|
|
||||||||
Activation Loop Phosphorylation in Formyl-Methionyl-Leucyl-Phenylalanine-Induced Phosphorylation of p47phox and Rapid Activation of Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate Oxidase1
* Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60612; and
Herman B. Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46020
| Abstract |
|---|
|
|
|---|
phosphorylation in its activation loop is rapidly induced by fMLF and is essential for its ability to catalyze p47phox phosphorylation. Using transfected COS-7 cells expressing gp91phox, p22phox, p67phox, and p47phox (COS-phox cells), we found that a functionally active PKC
is required for p47phox phosphorylation and reconstitution of NADPH oxidase. PKCβII cannot replace PKC
for this function. Characterization of PKC
/PKCβII chimeras has led to the identification of the catalytic domain of PKC
as a target of regulation by fMLF, which induces a biphasic (30 and 180 s) phosphorylation of Thr505 in the activation loop of mouse PKC
. Mutation of Thr505 to alanine abolishes the ability of PKC
to catalyze p47phox phosphorylation in vitro and to reconstitute NADPH oxidase in the transfected COS-phox cells. A correlation between fMLF-induced activation loop phosphorylation and superoxide production is also established in the differentiated PLB-985 human myelomonoblastic cells. We conclude that agonist-induced PKC
phosphorylation is a novel mechanism for NADPH oxidase activation. The ability to induce PKC
phosphorylation may distinguish a full agonist from a partial agonist for superoxide production. | Introduction |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Published studies have shown that several PKC isoforms, mainly PKC
, βII,
, and
, are present in neutrophils and can phosphorylate p47phox (9, 10, 11, 12, 13). The observation that the phorbol ester PMA could stimulate p47phox phosphorylation reinforces the notion that PKC promotes the assembly of the NADPH oxidase complex. However, it is still unclear whether the PKC isoforms have redundant functions or play specific roles in NADPH oxidase activation. In neutrophils, multiple activation mechanisms are present and can be triggered by agonists such as fMLF, PMA, and phagocytosis of particles. Thus, studies of the individual PKC isoforms may be facilitated by biochemical dissection of the pathways including the use of reconstitution assays. Using cytosol-depleted neutrophil "cores", Yaffe and colleagues (14) reconstituted NADPH oxidase activity and found PKC
to be one of the critical components for O
2 production. Several investigators reported that the PKC
-selective inhibitor rottlerin could significantly reduce O
2 production in eosinophils (15), monocytes (16), and neutrophils (17) that are stimulated with leukotriene B4, opsonized zymosan, and fMLF, respectively. In addition, inhibition of PKC
expression through the use of antisense oligonucleotides also reduced O
2 production (16). We recently reported that in transgenic COS-phox cells (COS-7 stably expressing gp91phox, p22phox, p47phox, and p67phox) (18), reconstitution of fMLF-induced O
2 production is PKC
-dependent (17). These findings suggest that PKC
plays a unique role in NADPH oxidase activation.
PKC
, along with PKC
,
, and
, belongs to the subfamily of novel PKC (19, 20). The regulatory domains of these novel PKCs contain structural determinants for diacylglycerol binding, which is responsible for allosteric modulation of the catalytic activity. Unlike classic PKC, novel PKC is not subject to regulation by calcium. The catalytic domains of all PKC isoforms contain multiple serine and threonine residues that are phosphorylated, a process important for a newly synthesized PKC to acquire catalytic activity (reviewed in Ref. 21). These phosphorylation sites are located in the activation loop, the turn motif, and the hydrophobic motif within the catalytic domain (21). Phosphorylation of the threonine residue in the activation loop, which may be catalyzed by 3-phosphoinositol-dependent kinase 1 (PDK-1), is believed to be important for PKC autophosphorylation and its catalytic activity (22, 23, 24, 25). However, several published reports suggest that activation loop phosphorylation may not be required for the catalytic activity of PKC
, as recombinant PKC
expressed in Escherichia coli and PKC
with a mutation at Thr505 are not phosphorylated yet retain the ability to catalyze histone and pseudosubstrate-related peptide phosphorylation in in vitro kinase assays (26, 27, 28). These findings cast doubt on the importance of PKC
activation loop phosphorylation in its biological functions.
