Identification of c-Src tyrosine kinase substrates using mass spectrometry and peptide microarrays.

c-Src tyrosine kinase plays a critical role in signal transduction downstream of growth factor receptors, integrins and G protein-coupled receptors. We used stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) approach to identify additional substrates of c-Src tyrosine kinase in human embryonic kidney 293T cells. We have identified 10 known substrates and interactors of c-Src and Src family kinases along with 26 novel substrates. We have experimentally validated 4 of the novel proteins (NICE-4, RNA binding motif 10, FUSE-binding protein 1 and TRK-fused gene) as direct substrates of c-Src using in vitro kinase assays and cotransfection experiments. Significantly, using a c-Src specific inhibitor, we were also able to implicate 3 novel substrates (RNA binding motif 10, EWS1 and Bcl-2 associated transcription factor) in PDGF signaling. Finally, to identify the exact tyrosine residues that are phosphorylated by c-Src on the novel c-Src substrates, we designed custom peptide microarrays containing all possible tyrosine-containing peptides (312 unique peptides) and their mutant counterparts containing a Tyr --> Phe substitution from 14 of the identified substrates. Using this platform, we identified 34 peptides that are phosphorylated by c-Src. We have demonstrated that SILAC-based quantitative proteomics approach is suitable for identification of substrates of nonreceptor tyrosine kinases and can be coupled with peptide microarrays for high-throughput identification of substrate phosphopeptides.

Broad, ectopic expression of the sperm protein PLCZ1 induces parthenogenesis and ovarian tumours in mice.

Mammalian metaphase II (mII) exit and embryogenesis are induced at fertilisation by a signal thought to come from the sperm protein, phospholipase C-zeta (PLCZ1). Meiotic progression can also be triggered without sperm, as in parthenogenesis, although the classic mouse in vivo parthenogenetic model, LT/Sv, fails in meiosis I owing to an unknown molecular etiology. Here, we dissect PLCZ1 specificity and function in vivo and address its ability to interfere with maternal meiotic exit. Wild-type mouse Plcz1 expression was restricted to post-pubertal testes and the brains of both sexes, with region-specifying elements mapping to a 4.1 kb Plcz1 promoter fragment. When broad ectopic PLCZ1 expression was forced in independent transgenic lines, they initially appeared healthy. Their oocytes underwent unperturbed meiotic maturation to mII but subsequently exhibited autonomous intracellular free calcium oscillations, second polar body extrusion, pronucleus formation and parthenogenetic development. Transfer of transgenic cumulus cell nuclei into wild-type oocytes induced activation and development, demonstrating a direct effect of PLCZ1 analogous to fertilisation. Whereas Plcz1 transgenic males remained largely asymptomatic, females developed abdominal swellings caused by benign ovarian teratomas that were under-represented for paternally- and placentally-expressed transcripts. Plcz1 was not overexpressed in the ovaries of LT/Sv or in human germline ovarian tumours. The narrow spectrum of PLCZ1 activity indicates that it is modulated by tissue-restricted accessory factors. This work characterises a novel model in which parthenogenesis and tumourigenesis follow full meiotic maturation and are linked to fertilisation by PLCZ1.

Role for Msh5 in the regulation of Ig class switch recombination.

Ig class switch recombination (CSR) and somatic hypermutation serve to diversify antibody responses and are orchestrated by the activity of activation-induced cytidine deaminase and many proteins involved in DNA repair and genome surveillance. Msh5, a gene encoded in the central MHC class III region, and its obligate heterodimerization partner Msh4 have a critical role in regulating meiotic homologous recombination and have not been implicated in CSR. Here, we show that MRL/lpr mice carrying a congenic H-2(b/b) MHC interval exhibit several abnormalities regarding CSR, including a profound deficiency of IgG3 in most mice and long microhomologies at Ig switch (S) joints. We found that Msh5 is expressed at low levels on the H-2(b) haplotype and, importantly, a similar long S joint microhomology phenotype was observed in both Msh5 and Msh4-null mice. We also present evidence that genetic variation in MSH5 is associated with IgA deficiency and common variable immune deficiency (CVID) in humans. One of the human MSH5 alleles identified contains two nonsynonymous polymorphisms, and the variant protein encoded by this allele shows impaired binding to MSH4. Similar to the mice, Ig S joints from CVID and IgA deficiency patients carrying disease-associated MSH5 alleles show increased donor/acceptor microhomology, involving pentameric DNA repeat sequences and lower mutation rates than controls. Our findings suggest that Msh4/5 heterodimers contribute to CSR and support a model whereby Msh4/5 promotes the resolution of DNA breaks with low or no terminal microhomology by a classical nonhomologous end-joining mechanism while possibly suppressing an alternative microhomology-mediated pathway.

Biomarker discovery from pancreatic cancer secretome using a differential proteomic approach.

