scholarly journals The Role of Protein Phosphatase 2A Catalytic Subunit Cα in Embryogenesis: Evidence from Sequence Analysis and Localization Studies

1999 ◽  
Vol 380 (9) ◽  
pp. 1117-1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen Götz ◽  
Wilfried Kues

AbstractProtein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) constitutes one of the major families of protein serine/threonine phosphatases found in all eukaryotic cells. PP2A holoenzymes are composed of a catalytic subunit complexed with a structural regulatory subunit of 65 kDa. These core subunits associate with regulatory subunits of various sizes to form different heterotrimers which have been purified and evaluated with regard to substrate specificity. In fully differentiated tissues PP2A expression levels are highest in the brain, however, relatively little is known about expression in the developing embryo.In order to determine the composition of PP2A catalytic subunits in the mouse, cDNAs were cloned and the genomic organization of PP2A Cα was determined.By a gene targeting approach in the mouse, we have previously shown that the absence of the major catalytic subunit of PP2A, Cα, resulted in embryonic lethality around embryonic day E6.5. No mesoderm was formed which implied that PP2A plays a crucial role in gastrulation.Here, we extended our studies and analyzed wildtype embryos for Cα expression at subsequent stages of development. After gastrulation is completed, we find high expression of Cα restricted to the neural folds, which suggests that PP2A plays an additional pivotal role in neurulation.

2001 ◽  
Vol 353 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veerle JANSSENS ◽  
Jozef GORIS

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) comprises a family of serine/threonine phosphatases, minimally containing a well conserved catalytic subunit, the activity of which is highly regulated. Regulation is accomplished mainly by members of a family of regulatory subunits, which determine the substrate specificity, (sub)cellular localization and catalytic activity of the PP2A holoenzymes. Moreover, the catalytic subunit is subject to two types of post-translational modification, phosphorylation and methylation, which are also thought to be important regulatory devices. The regulatory ability of PTPA (PTPase activator), originally identified as a protein stimulating the phosphotyrosine phosphatase activity of PP2A, will also be discussed, alongside the other regulatory inputs. The use of specific PP2A inhibitors and molecular genetics in yeast, Drosophila and mice has revealed roles for PP2A in cell cycle regulation, cell morphology and development. PP2A also plays a prominent role in the regulation of specific signal transduction cascades, as witnessed by its presence in a number of macromolecular signalling modules, where it is often found in association with other phosphatases and kinases. Additionally, PP2A interacts with a substantial number of other cellular and viral proteins, which are PP2A substrates, target PP2A to different subcellular compartments or affect enzyme activity. Finally, the de-regulation of PP2A in some specific pathologies will be touched upon.


Endocrinology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 155 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daleep K. Arora ◽  
Baker Machhadieh ◽  
Andrea Matti ◽  
Brian E. Wadzinski ◽  
Sasanka Ramanadham ◽  
...  

Existing evidence implicates regulatory roles for protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) in a variety of cellular functions, including cytoskeletal remodeling, hormone secretion, and apoptosis. We report here activation of PP2A in normal rat islets and insulin-secreting INS-1 832/13 cells under the duress of hyperglycemic (HG) conditions. Small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of the catalytic subunit of PP2A (PP2Ac) markedly attenuated glucose-induced activation of PP2A. HG, but not nonmetabolizable 3-O-methyl glucose or mannitol (osmotic control), significantly stimulated the methylation of PP2Ac at its C-terminal Leu-309, suggesting a novel role for this posttranslational modification in glucose-induced activation of PP2A. Moreover, knockdown of the cytosolic leucine carboxymethyl transferase 1 (LCMT1), which carboxymethylates PP2Ac, significantly attenuated PP2A activation under HG conditions. In addition, HG conditions, but not 3-O-methyl glucose or mannitol, markedly increased the expression of LCMT1. Furthermore, HG conditions significantly increased the expression of B55α, a regulatory subunit of PP2A, which has been implicated in islet dysfunction under conditions of oxidative stress and diabetes. Thapsigargin, a known inducer of endoplasmic reticulum stress, failed to exert any discernible effects on the carboxymethylation of PP2Ac, expression of LCMT1 and B55α, or PP2A activity, suggesting no clear role for endoplasmic reticulum stress in HG-induced activation of PP2A. Based on these findings, we conclude that exposure of the islet β-cell to HG leads to accelerated PP2A signaling pathway, leading to loss in glucose-induced insulin secretion.


