Thrombin receptor and RhoA mediate cell proliferation through integrins and cysteine-rich protein 61.

A subset of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), including the thrombin receptor (PAR1), elicits mitogenic responses. Thrombin also activates Ras homolog gene family member A (RhoA) and activating protein (AP-1) -mediated gene expression in 1321N1 astrocytoma cells, whereas the nonmitogenic agonist carbachol does not. Transcriptomic analysis was used to explore differential gene induction by these agonists and revealed that the matricellular protein cysteine-rich 61 (Cyr61/CCN1) is selectively induced by thrombin. The ability of GPCR agonists to induce Cyr61 parallels their ability to activate RhoA; agonist-stimulated Cyr61 expression is inhibited by C3 toxin. When Cyr61 is down-regulated using short interfering RNA (siRNA) or short-hairpin RNA (shRNA), thrombin-induced DNA synthesis is significantly attenuated. When Cyr61 expression is induced, it appears in the extracellular compartment and on the cell surface. Extracellular Cyr61 interacts with alpha(5), alpha(6), and beta(1) integrins on these cells, and monoclonal antibodies directed against alpha(5) and beta(1) integrins inhibit thrombin-induced DNA synthesis. Functional blockade of Cyr61 with soluble heparin or anti-Cyr61 antibodies also inhibits thrombin-induced DNA synthesis. Thus Cyr61 is a highly inducible, secreted extracellular factor through which GPCR and RhoA signaling pathways engage integrins that contribute to GPCR-mediated proliferation.

Pulsatile equibiaxial stretch inhibits thrombin-induced RhoA and NF-kappaB activation.

This study investigated interactions between the effects of mechanical stretch and thrombin on RhoA activation in rat aortic smooth muscle cells (RASMC). Equibiaxial, pulsatile stretch, or thrombin produced a significant increase in RhoA activation. Surprisingly, in combination, 30 min of stretch inhibited the ability of thrombin to activate RhoA. NO donors and 8-bromo-cGMP significantly inhibited thrombin-induced RhoA activation. Interestingly, the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor L-NAME increased basal RhoA activity, suggesting that NOS activity exerts a tonic inhibition on RhoA. Stretching RASMC increases nitrite production, consistent with the idea that NO contributes to the inhibitory effects of stretch. Thrombin stimulates MAP kinase and NF-kappaB pathways through Rho and these responses were blocked by 8-bromo-cGMP or stretch and restored by L-NAME. These data suggest that stretch, acting through NO and cGMP, can prevent the ability of thrombin to stimulate Rho signaling pathways that contribute to pathophysiological proliferative and inflammatory responses.

Phospholipase Cepsilon is a nexus for Rho and Rap-mediated G protein-coupled receptor-induced astrocyte proliferation.

Phospholipase Cepsilon (PLCepsilon) has been suggested to transduce signals from small GTPases, but its biological function has not yet been clarified. Using astrocytes from PLCepsilon-deficient mice, we demonstrate that endogenous G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for lysophosphatidic acid, sphingosine 1-phosphate, and thrombin regulate phosphoinositide hydrolysis primarily through PLCepsilon. Stimulation by lysophospholipids occurs through G(i), whereas thrombin activates PLC through Rho. Further studies reveal that PLCepsilon is required for thrombin- but not LPA-induced sustained ERK activation and DNA synthesis, providing a novel mechanism for GPCR and Rho signaling to cell proliferation. The requirement for PLCepsilon in this pathway can be explained by its role as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Rap1. Thus, PLCepsilon serves to transduce mitogenic signals through a mechanism distinct from its role in generation of PLC-derived second messengers.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha-stimulated cell proliferation is mediated through sphingosine kinase-dependent Akt activation and cyclin D expression.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) has been shown to activate sphingosine kinase (SphK) in a variety of cell types. The extent to which SphK signaling mediates the pleiotropic effects of TNF-alpha is not entirely clear. The current study examined the role of SphK activity in TNF-alpha-stimulated cell proliferation in 1321N1 glioblastoma cells. We first demonstrated that pharmacological inhibitors of SphK markedly decrease TNF-alpha-stimulated DNA synthesis. Signaling mechanisms through which SphK mediated the effect of TNF-alpha on DNA synthesis were then examined. Inhibition of Rho proteins with C3 exoenzyme or of Rho kinase with Y27632 attenuated TNF-alpha-stimulated DNA synthesis. However, RhoA activation by TNF-alpha was not blocked by SphK inhibition. ERK activation was also required for TNF-alpha-stimulated DNA synthesis but likewise TNF-alpha-induced ERK activation was not blocked by inhibition of SphK. Thus, neither RhoA nor ERK activation are the SphK-dependent transducers of TNF-alpha-induced proliferation. In contrast, TNF-alpha-stimulated Akt phosphorylation, which was also required for DNA synthesis, was attenuated by SphK inhibition or SphK1 knockdown by small interfering RNA. Furthermore, cyclin D expression was increased by TNF-alpha in a SphK- and Akt-dependent manner. Additional studies demonstrated that TNF-alpha effects on DNA synthesis, ERK, and Akt phosphorylation are not mediated through cell surface Gi -coupled S1P receptors, because none of these responses were inhibited by pertussis toxin. We conclude that SphK-dependent Akt activation plays a significant role in TNF-alpha-induced cyclin D expression and cell proliferation.

