 254 nm. The RNA was isolated from each fraction using TRIzol (Invitrogen) and the manufacturer's specifications.
Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR)—The extracted RNA (from each fraction) was used for reverse transcription using SuperScript II RNase H Reverse Transcriptase (90 units/reaction, 18064-014, Invitrogen) and 100 µM oligo(dT) primer (dT20VN) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The Taq-Plus Precision Polymerase (2 units/reaction, 600212, Stratagene) was used for PCR according to the manufacturer's specifications. The PCR program was as follows: 94 °C, 1 min; 58 °C, 1 min; and 72 °C, 1 min x 28 cycles. The following primers were used: p53 forward, 5'-AACCTACCAGGGCAGCTACG-3', p53 reverse, 5'-TTCCTCTGTGCGCCGGTCTC-3'; ATF4 forward, 5'-CTGGCTGTGGATGGGTTGGT-3', ATF4 reverse, 5'-GAGGGGCTGTGCTGCGGAGA-3'; GAPDH forward, 5'-CATCATCTCTGCCCCCTCTGCT-3', and GAPDH reverse, 5'-GACGCCTGCTTCACCACCTTCT-3'.
| RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Kinases Results in p53 Degradation—ER stress induces the nuclear export and proteasomal degradation of p53 (29, 30). To better understand the signaling pathways induced by ER stress that converge on p53, we examined whether p53 degradation is mediated by PERK. To this end, we subjected primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) expressing wild type PERK (PERK+/+) or lacking PERK (PERK-/-) to ER stress after treatment with TG. We noticed that p53 protein levels were decreased by
70% in PERK+/+ MEFs after treatment with TG treatment as opposed to PERK-/- MEFs, in which p53 levels remained unaffected (Fig. 1A). We also found that down-regulation of p53 in HT1080 cells, which contain wild type p53 (29), treated with TG was rescued when endogenous PERK was targeted by siRNA (Fig. 1B). Although siRNA did not completely eliminate endogenous PERK, its partial inactivation was sufficient to prevent p53 degradation in response to TG treatment (Fig. 1B, lanes 3 and 4). These data revealed a negative effect of PERK on p53 in ER-stressed cells.
|
kinases exert similar effects on p53 as PERK. When HT1080 cells were transfected with dsRNA, which activates PKR, we noticed that p53 levels were reduced by
80% concomitantly with an induction of eIF2
phosphorylation (Fig. 1C, lane 3). Unlike dsRNA transfection, incubation of cells with dsRNA alone was insufficient to down-regulate p53 indicating that an intracellular pathway is required to decrease the levels of the tumor suppressor (Fig. 1C, lane 2). Down-regulation of p53 by transfected dsRNA was prevented by the presence of MG132 thus implicating the proteasome degradation machinery in this process (Fig. 1C, lane 6). It is of interest that MG132 decreased eIF2
phosphorylation in cells transfected with dsRNA indicating that p53 down-regulation may be proportional to eIF2
phosphorylation (Fig. 1C, compare lane 3 with lane 6). Given that dsRNA transfection activates several proteins in addition to PKR (35), we verified the role of the eIF2
kinase in NIH 3T3 cells, which contain wild type p53 and whose endogenous PKR levels were knocked-down by shRNA. We noticed that p53 protein levels were decreased by 80% in control shRNA-treated cells in response to dsRNA transfection (Fig. 1D, lane 2) as opposed to cells with inactivated PKR, in which p53 protein levels remained stable (Fig. 1D, lanes 3 with 4). Collectively, these findings supported a negative role of eIF2
kinases in p53 stabilization.