1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
R E Mayer-Jaekel ◽  
S Baumgartner ◽  
G Bilbe ◽  
H Ohkura ◽  
D M Glover ◽  
...  

cDNA clones encoding the catalytic subunit and the 65-kDa regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PR65) from Drosophila melanogaster have been isolated by homology screening with the corresponding human cDNAs. The Drosophila clones were used to analyze the spatial and temporal expression of the transcripts encoding these two proteins. The Drosophila PR65 cDNA clones contained an open reading frame of 1773 nucleotides encoding a protein of 65.5 kDa. The predicted amino acid sequence showed 75 and 71% identity to the human PR65 alpha and beta isoforms, respectively. As previously reported for the mammalian PR65 isoforms, Drosophila PR65 is composed of 15 imperfect repeating units of approximately 39 amino acids. The residues contributing to this repeat structure show also the highest sequence conservation between species, indicating a functional importance for these repeats. The gene encoding Drosophila PR65 was located at 29B1,2 on the second chromosome. A major transcript of 2.8 kilobase (kb) encoding the PR65 subunit and two transcripts of 1.6 and 2.5 kb encoding the catalytic subunit could be detected throughout Drosophila development. All of these mRNAs were most abundant during early embryogenesis and were expressed at lower levels in larvae and adult flies. In situ hybridization of different developmental stages showed a colocalization of the PR65 and catalytic subunit transcripts. The mRNA expression is high in the nurse cells and oocytes, consistent with a high equally distributed expression in early embryos. In later embryonal development, the expression remains high in the nervous system and the gonads but the overall transcript levels decrease. In third instar larvae, high levels of mRNA could be observed in brain, imaginal discs, and in salivary glands. These results indicate that protein phosphatase 2A transcript levels change during development in a tissue and in a time-specific manner.


2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 3477-3492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Gentry ◽  
Richard L. Hallberg

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) regulates a broad spectrum of cellular processes. This enzyme is a collection of varied heterotrimeric complexes, each composed of a catalytic (C) and regulatory (B) subunit bound together by a structural (A) subunit. To understand the cell cycle dynamics of this enzyme population, we carried out quantitative and qualitative analyses of the PP2A subunits of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We found the following: the level of each subunit remained constant throughout the cell cycle; there is at least 10 times more of one of the regulatory subunits (Rts1p) than the other (Cdc55p); Tpd3p, the structural subunit, is limiting for both catalytic and regulatory subunit binding. Using green fluorescent protein-tagged forms of each subunit, we monitored the sites of significant accumulation of each protein throughout the cell cycle. The two regulatory subunits displayed distinctly different dynamic localization patterns that overlap with the A and C subunits at the bud tip, kinetochore, bud neck, and nucleus. Using strains null for single subunit genes, we confirmed the hypothesis that regulatory subunits determine sites of PP2A accumulation. Although Rts1p and Tpd3p required heterotrimer formation to achieve normal localization, Cdc55p achieved its normal localization in the absence of either an A or C subunit.


2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 3674-3684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinghai Li ◽  
Anne Scuderi ◽  
Anthea Letsou ◽  
David M. Virshup

ABSTRACT Protein phosphorylation and specific protein kinases can initiate signal transduction pathways leading to programmed cell death. The specific protein phosphatases regulating apoptosis have been more elusive. Using double-stranded RNA-mediated interference (RNAi), the role of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) in cellular signaling was investigated. Knockdown of A or C subunits individually or of combined B subunits led to concurrent loss of nontargeted PP2A subunits, suggesting that PP2A is an obligate heterotrimer in vivo. Global knockdown of PP2A activity or specific loss of redundant B56 regulatory subunits caused cell death with the morphological and biochemical changes characteristic of apoptosis in cultured S2 cells. B56:PP2A-regulated apoptosis required caspases and the upstream regulators dark, reaper, head involution defective, and dp53. In Drosophila embryos, knockdown of B56-regulated PP2A activity resulted in apoptosis and failure of gastrulation, an effect that was blocked by concurrent RNAi of the caspase Drice. B56-regulated PP2A activity appears to be required upstream of dp53 to maintain a critical proapoptotic substrate in a dephosphorylated, inactive state, thereby preventing apoptosis in Drosophila S2 cells.


2007 ◽  
Vol 282 (37) ◽  
pp. 26971-26980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sari Longin ◽  
Karen Zwaenepoel ◽  
Justin V. Louis ◽  
Stephen Dilworth ◽  
Jozef Goris ◽  
...  

