Distinct parts of leukotriene C(4) synthase interact with 5-lipoxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase activating protein.

Leukotriene C(4) is a potent inflammatory mediator formed from arachidonic acid and glutathione. 5-Lipoxygenase (5-LO), 5-lipoxygenase activating protein (FLAP) and leukotriene C(4) synthase (LTC(4)S) participate in its biosynthesis. We report evidence that LTC(4)S interacts in vitro with both FLAP and 5-LO and that these interactions involve distinct parts of LTC(4)S. FLAP bound to the N-terminal part/first hydrophobic region of LTC(4)S. This part did not bind 5-LO which bound to the second hydrophilic loop of LTC(4)S. Fluorescent FLAP- and LTC(4)S-fusion proteins co-localized at the nuclear envelope. Furthermore, GFP-FLAP and GFP-LTC(4)S co-localized with a fluorescent ER marker. In resting HEK293/T or COS-7 cells GFP-5-LO was found mainly in the nuclear matrix. Upon stimulation with calcium ionophore, GFP-5-LO translocated to the nuclear envelope allowing it to interact with FLAP and LTC(4)S. Direct interaction of 5-LO and LTC(4)S in ionophore-stimulated (but not un-stimulated) cells was demonstrated by BRET using GFP-5-LO and Rluc-LTC(4)S.

Human, but not rat, IRS1 targets to the plasma membrane in both human and rat adipocytes.

Adipocytes are primary targets for insulin control of metabolism. The activated insulin receptor phosphorylates insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS1), which acts as a docking protein for downstream signal mediators. In the absence of insulin stimulation, IRS1 in rat adipocytes is intracellular but in human adipocytes IRS1 is constitutively targeted to the plasma membrane. Stimulation of adipocytes with insulin increased the amount of IRS1 at the plasma membrane 2-fold in human adipocytes, but >10-fold in rat adipocytes, with the same final amount of IRS1 at the plasma membrane in cells from both species. Cross-transfection of rat adipocytes with human IRS1, or human adipocytes with rat IRS1, demonstrated that the species difference was due to the IRS1 protein and not the cellular milieus or posttranslational modifications. Chimeric IRS1, consisting of the conserved N-terminus of rat IRS1 with the variable C-terminal of human IRS1, did not target the plasma membrane, indicating that subtle sequence differences direct human IRS1 to the plasma membrane.

Identification of regions of leukotriene C4 synthase which direct the enzyme to its nuclear envelope localization.

Leukotrienes (LTs) are fatty acid derivatives formed by oxygenation of arachidonic acid via the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) pathway. Upon activation of inflammatory cells 5-LO is translocated to the nuclear envelope (NE) where it converts arachidonic acid to the unstable epoxide LTA4. LTA4 is further converted to LTC4 by conjugation with glutathione, a reaction catalyzed by the integral membrane protein LTC4 synthase (LTC4S), which is localized on the NE and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We now report the mapping of regions of LTC4S that are important for its subcellular localization. Multiple constructs encoding fusion proteins of green fluorescent protein (GFP) as the N-terminal part and various truncated variants of human LTC4S as C-terminal part were prepared and transfected into HEK 293/T or COS-7 cells. Constructs encoding hydrophobic region 1 of LTC4S (amino acids 6-27) did not give distinct membrane localized fluorescence. In contrast hydrophobic region 2 (amino acids 60-89) gave a localization pattern similar to that of full length LTC4S. Hydrophobic region 3 (amino acids 114-135) directed GFP to a localization indistinguishable from that of full length LTC4S. A minimal directing sequence, amino acids 117-132, was identified by further truncation. The involvement of the hydrophobic regions in the homo-oligomerization of LTC4S was investigated using bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) analysis in living cells. BRET data showed that hydrophobic regions 1 and 3 each allowed oligomerization to occur. These regions most likely form transmembrane helices, suggesting that homo-oligomerization of LTC4S is due to helix-helix interactions in the membrane.

Lack of stereospecificity in lysophosphatidic acid enantiomer-induced calcium mobilization in human erythroleukemia cells.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a lipid mediator that, among several other cellular responses, can stimulate cells to mobilize calcium (Ca2+). LPA is known to activate at least three different subtypes of G protein-coupled receptors. These receptors can then stimulate different kinds of G proteins. In the present study, LPA and LPA analogs were synthesized from (R)- and (S)-glycidol and used to characterize the ability to stimulate Ca2+ mobilization. The cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) was measured in fura-2-acetoxymethylester-loaded human erythroleukemia (HEL) cells. Furthermore, a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used to characterize LPA receptor subtypes expressed in HEL cells. The results show that HEL cells mainly express LPA1 and LPA2, although LPA3 might possibly be expressed as well. Moreover, LPA and its analogs concentration-dependently increased [Ca2+]i in HEL cells. The response involved both influx of extracellular Ca2+ and release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores. This is the first time the unnatural (S)-enantiomer of LPA, (S)-3-O-oleoyl-1-O-phosphoryl-glycerol, has been synthesized and studied according to its ability to activate cells. The results indicate that this group of receptors does not discriminate between (R)- and (S)-enantiomers of LPA and its analogs. When comparing ether analogs having different hydrocarbon chain lengths, the tetradecyl analog (14 carbons) was found to be the most effective in increasing [Ca2+]i. Pertussis toxin treatment of the HEL cells resulted in an even more efficient Ca2+ mobilization stimulated by LPA and its analogs. Furthermore, at repeated incubation with the same ligand no further increase in [Ca2+]i was obtained. When combining LPA with the ether analogs no suppression of the new Ca2+ signal occurred. All these findings may be of significance in the process of searching for specific agonists and antagonists of the LPA receptor subtypes.