Activation of eIF2
Kinases Results in p53 Degradation Independently of eIF2
Phosphorylation—To better understand the mechanisms of p53 down-regulation by eIF2
kinases, we utilized a conditionally active form of PKR expressed in HT1080 cells (33). This form consists of the first 220 amino acids of the bacterial gyrase B (GyrB) protein fused to the kinase domain (KD) of the human PKR (GyrB-PKR) (36). Treatment of cells with the antibiotic coumermycin causes the activation of GyrB-PKR by dimerization leading to the phosphorylation of eIF2
at Ser51 and inhibition of protein synthesis (33, 36). Given that the high degree of homology between the KD of all eIF2
kinases (37), the GyrB-PKR system faithfully represents the consequences of activation of all eIF2
kinases. Treatment of GyrB-PKR-expressing HT1080 cells with coumermycin resulted in the down-regulation of p53 concomitantly with an induction of eIF2
phosphorylation (Fig. 2A, lane 2). On the other hand, expression of the catalytically inactive GyrB-PKR K296H in HT1080 cells did not affect p53 protein levels (Fig. 2A, lane 4). Treatment with MG132 prevented the down-regulation of p53 by the conditional activation of GyrB-PKR (Fig. 2B, compare lane 2 with lane 4) supporting a role of the proteasome pathway in this process. Taken together, these data demonstrated that the eIF2
kinase activity is both necessary and sufficient to mediate the proteasomal degradation of p53.
Given the fundamental role of eIF2
kinases in translational control (37), we next investigated a possible link between p53 destabilization and protein synthesis inhibition. Treatment of HT1080 cells (Fig. 2C) or NIH 3T3 cells (Fig. 2D) with Sal003, a derivative of salubrinal (38) that blocks eIF2
dephosphorylation (32), did not affect the overall levels of p53. These data suggested that induction of eIF2
phosphorylation alone is not capable of inducing the destabilization of p53.
Translation of p53 mRNA Resists to eIF2
Phosphorylation—The above data favored a post-translational regulation of p53 by the eIF2
kinases. To verify this prediction, we measured the translatability of p53 mRNA by polysome profile analysis, a technique that allows the separation of monosomes from polyribosomes by sucrose density centrifugation (39). Efficiently translated mRNAs are bound to polyribosomes, whereas mRNAs that are poorly translated are associated with monosomes or disomes. We first examined the translatability of p53 mRNA in GyrB-PKR-expressing cells (Fig. 3A). Polysomal mRNA was isolated from total cellular mRNA by fractionation through 10-55% sucrose gradient. The distribution of ribosomes and mRNAs in the gradient fractions was determined by UV spectroscopy and the presence of specific mRNAs was identified by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. In each gradient, fractions 1-4 represent free mRNAs, whereas fractions 5-11 represent the ribosomal subunits (40S and 60S) and the single associated ribosome (80S or monosome). Fractions 12-20 represent mRNA associated with polyribosomes. We observed that activation of GyrB-PKR by coumermycin resulted in a significant reduction of polyribosome fractions concomitant with an increase in ribosomal subunit peaks indicative of inhibition of translation initiation. We utilized ATF4 mRNA as a control for its capacity to be better translated under conditions that induce eIF2
phosphorylation (40). We observed that ATF4 transcripts shifted toward larger polyribosome fractions upon coumermycin treatment indicative of their efficient translation (Fig. 3A, right panel, compare fractions 9-14 of control to fractions 15-20 of treated samples). The GAPDH transcripts were also used as a control for general mRNA translation. Unlike the ATF4 mRNA, a large portion of GAPDH mRNAs shifted toward monosomes indicative of the general shut-off of translation. When p53 mRNA translation was assessed, we found that the p53 transcripts remained associated with the polyribosome fractions before and after the activation of GyrB-PKR with coumermycin. These data strongly suggested that p53 mRNAs are efficiently translated under conditions of translational inhibition caused by eIF2
kinase activation.
