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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 282, Issue 48, 34787-34800, November 30, 2007
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1
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From the
Departments of
Immunology, ||Cell Biology, and ¶Molecular and Experimental Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037 and
Department of Pathology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322
Received for publication, June 11, 2007 , and in revised form, September 28, 2007.
| ABSTRACT |
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protein, and this regulatory interaction was dependent on PKA-phosphorylatable sites at Ser172 and Ser461 in NoxA1. We showed that phosphorylation and 14-3-3 binding induce the dissociation of NoxA1 from the Nox1 complex at the plasma membrane, suggesting a mechanism for the inhibitory effect on Nox1 activity. Our data establish that PKA-phosphorylated NoxA1 is a new binding partner of 14-3-3 protein(s) and that this forms the basis of a novel mechanism regulating the formation of ROS by Nox1 and, potentially, other NoxA1-regulated Nox family members. | INTRODUCTION |
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The gastrointestinal epithelium serves a primary protective role against food irritants and commensal or pathogenic microbes. Disruption of innate immune responses in the gut causes persistent, chronic inflammatory disease. Often this can result in the development of inflammation-associated gastrointestinal tumors (7). Both the development of inflammation and tumor formation have been linked to the formation of ROS in diseased tissues (1). Nox1 appears to be one of the most likely sources for generation of these oxidants. Whether dysregulated Nox1 activity in these conditions results from increased stimulatory signaling or from the loss of modulating inhibitory signals is currently not known.
Nox1 is most closely related structurally to Nox2, and as with the phagocyte NADPH oxidase, superoxide generation by Nox1 requires the membrane subunit p22phox (8, 9). Nox1 activation also depends on interactions with regulatory subunits, including NoxO1, which is a p47phox adapter protein homolog, and NoxA1, a p67phox activator protein" homolog (10, 11). In addition, as with Nox2, full Nox1 activity is dependent on the Rac1 GTPase (12–14). The expression of Nox1 can be up-regulated by various factors, such as interferon-
(15), BMP4 (16), Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide (17), and platelet-derived growth factor and angiotensin II (18). Although up-regulation of Nox1 protein increases ROS generation, there is little information about the acute regulation of Nox1 activation. As with the phagocyte oxidase, phorbol esters (e.g. PMA) are able to stimulate Nox1 activity, although they are unlikely to do so through effects on NoxO1, which lacks the regulatory protein kinase C phosphorylation sites controlling conformation-induced membrane targeting of p47phox by PMA (10, 11, 19).
In the phagocyte Nox2 system, agonist-induced phosphorylation of p47phox is a critical regulatory step in the translocation of the cytosolic oxidase components to the plasma membrane that leads to the assembly of the functional NADPH oxidase enzyme (20–25). In contrast, NoxO1 does not require phosphorylation for membrane binding but is constitutively membrane-associated due to the presence of the phosphoinositide-binding phox domain (10, 11, 19). Consequently NoxA1 is also associated with the membrane under basal conditions due to its recruitment by NoxO1 (13). Membrane binding of NoxA1 may also be influenced by Rac1 under certain circumstances (13). Thus activation of Nox1 must involve some mechanism other than the phosphorylation-induced recruitment of the cytosolic regulatory components to form an active NADPH oxidase. Although the phosphorylation of p67phox has been reported (26), the significance of such phosphorylation for NADPH oxidase function remains unknown.
Many studies have implicated cAMP elevation and the activation of its downstream mediator, protein kinase A (PKA), in the negative regulation of ROS production by phagocytes (27–29) and other tissues, although the mechanisms are not fully understood. For example, anthrax edema toxin inhibits ROS generation by human neutrophils via the cAMP/PKA pathway (27), and it has been reported that activation of PKA down-regulates chemotactic peptide-induced oxidant production through the phosphorylation of p47phox (30). However, chemotactic peptide activators of the neutrophil NADPH oxidase also stimulate cAMP formation (29), and this transient elevation of cAMP has been suggested to be required for normal oxidase activation (31). The inhibitory effects of cAMP and PKA on ROS production appear to be operative in other systems as well. Dopamine inhibits oxidative stress in vascular smooth muscle cells through activation of PKA (32), whereas adiponectin suppresses excess ROS production under high glucose conditions via a cAMP/PKA-dependent pathway in vascular endothelial cells (33).
