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*
Department of Pediatrics, Steele Memorial Childrens Research Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724; and
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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Due to the unique activity of this novel class of compounds and their medicinal potential, the physiological, cellular, and biochemical effects of these drugs have been investigated in various model systems. Cultured T cells represent a system of particular importance due to the central role of T cells in whole organism physiology. Additionally, many of the well-studied hsp90-dependent proteins play important roles in T cells, including the glucocorticoid receptor (5, 6, 7), raf kinase (8, 9, 10, 11), p53 tumor suppressor protein (12, 13, 14), and the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase p56lck (15, 16, 17). Two initial studies have characterized the effects of herbimycin A or GA in cultured T cells. Pretreatment of isolated human peripheral lymphocytes with herbimycin A inhibits several responses to anti-CD3 TCR ligation, including phosphorylation of tyrosine on cellular proteins, inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate release, mobilization of cellular calcium, cell proliferation, and production of IL-2 and the IL-2R (18). Treatment with herbimycin A also depletes cellular levels of the nonreceptor tyrosine kinases p56lck and p59fyn, prompting June et al. (18) to conclude that herbimycin is not a classic protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor, but instead targets PTKs for degradation (18). More recently,5 it has been shown that exposure of isolated human peripheral T cells to GA concurrent with anti-CD28 Ab stimulation compromises subsequent T cell proliferation and the production of IL-2 and the IL-2R (19).
Given the biochemical and potential clinical importance of benziquinoid ansamycins that target hsp90, we have conducted studies that assess the effects of GA on T cell function and have determined the biochemical effects of GA on the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase p56lck. In the current study, we demonstrate that in mouse splenocytes, as in human peripheral T cell populations, GA pretreatment compromises CD28 stimulation of production of IL-2 and IL-2R. We extend these studies further by demonstrating that splenocytes previously induced to proliferate via Con A and/or IL-2 stimulation cease to proliferate upon subsequent exposure to GA. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of GA toward unstimulated and stimulated mouse splenocytes is characterized with regard to GA dose, duration, and kinetics. Finally, the biochemical effects of GA on the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase p56lck are examined by Western blotting of kinase levels, assays of kinase activity, pulse-chase characterizations of nascent and mature kinase t1/2, and Western blot and pulse-chase characterization of the protective effects of proteasome and lysosome inhibitors. The results document and quantify the effects the GA on T cell physiology and describe the biochemical effects of GA on one class of critical T cell proteins.
| Materials and Methods |
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GA (m.w. = 560) was provided by the Drug Synthesis and Chemistry Branch of the Developmental Therapeutics Program, Division of Cancer Treatment, National Cancer Institute. Anti-lck Abs were raised by the Hybridoma Center for the Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK) as polyclonal ascites fluid in mice repeatedly immunized with recombinant histidine-tagged human lck (kindly provided by Dr. Paul Burn, Hoffmann-LaRoche, Nutley, NJ). Anti-lck specificity was confirmed by Western blotting and by immunoadsorption of radiolabeled lysates prepared from cells positive or negative for expression of the full-length lck gene product (Jurkat E6.1 and J.CaM1.6, respectively). Anti (human)-fyn Abs were from Upstate Biotechnology (Lake Placid, NY). Anti-actin Abs were from Pierce (Rockford, IL). The human T cell leukemia lines Jurkat E6.1 and J.CaM1.6 were obtained from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, VA), and cultured as previously described (20).
Culture of T cells
Splenic mononuclear cells were obtained from 7-wk-old male DBA mice (Sprague Dawley, Indianapolis, IN) and purified by density-gradient centrifugation using Lympholyte M (Cedar Lane Laboratories, Ontario, Canada). Isolated splenocytes were cultured in RPMI 1640 supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated FBS, 2 mM L-glutamine, 50 IU penicillin, 50 µg/ml streptomycin, 100 ng/L gentamicin, 1 mM sodium pyruvate, 1x nonessential amino acids, and 50 µM mercaptoethanol.
