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Biomedical subjects

Martin Turner

Publications and source records attributed to Martin Turner.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Vav family proteins are required for optimal regulation of PLCgamma2 by integrin alphaIIbbeta3.

Vav proteins belong to the family of guanine-nucleotide-exchange factors for the Rho/Rac family of small G-proteins. In addition, they serve as important adapter proteins for the activation of PLCgamma (phospholipase Cgamma) isoforms by ITAM (immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif) receptors, including the platelet collagen receptor GPVI (glycoprotein VI). Vav proteins are also regulated downstream of integrins, including the major platelet integrin alphaIIbbeta3, which has recently been shown to regulate PLCgamma2. In the present study, we have investigated the role of Vav family proteins in filopodia and lamellipodia formation on fibrinogen using platelets deficient in Vav1 and Vav3. Wild-type mouse platelets undergo a limited degree of spreading on fibrinogen, characterized by the formation of numerous filopodia and limited lamellipodia structures. Platelets deficient in Vav1 and Vav3 exhibit reduced filopodia and lamellipodia formation during spreading on fibrinogen. This is accompanied by reduced alphaIIbbeta3-mediated PLCgamma2 tyrosine phosphorylation and reduced Ca(2+) mobilization. In contrast, the G-protein agonist thrombin stimulates full spreading of control and Vav1/3-deficient platelets. Consistent with this, stimulation of F-actin (filamentous actin) formation and Rac activation by thrombin is not altered in Vav-deficient cells. These results demonstrate that Vav1 and Vav3 are required for optimal spreading and regulation of PLCgamma2 by integrin alphaIIbbeta3, but that their requirement is by-passed upon G-protein receptor activation.

Animals↗

Gbetagammas and the Ras binding domain of p110gamma are both important regulators of PI(3)Kgamma signalling in neutrophils.

Through their ability to regulate production of the key lipid messenger PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3), the class I phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinases (PI(3)Ks) support many critical cell responses. They, in turn, can be regulated by cell-surface receptors through signals acting on either their adaptor subunits (for example, through phosphotyrosine or Gbetagammas) or their catalytic subunits (for example, through GTP-Ras). The relative significance of these controlling inputs is undefined in vivo. Here, we have studied the roles of Gbetagammas, the adaptor p101, Ras and the Ras binding domain (RBD) in the control of the class I PI(3)K, PI(3)Kgamma, in mouse neutrophils. Loss of p101 leads to major reductions in the accumulation of PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3), activation of protein kinase B (PKB) and in migration towards G-protein activating ligands in vitro, and to an aseptically inflamed peritoneum in vivo. Loss of sensitivity of PI(3)Kgamma to Ras unexpectedly caused similar reductions, but additionally caused a substantial loss in production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We conclude that Gbetagammas, p101 and the Ras-RBD interaction all have important roles in the regulation of PI(3)Kgamma in vivo and that they can simultaneously, but differentially, control distinct PI(3)Kgamma effectors.

Animals↗

RhoG regulates the neutrophil NADPH oxidase.

RhoG is a Rho family small GTPase implicated in cytoskeletal regulation, acting either upstream of or in parallel to Rac1. The precise function(s) of RhoG in vivo has not yet been defined. We have identified a novel role for RhoG in signaling the neutrophil respiratory burst stimulated by G protein-coupled receptor agonists. Bone marrow-derived neutrophils from RhoG knockout (RhoG(-/-)) mice exhibited a marked impairment of oxidant generation in response to C5a or fMLP, but normal responses to PMA or opsonized zymosan and normal bacterial killing. Activation of Rac1 and Rac2 by fMLP was diminished in RhoG(-/-) neutrophils only at very early (5 s) time points (by 25 and 32%, respectively), whereas chemotaxis in response to soluble agonists was unaffected by lack of RhoG. Additionally, fMLP-stimulated phosphorylation of protein kinase B and p38MAPK, activation of phospholipase D, and calcium fluxes were equivalent in wild-type and RhoG(-/-) neutrophils. Our results define RhoG as a critical component of G protein-coupled receptor-stimulated signaling cascades in murine neutrophils, acting either via a subset of total cellular Rac relevant to oxidase activation and/or by a novel and as yet undefined interaction with the neutrophil NADPH oxidase.