14-3-3 proteins are a highly conserved, ubiquitously expressed protein family. In mammals, there are at least seven isoforms (β,
,
,
,
,
, and
), each encoded by a distinct gene. 14-3-3 proteins form homo- and heterodimers that can interact with a wide variety of cellular proteins through specific phosphoserine/phosphothreonine-binding motifs (RSXpSXP or RXXpSXP where pS is phosphoserine) (34–37). The effects of 14-3-3 proteins on their targets can be broadly defined as (i) inducing a conformational change in the target protein, (ii) masking a specific region on the target (this could include an active site, a ligand-binding region, or a region that interacts with another protein), and (iii) acting as a scaffold to regulate localization and/or substrate activity (38). Structural analysis has shown that each 14-3-3 protomer folds into an
-helical structure with a conserved binding groove that accommodates phospho-Ser/Thr-containing sites (36, 39, 40) typically generated by basophilic kinases such as PKA and protein kinase B (41, 42).
In the present study, we showed that NoxA1 is a substrate both in vitro and in vivo for PKA. We identified two sites on NoxA1 that are phosphorylated by PKA and showed that phosphorylation results in the interaction of NoxA1 with 14-3-3
, which, in turn, leads to inhibition of Nox1 activity. We further established that the binding of 14-3-3
to NoxA1 disrupts the plasma membrane localization of NoxA1 with Nox1 concomitant with inhibition of NoxO1 and Rac1 binding. Manipulation of cAMP levels and PKA activity in both the Nox1-containing CCD841 colon epithelial cell line and in the HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma line modulated ROS production in a manner consistent with negative regulation of NoxA1 by PKA and 14-3-3
. These findings identify a novel mechanism for the regulation of Nox1-mediated ROS generation.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Plasmid Construction—pcDNA3.1-Nox1 was from David Lambeth (Emory University), and human NoxO1 and NoxA1 were from Tom Leto (National Institutes of Health). pcDNA3.1-HA-PKA-CA was from Susan Taylor (University of California, San Diego, CA), and pcDNA3.1-HA-14-3-3
was from Michael Yaffe (Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA). pcDNA3-HA-AT1 receptor was from Kevin J. Catt (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD). pRK5-myc-Rac1CA-Q61L was described previously (43). GST- or Myc-Nox1, -NoxO1, and -NoxA1 or GST-14-3-3
was constructed by inserting the PCR product into the vector, pGEX4T3 or pRK5(Myc), respectively. GST-NoxA1 deletion mutants were amplified by PCR using pGEX4T3-NoxA1 as a template, and the following oligonucleotides as primers: 1–150-5', CCGGAATTCCATGGCCTCTCTGGGGGACCTGGTGCGCGCC-3'; 1–150-3', 5'-CCGCTCGAGCGGTTAGGACATGGCCTCCCTTAGGCTGCTGGCCGC-3'; 151–250-5', 5'-GGAATTCCCATGAAGTGGCCGGAGGGGTCCCTGAATGGCCTG-3'; 151–250-3', 5'-CCGCTCGAGCGGTTAATCGAGGGGGCCCTGGTGGGTGCCAGCTCTTGG-3'; 251–300-5', 5'-GGAATTCCCATGGCAGAGACAGAGGTCGGTGCTGACCGCTGC-3'; 251–300-3', 5'-CCGCTCGAGCGGTTACGCGGGGTCCTCACAGGGGCCGGGGCCAGG-3'; 301–476-5', 5'-GGAATTCCCATGGGTGCTGGGGGAGCAGGTGCAGGGGGCTCC-3'; 301–476-3',5'-CCGCTCGAGTTAGGGCTGATCTCCCTGCTGGGATCGGGG-3'. The PCR product was digested with EcoRI and XhoI, and the digested fragment was inserted into EcoRI and XhoI sites of pGEX4T3. Mutations leading to the indicated amino acid substitutions were introduced by PCR-mediated site-directed mutagenesis. The DNA fragments were ligated to the indicated expression vectors. All constructs were verified by sequencing.
