Molecular cloning and tissue distribution of three estrogen receptors from the cyprinid fish Varicorhinus barbatulus.

We present molecular cloning and tissue expression analysis of three estrogen receptor (ER) subtypes, vbERalpha, vbERbeta1 and vbERbeta2, from liver of the cyprinid fish Varicorhinus barbatulus through reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis reconfirmed the evolutionary relationship of V. barbatulus within the family Cypriniformes. Directional constraints for subtype-specific substitution of critical amino acids were observed in the E2 binding region. For amino acid substitution, vbERbeta exhibited a M517L change in the ligand-dependent transactivation region. The tissue distributions were investigated using RT-PCR with subtype-distinguishable primers. Both vbERalpha and vbERbeta1 were most highly expressed in liver, while vbERbeta2 was higher in intestine. Here we demonstrate that the identification and cloning of ER subtypes using PCR is feasible in wildlife in that the temporal and spatial observations are consistent with those from phylogeny analysis and crystal structural investigation by others.

Application of a yeast estrogen screen in non-biomarker species Varicorhinus barbatulus fish with two estrogen receptor subtypes to assess xenoestrogens.

Xenoestrogens can interfere with normal estrogen signaling by competitively binding to the estrogen receptor (ER) and activating transcription of target genes. In this study, we cloned the estrogen receptor alpha (vbERalpha) and beta 2 (vbERbeta2) genes from liver of the indigenous Taiwanese cyprinid fish Varicorhinus barbatulus and tested the direct impact of several xenoestrogens on these ERs. Transcriptional activity of xenoestrogens was measured by the enzymatic activity of estrogen responsive element (ERE)-containing beta-galactosidase in a yeast reporter system. The xenoestrogens tested were phenol derivatives, DDT-related substances, phthalic acid esters, and polychlorinated biphenyls, with 17beta-estradiol (E2) as a subjective standard. The phenol derivatives [4-nonylphenol (4-NP), 4-t-octylphenol (4-t-OP) and bisphenol A (BPA)] exhibited significant dose-dependent responses in both ligand potency and ligand efficiency. Consistent with yeast assays using human or rainbow trout ERs, we observed a general subtype preference in that vbERalpha displayed higher relative potencies and efficiencies than vbERbeta2, although our assays induced a stronger response for xenoestrogens than did human or trout ERs. Whereas 4-NP and 4-t-OP have similar EC50 values relative to E2 for both ER subtypes, the strong estrogenic response of BPA markedly differentiates vbERalpha from vbERbeta2, suggesting possible species-specific BPA sensitivity. We report that the ameliorative yeast tool is readily applicable for indigenous wildlife studies of the bio-toxic influence of xenoestrogens with wildlife-specific estrogen receptors.

Transactivation of hsp70-1/2 in geldanamycin-treated human non-small cell lung cancer H460 cells: involvement of intracellular calcium and protein kinase C.

Geldanamycin is an antitumor drug that binds HSP90 and induces a wide range of heat shock proteins, including HSP70s. In this study we report that the induction of HSP70s is dose-dependent in geldanamycin-treated human non-small cell lung cancer H460 cells. Analysis of the induction of HSP70s specific isoform using LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis and Northern blotting showed that HSP70-1/2 are the major inducible forms under geldanamycin treatment. Transactivation of hsp70-1/2 was determined by electrophoretic mobility-shift assay using heat shock element (HSE) as a probe. The signaling pathway mediators involved in hsp70-1/2 transactivation were screened by the kinase inhibitor scanning technique. Pretreatment with serine/threonine protein kinase inhibitors H7 or H8 blocked geldanamycin-induced HSP70-1/2, whereas protein kinase A inhibitor HA1004, protein kinase G inhibitor KT5823, and myosin light chain kinase inhibitor ML-7 had no effect. Furthermore, the protein kinase C (PKC)-specific inhibitor Ro-31-8425 and the Ca2+-dependent PKC inhibitor Gö-6976 diminished geldanamycin-induced HSP70-1/2, suggesting an involvement of the PKC in the process. In addition, geldanamycin treatment causes a transient increase of intracellular Ca2+. Chelating intracellular Ca2+ with BAPTA-AM or depletion of intracellular Ca2+ store with A23187 or thapsigargin significantly decreased geldanamycin-transactivated HSP70-1/2 expression. Taken together, our results demonstrate that geldanamycin-induced specific HSP70-1/2 isoforms expression in H460 cells through signaling pathway mediated by Ca2+ and PKC.

