Human synovial sarcoma proto-oncogene Syt is essential for early embryonic development through the regulation of cell migration.

SYT-SSX protein, resulted from chromosomal translocation, causes synovial sarcoma, which is a malignant tumor accounting for 10% of soft tissue sarcoma. However, biological functions of SYT (synovial sarcoma translocation), also known as SS18, are largely unclear, whereas it has been proven that Syt-null mice die at early stages of embryonic development. Here, we generated Syt-deficient mice and confirmed the reported phenotypes, including growth retardation, open neural tube and haplo-insufficient lethality, and therefore, there is no doubt that Syt is essential for embryonic development. However, placental defects, described in the earlier report, were rarely seen in our mice and we frequently observed cardiac defect in Syt-deficient mice. As the mechanisms responsible for embryonic lethality seem to be complicate, we performed additional experiments. By using primary cultured embryonic fibroblasts, we showed that Syt(-/-) MEFs deregulate actin organization and suppressed cell migration. These observations suggest that Syt may contribute to the signaling pathway important for various cellular functions in vivo and in vitro, and we propose that Syt-deficient MEFs would be a powerful means to understand the biological roles of SYT in vitro.

Oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 inhibits the motility of a human glial tumor cell line by activating RhoA.

The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 (OLIG2), is specifically expressed in the developing and mature central nervous system and plays an important role in oligodendrogenesis from neural progenitors. It is also expressed in various types of glial tumors, but rarely in glioblastoma. Although we previously showed that OLIG2 expression inhibits glioma cell growth, its role in tumorigenesis remains incompletely understood. Here, we investigated the effect of OLIG2 expression on the migration of the human glioblastoma cell line U12-1. In these cells, OLIG2 expression is controlled by the Tet-off system. Induction of OLIG2 expression inhibited both the migration and invasiveness of U12-1 cells. OLIG2 expression also increased the activity of the GTPase RhoA as well as inducing the cells to form stress fibers and focal adhesions. Experiments using short interfering RNA against p27(Kip1) revealed that up-regulation of the p27(Kip1) protein was not essential for RhoA activation, rather it contributed independently to the decreased motility of OLIG2-expressing U12-1 cells. Alternatively, semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis revealed that mRNA expression of RhoGAP8, which regulates cell migration, was decreased by OLIG2 expression. Furthermore, expression of C3 transferase, which inhibits Rho via ADP ribosylation, attenuated the OLIG2-induced inhibition of cell motility. Imaging by fluorescence resonance energy transfer revealed that in U12-1 cells lacking OLIG2, the active form of RhoA was localized to protrusions of the cell membrane. In contrast, in OLIG2-expressing cells, it lined almost the entire plasma membrane. Thus, OLIG2 suppresses the motile phenotype of glioblastoma cells by activating RhoA.

Structural basis for the transforming activity of human cancer-related signaling adaptor protein CRK.

CRKI (SH2-SH3) and CRKII (SH2-SH3-SH3) are splicing isoforms of the oncoprotein CRK that regulate transcription and cytoskeletal reorganization for cell growth and motility by linking tyrosine kinases to small G proteins. CRKI shows substantial transforming activity, whereas the activity of CRKII is low, and phosphorylated CRKII has no biological activity whatsoever. The molecular mechanisms underlying the distinct biological activities of the CRK proteins remain elusive. We determined the solution structures of CRKI, CRKII and phosphorylated CRKII by NMR and identified the molecular mechanism that gives rise to their activities. Results from mutational analysis using rodent 3Y1 fibroblasts were consistent with those from the structural studies. Together, these data suggest that the linker region modulates the binding of CRKII to its targets, thus regulating cell growth and motility.

Elmo1 inhibits ubiquitylation of Dock180.

Dock180, a member of the CDM family of proteins, plays roles in biological processes such as phagocytosis and motility through its association with the signalling adaptor protein Crk. Recently, the complex formation between Dock180 and Elmo1 was reported to function as a bipartite guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Rac. In this study, we demonstrated that the amount of Dock180 increased when Elmo1 was co-expressed. Dock180 was found to be ubiquitylated and Dock180 protein levels could be augmented by treatment with proteasome inhibitor. The ubiquitylation of Dock180 was enhanced by epidermal growth factor (EGF), Crk and adhesion-dependent signals. Furthermore, Elmo1 inhibited ubiquitylation of Dock180, resulting in the increase in Dock180 levels. The Elmo1 mutant Delta531, which encompasses amino acids required for Dock180 binding, preserved the inhibitory effects on ubiquitylation of Dock180. Upon EGF stimulation, both Dock180 and ubiquitin were demonstrated to translocate to the cell periphery by immunofluorescence, and we found ubiquitylation of Dock180 and its inhibition by Elmo1 to occur in cellular membrane fractions by in vivo ubiquitylation assay. These data suggest that Dock180 is ubiquitylated on the plasma membrane, and also that Elmo1 functions as an inhibitor of ubiquitylation of Dock180. Therefore, an ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent protein degradation mechanism might contribute to the local activation of Rac on the plasma membrane.

Muscle mechanoreceptor modulation of sweat rate during recovery from moderate exercise.

The objective of this study was to identify whether muscle mechanoreceptor stimulation is capable of modulating sweat rate. Seven healthy subjects performed two 20-min bouts of supine exercise on a tandem cycle ergometer (60 rpm at 65% of maximal heart rate). After one bout, the subject stopped exercising (i.e., no pedaling), whereas, after the other bout, the subject's legs were passively cycled (at 60 rpm) via a second person cycling the tandem ergometer. This allows for mechanical stimulation of muscle with minimal activation of central command. Esophageal temperature (T(es)), mean skin temperature (T(sk)), heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, oxygen consumption, cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC), and sweat rate were not different during the two exercise bouts. Regardless of the mode of exercise recovery, there were no differences in T(es), T(sk), or CVC. In contrast, early in the recovery period, chest and forearm sweat rate were significantly greater in the passive cycling recovery mode relative to the no-pedaling condition (chest: 0.57 +/- 0.13 vs. 0.39 +/- 0.14, forearm: 0.30 +/- 0.05 vs. 0.12 +/- 0.02 mg.cm(-2).min(-1); both P < 0.05). These results suggested that muscle mechanoreceptor stimulation to the previously activated muscle is capable of modulating sweat rate.