VHL: a very hip ligase.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Tyers.
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The stability of many proteins is controlled by the ubiquitin proteolytic system, which recognizes specific substrates through the action of E3 ubiquitin ligases [1]. The SCFs are a recently described class of ubiquitin ligase that target a number of cell cycle regulators and other proteins for degradation in both yeast and mammalian cells [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]. Each SCF complex is composed of the core protein subunits Skp1, Rbx1 and Cul1 (known as Cdc53 in yeast), and substrate-specific adaptor subunits called F-box proteins [2] [3] [4]. To understand the physiological role of SCF complexes in mammalian cells, we generated mice carrying a deletion in the Cul1 gene. Cul1(-/-) embryos arrested around embryonic day 6.5 (E6.5) before the onset of gastrulation. In all cells of the mutant embryos, cyclin E protein, but not mRNA, was highly elevated. Outgrowths of Cul1(-/-) blastocysts had limited proliferative capacity in vitro and accumulated cyclin E in all cells. Within Cul1(-/-) blastocyst cultures, trophoblast giant cells continued to endocycle despite the elevated cyclin E levels. These results suggest that cyclin E abundance is controlled by SCF activity, possibly through SCF-dependent degradation of cyclin E.
Many key activators and inhibitors of cell division are targeted for degradation by a recently described family of E3 ubiquitin protein ligases termed Skp1-Cdc53-F-box protein (SCF) complexes. SCF complexes physically link substrate proteins to the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Cdc34, which catalyses substrate ubiquitination, leading to subsequent degradation by the 26S proteasome. SCF complexes contain a variable subunit called an F-box protein that confers substrate specificity on an invariant core complex composed of the subunits Cdc34, Skp1 and Cdc53. Here, we review the substrates and pathways regulated by the yeast F-box proteins Cdc4, Grr1 and Met30. The concepts of SCF ubiquitin ligase function are illustrated by analysis of the degradation pathway for the G1 cyclin Cln2. Through mass spectrometric analysis of Cdc53 associated proteins, we have identified three novel F-box proteins that appear to participate in SCF-like complexes. As many F-box proteins can be found in sequence databases, it appears that a host of cellular pathways will be regulated by SCF-dependent proteolysis.
Despite evidence suggesting that protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms are important in phagocytosis by Fcgamma receptors, the mechanisms by which the substrates of these kinases act are largely unknown. We have investigated the role of one PKC substrate, pleckstrin, in cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage. Pleckstrin expression in mouse macrophages was induced severalfold in response to bacterial LPS and IFN-gamma. In unstimulated cells, the protein was largely confined to the cytosol. Upon ingestion of IgG-opsonized zymosan particles (OPZ), however, pleckstrin accumulated on the phagosomal membrane. This association was transient, being maximal after 15 min and declining thereafter. Similar kinetics of association was also seen for both filamentous actin and the delta isoform of PKC. Ingestion of OPZ was found to induce phosphorylation of pleckstrin. To examine whether phosphorylation was required for phagosomal association, pleckstrin was expressed in CHO-IIA cells that stably express the FcgammaRIIA receptor and are competent for phagocytosis of OPZ. In these cells, both wild-type pleckstrin and mutants in which the phosphoacceptor sites had been mutated to either alanine (nonphosphorylatable) or glutamine (pseudophosphorylated) were found to accumulate on OPZ phagosomes. Thus, association of pleckstrin with phagosomes is independent of its phosphorylation. Our findings suggest that pleckstrin may serve as an intracellular adaptor/targeting protein in response to particulate stimuli. By targeting interacting ligands to the phagosomal compartment, pleckstrin may serve to regulate phagocytosis and/or early steps during maturation of the phagosome.
