scholarly journals The ErbB2/Neu/HER2 receptor is a new calmodulin-binding protein

2004 ◽  
Vol 381 (1) ◽  
pp. 257-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongbing LI ◽  
Juan SÁNCHEZ-TORRES ◽  
Alan del CARPIO ◽  
Valentina SALAS ◽  
Antonio VILLALOBO

We have demonstrated previously that the EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) is a calmodulin (CaM)-binding protein. To establish whether or not the related receptor ErbB2/Neu/HER2 also binds CaM, we used human breast adenocarcinoma SK-BR-3 cells, because these cells overexpress this receptor thus facilitating the detection of this interaction. In the present paper, we show that ErbB2 could be pulled-down using CaM–agarose beads in a Ca2+-dependent manner, as detected by Western blot analysis using an anti-ErbB2 antibody. ErbB2 was also isolated by Ca2+-dependent CaM-affinity chromatography. We also demonstrate using an overlay technique with biotinylated CaM that CaM binds directly to the immunoprecipitated ErbB2. The binding of biotinylated CaM to ErbB2 depends strictly on the presence of Ca2+, since it was prevented by the presence of EGTA. Moreover, the addition of an excess of free CaM prevents the binding of its biotinylated form, demonstrating that this was a specific process. We excluded any interference with the EGFR, as SK-BR-3 cells express considerably lower levels of this receptor, and no detectable EGFR signal was observed by Western blot analysis in the immunoprecipitated ErbB2 preparations used to perform the overlay assays with biotinylated CaM. We also demonstrate that treating living cells with W7 [N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulphonamide], a cell-permeant CaM antagonist, down-regulates ErbB2 phosphorylation, and show that W7 does not interfere non-specifically with the activity of ErbB tyrosine kinases. We also show that W7 inhibits the phosphorylation (activation) of both ERK1/2 (extracellular-signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2) and Akt/PKB (protein kinase B), in accordance with the inhibition observed in ErbB2 phosphorylation. In contrast, W7 treatment increased the phosphorylation (activation) of CREB (cAMP-response-element-binding protein) and ATF1 (activating transcription factor-1), two Ca2+-sensitive transcription factors that operate downstream of these ErbB2 signalling pathways, most likely because of the absence of calcineurin activity. We conclude that ErbB2 is a new CaM-binding protein, and that CaM plays a role in the regulation of this receptor and its downstream signalling pathways in vivo.

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhinav Sidana ◽  
Muwen Wang ◽  
Wasim H. Chowdhury ◽  
Antoun Toubaji ◽  
Shabana Shabbeer ◽  
...  

Valproic Acid (VPA) is a histone deacetylase inhibitor that holds promise for cancer therapy. Here, we investigate whether VPA treatment induces neuroendocrine differentiation of Prostate Cancer (PCa). A tissue microarray of VPA-treated and untreated tumor xenografts and cell lines of human PCa (LNCaP, C4-2, DU145, and PC-3) were generated and were analyzed by immunohistochemical analysis (IHC) for NE markers chromogranin A (CgA), synaptophysin, and NCAM (neural cell adhesion molecule). Western blot analysis for CgA was performed to confirm the results of the TMA. IHC analysis did not reveal any induction of CgA, synaptophysin, or NCAM in any xenograft after VPA treatmentin vivo.In vitro, VPA treatment induced little synaptophysin expression in C4-2 and PC-3 cells and NCAM expression in LNCaP and PC-3 cells. In the case of CgA, VPA treatment decreased its expressionin vitroin a dose-dependent manner, as determined by western blot analysis. Thus our data demonstrates that VPA does not induce NE differentiation of PCa cells in the physiologically relevantin vivosetting.


2010 ◽  
Vol 113 (Special_Supplement) ◽  
pp. 228-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Jia ◽  
Yanhe Li ◽  
Desheng Xu ◽  
Zhenjiang Li ◽  
Zhiyuan Zhang ◽  
...  

