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* Unidad de Investigacion, Hospital San Pedro de Alcantara, Caceres, Spain; and Departments of
Hematopoiesis and
Immunology, Holland Laboratory, American Red Cross, Rockville, MD 20855
| Abstract |
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cooperate in the activation of STAT6 and NF-
B, suggesting that these transcription factors are regulated by common intracellular signaling pathways. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the effect of known inhibitors of NF-
B on the activation of STAT6. We discovered that inhibitors of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC), but not other lipases, blocked the activation of STAT6 by IL-4. The activation of PC-PLC seems to be an early event in IL-4 signaling, because its inhibition abrogated JAK activation and STAT6 tyrosine phosphorylation. Interestingly, we found that the effects of pervanadate and sodium orthovanadate on STAT6 activation correspond to their effect on PC-PLC. Thus, pervanadate by itself activated PC-PLC, JAK, and STAT6, whereas sodium orthovanadate suppressed PC-PLC, JAK, and STAT6 activation by IL-4. We further found that PC-PLC activation is necessary but not sufficient to promote STAT6 activation, and therefore, additional intracellular pathways regulated by IL-4 and pervanadate may collaborate with PC-PLC to signal STAT6 activation. It has been reported that IL-4 signals PC-PLC activation; in this study, we provide evidence that this phospholipase plays a key role in IL-4 signaling. | Introduction |
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IL-4 mediates its effects by binding to a cell surface receptor complex expressed in most cell types (9). Two types of IL-4R have been found. The type I consists of the common
-chain (
c) and the IL-4R
-chain (IL-4R
) (10). The IL-4R
gives specificity for IL-4 binding and signal transduction. In the type II receptor, the
c is substituted by the IL-13R
1 (11). The type II is also a receptor for IL-13, which can explain the biological effects shared by these cytokines. The IL-4R lacks enzymatic activity, but the binding of IL-4 provokes the activation of the tyrosine kinases Janus kinase (JAK)
31 and JAK3 (12, 13). This results in the tyrosine phosphorylation of the IL-4R
-chain, which can recruit intracellular messengers (9). Insulin receptor substrate proteins (14), Shc (15), Src homology 2 domain-containing inositol 5'-phosphatase (15), and STAT6 (16) are phosphorylated and activated by IL-4. The transcription factor STAT6 plays a principal role in IL-4 signaling as demonstrated in mice lacking STAT6 that show a similar phenotype as mice lacking the IL-4R
(17).
The proposed mechanisms involved in STAT6 regulation are similar to those of other STATs (9, 18). STAT6 binds through its Src homology 2 domain to specific phosphotyrosine residues within the IL-4R
(19). In this complex, STAT6 is quickly phosphorylated by a JAK-dependent mechanism. After phosphorylation, STAT6 leaves the receptor, dimerizes, and migrates to the nucleus where it binds to specific DNA sequences in the promoter of genes (18). It is believed that STAT6 is tightly regulated, because in the absence of IL-4 stimulation, STAT6 is quickly deactivated (20, 21, 22). Thus, phosphatases (20, 21), by dephosphorylating STAT6, and SOCs (22), by inhibiting the kinase activity associated with the receptor, are inhibitors of STAT6. In addition, serine kinases (23) and proteases (24) have also been implicated in STAT6 regulation. However, the role of these and other pathways activated by IL-4 in the regulation of STAT6 are still under extensive investigation. The basic JAK/STAT paradigm is widely accepted (18, 25); however, the processes involved in STAT6 activation are probably more complex. In this regard, we have recently demonstrated a principal role of Src kinases in the activation of STAT6 by IL-4 and IL-13 (26). Therefore, it is possible that additional molecules and metabolic pathways could participate in the processes that lead to the activation of STAT6.