|
phosphorylation for efficient translation (Fig. 3B, compare fractions 9-14 of control to fractions 15-20 of treated samples). Contrary to ATF4, a significant fraction of GAPDH transcripts shifted toward monosomes due to translation inhibition by eIF2
phosphorylation. Interestingly, p53 transcripts exhibited a similar sedimentation pattern in both untreated and treated cells (Fig. 3B), suggesting that p53 mRNAs undergo efficient translation under conditions that induce eIF2
phosphorylation. Similar results were obtained with cells subjected to dsRNA transfection.6
Activation of eIF2a Kinases Leads to the Nucleocytoplasmic Export of p53—To gain better insight into the mechanisms of p53 destabilization, we looked at the localization of p53 in response to various forms of stress that activate the eIF2
kinases. Previous work from our group demonstrated that cytoplasmic localization of p53 is induced in cells subjected to ER stress (29, 30). In analogy to ER stress, we observed that transfection of HT1080 cells with dsRNA enhanced the cytoplasmic relocation of p53, which was prevented by treatment with MG132 (Fig. 4A). Thus, cytoplasmic localization of p53 is linked to its proteasomal degradation in response to dsRNA. These data posed the interesting question whether the eIF2
kinases are involved in this process. To test this hypothesis, we utilized the GyrB-PKR system to examine the subcellular distribution of p53 as a result of eIF2
kinase activation. We noticed that treatment of GyrB-PKR-expressing cells with coumermycin increased the cytoplasmic localization of endogenous p53 as opposed to coumermycin-treated cells expressing the catalytically inactive GyrB-PKR K296H in which p53 remained nuclear (Fig. 4B). Treatment of cells with the CRM1 inhibitor leptomycin B resulted in the stabilization of p53 (Fig. 4C) and its nuclear retention (Fig. 4D) upon activation of GyrB-PKR with coumermycin. In addition, cytoplasmic localization of p53 was blocked by the presence of MG132 in GyrB-PKR cells treated with coumermycin (Fig. 4E). These data showed that eIF2
kinase activation is sufficient to promote both the cytoplasmic relocation and proteasomal degradation of p53.
|
phosphorylation. We found that p53 remained nuclear in Sal003-treated cells (Fig. 5A) providing evidence that eIF2
phosphorylation is not sufficient for the cytoplasmic relocation of p53. We also took advantage of the generation of spontaneously immortalized MEFs containing either the wild type eIF2
allele (S/S) or an eIF2
allele bearing the S51A mutation (A/A) (42). Given that p53 in both MEF types is mutant due to immortalization,6 we assessed the localization of ectopically expressed GFP-p53 upon ER stress. We found that treatment with either tunicamycin or TG enhanced the cytoplasmic localization of GFP-p53 in both eIF2
S/S and eIF2
A/A MEFs (Fig. 5B) demonstrating that eIF2
phosphorylation is not a determinant of the nuclear export of p53.
The eIF2
Kinases Mediate p53 Ser315 Phosphorylation and GSK-3
Nuclear Localization—We previously showed that ER stress leads to p53 phosphorylation at Ser315, which is required for its nuclear export and degradation (29, 30). Considering the enhanced nuclear export of p53 by eIF2
kinases, we hypothesized a role of Ser315 phosphorylation in this process. Due to the unavailability of antibodies that specifically recognize Ser315 of p53,6 we employed the GyrB-PKR system to examine the localization of GFP-p53 WT and GFP-p53 bearing either the S315A mutation or the phosphomimetic S315D mutation (Fig. 6A). We observed that GFP-p53 S315A was nuclear in untreated cells and remained nuclear in GyrB-PKR cells treated with coumermycin. On the other hand, GFP-p53 WT was nuclear in untreated cells and became both nuclear and cytoplasmic in response to coumermycin treatment (Fig. 6A). Contrary to this, GFP-p53 S315D exhibited both nuclear and cytoplasmic localization in untreated cells, which was not altered after treatment with coumermycin (Fig. 6A). These findings provided evidence that Ser315 phosphorylation facilitates the nuclear export of p53 caused by eIF2
kinase activation.
|
(29, 30). In analogy to ER stress, we found that transfection of cells with dsRNA induces the nuclear localization of GSK-3
in HT1080 cells (Fig. 6B). This event is not dependent on eIF2
phosphorylation because treatment of cells with Sal003 did not induce the nuclear localization of GSK-3
(Fig. 6B). When the GyrB-PKR system was used, we found that activation of GyrB-PKR by coumermycin was sufficient to induce the nuclear localization of GSK-3
(Fig. 6C). Induction of nuclear localization of GSK-3
was not possible in coumermycin-treated cells expressing GyrB-PKR K296H, demonstrating that this event requires the catalytic activity of eIF2
kinases. These data provided evidence for a functional cross-talk between the eIF2
kinases and GSK-3
converging on p53.