In Vitro Kinase Assay—GST-NoxA1-bound Sepharose beads were resuspended in 80 µl of kinase buffer (50 mM HEPES, pH 7.5, 10 mM MgCl2, 1 mM EGTA, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 0.015% Tween 20) and incubated with 5 units of protein kinase A catalytic subunit and 10 µCi of [
-32P]ATP (specific activity = 4500 Ci/mmol) at a final concentration of 20 µM ATP for 30 min at 30 °C (44). Myelin basic protein was used as a control substrate at 2 µg/reaction. The beads were pelleted by centrifugation, washed three times in kinase buffer, and suspended in Laemmli sample buffer, and proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE followed by Coomassie Blue staining and autoradiography.
Stoichiometry of Phosphorylation—Phosphorylation of recombinant NoxA1 or its mutants (2 µM) with PKA catalytic subunit (10 units) was performed as above but with saturating ATP concentrations (100 µM/liter) in a final reaction volume of 50 µl and over a time course of 10–60 min. Mixtures were filtered onto nitrocellulose membrane (Protran BA 85, BioScience), and the level of 32P incorporation was determined in triplicate by β scintillation counting.
In Vitro Binding Assay Using Purified Proteins—The GST wild type and mutant NoxA1 proteins and 14-3-3
were purified by glutathione-Sepharose 4B and cleaved with thrombin (Amersham Biosciences) according to the manufacturer's protocols. For in vitro pulldown binding assays, bovine brain lysates, 14-3-3
overexpressed in HEK293 cell lysates, or purified 14-3-3
were mixed with GST-NoxA1 or GST alone in 400 µl of 20 mM Tris, pH 7.6, containing 100 mM NaCl and then incubated for 30 min at 4 °C. A slurry of glutathione-Sepharose 4B was subsequently added followed by further incubation for 60 min at 4 °C with shaking. After washing four times with 20 mM Tris, pH 7.6, 100 mM NaCl containing 0.5% Triton X-100 and 10 mM dithiothreitol, mixtures were added to a 2x volume of Laemmli sample buffer and analyzed by SDS-PAGE.
Transient Transfections—HEK293 cells or HT-29 cells were plated at 4 x 105 cells/well in 6-well plates and grown overnight in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium with 10% fetal bovine serum, 100 units/ml penicillin, and 100 µg/ml streptomycin to reach to 40–50% confluence. Cells were transfected with vectors harboring the inserted gene using Lipofectamine 2000 according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Measurement of Reactive Oxygen Species—Reactive oxygen was measured using luminol chemiluminescence as described previously (45). CCD841 cells or the transfected cells were cultured for 16 h (HEK293 cells) or 48 h (HT-29 cells) and harvested by incubation with trypsin/EDTA for 1 min at 37 °C. After being washed with phosphate-buffered saline (without MgCl2 and CaCl2), the cells were removed from the well, washed twice with cold Hanks' balanced salt solution containing calcium and magnesium, then pelleted at 1000 x g for 5 min and resuspended in Hanks' balanced salt solution. We used 5 x 105 HEK293 cells per assay and 2 x 105 HT-29 or CCD841 cells per assay. Chemiluminescence was measured for 30 min with or without stimulation by 2 µg/ml PMA or 100 ng/ml angiotensin II (AngII) at 37 °C. Nox1 activity was stimulated more than 2-fold in the presence of expressed constitutively active Rac1(Q61L) (Rac1-CA); this effect was not observed with equivalent expression of Rac1 wild type.
Membrane and Cytosol Fractionation—Cells grown in 10-cm dishes were treated with 1 mM vanadate for 1 h, washed once with cold 1x phosphate-buffered saline, and extracted in ice-cold lysis buffer (100 mM Pipes, pH 7.3, 100 mM KCl, 3.5 mM MgCl2, 3 mM NaCl, 1 mM ATP supplemented with 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 1 µg/ml aprotinin, 1 µg/ml leupeptin, 1 µg/ml pepstatin, and 1 mM vanadate) for 5 min. Cells were collected by scraping, and cell lysates were sonicated four times for 30 s. The homogenates were centrifuged at 3,000 rpm for 10 min to pellet nuclei and intact cells, and supernatants were then centrifuged at 45,000 rpm at 4 °C for 60 min in a refrigerated ultracentrifuge (TL100, Beckman) to sediment plasma membranes. The cytosol-containing supernatant was removed, and the crude membrane pellet was gently washed with lysis buffer. Membrane fractions were resuspended in lysis buffer, sonicated three times for 30 s, and then centrifuged at 45,000 rpm at 4 °C for 60 min. Membrane and cytosol fractions were then assayed for total protein, and equal amounts (30 µg) were analyzed by Western blotting. For protein immunoprecipitation experiments, membrane fractions were solubilized with sonication in standard radioimmune precipitation assay buffer with 1% Nonidet P-40 and 0.1% SDS containing a protease inhibitor mixture for 1 h at 4 °C and then centrifuged at 45,000 rpm at 4 °C for 45 min. Individual proteins were immunoprecipitated using appropriate antibodies and analyzed by Western blotting as indicated in the figure legends.
