scholarly journals F-domain valency determines outcome of signaling through the angiopoietin pathway

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Ting Zhao ◽  
Jorge A. Fallas ◽  
Shally Saini ◽  
George Ueda ◽  
Logeshwaran Somasundaram ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAngiopoietin 1 and 2 (Ang1 and Ang2) modulate angiogenesis and vascular homeostasis through engagement of their very similar F-domain modules with the Tie2 receptor tyrosine kinase on endothelial cells. Despite this similarity in the underlying receptor binding interaction, the two angiopoietins have opposite effects: Ang1 induces phosphorylation of protein kinase B (AKT), strengthens cell-cell junctions and enhances endothelial cell survival while Ang2 antagonizes these effects1–4. To investigate the molecular basis for the opposing effects, we examined the protein kinase activation and morphological phenotypes produced by a series of computationally designed protein scaffolds presenting the Ang1 F-domain in a wide range of valencies and geometries. We find two broad phenotypic classes distinguished by the number of presented F-domains: scaffolds presenting 4 F-domains have Ang2 like activity, upregulating pFAK and pERK but not pAKT, and failing to induce cell migration and tube formation, while scaffolds presenting 6 or more F-domains have Ang1 like activity, upregulating pAKT and inducing migration and tube formation. The scaffolds with 8 or more F-domains display superagonist activity, producing stronger phenotypes at lower concentrations than Ang1. When examined in vivo, superagonist icosahedral self-assembling nanoparticles caused significant revascularization in hemorrhagic brains after a controlled cortical impact injury.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (s1) ◽  
pp. 2-2
Author(s):  
Yan Ting Zhao ◽  
Jorge Fallas ◽  
Shally Saini ◽  
George Ueda ◽  
Logeshwaran Somasundaram ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Lack of blood vessels remains a major obstacle in tissue regeneration. Angiopoietin 1 and 2 modulate angiogenesis through the Tie2 receptor tyrosine kinase. Ang1 activates pAKT to promote endothelial cell survival while Ang2 antagonizes these effects. We aim to dissect the Ang/Tie2 pathway to uncover the molecular basis for these opposing effects. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Ang1 and Ang2 bind Tie2 via nearly identical F-domains (Fd). To investigate the molecular basis regulating the Tie2 pathway, we generated a series of computationally designed self-assembling protein scaffolds presenting F-domains in a wide range of valencies and geometries using Rosette Molecular Modeling Suite. We examined the protein kinase activation, cell migration, and blood vessel formation produced by the designed proteins in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Two phenotypic classes were demonstrated by the number of presented F domains: scaffolds presenting 3 or 4 Fd have Ang2 like activity, upregulating pFAK and pERK but not pAKT and failing to induce cell migration and tube formation; scaffolds presenting more than 6 Fd have Ang1 like activity, upregulating the three signaling branches and enhancing cell migration and tube formation. Scaffolds with 8 or more Fd show superagonist activity, producing significantly stronger phenotypes than Ang1. These results suggest that Fd valency largely determines Ang1 vs Ang2 signaling outcomes, and our designed superagonists can outperform Ang1 in vascularization and wound healing. In in vivo experiments, nanoparticles displaying 60 copies of Fd produce significant revascularization in hemorrhagic brains. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Targeting the Tie2 pathway is a new paradigm in regenerative medicine. Our designed constructs will enable us to generate high-affinity Tie2 agonists and antagonists as drugs to control angiogenesis, enabling tissue regeneration that recapitulates the biological architecture of the native tissue physiology, improving organ transplant outcome.


2012 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting-Hsing Chao ◽  
Shih-Ya Tseng ◽  
Yi-Heng Li ◽  
Ping-Yen Liu ◽  
Chung-Lung Cho ◽  
...  

Cilostazol is an anti-platelet agent with vasodilatory activity that acts by increasing intracellular concentrations of cAMP. Recent reports have suggested that cilostazol may promote angiogenesis. In the present study, we have investigated the effect of cilostazol in promoting angiogenesis and vasculogenesis in a hindlimb ischaemia model and have also examined its potential mechanism of action in vitro and in vivo. We found that cilostazol treatment significantly increased colony formation by human early EPCs (endothelial progenitor cells) through a mechanism involving the activation of cAMP/PKA (protein kinase A), PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase)/Akt/eNOS (endothelial NO synthase) and ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase)/p38 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signalling pathways. Cilostazol also enhanced proliferation, chemotaxis, NO production and vascular tube formation in HUVECs (human umbilical vein endothelial cells) through activation of multiple signalling pathways downstream of PI3K/Akt/eNOS. Cilostazol up-regulated VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor)-A165 expression and secretion of VEGF-A in HUVECs through activation of the PI3K/Akt/eNOS pathway. In a mouse hindlimb ischaemia model, recovery of blood flow ratio (ipsilateral/contralateral) 14 days after surgery was significantly improved in cilostazol-treated mice (10 mg/kg of body weight) compared with vehicle-treated controls (0.63±0.07 and 0.43±0.05 respectively, P<0.05). Circulating CD34+ cells were also increased in cilostazol-treated mice (3614±670 compared with 2151±608 cells/ml, P<0.05). Expression of VEGF and phosphorylation of PI3K/Akt/eNOS and ERK/p38 MAPK in ischaemic muscles were significantly enhanced by cilostazol. Our data suggest that cilostazol produces a vasculo-angiogenic effect by up-regulating a broad signalling network that includes the ERK/p38 MAPK, VEGF-A165, PI3K/Akt/eNOS and cAMP/PKA pathways.


Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 362 (6415) ◽  
pp. 705-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Shen ◽  
Jorge A. Fallas ◽  
Eric Lynch ◽  
William Sheffler ◽  
Bradley Parry ◽  
...  

We describe a general computational approach to designing self-assembling helical filaments from monomeric proteins and use this approach to design proteins that assemble into micrometer-scale filaments with a wide range of geometries in vivo and in vitro. Cryo–electron microscopy structures of six designs are close to the computational design models. The filament building blocks are idealized repeat proteins, and thus the diameter of the filaments can be systematically tuned by varying the number of repeat units. The assembly and disassembly of the filaments can be controlled by engineered anchor and capping units built from monomers lacking one of the interaction surfaces. The ability to generate dynamic, highly ordered structures that span micrometers from protein monomers opens up possibilities for the fabrication of new multiscale metamaterials.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Yanfei Du ◽  
Jun Ma ◽  
Yu Fan ◽  
Xinyu Wang ◽  
Shuzhan Zheng ◽  
...  

Fibrosis is the final common pathology of most chronic diseases as seen in the heart, liver, lung, kidney, and skin and contributes to nearly half of death in the developed countries. Fibrosis, or scarring, is mainly characterized by the transdifferentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts and the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) secreted by myofibroblasts. Despite immense efforts made in the field of organ fibrosis over the past decades and considerable understanding of the occurrence and development of fibrosis gained, there is still lack of an effective treatment for fibrotic diseases. Therefore, identifying a new therapeutic strategy against organ fibrosis is an unmet clinical need. Naringenin, a flavonoid that occurs naturally in citrus fruits, has been found to confer a wide range of pharmacological effects including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer benefits and thus potentially exerting preventive and curative effects on numerous diseases. In addition, emerging evidence has revealed that naringenin can prevent the pathogenesis of fibrosis in vivo and in vitro via the regulation of various pathways that involved signaling molecules such as transforming growth factor-β1/small mother against decapentaplegic protein 3 (TGF-β1/Smad3), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt), sirtuin1 (SIRT1), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), or reactive oxygen species (ROS). Targeting these profibrotic pathways by naringenin could potentially become a novel therapeutic approach for the management of fibrotic disorders. In this review, we present a comprehensive summary of the antifibrotic roles of naringenin in vivo and in vitro and their underlying mechanisms of action. As a food derived compound, naringenin may serve as a promising drug candidate for the treatment of fibrotic disorders.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna J. Sjölander ◽  
Agata Tarczykowska ◽  
Cecilia Picazo ◽  
Itziar Cossio ◽  
Itedale Namro Redwan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Oxidation of a highly conserved cysteine (Cys) residue located in the kinase activation loop of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases (MAPKK) inactivates mammalian MKK6. This residue is conserved in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe MAPKK Wis1, which belongs to the H2O2-responsive MAPK Sty1 pathway. Here, we show that H2O2 reversibly inactivates Wis1 through this residue (C458) in vitro. We found that C458 is oxidized in vivo and that serine replacement of this residue significantly enhances Wis1 activation upon addition of H2O2. The allosteric MAPKK inhibitor INR119, which binds in a pocket next to the activation loop and C458, prevented the inhibition of Wis1 by H2O2 in vitro and significantly increased Wis1 activation by low levels of H2O2 in vivo. We propose that oxidation of C458 inhibits Wis1 and that INR119 cancels out this inhibitory effect by binding close to this residue. Kinase inhibition through the oxidation of a conserved Cys residue in MKK6 (C196) is thus conserved in the S. pombe MAPKK Wis1.


2000 ◽  
Vol 350 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn A. BEETON ◽  
Edwin M. CHANCE ◽  
Lazaros C. FOUKAS ◽  
Peter R. SHEPHERD

Growth factors regulate a wide range of cellular processes via activation of the class-Ia phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI 3-kinases). We directly compared kinetic properties of lipid- and protein-kinase activities of the widely expressed p110α and p110β isoforms. The lipid-kinase activity did not display Michaelis–Menten kinetics but modelling the kinetic data demonstrated that p110α has a higher Vmax and a 25-fold higher Km for PtdIns than p110β. A similar situation occurs with PtdIns(4,5)P2, because at low concentration of PtdIns(4,5)P2 p110β is a better PtdIns(4,5)P2 kinase than p110α, although this is reversed at high concentrations. These differences suggest different functional roles and we hypothesize that p110β functions better in areas of membranes containing low levels of substrate whereas p110α would work best in areas of high substrate density such as membrane lipid rafts. We also compared protein-kinase activities. We found that p110β phosphorylated p85 to a lower degree than did p110α. We used a novel peptide-based assay to compare the kinetics of the protein-kinase activities of p110α and p110β. These studies revealed that, like the lipid-kinase activity, the protein-kinase activity of p110α has a higher Km (550µM) than p110β (Km 8µM). Similarly, the relative Vmax towards peptide substrate of p110α was three times higher than that of p110β. This implies differences in the rates of regulatory autophosphorylation in vivo, which are likely to mean differential regulation of the lipid-kinase activities of p110α and p110β in vivo.