The eIF2
Kinases Act Upstream of GSK-3
to Mediate p53 Degradation—The above findings prompted us to examine whether eIF2
kinases induce GSK-3
activity. We looked at GSK-3
at Ser9, which exerts an inhibitory effect by converting the N terminus segment of the kinase to a pseudosubstrate that competes for substrate binding (43). We also looked at the phosphorylation of GSK-3
at Tyr216 within the activation loop, which positively regulates its enzymatic activity (43). Our experiments with phosphospecific antibodies did not yield a consistent pattern of GSK-3 phosphorylation at either Ser9 or Tyr216 in all cells treated with conditions that activate the eIF2
kinases.7 This indicated that regulation of GSK-3
may involve several post-translational modifications that all contribute to its overall activation. To bypass this limitation, we measured the overall GSK-3 activity in whole cell extracts by measuring the phosphorylation of a CREB peptide containing an optimal (i.e. primed) GSK-3 phosphorylation site in kinase assays in vitro. We found that phosphorylation of the optimal substrate was induced after its incubation with protein extracts from HT1080 cells subjected to dsRNA transfection or ER stress with TG (Fig. 7A) indicating that both treatments activate GSK-3. We also detected an induction of CREB peptide phosphorylation in protein extracts from dsRNA-transfected NIH 3T3 cells, which was impaired by the presence of 1-azakenpaullone, an inhibitor of GSK-3 (Fig. 7B). However, induction of the GSK-3 substrate phosphorylation was not observed in dsRNA-transfected NIH 3T3 cells in which PKR was eliminated by shRNA (Fig. 7B), suggesting that GSK-3 activation upon this treatment requires PKR. When we looked at PERK, we noticed an induction of peptide phosphorylation in protein extracts from PERK+/+ MEFs after TG treatment, which was compromised by the pharmacological inhibition of GSK-3 (Fig. 7C). TG treatment, however, did not induce the phosphorylation of the peptide in extracts from PERK-/- MEFs providing evidence that PERK is upstream of GSK-3 in cells subjected to ER stress (Fig. 7C). The in vitro phosphorylation assays were further verified in vivo by looking at the phosphorylation of endogenous glycogen synthase (GS), which is the best characterized substrate of GSK-3, with phosphospecific antibodies. We observed that a higher amount of GS was phosphorylated at Ser641/Ser645 in PERK+/+ MEFs than in PERK-/- MEFs after TG treatment. GS phosphorylation was proportional to PERK activation as judged by the eIF2
phosphorylation levels in TG-treated cells (Fig. 7D, compare the levels of phosphorylated proteins in first and fourth panels).