To further delineate the mechanism by which PKC
regulates NADPH oxidase activation, we designed experiments to use full-length p47phox both as a substrate for in vitro kinase assay and as an essential component for reconstitution of fMLF-induced O
2 production in COS-phox and COS91/22 (COS-7 cells expressing gp91phox and p22phox). The COS-phox cell line has been successfully used in the reconstitution of NADPH oxidase activation induced by arachidonic acid and PMA (18), fMLF (17), and IgG-coated particles (29). As we reported previously, reconstitution of fMLF-induced O
2 production in this cell line requires exogenous expression of PKC
(17). We have explored this property to study the structure and function relationship of PKC
-catalyzed phosphorylation of p47phox. Results obtained with this functionally coupled system indicate that fMLF-induced O
2 production is accompanied by a rapid and biphasic phosphorylation of PKC
at Thr505. A mutation that eliminates Thr505 phosphorylation abolishes the ability of PKC
to phosphorylate p47phox in vitro and the ability of fMLF to induce O
2 production in transfected cells. A positive correlation between PKC
activation loop phosphorylation and NADPH oxidase activity is also observed in differentiated PLB-985 human myelomonoblastic leukemia cell line (30), suggesting that activation loop phosphorylation is a mechanism for the rapid induction of O
2 production in fMLF-stimulated cells.
| Materials and Methods |
|---|
|
|
|---|
The N-formyl peptide fMLF, PMA, and isoluminol were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. HRP and superoxide dismutase were obtained from Roche. The anti-hemagglutinin (HA) Ab and mouse mAb to β-actin were acquired from Santa Cruz Biotechnology. Rabbit polyclonal Abs against the nonphosphorylated PKC
and phospho-PKC
(Thr505) were obtained from Cell Signaling Technology.
Preparation of PKC and p47phox expression constructs
The mouse cDNAs for PKC
,
,
, and
were provided by Dr. I. B. Weinstein (Columbia University, New York, NY). The mouse cDNA for PKCβII was a gift from Dr. C. L. Aschendel (Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN). The mouse PKC
cDNA was a gift from Dr. Z. Sun (University of Illinois, Chicago, IL). An HA tag was placed in the C termini of these constructs. The cDNAs were subcloned into the pcDNA3 vector (Invitrogen Life Technologies). PKC chimeras and truncation mutants were prepared by PCR amplification of the selected PKC
and PKCβII fragments using overlapping oligonucleotide primers with the following sequences: PKC
-8 (forward) 5'-GCCCAATTGGCACCCTTCCTGCGCATCT-3'; PKC
-2044 (reverse) 5'-GCGCAATTGAATGTCCAGGAATTGCTCAAACTT-3'; PKCβ-43 (forward) 5'-TAACAATTGGCTGACCCGGCTGCGGG-3'; PKCβ-2076 (reverse) 5'-GCGCAATTGGCTCTTGACTTCAGGTTTTAAAAATT-3'; PKC-C (forward) 5'-AAAGGCAGCTTTGGCAAGGT-3'; PKC-C (reverse) 5'-ACCTTGCCAAAGCTGCCTTT-3'; and PKC
-995 (forward) 5'-GCGCAATTGAACAACGGGACCTATG GCAAG-3'.
PCR was performed with denaturing at 94°C (30 s), annealing at 55°C (30 s), and extension at 72°C (3 min), for a total of 25 cycles. The PCR products were subcloned into the pcDNA3 vector. Site-directed mutagenesis of the PKC
and p47phox genes was conducted with the QuikChange kit from Stratagene. Selected serine residues in p47phox were mutated to alanine (see Fig. 1B). The cloned PCR products and mutated cDNAs were sequenced to confirm accuracy.
|
The transgenic COS-phox cells were generated as previously described (18). The cells were maintained at 37°C with 5% CO2 in DMEM supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated FBS, 2 mM L-glutamine, 100 IU/ml penicillin, 50 µg/ml streptomycin, 0.2 mg/ml hygromycin (Sigma-Aldrich), 0.8 mg/ml geneticin (Invitrogen Life Technologies), and 1 µg/ml puromycin (Calbiochem). LipofectAMINE 2000 reagent (Invitrogen Life Technologies) was used for transient transfection of 4 µg of DNA (2.5 µg of an expression vector for human formyl peptide receptor (FPR), 0.5 µg of a G
i2 expression vector, and 1 µg of an expression vector for the PKC isoform of interest) into COS-phox cells in a 100-mm culture dish (0.5–1 x 106 cells). A transfection efficiency of 45–50% was achieved in a typical experiment. Cells were analyzed 21–24 h after transfection. The PLB-985 human myelomonoblastic leukemia cell line (30) was maintained in RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 2 mM L-glutamine, 10% FBS, 100 IU/ml penicillin, and 50 µg/ml streptomycin. Exponentially growing cells at a starting density of 2 x 105/ml were differentiated for 6 days with 0.5% dimethylformamide in RPMI 1640 containing 1% Nutridoma-SP and 0.5% FCS, with a medium change on day 3. Approximately 95% of the cells underwent granulocytic differentiation by day 6, based on morphologic analysis after May-Grünwald-Giemsa staining. The differentiated cells were used in studies with fMLF and platelet-activating factor (PAF; Biomol).
Measurement of O
2 production
O
2 production in COS-phox cells was determined by an isoluminol-ECL assay (31), in 6-mm diameter wells of a 96-well, flat-bottom, white tissue culture plates (E & K Scientific), as detailed in a previous publication (17). The chemiluminescence count per second was continually recorded at 1-min intervals. Samples containing 250 U of superoxide dismutase, in addition to the stimuli, were run in parallel. The relative level of O
2 produced was calculated based on the integrated chemiluminescence. In some experiments, integrated chemiluminescence in a given period of time after fMLF stimulation was expressed as detailed in figure legends.