Object The authors sought to evaluate modification of the radiation response of C6 glioma cells in vitro and in vivo by inhibiting the expression of Ku70. To do so they investigated the effect of gene transfer involving a recombinant replication-defective adenovirus containing Ku70 short hairpin RNA (Ad-Ku70shRNA) combined with Gamma Knife treatment (GKT). Methods First, Ad-Ku70shRNA was transfected into C6 glioma cells and the expression of Ku70 was measured using Western blot analysis. In vitro, phenotypical changes in C6 cells, including proliferation, cell cycle modification, invasion ability, and apoptosis were evaluated using the MTT (3′(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay, Western blot analysis, and cell flow cytometry. In vivo, parental C6 cells transfected with Ad-Ku70shRNA were implanted stereotactically into the right caudate nucleus in Sprague-Dawley rats. After GKS, apoptosis was analyzed using the TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling) method. The inhibitory effects on growth and invasion that were induced by expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and matrix metalloproteinase–9 were determined using immunohistochemical analyses. Results The expression of Ku70 was clearly inhibited in C6 cells after transfection with Ad-Ku70shRNA. In vitro following transfection, the C6 cells showed improved responses to GKT, including suppression of proliferation and invasion as well as an increased apoptosis index. In vivo following transfection of Ad-Ku70shRNA, the therapeutic efficacy of GKT in rats with C6 gliomas was greatly enhanced and survival times in these animals were prolonged. Conclusions Our data support the potential for downregulation of Ku70 expression in enhancing the radiosensitivity of gliomas. The findings of our study indicate that targeted gene therapy–mediated inactivation of Ku70 may represent a promising strategy in improving the radioresponsiveness of gliomas to GKT.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 1147-1156
Author(s):  
Hanrui Li ◽  
GeTao Du ◽  
Lu Yang ◽  
Liaojun Pang ◽  
Yonghua Zhan

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma is cancer with many new cases and the highest mortality rate. Chemotherapy is the most commonly used method for the clinical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Natural products have become clinically important chemotherapeutic drugs due to their great potential for pharmacological development. Many sesquiterpene lactone compounds have been proven to have antitumor effects on hepatocellular carcinoma. Objective: Britanin is a sesquiterpene lactone compound that can be considered for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. The present study aimed to investigate the antitumor effect of britanin. Methods: BEL 7402 and HepG2 cells were used to study the cytotoxicity and antitumor effects of britanin. Preliminary studies on the nuclear factor kappa B pathway were conducted by western blot analysis. A BEL 7402-luc subcutaneous tumor model was established for the in vivo antitumor studies of britanin. In vivo bioluminescence imaging was conducted to monitor changes in tumor size. Results: The results of the cytotoxicity analysis showed that the IC50 values for britanin in BEL 7402 and HepG2 cells were 2.702μM and 6.006μM, respectively. The results of the colony formation demonstrated that the number of cells in a colony was reduced significantly after britanin treatment. And the results of transwell migration assays showed that the migration ability of tumor cells was significantly weakened after treatment with britanin. Tumor size measurements and staining results showed that tumor size was inhibited after britanin treatment. The western blot analysis results showed the inhibition of p65 protein expression and reduced the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax after treatment. Conclusion: A series of in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that britanin had good antitumor effects and provided an option for hepatocellular carcinoma treatment.


Stroke ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel C Morris ◽  
Benjamin Buller ◽  
Manoranjan Santra ◽  
Michael Chopp ◽  
Zheng Gang Zhang