Statistical Analysis—Values are given in this study as mean ± S.D. of at least three experiments. Statistically significant differences between sample groups were determined using the oneway analysis of variance test with a Dunnett and/or Bonferroni posttest. A p value of <0.05 was considered significant.
| RESULTS |
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0.5 pmol of [32P]ATP was incorporated per 1 pmol of intact wild type NoxA1 (Fig. 1B). Mutation of either the Ser172 site or the Ser461 site caused the loss of half (
0.25 pmol) of the [32P]ATP incorporation, whereas mutation of both sites caused nearly complete loss of phosphate incorporation. Thus, about 25% of the recombinant NoxA1 is phosphorylated by PKA in vitro, indicating that NoxA1 is a reasonably good PKA substrate. These data also indicate that Ser172 and Ser461 represent the major sites for NoxA1 phosphorylation by PKA. To verify that Ser172 and Ser461 of NoxA1 are phosphorylated by PKA in vivo, full-length NoxA1 wild type or its mutants were cotransfected into HEK293 cells, and intracellular cAMP levels were elevated by treating the cells with the adenylate cyclase-stimulating drug forskolin in the presence of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor IBMX. NoxA1 proteins were immunoprecipitated, and their phosphorylation state was determined by immunoblotting with an anti-phospho-Ser/Thr PKA-specific antibody. As shown in Fig. 1C, a very low level of basal in vivo phosphorylation of NoxA1 was detected that was largely insensitive to the addition of the PKA inhibitor H89. Upon stimulation with forskolin plus IBMX (FI), NoxA1 phosphorylation was substantially increased. Mutation of S172A or S461A individually reduced the level of NoxA1 phosphorylation slightly. In contrast, the NoxA1(S172A/S461A) double mutant was not phosphorylated above the low background level in the presence of FI. The level of NoxA1 phosphorylation induced by FI was similar to that obtained upon expression of active PKA catalytic subunit (Fig. 1D), and the effect of FI was substantially reduced upon co-expression of a catalytically inactive PKA catalytic subunit (PKA-KD). Expression of PKA-KD alone did not increase the phosphorylation state of NoxA1. These results indicate that NoxA1 protein is phosphorylated on Ser172 and Ser461 in intact cells in response to the elevation of cAMP and activation of PKA.
Phosphorylated NoxA1 Is a New Binding Partner of 14-3-3 Protein—Analysis of the sequence surrounding the NoxA1 Ser172 phosphorylation site by Scansite software indicated it to be a potential 14-3-3 binding site (RRGS172LP) (46). We therefore tested the hypothesis that NoxA1 phosphorylation by PKA might regulate the binding of 14-3-3 proteins to NoxA1. The glutathione-agarose-bound GST-NoxA1 protein was incubated with bovine brain lysate, and the bead-bound fraction was analyzed by Western blotting with anti-14-3-3β antibody, which detects a number of 14-3-3 family members present in bovine brain. We observed a specific interaction of NoxA1 with 14-3-3 in the presence of ATP and PKA (Fig. 2A). This interaction was reduced in the absence of ATP or after incubation of the ATP plus PKA-treated lysate with calf intestinal phosphatase.
We next evaluated the interaction of NoxA1 with HA-14-3-3
protein overexpressed in HEK293 cells. 14-3-3
minimally bound to GST-NoxA1 wild type, but this interaction was dramatically enhanced when GST-NoxA1 was prephosphorylated by PKA (Fig. 2B, left panel). Similarly the phosphomimetic GST-NoxA1(S172E/S461E) mutant strongly bound to 14-3-3
even in the absence of PKA, in contrast to the wild type protein or the non-phosphorylatable GST-NoxA1(S172A/S461A) protein (Fig. 2B, right panel). Analysis of the binding affinity of purified 14-3-3
for the phosphomimetic NoxA1(S172E/S461E) protein in vitro indicated a Kd of
16 nM (supplemental Fig. 1).
