Yeast Ste2 receptors as tools for study of mammalian protein kinases and adaptors involved in receptor trafficking

BACKGROUND: Mammalian receptors that couple to effectors via heterotrimeric G proteins (e.g., beta (2)-adrenergic receptors) and receptors with intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity (e.g., insulin and IGF-I receptors) constitute the proximal points of two dominant cell signaling pathways. Receptors coupled to G proteins can be substrates for tyrosine kinases, integrating signals from both pathways. Yeast cells, in contrast, display G protein-coupled receptors (e.g., alpha-factor pheromone receptor Ste2) that have evolved in the absence of receptor tyrosine kinases, such as those found in higher organisms. We sought to understand the motifs in G protein-coupled receptors that act as substrates for receptor tyrosine kinases and the functional consequence of such phosphorylation on receptor biology. We expressed in human HEK 293 cells yeast wild-type Ste2 as well as a Ste2 chimera engineered with cytoplasmic domains of the beta(2)-adrenergic receptor and tested receptor sequestration in response to activation of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase. RESULTS: The yeast Ste2 was successfully expressed in HEK 293 cells. In response to alpha-factor, Ste2 signals to the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway and internalizes. Wash out of agonist and addition of antagonist does not lead to Ste2 recycling to the cell membrane. Internalized Ste2 is not significantly degraded. Beta(2)-adrenergic receptors display internalization in response to agonist (isoproterenol), but rapidly recycle to the cell membrane following wash out of agonist and addition of antagonist. Beta(2)-adrenergic receptors display internalization in response to activation of insulin receptors (i.e., cross-regulation), whereas Ste2 does not. Substitution of the cytoplasmic domains of the β(2)-adrenergic receptor for those of Ste2 creates a Ste2/beta(2)-adrenergic receptor chimera displaying insulin-stimulated internalization. CONCLUSION: Chimera composed of yeast Ste2 into which domains of mammalian G protein-coupled receptors have been substituted, when expressed in animal cells, provide a unique tool for study of the regulation of G protein-coupled receptor trafficking by mammalian receptor tyrosine kinases and adaptor proteins

Altered Gene Expression in Early Atherosclerosis Is Blocked by Low Level Apolipoprotein E

BACKGROUND: Mice deficient in apolipoprotein E (apoE(-/-)) develop atherosclerosis. The possible linkage between expression of adhesion molecules/cofactors and atherosclerosis was probed at the level of mRNA and protein expression. The hypothesis of a linkage between changes of adhesion molecules/cofactors and atherosclerosis was tested further by suppression of aortic lesion formation in apoE(-/-) mice by expression of very low levels of transgenic apolipoprotein E. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We show that at 8.5 months of age, the apoE(-/-) mice display elevated expression of mRNA for LFA-1, MAC-1, VCAM-1, ICAM-1, and for CD44, as well as MCP-1, cathepsin B, and COX-2 (but not that for eNOS) in atherosclerotic aortic arches. At earlier age, (10-13 week old) apoE(-/-) mice already display elevated expression of mRNA of CD44, LFA-1, MAC-1, VCAM-1, ICAM-1, cathepsin, and of COX-2 in lesioned aortic arches. Expressing very low levels of transgenic apolipoprotein E suppresses both aortic lesions and the expression of mRNA of LFA-1, VCAM-1, MCP-1, cathepsin B, and of ICAM-1 in ApoE(-/-) mice. We tested at the level of protein, the observations obtained for mRNA expression. CD11a (a component of LFA-1), VCAM-1 and cathepsin B expression was found to be elevated in apoE(-/-) aortas at 8-9 months; low level expression of transgenic apolipoprotein E rectifies these changes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Atherosclerotic lesions in apoE(-/-) mice are detected as early as 4 weeks of age. Expression of low levels of apoE is shown to be both atheroprotective and to suppress these changes in key adhesion and inflammatory molecules observed in early atherosclerotic lesions

Insulin signalling: putting the 'G-' in protein-protein interactions.

Cell signalling via receptor tyrosine kinases, such as the insulin receptor, and via heterotrimeric G-proteins, such as Galpha(i), Galpha(s) and Galpha(q) family members, constitute two of most avidly studied paradigms in cell biology. That elements of these two populous signalling pathways must cross-talk to achieve proper signalling in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation and metabolism has been anticipated, but the evolution of our thinking and the analysis of such cross-talk have lagged behind the ever-expanding troupe of players and the recognition of multivalency as the rule, rather than the exception, in signalling biology. New insights have been provided by Kreuzer et al. in this issue of the Biochemical Journal, in which insulin is shown to provoke recruitment of Galpha(i)-proteins to insulin-receptor-based complexes that can regulate the gain of insulin-receptor-catalysed autophosphorylation, a proximal point in the insulin-sensitive cascade of signalling. Understanding the convergence and cross-talk of signals from the receptor tyrosine kinases and G-protein-coupled receptor pathways in physical, spatial and temporal contexts will remain a major challenge of cell biology