Biomedical subjects

C E Andoniou

Publications and source records attributed to C E Andoniou.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Infection of dendritic cells by murine cytomegalovirus induces functional paralysis.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV), measles and HIV are the main human pathogens known to induce immunosuppression. Unlike measles and HIV, and despite the availability of a well studied animal model, little is known about the mechanisms that control CMV-induced immunosuppression. We hypothesized that dendritic cells (DCs), which are crucial in generating and maintaining immune responses, represent a target for CMV and that the transient, but profound, immunosuppression that accompanies CMV infection results from viral interference with DC functions. Here we show that DCs were permissive to murine CMV infection. In addition, DC infection prevented delivery of the signals required for T cell activation. Thus, CMV-mediated impairment of DC function may be crucial for virally induced immunosuppression and interleukin 2 is implicated as a key factor.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

The RING finger domain of Cbl is essential for negative regulation of the Syk tyrosine kinase.

The proto-oncogene product Cbl has emerged as a negative regulator of a number of protein-tyrosine kinases, including the ZAP-70/Syk tyrosine kinases that are critical for signaling in hematopoietic cells. The evolutionarily conserved N-terminal tyrosine kinase-binding domain is required for Cbl to associate with ZAP-70/Syk and for their subsequent negative regulation. However, the role of the remaining C-terminal regions of Cbl remains unclear. Here, we used a COS-7 cell reconstitution system to address this question. Analysis of a series of C-terminally truncated Cbl mutants revealed that the N-terminal half of the protein, including the TKB and RING finger domains, was sufficient to mediate negative regulation of Syk. Further truncations, which delete the RING finger domain, abrogated the negative regulatory effects of Cbl on Syk. Point mutations of conserved cysteine residues or a histidine in the RING finger domain, which are required for zinc binding, abrogated the ability of Cbl to negatively regulate Syk in COS-7 cells and Ramos B lymphocytic cells. In addition, Syk-dependent transactivation of a serum response element-luciferase reporter in transfected 293T cells was reduced by wild type Cbl; mutations of the RING finger domain or its deletion abrogated this effect. These results establish the RING finger domain as an essential element in Cbl-mediated negative regulation of a tyrosine kinase and reveal that the evolutionarily conserved N-terminal half of the protein is sufficient for this function.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2000

The Cbl proto-oncogene product negatively regulates the Src-family tyrosine kinase Fyn by enhancing its degradation.

Fyn is a prototype Src-family tyrosine kinase that plays specific roles in neural development, keratinocyte differentiation, and lymphocyte activation, as well as roles redundant with other Src-family kinases. Similar to other Src-family kinases, efficient regulation of Fyn is achieved through intramolecular binding of its SH3 and SH2 domains to conserved regulatory regions. We have investigated the possibility that the tyrosine kinase regulatory protein Cbl provides a complementary mechanism of Fyn regulation. We show that Cbl overexpression in 293T embryonic kidney and Jurkat T-lymphocyte cells led to a dramatic reduction in the active pool of Fyn; this was seen as a reduction in Fyn autophosphorylation, reduced phosphorylation of in vivo substrates, and inhibition of transcription from a Src-family kinase response element linked to a luciferase reporter. Importantly, a Fyn mutant (FynY528F) relieved of intramolecular repression was still negatively regulated by Cbl. The Cbl-dependent negative regulation of Fyn did not appear to be mediated by inhibition of Fyn kinase activity but was correlated with enhanced protein turnover. Consistent with such a mechanism, elevated levels of Fyn protein were observed in cell lines derived from Cbl(-/-) mice compared to those in wild-type controls. The effects of Cbl on Fyn were not observed when the 70ZCbl mutant protein was analyzed. Taken together, these observations implicate Cbl as a component in the negative regulation of Fyn and potentially other Src-family kinases, especially following kinase activation. These results also suggest that protein degradation may be a general mechanism for Cbl-mediated negative regulation of activated tyrosine kinases.

Amino Acid Substitution↗

PubMed1998

Cbl-mediated negative regulation of the Syk tyrosine kinase. A critical role for Cbl phosphotyrosine-binding domain binding to Syk phosphotyrosine 323.