Background: Thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4) is a G-actin sequestering peptide that improves neurological functional outcome when administered 24 hours after onset of stroke to a rat model of embolic stroke. Tβ4 increases the number of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) as well as mature oligodendrocytes (OLs). Mechanisms of Tβ4 induced oligodendrogenesis (OLG) remain unclear. Serum response growth factor (SRF) is a transcriptional factor which binds with ternary complex co-factors to primarily convey an immediate early gene response to influence and orchestrate neuronal migration and differentiation. Hypothesis: We tested the hypothesis that Tβ4 upregulates SRF with subsequent increase in the markers of OL differentiation. Results: We employed a mouse OPC line (N20.1) to investigate the mechanisms of Tβ4-induced OLG. The cells were plated at a density of 100,000 cells/ml and grown in the presence of 0, 12.5, 25 and 50 ng/ml of Tβ4 (RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.) for 14 days (n=3). Western blot analysis revealed that SRF was dose-dependently upregulated by a factor of 4. Quantitative real time PCR and Western blot analysis showed that Tβ4 treatment induced myelin basic protein (MBP) and 2’, 3’-cyclic nucleotide, 3’-phosphodiesterase (CNPase) expression in a dose-dependent manner by ∼2 fold, indicating the stimulation of OLG. In order to independently demonstrate that SRF promotes the differentiation of progenitor cells into mature oligodendrocytes, SRF was over expressed in the N20.1 cells using a plasmid encoding the SRF gene. After six days SRF over expressed N20.1 cells (n=3) demonstrated an increase of expression of MBP (26 ± 3%) and CNPase (23 ± 3%) when compared to cells transfected with an empty expression plasmid (n=3, MBP, 14 ± 3% and CNPase, 10 ± 4%, p<0.05). Conclusions: In this mouse model of OPCs, SRF was upregulated by Tβ4 and may be involved in Tβ4 induced OLG. Further in vivo investigation of SRF is warranted in our rat model of embolic stroke.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Yan ◽  
Xin Chen ◽  
Hua Zhan ◽  
Penglei Yao ◽  
Ning Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundThe tumor microenvironment plays an important role in tumor progression. Hyaluronic acid (HA), an important component of the extracellular matrix in the tumor microenvironment, abnormally accumulates in a variety of tumors. Whereas the role of abnormal HA metabolism in glioma remains unclear. MethodsThe expression level of hyaluronic acid (HA) was analyzed by ELISA assay and proteins such as HAS3, CD44, P62, LC3, CCND1 and CCNB1 were measured with Western blot analysis. The cell viability and proliferation were measured by MTT and KI67 immunofluorescence staining respectively. Autophagic vesicles and autophagosomes were quantified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and GFP-RFP-LC3 fluorescence analysis respectively. Cell cycle was analyzed by flowcytometry and Western blot analysis. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was used to detect expression levels of HA, Ki67, HAS3 and CD44 in human and mouse tumor tissues. Lentivirus constructed HAS3 and CD44 knockout stable glioma cells were transplanted to BALB/C nude mice for in vivo experiments. 4-Methylumbelliferone (4MU) was also used to treat glioma bearing mice for verifing its anti-tumor ability. The expression curve of HAS3, CD44 and the disease-free survival (DFS) curves for HAS3, CD44 in patients with LGG and GBM was performed based on TCGA database. ResultsAs shown in the present study, HA, hyaluronic acid synthase 3 (HAS3) and a receptor of HA named CD44 are expressed at high levels in human glioma tissues and negatively correlated with the prognosis of patients with glioma. Silencing HAS3 or blocking CD44 inhibited the proliferation of glioma cells in vitro and in vivo. The underlying mechanism was attributed to the inhibition of autophagy flux and further maintaining glioma cell cycle arrest in G1 phase. More importantly, 4-Methylumbelliferone (4-MU), a small competitive inhibitor of UDP with the ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB), also inhibited the proliferation of glioma cells in vitro and in vivo. ConclusionApproaches that interfere with HA metabolism by altering the expression of HAS3 and CD44 and the administration of 4-MU potentially represent effective strategies for glioma treatment.


Author(s):  
Storm N. S. Reid ◽  
Joung-Hyun Park ◽  
Yunsook Kim ◽  
Yi Sub Kwak ◽  
Byeong Hwan Jeon

Exogenous lactate administration has more recently been investigated for its various prophylactic effects. Lactate derived from potential functional foods, such as fermented oyster extract (FO), may emerge as a practical and effective method of consuming exogenous lactate. The current study endeavored to ascertain whether the lactate derived from FO may act on muscle cell biology, and to what extent this may translate into physical fitness improvements. We examined the effects of FO in vitro and in vivo, on mouse C2C12 cells and exercise performance indicators in mice, respectively. In vitro, biochemical analysis was carried out to determine the effects of FO on lactate content and muscle cell energy metabolism, including adenosine triphosphate (ATP) activity. Western blot analysis was also utilized to measure the protein expression of total adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), p-AMPK (Thr172), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), succinate dehydrogenase (SDHA) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) in response to FO administration. Three experimental groups were formed: a positive control (PC) treated with 1% horse serum, FO10 treated with 10 μg/mL and FO50 treated with 50 μg/mL. In vivo, the effects of FO supplementation on exercise endurance were measured using the Rota-rod test, and Western blot analysis measured myosin heavy-chain 2 (MYH2) to assess skeletal muscle growth, alongside p-AMPK, total-AMPK, PGC-1α, cytochrome C and UCP3 protein expression. Biochemical analysis was also performed on muscle tissue to measure the changes in concentration of liver lactate, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), glycogen and citrate. Five groups (n = 10/per group) consisted of a control group (CON), exercise group (Ex), positive control treated with Ex and 500 mg/kg Taurine (Ex-Tau), Ex and 100 mg/kg FO supplementation (Ex-FO100) and Ex and 200 mg/kg FO supplementation (Ex-FO200) orally administered over the 4-week experimental period.FO50 significantly increased PGC-1α expression (p < 0.001), whereas both FO10 and FO50 increased the expression of p-AMPK (p < 0.001), in C2C12 muscle cells, showing increased signaling important for mitochondrial metabolism and biogenesis. Muscle lactate levels were also significantly increased following FO10 (p < 0.05) and FO50 (p < 0.001). In vivo, muscle protein expression of p-AMPK (p < 0.05) and PGC-1α were increased, corroborating our in vitro results. Cytochrome C also significantly increased following FO200 intake. These results suggest that the effects of FO supplementation may manifest in a dose-response manner. FO administration, in vitro, and supplementation, in vivo, both demonstrate a potential for improvements in mitochondrial metabolism and biogenesis, and even for potentiating the adaptive effects of endurance exercise. Mechanistically, lactate may be an important molecule in explaining the aforementioned positive effects of FO.