1999 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1737-1745
Author(s):  
ALLEN D. EVERETT ◽  
CHUN XUE ◽  
TAMARA STOOPS

Abstract. Although a number of growth and transcription factors are known to regulate renal growth and development, the signal transduction molecules necessary to mediate these developmental signals are relatively unknown. Therefore, the activity and mRNA and protein expression of the signal transduction molecule protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) were examined during rat kidney development. Northern analysis of total kidney RNA or Western analysis of kidney protein homogenates from embryonic day 15 to 90-d-old adults demonstrated developmental regulation of the catalytic, major 55-kD B regulatory subunit and A structural subunit with the highest levels of expression in late embryonic and newborn kidneys. Similarly, okadaic acid-inhibitable phosphatase enzyme activity was highest in the embryonic and newborn kidney. To map cell-specific expression of PP2A in the developing kidney, in situ hybridization with a catalytic subunit digoxigenin-labeled cRNA was performed on embryonic day 20 and newborn kidneys. PP2A was found predominately in the nephrogenic cortex and particularly in the developing glomeruli and nonbrush border tubules in the embryonic day 20 and newborn kidneys. Similarly, immunocytochemistry with a specific PP2A catalytic subunit polyclonal anti-peptide antibody demonstrated catalytic subunit protein particularly concentrated in the podocytes of glomeruli in the newborn kidney. In the adult kidney, PP2A protein was no longer detectable except in the nuclei of distal tubular cells. Therefore, the developmental regulation of PP2A activity and protein during kidney development and its mapping to the nephrogenic cortex, developing glomeruli, and tubules suggests a role for PP2A in the regulation of nephron growth and differentiation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 08 (04) ◽  
pp. 240-243
Author(s):  
Alexandra Wallace ◽  
Paul Caruso ◽  
Amel Karaa

AbstractProtein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a heterotrimeric protein serine/threonine phosphatase that regulates a diverse range of cellular activities. The PPP2R1A gene on chromosome 19 (19q13.41) encodes the α isoform of the scaffolding subunit of the PP2A holoenzyme, which functions to link the catalytic subunit to the regulatory subunit. Here we present a case of a newborn boy with a novel PPP2R1A gene mutation (c.548G>A; p.Arg183Gln) with severe lateral and third ventriculomegaly, hypoplastic corpus callosum, and pontocerebellar hypoplasia. To our knowledge, this is the sixth case reported in the literature, thus expanding the phenotype of this rare genetic condition.


2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (17) ◽  
pp. 5654-5668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chian Ju Jong ◽  
Ronald A. Merrill ◽  
Emily M. Wilkerson ◽  
Laura E. Herring ◽  
Lee M. Graves ◽  
...  

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a large enzyme family responsible for most cellular Ser/Thr dephosphorylation events. PP2A substrate specificity, localization, and regulation by second messengers rely on more than a dozen regulatory subunits (including B/R2, B′/R5, and B″/R3), which form the PP2A heterotrimeric holoenzyme by associating with a dimer comprising scaffolding (A) and catalytic (C) subunits. Because of partial redundancy and high endogenous expression of PP2A holoenzymes, traditional approaches of overexpressing, knocking down, or knocking out PP2A regulatory subunits have yielded only limited insights into their biological roles and substrates. To this end, here we sought to reduce the complexity of cellular PP2A holoenzymes. We used tetracycline-inducible expression of pairs of scaffolding and regulatory subunits with complementary charge-reversal substitutions in their interaction interfaces. For each of the three regulatory subunit families, we engineered A/B charge–swap variants that could bind to one another, but not to endogenous A and B subunits. Because endogenous Aα was targeted by a co-induced shRNA, endogenous B subunits were rapidly degraded, resulting in expression of predominantly a single PP2A heterotrimer composed of the A/B charge–swap pair and the endogenous catalytic subunit. Using B′δ/PPP2R5D, we show that PP2A complexity reduction, but not PP2A overexpression, reveals a role of this holoenzyme in suppression of extracellular signal–regulated kinase signaling and protein kinase A substrate dephosphorylation. When combined with global phosphoproteomics, the PP2A/B′δ reduction approach identified consensus dephosphorylation motifs in its substrates and suggested that residues surrounding the phosphorylation site play roles in PP2A substrate specificity.


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