The proto-oncogene product Cbl has emerged as a potential negative regulator of the Syk tyrosine kinase; however, the nature of physical interactions between Cbl and Syk that are critical for this negative regulation remains unclear. Here we show that the phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) domain within the N-terminal transforming region of Cbl (Cbl-N) binds to phosphorylated Tyr323 in the linker region between the Src homology 2 and kinase domains of Syk, confirming recent results by another laboratory using the yeast two-hybrid approach (Deckert, M., Elly, C., Altman, A., and Liu, Y. C. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 8867-8874). A PTB domain-inactivating point mutation (G306E), corresponding to a loss-of-function mutation in the Caenorhabditis elegans Cbl homologue SLI-1, severely compromised Cbl-N/Syk binding in vitro and Cbl/Syk association in transfected COS-7 cells. Using heterologous expression in COS-7 cells, we investigated the role of Cbl PTB domain binding to Syk Tyr323 in the negative regulation of Syk. Co-expression of Cbl with Syk in COS-7 cells led to a dose-dependent decrease in the autophosphorylated pool of Syk and in phosphorylation of an in vivo substrate, CD8-zeta. Unexpectedly, these effects were largely due to the loss of Syk protein. Both the decrease in Syk and CD8-zeta phosphorylation and reduction in Syk protein levels were blocked by either G306E mutation in Cbl or by Y323F mutation in Syk. These results demonstrate a critical role for the Cbl PTB domain in the recruitment of Cbl to Syk and in Cbl-mediated negative regulation of Syk.

Binding Sites↗

PubMed1998

Association of p59(fyn) with the T lymphocyte costimulatory receptor CD2. Binding of the Fyn Src homology (SH) 3 domain is regulated by the Fyn SH2 domain.

Human CD2 is a 50-55-kDa cell surface receptor specifically expressed on the surface of T lymphocytes and NK cells. Stimulation of human peripheral blood T cells with mitogenic pairs of anti-CD2 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is sufficient to induce interleukin-2 production and T cell proliferation in the absence of an antigen-specific signal through the T cell receptor. CD2 has been shown previously to associate physically with the Src family protein-tyrosine kinases p56(lck) and p59(fyn). We now report that stimulation of T cells with mitogenic pairs of anti-CD2 mAbs enhanced the association of the Fyn polypeptide with the CD2 complex, whereas stimulation with single anti-CD2 mAb had minimal effect. Using glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins, we found that CD2 bound to the Src homology (SH) 3 domain of Fyn. Interestingly, the CD2-Fyn association was negatively regulated by the Fyn SH2 domain; CD2 bound poorly to GST fusion proteins expressing both the SH2 and SH3 domains of Fyn. However, the inhibitory effect of the Fyn SH2 domain on binding of the Fyn SH3 domain to CD2 was relieved by peptides containing a phosphorylated YEEI sequence that bound directly to the Fyn SH2 domain. In addition, we found that the ability of the Fyn SH2 domain to precipitate tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins, including the CD3zeta chain, was enhanced after T cell stimulation with mitogenic pairs of CD2 mAbs. Finally, overexpression of a mutated Fyn molecule, in which the ability of the Fyn SH2 domain to bind phosphotyrosine-containing proteins was abrogated, inhibited CD2-induced transcriptional activation of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT), suggesting a functional involvement of the Fyn SH2 domain in CD2-induced T cell signaling. We thus propose that stimulation through the CD2 receptor leads to the tyrosine phosphorylation of intracellular proteins, including CD3zeta itself, which in turn bind to the Fyn-SH2 domain, allowing the direct association of the Fyn SH3 domain with CD2 and the initiation of downstream signaling events.

Antibodies↗

PubMed1998

The c-Cbl oncoprotein.

Cbl has emerged as a novel signal transducing protein downstream of a number of cell surface receptors coupled to tyrosine kinases. Identified as the protein product of the c-cbl proto-oncogene, the cellular homolog to the transforming gene of a murine retrovirus, Cbl comprises an N-terminal transforming region (Cbl-N), which contains a phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domain, and a C-terminal modular region (Cbl-C) containing a RING finger motif, a large proline-rich region and a leucine zipper. Deletion of Cbl-C or small deletions N-terminal to the RING finger render Cbl oncogenic, whereas wild type Cbl is non-transforming, even if overexpressed. Cbl serves as a substrate of both receptor and non-receptor tyrosine kinases, and binds to adaptor proteins Grb2, Crk and the p85 subunit of PI-3-kinase. Additionally, both Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila Cbl homologs, SLI-1 and D-Cbl, respectively, have been identified as negative regulators of the LET-23/DER receptor tyrosine kinases. Finally, oncogenic mutants of Cbl, when expressed in fibroblasts, upregulate the signaling cascade downstream of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha in a Cbl-PTB domain-dependent manner. Together, these findings position Cbl as a central player in the regulation of tyrosine kinase signaling pathways. Identification of the Cbl-PTB domain binding motifs on tyrosine kinases and elucidation of the mechanisms of Cbl's negative regulatory effect may provide a new avenue to control tyrosine kinases for therapeutic purposes.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

The Cbl protooncogene product: from an enigmatic oncogene to center stage of signal transduction.