|
kinases was further verified by looking at p53 degradation and phosphorylation of GS in vivo. In analogy to ER stress (29, 30), transfection with dsRNA caused a higher destabilization of p53 in primary GSK-3
+/+ MEFs than in GSK-3
-/- MEFs (Fig. 8A) thus verifying the role of GSK-3
in p53 degradation in response to PKR activation. Induction of eIF2
phosphorylation was not impaired by the lack of GSK-3
,7 suggesting that PKR activation may not be controlled by GSK-3
. Then, we utilized the GyrB-PKR system to confirm whether activation of eIF2
kinases is both necessary and sufficient to induce p53 degradation through GSK-3. We noticed that p53 degradation by the conditional activation of GyrB-PKR was partially rescued (
50%) when cells were treated with the GSK-3 inhibitor LiCl (Fig. 8B, lanes 5 and 6). Activation of GyrB-PKR by coumermycin caused the induction of GS phosphorylation as a result of GSK-3 activation. Interestingly, the total GS levels were partially decreased by activated GyrB-PKR, an effect that could be explained by the inhibition of protein synthesis from eIF2
phosphorylation. The partial rescue of p53 by LiCl coincides with a partial inactivation of GSK-3 as judged by the measurable induction of GS phosphorylation in LiCl-treated cells (Fig. 8B). Similar results were obtained when the GSK-3 inhibitor 1-azakenpaullone was used (Fig. 8C). It is noteworthy that our efforts to inactivate both isoforms of GSK-3 by RNAi proved unsuccessful due to partial down-regulation of the proteins, which was still capable to mediate the phosphorylation of endogenous GS.7
|
| DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
kinases PERK and PKR. That is, activation of the eIF2
kinases negatively regulates p53 by enhancing the nuclear export and proteasome-dependent degradation of the tumor suppressor (Fig. 9). The molecular mechanism of p53 inactivation is explained by the ability of eIF2
kinases to induce GSK-3
. Previous work from our laboratory established an important role for GSK-3
in nuclear export and degradation of p53 in ER stressed cells (30). That is, degradation of p53 by ER stress requires the nuclear localization and activation of GSK-3
, which in turn mediates the phosphorylation of p53 at Ser315 and Ser376 (29). Activation of GSK-3
is required for the nuclear export and degradation of p53 through the Mdm2 pathway (30). Consistent with these findings, we have showed that the eIF2
kinases are capable of promoting the nuclear localization of GSK-3
concomitantly with an induction of its activity. It is very likely that the
isoform of GSK-3 also contributes to the down-regulation of p53 by eIF2
kinases. However, confirmation of GSK-3
function has been hindered by the lack of GSK-3
-/- cells and its incomplete inactivation by RNA interference.7 Previous data established a role of protein synthesis in the regulation of p53 localization possibly through the action of short-lived protein(s) that can tether p53 in the cytoplasm (45). Nevertheless, our data clearly show that the translational properties of the eIF2
kinases are dispensable for nuclear export and destabilization of p53. The eIF2
kinases may mediate post-translational modifications of GSK-3
that are essential for its activity. We have performed in vitro PKR kinase assays showing that GSK-3
is not a physical substrate of PKR, suggesting that the activation of GSK-3
is not a direct mechanism mediated by PKR activation.7
|
kinase activation, p53 protein levels were still down-regulated.7 This suggests that the PI3K-Akt pathway does not regulate p53 degradation in response to eIF2
kinase activation.
Therefore the regulation of GSK-3
by eIF2
kinases may utilize indirect mechanisms and involve, for example, protein(s) that control GSK-3
activity and/or localization. In this regard, the GSK-3-binding protein is an inhibitor of GSK-3, which was first identified in Xenopus embryos (48). GSK-3-binding protein is homologous to the mammalian T cell proto-oncogene FRAT1 (frequently rearranged in advanced T cell lymphomas 1) (49). GSK-3-binding protein/FRAT inhibits GSK-3 activity toward
-catenin by preventing Axin from binding to GSK-3 (50). Genetic inactivation of FRAT1 and its homologues FRAT2 and FRAT3 in mice failed to verify the proposed stimulatory effects on canonical Wnt signaling (51). This indicated that endogenous FRAT proteins may control properties of GSK-3 other than those implicated in Wnt signaling, for example, the nucleocytoplasmic trafficking of GSK-3
, which was shown to be regulated by FRAT1 (52).