To prepare activated T cells, splenic mononuclear cells from DBA mice were placed in RPMI cell culture media and stimulated with either 100 U/ml IL-2 (a kind gift of Dr. Emmanuel Akporiaye, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ), 0.5 µg/ml Con A, or 10 U/ml IL-2 + 0.5 µg/ml Con A. Culture of mononuclear cells for a period of 48 h with Con A yields a predominantly T cell population (21).
Assessment of T cell mortality, proliferation, and activation
To assess mononuclear cell survival rates during GA exposure, mouse lymphocyte and Jurkat cell suspensions were stained with trypan blue and counted on hemocytometer grids. T cell proliferation was assayed by incubation with [3H]thymidine for 15 h, and was reported as a stimulation index representing incorporation of [3H]thymidine in a given condition divided by the incorporation seen with media alone.
IL-2 production in response to CD3 and CD28 stimulation was quantified using a bioassay. After pretreatment with GA and DMSO as indicated, equal numbers of viable splenic mononuclear cells were stimulated for 18 h with and without anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 Abs to evaluate IL-2 production. Since the addition of GA in the supernatant inhibits CTLL-2 proliferation, the splenic mononuclear cells were pretreated with GA and washed before use. The IL-2-dependent murine T cell line, CTLL-2 (ATCC), was used to determine the amount of IL-2 bioactivity present in the supernatants (22). The IL-2 bioactivity was quantified by comparing the number of dilutions of each supernatant resulting in 50% maximum counts of [3H]thymidine incorporated in the CTLL-2 cells. The concentration of IL-2 in the supernatants was derived from a standard curve using known concentrations of IL-2. IL-2R (CD25) levels in CD3/CD28-activated cells were determined by flow cytometry using a FITC anti-CD25 Ab (PharMingen).
Preparation and assessments of cell lysates
Splenocytes were lysed in PBS containing 10% glycerol, 1% Tween 20, 12 mM sodium deoxycholic acid, 0.1% SDS, 1 mg/L PMSF, 200 µg/L aprotinin, and 200 µg/L leupeptin, and were clarified at 14,000 x g for 20 min at 4°C. Protein concentrations were determined relative to a BSA standard curve using a BCA protein reagent kit (Pierce). Jurkat cells were collected by a single centrifugation at 400 x g without washing, lysed by boiling in SDS-PAGE sample buffer, and analyzed by Western blotting. Alternatively, RIPA lysates were prepared as previously described (23), and detergent-soluble vs detergent-insoluble fractions were separated via centrifugation at 12,000 x g for 5 min at 4°C. Detergent-insoluble pellet fractions were solubilized by boiling in reducing SDS-PAGE sample buffer.
To assay PTK activities, splenic mononuclear cells were lysed in
20 mM Tris (pH 7.4), 50 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM EGTA, 0.2 mM
PMSF, 1 µg/ml pepstatin, 0.5 µg/ml leupeptin, 0.2 mM
Na3VO4, and 5 mM
mercaptoethanol, and PTK activity was quantified using an immunoassay
(Calbiochem, Cambridge, MA), as per the manufacturers protocol.
Alternatively, lck kinase activity was determined by kinetic
assays performed in the presence of
[
-32P]ATP and acid-denatured enolase, as
previously described (23).
Cell lysates were analyzed by Western blotting using standard chemiluminescent or colormetric techniques. Autoradiography was performed by transfer of protein from SDS-PAGE gels to polyvinylidene difluoride membrane and subsequent exposure directly to x-ray film.
Pulse-chase analyses of lck molecules in GA-treated cells
For analyses of newly synthesized lck molecules, Jurkat cells were incubated for 1 h in medium containing 3.6 µM GA. After incubation, cells were starved for 30 min at 37°C in Met/Cys-deficient medium lacking GA before a pulse with [35S]Met/Cys for 20 min. Radiolabeling was terminated by centrifugation and resuspension of cells in replete medium. Cells were incubated at 37°C for the indicated chase times.