Animals↗

Cellular Notch responsiveness is defined by phosphoinositide 3-kinase-dependent signals.

BACKGROUND: Notch plays a wide-ranging role in controlling cell fate, differentiation and development. The PI3K-Akt pathway is a similarly conserved signalling pathway which regulates processes such as differentiation, proliferation and survival. Mice with disrupted Notch and PI3K signalling show phenotypic similarities during haematopoietic cell development, suggesting functional interaction between these pathways. RESULTS: We show that cellular responsiveness to Notch signals depends on the activity of the PI3K-Akt pathway in cells as diverse as CHO cells, primary T-cells and hippocampal neurons. Induction of the endogenous PI3K-Akt pathway in CHO cells (by the insulin pathway), in T-cells (via TCR activation) or in neurons (via TrKB activation) potentiates Notch-dependent responses. We propose that the PI3K-Akt pathway exerts its influence on Notch primarily via inhibition of GSK3-beta, a kinase known to phosphorylate and regulate Notch signals. CONCLUSION: The PI3K-Akt pathway acts as a "gain control" for Notch signal responses. Since physiological levels of intracellular Notch are often low, coincidence with PI3K-activation may be crucial for induction of Notch-dependent responses.

Animals↗

The RNA binding protein Zfp36l1 is required for normal vascularisation and post-transcriptionally regulates VEGF expression.

The Zfp36l1 gene encodes a zinc finger-containing mRNA binding protein implicated in the posttranscriptional control of gene expression. Mouse embryos homozygous for a targeted mutation in the Zfp36l1 locus died mid-gestation and exhibited extraembryonic and intraembryonic vascular abnormalities and heart defects. In the developing placenta, there was a failure of the extraembryonic mesoderm to invaginate the trophoblast layer. The phenotype was associated with an elevated expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A in the embryos and in embryonic fibroblasts cultured under conditions of both normoxia and hypoxia. VEGF-A overproduction by embryonic fibroblasts was not a consequence of changes in Vegf-a mRNA stability; instead, we observed enhanced association with polyribosomes, suggesting Zfp36l1 influences translational regulation. These data implicate Zfp36l1as a negative regulator of Vegf-a gene activity during development.

Animals↗

Syk and Slp-76 mutant mice reveal a cell-autonomous hematopoietic cell contribution to vascular development.

Developmental studies support a common origin for blood and endothelial cells, while studies of adult angiogenic responses suggest that the hematopoietic system can be a source of endothelial cells later in life. Whether hematopoietic tissue is a source of endothelial cells during normal vascular development is unknown. Mouse embryos lacking the signaling proteins Syk and Slp-76 develop abnormal blood-lymphatic endothelial connections. Here we demonstrate that expression of GFPSlp-76 in a subset of hematopoietic cells rescues this phenotype, and that deficient cells confer focal vascular phenotypes in chimeric embryos consistent with a cell-autonomous mechanism. Endogenous Syk and Slp-76, as well as transgenic GFPSlp-76, are expressed in circulating cells previously proposed to be endothelial precursors, supporting a causal role for these cells. These studies provide genetic evidence for hematopoietic contribution to vascular development and suggest that hematopoietic tissue can provide a source of vascular endothelial progenitor cells throughout life.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

Synergistic activation of PKD by the B cell antigen receptor and CD19 requires PI3K, Vav1 and PLCgamma.