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The ubiquitin system of intracellular protein degradation controls the abundance of many critical regulatory proteins. Specificity in the ubiquitin system is determined largely at the level of substrate recognition, a step that is mediated by E3 ubiquitin ligases. Analysis of the mechanisms of phosphorylation directed proteolysis in cell cycle regulation has uncovered a new class of E3 ubiquitin ligases called SCF complexes, which are composed of the subunits Skp1, Rbx1, Cdc53 and any one of a large number of different F-box proteins. The substrate specificity of SCF complexes is determined by the interchangeable F-box protein subunit, which recruits a specific set of substrates for ubiquitination to the core complex composed of Skp1, Rbx1, Cdc53 and the E2 enzyme Cdc34. F-box proteins have a bipartite structure--the shared F-box motif links F-box proteins to Skp1 and the core complex, whereas divergent protein-protein interaction motifs selectively bind their cognate substrates. To date all known SCF substrates are recognised in a strictly phosphorylation dependent manner, thus linking intracellular signalling networks to the ubiquitin system. The plethora of different F-box proteins in databases suggests that many pathways will be governed by SCF-dependent proteolysis. Indeed, genetic analysis has uncovered roles for F-box proteins in a variety of signalling pathways, ranging from nutrient sensing in yeast to conserved developmental pathways in plants and animals. Moreover, structural analysis has revealed ancestral relationships between SCF complexes and two other E3 ubiquitin ligases, suggesting that the combinatorial use of substrate specific adaptor proteins has evolved to allow the regulation of many cellular processes. Here, we review the known signalling pathways that are regulated by SCF complexes and highlight current issues in phosphorylation dependent protein degradation.
The recent identification of an essential RING-H2 finger protein in the SCF E3 ubiquitin ligase complex of budding yeast has uncovered a family of related E3 enzymes, including the other main cell cycle E3 complex, the anaphase promoting complex (APC). Recent insights into APC-dependent proteolysis include a novel protease activity that dissolves cohesion between sister chromatids at anaphase, and a crucial phosphatase, Cdc14, whose release from the nucleolus eliminates cyclin-dependent kinase activity and thereby drives exit from mitosis.
In most eukaryotes, commitment to cell division occurs in late G1 phase at an event called Start in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and called the restriction point in mammalian cells. Start is triggered by the cyclin-dependent kinase Cdc28 and three rate-limiting activators, the G1 cyclins Cln1, Cln2 and Cln3. Cyclin accumulation in G1 is driven in part by the cell-cycle-regulated transcription of CLN1 and CLN2, which peaks at Start. CLN transcription is modulated by physiological signals that regulate G1 progression, but it is unclear whether Cln protein stability is cell-cycle-regulated. It has been suggested that once cells pass Start, Cln proteolysis is triggered by the mitotic cyclins Clb1, 2, 3 and 4. But here we show that G1 cyclins are unstable in G1 phase, and that Clb-Cdc28 activity is not needed fgr G1 cyclin turnover. Cln instability thus provides a means to couple Cln-Cdc28 activity to transcriptional regulation and protein synthetic rate in pre-Start G1 cells.
In budding yeast, ubiquitination of the cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitor Sic1 is catalyzed by the E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzyme Cdc34 in conjunction with an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex composed of Skp1, Cdc53 and the F-box protein, Cdc4 (the SCFCdc4 complex). Skp1 binds a motif called the F-box and in turn F-box proteins appear to recruit specific substrates for ubiquitination. We find that Skp1 interacts with Cdc53 in vivo, and that Skp1 bridges Cdc53 to three different F-box proteins, Cdc4, Met30, and Grr1. Cdc53 contains independent binding sites for Cdc34 and Skp1 suggesting it functions as a scaffold protein within an E2/E3 core complex. F-box proteins show remarkable functional specificity in vivo: Cdc4 is specific for degradation of Sic1, Grr1 is specific for degradation of the G1 cyclin Cln2, and Met30 is specific for repression of methionine biosynthesis genes. In contrast, the Cdc34-Cdc53-Skp1 E2/E3 core complex is required for all three functions. Combinatorial control of SCF complexes may provide a basis for the regulation of diverse cellular processes.
The ubiquitin-dependent proteolytic pathway targets many key regulatory proteins for rapid intracellular degradation. Specificity in protein ubiquitination derives from E3 ubiquitin protein ligases, which recognize substrate proteins. Recently, analysis of the E3s that regulate cell division has revealed common themes in structure and function. One particularly versatile class of E3s, referred to as Skp1p-Cdc53p-F-box protein (SCF) complexes, utilizes substrate-specific adaptor subunits called F-box proteins to recruit various substrates to a core ubiquitination complex. A vast array of F-box proteins have been revealed by genome sequencing projects, and the early returns from genetic analysis in several organisms promise that F-box proteins will participate in the regulation of many processes, including cell division, transcription, signal transduction and development.
