Cryo-EM structure of the Hippo signaling integrator human STRIPAK.

The striatin-interacting phosphatase and kinase (STRIPAK) complex is a large, multisubunit protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) assembly that integrates diverse cellular signals in the Hippo pathway to regulate cell proliferation and survival. The architecture and assembly mechanism of this critical complex are poorly understood. Using cryo-EM, we determine the structure of the human STRIPAK core comprising PP2AA, PP2AC, STRN3, STRIP1, and MOB4 at 3.2-Å resolution. Unlike the canonical trimeric PP2A holoenzyme, STRIPAK contains four copies of STRN3 and one copy of each the PP2AA-C heterodimer, STRIP1, and MOB4. The STRN3 coiled-coil domains form an elongated homotetrameric scaffold that links the complex together. An inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) is identified as a structural cofactor of STRIP1. Mutations of key residues at subunit interfaces disrupt the integrity of STRIPAK, causing aberrant Hippo pathway activation. Thus, STRIPAK is established as a noncanonical PP2A complex with four copies of regulatory STRN3 for enhanced signal integration.

STK25 suppresses Hippo signaling by regulating SAV1-STRIPAK antagonism.

The MST-LATS kinase cascade is central to the Hippo pathway that controls tissue homeostasis, development, and organ size. The PP2A complex STRIPAKSLMAP blocks MST1/2 activation. The GCKIII family kinases associate with STRIPAK, but the functions of these phosphatase-associated kinases remain elusive. We previously showed that the scaffolding protein SAV1 promotes Hippo signaling by counteracting STRIPAK (Bae et al., 2017). Here, we show that the GCKIII kinase STK25 promotes STRIPAK-mediated inhibition of MST2 in human cells. Depletion of STK25 enhances MST2 activation without affecting the integrity of STRIPAKSLMAP. STK25 directly phosphorylates SAV1 and diminishes the ability of SAV1 to inhibit STRIPAK. Thus, STK25 as the kinase component of STRIPAK can inhibit the function of the STRIPAK inhibitor SAV1. This mutual antagonism between STRIPAK and SAV1 controls the initiation of Hippo signaling.

Activation mechanisms of the Hippo kinase signaling cascade.

First discovered two decades ago through genetic screens in Drosophila, the Hippo pathway has been shown to be conserved in metazoans and controls organ size and tissue homeostasis through regulating the balance between cell proliferation and apoptosis. Dysregulation of the Hippo pathway leads to aberrant tissue growth and tumorigenesis. Extensive studies in Drosophila and mammals have identified the core components of Hippo signaling, which form a central kinase cascade to ultimately control gene expression. Here, we review recent structural, biochemical, and cellular studies that have revealed intricate phosphorylation-dependent mechanisms in regulating the formation and activation of the core kinase complex in the Hippo pathway. These studies have established the dimerization-mediated activation of the Hippo kinase (mammalian Ste20-like 1 and 2 (MST1/2) in mammals), the dynamic scaffolding and allosteric roles of adaptor proteins in downstream kinase activation, and the importance of multisite linker autophosphorylation by Hippo and MST1/2 in fine-tuning the signaling strength and robustness of the Hippo pathway. We highlight the gaps in our knowledge in this field that will require further mechanistic studies.

SAV1 promotes Hippo kinase activation through antagonizing the PP2A phosphatase STRIPAK.

The Hippo pathway controls tissue growth and homeostasis through a central MST-LATS kinase cascade. The scaffold protein SAV1 promotes the activation of this kinase cascade, but the molecular mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we discover SAV1-mediated inhibition of the PP2A complex STRIPAKSLMAP as a key mechanism of MST1/2 activation. SLMAP binding to autophosphorylated MST2 linker recruits STRIPAK and promotes PP2A-mediated dephosphorylation of MST2 at the activation loop. Our structural and biochemical studies reveal that SAV1 and MST2 heterodimerize through their SARAH domains. Two SAV1-MST2 heterodimers further dimerize through SAV1 WW domains to form a heterotetramer, in which MST2 undergoes trans-autophosphorylation. SAV1 directly binds to STRIPAK and inhibits its phosphatase activity, protecting MST2 activation-loop phosphorylation. Genetic ablation of SLMAP in human cells leads to spontaneous activation of the Hippo pathway and alleviates the need for SAV1 in Hippo signaling. Thus, SAV1 promotes Hippo activation through counteracting the STRIPAKSLMAP PP2A phosphatase complex.

