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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 282, Issue 9, 6619-6628, March 2, 2007
Phosphorylation of Protein Phosphatase 1 by Cyclin-dependent Protein Kinase 5 during Nerve Growth Factor-induced PC12 Cell Differentiation*
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| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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PP1 activity is also regulated by phosphorylation (3-9). In dividing mammalian cells, PP1 is phosphorylated by cyclin-dependent protein kinases Cdk1 and Cdk2 on Thr320 (3-6). When Thr320 is phosphorylated, PP1 activity is inhibited (4-6). In yeast PP1 homologue dis2 is phosphorylated on Thr316 (corresponding to Thr320 of mammalian PP1), and the overexpression of a dis2 (T316A) mutant causes cell cycle arrest (7). Introduction of a PP1-T320A mutant into synchronized mammalian cells at the late G1 phase prevented cells from entering the S phase (8). It was concluded that PP1 Thr320 phosphorylation is required for S phase initiation (3, 8). The role of PP1 phosphorylation in other cell activities is unclear.
Cyclin-dependent protein kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a heterodimer of a catalytic Cdk5 and a regulatory p25 subunit (10-13). The p25 subunit is a proteolytic fragment of p35 protein, and both p35 and p25 activate the catalytic activity of Cdk5 subunit (13). Cdk5 is inactive in dividing cells but becomes progressively more active in differentiating cells (14, 15) and is predominantly expressed in terminally differentiated neurons (10-13). Cdk5 is involved in brain development, neuronal differentiation, and cell signaling and regulates microtubule dynamics. When PC12 cells are treated with nerve growth factor (NGF), they differentiate into neurons. The transcription factor Egr-1 (early growth factor-1) is induced by NGF and is essential for the differentiation (16, 17). NGF activates Cdk5 via Egr-1 (15, 18), and inhibition of Cdk5 activity blocks NGF-induced neurite outgrowth (15). These observations indicate that Cdk5 is a component of the Egr-1-dependent signaling pathway and that an Egr-1-driven increase in Cdk5 activity is required for differentiation of PC12 cells to neurons.
In this study, we observed that PP1 phosphorylation is reduced in the brain extracts of Egr-1-/- mice, suggesting that a kinase that acts downstream of Egr-1 phosphorylates PP1 in the brain. This prompted us to investigate whether Cdk5 phosphorylates PP1. Herein, we show that PP1 is phosphorylated by Cdk5 in vitro, in transfected mammalian cells and in differentiating PC12 cells. We also demonstrate that in NGF-exposed PC12 cells, blocking PP1 phosphorylation by inhibiting Cdk5 activity, blocks neurite outgrowth. Overexpression of PP1 (WT) but not PP1 (T320A) promotes differentiation. Our data indicate that Cdk5 phosphorylates PP1 in vivo and suggest that PP1 phosphorylation has a role in neuronal differentiation.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
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-glycerol phosphate, 0.2 mM okadaic acid, 10 mM NaF, and 1 µg/ml each of leupeptin, pepstatin, and aprotinin) using a Down's glass homogenizer. The samples were centrifuged at 14,000 x g for 20 min using a bench top centrifuge. The resulting supernatants were used to generate Fig. 1.
Protein and AntibodiesCdk5 was purified from an extract of fresh bovine brain as described previously (20, 21). PP1 (unless otherwise indicated PP1 means PP1
) was purified from E. coli overexpressing human PP1
(22). Monoclonal antibodies against Cdk1, Cdk2, and Cdk5 were purchased from Upstate%20Biotechnology">Upstate Biotechnology Inc. (Lake Placid, NY). A polyclonal anti-p35 antibody that recognizes both p35 and p25 and an anti-PP1 monoclonal antibody were obtained from Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc. (Santa Cruz, CA). Monoclonal anti-FLAG, anti-Myc, anti-Xpress, and anti-HA antibodies were described previously (23, 24). Polyclonal anti-Thr(P)320 antibody specific for PP1 phosphorylated on Thr320 was from Cell Signaling Technology (Beverly, MA). NGF (2.5 S) was obtained from Upstate Signaling Solution (Temecula, CA).