We previously demonstrated that degradation of p53 is an early response to ER stress that helps cells adapt to this type of stress. However, recent work by others indicated that prolonged exposure of cells to ER stress can lead to stabilization of p53 and promote p53-dependent apoptosis (53) through the up-regulation of PUMA and NOXA (54). Contrary to these recent observations, we found that prolonged ER stress of several tumor cell lines led to degradation of the wild type p53 concomitantly with an induction of GSK-3 activity as detected by the phosphorylation of endogenous GS (supplemental Fig. S1). We further noticed that prolonged ER stress did not induce the expression of NOXA or PUMA suggesting that the remainder of p53 is incapable of mediating a pro-apoptotic function. Consistent with our findings, recent work implicated NOXA in ER stress-mediated apoptosis independently of p53 (55). The cause of these differences is not clear but it could be explained, at least partly, by the regulation of GSK-3. Cells may not have the same capacity to induce GSK-3
and degrade p53 in response to ER stress. The PERK-GSK-3
pathway may be compromised in some tumor cells and this could be exerted by modifications of the duration and strength of PERK activation and/or inhibition of GSK-3
activation.
|
B (56, 57) by promoting its dissociation from I
B through a mechanism that does not seem to involve I
B phosphorylation or degradation (57). Apparently, inactivation of p53 and activation of NF-
B are likely to be crucial for tumor growth and this could be indicated, at least in part, by the ability of tumor cells with inactivated PERK to grow poorly under a hypoxic environment (58), a condition that elicits an ER stress-like response (59). Although some studies agree that hypoxia can lead to the stabilization of p53 (60), recent studies have challenged this view (61-65). In light of our findings, it is intriguing to speculate that the PERK-GSK-3
is a major player in hypoxic tumors that determines the balance between positive and negative signals that converge on p53. This might have important ramifications to chemotherapeutic approaches aimed at restoring the p53 levels and increasing its tumor suppressor function by inhibiting GSK-3. The role of GSK-3 in hypoxia has just started to emerge as indicated by recent reports documenting the activation of GSK-3 in mouse brain under hypoxic conditions (66) and the phosphorylation of tumor suppressor VHL by GSK-3 (67).
From our data, it is clear that the eIF2
kinases mediate negative effects on the stabilization of p53. It is of interest, however, that activation of eIF2
kinases also takes place in signaling pathways that stabilize p53, such as DNA damage. For example, previous work from our laboratory showed that PKR is involved in the phosphorylation and p53-mediated gene transcription in response to the chemotherapeutic drug adriamycin or
-irradiation (68). Furthermore, ultraviolet (UV) light, which stabilizes p53, leads to eIF2
phosphorylation through the activation of PERK (69) and general control non-derepressible-2 (70). Therefore, the ability of eIF2
kinases to regulate p53 is stress-type dependent and is likely to involve post-translational modifications that affect the activation of the eIF2
kinases and/or activation of downstream effectors such as GSK-3
. Whatever the effects of eIF2
kinase activation on p53 may be, our data show that these effects cannot be exerted at the translational level. Using polysome profile analysis, we demonstrate the efficient translation of p53 transcripts under conditions that translation initiation is severely blocked as a result of eIF2
phosphorylation. Furthermore, we show that down-regulation of p53 is not possible in cells treated with Sal003, which prevents the dephosphorylation of eIF2
, demonstrating that eIF2
phosphorylation alone is insufficient to down-regulate the synthesis of p53. The ability of mouse and human p53 transcripts to bypass the translational inhibitory effects of eIF2
phosphorylation indicates the presence of a unique mechanism(s) of translation initiation in both species. Recent studies, provided evidence for the function of an internal ribosome entry site within the human p53 mRNA (71, 72). Given that specific viral and cellular internal ribosome entry sites can mediate efficient translation under conditions of increased eIF2
phosphorylation (73), the presence of the internal ribosome entry site could explain, at least in part, the efficient translation of p53 mRNA under the activation of eIF2
kinases.
