Spines and neurite branches function as geometric attractors that enhance protein kinase C action.

Ca2+ and diacylglycerol-regulated protein kinase Cs (PKCs; conventional PKC isoforms, such as PKCgamma) are multifunctional signaling molecules that undergo reversible plasma membrane translocation as part of their mechanism of activation. In this article, we investigate PKCgamma translocation in hippocampal neurons and show that electrical or glutamate stimulation leads to a striking enrichment of PKCgamma in synaptic spines and dendritic branches. Translocation into spines and branches was delayed when compared with the soma plasma membrane, and PKCgamma remained in these structures for a prolonged period after the response in the soma ceased. We have developed a quantitative model for the translocation process by measuring the rate at which PKCgamma crossed the neck of spines, as well as cytosolic and membrane diffusion coefficients of PKCgamma. Our study suggests that neurons make use of a high surface-to-volume ratio of spines and branches to create a geometric attraction process for PKC that imposes a delayed enhancement of PKC action at synapses and in peripheral processes.

Simplified analogs of bryostatin with anticancer activity display greater potency for translocation of PKCdelta-GFP.

Structurally simplified analogs of bryostatin 1, a marine natural product in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer, have been shown to be up to 50 times more potent than bryostatin 1 at inducing the translocation of PKCdelta-GFP from the cytosol of rat basophilic leukemia (RBL) cells. The end distribution of the protein is similar for all three compounds, despite a significant difference in translocation kinetics. The potency of the compounds for inducing the translocation response appears to be only qualitatively related to their binding affinity for PKC, highlighting the importance of using binding affinity in conjunction with real-time measurements of protein localization for the pharmacological profiling of biologically active agents.

The neural F-box protein NFB42 mediates the nuclear export of the herpes simplex virus type 1 replication initiator protein (UL9 protein) after viral infection.

The neural F-box 42-kDa protein (NFB42) is a component of the SCF(NFB42) E3 ubiquitin ligase that is expressed in all major areas of the brain; it is not detected in nonneuronal tissues. We previously identified NFB42 as a binding partner for the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) UL9 protein, the viral replication-initiator, and showed that coexpression of NFB42 and UL9 in human embryonic kidney (293T) cells led to a significant decrease in the level of UL9 protein. We have now found that HSV-1 infection promotes the shuttling of NFB42 between the cytosol and the nucleus in both 293T cells and primary hippocampal neurons, permitting NFB42 to bind to the phosphorylated UL9 protein, which is localized in the nucleus. This interaction mediates the export of the UL9 protein from the nucleus to the cytosol, leading to its ubiquitination and degradation via the 26S proteasome. Because the intranuclear localization of the UL9 protein, along with other viral and cellular factors, is an essential step in viral DNA replication, degradation of the UL9 protein in neurons by means of nuclear export through its specific interaction with NFB42 may prevent active replication and promote neuronal latency of HSV-1.

A critical intramolecular interaction for protein kinase Cepsilon translocation.

Disruption of intramolecular interactions, translocation from one intracellular compartment to another, and binding to isozyme-specific anchoring proteins termed RACKs, accompany protein kinase C (PKC) activation. We hypothesized that in inactive epsilonPKC, the RACK-binding site is engaged in an intramolecular interaction with a sequence resembling its RACK, termed psiepsilonRACK. An amino acid difference between the psiepsilonRACK sequence in epsilonPKC and its homologous sequence in epsilonRACK constitutes a change from a polar non-charged amino acid (asparagine) in epsilonRACK to a polar charged amino acid (aspartate) in epsilonPKC. Here we show that mutating the aspartate to asparagine in epsilonPKC increased intramolecular interaction as indicated by increased resistance to proteolysis, and slower hormone- or PMA-induced translocation in cells. Substituting aspartate for a non-polar amino acid (alanine) resulted in binding to epsilonRACK without activators, in vitro, and increased translocation rate upon activation in cells. Mathematical modeling suggests that translocation is at least a two-step process. Together our data suggest that intramolecular interaction between the psiepsilonRACK site and RACK-binding site within epsilonPKC is critical and rate limiting in the process of PKC translocation.

Function oriented synthesis: the design, synthesis, PKC binding and translocation activity of a new bryostatin analog.

Bryostatin 1 represents a novel and potent therapeutic lead with a unique activity profile. Its natural and synthetic availability is severely limited. Function oriented synthesis provides a means to address this supply problem through the design of synthetically more accessible simplified structures that at the same time incorporate improved functional activity. Pharmacophore searching and a new computer aided visualization of a possible binding mode are combined with an understanding of function and knowledge of synthesis to design and prepare a new and simplified compound with bryostatin-like function in biological systems. This new compound is a potent ligand for protein kinase C in vitro (K(i) = 8.0 nM). More significantly, the described molecule retains the functional ability to translocate a PKCdelta-GFP fusion protein in RBL cells. The extent of protein translocation and the sub-cellular localization induced by this new compound is similar to that seen in response to bryostatin 1, indicating that the new molecule retains the functional activity of the natural product but is simpler and can be synthesized in a practical fashion.