scholarly journals Flotillins: At the Intersection of Protein S-Palmitoylation and Lipid-Mediated Signaling

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 2283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kwiatkowska ◽  
Orest V. Matveichuk ◽  
Jan Fronk ◽  
Anna Ciesielska

Flotillin-1 and flotillin-2 are ubiquitously expressed, membrane-associated proteins involved in multifarious cellular events from cell signaling, endocytosis, and protein trafficking to gene expression. They also contribute to oncogenic signaling. Flotillins bind the cytosolic leaflet of the plasma membrane and endomembranes and, upon hetero-oligomerization, serve as scaffolds facilitating the assembly of multiprotein complexes at the membrane–cytosol interface. Additional functions unique to flotillin-1 have been discovered recently. The membrane-binding of flotillins is regulated by S-palmitoylation and N-myristoylation, hydrophobic interactions involving specific regions of the polypeptide chain and, to some extent, also by their oligomerization. All these factors endow flotillins with an ability to associate with the sphingolipid/cholesterol-rich plasma membrane domains called rafts. In this review, we focus on the critical input of lipids to the regulation of the flotillin association with rafts and thereby to their functioning. In particular, we discuss how the recent developments in the field of protein S-palmitoylation have contributed to the understanding of flotillin1/2-mediated processes, including endocytosis, and of those dependent exclusively on flotillin-1. We also emphasize that flotillins affect directly or indirectly the cellular levels of lipids involved in diverse signaling cascades, including sphingosine-1-phosphate and PI(4,5)P2. The mutual relations between flotillins and distinct lipids are key to the regulation of their involvement in numerous cellular processes.

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (16) ◽  
pp. eaaz9899
Author(s):  
Yong Chi ◽  
John H. Carter ◽  
Jherek Swanger ◽  
Alexander V. Mazin ◽  
Robert L. Moritz ◽  
...  

Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) controls cell division and is central to oncogenic signaling. We used an “in situ” approach to identify CDK2 substrates within nuclei isolated from cells expressing CDK2 engineered to use adenosine 5′-triphosphate analogs. We identified 117 candidate substrates, ~40% of which are known CDK substrates. Previously unknown candidates were validated to be CDK2 substrates, including LSD1, DOT1L, and Rad54. The identification of many chromatin-associated proteins may have been facilitated by labeling conditions that preserved nuclear architecture and physiologic CDK2 regulation by endogenous cyclins. Candidate substrates include proteins that regulate histone modifications, chromatin, transcription, and RNA/DNA metabolism. Many of these proteins also coexist in multi-protein complexes, including epigenetic regulators, that may provide new links between cell division and other cellular processes mediated by CDK2. In situ phosphorylation thus revealed candidate substrates with a high validation rate and should be readily applicable to other nuclear kinases.


2004 ◽  
Vol 201 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart M. Pitson ◽  
Pu Xia ◽  
Tamara M. Leclercq ◽  
Paul A.B. Moretti ◽  
Julia R. Zebol ◽  
...  

Sphingosine kinase (SK) 1 catalyzes the formation of the bioactive lipid sphingosine 1-phosphate, and has been implicated in several biological processes in mammalian cells, including enhanced proliferation, inhibition of apoptosis, and oncogenesis. Human SK (hSK) 1 possesses high instrinsic catalytic activity which can be further increased by a diverse array of cellular agonists. We have shown previously that this activation occurs as a direct consequence of extracellular signal–regulated kinase 1/2–mediated phosphorylation at Ser225, which not only increases catalytic activity, but is also necessary for agonist-induced translocation of hSK1 to the plasma membrane. In this study, we report that the oncogenic effects of overexpressed hSK1 are blocked by mutation of the phosphorylation site despite the phosphorylation-deficient form of the enzyme retaining full instrinsic catalytic activity. This indicates that oncogenic signaling by hSK1 relies on a phosphorylation-dependent function beyond increasing enzyme activity. We demonstrate, through constitutive localization of the phosphorylation-deficient form of hSK1 to the plasma membrane, that hSK1 translocation is the key effect of phosphorylation in oncogenic signaling by this enzyme. Thus, phosphorylation of hSK1 is essential for oncogenic signaling, and is brought about through phosphorylation-induced translocation of hSK1 to the plasma membrane, rather than from enhanced catalytic activity of this enzyme.


Author(s):  
Kent McDonald

At the light microscope level the recent developments and interest in antibody technology have permitted the localization of certain non-microtubule proteins within the mitotic spindle, e.g., calmodulin, actin, intermediate filaments, protein kinases and various microtubule associated proteins. Also, the use of fluorescent probes like chlorotetracycline suggest the presence of membranes in the spindle. Localization of non-microtubule structures in the spindle at the EM level has been less rewarding. Some mitosis researchers, e.g., Rarer, have maintained that actin is involved in mitosis movements though the bulk of evidence argues against this interpretation. Others suggest that a microtrabecular network such as found in chromatophore granule movement might be a possible force generator but there is little evidence for or against this view. At the level of regulation of spindle function, Harris and more recently Hepler have argued for the importance of studying spindle membranes. Hepler also believes that membranes might play a structural or mechanical role in moving chromosomes.