For analyses of mature lck molecules, cells were radiolabeled for 40 min in Met/Cys-deficient medium containing [35S]Met/Cys, but lacking GA. Radiolabeling was terminated by centrifugation of cultures and resuspension of cells in replete medium. Cultures were further incubated at 37°C for 34 h. GA was then added to 3.6 µM, and cultures were incubated at 37°C for the indicated chase times.
To isolate 35S-labeled lck, clarified cell lysates were prepared as described previously (24). Clarified lysates were adjusted to 1% SDS/10 mM DTT and boiled for 5 min to disrupt protein-protein interactions and to enhance the specificity of subsequent immunoadsorptions (25). Boiled lysates were cooled slowly, diluted 3-fold with lysis buffer, precleared with 15 µl each of 10% Pansorbin (Calbiochem), and immunoabsorbed with anti-lck Abs and fresh Pansorbin. Immunopellets were washed four times with lysis buffer supplemented to 0.3% SDS/3 mM DTT, eluted in reducing SDS-PAGE sample buffer, and analyzed by reducing SDS-PAGE and autoradiography.
Data analysis
Lck levels were quantified by computerized densitometry using Molecular Analyst (version 1.4; Bio-Rad, Richmond, CA). Lck levels were normalized to simultaneously blotted actin on at least two separate gels. Statistical analysis was conducted using Students t test; statistically significant differences between conditions were considered to be those with a p value of <0.05.
| Results |
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To establish a benchmark relationship between our current studies
and previous studies (7, 8) that examined the biological
effects of pretreating peripheral human T cells with GA, mouse splenic
T cells were pretreated with GA before their stimulation with
anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 Abs. In these assays, the
ligation-induced production of IL-2 and IL-2R was assessed.
Pretreatment of splenic mononuclear cells with GA resulted in a
statistically significant (p < 0.01) 96%
inhibition of IL-2 production in response to TCR and CD28 receptor
ligation: IL-2 concentrations in the supernatants of GA-treated cells
were 0.675 ± 0.075 IU/ml compared with 17.625 ± 1.125 IU/ml
in DMSO-treated (control) cells. Similarly, in assays of TCR/CD28
stimulation of production of the CD25 IL-2R by splenic cells, the
number of control cells producing IL-2R in response to TCR/CD28
ligation was significantly (p < 0.01) reduced
by
40%: 68.57 ± 2.82% of untreated cells were CD25 positive,
67.78 ± 3.78% DMSO-treated (vehicle control) cells were CD25
positive, and 39.87 ± 3.51% of GA-treated cells were CD25
positive. These results established that activation of splenic mouse
mononuclear cells was inhibited by pretreatment with GA, as was
previously reported for human peripheral lymphocytes.
GA treatment after mitogen activation inhibits T cell proliferation
Although our results and previous work (7, 8)
indicated that pretreatment of lymphocytes with GA inhibited subsequent
activation via TCR or CD28 ligation, we wished to extend these
characterizations to other aspects of T cell physiology. Specifically,
we hypothesized that late addition of GA to activated T cells would
arrest T cell proliferation. For these studies, splenic mouse
mononuclear cells were cultured for 57 h in cell medium containing
IL-2 and/or Con A, but lacking GA. Subsequent to this activation, the
effects of GA on cellular proliferation were assessed via addition of
GA concurrent with [3H]thymidine. After
preactivated splenocytes had been incubated for 15 h in the
presence of [3H]thymidine and GA (72 h of
culture total), cell proliferation was assessed via quantitation of
thymidine incorporation (reported as stimulation index). Comparison of
thymidine incorporation by mitogen-activated T cells vs unstimulated T
cell populations indicated that the mitogen treatments induced T cell
proliferation (Table I
), and this
proliferation was not affected by the drug vehicle DMSO. In contrast,
GA levels greater than 17 nM significantly (p
< 0.01) inhibited the proliferation of previously activated T cells in
a dosage-dependent fashion (Table I
). This inhibition of proliferation
was observed for cells preactivated by IL-2, Con A, or both mitogens.