The c-cbl protooncogene was first identified as the cellular homologue of a viral oncogene v-cbl that induces pre-B lymphomas and myeloid leukemias in mice. Until recently, the biochemical basis for Cbl's transforming potential and its physiological role remained unclear. However, a convergence of biochemical studies in mammalian cells and genetic studies in C. elegans and Drosophila has now identified Cbl as a negative regulator of tyrosine kinase signaling. The N-terminal transforming region of Cbl (Cbl-N) and an adjacent RING finger domain are the elements most conserved during evolution. The Cbl-N region has now been shown to contain a novel phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) domain that directly interacts with autophosphorylated tyrosine kinases via a D(N/D)XpY motif. A critical role of the PTB domain in Cbl function is demonstrated by the localization of a loss-of-function mutation in C. elegans Cbl homologue SLI-1 within this region. The corresponding mutation in human Cbl inactivates the PTB domain function and abrogates Cbl-mediated regulation of tyrosine kinase function. Recent studies have also identified a novel signaling pathway initiated by the interaction of mammalian Cbl proteins with the SH2 domains of Crk adaptor molecules, which results in Cbl's linkage with C3G, a guanine nucleotide exchange protein for Rap1 family of small G-proteins. Presently, Rap1 is thought to antagonize Ras function, although Rap1-specific targets have emerged recently. Thus, recent advances have firmly placed the little known protooncoprotein Cbl on the center stage of tyrosine kinase-mediated signal transduction.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1996

The two major sites of cbl tyrosine phosphorylation in abl-transformed cells select the crkL SH2 domain.

We recently found that the 120-kD protein product of the c-cbl oncogene is tyrosine phosphorylated in tumor cells generated by bcr-abl or v-abl and that p120cbl will associate with these proteins in vivo. We also found an oncogenic form of cbl protein in the 70Z/3 pre-B cell lymphoma which exhibits deregulated tyrosine phosphorylation. These findings have led us to broaden our study of cbl's involvement in abl-mediated tumorigenesis. Here we show by immunodepletion that cbl is the major 120-kD tyrosine phosphorylated protein in cells which express activated forms of the abl oncogene. We also demonstrate that tyrosine phosphorylation of pl20cbl in bcr-abl transformed cells does not alter its subcellular localization. In addition we show that the oncogenic 7OZ/3 form of cbl exhibits enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation in v-abl infected cells and that cbl is heavily tyrosine phosphorylated in hemopoietic cells transformed by v-src. Finally this study identifies two sites that are essential for the tyrosine phosphorylation of cbl in abl-transformed cells. These sites conform to the preferred abl kinase substrate sequence of YXXP and we show that following phosphorylation they mediate an association with the crkL SH2 domain.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed1994

Tumour induction by activated abl involves tyrosine phosphorylation of the product of the cbl oncogene.

v-cbl is the transforming gene of a murine retrovirus which induces pre-B cell lymphomas and myelogenous leukaemias. It encodes 40 kDa of a gag fusion protein which is localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus of infected cells. The c-cbl oncogene encodes a 120 kDa cytoplasmic protein and its overexpression is not associated with tumorigenesis. The c-cbl sequence has shown that v-cbl was generated by a truncation that removed 60% of the C-terminus. In this study, we carried out experiments to identify the position within cbl where the transition occurs between non-tumorigenic and tumorigenic forms. These experiments focused attention on a region of 17 amino acids which is deleted from cbl in the 70Z/3 pre-B lymphoma due to a splice acceptor site mutation. This mutation activates cbl's tumorigenic potential and induces its tyrosine phosphorylation. We also show that the expression of the v-abl and bcr-abl oncogenes results in the induction of cbl tyrosine phosphorylation, and that abl and cbl associate in vivo. These findings demonstrate that tyrosine-phosphorylated cbl promotes tumorigenesis and that cbl is a downstream target of the bcr-abl and v-abl kinases.

3T3 Cells↗