cDNA CloningPP1 was subcloned into the mammalian expression vector Myc-pcDNA3.1/Zeo by PCR. Pfu DNA polymerase-catalyzed PCR was performed using forward primer (5'-CGG ATA TCA ATG TCC GAC AGC GAG AAG CTC-3') and reverse primer (5'-CGG GAT CCC TAT TTC TTG GCT TTG GCG GT-3') and human PP1
in pDR540 vector as the template. Site-specific mutant PP1 (T320A) was generated by PCR using Myc-PP1
-pcDNA3.1 as the template. The forward and reverse primers were: 5'-GGA ATT GCG GGG TGG GGC GAT GGG TCG GCC TCC-3' and 5'-GGA GGC CGA CCC ATC GCC CCA CCC CGC AAT TCC-3', respectively. All of the cDNA clones were confirmed by DNA sequencing. Dominant negative HA-Cdk5 (DN) in pcDNA 3.1 vector was a gift from Dr. L.-H. Tsai (Harvard University, Boston, MA). Mammalian vectors that express Xpress-Cdk5, FLAG-p25, and FLAG-p35 were described previously (24).
Cell Culture and cDNA TransfectionPC12 cells were grown in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10% horse serum, 5% fetal bovine serum, penicillin/streptomycin, and glutamine. HEK 293 cells were cultured using standard techniques (23, 24). All of the cells were transfected using Lipofectamine 2000 reagent (Invitrogen). Unless otherwise indicated, the cells were harvested 48 h after transfection. PC12 cells were plated on polylysine-coated dishes. After 24 h NGF (0.1 µg/ml) was added, and cell differentiation was monitored microscopically as described (25). At the indicated time points, the cells were lysed in lysis buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4, 150 mM NaCl, 50 mM
-glycerol phosphate, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM EGTA, 10 mM NaF, 10 mM MgCl2, 0.2% Nonidet P-40, 0.4 µM okadaic acid, and 2 nM cypermethrin and aprotinin, pepstatin, and leupeptin (0.2 µg/ml of each)).
Transfection of siRNAsiRNA-Cdk5 (SMARTpool containing four pooled SMARTselected siRNA duplex) and a nonspecific control were purchased from Upstate Cell Signaling Solution. PC12 cells were transfected with siRNA using siMPORTERTM (Upstate Cell Signaling Solution) reagent following the manufacturer's instructions. NGF was added 6 h after transfection. The cells were harvested at the indicated time points.
Neurite Outgrowth Assay and Immunocytochemical StainingNGF-treated cells grown on cover slips were fixed at room temperature with 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS for 30 min, washed with PBS containing 0.1% Triton X-100, and then permeabilized by incubation with PBS containing 1% bovine serum albumin and 0.1% Triton X-100 for 60 min. The cells were then incubated with monoclonal anti-Myc antibody (1:500 in PBS containing 1% bovine serum albumin and 0.1% Triton X-100) for
12 h at 4 °C. The washed cells were incubated with Alexa Fluor 488 goat anti-mouse IgG (Molecular Probes) for 1 h at room temperature, washed, and finally visualized and photographed using a Nikon fluorescent microscope. Neurite length was measured on the photographs using a micrometer (26, 27). Only those neurites that were equal or longer than the cell diameter were considered to be neurites, and cells that contained one or more neurites were regarded as having neurite outgrowth. Cells that had one or more neurites with the length twice or more than twice the diameter of the cell body were considered differentiated according to previously described criteria (28). More than 100 cells were quantitated in each experimental group.
In Vitro PhosphorylationPhosphorylation of PP1 by Cdk5 was carried out at 30 °C in a reaction mixture containing 0.5 mg/ml of PP1, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 10 mM MgCl2, 10 mM NaF, 50 mM
-glycerol phosphate, 0.2 µM okadaic acid, 1mM ATP, and 400 units/ml of Cdk5. The reaction was initiated by adding an aliquot of Cdk5 into the mixture containing the assay components. At the indicated time points, the aliquots were withdrawn and mixed with an equal volume of SDS/PAGE sample buffer, boiled, and analyzed by Western blot analysis using anti-PP1 or anti-Thr(P)320 antibody.