Rho-mediated cytoskeletal rearrangement in response to LPA is functionally antagonized by Rac1 and PIP2.

G-protein-coupled receptors signal through Rho to induce actin cytoskeletal rearrangement. We previously demonstrated that thrombin stimulates Rho-dependent process retraction and rounding of 1321N1 astrocytoma cells. Surprisingly, while lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) activated RhoA in 1321N1 cells, it failed to produce cell rounding. Thrombin, unlike LPA, decreased Rac1 activity, and activated (GTPase-deficient) Rac1 inhibited thrombin-stimulated cell rounding, while expression of dominant-negative Rac1 promoted LPA-induced rounding. LPA and thrombin receptors appear to differ in coupling to Gi, as LPA but not thrombin-stimulated 1321N1 cell proliferation was pertussis toxin-sensitive. Blocking Gi with pertussis toxin enabled LPA to induce cell rounding and to decrease activated Rac1. These data support the hypothesis that Rac1 and Gi activation antagonize cell rounding. Thrombin and LPA receptors also differentially activated Gq pathways as thrombin but not LPA increased InsP3 formation and reduced phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) levels. Microinjection of the plekstrin homology domain of phospholipase C (PLC)delta1, which binds PIP2, enabled LPA to elicit cell rounding, consistent with a requirement for PIP2 reduction. We suggest that Rho-mediated cytoskeletal responses are enhanced by concomitant reductions in cellular levels of PIP2 and Rac1 activation and thus effected only by G-protein-coupled receptors with appropriate subsets of G protein activation.

G protein mediated signaling pathways in lysophospholipid induced cell proliferation and survival.

Agonist activation of a subset of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) stimulates cell proliferation, mimicking the better known effects of tyrosine kinase growth factors. Cell survival or apoptosis is also regulated via pathways initiated by stimulation of these same GPCRs. This review focuses on aspects of signaling by the lysophospholipid mediators, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), and sphingosine 1 phosphate (S1P), which make these agonists uniquely capable of modulating cell growth and survival. The general features of GPCR coupling to specific G proteins, downstream effectors and signaling cascades are first reviewed. GPCR coupling to G(i) and Ras/MAPK or to G(q) and phospholipase generated second messengers are insufficient to regulate cell proliferation while G(12/13)/Rho engagement provides additional complementary signals required for cell proliferation. Survival is best predicted by coupling to G(i) pathways that regulate PI3K and Akt, but other signals generated through different G protein pathways are also implicated. The unique ability of LPA and S1P to concomitantly stimulate G(i), G(q), and G(12/13) pathways, given the proper complement of expressed LPA or S1P receptors, allows these receptors to support cell survival and proliferation. In pathophysiological situations, e.g., vascular disease, cancer, brain injury, and inflammation, components of the signaling cascade downstream of lysophospholipid receptors, in particular those involving Ras or Rho, may be altered. In addition, up or downregulation of LPA or S1P receptor subtypes, altering their ratio, and increased availability of the lysophospholipid ligands at sites of injury or inflammation, likely contribute to disease and may be important targets for therapeutic intervention.