2009 ◽  
Vol 296 (3) ◽  
pp. G499-G509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mallikarjuna R. Metukuri ◽  
Donna Beer-Stolz ◽  
Rajaie A. Namas ◽  
Rajeev Dhupar ◽  
Andres Torres ◽  
...  

We have previously demonstrated that the Bcl-2/adenovirus EIB 19-kDa interacting protein 3 (BNIP3), a cell death-related member of the Bcl-2 family, is upregulated in vitro and in vivo in both experimental and clinical settings of redox stress and that nitric oxide (NO) downregulates its expression. In this study we sought to examine the expression and localization of BNIP3 in murine hepatocytes and in a murine model of hemorrhagic shock (HS) and ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). Freshly isolated mouse hepatocytes were exposed to 1% hypoxia for 6 h followed by reoxygenation for 18 h, and protein was isolated for Western blot analysis. Hepatocytes grown on coverslips were fixed for localization studies. Similarly, livers from surgically cannulated C57Bl/6 mice and from mice cannulated and subjected to 1–4 h of HS were processed for protein isolation and Western blot analysis. In hepatocytes, BNIP3 was expressed constitutively but was upregulated under hypoxic conditions, and this upregulation was countered by treatment with a NO donor. Surprisingly, BNIP3 was localized in the nucleus of normoxic hepatocytes, in the cytoplasm following hypoxia, and again in the nucleus following reoxygenation. Upregulation of BNIP3 partially required p38 MAPK activation. BNIP3 contributed to hypoxic injury in hepatocytes, since this injury was diminished by knockdown of BNIP3 mRNA. Hepatic BNIP3 was also upregulated in two different models of liver stress in vivo, suggesting that a multitude of inflammatory stresses can lead to the modulation of BNIP3. In turn, the upregulation of BNIP3 appears to be one mechanism of hepatocyte cell death and liver damage in these settings.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 126-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weirui Zhang ◽  
David Motto ◽  
David Ginsburg

Abstract Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a life threatening illness due to a deficiency of the VWF-cleaving protease, ADAMTS13. The ADAMTS13 protein is composed of a propeptide, followed by a typical zinc metalloprotease domain. The C-terminal 2/3 of the molecule contains disintegrin-like, cystine-rich, and spacer domains, as well as a total of eight TSP1 motifs and two CUB domains. The function of this C-terminal portion of the molecule and its composite motifs is unknown, though TSP1 and CUB domains of other proteins have been shown to mediate protein-protein interactions. To further explore the interaction between ADAMTS13 and VWF, we cloned full length human cDNAs for both ADAMTS13 and VWF into the mammalian expression vector pcDNA3.1. These constructs were transiently transfected into 293T cells and COS cells respectively, and conditioned media collected for analysis. Using an anti-myc antibody, myc-tagged VWF co-immunoprecipitated (co-IP) with ADAMTS13, as demonstrated by western blot analysis using antisera raised against a C-terminal peptide derived from the predicted ADAMTS13 sequence. This direct interaction required partial denaturation of VWF in 1M urea, with no co-IP observed in the absence of urea. To map the segment within ADAMTS13 responsible for VWF binding, we cloned a series of overlapping ADAMTS13 fragments into the bacterial expression vector, Pet44b. Fusion proteins were purified by binding of the included His-tag to Ni-NTA beads and incubated with recombinant myc-VWF in the presence of 1M urea. Association with VWF was analyzed by co-IP with anti-myc followed by western blot analysis using an antibody to the C-terminal HSV-tag present in each fusion protein. The CUB2 (Glu1298- Thr1427) fusion protein co-IP’d with full-length VWF and also demonstrated concentration-dependent competition with full-length ADAMTS13 for VWF binding. In summary, we have demonstrated a direct protein-protein interaction between VWF and ADAMTS13. Binding requires partial denaturation of VWF and appears to be mediated primarily through contacts with the ADAMTS13 CUB2 domain. This interaction may account for the previously observed co-purification of VWF and ADAMTS13 from human plasma. Furthermore, the requirement for 1M urea suggests that this interaction may only occur physiologically under conditions of high shear. Though others have shown that the C-terminal domains of ADAMTS13, including CUB2, are not required for VWF cleavage in vitro, our data, together with several C-terminal mutations previously reported in TTP patients, suggest that interactions between VWF and the ADAMTS13 CUB2 domain may be important in vivo.