Co-immunoprecipitation of NoxA1 and 14-3-3
was also observed in lysates from HEK293 cells expressing various Myc-NoxA1 wild type or mutant proteins (Myc-NoxA1(S172A/S461A) or -NoxA1(S172E/S461E)), HA-14-3-3
, and HA-PKA (Fig. 2, C and D). More HA-14-3-3
was bound to NoxA1-WT in the presence of co-expressed active PKA catalytic subunit (PKA-CA) than in its absence. HA-14-3-3
strongly bound to Myc-NoxA1(S172E/S461E) either in the presence or absence of PKA-CA, whereas HA-14-3-3
failed to bind to Myc-NoxA1(S172A/S461A). NoxA1(S172A) or NoxA1(S461A) single mutants each exhibited slightly reduced 14-3-3
binding activity when PKA was present (data not shown). Similar results were obtained when either Myc-NoxA1 (Fig. 2C) or HA-14-3-3
(Fig. 2D) was the protein to which the immunoprecipitating antibodies were directed.
To verify that the binding of 14-3-3
to NoxA1 was dependent upon its ability to recognize phosphorylated sites on the NoxA1 protein, we prepared a K49E mutation in 14-3-3
that should no longer recognize the phosphorylated substrate (47). As shown in Fig. 2E, the 14-3-3
(K49E) mutant no longer effectively co-precipitated with NoxA1 in the presence of PKA-CA. These results establish that NoxA1 interacts with the 14-3-3
isoform and that this interaction is enhanced by the phosphorylation of NoxA1 at Ser172 and Ser461 by PKA.
Finally we examined the interaction of NoxA1 with endogenous 14-3-3
in the 293 cell system (Fig. 2F). Similar to the results obtained with exogenous expression, we observed endogenous 14-3-3
to specifically interact with NoxA1, and this interaction was dependent upon the phosphorylation of NoxA1 at Ser172 and Ser461 by PKA.
PKA-mediated Phosphorylation of NoxA1 and 14-3-3 Complex Formation Inhibit Nox1 Activity—To assess the significance of the PKA-mediated phosphorylation of NoxA1 and induced interaction with 14-3-3 protein(s) for Nox1 activity, we measured Nox1-dependent ROS production in transfected 293 cells using a chemiluminescence assay. These cells lack endogenous Nox1 components, and ROS production is totally dependent on the expression of Nox1, NoxA1, and NoxO1 (data not shown). Nox1 activity was stimulated with either PMA (Fig. 3A), which increases Nox1 activity through protein kinase C, or with AngII, which acts through the angiotensin I type receptor (Fig. 3B). PMA stimulated basal ROS production by more than 2-fold (Fig. 3A). This activity was fully sensitive to the NADPH oxidase flavoenzyme inhibitor DPI, supporting that it originated via a DPI-sensitive oxidase. Elevation of intracellular cAMP levels by treating the cells with forskolin in the presence of IBMX significantly inhibited the basal Nox1 activity but had little effect on PMA-induced activity. When PKA activity was elevated further by transfection of PKA-CA, there was a slight decrease overall in PMA-stimulated ROS production and a somewhat greater decrease in overall AngII-stimulated activity (Fig. 3B). This inhibitory effect was substantially enhanced when 14-3-3
was expressed, particularly in the presence of PKA-CA. In contrast, under basal conditions and stimulated conditions, the inhibition of PKA by inclusion of the PKA inhibitor H89 in the incubation enhanced Nox1-mediated ROS production and antagonized the inhibitory effects of forskolin-induced cAMP elevation, PKA-CA, and, particularly, 14-3-3 protein. A very similar pattern of effects was obtained overall when the AngII was used as a stimulus (Fig. 3B), although we note that the receptor-mediated AngII stimulation was more sensitive in general to inhibition by PKA activation.