Author(s):  
M.A. Cuadros ◽  
M.J. Martinez-Guerrero ◽  
A. Rios

In the chick embryo retina (days 3-4 of incubation), coinciding with an increase in cell death, specialized phagocytes characterized by intense acid phosphatase activity have been described. In these preparations, all free cells in the vitreal humor (vitreal cells) were strongly labeled. Conventional TEM and SEM techniques were used to characterize them and attempt to determine their relationship with retinal phagocytes.Two types of vitreal cells were distinguished. The first are located at some distance from the basement membrane of the neuroepithelium, and are rounded, with numerous vacuoles and thin cytoplasmic prolongations. Images of exo- and or endocytosis were frequent; the cells showed a well-developed Golgi apparatus (Fig. 1) In SEM images, the cells was covered with short cellular processes (Fig. 3). Cells lying parallel to or alongside the basement membrane are elongated. The plasma membrane is frequently in intimate contact with the basement membrane. These cells have generally a large cytoplasmic expansion (Fig. 5).


BIO-PROTOCOL ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarida Caldeira ◽  
Joana Ferreira ◽  
Ana Carvalho ◽  
Carlos Duarte

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2718
Author(s):  
María González-González ◽  
José María Sayagués ◽  
Luis Muñoz-Bellvís ◽  
Carlos Eduardo Pedreira ◽  
Marcello L. R. de Campos ◽  
...  

Sporadic Colorectal Cancer (sCRC) is the third leading cause of cancer death in the Western world, and the sCRC patients presenting with synchronic metastasis have the poorest prognosis. Genetic alterations accumulated in sCRC tumor cells translate into mutated proteins and/or abnormal protein expression levels, which contribute to the development of sCRC. Then, the tumor-associated proteins (TAAs) might induce the production of auto-antibodies (aAb) via humoral immune response. Here, Nucleic Acid Programmable Protein Arrays (NAPPArray) are employed to identify aAb in plasma samples from a set of 50 sCRC patients compared to seven healthy donors. Our goal was to establish a systematic workflow based on NAPPArray to define differential aAb profiles between healthy individuals and sCRC patients as well as between non-metastatic (n = 38) and metastatic (n = 12) sCRC, in order to gain insight into the role of the humoral immune system in controlling the development and progression of sCRC. Our results showed aAb profile based on 141 TAA including TAAs associated with biological cellular processes altered in genesis and progress of sCRC (e.g., FSCN1, VTI2 and RPS28) that discriminated healthy donors vs. sCRC patients. In addition, the potential capacity of discrimination (between non-metastatic vs. metastatic sCRC) of 7 TAAs (USP5, ML4, MARCKSL1, CKMT1B, HMOX2, VTI2, TP53) have been analyzed individually in an independent cohort of sCRC patients, where two of them (VTI2 and TP53) were validated (AUC ~75%). In turn, these findings provided novel insights into the immunome of sCRC, in combination with transcriptomics profiles and protein antigenicity characterizations, wich might lead to the identification of novel sCRC biomarkers that might be of clinical utility for early diagnosis of the tumor. These results explore the immunomic analysis as potent source for biomarkers with diagnostic and prognostic value in CRC. Additional prospective studies in larger series of patients are required to confirm the clinical utility of these novel sCRC immunomic biomarkers.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3606
Author(s):  
Samuel P. Boyson ◽  
Cong Gao ◽  
Kathleen Quinn ◽  
Joseph Boyd ◽  
Hana Paculova ◽  
...  

Histone acetylation is generally associated with an open chromatin configuration that facilitates many cellular processes including gene transcription, DNA repair, and DNA replication. Aberrant levels of histone lysine acetylation are associated with the development of cancer. Bromodomains represent a family of structurally well-characterized effector domains that recognize acetylated lysines in chromatin. As part of their fundamental reader activity, bromodomain-containing proteins play versatile roles in epigenetic regulation, and additional functional modules are often present in the same protein, or through the assembly of larger enzymatic complexes. Dysregulated gene expression, chromosomal translocations, and/or mutations in bromodomain-containing proteins have been correlated with poor patient outcomes in cancer. Thus, bromodomains have emerged as a highly tractable class of epigenetic targets due to their well-defined structural domains, and the increasing ease of designing or screening for molecules that modulate the reading process. Recent developments in pharmacological agents that target specific bromodomains has helped to understand the diverse mechanisms that bromodomains play with their interaction partners in a variety of chromatin processes, and provide the promise of applying bromodomain inhibitors into the clinical field of cancer treatment. In this review, we explore the expression and protein interactome profiles of bromodomain-containing proteins and discuss them in terms of functional groups. Furthermore, we highlight our current understanding of the roles of bromodomain-containing proteins in cancer, as well as emerging strategies to specifically target bromodomains, including combination therapies using bromodomain inhibitors alongside traditional therapeutic approaches designed to re-program tumorigenesis and metastasis.