Quantitative proteomics can be used as a screening tool for identification of differentially expressed proteins as potential biomarkers for cancers. Candidate biomarkers from such studies can subsequently be tested using other techniques for use in early detection of cancers. Here we demonstrate the use of stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) method to compare the secreted proteins (secretome) from pancreatic cancer-derived cells with that from non-neoplastic pancreatic ductal cells. We identified 145 differentially secreted proteins (>1.5-fold change), several of which were previously reported as either up-regulated (e.g. cathepsin D, macrophage colony stimulation factor, and fibronectin receptor) or down-regulated (e.g. profilin 1 and IGFBP-7) proteins in pancreatic cancer, confirming the validity of our approach. In addition, we identified several proteins that have not been correlated previously with pancreatic cancer including perlecan (HSPG2), CD9 antigen, fibronectin receptor (integrin beta1), and a novel cytokine designated as predicted osteoblast protein (FAM3C). The differential expression of a subset of these novel proteins was validated by Western blot analysis. In addition, overexpression of several proteins not described previously to be elevated in human pancreatic cancer (CD9, perlecan, SDF4, apoE, and fibronectin receptor) was confirmed by immunohistochemical labeling using pancreatic cancer tissue microarrays suggesting that these could be further pursued as potential biomarkers. Lastly the protein expression data from SILAC were compared with mRNA expression data obtained using gene expression microarrays for the two cell lines (Panc1 and human pancreatic duct epithelial), and a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.28 was obtained, confirming previously reported poor associations between RNA and protein expression studies.

Phosphoproteome analysis of HeLa cells using stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC).

Identification of phosphorylated proteins remains a difficult task despite technological advances in protein purification methods and mass spectrometry. Here, we report identification of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins by coupling stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) to mass spectrometry. We labeled HeLa cells with stable isotopes of tyrosine, or, a combination of arginine and lysine to identify tyrosine phosphorylated proteins. This allowed identification of 118 proteins, of which only 45 proteins were previously described as tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins. A total of 42 in vivo tyrosine phosphorylation sites were mapped, including 34 novel ones. We validated the phosphorylation status of a subset of novel proteins including cytoskeleton associated protein 1, breast cancer anti-estrogen resistance 3, chromosome 3 open reading frame 6, WW binding protein 2, Nice-4 and RNA binding motif protein 4. Our strategy can be used to identify potential kinase substrates without prior knowledge of the signaling pathways and can also be applied to profiling to specific kinases in cells. Because of its sensitivity and general applicability, our approach will be useful for investigating signaling pathways in a global fashion and for using phosphoproteomics for functional annotation of genomes.

Development of a DNA vaccine against hirame rhabdovirus and analysis of the expression of immune-related genes after vaccination.

Intramuscular injection of Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus (average weight approximately 2 g) with 1 and 10 microg of a plasmid DNA vaccine encoding the hirame rhabdovirus (HIRRV) glycoprotein gene (pCMV-HRVg) was found to provide strong protection against HIRRV. We also conducted a real-time PCR analysis to quantify immune-related genes, e.g. MHC class Ialpha, IIalpha, IIbeta, TCR-alpha, beta1, beta2 and delta, to characterize the immune response at 1 and 7 days after DNA vaccination. In general, the copy numbers were at least 2-fold higher than those of the non-vaccinated fish. Interestingly, the gene expression of TCR beta1 and beta2 increased 1 day post-DNA vaccination, after which their copy numbers returned to levels similar to those before vaccination. These results suggest that the immune system of Japanese flounder was activated immediately after DNA immunization.

A novel proteomic approach for specific identification of tyrosine kinase substrates using [13C]tyrosine.

Proteomic studies to find substrates of tyrosine kinases generally rely on identification of protein bands that are "pulled down" by antiphosphotyrosine antibodies from ligand-stimulated samples. One can obtain erroneous results from such experiments because of two major reasons. First, some proteins might be basally phosphorylated on tyrosine residues in the absence of ligand stimulation. Second, proteins can bind non-specifically to the antibodies or the affinity matrix. Induction of phosphorylation of proteins by ligand must therefore be confirmed by a different approach, which is not always feasible. We have developed a novel proteomic approach to identify substrates of tyrosine kinases in signaling pathways studies based on in vivo labeling of proteins with "light" (12C-labeled) or "heavy" (13C-labeled) tyrosine. This stable isotope labeling in cell culture method enables the unequivocal identification of tyrosine kinase substrates, as peptides derived from true substrates give rise to a unique signature in a mass spectrometry experiment. By using this approach, from a single experiment, we have successfully identified several known substrates of insulin signaling pathway and a novel substrate, polymerase I and transcript release factor, a protein that is implicated in the control of RNA metabolism and regulation of type I collagen promoters. This approach is amenable to high throughput global studies as it simplifies the specific identification of substrates of tyrosine kinases as well as serine/threonine kinases using mass spectrometry.

A proteomic approach for quantitation of phosphorylation using stable isotope labeling in cell culture.

Posttranslational modifications are major mechanisms of regulating protein activity and function in vertebrate cells. It is essential to obtain qualitative information about posttranslational modification patterns of proteins to understand signal transduction mechanisms in greater detail. However, it is equally important to measure the dynamics of posttranslational modifications such as phosphorylation to approach signaling networks from a systems biology perspective. Despite a number of advances, methods to quantitate posttranslational modifications remain difficult to implement due to a number of factors including lack of a generic method, elaborate chemical steps, and requirement for large amounts of sample. We have previously shown that stable isotope-containing amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) can be used to differentially label growing cell populations for quantitation of protein levels. In this report, we extend the use of SILAC as a novel proteomic approach for the relative quantitation of posttranslational modifications such as phosphorylation. We have used SILAC to quantitate the extent of known phosphorylation sites as well as to identify and quantitate novel phosphorylation sites.