We next sought to determine whether phosphorylation of the Ser172/Ser461 sites on NoxA1 was necessary for inhibition of Nox1 activity by 14-3-3
(Fig. 3C). Overexpressed 14-3-3
significantly decreased basal and, to a lesser extent, active Rac1-CA-stimulated Nox1 activity in the presence of NoxA1 wild type or NoxA1(S172E/S461E), but it had no affect on Nox1 activity in the presence of NoxA1(S172A/S461A). Similarly Nox1 activity stimulated by the addition of PMA was also sensitive to inhibition by 14-3-3
in the presence of NoxA1-WT or NoxA1(S172E/S461E) phosphomimetic mutant but not in the presence of the non-phosphorylatable NoxA1(S172A/S461A) (data not shown). Thus, these results show that Nox1 activity is negatively regulated by PKA and 14-3-3 through the phosphorylation of NoxA1.
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alone in the HT-29 cells produced a modest decrease in the maximum basal or Rac1-CA-stimulated ROS formation (Fig. 4, B and D). This effect was reduced in the presence of the PKA inhibitor H89 (Fig. 4, compare A versus B and C versus D), suggesting that the effect of 14-3-3
was dependent on a basal level of PKA activity in these cells. Significantly, upon elevation of cAMP levels by treatment with forskolin/IBMX or upon expression of PKA-CA, 14-3-3
further dramatically reduced Nox1 activity under all conditions (Fig. 4, A–D). We observed similar regulatory effects of cAMP-elevating agents in CCD841 normal colon epithelial cells (Fig. 5A). FI markedly reduced the basal level of ROS production of CCD cells grown in serum. This inhibition was almost totally reversed in the presence of the H89 inhibitor. We also treated the cells with cholera toxin, the cAMP-elevating toxin generated by the Gram-negative bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which induces inflammation and diarrhea by invading the colon mucosal epithelium (48). Active cholera toxin (CTx) induced a concentration-dependent inhibition of ROS production by CCD841 cells that was not mimicked by the inactive membrane-binding B subunit (supplemental Fig. 2). At a concentration of active toxin that inhibited ROS formation to the same extent as with FI, the inhibition induced by CTx was reversed by the presence of H89, indicating that it was due to the activation of PKA resulting from cAMP elevation by the toxin (Fig. 5A). Coupled with the HT-29 cell observations, these data support the hypothesis that PKA and 14-3-3 are negative regulators of endogenous Nox1 in colon epithelia, likely acting through effects on NoxA1 regulatory cofactor activity.
Phosphorylation of NoxA1 and 14-3-3 Complex Formation Alters Membrane Localization of NoxA1—Recently several studies have shown that plasma membrane localization of NoxA1 is dependent on NoxO1 and/or active Rac1 GTPase and that this association of NoxA1 with the membrane is critical for Nox1 activity (12–14). One of the several functions of 14-3-3 proteins can be to modify or restrict the subcellular location of phosphorylated ligands (38). Therefore, we examined whether this might occur with NoxA1 and be a potential mechanism for the inhibitory effects of PKA and 14-3-3
on Nox1 activity. In Nox1-, NoxO1-, and NoxA1-co-expressing 293 cells, NoxA1-WT and NoxA1(S172A/S461A) were localized in the membrane fraction (Fig. 6A). In contrast, a substantial portion of the phosphomimetic NoxA1(S172E/S461E) mutant was localized to the cytosolic fraction. Treatment of cells with forskolin/IBMX increased the NoxA1-WT protein level in the cytosolic fraction but failed to relocalize NoxA1(S172A/S461A) to the cytosol (Fig. 6A). Co-treatment of cells with forskolin/IBMX in the presence of the PKA inhibitor H89 partially reduced forskolin/IBMX-mediated cytosolic relocalization of NoxA1-WT while having little effect on the cytosolic localization of NoxA1(S172E/S461E) (Fig. 6A). In the presence of 14-3-3
, wild type NoxA1 was released into the cytosolic fraction, but this did not occur with the non-phosphorylatable NoxA1(S172A/S461A) mutant (Fig. 6B). The additional inclusion of H89 decreased, whereas forskolin/IBMX increased, localization of NoxA1-WT to the cytosolic fraction (Fig. 6B). Similarly NoxA1-WT release to the cytosol was slightly increased by 14-3-3
or PKA-CA individually but strongly increased by the combination of both (Fig. 6C). However, localization of NoxA1(S172A/S461A) was not changed by 14-3-3
and/or PKA (Fig. 6C).