Cdk5 activity in mouse brain extract was assayed as described previously (20) using a synthetic peptide substrate of Cdk5 (KTPKKAKKPKTPKKAKKL) (29). The protein concentration of each brain extract was adjusted to 2 mg/ml by dilution with extraction buffer. The final concentrations of the assay components were: 25 mM Hepes, pH 7.2, 0.1 mM EDTA, 0.1 mM EGTA, 0.1 mM dithiothreitol, 10 mM NaF, 50 mM
-glycerol phosphate, 20 nM okadaic acid, 10 mM MgCl2, 0.5 mM [
-32P]ATP, and 50 µM peptide substrate. The reaction was initiated by the addition of 10 µl of brain extract to 40 µl of the assay mixture. After 30 min at 30 °C, the reaction was stopped by adding 10 µl of 50% trichloroacetic acid. The vials were incubated at 4 °C for 10 min and then centrifuged for 5 min using a bench top centrifuge at 10,000 rpm. The supernatant (20 µl each) was withdrawn and analyzed for the amount of radioactivity incorporated into the substrate using a phosphocellulose filter paper assay (20). Cdk5 specific activity is expressed as the nanomoles of phosphate transferred to the peptide substrate/min/mg protein in the brain extract.
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| RESULTS |
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0.32,
0.33, and
0.35) and Egr-1-/- brains (
0.39,
0.36, and
0.35) (Fig. 1B). These data indicate that Egr-1 may not regulate expression and/or stability of PP1 in adult mouse brain.
PP1 is phosphorylated on Thr320 in vivo (4-6). We observed that PP1 in fresh mouse brain extract is highly immunoreactive to an anti-Thr(P)320 antibody that specifically cross-reacts with PP1 phosphorylated on Thr320 (see below). This observation indicates that PP1 is phosphorylated in the adult mouse brain. To determine whether Egr-1 regulates PP1 phosphorylation, we analyzed brain homogenates of Egr-1+/+ and Egr-1-/- mice by Western blot analysis using anti-Thr(P)320 antibody. We observed that PP1 is phosphorylated on Thr320 in brains of Egr-1+/+ as well as Egr-1-/- mice (Fig. 1A). Quantitation determined that the relative amount of Thr320-phosphorylated PP1 in Egr-1+/+ brains is twice (0.62,
0.59, and
0.57) that found in Egr-1-/- brains (
0.32,
0.33, and
0.29) (Fig. 1B). These observations indicate that PP1 phosphorylation is significantly suppressed in Egr-1-/- mouse brains.
Egr-1 is a transcription factor (16, 17) and so may regulate PP1 phosphorylation by controlling the expression of a kinase that phosphorylates PP1. Thr320 of PP1 is a proline-directed phosphorylation site recognized by cyclin-dependent kinases: Cdk1 and Cdk2 (3-6). Cdk1 and Cdk2 are not expressed significantly in adult brain, whereas Cdk5 shares a very similar substrate specificity with Cdk1 and Cdk2 (30) and is the major cyclin-dependent kinase in the neurons of mammalian brain (10-12). Previous studies showed that Egr-1 activates Cdk5 in neurons by increasing the expression of p35 subunit of Cdk5 (15, 18). If Egr-1 activates brain Cdk5, then Egr-1-/- brains would be expected to have reduced p35 level and Cdk5 activity. To test this possibility, we analyzed the levels of Cdk5, p35, and p25 by Western blotting and measured Cdk5 activity in Egr-1+/+ and Egr-1-/- brain extracts. Because p35 is proteolyzed to p25, we determined the level of p35 based on the levels of p25 and p35. The Cdk5 level was similar, but the sum of the levels of p35 and p25 was
2.7-fold more in Egr-1+/+ than in Egr-1-/- brain extracts (Fig. 1, A and B). The Cdk5 specific activity in Egr-1-/- brain extracts was
38% less than that of Egr-1+/+ (Fig. 1C). Thus, as expected, both p35/p25 level and Cdk5 activity are reduced in Egr-1-/- brains. The observation of reduced PP1 phosphorylation coupled to reduced Cdk5 activity in Egr-1-/- brain suggests that Cdk5 may be a kinase that phosphorylates PP1 in the brain.