Analysis of protein expression
Whole cell extracts were generated by lysis of transfected COS-phox cells with 200–500 µl of PAGE buffer containing protease inhibitors (Protease Inhibitor Mixture Set I; Calbiochem). Samples were sonicated for 15 s on ice using a Model 60 Sonic Dismembrator (Fisher Scientific), and heated at 95°C for 5 min. Whole cell extracts were analyzed on a 10% denaturing gel. Resolved protein samples were transferred to nitrocellulose membranes (Hybond ECL; Amersham Biosciences) for Western blotting using ECL detection (Pierce).
In vitro kinase assay
The coding sequence of a full-length p47phox cDNA was fused to a GST gene in the pGEX4T1 vector (GE Healthcare), generating a GST-p47phox fusion construct. The fusion protein was expressed in E. coli (DH5
DE3), and purified on glutathione affinity column according to the manufacturers instructions. In vitro kinase assays were performed using immunoprecipitated, recombinant PKC
constructs. Briefly, HEK 293T cells in 100-mm dishes were transfected with the HA-tagged expression constructs of PKC
, or with the control vector (pCDNA3) (2 µg/dish). Cellular proteins were extracted with PKC extraction buffer (50 mM HEPES (pH 7.5), 150 mM NaCl, 0.1% Tween 20, 1 mM EDTA, 2.5 mM EGTA, 10% glycerol) containing protease inhibitors (10 µg/ml aprotinin, 10 µg/ml leupeptin, 0.1 mM PMSF) and phosphatase inhibitors (1 mM NaF, 0.1 mM Na3VO4, 10 mM β-glycerophosphate). HA-tagged PKC proteins were immunoprecipitated from 300 µg of cell extracts using 3 µg of an anti-HA Ab and 30 µl of protein A/G-Sepharose after 3 h of incubation at 4°C. The immunoprecipitates were washed twice with PKC extraction buffer and once with the PKC kinase buffer (50 mM HEPES (pH 7.5), 10 mM MgCl2, 1 mM DTT, 2.5 mM EGTA, 1 mM NaF, 0.1 mM Na3VO4, 10 mM β-glycerophosphate), and resuspended in 20 µl of PKC kinase buffer. The kinase assay was initiated by adding 40 µl of the kinase buffer containing 10 µg of GST-p47phox fusion protein or histone H1.1 (Santa Cruz Biotechnology) and 5 µCi of [
-32P] ATP. The reactions were performed at 30°C for 30 min and terminated by adding Laemmli sample buffer and boiled for 5 min. Samples were electrophoresed on 10% SDS-polyacrylamide gel, transferred to nitrocellulose membrane, and exposed to a PhosphorImager screen. The autoradiograph data were quantified using the ImageGauge software (v.3.12; Fuji Photo Film). The blots were then subjected to Western blotting with anti-HA Ab to verify equal loading of the proteins in each reaction.
| Results |
|---|
|
|
|---|
-catalyzed phosphorylation of p47phox is necessary for fMLF-induced O
We recently found that reconstitution of fMLF-induced NADPH oxidase activation in the transgenic COS-phox cells requires not only the heterologous FPR but also signaling molecules, such as PKC
, that are abundant in neutrophils but scanty in COS cells (17). This observation is consistent with results from the use of neutrophil cores, PKC
-selective inhibitors and antisense depletion (14, 15, 16, 17), all of which suggest an important role of PKC
in NADPH oxidase activation. The major isoforms of PKC in neutrophils are PKC
, βII,
, and
, which belong to three different subclasses of the PKC family and are known to phosphorylate p47phox, an essential component of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase (11, 32). In transfected COS-phox cells, however, only the
isoform can reconstitute fMLF-induced NADPH oxidase activation (Fig. 1A). This result suggests that PKC
is important for FPR-mediated signaling leading to the catalysis of p47phox phosphorylation and O
2 production.
We examined whether there is a causal relationship between PKC
-catalyzed p47phox phosphorylation and fMLF-induced O
2 production using COS-phox cells as a functionally coupled system for study of the PKC
activation mechanism. The C-terminal autoinhibitory region of p47phox contains multiple serine residues that can be phosphorylated by PKC isoforms and other serine/threonine kinases (9, 10, 12, 13). Based on a previous report (33), we mutated seven serine residues (underlined in Fig. 1B) to alanine, either individually or in combinations. The resulting p47phox mutants were fused to GST and used as substrates for in vitro kinase assay with recombinant PKC
. Among the residues selected for mutagenesis, Ser303, Ser304, and Ser328 represent consensus phosphorylation sites for PKC (34). Mutations of Ser303 and Ser304 to alanine reduced phosphorylation of p47phox by
40% (Fig. 1C). Mutation of other selected serine residues reduced p47phox phosphorylation by 25–30%. Additional reduction in p47phox phosphorylation was observed with the triple mutations (S303/304/345A and S303/304/379A) and the quadruple mutations (S303/304/345/379A). Interestingly, mutation of Ser345, a consensus phosphorylation site for MAPKs (35), also impaired p47phox phosphorylation by PKC
.