CHFR negatively regulates SIRT1 activity upon oxidative stress.

SIRT1, the NAD+-dependent protein deacetylase, controls cell-cycle progression and apoptosis by suppressing p53 tumour suppressor. Although SIRT1 is known to be phosphorylated by JNK1 upon oxidative stress and subsequently down-regulated, it still remains elusive how SIRT1 stability and activity are controlled. Here, we have unveiled that CHFR functions as an E3 Ub-ligase of SIRT1, responsible for its proteasomal degradation under oxidative stress conditions. CHFR interacts with and destabilizes SIRT1 by ubiquitylation and subsequent proteolysis. Such CHFR-mediated SIRT1 inhibition leads to the increase of p53 acetylation and its target gene transcription. Notably, CHFR facilitates SIRT1 destabilization when SIRT1 is phosphorylated by JNK1 upon oxidative stress, followed by prominent apoptotic cell death. Meanwhile, JNK inhibitor prevents SIRT1 phosphorylation, leading to elevated SIRT1 protein levels even in the presence of H2O2. Taken together, our results indicate that CHFR plays a crucial role in the cellular stress response pathway by controlling the stability and function of SIRT1.

NEDD4 controls intestinal stem cell homeostasis by regulating the Hippo signalling pathway.

The Hippo pathway plays crucial roles in regulating organ size and stem cell homeostasis. Although the signalling cascade of the core Hippo kinases is relatively well understood, little is known about the mechanisms that modulate the activity of the Hippo pathway. Here, we report identification of NEDD4, a HECT-type E3 ubiquitin ligase, as a regulatory component of the Hippo pathway. We demonstrate that NEDD4 ubiquitylates and destabilizes WW45 and LATS kinase, both of which are required for active Hippo signalling. Interestingly, MST1 protects WW45, but not LATS2, against NEDD4. We also provide evidence indicating that NEDD4 inactivation at high cell density is a prerequisite for the elevated Hippo activity linked to contact inhibition. Moreover, NEDD4 promotes intestinal stem cell renewal in Drosophila by suppressing Hippo signalling. Collectively, we present a regulatory mechanism by which NEDD4 controls the Hippo pathway leading to coordinated cell proliferation and apoptosis.

CHFR is negatively regulated by SUMOylation-mediated ubiquitylation.

CHFR ubiquitin ligase plays an important role in cell cycle progression and tumorigenesis. CHFR tumor suppressor function is highly associated with its protein level. We recently reported that CHFR protein levels are negatively regulated by SUMOylation-mediated proteasomal degradation. In the present study, we uncover a detailed molecular mechanism how SUMOylation promotes CHFR destabilization. We demonstrate that SUMO modification of CHFR promotes its ubiquitylation and subsequent proteasomal degradation. However, SUMOylation of CHFR does not affect its auto-ubiquitylation, which generally serves as a maintenance mechanism for most ubiquitin ligases. Moreover, the E3 ubiquitin ligase activity of CHFR is dispensable for this SUMOylation-mediated ubiquitylation and degradation. Conversely, SENP2 deSUMOylating enzyme reduces SUMOylation-induced ubiquitylation of CHFR, leading to elevated CHFR protein levels. Taken together, our results present a new regulatory mechanism for CHFR that sequential post-translational modifications of CHFR by SUMO and ubiquitin coordinately regulates its stability.

SUMOylation negatively regulates the stability of CHFR tumor suppressor.

CHFR ubiquitin ligase acts as a checkpoint upon DNA damage and its functional inactivation is one of key characteristics of tumor development and metastasis. Despite the crucial role in maintaining genome integrity and cell cycle progression, little is known how CHFR stability is regulated. Here, we showed that CHFR is covalently modified by SUMO-1 at lysine 663 and subsequently destabilized by ubiquitin-proteasome system. While CHFR(K663R) substitution mutation does not alter its subcellular localization, SUMOylation-defective CHFR(K663R)-stable cells exhibit substantial growth suppression due to the increased stability of CHFR(K663R). Moreover, protein level of CHFR, not CHFR(K663R), is rapidly declined under SUMOylation-promoting conditions, and SENP2 deSUMOylating enzyme reverses its SUMO-modification. Collectively, we demonstrated that CHFR stability is regulated by SUMOylation-dependent proteasomal degradation. Therefore, our study underscores the importance of CHFR SUMOylation as a new regulatory mechanism of CHFR and highlights the emerging role of SUMOylation in modulating protein stability.