Cdk5 Phosphorylates PP1To evaluate whether Cdk5 phosphorylates PP1, we first tested the specificity of pT320 antibody. Because PP1 is phosphorylated on Thr320 in proliferating cells by endogenous Cdk1 and Cdk2, we transfected Myc-PP1 (WT) or site-specific mutant Myc-PP1 (T320A) in HEK 293 cells and analyzed cell lysates by Western blot analysis. Anti-Myc antibody detected both Myc-PP1 (WT) and Myc-PP1 (T320A) (Fig. 2), but anti-Thr(P)320 antibody recognized Myc-PP1 (WT) phosphorylated by endogenous kinase(s) and completely failed to detect Myc-PP1 (T320A). These data demonstrated that anti-Thr(P)320 antibody is specific for PP1 phosphorylated on Thr320.
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10% of Cdk5 (WT) when co-transfected with FLAG-p25 in HEK 293 cells (data not shown). Transfected cells were lysed and analyzed by immunoblot analysis for the expression of the various transfected genes and PP1 phosphorylation. The relative amount of phosphorylated PP1 was calculated based on the band intensities of PP1 and phosphorylated PP1.
As shown in Fig. 3A, in cells co-transfected with Myc-PP1 (WT) and Xpress-Cdk5/FLAG-p25, Myc-PP1 was phosphorylated
3.5-fold more than basal level (compare lanes 2 and 3 and see F). In cells co-transfected with Myc-PP1 (WT) and HA-Cdk5 (DN)/p25-FLAG, Myc-PP1 phosphorylation was slightly above basal level (compare lanes 2 and 6 and see F). These data indicate that PP1 is highly phosphorylated by Cdk5 and very modestly by Cdk5 (DN). To extend and confirm these results, we treated HEK 293 cells, co-transfected with Myc-PP1 and Xpress-Cdk5/FLAG-p25, with the Cdk5 inhibitor olomoucine (21, 31) or vehicle. Treated cells were then analyzed for PP1 phosphorylation by Western blot analysis as described above. PP1 was highly phosphorylated in vehicle-treated cells; however, PP1 phosphorylation progressively diminished with increasing olomoucine concentration. When the concentration of olomoucine reached 200 µM, PP1 phosphorylation was almost at basal level (supplemental Fig. S1). Based on these results, we conclude that Cdk5 phosphorylates PP1 on Thr320 in HEK 293 cells transfected with Myc-PP1 and Xpress-Cdk5/FLAG-p25.
The p25 regulatory subunit of Cdk5 is formed by the proteolytic cleavage of p35 protein (13). Although p25 activates Cdk5, p35 is the natural activator of Cdk5 (11, 12). To evaluate whether Cdk5/p35 phosphorylates PP1, we transfected Myc-PP1 and Xpress-Cdk5/FLAG-p35 in HEK 293 cells. Transfected cells were lysed and analyzed for expression of the transfected genes and Myc-PP1 phosphorylation as described above. The relative amount of phosphorylated Myc-PP1 in cells transfected with Myc-PP1 and Xpress-Cdk5/FLAG-p35 was
3-fold more than in those cells transfected with Myc-PP1 alone (data not included). These results determined that Cdk5/p35, like Cdk5/p25, phosphorylates PP1.