The effect of p47phox mutations on fMLF-induced O
2 production was determined in COS-7 cells that express gp91phox and p22phox but not p67phox and p47phox (COS91/22). Heterologous expression of FPR, p67phox, p47phox, and PKC
reconstituted fMLF-induced O
2 production (Fig. 1D, first group). All p47phox mutants described were expressed equally well in the transfected cells (Fig. 1D, Western blot). There was a positive correlation between reduced phosphorylation of the p47phox mutants (Fig. 1C) and compromised O
2 production (Fig. 1D). Moreover, expression of several p47phox mutants, including S328A, S345A and the double mutants S359/370A and S345/S379A, lowered the basal level of O
2 production. The presence of residual activities in the O
2 production assay and in vitro kinase assay suggests the presence of additional phosphorylation sites in p47phox that contribute to NADPH oxidase activation. Together, these results demonstrate that fMLF-induced PKC
activation is functionally coupled to O
2 production through p47phox phosphorylation.
The catalytic domain of PKC
contains a structural determinant regulated by fMLF for NADPH oxidase reconstitution
PKC isoforms differ in their regulatory domains between the subfamilies. These differences underline the distinct roles of diacylglycerol and Ca2+ in regulating the catalytic activity of classic vs novel PKC (20). In comparison, significant structural homology exists between the catalytic domains of different PKC isoforms. To understand whether the catalytic or regulatory domain of PKC
determines the ability of this kinase to reconstitute fMLF-induced O
2 production in reconstituted COS-phox cells, we prepared chimeric PKC constructs by domain swap between PKC
and PKCβII, the latter being unable to reconstitute NADPH oxidase under the same experimental conditions (Fig. 1A). Two chimeras, one with the regulatory domain of PKCβII fused to the catalytic domain of PKC
(PKCβII/
), and the other with the catalytic domain of PKCβII fused to the regulatory domain of PKC
(PKC
/βII), were generated (Fig. 2A). These chimeras were examined individually in transfected COS-phox cells. Although both constructs were properly expressed after transfection, only the PKCβII/
construct was able to restore fMLF-stimulated O
2 production (Fig. 2B).
|
contains structural features required for the reconstitution of NADPH oxidase upon fMLF stimulation. This possibility was further examined through individual expression of the catalytic and regulatory domains of PKC
in COS-phox cells (Fig. 2C). Both PKC
domains were adequately expressed with the expected sizes (Fig. 2C). When examined for O
-R) failed to respond to fMLF, whereas cells expressing the catalytic domain (PKC
-C) produced a significant amount of O
53%) increase in O
.
fMLF induces phosphorylation of Thr505 in PKC
-expressing COS-phox cells
Based on our findings, we examined the possibility that the fMLF-induced signaling pathway acts on the catalytic domain and modulates its activity. It is known that several serine and threonine residues in the catalytic domain are phosphorylated before a newly synthesized PKC acquires its catalytic potency, a process sometimes referred to as maturation of PKC (reviewed in Ref. 21). Activation loop phosphorylation may be catalyzed by PDK-1 (22, 23). However, whether activation loop phosphorylation is necessary for the catalytic potency of PKC
remains controversial as conflicting results were obtained from several studies (23, 26, 27, 28). Using an anti-phospho-PKC
Ab recognizing a phosphorylated Thr505, we determined the level of activation loop phosphorylation as a function of time. In COS-phox cells expressing the catalytic domain of PKC
(PKC
-C), fMLF stimulation caused increases in Thr505 phosphorylation that peaked at 30 and 180 s (Fig. 3A). A similar experiment was conducted with transfected COS-phox cells expressing the full-length PKC
(Fig. 3B). A transient increase in the level of Thr505 phosphorylation was also observed 30 s after fMLF stimulation, and was followed by a decrease at 60 and 120 s. A prominent increase in Thr505 phosphorylation was again detected 180 s after fMLF stimulation (Fig. 3B). A comparison with the kinetics of fMLF-induced O
2 production (Figs. 1A and 2B) suggested to us that the first increase in Thr505 phosphorylation corresponds to the initial rise of O
2 production in reconstituted COS-phox cells. Basal phosphorylation at Thr505 was detected in cells expressing the catalytic domain of PKC
as well as the full-length PKC
. Densitometry analysis showed a basal phosphorylation level of 0.66 ± 0.03 for PKC
-C and 0.48 ± 0.02 for the full-length PKC
, based on data from three independent experiments. Although cells expressing the catalytic domain of PKC
displayed higher basal level phosphorylation, induced phosphorylation of Thr505 was more evident in transfected COS-phox cells expressing the full-length PKC
. Pertussis toxin, which ADP-ribosylates the
subunit of Gi/o proteins on a C-terminal cysteine and prevents its interaction with the receptor (36), reduced fMLF-induced phosphorylation of Thr505 (Fig. 3C), confirming that the fMLF-induced PKC
activation loop phosphorylation is a G protein-mediated event. It was notable that pertussis toxin also reduced the basal phosphorylation level. Basal phosphorylation at Thr505 may result from the constitutive (ligand-independent) activity of FPR, which became more evident in cells overexpressing FPR (37). Because both constitutive and agonist-induced activation of FPR involves Gi coupling, they are subjected to inhibition by pertussis toxin.