Exit from mitosis requires the inactivation of mitotic cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) by an unknown mechanism. We show that the Cdc14 phosphatase triggers mitotic exit by three parallel mechanisms, each of which inhibits Cdk activity. Cdc14 dephosphorylates Sic1, a Cdk inhibitor, and Swi5, a transcription factor for SIC1, and induces degradation of mitotic cyclins, likely by dephosphorylating the activator of mitotic cyclin degradation, Cdh1/Hct1. Feedback between these pathways may lead to precipitous collapse of mitotic CDK activity and help coordinate exit from mitosis.
We have reconstituted the ubiquitination pathway for the Cdk inhibitor Sic1 using recombinant proteins. Skp1, Cdc53, and the F-box protein Cdc4 form a complex, SCFCdc4, which functions as a Sic1 ubiquitin-ligase (E3) in combination with the ubiquitin conjugating enzyme (E2) Cdc34 and E1. Cdc4 assembled with Skp1 functions as the receptor that selectively binds phosphorylated Sic1. Grr1, an F-box protein involved in Cln destruction, forms complexes with Skp1 and Cdc53 and binds phosphorylated Cln1 and Cln2, but not Sic1. Because the constituents of the SCF complex are members of protein families, SCFCdc4 is likely to serve as the prototype for a large class of E3s formed by combinatorial interactions of related family members. SCF complexes couple protein kinase signaling pathways to the control of protein abundance.
Protein phosphatase 1 holoenzymes are composed of catalytic subunits in combination with various regulatory subunits. In rodents, four different catalytic isoforms are known, PP1c alpha, -delta, -gamma 1, and -gamma 2. Here we describe the genomic organization of the murine Ppp1cc gene that encodes the PP1c gamma 1 and PP1c gamma 2 isoforms. We determined that Ppp1cc maps to F1.2-G1.2 on chromosome 5 by FISH mapping. Southern hybridization and analysis of cross-hybridizing genomic clones revealed four Ppp1cc-related pseudogenes in the mouse genome. The authentic Ppp1cc gene encodes two isoforms, PP1c gamma 1 and PP1c gamma 2, that arise from alternative splicing and differ by retention of the last intron. The introns of Ppp1cc are flanked by short direct repeats, the significance of which is not clear. Both isoforms retain phosphatase function since they are able to complement the cold-sensitive PP1 defect caused by the dis2-11 mutation in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
Wild-type cells of the budding yeast Saccharbmyces cerevisiae arrest in G1 upon nutrient exhaustion. Cell cycle arrest requires the WHI2 gene since whi2 mutants continue to divide and become abnormally small as nutrients are depleted. Here we show that CLN1 and CLN2 transcript levels in a whi2 strain are higher during exponential growth, and persist longer upon starvation, than in an isogenic wild-type strain. In contrast to CLN1 and CLN2, CLN3 levels declined only at very high cell density and were unaffected by the whi2 mutation. Elevated CLN expression is sufficient to explain the whi2 phenotype since ectopic expression of CLN1 in a nutrient-depleted culture caused cells to continue dividing and interfered with the acquisition of heat resistance. These observations show that, either directly or indirectly, Whi2 negatively regulates G1 cyclin expression. Interestingly extremely high levels of Cln1 induced filamentous growth upon nutrient deprivation, suggesting a direct connection between G1 cyclin activity and morphological responses to poor nutrient conditions.
Pleckstrin, originally described as a major substrate of protein kinase C (PKC) in platelets, was found to be highly expressed in human neutrophils (intracellular concentration, approximately 15 microM). As PKC isoforms play an important role in mediating neutrophil antimicrobial responses, we studied the regulation of pleckstrin phosphorylation in response to inflammatory stimuli. Following treatment of neutrophils with FMLP, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, or opsonized zymosan, pleckstrin was rapidly phosphorylated, which resulted in a shift in its electrophoretic mobility. Several lines of evidence suggest that pleckstrin is phosphorylated in part by a nonconventional PKC following stimulation by FMLP: 1) chelation of intracellular Ca2+ had only a partial inhibitory effect; 2) diacylglycerol kinase inhibitors shortened the duration of phosphorylation, while the phosphatidic acid phosphohydrolase antagonist propranolol extended it; and 3) wortmannin and erbstatin blocked the phosphorylation of pleckstrin. These results suggest that nonconventional PKC isoforms, possibly delta or zeta, mediate the phosphorylation of pleckstrin. Both PKCdelta and -zeta are expressed in human neutrophils. Increased association of pleckstrin with both microsomes and with the cytoskeleton was observed in stimulated cells. These findings suggest that phosphorylation by nonconventional PKC isoforms induces a conformational change in pleckstrin that promotes its interaction with membranes and/or with the cytoskeleton. Such a translocation may serve to target proteins or lipids recognized by pleckstrin homology domains to sites where they can contribute to the microbicidal response.