Analysis of the biochemical role of Lys-11 in polyubiquitin chain formation using quantitative mass spectrometry.

RATIONALE: Protein ubiquitination plays a critical role in regulating many cellular events, such as protein localization and stability, cellular signal transduction and DNA repair. Recent studies have shown that polyubiquitin (polyUb) chains elongate through heterogeneous isopeptide linkages to K11, K29, K48 and K63. In this study we have investigated the usage of isopeptide linkages of polyUb chains in different molecular weight regions by using quantitative mass spectrometry. METHODS: Recombinant Chfr protein was autoubiquitinated by E1 enzyme, E2 enzyme UbcH5 and ubiquitin (WT Ub, K11R Ub, K48R Ub and K63R Ub) in vitro, and different molecular weight regions of ubiquitinated Chfr were then subjected to liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) following sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and in-gel digestion. RESULTS: Absolute QUantitative Analysis (AQUA) of polyUb chain formation with wild-type (WT) and point mutants of ubiquitin was performed, and the results suggested that the K11 polyUb chain was most frequently used in the high ubiquitin conjugates of WT Ub. Furthermore, the extent of polyUb chain formation with K11R Ub was decreased about 10-fold compared to polyUb chain formation with WT Ub through the entire molecular weight region. The present study suggests that the linkage through K11 plays crucial roles in polyUb chain formation. CONCLUSIONS: Topologies of polyUb chains in the low and high Ub conjugates were studied using mass spectrometry. K48 and K63 were the primary ubiquitination sites of the low molecular weight Ub conjugates, whereas K11 was the critical site of polyUb chain formation in high molecular weight Ub conjugates.

CHFR functions as a ubiquitin ligase for HLTF to regulate its stability and functions.

CHFR functions as a mitotic checkpoint by delaying entry into metaphase in response to mitotic stress. CHFR is frequently silenced by hypermethylation in human cancers, indicating that CHFR is a tumor suppressor. To further elucidate the role of CHFR in tumorigenesis, we studied the relationship between CHFR and a novel CHFR-interacting protein, HLTF, helicase-like transcription factor. Here we show that CHFR binds to and ubiquitinates HLTF, leading to its degradation. HLTF modulates basal expression of PAI-1 involved in regulation of cell migration. Consistently, overexpression of CHFR inhibits cell migration, resulting from reduced HLTF followed by decreased PAI-1 expression. HLTF expression is also higher in human breast cancer cells where CHFR is not expressed. Taken together, this is the first report identifying the regulatory mechanism of HLTF by CHFR, suggesting that CHFR-mediated downregulation of HLTF may help protect against cancer.

Chfr is linked to tumour metastasis through the downregulation of HDAC1.

Chfr is a ubiquitin ligase that functions in the mitotic checkpoint by delaying entry into metaphase in response to mitotic stress. It has been suggested that Chfr is a tumour suppressor as Chfr is frequently silenced in human cancers. To better understand how Chfr activity relates to cell-cycle progression and tumorigenesis, we sought to identify Chfr-interacting proteins using affinity purification combined with mass spectrometry. Histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1), which represses transcription by deacetylating histones, was newly isolated as a Chfr-interacting protein. Chfr binds and downregulates HDAC1 by inducing its polyubiquitylation, both in vitro and in vivo. Ectopic expression of Chfr in cancer cells that normally do not express it results in downregulation of HDAC1, leading to upregulation of the Cdk inhibitor p21(CIP1/WAF1) and the metastasis suppressors KAI1 and E-cadherin. Coincident with these changes, cells arrest in the G1 phase of the cell cycle and become less invasive. Collectively, our data suggest that Chfr functions as a tumour suppressor by regulating HDAC1.