Biomedical subjects

Xinghua Long

Publications and source records attributed to Xinghua Long.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Fulvestrant (ICI 182,780)-dependent interacting proteins mediate immobilization and degradation of estrogen receptor-alpha.

The antiestrogen fulvestrant (ICI 182,780) causes immobilization of estrogen receptor-alpha (ERalpha) in the nuclear matrix accompanied by rapid degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. In this study we tested the hypothesis that fulvestrant induces specific nuclear matrix protein-ERalpha interactions that mediate receptor immobilization and turnover. A glutathione S-transferase (GST)-ERalpha-activating function-2 (AF2) fusion protein was used to isolate and purify receptor-interacting proteins in cell lysates prepared from human MCF-7 breast cancer cells. After SDS-PAGE and gel excision, mass spectrometry was used to identify two major ERalpha-interacting proteins, cytokeratins 8 and 18 (CK8.CK18). We determined, using ERalpha-activating function-2 mutants, that helix 12 (H12) of ERalpha, but not its F domain, is essential for fulvestrant-induced ERalpha-CK8 and CK18 interactions. To investigate the in vivo role of H12 in fulvestrant-induced ERalpha immobilization/degradation, transient transfection assays were performed using wild type ERalpha,ERalpha with a mutated H12, and ERalpha with a deleted F domain. Of those, only the ERalpha H12 mutant was resistant to fulvestrant-induced immobilization to the nuclear matrix and protein degradation. Fulvestrant treatment caused ERalpha degradation in CK8.CK18-positive human breast cancer cells, and CK8 and CK18 depletion by small interference RNAs partially blocked fulvestrant-induced receptor degradation. Furthermore, fulvestrant-induced ERalpha degradation was not observed in CK8 or CK18-negative cancer cells, suggesting that these two intermediate filament proteins are necessary for fulvestrant-induced receptor turnover. Using an ERalpha-green fluorescent protein construct in fluorescence microscopy revealed that fulvestrant-induced cytoplasmic localization of newly synthesized receptor is mediated by its interaction with CK8 and CK18. In summary, this study provides the first direct evidence linking ERalpha immobilization and degradation to the nuclear matrix. We suggest that fulvestrant induces ERalpha to interact with CK8 and CK18, drawing the receptor into close proximity to nuclear matrix-associated proteasomes that facilitate ERalpha turnover.

Breast Neoplasms↗

PubMed2003

Expression screen by enzyme-linked immunofiltration assay designed for high-throughput purification of affinity-tagged proteins.

High-throughput purification of affinity-tagged fusion proteins is currently one of the fastest developing areas of molecular proteomics. A prerequisite for success in protein purification is sufficient soluble protein expression of the target protein in a heterologous host. Hence, a fast and quantitative evaluation of the soluble-protein levels in an expression system is one of the key steps in the entire process. Here we describe a high-throughput expression screen for affinity-tagged fusion proteins based on an enzyme linked immunofiltration assay (ELIFA). An aliquot of a crude Escherichia coli extract containing the analyte, an affinity-tagged protein, is adsorbed onto the membrane. Subsequent binding of specific antibodies followed by binding of a secondary antibody horseradish peroxidase (HRP) complex then allows quantitative evaluation of the analyte using tetramethylbenzidine as the substrate for HRP. The method is accurate and quantitative, as shown by comparison with results from western blotting and an enzymatic glutathione S-transferase (GST) assay. Furthermore, it is a far more rapid assay and less cumbersome than western blotting, lending itself more readily to high-throughput analysis. It can be used at the expression level (cell lysates) or during the subsequent purification steps to monitor yield of specific protein.

Blotting, Western↗

PubMed2002

The activating enzyme of NEDD8 inhibits steroid receptor function.

Coregulator proteins, coactivators and corepressors, have a profound influence on steroid receptor activity and play a role in regulating receptor levels. To identify novel coregulators of nuclear receptors, we used the ligand-binding and hinge region of ERalpha as bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen of a cDNA library derived from rat uterine luminal epithelium. We report the cloning and characterization of a cDNA encoding a protein homologous to yeast and human ubiquitin-activating enzyme 3 (Uba3), the catalytic subunit of the activating enzyme of the ubiquitin-like NEDD8 (neural precursor cellexpressed developmentally down-regulated) conjugation pathway (known as neddylation). Sequence analysis revealed that Uba3 contains multiple nuclear receptor (NR)-interacting motifs (NR boxes), which are known to mediate interactions between coregulatory proteins and ligand-activated NRs. Yeast two-hybrid and glutathione-S-transferase pull-down assays demonstrated that Uba3 directly interacts with ligand-occupied ERalpha and ERbeta. Transient transfection of Uba3 in mammalian cells inhibited ER-mediated transactivation in a time-dependent fashion; Uba3 had no effect on the initial events of transcriptional activation by liganded ER, but it blocked the progressive increase in target gene expression during continuous stimulation. Uba3 also inhibited transactivation by AR and PR in mammalian cells but had no effect on a steroid receptor-independent transactivation pathway. An enzymatically silent form of Uba3 did not inhibit ER-induced transcription, and a Uba3-binding fragment of amyloid precursor protein-binding protein, the other subunit of the NEDD8-activating enzyme, partially overcame Uba3-mediated inhibition, demonstrating that the neddylation activity of Uba3 is required for its inhibition of steroid receptor transactivation. Thus, Uba3 inhibits transcription induced by steroid hormone receptors through a novel mechanism that involves the neddylation pathway. Understanding the mechanisms controlling hormone responsiveness of target tissues, such as the uterus and mammary gland, may lead to novel insights of therapeutic intervention.

Amino Acid Sequence↗