Antigens coated with complement fragments coligate the B cell receptor (BCR) with the CD21/CD19 complex which results in synergistic activation of B cells. Previous studies identified PI3K, Vav proteins and PLCgamma as important components of this synergy. We now show that protein kinase D (also known as PKCmu) is also a point of convergence of these signalling pathways. We found that PKD activation upon BCR engagement or coligation of the BCR with CD19 is entirely dependent on PI3K and PLCgamma but differ in the requirement for Vav proteins. Whereas PKD activation is Vav1 and Vav2 dependent in response to BCR cross-linking, PKD activation is sensitive to the lack of Vav1 under synergistic stimulation of BCR and CD19. These findings show that Vav proteins and PI3K regulation of PLCgamma contributes to the activation of PKD in response to BCR and or CD19 cross-linking.

Animals↗

Phospholipase C-gamma2 is essential for NK cell cytotoxicity and innate immunity to malignant and virally infected cells.

Phospholipase C-gamma2 (PLC-gamma2) is a key component of signal transduction in leukocytes. In natural killer (NK) cells, PLC-gamma2 is pivotal for cellular cytotoxicity; however, it is not known which steps of the cytolytic machinery it regulates. We found that PLC-gamma2-deficient NK cells formed conjugates with target cells and polarized the microtubule-organizing center, but failed to secrete cytotoxic granules, due to defective calcium mobilization. Consequently, cytotoxicity was completely abrogated in PLC-gamma2-deficient cells, regardless of whether targets expressed NKG2D ligands, missed self major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I, or whether NK cells were stimulated with IL-2 and antibodies specific for NKR-P1C, CD16, CD244, Ly49D, and Ly49H. Defective secretion was specific to cytotoxic granules because release of IFN-gamma on stimulation with IL-12 was normal. Plcg2-/- mice could not reject MHC class I-deficient lymphoma cells nor could they control CMV infection, but they effectively contained Listeria monocytogenes infection. Our results suggest that exocytosis of cytotoxic granules, but not cellular polarization toward targets, depends on intracellular calcium rise during NK cell cytotoxicity. In vivo, PLC-gamma2 regulates selective facets of innate immunity because it is essential for NK cell responses to malignant and virally infected cells but not to bacterial infections.

Animals↗

Cutting edge: T cell development requires the combined activities of the p110gamma and p110delta catalytic isoforms of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase.

The role of PI3K activity in T lymphocyte development is obscure because mice deficient in single PI3K catalytic subunits either die before birth (p110alpha-/- and p110beta-/-) or lack a significant T cell developmental phenotype (p110gamma-/- and p110delta-/-). We have generated mice deficient in both p110gamma and p110delta and show that p110gamma/delta-/- mice have a profound block in T cell development that occurs at the beta-selection checkpoint. We show that pre-TCR-induced signaling is significantly reduced in p110gamma/delta-/- thymocytes and that this results in a concomitant lack of proliferative expansion and increased apoptosis. The survival defect in p110gamma/delta-/- thymocytes is associated with increased levels of the pro-apoptotic molecule Bcl2 interacting mediator of cell death. This work demonstrates that PI3K activity is critical for T cell development and depends on the combined function of p110gamma and p110delta.

Animals↗

Vav1 and Vav2 play different roles in macrophage migration and cytoskeletal organization.

Vav family proteins act as guanine nucleotide exchange factors for Rho family proteins, which are known to orchestrate cytoskeletal changes and cell migration in response to extracellular stimuli. Using mice deficient for Vav1, Vav2 and/or Vav3, overlapping and isoform-specific functions of the three Vav proteins have been described in various hematopoietic cell types, but their roles in regulating cell morphology and migration have not been studied in detail. To investigate whether Vav isoforms have redundant or unique functions in regulating adhesion and migration, we investigated the properties of Vav1-deficient and Vav2-deficient macrophages. Both Vav1-deficient and Vav2-deficient cells have a smaller adhesive area; yet, only Vav1-deficient cells have a reduced migration speed, which coincides with a lower level of microtubules. Vav2-deficient macrophages display a high level of constitutive membrane ruffling, but neither Vav1 nor Vav2 is required for colony stimulating factor-1-induced membrane ruffling and cell spreading. Our results suggest that the migration speed of macrophages is regulated independently of spread area or membrane ruffling and that Vav1 is selectively required to maintain a normal migration speed.