Retaining of the assembly capability of vimentin phosphorylated by mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated protein kinase-2.

Intermediate filament (IF) networks can be regulated by phosphorylation of unit proteins, such as vimentin, by specific kinases leading to reorganization of the IF filamentous structure. Recently, we identified mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated protein kinase-2 (MAPKAP kinase-2) as a vimentin kinase (Cheng and Lai [1998] J. Cell. Biochem. 71:169-181). Herein we describe the results of further in vitro studies investigating the effects of MAPKAP kinase-2 phosphorylation on vimentin and the effects of the phosphorylation on the filamentous structure. We show that MAPKAP kinase-2 mainly phosphorylates vimentin at Ser-38, Ser-50, Ser-55, and Ser-82, residues all located in the head domain of the protein. Surprisingly, and in stark contrast to phosphorylation by most other kinases, phosphorylation of vimentin by MAPKAP kinase-2 has no discernable effect on its assembly. It suggested that structure disassembly is not the only obligated consequence of phosphorylated vimentin as regulated by other kinases. Finally, a mutational analysis of each of the phosphorylated serine residues in vimentin suggested that no single serine site was primarily responsible for structure maintenance, implying that the retention of filamentous structure may be the result of the coordinated action of several phosphorylated serine sites. This also shed new lights on the functional task(s) of vimentin that is intermediate filament proteins might provide a phosphate reservoir to accommodate the phosphate surge without any structural changes.

Geldanamycin induction of grp78 requires activation of reactive oxygen species via ER stress responsive elements in 9L rat brain tumour cells.

The molecular mechanism whereby anticancer agent geldanamycin (GA) impacts endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathway is largely unknown. Here, we investigate the effect of GA on the expression of grp78 coding for ER stress protein and the mechanistic relationship of GA signalling to ER stress. GA induces the expression of mRNA and protein of grp78 by Northern blot analysis and metabolic labelling experiment in cultured rat brain tumour 9L cells. The induced grp78 expression is sensitive to antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) addition, indicating the involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in GA-induced ER stress. Results from direct determination of oxidation status using dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H(2)DCFDA) showed that accumulation of ROS elicited GA was quenched by addition of NAC. Reporter genes harbouring deletions of transcription elements from grp78 promoter demonstrated that controlling elements of ERSE1, ERSE2 and CRE are required in GA treatment. The critical ROS-dependent elements in grp78 promoter can be confined within ER stress responsive element (ERSE) region, since reporter constructs loss of ERSE elements that lost the susceptibility to be modulated by NAC after GA treatment. Hence, ER stress elements correlate well with ROS-mediated elements in grp78 promoter. Reporter construct loss of ERSE element retains the susceptibility by NAC after GA treatment, indicating that CRE element might represent a ROS-independent, GA-inductive element. Conclusively, we show that ROS is required for GA to launch the transactivation of grp78, and a firm link was established between the ROS signalling pathway to specific promoter elements-ERSE1 and ERSE2 elements in ER stress marker gene grp78 promoter.

Mitochondrial calcium-mediated reactive oxygen species are essential for the rapid induction of the grp78 gene in 9L rat brain tumour cells.

The glucose-regulated protein grp78 gene is rapidly transactivated in 9L rat brain tumour (RBT) cells treated with okadaic acid (OA) followed by heat shock (HS) (termed OA-->HS treatment). By Northern blotting analyses and transient transfection assays, we herein show that transactivation of grp78 by OA-->HS is abolished by an intracellular calcium chelator, bis(aminophenoxy)ethane N,N'-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA), and an inhibitor of mitochondrial Ca(2+) uniporter, ruthenium red (RR), while unaffected by cyclosporin A (CsA), an inhibitor of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MTP). The inhibitory effects of BAPTA and RR also present in OA-->HS induction of transient elevation of intracellular hydrogen peroxide. The requirement of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROIs) is confirmed by substitutional addition of antioxidants, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (PDTC) during OA-->HS treatment, mimicking these inhibitory effects of BAPTA and RR. Western blotting analyses show that phosphorylation of transcription factor CREB is diminished only by BAPTA but not by RR, while phosphorylation of ATF-2 is unaffected by either agent. Conclusively, we present that both the disturbances of mitochondrial calcium homeostasis and reactive oxygen intermediates are essential for rapid transactivation of grp78, and this pathway is separate from protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent CREB activation or p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38(MAPK))-dependent ATF-2 activation and signalling.