Therefore, GA caused a dose-dependent inhibition of the ability of
activated splenocytes to replicate their DNA, even when applied
subsequent to mitogen activation.
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50% inhibition observed at the maximum dosage of 1700 nM
(Table II
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GA treatment leads to depletion of cellular tyrosine kinases
In the studies of June et al. (18), pretreatment of
peripheral human T cells with herbimycin A inhibited TCR-stimulated
enhancement of tyrosine phosphorylation and depleted cellular levels of
the T cell kinases p59fyn and
p56lck. We extended such characterizations by
treating resting splenic mononuclear cells with GA and assessing the
net PTK activity in the absence of TCR stimulation. In resting mouse
splenocytes treated with GA (1.7 µM), total PTK activity was
significantly (p < 0.01) reduced by 47 ±
5.5% relative to untreated cells or 52.7 ± 5.3% to cells
treated with DMSO. In an attempt to explain this decrease in PTK
activity, the cellular levels of the T cell tyrosine kinases
lck and fyn were examined by Western blotting. In
resting splenic mononuclear cell treated with 1.7 mM GA for 15 h,
GA treatment resulted in marked depletion of these kinases from cell
lysates (Fig. 1
A).
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To examine the kinetics of GA-mediated lck loss in
resting splenic mononuclear cells, lck levels were evaluated
at various time points after GA treatment. When unstimulated
splenocytes were exposed to various concentrations of GA for 1 h,
followed by drug washout and subsequent cultivation in drug-free media,
significant reproducible decreases in lck band intensity
were not apparent (not shown). When resting splenocytes were
continuously exposed (no drug washout) to 1700 nM GA for various
periods of time, p56lck levels did not drop
immediately upon drug treatment, but instead declined steadily, most
significantly at 12 and 24 h of GA treatment (Fig. 1
C).
These characterizations were extended to activated splenocytes. In
splenocytes preactivated by a 24-h exposure to Con A or IL-2, a
subsequent 15-h exposure to GA induced loss of lck protein
levels (Fig. 1
D).
The effects of GA can be modeled in Jurkat cultures
To further extend our characterizations of the toxic and antikinase activities of GA, we performed similar characterizations in an alternative T cell system, the Jurkat human T cell leukemia. GA treatment of Jurkat cultures induced cell mortality consistent with the mortalities observed for cultured mouse splenocytes (not shown). GA also increased the fragility of Jurkat cells, leading to increased losses in cell number during sequential centrifugation washes relative to untreated cell cultures (not shown). Consequently, experimental protocols were adjusted such that Jurkat cells were subjected to minimum handling. In Jurkat cells, as was observed in mouse splenocytes, exposure to GA for 15 h reproducibly depleted lck levels (not shown). Shorter durations of exposure (8 h) induced dose-dependent reductions in lck levels, but with variation among experiments (not shown). Because cultured Jurkat cells behaved in a fashion qualitatively equivalent to cultured splenocytes, this cell system represented an appropriate model system in which to examine the biochemical mechanisms underlying GA-induced depletion of lck from splenic mononuclear cells.