Down-regulation of p53 by dsRNA provides a link between PKR and p53 in virus infection. Because dsRNA is an intermediate product of virus replication, its ability to inactivate p53 is not in line with its well documented anti-viral function (74, 75). However, the dsRNA pathway is one of the many pathways induced in infected cells (76), whose coordinated action determines the apoptotic potential of p53. In agreement with its anti-viral activity (74, 75), we found that tumor cells can undergo p53-dependent apoptosis only after infection with specific viruses (77). These data indicated that tumors cells may have evolved distinct pathways to activate p53 in a manner that is dependent on their origin and/or the virus type. In light of our findings here, it is possible that in virus-infected cells, the p53 levels are controlled by GSK-3. Although all viruses have the capacity to activate the eIF2
kinases, specific viruses only are capable of down-regulating p53 (78). For example, infection of HT1080 cells with vesicular stomatitis virus leads to eIF2
phosphorylation without causing the down-regulation of p53 (supplemental Fig. S2). On the other hand, poliovirus infection results in phosphorylation of eIF2
and down-regulation of p53 by degradation (79) (supplemental Fig. S2). Significantly, polio virus infection activates GSK-3 as documented by the increased phosphorylation of GS at the GSK-3 site, whereas vesicular stomatitis virus infection did not (supplemental Fig. S2). This observation supports the notion that GSK-3 may be required to determine the levels and activation potential of p53 in virus-infected cells as a result of eIF2
kinase activation. Therefore control of GSK-3 by pharmacological inhibitors may prove of immense significance for the efficacy of therapies aimed at the destruction of tumors containing wild type p53 with oncolytic viruses (41, 44).
| FOOTNOTES |
|---|
The on-line version of this article (available at http://www.jbc.org) contains supplemental Figs. S1 and S2. ![]()
1 Both authors contributed equally. ![]()
2 Current address: INSERM, U889-Université de Bordeaux 2, 33076 Bordeaux, Cedex, France. ![]()
3 Current address: Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute and Department of Cancer Biology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. ![]()
4 To whom correspondence should be addressed: 3755 Cote-Ste-Catherine St., Montreal, Quebec H3T 1E2, Canada. Tel.: 514-340-8260 (ext. 3697); Fax: 514-340-7576; E-mail: antonis.koromilas{at}mcgill.ca.
5 The abbreviations used are: eIF, eukaryotic initiation factor; ER, endoplasmic reticulum; dsRNA, double-stranded RNA; TG, thapsigargin; FRAT1, frequently rearranged in advanced T cell lymphomas 1; GSK-3, glycogen synthase kinase-3; GS, glycogen synthase; GFP, green fluorescent protein; DAPI, 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; CREB, cAMP-response element-binding protein; siRNA, small interfering RNA; RT, reverse transcriptase; MEF, mouse embryonic fibroblast; shRNA, short hairpin RNA; GyrB, gyrase B; GAPDH, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; PI3K, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; KD, protein kinase domain. ![]()
6 D. Baltzis and A. E. Koromilas, unpublished data. ![]()
7 O. Pluquet, A. I. Papadakis, and A. E. Koromilas, unpublished data. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
S/S and eIF2
A/A MEFs, J. Woodgett for GSK-3
+/+ and GSK-3
-/- MEFs, H. Paudel and J. Woodgett for helpful advice on GSK-3 kinase assays, J. Pelletier for the Sal003 compound, and Y. Arava for helpful advice with polysome profiling. | REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
C.-H. Yoon, E.-S. Lee, D.-S. Lim, and Y.-S. Bae PKR, a p53 target gene, plays a crucial role in the tumor-suppressor function of p53 PNAS, May 12, 2009; 106(19): 7852 - 7857. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. F. Raven, D. Baltzis, S. Wang, Z. Mounir, A. I. Papadakis, H. Q. Gao, and A. E. Koromilas PKR and PKR-like Endoplasmic Reticulum Kinase Induce the Proteasome-dependent Degradation of Cyclin D1 via a Mechanism Requiring Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 2{alpha} Phosphorylation J. Biol. Chem., February 8, 2008; 283(6): 3097 - 3108. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| All ASBMB Journals | Molecular and Cellular Proteomics |
| Journal of Lipid Research | ASBMB Today |