Author(s):  
Muhammed Jamsheer K ◽  
Manoj Kumar ◽  
Vibha Srivastava

AbstractThe Snf1-related protein kinase 1 (SnRK1) is the plant homolog of the heterotrimeric AMP-activated protein kinase/sucrose non-fermenting 1 (AMPK/Snf1), which works as a major regulator of growth under nutrient-limiting conditions in eukaryotes. Along with its conserved role as a master regulator of sugar starvation responses, SnRK1 is involved in controlling the developmental plasticity and resilience under diverse environmental conditions in plants. In this review, through mining and analyzing the interactome and phosphoproteome data of SnRK1, we are highlighting its role in fundamental cellular processes such as gene regulation, protein synthesis, primary metabolism, protein trafficking, nutrient homeostasis, and autophagy. Along with the well-characterized molecular interaction in SnRK1 signaling, our analysis highlights several unchartered regions of SnRK1 signaling in plants such as its possible communication with chromatin remodelers, histone modifiers, and inositol phosphate signaling. We also discuss potential reciprocal interactions of SnRK1 signaling with other signaling pathways and cellular processes, which could be involved in maintaining flexibility and homeostasis under different environmental conditions. Overall, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the SnRK1 signaling network in plants and suggests many novel directions for future research.


1976 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
LG Tilney

At an early stage in spermiogenesis the acrosomal vacuole and other organelles including ribosomes are located at the basal end of the cell. From here actin must be transported to its future location at the anterior end of the cell. At no stage in the accumulation of actin in the periacrosomal region is the actin sequestered in a membrane-bounded compartment such as a vacuole or vesicle. Since filaments are not present in the periacrosomal region during the accumulation of the actin even though the fixation of these cells is sufficiently good to distinguish actin filaments in thin section, the actin must accumulate in the nonfilamentous state. The membranes in the periacrosomal region, specifically a portion of the nuclear envelope and the basal half of the acrosomal vacuole membrane, become specialized morphologically in advance of the accumulation of actin in this region. My working hypothesis is that the actin in combination with other substances binds to these specialized membranes and to itself and thus can accumulate in the periacrosmoal region by being trapped on these specialized membranes. Diffusion would then be sufficient to move these substances to this region. In support of this hypothesis are experiments in which I treated mature sperm with detergents, glycols, and hypotonic media, which solubilize or lift away the plasma membrane. The actin and its associated proteins remain attached to these specialized membranes. Thus actin can be nonrandomly distributed in cells in a nonfilamentous state presumably by its association with specialized membranes.


mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Codemo ◽  
Sandra Muschiol ◽  
Federico Iovino ◽  
Priyanka Nannapaneni ◽  
Laura Plant ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTGram-positive bacteria, including the major respiratory pathogenStreptococcus pneumoniae, were recently shown to produce extracellular vesicles (EVs) that likely originate from the plasma membrane and are released into the extracellular environment. EVs may function as cargo for many bacterial proteins, however, their involvement in cellular processes and their interactions with the innate immune system are poorly understood. Here, EVs from pneumococci were characterized and their immunomodulatory effects investigated. Pneumococcal EVs were protruding from the bacterial surface and released into the medium as 25 to 250 nm lipid stained vesicles containing a large number of cytosolic, membrane, and surface-associated proteins. The cytosolic pore-forming toxin pneumolysin was significantly enriched in EVs compared to a total bacterial lysate but was not required for EV formation. Pneumococcal EVs were internalized into A549 lung epithelial cells and human monocyte-derived dendritic cells and induced proinflammatory cytokine responses irrespective of pneumolysin content. EVs from encapsulated pneumococci were recognized by serum proteins, resulting in C3b deposition and formation of C5b-9 membrane attack complexes as well as factor H recruitment, depending on the presence of the choline binding protein PspC. Addition of EVs to human serum decreased opsonophagocytic killing of encapsulated pneumococci. Our data suggest that EVs may act in an immunomodulatory manner by allowing delivery of vesicle-associated proteins and other macromolecules into host cells. In addition, EVs expose targets for complement factors in serum, promoting pneumococcal evasion of humoral host defense.IMPORTANCEStreptococcus pneumoniaeis a major contributor to morbidity and mortality worldwide, being the major cause of milder respiratory tract infections such as otitis and sinusitis and of severe infections such as community-acquired pneumonia, with or without septicemia, and meningitis. More knowledge is needed on how pneumococci interact with the host, deliver virulence factors, and activate immune defenses. Here we show that pneumococci form extracellular vesicles that emanate from the plasma membrane and contain virulence properties, including enrichment of pneumolysin. We found that pneumococcal vesicles can be internalized into epithelial and dendritic cells and bind complement proteins, thereby promoting pneumococcal evasion of complement-mediated opsonophagocytosis. They also induce pneumolysin-independent proinflammatory responses. We suggest that these vesicles can function as a mechanism for delivery of pneumococcal proteins and other immunomodulatory components into host cells and help pneumococci to avoid complement deposition and phagocytosis-mediated killing, thereby possibly contributing to the symptoms found in pneumococcal infections.


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