Cytokine signaling studies are usually performed by stimulating cells with high levels of cytokine in the absence of additional signals. However, this type of stimulation is not similar to situations in vivo where the presence of additional cytokines and other signals could affect responses of cells to a given cytokine. In a recent report, we have shown that TNF-
, which does not signal STAT6 activation, increases the activation of STAT6 by IL-4 (27). Similarly, IL-4 enhances the activation of NF-
B by TNF-
. The mechanisms underlying this effect were not defined. One possible explanation is that IL-4 and TNF-
regulate common intracellular pathways that lead to the activation of these transcription factors. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the effect of known inhibitors of NF-
B on the activation of STAT6. We found that inhibitors of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) blocked the activation of STAT6 by IL-4. PC-PLC has been shown to be necessary for the activation of NF-
B induced by several agents including TNF-
(28). It was previously shown that IL-4 can induce PC-PLC activation (29); however, the role of this lipase in IL-4 signaling has not yet been defined. In this study, we have found that the activation of PC-PLC by IL-4 is required not only to signal STAT6 activation but also to regulate the activation of JAK1 and JAK3. Our results strongly suggest that the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine is an early and important event in cell responses to IL-4.
| Materials and Methods |
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The murine B cell lymphomas WEHI231, CH31, and M12 were maintained in RPMI 1640 culture medium with glutamine, penicillin, streptomycin, 0.05 mM 2-ME, and 10% FCS (complete medium). The murine IL-3-dependent myeloid cell lines 32D and SHP-1 mutant were cultured in the same medium supplemented with 5% WEHI-3-conditioned medium. The murine SHP-1 mutant hemopoietic progenitor cell line was previously generated by Hox11-mediated immortalization of yolk sac cells from viable motheaten mice (mev/mev) (21). D609, U73122, and ET-18-OCH3 were purchased from Biomol (Plymouth Meeting, PA). Anti-JAK1, anti-JAK3, and anti-Shc were obtained from Upstate Biotechnology (Lake Placid, NY), RC20 anti-phosphotyrosine Ab from Transduction Laboratories (Lexington, KY), and anti-STAT6 from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Santa Cruz, CA). Anti-IgM polyclonal Ab was a kind gift from Dr. D. W. Scott (Holland Laboratory, American Red Cross). Cytokines were from R&D Systems (Minneapolis, MN). All rabiolabeled compounds were obtained from Amersham (Arlington Heights, IL). The rest of the reagents used were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO). Pervanadate was produced by the equimolar combination of Na3VO4 and H2O2 as previously described (30).
EMSA
Analysis of STAT6 DNA binding was performed as we previously described (26). Briefly, 1 µg of total protein extract was incubated with 1 ng of 32P-labeled oligonucleotide corresponding to the IFN-
activation site (GAS) sequence in the C
promoter (5'-CACTTCCCAAGAACAGA-3'). Samples were loaded into 4.5% polyacrylamide gels and run at 200 V for 2 h. Afterward, gels were dried and exposed to film.
Immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting
We performed the experiments as we have previously described (26). Cell pellets were lysed with lysis buffer (50 mM Tris (pH 7.5), 150 mM NaCl, 1% Nonidet P-40, 0.25% sodium deoxycholate, 50 mM NaF, 10 mM pyrophosphate, 1 mM PMSF, and protease inhibitor mixture) and clarified by centrifugation. The soluble fraction was incubated with the specified Ab followed with protein G-agarose. The washed precipitates were separated on 7.5% SDS-polyacrylamide gels before transfer to a polyvinylidene difluoride membrane. Membranes were then probed with the indicated Ab. The bound Ab was detected using ECL (Amersham).
Kinase assays
JAK1 and JAK3 were precipitated as described above. Precipitates were washed in kinase buffer (50 mM HEPES (pH 7.5), 50 mM NaCl, 5 mM MgCl2, 5 mM MnCl2, 50 µM Na3VO4, and protease inhibitors) and incubated in the presence of the mentioned inhibitors for 20 min at room temperature. Enzymatic reaction was initiated with the addition of [
-32P]ATP (Amersham) and incubated for 20 additional minutes. Samples were separated on polyacrylamide gels, dried, and exposed to film.
Phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis determination
Cells were labeled for 48 h with [methyl-3H]choline chloride (1 µCi/ml), extensively washed, and starved for 2 h. Then, cells were stimulated as indicated, and the reaction was stopped by immersion in methanol/dry ice followed by centrifugation in a microfuge at 4°C. Cell pellets were resuspended in CH3OH/CHCl3/H2O (2.5:1.25:1) to separate aqueous and organic phases as previously described (31). The water-soluble fraction containing choline metabolites was loaded on silica gel-60 TLC plates and dried. Chromatography was performed in a glass chamber with CH3OH/0.5% NaCl/NH4OH (100:100:2) as solvent. Unlabeled phosphorylcholine was added to each sample, and after chromatography, visualized by staining with iodine vapor. The spots corresponding to phosphorylcholine standards were scraped off and collected, and the reactivity incorporated was determined by liquid scintillation counting.
| Results |
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We have previously shown that IL-4 and TNF-
cooperate with each other to enhance the activation of NF-
B and STAT6, suggesting the possibility that these transcription factors share common intracellular signaling pathways that lead to their activation (27). To test this hypothesis, we analyzed whether inhibitors of NF-
B affected the IL-4-induced activation of STAT6. To this end, we cultured 32D cells in the presence of several pharmacologic agents known to suppress NF-
B activation including dexamethasone (Dex), cyclosporine A (CsA), SN50 peptide, and D609 (32, 33, 34, 35). We subsequently analyzed the ability of IL-4 to induce the binding of STAT6 to a specific GAS sequence found in the C
promoter. We found that, although Dex, CsA, and SN50 had little effect, the incubation of cells with 50 µg/ml D609 resulted in the complete inhibition of STAT6 DNA-binding activity promoted by IL-4 (Fig. 1A). In fact, D609 inhibited the activation of STAT6 in a dose-dependent manner (Fig. 1B). Thus, pretreatment of cells with
50 µg/ml D609 completely blocked the activation of STAT6, and a lower amount of 16 µg/ml was still able to promote a significant inhibition. These concentrations of D609 required to inhibit STAT6 corresponded with those previously shown to inhibit NF-
B activation (28). D609 is a xanthogenate compound that has been shown to inhibit a PC-PLC (28, 35). IL-4 has been reported to promote the activation of a PC-PLC, although its role in IL-4 signaling has not been defined (29). Because the concentration of D609 required to inhibit STAT6 activation corresponded with those reported to block PC-PLC (28, 35), our data suggested that PC-PLC is involved in the activation of STAT6 by IL-4.
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IL-4 stimulates the phosphorylation of STAT6 on serine and tyrosine residues (16, 23). Because phosphorylation on tyrosine is necessary for DNA binding (18), we investigated the effect of D609 on the phosphorylation of STAT6 by IL-4. Preincubation of the unrelated cell lines 32D, M12, and WEHI231 with D609 inhibited the phosphorylation of STAT6 by IL-4 (Fig. 3; data not shown). This inhibition correlated with the effect of D609 on STAT6 DNA-binding activity. Thus, 50 µg/ml D609 blocked tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT6 by IL-4, and a substantial inhibition was still observed in cells treated with 25 µg/ml D609. Furthermore, this effect was not limited to STAT6, because pretreatment of cells with D609 also blocked IL-4-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Shc (Fig. 3B) and insulin receptor substrate 2 (data not shown). These data suggest that the activity of a PC-PLC is not restricted to the activation of STAT6 and may be required for the activation of tyrosine kinases. To verify that the D609 effect was specific, we investigated the effect of D609 on the activation of Shc induced by anti-IgM Abs on B cells, a signal that induces the activation of a PI-PLC rather than a PC-PLC (40, 42). In this case, treatment of B cells with 50 µg/ml D609, a concentration that completely inhibited IL-4-induced STAT6 and Shc phosphorylation, had little effect on the phosphorylation of Shc induced by an anti-IgM Ab (Fig. 3C). Taken together, these results indicate that D609 is inhibiting a PC-PLC that is required for IL-4 signaling.
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In addition to IL-4, the nonspecific tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor pervanadate has been shown to induce STAT6 activation (44). This effect of pervanadate was dependent on IL-4R
and JAK1 expression, suggesting pervanadate could stimulate the IL-4 signaling pathway involved in STAT6 activation. Interestingly, treatment of cells with pervanadate results in the activation of phospholipases (30, 45), suggesting this pathway could be involved in the activation of STAT6 by pervanadate. Treatment of 32D cells with pervanadate induced the activation of PC-PLC, in a dose-dependent manner, as demonstrated by the production of soluble phosphorylcholine (Fig. 5A). That effect correlated with the ability of pervanadate to induce STAT6 activation as analyzed by EMSA (Fig. 5, B and C) and tyrosine phosphorylation (D). Pervanadate is produced by reacting Na3VO4 with H2O2. Neither H2O2 nor Na3VO4 alone were able to induce STAT6 activation (Fig. 5B). Interestingly, pretreatment of cells with D609 completely abrogated the ability of pervanadate to signal STAT6 DNA-binding activity (Fig. 5C) and tyrosine phosphorylation (D). The activation of STAT6 by pervanadate correlated with the activation of JAK kinases (Fig. 5E). Furthermore, pretreatment of cells with D609 also abrogated the activation of JAK1 and JAK3 by pervanadate (Fig. 5E). These data suggest that the activity of PC-PLC is a universal requirement for the activation of the molecular pathways that participates in the activation of STAT6.