Blood ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 132 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 4318-4318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Baumeister ◽  
Nicolas Chatain ◽  
Annika Hubrich ◽  
Caroline Küstermann ◽  
Stephanie Sontag ◽  
...  

Abstract Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are a heterogeneous group of malignancies including polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET) and primary myelofibrosis (PMF). The JAK2V617F mutation can be found in 90% of PV and approximately 50% of ET and PMF patients. Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are master transcriptional regulators of the response to decreases in cellular oxygen levels. Unveiling the function of deregulated HIF-1 signaling in normal and malignant hematopoiesis was the aim of several recent publications, highlighting the importance of HIF-1 for the maintenance of leukemic stem cells (LSCs) in acute and chronic myeloid leukemia (AML/CML). In a JAK2V617F knock-in mouse model and in patients, JAK2V617F was shown to induce the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the hematopoietic stem cell compartment, leading to a stabilization of HIF-1α protein. Further, aberrant STAT5 and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling induced HIF-1α expression on the transcriptional and translational level. Ruxolitinib treatment inhibited growth and reduced the expression of HIF-1α and its target gene VEGF in the JAK2V617F human erythroleukemia cell line HEL. In several leukemic cell lines constitutive expression of HIF-1α was reported, even under normoxic conditions. However, it still remains unknown whether HIF-1α plays a role in JAK2V617F positive MPN. In this study, we investigated the role HIF-1α signaling in JAK2V617F positive MPN in vitro. We retrovirally transduced the murine bone marrow cell line 32D with JAK2V617F or JAK2WT. Western blot analysis revealed significant increases in HIF-1α protein levels in JAK2V617F positive cells compared to JAK2WT controls after cultivation in normoxic conditions and this effect was abrogated by treatment with the JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor ruxolitinib. Inhibition of HIF-1, binding to hypoxia response elements (HRE), by low doses of echinomycin (1 nM), significantly impaired proliferation and survival. Using an Annexin-V/7-AAD flow cytometry assay apoptosis was found to be selectively induced in JAK2V617F positive, but not JAK2WT cells after echinomycin treatment. Additionally, BrdU/7-AAD cell cycle analysis revealed that only JAK2V617F positive cells were significantly arrested in G0/1 phase. These findings were consistent with shRNA-mediated knockdown (KD) of HIF-1α in JAK2V617F transduced 32D cells in presence but not the absence of HIF-2 antagonist 2. Inhibition of HIF-2 was necessary due to a compensatory increase of HIF-2α protein levels, shown by Western Blot analysis, counteracting HIF-1α-KD mediated effects. We isolated PBMCs and BMMNCs from JAK2V617F positive patients or healthy controls using Ficoll density gradient centrifugation. Echinomycin significantly abrogated the colony formation ability alone and in combination with ruxolitinib. In vitro treatment with echinomycin significantly decreased cell number and viability of 8 JAK2V617F positive BMMNC samples (4 PV, 3 PMF, 1 preMF; p[1nM]=0.0169, p[5nM]=0.0009) and 7 PBMC samples (6 PV, 1 PMF; p[1nM]=0.0156, p[5nM]=0.0156) in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, PBMCs from 6 healthy donors were unaffected by the treatment. The same effect was observed in heterozygous and homozygous iPS cell-derived progenitors from JAK2V617F positive PV patients, whereas JAK2WT cells were unaffected by the treatment. Collectively, our data indicate that targeting HIF-1 might represent a novel therapeutic approach in classical Philadelphia-chromosome-negative MPN. Disclosures Brümmendorf: Pfizer: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy; Merck: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy.


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