|
The relationship between PKC
activation loop phosphorylation and NADPH oxidase activation was investigated using PLB-985, a human myelomonoblastic leukemia cell line (30). After 6 days of differentiation with 0.5% dimethylformamide, PLB-985 acquired the ability to respond to fMLF with O
2 production (Fig. 4A). In comparison, PAF, a priming agent that does not directly activate NADPH oxidase in neutrophils, did not stimulate a significant production of O
2 in differentiated PLB-985 cells (Fig. 4B). Both fMLF and PAF induced a rapid Ca2+ flux, suggesting the presence of functional receptors on the cell surface that could mediate proximal signaling (Fig. 4, C and D). However, only fMLF induced biphasic phosphorylation of human PKC
at Thr507 (equivalent to Thr505 in mouse PKC
). These results demonstrate a correlation between induction of PKC
activation loop phosphorylation and the ability of the agonist to stimulate O
2 production.
|
Phosphorylation of a PKC in the catalytic loop, turn motif and hydrophobic motif is thought to be a prerequisite for its catalytic potency (21, 38). Previously published reports indicate that PKC
is an exception in that its activation does not require activation loop phosphorylation (26, 27, 28). These studies, however, used pseudosubstrate peptide or histone rather than a physiologically relevant protein as substrates in the in vitro phosphorylation assay. Because PKC
is essential for the reconstitution of NADPH oxidase in COS-phox cells, and p47phox is a substrate for PKC-catalyzed phosphorylation, we examined the effect of PKC
phosphorylation in its catalytic domain on fMLF-induced O
2 production. Phosphorylation of Ser643 in the turn motif (39) was determined using an Ab against the phospho-Ser643 of PKC
. Persistent phosphorylation of Ser643 was observed in the absence of fMLF and over the entire course of fMLF stimulation in PKC
-transfected COS-phox cells (data not shown). Therefore, it is unlikely that Ser643 phosphorylation plays a critical role in the initiation of fMLF-induced NADPH oxidase activation in the transfected COS-phox cells.
The effects of serine/threonine phosphorylation in the catalytic domain of PKC
were further examined using site-directed mutagenesis. Point mutations were individually introduced into the full-length cDNA of PKC
, producing alanine substitutions at Glu500, Thr505 (activation loop), Ser643 (turn motif) and Ser662 (hydrophobic motif) in the catalytic domain as illustrated in Fig. 5A. In addition, Lys376, an ATP binding site (40), was replaced with an arginine, and the resulting construct (PKC
K376R) was used as a negative control for the reconstitution assay.
|
mutants produced different effects in fMLF-induced O
0.01) decrease in the basal level O
. Reduced basal level O
35% decrease in O
Mutation of Thr505 abrogates PKC
autophosphorylation and its ability to phosphorylate p47phox
A major function of PKC in NADPH oxidase activation is the catalysis of p47phox phosphorylation (12, 41, 42). To determine whether one or more of the mutations alters the ability of PKC
to phosphorylate p47phox, we conducted in vitro kinase assay using as substrate a full-length p47phox fused to GST, as described in the legend for Fig. 1. The wild-type PKC
, expressed in transfected HEK 293T cells and immunoaffinity purified from the cell lysate, strongly phosphorylated the GST-p47phox substrate (lower band in the phosphorimages in Fig. 6) as well as the kinase itself (autophosphorylation; upper band in the phosphorimages in Fig. 6). Mutation of Glu500 to alanine resulted in a small and statistically insignificant decrease (p > 0.05) in p47phox phosphorylation and PKC
autophosphorylation (Fig. 6A). In contrast, the T505A mutation caused a marked reduction in PKC
autophosphorylation and a complete loss of p47phox phosphorylation (Fig. 6B). We also examined Ser to Ala mutations in the turn motif (PKC
S643A) and hydrophobic motif (PKC
S662A). Although no significant changes were observed with the alanine substitution at Ser662 (Fig. 6D), a small reduction in PKC
autophosphorylation and p47phox phosphorylation were observed with the S643A mutation (Fig. 6C). The phosphorylation patterns of these PKC
mutants are consistent with their abilities to reconstitute fMLF-induced NADPH oxidase in the transfected COS-phox cells, shown in Fig. 5. The lack of autophosphorylation in PKC
T505A suggests that Thr505 phosphorylation is a prerequisite for autophosphorylation at Ser643 and Ser662.