In Vitro PhosphorylationTo test whether Cdk5 phosphorylates PP1 directly, we performed in vitro kinase assays. Bacterially expressed recombinant PP1 was incubated with purified Cdk5 in the presence of ATP/Mg2+ for various time points. Incubated samples were analyzed for PP1 phosphorylation by immunoblot analyses using anti-Thr(P)320 antibody (Fig. 4A). No immunoreactive band against anti-Thr(P)320 was observed in samples containing Cdk5 alone incubated with ATP/Mg2+(lane 1), and PP1 did not become phosphorylated when incubated alone with ATP/Mg2+ (lane 2). In samples containing PP1, Cdk5, and ATP/Mg2+, PP1 phosphorylation increased with increasing incubation time (lanes 3-7). These observations demonstrate that Cdk5 phosphorylates PP1 in vitro. The Cdk5 used in this experiment was purified from bovine brain extract. To rule out the possibility that a contaminant kinase in our Cdk5 preparation may have phosphorylated PP1, we performed in vitro kinase assay as described above for 30 min in the presence of increasing concentrations of the Cdk5 inhibitor olomoucine (Fig. 4C). Incubation with 50 µM olomoucine suppressed
60% of PP1 phosphorylation (lane 5). When the concentration of olomoucine was increased to 100 µM, PP1 phosphorylation was almost completely suppressed (lane 6). Taken together, these observations indicate that Cdk5 phosphorylates PP1 in vitro.
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PP1 Is Phosphorylated during Neuronal DifferentiationPC12 cells treated with NGF differentiate into neurons (32). In these cells, NGF activates Egr-1, which in turn activates Cdk5 by inducing the expression of p35 (15). Cdk5 activity is required for PC12 cell differentiation (15). It is possible that NGF-activated Cdk5 phosphorylates PP1, and this phosphorylation may be an important event for neuronal differentiation. To test this idea, we treated PC12 cells with NGF for various time points and then analyzed the treated cells.
Exposure with NGF for 1 day caused
20-30% of PC12 cells to extend neurites. On day 2,
40-50% of PC12 cells displayed long neurites with multiple branches, varicosities and growth cones. Almost 90% of NGF-treated PC12 cells exposed for 6 days displayed the fully differentiated phenotype (data not shown). As shown in Fig. 6, PP1 is highly expressed (Fig. 6A) and is phosphorylated (Fig. 6B) in PC12 cells exposed to NGF. Blot band quantitation determined that the relative amounts of PP1 (1,
0.8,
1.1,
1,
0.9, and 1) and phosphorylated PP1 (1,
1.4,
1.3,
1.1,
1.2, and
1.1) do not change with increasing time in NGF-containing media (Fig. 6C). These data indicate that the level of total PP1 and phosphorylated PP1 are not affected during NGF-induced PC12 cell differentiation.
Cdk5 Is Involved in PP1 Phosphorylation in NGF-induced Differentiating PC12 CellsConsistent with a previous report (14), Western blot analysis determined that Cdk1 and Cdk2 proteins were highly expressed in PC12 cells exposed to NGF for 0 day but became undetectable on day 3 of NGF exposure (data not shown). These data suggest that PP1 may have been phosphorylated by Cdk1 and/or Cdk2 at day 0 and 1 but that these kinases are less likely to be responsible for significant PP1 phosphorylation with increasing time of differentiation.
To evaluate whether Cdk5 is involved, PC12 cells were exposed to NGF for 3 days and then treated with Cdk5 inhibitor olomoucine. Treated cells were lysed and analyzed for PP1 phosphorylation. As shown in Fig. 7, olomoucine inhibited PP1 phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner (Fig. 7, B and C) without affecting the level of PP1 (Fig. 7, A and C). These data indicate that a kinase sensitive to olomoucine phosphorylates PP1 in NGF-exposed PC12 cells. Olomoucine, in addition to Cdk5, also inhibits Cdk1 and Cdk2 (31). Therefore, to confirm whether Cdk5 phosphorylates PP1, we suppressed Cdk5 expression by siRNA strategy. We transfected PC12 cells with siRNA-Cdk5 or siRNA-control. Transfected cells were then exposed to NGF for various time points and analyzed by immunoblot analysis. The levels of Cdk5, PP1, and phosphorylated PP1 were quantitated and compared (Fig. 7, D-G).