GA induces the rapid degradation of newly synthesized lck
In GA-treated T cells, depletion of lck could have
resulted from inhibition of an hsp90 function essential to either
kinase biogenesis, kinase stability, or from indirect effects of GA on
other hsp90-dependent cellular processes. To discriminate among these
possibilities, the effects of GA on lck
t1/2 were assessed. For these
assessments, anti-lck Abs were used to immunoabsorb
35S-labeled lck from cell lysates
prepared from radiolabeled cells. These immunoadsorptions reproducibly
recovered a single predominant 35S-labeled
protein from immunoadsorption reactions (Fig. 2
, A, B, and
D). This predominant 35S-labeled
protein was identified as lck on the basis of its
Mr and its coelectrophoresis with
lck detected by Western blotting (not shown). This
identification was confirmed by the specific immunoadsorption of
35S-labeled lck from lysates from
lck-positive Jurkat E6.1 cells vs the truncated
lck gene product (26) that was recovered by
immunoadsorption of J.CaM1.6 cells (not shown).
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50% of
35S-labeled lck lost within 40 min and
with 35S-labeled lck content
continuing to decline thereafter (Fig. 2GA induces the slow degradation of mature lck
To determine whether mature molecules of lck similarly
required hsp90 function, GA treatment and radiolabeling were performed
in an order inverse of that described above. Specifically, Jurkat
cultures were pulse labeled in the absence of GA and radiolabeling was
chased subsequently via a 3-h incubation in replete medium lacking GA.
After this chase of radiolabeling to allow maturation of kinase
molecules, cells were treated with GA and
35S-labeled lck levels were assessed
at 2-h intervals. In contrast to the results obtained for newly
synthesized 35S-labeled lck (Fig. 2
B), mature 35S-labeled lck
was equally stable in GA-treated cells as in control cells (Fig. 2
B). This result did not reflect saturation of the binding
capacity of the anti-lck immunoadsorptions (not shown).
Thus, the t1/2 of mature
35S-labeled lck molecules was not
decreased during 8-h treatments of Jurkat cells with GA. To determine
whether the function of mature lck molecules required hsp90
support within this time frame, Jurkat cultures were treated with GA
for 3 h, lck was isolated from these cells by
immunoadsorption, and lck kinase activity was assessed in
vitro by kinetic assays of kinase activity. These assays indicated that
GA did not directly inhibit lck kinase activity nor
otherwise directly compromise the function of mature lck
molecules (Fig. 2
C).
To examine lck t1/2 on the
time frame that was used to assess lck levels via Western
blotting, pulse-chase characterizations of lck
t1/2 were examined over a 24-h period,
with collection and analysis of cell lysates at 6-h intervals (Fig. 2
D). These characterizations indicated that within this
longer time frame, GA increased the rate of lck degradation
2-fold, with accelerated loss becoming most evident at late periods
of culture. Thus, in GA-treated Jurkat cells, both nascent and mature
lck were targeted for degradation; however, the effects of
GA treatment were much more rapid and marked for nascent lck
than for mature molecules.
Proteasome inhibitors have complex effects
Previous work on other proteins had suggested a linkage between GA
treatment and degradation of target proteins via the proteosome
(5, 7, 11, 14, 27, 28, 29). To determine whether proteosomal
degradation mediated the loss of lck from GA-treated T
cells, Jurkat cultures were treated with GA and/or the highly specific
proteosome inhibitors lactacystin or its activated analogue
clasto-lactacystin ß-lactone (30). After 20-h incubation
in the presence of these drugs, lck levels were assessed by
Western blotting. When total cell lysates were prepared by directly
boiling treated Jurkat cells in reducing SDS-PAGE sample buffer,
subsequent Western blot analyses suggested that clasto-lactacystin
ß-lactone slightly reduced the magnitude of GA-induced
depletion of lck from total cell lysates (Fig. 3
A). However, when
detergent-soluble fractions (RIPA lysates) of treated cells were
prepared without boiling, Western blotting with anti-lck
Abs suggested that clasto-lactacystin ß-lactone did not prevent
GA-induced depletion of lck (Fig. 3
B).