|
T505A is substrate-specific
As noted, different views exist with regard to a role of activation loop phosphorylation in the catalytic activity of PKC
(26, 27, 28). To determine whether the use of different substrates has contributed to the discrepancy in these studies, we conducted in vitro kinase assay with histone H1.1, a substrate used in one of the previous studies mentioned. Under the same experimental conditions as in Fig. 6, different results were obtained when histone H1.1 was used as a substrate (Fig. 7). Although autophosphorylation of PKC
T505A remained minimal, a significant phosphorylation of histone H1.1 was observed with the T505A mutant of PKC
(Fig. 7B). This finding may help to reconcile the difference in PKC
catalytic specificity and suggest substrate-specific phosphorylation by PKC
T505A.
|
| Discussion |
|---|
|
|
|---|
in fMLF-induced O
and examine the effects of these mutations on NADPH oxidase activation. In parallel experiments, we studied the effects of the mutations on the catalytic activity of PKC
using in vitro kinase assay, with GST-p47phox as a substrate. The results obtained from these functionally coupled studies have led to two major conclusions: 1) fMLF-induced phosphorylation of PKC
in its activation loop is a mechanism for the rapid production of O
-catalyzed phosphorylation is substrate-specific.
Agonist-induced phosphorylation of the activation loop in PKC
contributes to the rapid production of O
2
The major PKC isoforms in neutrophils are PKC
, βII,
, and
(9, 11, 32). Previous studies have shown that all these PKC isoforms are able to phosphorylate p47phox when stimulated with PMA, although the kinetics of PKC
binding and membrane translocation differ from those of the classic PKC isoforms (12, 32, 43). Two-dimensional phosphopeptide mapping indicates that, with the exception of PKC
, all major PKC isoforms in neutrophils phosphorylate p47phox with a similar phosphopeptide profile (32). Therefore, the catalytic potency of PKC
is probably similar to that of PKC
and PKCβII with respect to p47phox phosphorylation. The mechanism of activation, however, may be different between PKC
and the two classic PKC isoforms. It has been well established that diacylglycerol binding to the regulatory domain of a PKC causes allosteric changes in its structure, allowing access of the substrate to the catalytic domain of the PKC. In phagocytes, PMA is a potent activator of NADPH oxidase due to its ability to mimic diacylglycerol in the activation of PKCs. PMA-induced O
2 production is sustained but lacks the rapid initial rise as seen in fMLF-stimulated cells. The discrepancy in the kinetics of NADPH oxidase activation may be attributed to the mechanism of PKC activation. Results derived from the current study indicate that fMLF-induced PKC
phosphorylation in its activation loop may be such a mechanism. In differentiated PLB-985 human myelomonoblastic cells, fMLF-induced O
2 production was accompanied by PKC
phosphorylation in its activation loop. In comparison, PAF failed to stimulate O
2 production and did not induce PKC
phosphorylation in its activation loop. PAF is known as a priming agent and not a direct activator of NADPH oxidase. The priming effect results in part from PAF-induced phosphorylation of p67phox but not p47phox (44). Therefore, the ability to induce PKC
phosphorylation in its activation loop may distinguish a full agonist for NADPH oxidase activation from a priming agent.
In neutrophils, O
2 production results from the activation of multiple signaling pathways that may be triggered simultaneously. In contrast, the approaches that we took focus on an individual kinase and the related signaling pathway to gain a better understanding of the underlying mechanism. Therefore, the functional impact of PKC
and its activation loop phosphorylation in neutrophil NADPH oxidase activation may be broad or restricted to a particular pathway downstream of the activated FPR. fMLF stimulation results in guanine nucleotide exchange on the
subunit of the Gi proteins and the subsequent separation of the β
subunits. These changes activate two pathways: the PLCβ pathway leads to hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and the generation of the second messengers, diacylglycerol and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, which are responsible for the activation of classic PKC isoforms and possibly novel PKC isoforms. The PI3K pathway causes phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate at the 3' position of the inositol ring and the production of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate. The latter is responsible for a variety of cellular activation processes including the activation of kinases, such as PDK-1 and Akt, and guanine nucleotide exchange factors, such as P-Rex1 (45). PKC
activation may result from PDK-1-catalyzed activation loop phosphorylation (23), thus representing a branch of the fMLF-induced signaling pathways. Indeed, both pertussis toxin and PI3K inhibitors are known to block fMLF-induced O
2 production and other neutrophil functions supporting the hypothesis that PKC
involvement in oxidase activation is a terminal function of a more extensive fMLF signaling network. In COS cells, which are relatively inefficient in PLCβ activation unless additional G protein β
subunits are expressed (46), the fMLF-induced O
2 generation may rely heavily on PKC
activation loop phosphorylation that can be triggered by the PI3K pathway. In the study conducted by Yaffe and colleagues (14), it was found that phosphatidylinositol with 3' position phosphorylation (PI(3,4)P2, phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate, and phosphatidylinositol (3)-phosphate) as well as PKC
are essential for the reconstitution of NADPH oxidase in neutrophil cores. There are also published data that contradict the "restricted role" hypothesis and suggest a broader function of PKC
in NADPH oxidase activation and other neutrophil activities. For example, studies showing PKC
involvement in oxidant production were conducted not only with fMLF (17) but also with other agonists including leukotriene B4 (15), PMA (14), and opsonized zymosan (16). In the current study, we observed that the first wave of PKC
activation loop phosphorylation is followed by a rapid decline in its phosphorylation, suggesting possible activation of a protein phosphatase in response to PKC
activation. Moreover, knockout of PKC
gene in mice leads to compromised neutrophil responses to fMLF, TNF-
, and IL-8 in O
2 production as well as other activities including adhesion, chemotaxis, and lactoferrin release (47). Therefore, it is possible that PKC
phosphorylates not only p47phox but also other proteins that are involved in neutrophil activation.