To further investigate the molecular basis for the loss of membrane association resulting from PKA-induced 14-3-3
binding, we evaluated the effect on the interaction of NoxA1 with NoxO1 and Rac1 in HEK293 cells. Fig. 6D shows that in the presence of forskolin/IBMX the binding of both NoxO1 and Rac1-CA to WT NoxA1 was inhibited. Binding was further reduced in the presence of 14-3-3
. In contrast, interaction with GST-NoxA1(S172A/S461A) was unaffected by the presence of FI or 14-3-3
. GST-NoxA1(S172E/S461E) exhibited the inability to effectively bind NoxO1 or Rac1-CA under all conditions. As these regulatory components mediate the assembly of NoxA1 with the membrane-bound Nox1 complex, our data suggest that the loss of these interactions as a result of NoxA1 phosphorylation and 14-3-3
binding likely prevents membrane recruitment of NoxA1.
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or PKA-CA + 14-3-3
induced the appearance of endogenous NoxA1 in the cytosol of HT-29 cells (Figs. 5B and 7, A and B). This was associated with the phosphorylation of NoxA1 (Fig. 5C) and the binding of 14-3-3 protein to NoxA1 (Figs. 5D and 7C) in both colon cell lines. In the CCD841 cells, treatment with CTx also induced the dissociation of NoxA1 from the membrane (Fig. 5B). This effect was reduced in the presence of H89 (Fig. 5B) and was correlated with the phosphorylation (Fig. 5C) and association of 14-3-3
(Fig. 5D) with NoxA1. Overall these data indicate that in both normal colon- and colon cancer-derived epithelial cells the phosphorylation of endogenous NoxA1 by PKA induces the binding of 14-3-3 protein(s) and a decrease in NoxO1- and Rac1-dependent membrane association of NoxA1, leading to decreased Nox1-mediated ROS formation. | DISCUSSION |
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In this study, we showed that Nox1 activity can be regulated by a cAMP/PKA inhibitory pathway. We identified two sites, Ser172 and Ser461, in NoxA1 that are phosphorylated by PKA both in vitro and in vivo (Fig. 1). The Ser172 site lies within a canonical 14-3-3 protein-binding domain (RRGS172LP versus RXXpSXP), and we observed that 14-3-3
was able to bind to NoxA1 both in vitro and in vivo in a manner that was enhanced by PKA-mediated phosphorylation (Fig. 2). Interestingly, maximal 14-3-3 binding seemed to require phosphorylation of both Ser172 and Ser461 and was reduced by mutation of a site (K49E) in 14-3-3
that is required to recognize substrate phosphorylation motifs (47). The need for both phosphorylation sites on NoxA1 may reflect the known propensity for 14-3-3 dimers to interact with more than one phosphorylation site within a substrate to achieve stable binding (38, 52).
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by immunoblot (data not shown). We have not determined whether the interaction of NoxA1 is specific for 14-3-3
versus other 14-3-3 proteins. However, in experiments with expressed 14-3-3
protein, we did not observe significant phosphorylation-dependent binding to NoxA1, suggesting that not all 14-3-3 proteins are able to mediate this regulatory interaction.
The interaction of NoxA1 with 14-3-3
has functional consequences for Nox1-dependent ROS formation. In the presence of PKA and 14-3-3
protein, we observed substantial inhibition of Nox1-mediated ROS formation both in a transfected HEK293 cell model system (Fig. 3) and with endogenous components in the colon epithelial CCD841 cell line and HT-29 colon carcinoma cells (Figs. 4 and 5). These inhibitory effects required the presence of phosphorylatable Ser172 and Ser461 residues in NoxA1. 14-3-3 protein induced some inhibition when expressed in cells alone; however, this effect was probably due to the presence of some phosphorylated NoxA1 under basal (+serum) conditions as it was reduced by the addition of the PKA inhibitor H89 (Figs. 3 and 4). Consistent with this, we observed slight increases in Nox1 activity in cells treated with H89 alone (Figs. 3 and 4). Inhibition by PKA and 14-3-3
together was evident when Nox1 was activated by either PMA, Rac1(Q61L), or angiotensin II but was most effective with the receptor-mediated activation. This may be due to the fact that the first two stimuli represent non-physiological activating conditions. In particular, PMA would be expected to largely activate through stimulation of protein kinase C activity, although the mechanism by which protein kinase C might activate Nox1 remains unknown.