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Because inhibition of proteosome function did not unequivocally address
the proteolytic fate of lck in GA-treated cells, another
potential mechanism of lck degradation was examined. For
this examination, cells were treated concurrently with GA and
bafilomycin, the second compound acting as a potent inhibitor of
lysosomal function (Fig. 4
). Bafilomycin
treatment for durations of 3 and 15 h did not alter levels of
detergent-soluble lck. However, bafilomycin provided marked
protection against GA-mediated depletion of lck levels. This
result indicated that inhibition of lysosomal function protected
lck molecules from degradation in GA-treated T cells.
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When lck molecules were synthesized in lysates lacking GA,
levels of lck molecules produced were stably maintained upon
subsequent incubations for up to 3 h at 30°C (Fig. 5
A). This stable maintenance
did not reflect a balance between synthesis and degradation because
protein synthesis in this system reproducibly ceases after 30-min
incubation at 30°C. Inclusion of GA in these protein synthesis
reactions (30 µM) did not alter the levels of lck thus
maintained. This result was consistent with previous analyses of
lck molecules incubated in GA-treated protein syntheses
reactions in which protein synthesis had been arrested by protein
synthesis inhibitors (16, 17). Addition of
clasto-lactacystin ß lactone to GA-treated or GA-free lysates did not
alter the levels of lck maintained during the 3-h chase
incubations. Similarly, there was no evidence for lactacystin-induced
ladders of high Mr species of
lck protein that may have represented polyubiquitinated
lck (Fig. 5
B). Given the competence of
ubiquitination and proteosome machinery previously documented to exist
in this system (30, 31, 32, 33), these results strongly argued
that ubiquitination and proteosomal degradation were not directly nor
obligatorily coupled to inhibition of hsp90 function in this cell-free
system.
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| Discussion |
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Our results indicate that GA may be especially toxic to rapidly
proliferating cells. This conclusion is based on our observation that
15-h treatment of resting T cells has no significant impact on cell
mortality, but that similar treatment of activated T cells results in
significant decreases in cell viability (Table II
, top vs
bottom). Consistent with this observation, GA appears to
exert selective tumoricidal activity (35). In further
support of the selective potential of GA, Lele et al. (37)
have observed that GA causes the development of abnormal zebrafish
embryos that lack specific discrete populations of cells. We further
speculate that the selective toxicity of GA may reflect the activated
nature of signal transduction networks in proliferating cells and the
delicate balance of the functions of hsp90-dependent proteins within
these networks. Further work will be necessary to fully characterize
the discriminatory potential of GA relative to activated, resting, and
neoplastic cell populations. It will also be critical to determine the
nature of the cytotoxic effects of GA and whether pathways of
programmed cell death are activated or inhibited by this and related
compounds. Nevertheless, studies presented in this work suggest that it
may be possible to adjust GA treatment regimens to selectively deplete
activated cell populations.
We examined the effects of GA with regard to one critical T cell protein, the nonreceptor T cell-specific tyrosine kinase p56lck. Physical and functional interactions between p56lck and GAs target, hsp90, have been well documented in cell-free systems and in transformed fibroblast cell lines (16, 17, 37, 38). Additionally, a physical association between lck and hsp90 has been demonstrated in T cell lysates (16), and the effects of herbimycin A on p56lck levels in cultured T cells have been determined (18). In our current work, we have characterized the in vivo effects of GA in detail. We find that total p56lck levels are depleted by GA treatment in a dosage-dependent fashion regardless of T cell activation status, and that the kinetics of this depletion is relatively slow.
Furthermore, we demonstrate that depletion of
p56lck levels reflects accelerated degradation
of p56lck molecules. This finding is consistent
with the work of Uehara et al., who observed that herbimycin A
accelerates the degradation of a temperature-sensitive version of the
oncogenic viral src kinase
2-fold (39).
Ansamycin-accelerated degradation has also been reported for several
other hsp90-dependent proteins (5, 9, 12, 27, 29, 40).
However, few studies to date have attempted to differentiate this
effect with regard to newly synthesized vs temporally mature protein
molecules. We find the kinetics of lck degradation varies
depending on the population of kinase molecules analyzed.