Animals↗

Vav proteins regulate peripheral B-cell survival.

Mice lacking all 3 Vav proteins fail to produce significant numbers of recirculating follicular or marginal zone B cells. Those B cells that do mature have shortened lifespans. The constitutive nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activity of resting naive B cells required Vav function and expression of cellular reticuloendotheliosis (c-Rel). Rel-A was reduced in Vav-deficient B cells. Furthermore, expression of the NF-kappaB-regulated antiapoptotic genes A1 and Bcl-2 was reduced in mature Vav-deficient B cells. Overexpression of Bcl-2 restored the number of mature follicular B cells in the spleens of Vav-deficient mice. When activated by B-cell receptor (BCR) cross-linking, Vav-deficient B cells failed to activate NF-kappaB. Vav proteins thus regulate an NF-kappaB-dependent survival signal in naive B cells and are required for NF-kappaB function after BCR cross-linking.

Animals↗

Sequential activation of class IB and class IA PI3K is important for the primed respiratory burst of human but not murine neutrophils.

It is well established that preexposure of human neutrophils to proinflammatory cytokines markedly augments the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to subsequent stimuli. This priming event is thought to be critical for localizing ROS to the vicinity of the inflammation, maximizing their role in the resolution of the inflammation, and minimizing the damage to surrounding tissue. We have used a new generation of isoform-selective phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors to show that ROS production under these circumstances is regulated by temporal control of class I PI3K activity. Stimulation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-primed human neutrophils with N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) results in biphasic activation of PI3K; the first phase is largely dependent on PI3Kgamma, and the second phase is largely dependent on PI3Kdelta. The second phase of PI3K activation requires the first phase; it is this second phase that is augmented by TNF-alpha priming and that regulates parallel activation of ROS production. Surprisingly, although TNF-alpha-primed mouse bone marrow-derived neutrophils exhibit superficially similar patterns of PI3K activation and ROS production in response to fMLP, these responses are substantially lower and largely dependent on PI3Kgamma alone. These results start to define which PI3K isoforms are responsible for modulating neutrophil responsiveness to infection and inflammation.

Animals↗

Vav proteins are required for B-lymphocyte responses to LPS.

B lymphocytes respond to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) through Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and CD180 (previously called RP105). We show here that the responses of B lymphocytes to LPS require the function of the Vav family of guanine nucleotide exchange factors. Vav1-mutant mice generate defective humoral immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses following administration of low doses of LPS but respond normally to higher doses, while mice lacking both Vav1 and Vav2 manifest defective responses even after a high dose of LPS. Vav1/2-mutant B cells fail to divide extensively in vitro in response to LPS or CD180, while deficiency of Vav1 alone impairs CD180-but not LPS-driven proliferation. Likewise, activation of Akt (a PI3K [phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase] target) and phosphorylation of IkappaBalpha in response to CD180 or LPS required Vav1 and Vav2, while Vav1 deficiency led to defective responses to CD180. In addition, activation of ERK (extracellular signal regulated kinase) required Vav1 and Vav2 in response to CD180 but was Vav1 and vav2 independent in response to LPS. Induction of CD86 and CD25 by anti-CD180 also required Vav function, as did the induction of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-xL (B-cell leukemia XL). These data provide evidence for the function for the Vav proteins in regulating the responses of B cells to LPS.

Animals↗

The role of endothelial PI3Kgamma activity in neutrophil trafficking.

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase gamma (PI3Kgamma) in neutrophils plays a critical role in the directed migration of these cells into inflamed tissues. In this study, we demonstrate the importance of the endothelial component of PI3Kgamma activity relative to its leukocyte counterpart in supporting neutrophil interactions with the inflamed vessel wall. Despite the reconstitution of class-Ib PI3K function in neutrophils of p110gamma-/- mice, we observed a 45% reduction in accumulation of these cells in an acute lung injury model. Mechanistically, this appears to result from a perturbation in selectin-mediated adhesion as manifested by a 70% reduction in wild-type (WT) neutrophil attachment to and 17-fold increase in rolling velocities on p110gamma-/- microvessels in vivo in response to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha). This alteration in adhesion was further augmented by a deficiency in p110delta, suggesting that the activity of both catalytic subunits is required for efficient capture of neutrophils by cytokine-stimulated endothelium. Interestingly, E-selectin-mediated adhesion in p110gamma-/-) mice was impaired by more than 95%, but no defect in nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB)-induced gene expression was observed. These findings suggest a previously unrecognized partnership between class-I PI3Ks expressed in leukocytes and endothelium, the combination of which is required for the efficient trafficking of immunocompetent cells to sites of inflammation.

Animals↗

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase is required for the transcriptional activation of cyclin D2 in BCR activated primary mouse B lymphocytes.

Induction of cyclin D2 is essential for mediating cell cycle entry in B cells activated by BCR cross-linking. In the present study we show that, like B lymphocytes lacking cyclin D2, the p85alpha subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) or other components of the B cell signalosome, p110delta-null B cells fail to induce cyclin D2 and enter early G1 but not S phase of the cell cycle. The inhibitors of PI3K activity, LY294002 and Wortmannin, also abrogate cyclin D2 induction by BCR cross-linking, confirming that the class IA PI3K is necessary for cyclin D2 induction in response to BCR stimulation. Furthermore, using both p85alpha-null and p110delta-null B cells and inhibitors of PI3K, this study demonstrates for the first time, that BCR cross-linking induces cyclin D2 mRNA expression via transcriptional activation of the cyclin D2 promoter and that this transcriptional activation of cyclin D2 requires PI3K activity. Moreover, we identify a region between nucleotides -1624 and -1303 of the cyclin D2 promoter containing elements responsive to anti-IgM, which are PI3K dependent. Further characterisation of signalling intermediates downstream of the BCR revealed a perturbation of MAPK signalling pathways in p85alpha-null and p110delta-null B cells, and our data suggests that cross-talk exists between the PI3K and JNK pathways.

Androstadienes↗

Vav1 and vav3 have critical but redundant roles in mediating platelet activation by collagen.

Vav family proteins are guanine nucleotide exchange factors for the Rho/Rac family of small GTP-binding proteins. In addition, they have domains that mediate protein-protein interactions, including one Src homology 2 (SH2) and two Src homology 3 (SH3) domains. Vav1, Vav2, and Vav3 play a crucial role in the regulation of phospholipase C gamma (PLC gamma) isoforms by immuno-tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM)-coupled receptors, including the T- and B-cell antigen receptors. We have reported in platelets, however, that Vav1 and Vav2 are not required for activation of PLC gamma 2 in response to stimulation of the ITAM-coupled collagen receptor glycoprotein VI (GPVI). Here we report that Vav3 is tyrosinephosphorylated upon activation of GPVI but that Vav3-deficient platelets also exhibit a normal response upon activation of the ITAM receptor. In sharp contrast, platelets deficient in both Vav1 and Vav3 show a marked inhibition of aggregation and spreading upon activation of GPVI, which is associated with a reduction in tyrosine phosphorylation of PLC gamma 2. The phenotype of Vav1/2/3 triple-deficient platelets is similar to that of Vav1/3 double-deficient cells. These results demonstrate that Vav3 and Vav1 play crucial but redundant roles in the activation of PLC gamma 2 by GPVI. This is the first time that absolute redundancy between two protein isoforms has been observed with respect to the regulation of PLC gamma 2 in platelets.

Agammaglobulinaemia Tyrosine Kinase↗