How does the phosphorylation of NoxA1 and the subsequent induction of complex formation with 14-3-3 modulate NoxA1 (and consequently Nox1) activity? We observed that under these inhibitory conditions there was substantial dissociation of NoxA1 from the membrane fraction where it normally is located. NoxA1 interacts through its C-terminal Src homology 3 domain with proline-rich repeat sequences in NoxO1, as well as with Rac1 GTPase through its N-terminal tetratricopeptide repeats (13, 19). These interactions are critical for Nox1 activation through the recruitment of the NoxA1 activation domain to the membrane-localized Nox1. Because the Ser172 and Ser461 sites are near the Rac1-binding tetratricopeptide domain and NoxO1-binding Src homology 3 domain, it is possible that the induced binding of 14-3-3 protein(s) to NoxA1 would sterically hinder these interactions. Importantly, because NoxA1 is required for Nox1 activity, a consequence would be to prevent the association of NoxA1 with the membrane-associated Nox1 complex, resulting in the inhibition of Nox1 activity. Indeed we observed that in the presence of forskolin plus IBMX the binding of NoxA1 to both NoxO1 and Rac1 was markedly reduced (Fig. 6D). This loss of interaction with NoxO1 and Rac1 was also constitutively observed with the NoxA1(S172E/S461E) mutant, which mimics PKA-mediated phosphorylation to promote 14-3-3
binding. Conversely, the binding of these regulatory partners to the non-phosphorylatable NoxA1(S172A/S461A) mutant was unchanged by the presence of FI and/or 14-3-3
. Whether other kinases (and phosphatases) are able to modulate the activity of Nox1 or other Nox family members through a similar mechanism by regulating phosphorylation of the same or nearby sites on NoxA1 would be an interesting area for further investigation.
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PKA-mediated phosphorylation of the regulatory component NoxA1. We showed that NoxA1 is phosphorylated by PKA selectively at Ser172 and Ser461 and that this phosphorylation induces the tight binding of 14-3-3
to NoxA1. Complex formation inhibited Nox1 activity via altered NoxA1 membrane localization in HEK293 and HT-29 cells as well as in CCD841 normal colon epithelial cells. These findings suggest that hormones or other agents able to stimulate cAMP formation and consequent PKA activation in cells with Nox1-dependent ROS formation would be susceptible to this inhibitory pathway. The hormones that participate in such pathways in the normal course of gut physiologically remain to be defined. Interestingly a number of bacterial toxins that may be generated by invading gut-localized bacteria (e.g. V. cholerae and Bordetella pertussis) are effective regulators of cAMP formation (48, 53, 54). As we show here for the cAMP-elevating cholera toxin (Fig. 5), the resulting increases in NoxA1 phosphorylation by PKA provide an effective mechanism for down-regulating ROS production and hence the normal innate immune response of the gastrointestinal epithelium.
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We dedicate this work to Bernie Babior, who helped in its initiation. ![]()
The on-line version of this article (available at http://www.jbc.org) contains supplemental Figs. S1–S4. ![]()
1 Senior co-author. To whom correspondence may be addressed: Emory University, Whitehead Bldg., Rm. 165, 615 Michael St., Atlanta, GA 30322. Tel.: 404-727-5880; Fax: 404-727-8538; E-mail: bdiebol{at}emory.edu. 2 Senior co-author. To whom correspondence may be addressed: The Scripps Research Inst., IMM 14, 10550 North Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037. Tel.: 858-784-8217; Fax: 858-784-8218; E-mail: bokoch{at}scripps.edu.
3 The abbreviations used are: ROS, reactive oxygen species; PKA, protein kinase A; Nox, NADPH oxidase; NoxA1, Nox activator 1; NoxO1, Nox organizer 1; PMA, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate; HEK, human embryonic kidney; DPI, diphenyliodonium; IBMX, isobutylmethylxanthine; HA, hemagglutinin; GST, glutathione S-transferase; AngII, angiotensin II; Pipes, 1,4-piperazinediethanesulfonic acid; FI, forskolin plus IBMX; WT, wild type; PKA-CA, PKA catalytic subunit; Rac1-CA, constitutively active Rac1(Q61L); CTx, cholera toxin. ![]()
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