The variable kinetics of lck degradation that we observe indicates that GA-induced depletion of p56lck has two underlying causes: 1) an early dramatic crippling of p56lck biogenesis, resulting in a failure to replenish p56lck levels; and 2) a less dramatic acceleration of the degradation of mature p56lck. Based on the immediate and nearly quantitative nature of the first effect and on previous modeling in cell-free systems (16, 17, 37, 38), we conclude that the effects of GA on newly synthesized p56lck are direct; synthesis of the kinase in the absence of hsp90 support results in kinase molecules that are immediately and directly targeted for proteolysis. In contrast, the biochemical phenomena underlying the depletion of temporally mature p56lck molecules are more difficult to assess. We note that depletion of mature p56lck is most pronounced at times subsequent to 8 h of GA treatment. At this time, cellular physiology would be predicted to be grossly altered, and thus the depletion of p56lck at late points in GA treatment may reflect secondary effects of hsp90 inhibition. Alternatively, temporally mature p56lck molecules have been observed to have a conditional dependence on hsp90 support in a cell-free model system (17). Thus, mature p56lck molecules may have a direct need in vivo for hsp90 support that is quantitatively less urgent than that of nascent p56lck molecules. Similarly, alterations in p56lck biochemistry in conjunction with altered cell physiology might create populations of mature p56lck molecules with enhanced need for direct hsp90 support (17).
Benzoquinoid ansamycin has been reported to accelerate the degradation of various signal transduction molecules via ubiquination and proteolysis (5), including receptor tyrosine kinases (27), the c-erbB-2 gene product (28), long-lived mutant versions of the p53 tumor suppressor protein (14), the raf kinase (11), and the cystic fibrosis transmembrane receptor (29). However, three observations compel us to reserve judgment regarding the possibility that ubiquitination and proteosomal degradation represent the mechanism by which p56lck is degraded in GA-treated T cells.
Our first reservation is based on the observation that inhibition
of the proteosome has unexpected complex effects on the biochemistry of
p56lck, and these unexpected effects are
independent of GA application. Specifically, inhibition of the
proteosome induces alterations in p56lck
detergent solubility (Fig. 3
). Such effects are not without precedent:
raf is recruited to Nonidet P-40-insoluble cell fractions
upon treatment of cells with lactacystin and GA (11). More
strikingly, long-lived mutant p53 molecules are recruited to Nonidet
P-40-insoluble fractions upon treatment of cells with proteosome
inhibitors, and this effect occurs independent of GA treatment
(14). Thus, the unexpected pleiotropic effects of
proteosome inhibition (41, 42, 43) suggest that the minor
lactacystin-induced protection that we observe may be indirect,
reflecting an altered subcellular localization rather than a direct
protection of lck from the proteosome per se.
Our second reservation regarding the fate of p56lck in GA-treated cells arises due to the recent suggestion that the src family tyrosine kinases p56lck and blk are physically associated with the E6AP E3 ubiquitin ligase, and that blk may be degraded by ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation upon kinase activation (44). This observation would predict that p56lck may undergo obligate processing by ubiquitin and proteosome machinery irrespective of GA treatment. Thus, the minor protective effects of proteosome inhibition that we observed might again be indirect. Lck levels may be enhanced by inhibiting the GA-independent processing of lck by proteosome machinery.