2016 ◽  
Vol 130 (17) ◽  
pp. 1523-1533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Yin Huang ◽  
An-Chen Chang ◽  
Hsien-Te Chen ◽  
Shih-Wei Wang ◽  
Yuan-Shun Lo ◽  
...  

Chondrosarcoma is the second most frequently occurring type of bone malignancy characterized by distant metastatic propensity. Vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) is the major lymphangiogenic factor, and makes crucial contributions to tumour lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis. Adiponectin is a protein hormone secreted predominantly by differentiated adipocytes. In recent years, adiponectin has also been indicated as facilitating tumorigenesis, angiogenesis and metastasis. However, the effect of adiponectin on VEGF-C regulation and lymphangiogenesis in chondrosarcoma has remained largely a mystery. In the present study, we have shown a clinical correlation between adiponectin and VEGF-C, as well as tumour stage, in human chondrosarcoma tissues. We further demonstrated that adiponectin promoted VEGF-C expression and secretion in human chondrosarcoma cells. The conditioned medium from adiponectin-treated cells significantly induced tube formation and migration of human lymphatic endothelial cells. In addition, adiponectin knock down inhibited lymphangiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. We also found that adiponectin-induced VEGF-C is mediated by the calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and p38 signaling pathway. Furthermore, the expression of miR-27b was negatively regulated by adiponectin via the CaMKII, AMPK and p38 cascade. The present study is the first to describe the mechanism of adiponectin-promoted lymphangiogenesis by up-regulating VEGF-C expression in chondrosarcomas. Thus, adiponectin could serve as a therapeutic target in chondrosarcoma metastasis and lymphangiogenesis.


Blood ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 2108-2114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghna U. Naik ◽  
Shaker A. Mousa ◽  
Charles A. Parkos ◽  
Ulhas P. Naik

Abstract Growth factor–induced neovascularization has received a great deal of attention because it is fundamental to the growth and metastasis of solid tumors. This multistep process requires extensive signaling through growth factor receptors and integrins. Among the integrins involved in this process, integrin αvβ3 is specific to basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)–induced angiogenesis. Here we show that junctional adhesion molecule 1/A (JAM-1/A) and αvβ3 form a complex in the absence of bFGF. JAM-1, which is normally localized at the cell-cell junctions of quiescent endothelial cells, redistributes to the cell surface on bFGF treatment. Blockage of the extracellular domain of JAM-1 inhibits bFGF-induced endothelial cell morphology, proliferation, and angiogenesis. Additionally, mutation in the JAM-1 cytoplasmic domain blocks bFGF-induced mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activation and ablates its ability to induce endothelial cell tube formation, suggesting that signaling through JAM-1 is key to bFGF-induced signaling. Immunoprecipitation analysis suggests that bFGF signaling dissociates the JAM-1/ αvβ3 complex, allowing for signaling through JAM-1 and αvβ3. In addition, blockage of either JAM-1 or αvβ3 inhibits bFGF-induced MAP kinase activation. Thus, our results suggest that signaling through JAM-1 and αvβ3 is necessary for bFGF-induced angiogenesis.


2003 ◽  
Vol 162 (7) ◽  
pp. 1281-1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Miao ◽  
Christian H. Nickel ◽  
Lloyd G. Cantley ◽  
Leslie A. Bruggeman ◽  
Laura N. Bennardo ◽  
...  

Eph kinases and their ephrin ligands are widely expressed in epithelial cells in vitro and in vivo. Our results show that activation of endogenous EphA kinases in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells negatively regulates hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF)–induced branching morphogenesis in collagen gel. Cotreatment with HGF and ephrin-A1 reduced sprouting of cell protrusions, an early step in branching morphogenesis. Moreover, addition of ephrin-A1 after HGF stimulation resulted in collapse and retraction of preexisting cell protrusions. In a newly developed assay that simulates the localized interactions between Ephs and ephrins in vivo, immobilized ephrin-A1 suppressed HGF-induced MDCK cell scattering. Ephrin-A1 inhibited basal ERK1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase activity; however, the ephrin-A1 effect on cell protrusion was independent of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Ephrin-A1 suppressed HGF-induced activation of Rac1 and p21-activated kinase, whereas RhoA activation was retained, leading to the preservation of stress fibers. Moreover, dominant-negative RhoA or inhibitor of Rho-associated kinase (Y27632) substantially negated the inhibitory effects of ephrin-A1. These data suggest that interfering with c-Met signaling to Rho GTPases represents a major mechanism by which EphA kinase activation inhibits HGF-induced MDCK branching morphogenesis.


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