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80% (Fig. 7, D, lane 6, and G). PP1 expression was similar at all time points (Fig. 7, E and G), indicating that suppression of Cdk5 expression does not affect PP1 level. PP1 phosphorylation on the other hand was similar in siRNA-Cdk5 and siRNA-control transfected day 0 cells (compare lanes 1 and 2 in Fig. 7F). However, on day 1, PP1 phosphorylation was suppressed by
30%, and by day 2, the relative amount of phosphorylated PP1 was
1/10 that of day 0 (Fig. 7G). Thus, silencing
80% Cdk5 expression suppressed
90% PP1 phosphorylation in PC12 cells treated with NGF for 2 days. Based on these results, we concluded that Cdk5 phosphorylates PP1 during NGF-induced differentiation of PC12 cells.
Effect of Silencing Cdk5 Expression on PC12 Cell DifferentiationTo determine the role of PP1 phosphorylation, we suppressed PP1 phosphorylation by suppressing Cdk5 expression and quantitated neurite outgrowth. We transfected PC12 cells with siRNA-control and siRNA-Cdk5 and exposed the cells to NGF. The relative amount of phosphorylated PP1 in cells transfected with siRNA-control remained unchanged (
0.78 versus
0.79) after 1 and 2 days of NGF treatment (data not shown). The relative number of cells displaying neurite outgrowth in these cells is 18% at day 1 and increased to
36% at day 2 (Fig. 8). However, in cells transfected with siRNA-Cdk5, the relative amount of phosphorylated PP1 is reduced (
0.72 versus
0.30) (data not shown), and the number of cells showing neurite outgrowth did not change significantly (
20 and
15%) (Fig. 8) at days 1 and 2, respectively. Thus, from day 1 to day 2, siRNA-control transfected cells maintained a constant level of phosphorylated PP1 and doubled the number of cells displaying neurite outgrowth. Cells transfected with siRNA-Cdk5 maintained PP1 phosphorylation at day 1 and contained a level of neurite outgrowth similar to that observed in cell transfected with siRNA-control. By day 2, cells transfected with siRNA-Cdk5 had significantly suppressed amounts of phosphorylated PP1 and did not show the expected increase in the number of cells displaying neurite outgrowth. These data demonstrate that suppression of Cdk5 expression by siRNA-Cdk5 blocks PP1 phosphorylation and neurite outgrowth.
Effect of Overexpression of PP1 (WT) and PP1 (T320A) on NGF-induced Differentiating PC12 CellsCdk5 in addition to PP1 also phosphorylates a number of cellular proteins (11). Suppressing Cdk5 expression by siRNA will also suppress phosphorylation of these other targets. Hence, the failure of cells transfected with siRNA-Cdk5 to advance to differentiation, could be due to suppressed phosphorylation of Cdk5 targets other than PP1. Therefore, to more specifically evaluate the role of PP1 phosphorylation, we transfected PC12 cells with Myc-PP1 (WT), Myc-PP1 (T320A), and Myc-vector control. Transfected cells were treated with NGF to activate cellular Cdk5. In Myc-PP1 (WT) transfected cells, activated Cdk5 would be expected to phosphorylate Myc-PP1 (WT) and increase the cellular level of phosphorylated PP1. In Myc-PP1 (T320A) and Myc-vector transfected control cells, the cellular level of phosphorylated PP1 would be expected to remain at similar but basal level. We then determined the number of cells committed to differentiation by measuring neurite outgrowth. The cells were considered fully differentiated when they displayed one or more neurites equal or longer than twice the diameter of the cell body (28). Because multipolar neurons that predominate mammalian brain contain multiple neurites (a single axon and one or more dendrites that emerge from all parts of the cell body), we also analyzed the number of neurites/cell.
As shown in Fig. 9 (A and B),
64 and
52% of Myc-vector and Myc-PP1 (T320A) transfected cells displayed neurites, respectively. In Myc-PP1 (WT) transfected cells, this number rose to
79%. Only
15% each of Myc-vector and Myc-PP1 (T320A) transfected cells displayed fully differentiated phenotype (Fig. 9, A and C). For Myc-PP1 (WT) transfected cells,
27% of cells were fully differentiated. Furthermore, among neurite containing Myc-vector transfected cells,
52 and
33% contained one and two neurites, respectively, and
15% contained three or more neurites (Fig. 9D). Among neurite containing Myc-PP1 (T320A) transfected cells,
47 and 32% contained one or two neurites, respectively, and
21% advanced to three or more neuritic stage. In contrast,
35 and 27% of Myc-PP1 (WT) transfected cells had one and two neurites, respectively, and
38% advanced to higher differentiation stage containing three or more neurites. Thus, overexpression of Myc-PP1 (T320A) did not affect PC12 differentiation. Overexpression of Myc-PP1 (WT), however, significantly promoted neurite outgrowth, neurite extension, and the number of neurites per cell. These observations indicate that overexpression of PP1 (WT) promotes neuronal differentiation.
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| DISCUSSION |
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Morfini et al. (33) demonstrated that in rat cortical neurons PP1 was activated when Cdk5 was inactivated, indicating that Cdk5 suppresses PP1 activity in vivo. However, the authors also reported that Cdk5 did not phosphorylate PP1 in vitro and hence that Cdk5 inactivated PP1 by a mechanism that did not require PP1 phosphorylation. This study contradicts our in vitro phosphorylation data presented here.
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PC12 cells are an excellent and widely used model for studying neuronal differentiation (32). In these cells, binding of NGF to its cell surface receptor leads to the activation MAP kinase. Activated MAP kinase phosphorylates ternary complex factor, which together with serum response factor induces Egr-1 (16, 17). Indeed Egr-1 was first identified as a transcription factor increased within hours after NGF treatment of PC12 cells (17). The MAP kinase/Egr-1/Cdk5 pathway is one of the major signaling events triggered by NGF and leads to neurite extension. Inhibition of Cdk5 activity blocks neurite outgrowth (15), but the targets of Cdk5 in this pathway are not completely known.
In the current study, we observed that PP1 is phosphorylated in PC12 cells exposed to NGF (Fig. 6). When Cdk5 expression is silenced, PP1 phosphorylation is significantly suppressed (Fig. 7G). In vitro and in transfected HEK 293 cells, Cdk5 phosphorylates PP1 (Figs. 3 and 4). Our data demonstrate that PP1 is phosphorylated by Cdk5 in NGF-exposed differentiating PC12 cells and suggest that PP1 is downstream of Cdk5 in the NGF/MAP kinase/Egr-1/Cdk5 pathway.
In dividing PC12 cells, Cdk5 is inactive and is only activated when cells are treated with NGF (14, 15). Therefore, one would expect PP1 phosphorylation to surge concomitant with Cdk5 activation. However, as shown in Fig. 6, PP1 is phosphorylated in dividing cells (day 0) and remains phosphorylated at the same level after cells are exposed to NGF and throughout the differentiation period. This observation indicates that PP1 phosphorylation is sustained at a constant level during the transition of dividing PC12 cells to neuronal differentiated PC12 cells.
Withdrawal from the cell cycle is a prerequisite for differentiation, and it has been suggested that terminal mitosis and differentiation must be coupled for successful differentiation (34). Cdk1 and Cdk2, which are active in dividing cells, are inactivated early in the neuronal differentiation period (14). Cdk5 on the other hand is inactive in dividing cells but becomes progressively more active in differentiating cells (14, 15). It is possible that when PC12 cells are exposed to NGF, PP1 is phosphorylated initially by Cdk1 and/or Cdk2. With increasing time of NGF exposure, PP1 may be less and less phosphorylated by Cdk1 and Cdk2 and more and more by Cdk5. Thus, a constant level of phosphorylated PP1 is maintained, and this may be important to couple terminal mitosis to neuronal differentiation.
NGF-exposed PC12 cells with suppressed Cdk5 expression and PP1 phosphorylation displayed significantly impaired differentiation as exemplified by a reduced number of cells with neurite outgrowth when compared with control cells with normal levels of Cdk5 and phosphorylated PP1 (Fig. 8). This observation suggests that PP1 phosphorylation may be required for neurite outgrowth. However, Cdk5 phosphorylates a number of cellular proteins. Therefore, to more clearly understand the importance of PP1 phosphorylation, we transfected PP1 (WT) or PP1 (T320A) into PC12 cells. PP1 (WT) enhanced neurite outgrowth, increased the number of neurites/cell, and promoted neurite extension to the fully differentiated phenotype (Fig. 9). PP1 (T320A) on the other hand, did not influence significantly any of the differentiation characteristics analyzed in this study. Because the main difference between the PP1 (WT) and PP1 (T320A) is that only former is phosphorylated, these data suggest that PP1 phosphorylation promotes neuronal differentiation. Many proteins involved in the regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics and membrane trafficking are phosphorylated in vivo; and some of these proteins are PP1 targets (35). It is possible that PP1 phosphorylation may keep PP1 inactive and allow proper cytoskeletal remodeling and/or membrane trafficking required for differentiation (36).
Cdk5 requires the p35 subunit for its activity (11). In PC12 cells, Egr-1 induces the expression of p35 and thereby activates Cdk5 (15). Expression of NAB2, a co-repressor of Egr-1, almost completely abolishes NGF-induced p35 expression (15). These data indicate that Egr-1 controls p35 expression in NGF-treated PC12 cells. In the current study, we find that the level of p35/p25 protein in the Egr-1-/- brain extract is
2.7-fold less than in the Egr-1+/+ mice brains (Fig. 1). Our results indicate that in adult rat brain Egr-1 promotes p35 expression but that p35 expression is also regulated independent of Egr-1.
In NGF-exposed PC12 cells, suppression of
80% of Cdk5 expression, inhibits
90% of PP1 phosphorylation (Fig. 7G), indicating that Cdk5 is the major PP1 kinase in these cells. Egr-1-/- brains, which have
38% less Cdk5 activity than Egr-1+/+ brains, also display
50% less PP1 phosphorylation than Egr-1+/+ brains (Fig. 1). This correlation between Cdk5 activity and PP1 phosphorylation suggests that Cdk5 may be a major PP1 kinase in the adult mouse brain also. It would be interesting to validate this suggestion by analyzing PP1 phosphorylation in adult mouse brains deficient in Cdk5 activity. However, Cdk5 null mice suffer perinatal death (37). The p35 null mice survive to adulthood (38), but in these mice p39, an isoform of p35 (39), compensates for the loss of p35 function, and Cdk5 remains active (38). It should be noted that the level of p35/p25 in Egr-1-/- brains is
36% of Egr-1+/+ brains, but Cdk5 activity in Egr-1-/- brains is
62% of that in Egr-1+/+ brains (Fig. 1). These data indicate that Cdk5 activity does not correlate with the level of p35 in Egr-1-/- brains. It is possible that deletion of Egr-1-/- gene suppresses p35 expression and the brain in turn enhances the expression of p39 to compensate the loss of p35. Analysis of p39 expression in Egr-1-/- and Egr-1+/+ brains will substantiate this hypothesis.
Previous studies showed that inactivation of PP1 is involved in the induction and maintenance of long term potentiation, a form of synaptic plasticity that contributes to learning and memory (35, 40-42). In vitro, PP1 is inactivated by Thr320 phosphorylation (3-6). In the brain, Egr-1 concentration increases with neuronal activity, and Egr-1 is required for the induction of long term potentiation (43-45). PP1 phosphorylation is reduced in Egr-1-/- mouse brains (this study), and Cdk5, which phosphorylates PP1 in response to Egr-1 activation, is involved in the regulation of neuronal plasticity (46-48). These observations together suggest that PP1 phosphorylation may play a role in the induction and maintenance of long term potentiation.
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* The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. ![]()
The on-line version of this article (available at http://www.jbc.org) contains supplemental Fig. S1. ![]()
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Cote Ste Catherine, Montreal, PQ H3T 1E2, Canada. Tel.: 514-340-8222, Ext. 4866; Fax: 514-340-7502; E-mail: hemant.paudel{at}mcgill.ca.
2 The abbreviations used are: PP1, protein phosphatase 1; Cdk, cyclin-dependent protein kinase; NGF, nerve growth factor; siRNA, small interfering RNA; WT, wild type; HA, hemagglutinin; DN, dominant negative; PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; MAP, mitogen-activated protein. ![]()
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