Our third reservation arises from cell-free modeling studies such as
those presented in Fig. 5
. In these studies, we utilized rabbit
reticulocyte lysate in vitro translation reactions (RRL) in attempts to
demonstrate biochemical effects characteristic of ubiquitination and/or
proteosomal degradation. However, despite the presence of active
ubiquitination and proteosome machinery in reticulocytes and in RRL
(31, 32, 33, 34), p56lck levels are
maintained at steady state levels in the presence of GA during
prolonged incubations. Furthermore, addition of GA and/or proteosome
inhibitor does not result in a ladder or high
Mr smear characteristic of
polyubiquitinated p56lck molecules. These
observations indicate that, in this model system, ubiquitination and
proteosome degradation are not direct consequences of GAs inhibition
of hsp90 function. However, RRL may lack components of the
ubiquitin/proteasome system that may be necessary for lck
degradation, e.g., lck-specific E3 ligases. Alternatively,
our inability to demonstrate stoichiometrically significant
ubiquitination of p56lck as a consequence of
inhibited hsp90 function may represent the technically difficult
nature of such studies. Nonetheless, our inability to model this
process in a system that contains the active components putatively
involved compels us to reserve judgment regarding the involvement of
these components in the GA-induced degradation of
p56lck in vivo.
In contrast to ubiquitination and proteosomal degradation, the results
from both the RRL model system and from treatment of cell cultures with
bafilomycin (Fig. 4
) and ammonium chloride (data not shown) are
consistent with the possibility that lysosomal degradation pathways
represent one fate of p56lck molecules in
GA-treated cells. When RRL are prepared, they are carefully clarified
to remove membranous structures, and RRL would thus be predicted to
lack lysosomes. Furthermore, the in vivo protective effects of
lysosomal inhibitors were substantive (Fig. 4
), implicating these
proteolytic structures in GA-induced degradation in vivo. Our
observation that inhibitors of lysosomes and proteasomes both protected
p56lck from degradation in GA-treated cells is
consistent with a recent study demonstrating that brefeldin A
inhibition of the maturation of connexin43 results in loss of
connexin43 immunoreactivity and that this loss can be prevented by
inhibition of the proteasome or of lysosomes (45).
As an alternative to putative lysosomal degradation, a recent paper by
Matsuda et al. (46) suggests that an
hsp90/cdc37-dependent mutant of the ZAP70 tyrosine kinase is
normally degraded by a novel proteasome-independent pathway.
In summary, GA compromises the function and viability of T cells, and this compound may have selective cytotoxic effects depending on cell activation status. The differential effect of GA on activated and resting cells may have therapeutic implications for disease processes that are characterized by cell proliferation and/or T cell activation. The mechanism by which this compound acts is reflected by its effects on the hsp90-dependent protein lck and the related kinase fyn, although these proteins are unlikely to be the sole mediators of the cellular effects of GA. GA-mediated inhibition of hsp90 results in the depletion of lck by immediately and directly compromising lck biogenesis. Additionally, GA treatment compromises mature lck molecules by a slower process that may be indirect. These results correlate with global losses in PTK activity and an inability to respond to TCR stimuli. Although the pathway(s) for lck degradation remains unproven, evidence presented in this work does not unequivocally support the direct involvement of ubiquitin and proteosome machinery and instead implicates lysosomal degradation pathways. These results indicate that pharmacologic inhibition of hsp90 chaperone function may represent a novel immunosuppressant strategy, and elaborate on the appropriate context in which to interpret lck losses as a reporter for the pharmacology of GA in whole organisms.6
| Footnotes |
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2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Peter D. Yorgin at his current address: Section of Pediatric Nephrology, Stanford University Medical Center, Lucile Salter Packard Childrens Hospital, 703 Welch Road, Suite H-5, Palo Alto, CA 94303. E-mail address: ![]()
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: GA, geldanamycin; hsp, heat-shock protein; PTK, protein tyrosine kinase; RRL, rabbit reticulocyte lysate in vitro translation reaction. ![]()
4 Preclinical trials, conducted by Luke Whitesell (Department of Pediatrics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ) and David O. Toft (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN). ![]()
5 The study of Schnaider et al. (19 ) was published while the current manuscript was in preparation. ![]()
6 Lck levels are one of several proteins currently serving as markers in preclinical trials. ![]()
Received for publication November 6, 1999. Accepted for publication January 3, 2000.
| References |
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