The requirement of activation loop phosphorylation for PKC
-catalyzed phosphorylation is substrate-specific
Studies conducted by Stempka and colleagues (26, 27) led to the conclusion that phosphorylation of Thr505 in the activation loop is not essential for mouse PKC
to acquire its catalytic competence, although the same process is known to be important for the activation of other PKC isoforms (22, 23, 24, 48). This conclusion was based on two observations. First, recombinant PKC
produced in bacteria, which lacked Thr505 phosphorylation due to the absence of a "PKC kinase" such as PDK-1, was nonetheless competent for allosteric modulation by activators such as PMA. Secondly, mutation of Thr505 to an alanine did not abolish its catalytic activity in in vitro kinase assay (26). It was proposed that the independence of PKC
activity from its activation loop phosphorylation was due to the presence of Glu500, which carries the negative charge and helps to maintain the catalytic competence of PKC
. Indeed, Stempka and colleagues found that mutation of Glu500 significantly weakens the catalytic activity of mouse PKC
(27). A more detailed structure and function analysis of human PKC
was conducted by Liu and colleagues recently (28). In this study, the authors observed that Phe500 and Phe527, along with the N-terminal extension of the kinase domain, play important roles in maintaining the kinase activity in the absence of activation loop phosphorylation at Thr507, which is equivalent to Thr505 in mouse PKC
. Structural analysis has shown that interactions of Phe500 with Tyr334 and Phe527 with Ile499 are important for stabilization of the conformation of PKC
T507A. As a result, PKC
T507A is able to phosphorylate PKC
pseudosubstrate in vitro (28). However, our results indicate that mutation of Thr505 renders the mouse PKC
incapable of phosphorylating p47phox. The difference between our results and the findings made by Liu et al. (28) may be attributed to substrate specificity. In their study, Liu and colleagues found that the human PKC
T507A prefers certain peptide substrates, but displays poor catalytic activity on other substrates, especially when these substrates are used at higher concentrations. Their experimental data suggest that PKC
T507A-specific product inhibition is a plausible explanation (28). The possibility that PKC
T505A catalyzes phosphorylation in a substrate-specific manner is further suggested by our observation that mouse PKC
T505A could phosphorylate histone H1.1, despite minimal autophosphorylation of PKC
T505A (Fig. 7B).
In most published studies, the catalytic activity of PKC
was determined using synthetic peptides or histone as substrates. The current study explores the unique features of p47phox in NADPH oxidase activation, and uses this physiologically relevant protein as substrate for the in vitro kinase assay. The same protein is also used in a whole cell-based reconstitution assay, thereby providing a functionally coupled approach for study of PKC
activity in vitro and in cells. It is important to note that phosphorylation of substrate in intact cells may differ from phosphorylation assays conducted in test tubes. For instance, Liu and colleagues (28) observed that the human PKC
T507A mutant is fully capable of phosphorylating the PKC
pseudosubstrate peptide in vitro but fails to stimulate NF-
B and AP-1 reporter activity in cells. Moreover, this dephosphorylated mutant of human PKC
is able to induce apoptosis (28). Therefore, the diversity of intracellular substrates for PKC isoforms is a factor to consider when evaluating the catalytic activity of PKC
in the cells. As discussed in the study by Liu et al. (28), reduction in PKC
catalytic activity at higher substrate concentration may result from either substrate inhibition or product inhibition. With respect to PKC
-mediated p47phox phosphorylation, the C-terminal autoinhibitory region contains multiple phosphorylation sites and is an excellent substrate for a number of PKC isoforms. A more detailed analysis will be necessary to delineate the structure and function relationship between PKC
activation loop phosphorylation and p47phox phosphorylation, and to determine whether failure to phosphorylate p47phox by PKC
T505A is the result of substrate inhibition or production inhibition.