BACKGROUND: In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, components of a single mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway transduce two distinct signals, each of which activates an independent developmental programme: peptide mating pheromones initiate the mating response, whereas nutrient limitation initiates filamentous growth. One of the MAP kinases in this pathway, Fus3, triggers mating but antagonizes filamentous growth, while the other, Kss 1, preferentially triggers filamentous growth. Both kinases activate the same transcription factor, Ste 12, which can stimulate gene expression specific to each of the developmental programmes. The precise mechanism by which these MAP kinases activate Ste 12, however, is not clear. RESULTS: Two newly identified proteins, Rst 1 and Rst 2 (also known as Dig1 and Dig2), were found to associate physically with Fus3 and Ste12. Rst1 and Rst2 were prominent substrates in kinase reactions of Fus3 immune complexes from pheromone-treated cells. Association of Fus3 with Ste12 required Rst1 and Rst2, and activation of Fus3 by pheromone caused release of Ste12 from the Fus3 complex. Although rst1 and rst2 single mutants had no obvious phenotype, both filamentous growth and mating-specific gene expression were constitutive in rst1 rst2 double mutants. The phenotype of rst1 rst2 cells required Ste12 function, but did not require the function of upstream kinases. Consistent with Rst1 and Rst2 having a role in Ste12 regulation, both proteins were localized to the nucleus. CONCLUSIONS: Rst1 and Rst2 repress the mating and filamentous growth responses of S. cerevisiae by directly inhibiting Ste12. Activation of Fus3 or Kss1 may cause phosphorylation-dependent release of Ste12 from Rst1/Rst2 and thereby activate Ste12-dependent transcription.
Regulated cell cycle progression depends on the proper integration of growth control pathways with the basic cell cycle machinery. While many of the central molecules such as cyclins, CDKs, and CKIs are known, and many of the kinases and phosphatases that modify the CDKs have been identified, little is known about the additional layers of regulation that impinge upon these molecules. To identify new regulators of cell proliferation, we have selected for human and yeast cDNAs that when overexpressed were capable of specifically overcoming G1 arrest signals from the cell cycle branch of the mating pheromone pathway, while still maintaining the integrity of the transcriptional induction branch. We have identified 13 human CPR (cell cycle progression restoration) genes and 11 yeast OPY (overproduction-induced pheromone-resistant yeast) genes that specifically block the G1 arrest by mating pheromone. The CPR genes represent a variety of biochemical functions including a new cyclin, a tumor suppressor binding protein, chaperones, transcription factors, translation factors, RNA-binding proteins, as well as novel proteins. Several CPR genes require individual CLNs to promote pheromone resistance and those that require CLN3 increase the basal levels of Cln3 protein. Moreover, several of the yeast OPY genes have overlapping functions with the human CPR genes, indicating a possible conservation of roles.
In budding yeast, cell division is initiated in late G1 phase once the Cdc28 cyclin-dependent kinase is activated by the G1 cyclins Cln1, Cln2, and Cln3. The extreme instability of the Cln proteins couples environmental signals, which regulate Cln synthesis, to cell division. We isolated Cdc53 as a Cln2-associated protein and show that Cdc53 is required for Cln2 instability and ubiquitination in vivo. The Cln2-Cdc53 interaction, Cln2 ubiquitination, and Cln2 instability all depend on phosphorylation of Cln2. Cdc53 also binds the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, Cdc34. These findings suggest that Cdc53 is a component of a ubiquitin-protein ligase complex that targets phosphorylated G1 cyclins for degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.