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-stimulated gene factor 3 complex (47, 48). Furthermore, pretreatment of cells with Na3VO4 not only blocked the IL-4-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT6 (Fig. 6C), but also blocked the tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK1 and JAK3 (D). In addition to its effect on phosphatases, Na3VO4 has been shown to competitively inhibit the enzymatic activity of bacterial PC-PLC (49), suggesting that a mammalian PC-PLC may be the target for vanadates in regulating STAT6 activation. Interestingly, we found that the effect of vanadium compounds on STAT6 correlated with their effect on PC-PLC activation. In contrast to pervanadate (Fig. 5), pretreatment of 32D cells with Na3VO4 inhibited the activation of PC-PLC by IL-4 as measured by phosphorylcholine production (Fig. 6E). The kinetics of PC-PLC inhibition by Na3VO4 correlated with its inhibitory effect on STAT6 activation (Fig. 6, A and C) and JAKs (D). Although we cannot determine whether Na3VO4 directly acts on a defined PC-PLC using molecular techniques, because it has not been characterized, the data presented suggests that Na3VO4 may inhibit cell responses to IL-4 by targeting this type of lipase.
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It was surprising to find that pretreatment of cells with sodium orthovanadate inhibited the IL-4-induced JAK and STAT6 activation given the fact that treatment of cells with vanadate has been shown to increase STAT6 activation (21, 50). However, in these studies, cells were not pretreated with Na3VO4, and therefore, the observed effect could be due to the inhibition of phosphatases that directly participate in the dephosphorylation of STAT6. Supporting this idea, we found that, in contrast with preincubation, treatment of cells with Na3VO4 after IL-4 stimulation promoted an increase in the activation of STAT6 (Fig. 8). Similar data have been found by analyzing the effect of Na3VO4 in the activation of IFN-
-stimulated gene factor 3 complex by IFN-
(48). Taken together, these data suggest that vanadium compounds may regulate two different enzymes necessary for the activation and regulation of STAT6, a PC-PLC and a phosphatase. PC-PLC could be required during the earliest steps that lead to STAT6 phosphorylation, and the phosphatase could be involved in downstream processes through dephosphorylation of STAT6.
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| Discussion |
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Several studies have established a role for PC-PLC in cell signaling; however, the molecular characterization of mammalian PC-PLC remains elusive (28, 29, 39, 40). PC-PLC activity has been shown to be required for NF-
B activation (28), and furthermore, bacterial PC-PLC induces a transformed phenotype in transfected NIH3T3 cells (51). The hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine by PLC produces DAG and phosphorylcholine (40). DAG is involved in the regulation of several intracellular pathways including the activation of protein kinase C isoforms. Although the role of phosphorylcholine in signaling is less characterized, it has been shown to promote cell proliferation and transformation (41). These studies suggest an active role for PC-PLC in cell signaling. However, the addition of exogenous recombinant bacterial PC-PLC, DAG, and/or phosphorylcholine to cells did not elicit an effect on JAK activation or tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT6 induced by IL-4 (J. Zamorano, unpublished observation). This may suggest that additional signals are required for full activation of the JAKs/STAT6 pathway. Alternatively, it may be possible that the role of PC-PLC in IL-4 signaling is not mediated by DAG or phosphorylcholine. JAKs are believed to be activated by transphosphorylation (25). The binding of factors to their receptor subunits would bring the kinases close enough to facilitate their transphosphorylation and activation. It is reasonable to hypothesize that this process may require changes in the cell membrane that could be facilitated by hydrolysis of membrane phospholipids after IL-4 engagement. The hydrolysis of PC by PC-PLC could provoke cell membrane alterations that would then facilitate JAK1 and JAK3 interaction and consequently activation. The observation that PC-PLC activation by IL-4 appears to be upstream of JAK activation supports this model.
The effect of Na3VO4 and pervanadate on PC-PLC may explain their opposite roles in STAT6 activation. Vanadium compounds have usually been associated with inhibition of phosphatases (46, 47, 48). However, the opposite effects of pervanadate, in activating, and orthovanadate, in inhibiting the activation of JAK and STAT6 raises the possibility that they are targeting other proteins involved in IL-4 signaling. It has already been demonstrated that vanadium compounds can also regulate lipases. Thus, pervanadate has been show to promote the activation of phospholipases (30, 45), whereas orthovanadate inhibits the enzymatic activity of bacterial PC-PLC (49). Because we have found an important role of PC-PLC on STAT6 activation, their action on this lipase may account for their effect on STAT6. This hypothesis is also supported by the effect of vanadate in the activation of STAT6 in a cell line expressing a mutated inactive form of the SHP-1 phosphatase. These cells are derived from viable motheaten mice that express a form of SHP-1 that lacks catalytic activity (21). As in normal cells, vanadate inhibited and pervanadate promoted the activation of STAT6 in these cells, suggesting they regulate other proteins involved in IL-4 signaling. SHP-1 is the principal phosphatase found to be involved in the regulation of STAT6 through dephosphorylating activated STAT6 (21, 50). This is consistent with the findings that, in contrast with pretreatment, the addition of orthovanadate to cells after IL-4 stimulation increased the activation of STAT6, probably by inhibiting a tyrosine phosphatase. Consequently, we hypothesized that vanadium compounds could regulate two steps involved in the activation of STAT6, a PC-PLC and a phosphatase. PC-PLC could be required during the earliest steps that lead to JAK and STAT6 phosphorylation, and the phosphatase could be involved in downstream processes dephosphorylating activated STAT6. Interestingly, similar effects of vanadate and pervanadate have been found in the regulation of other STATs (47, 48), suggesting the possibility that PC-PLC belongs to a common pathway in the activation of JAKs and STATs.
STAT6 and NF-
B are latent transcription factors that are quickly activated. In this study, we have shown that they share a requirement for PC-PLC. However, the requirements for STAT6 activation seems to be more complex, because PC-PLC activation is enough to signal NF-
B but not STAT6 activation (Ref.28 ; data not shown). Although PC-PLC inhibition abrogates the activation of STAT6, we have not been able to induce STAT6 activation by inducing the hydrolysis of PC by overexpressing bacterial PC-PLC cDNA or using purified bacterial PC-PLC (J. Zamorano, unpublished observations). This suggests that IL-4 and pervanadate provide additional signals required to activate STAT6. In a recent study, we have shown that, like PC-PLC, Src kinases participate in the earliest steps that lead to the activation of STAT6 (26). Intriguingly, it has been shown that pervanadate but not H2O2 or Na3VO4 can promote the activation of Src kinases in some cell lines (45). Therefore, it is possible that signals through Src kinases and PC-PLC may converge and regulate downstream events involved in STAT6 activation, including JAKs.
Our results indicate that, in addition to its well-established role in NF-
B activation by TNF-
(28), PC-PLC participates in the activation of STAT6 induced by IL-4. Given the importance of these cytokines and transcription factors in the development of allergic diseases (7, 52), PC-PLC may be a reasonable target for therapeutic intervention. D609, an inhibitor of PC-PLC, is a xanthogenate compound that was developed as an antiviral and antitumor compound (53). It was later found to block septic shock in mice (54). It will be interesting to determine whether inhibition of PC-PLC by D609, and therefore STAT6 and NF-
B, will have a protective effect on allergic diseases.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Jose Zamorano, Unidad de Investigacion, Hospital San Pedro de Alcantara, Avenida Pablo Naranjo s/n, 10003 Caceres, Spain. E-mail address: jzamorano{at}hspa.es ![]()
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: JAK, Janus kinase; PC-PLC, phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C; PI-PLC, phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C; PLD, phospholipase D; Dex, dexamethasone; CsA, cyclosporine A; GAS, IFN-
activation site; DAG, 1,2-diacylglycerol. ![]()
Received for publication December 31, 2002. Accepted for publication August 5, 2003.
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