In summary, our results demonstrate that inducible PKC
phosphorylation in its activation loop is required for fMLF-stimulated O
2 production in transfected COS-phox cells and in differentiated PLB-985 myelomonoblastic cells. These findings provide an explanation for the rapid production of O
2 following fMLF stimulation and suggest the possibility that different PKC isoforms may indeed have nonredundant functions in neutrophil activation. The conclusions drawn from this study also emphasize the importance of using physiologically relevant protein substrates in studies of PKC structure and function.
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
| Disclosures |
|---|
|
|
|---|
| Footnotes |
|---|
1 This work was supported by Grants AI033503 and HL077806 (to R.D.Y.) and HL045635 and HL069974 (to M.C.D.) from the National Institutes of Health. R.H. is a recipient of a Scientist Development Grant from the American Heart Association, Greater Midwest Affiliate. ![]()
2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Richard Ye, Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, MC868, University of Illinois, 835 South Wolcott Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612. E-mail address: yer{at}uic.edu ![]()
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: PI(3,4)P2, phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate; PKC, protein kinase C; PDK-1, 3-phosphoinositol-dependent kinase 1; PAF, platelet-activating factor; phox, phagocyte oxidase; FPR, formyl peptide receptor; HA, hemagglutinin. ![]()
Received for publication June 19, 2007. Accepted for publication September 28, 2007.
| References |
|---|
|
|
|---|
in human neutrophils. J. Immunol. 157: 4641-4647. [Abstract]
in intracellular production of reactive oxygen species by the NADPH oxidase. Mol. Cell. 11: 35-47. [Medline]
. J. Cell. Physiol. 189: 306-315. [Medline]
is required for p47phox phosphorylation and translocation in activated human monocytes. J. Immunol. 173: 5730-5738.
by PI 3-kinase and PDK-1. Curr. Biol. 8: 1069-1077. [Medline]
(PKC
) at threonine 505 is not a prerequisite for enzymatic activity: expression of rat PKC
and an alanine 505 mutant in bacteria in a functional form. J. Biol. Chem. 272: 6805-6811.
for catalytic function: role of glutamic acid 500 and autophosphorylation on serine 643. J. Biol. Chem. 274: 8886-8892.
activity from activation loop phosphorylation: structural basis and altered functions in cells. J. Biol. Chem. 281: 12102-12111.
IIA receptor-induced phagocytosis. J. Exp. Med. 203: 1915-1925.
, βII,
, and
: effect on binding to p22phox and on NADPH oxidase activation. Biochemistry 41: 7743-7750. [Medline]
. Biochem. J. 384: 449-459. [Medline]
(PKC-
) ATP binding mutant: an inactive enzyme that competitively inhibits wild type PKC-delta enzymatic activity. J. Biol. Chem. 270: 8311-8318.
-regulated guanine-nucleotide exchange factor for Rac. Cell 108: 809-821. [Medline]
as a mediator of stroke-reperfusion injury. J. Clin. Invest. 114: 49-56. [Medline]This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
A. Cataldi, V. Di Giacomo, M. Rapino, S. Zara, and R. A. Rana Ionizing Radiation Induces Apoptotic Signal Through Protein Kinase C{delta} (delta) and Survival Signal Through Akt and Cyclic-Nucleotide Response Element-Binding Protein (CREB) in Jurkat T Cells Biol. Bull., October 1, 2009; 217(2): 202 - 212. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. D. Ye, F. Boulay, J. M. Wang, C. Dahlgren, C. Gerard, M. Parmentier, C. N. Serhan, and P. M. Murphy International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. LXXIII. Nomenclature for the Formyl Peptide Receptor (FPR) Family Pharmacol. Rev., June 1, 2009; 61(2): 119 - 161. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. Huang, K. Chen, J. Huang, W. Gong, N. M. Dunlop, O.M.Z. Howard, X. Bian, Y. Gao, and J. M. Wang Regulation of the leucocyte chemoattractant receptor FPR in glioblastoma cells by cell differentiation Carcinogenesis, February 1, 2009; 30(2): 348 - 355. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. M. Bair, P. B. Thippegowda, M. Freichel, N. Cheng, R. D. Ye, S. M. Vogel, Y. Yu, V. Flockerzi, A. B. Malik, and C. Tiruppathi Ca2+ Entry via TRPC Channels Is Necessary for Thrombin-induced NF-{kappa}B Activation in Endothelial Cells through AMP-activated Protein Kinase and Protein Kinase C{delta} J. Biol. Chem., January 2, 2009; 284(1): 563 - 574. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. F. Steinberg Structural Basis of Protein Kinase C Isoform Function Physiol Rev, October 1, 2008; 88(4): 1341 - 1378. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
V. O. Rybin, J. Guo, Z. Gertsberg, S. J. Feinmark, and S. F. Steinberg Phorbol 12-Myristate 13-Acetate-dependent Protein Kinase C{delta}-Tyr311 Phosphorylation in Cardiomyocyte Caveolae J. Biol. Chem., June 27, 2008; 283(26): 17777 - 17788. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |