Caspase-mediated cleavage of raptor participates in the inactivation of mTORC1 during cell death.

The mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a highly conserved protein complex regulating key pathways in cell growth. Hyperactivation of mTORC1 is implicated in numerous cancers, thus making it a potential broad-spectrum chemotherapeutic target. Here, we characterized how mTORC1 responds to cell death induced by various anticancer drugs such rapamycin, etoposide, cisplatin, curcumin, staurosporine and Fas ligand. All treatments induced cleavage in the mTORC1 component, raptor, resulting in decreased raptor-mTOR interaction and subsequent inhibition of the mTORC1-mediated phosphorylation of downstream substrates (S6K and 4E-BP1). The cleavage was primarily mediated by caspase-6 and occurred at two sites. Mutagenesis at one of these sites, conferred resistance to cell death, indicating that raptor cleavage is important in chemotherapeutic apoptosis.

Cathepsin B-like and cell death in the unicellular human pathogen Leishmania.

In several studies reporting cell death (CD) in lower eukaryotes and in the human protozoan parasite Leishmania, proteolytic activity was revealed using pan-caspase substrates or inhibitors such as carbobenzoxy-valyl-alanyl-aspartyl-[O-methyl]-fluoromethylketone (Z-VAD-FMK). However, most of the lower eukaryotes do not encode caspase(s) but MCA, which differs from caspase(s) in its substrate specificity and cannot be accountable for the recognition of Z-VAD-FMK. In the present study, we were interested in identifying which enzyme was capturing the Z-VAD substrate. We show that heat shock (HS) induces Leishmania CD and leads to the intracellular binding of Z-VAD-FMK. We excluded binding and inhibition of Z-VAD-FMK to Leishmania major metacaspase (LmjMCA), and identified cysteine proteinase C (LmjCPC), a cathepsin B-like (CPC) enzyme, as the Z-VAD-FMK binding enzyme. We confirmed the specific interaction of Z-VAD-FMK with CPC by showing that Z-VAD binding is absent in a Leishmania mexicana strain in which the cpc gene was deleted. We also show that parasites exposed to various stress conditions release CPC into a soluble fraction. Finally, we confirmed the role of CPC in Leishmania CD by showing that, when exposed to the oxidizing agent hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), cpc knockout parasites survived better than wild-type parasites (WT). In conclusion, this study identified CPC as the substrate of Z-VAD-FMK in Leishmania and as a potential additional executioner protease in the CD cascade of Leishmania and possibly in other lower eukaryotes.

Expression and one-step purification of Plasmodium proteins in dictyostelium.

Nearly full-length Circumsporozoite protein (CSP) from Plasmodium falciparum, the C-terminal fragments from both P. falciparm and P. yoelii CSP and a fragment comprising 351 amino acids of P.vivax MSPI were expressed in the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. Discoidin-tag expression vectors allowed both high yields of these proteins and their purification by a nearly single-step procedure. We exploited the galactose binding activity of Discoidin Ia to separate the fusion proteins by affinity chromatography on Sepharose-4B columns. Inclusion of a thrombin recognition site allowed cleavage of the Discoidin-tag from the fusion protein. Partial secretion of the protein was obtained via an ER independent pathway, whereas routing the recombinant proteins to the ER resulted in glycosylation and retention. Yields of proteins ranged from 0.08 to 3 mg l(-1) depending on the protein sequence and the purification conditions. The recognition of purified MSPI by sera from P. vivax malaria patients was used to confirm the native conformation of the protein expressed in Dictyostelium. The simple purification procedure described here, based on Sepharose-4B, should facilitate the expression and the large-scale purification of various Plasmodium polypeptides.

Leishmania major: histone H1 gene expression from the sw3 locus.

Histone H1 in the parasitic protozoan Leishmania is a developmentally regulated protein encoded by the sw3 gene. Here we report that histone H1 variants exist in different Leishmania species and strains of L. major and that they are encoded by polymorphic genes. Amplification of the sw3 gene from the genome of three strains of L. major gave rise to different products in each strain, suggesting the presence of a multicopy gene family. In L. major, these genes were all restricted to a 50-kb Bg/II fragment found on a chromosomal band of 1.3 Mb (chromosome 27). The detection of RFLPs in this locus demonstrated its heterogeneity within several species and strains of Leishmania. Two different copies of sw3 (sw3.0 and sw3.1) were identified after screening a cosmid library containing L. major strain Friedlin genomic DNA. They were identical in their 5' UTRs and open reading frames, but differed in their 3' UTRs. With respect to the originally cloned copy of sw3 from L. major strain LV39, their open reading frames lacked a repeat unit of 9 amino acids. Immunoblots of L. guyanensis parasites transfected with these cosmids revealed that both copies could give rise to the histone H1 protein. The characterization of this locus will now make possible a detailed analysis of the function of histone H1 in Leishmania, as well as permit the dissection of the molecular mechanisms governing the developmental regulation of the sw3 gene.

Histone H1 expression varies during the Leishmania major life cycle.

The deduced amino acid sequence of Leishmania major sw3 cDNA reveals the presence of characteristic histone H1 amino acid motifs. However, the open reading frame is of an unusually small size for histone H1 (105 amino acids) because it lacks the coding potential for the central hydrophobic globular domain of linker histones present in other eukaryotes. Here, we provide biochemical evidence that the SW3 protein is indeed a L. major nuclear histone H1, and that it is differentially expressed during the life cycle of the parasite. Due to its high lysine content, the SW3 protein can be purified to a high degree from L. major nuclear lysates with 5% perchloric acid, a histone H1 preparative method. Using an anti-SW3 antibody, this protein is detected as a 17 kDa or as a 17/19 kDa doublet in the nuclear subfraction in different L. major strains. The nuclear localization of the SW3 protein is further supported by immunofluorescence studies. During in vitro promastigote growth, both the sw3 cytoplasmic mRNA and its protein progressively accumulate within parasites from early log phase to stationary phase. Within amastigotes, the high level of H1 expression is maintained but decreases when amastigotes differentiate into promastigotes. Together, these observations suggest that the different levels of this histone H1 protein could influence the varying degrees of chromatin condensation during the life-cycle of the parasite, and provide us with tools to study this mechanism.

Fatty acids regulate Thy-1 antigen mRNA stability in T lymphocyte precursors.

In this study, we report the effect of fatty acids on the Thy-1 antigen mRNA decay. Low serum and synthetic medium culture conditions were used to demonstrate that fatty acids, which are important metabolites involved as second messengers in signal transduction, also influence the steady-state mRNA level. Detailed analysis demonstrated that polyunsaturated lipids attached to bovine serum albumin, such as linoleic, linolenic, and arachidonic acids, modulate gene expression specifically in the S1A T lymphoma cell line by inducing a 3-5-fold increase in the steady-state Thy-1 mRNA level, concomitant with a twofold increase in cell surface expression. A similar modulation was observed in the immature CD4-CD8- T cell precursors but not in mature thymocytes. Nuclear run-on and transfection experiments indicated that the observed Thy-1 mRNA level is post-transcriptionally regulated and that the presence of the coding region is sufficient for this adaptive response. A mechanism without a requirement for protein kinase C activation, but involving Ca2+ entry, could account for this difference in Thy-1 mRNA stability.

Anchoring of an immunogenic Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein on the surface of Dictyostelium discoideum.

The circumsporozoite protein (CSP), a major antigen of Plasmodium falciparum, was expressed in the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. Fusion of the parasite protein to a leader peptide derived from Dictyostelium contact site A was essential for expression. The natural parasite surface antigen, however, was not detected at the slime mold cell surface as expected but retained intracellularly. Removal of the last 23 amino acids resulted in secretion of CSP, suggesting that the C-terminal segment of the CSP, rather than an ectoplasmic domain, was responsible for retention. Cell surface expression was obtained when the CSP C-terminal segment was replaced by the D. discoideum contact site A glycosyl phosphatidylinositol anchor signal sequence. Mice were immunized with Dictyostelium cells harboring CSP at their surface. The raised antibodies recognized two different regions of the CSP. Anti-sporozoite titers of these sera were equivalent to anti-peptide titers detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Thus, cell surface targeting of antigens can be obtained in Dictyostelium, generating sporozoite-like cells having potentials for vaccination, diagnostic tests, or basic studies involving parasite cell surface proteins.

Structures of glycosylphosphatidylinositol membrane anchors from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Metabolic labeling studies suggest that Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains many glycoproteins that are anchored in the lipid bilayer by glycosylphosphatidylinositol membrane anchors. Membrane anchors were purified from a crude yeast membrane protein fraction and analyzed by two-dimensional 1H-1H NMR, fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry, compositional and methylation linkage analyses, as well as chemical and enzymatic modifications. The yeast glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchors consist of the following structures: ethanolamine-PO4-6(R-2)Man alpha 1-2Man alpha 1-6Man alpha 1-4Glc-NH2 alpha 1-6myo-inositol-1-PO4-lipid, where R is mainly Man alpha 1- (80%) with some Man alpha 1-2Man alpha 1- (15%) and Man alpha 1-3Man alpha 1- (5%). The core region of the yeast anchors (ethanolamine-PO4-6Man alpha 1-2Man alpha 1-6Man alpha 1-4GlcNH2 alpha 1-6myo-inositol-1-PO4) is identical to the conserved core region found in glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchors from protozoa and mammals. The lipid moieties of the total yeast glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchors are mainly ceramides, consisting mostly of C18:0 phytosphingosine and C26:0 fatty acid. However, the lipid moiety of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor of the purified ggp125 protein is a lyso- or diacylglycerol, containing C26:0 fatty acids. This suggests that yeast adds different lipid components to the glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchors of different proteins.

Two different types of lipid moieties are present in glycophosphoinositol-anchored membrane proteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Numerous glycoproteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are anchored in the lipid bilayer by a glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. Mild alkaline hydrolysis reveals that the lipid components of these anchors are heterogeneous in that both base-sensitive and base-resistant lipid moieties can be found on most proteins. The relative abundance of base-resistant lipid moieties is different for different proteins. Strong alkaline or acid hydrolysis of the mild base-resistant lipid component liberates C18-phytosphingosine indicating the presence of a ceramide. Two lines of evidence suggest that proteins are first attached to a base-sensitive GPI anchor, the lipid moiety of which subsequently gets exchanged for a base-resistant ceramide: (i) an early glycolipid intermediate of GPI biosynthesis only contains base-sensitive lipid moieties; (ii) after a pulse with [3H]myo-inositol the relative abundance of base-sensitive GPI anchors decreases significantly during chase. This decrease does not take place if GPI-anchored proteins are retained in the ER.

Characterization of glycophospholipid intermediate in the biosynthesis of glycophosphatidylinositol anchors accumulating in the Thy-1-negative lymphoma line SIA-b.

Several mammalian mutant cell lines are deficient in the biosynthesis of glycophosphatidylinositol anchors for membrane proteins. When metabolically labeled with [3H]myo-inositol or [3H]mannose, two out of five mutant lines (SIA-b and EL4-f) accumulated abnormal lipids which remained undetectable in the corresponding parental cell lines. The most abundant glycolipid of SIA-b cells (named lipid X) was isolated and partially characterized using hydrofluoric acid, nitrous acid deamination, acetolysis, and exoglycosidase treatments alone or in combination. The partial structure for the carbohydrate moiety of lipid X is Man alpha-(X----)Man alpha-GlcN-inositol, X being a charged, HF-sensitive substituent (possibly phosphoethanolamine). Lipid X is largely resistant to phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C treatment but can be rendered sensitive to the enzyme by treatment with methanolic NH3, which suggests the presence of an acyl chain on the inositol moiety. The lipid moieties of lipid X are heterogenous in that about 50% of headgroups remain bound to a lipid moiety after mild alkaline hydrolysis. Similarly, about 50% of the lipid moieties of Thy-1, a glycophosphatidylinositol-anchored surface glycoprotein, isolated from SIA, the parent of SIA-b cells or from EL4 lymphoma cells, are resistant to mild alkaline hydrolysis. Altogether the data suggest that the SIA-b mutant line lacks an enzyme acting late in the anchor glycolipid biosynthesis pathway.

Biosynthesis of glycophosphoinositol anchors in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Numerous membrane glycoproteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are posttranslationally modified by the addition of a glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI). These proteins can be detected most easily by metabolic labelling of yeast cells with 3H-myoinositol or 3H-palmitate. This report summarizes what little is known about the identity, biosynthesis and cellular localization of GPI-modified glycoproteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as what could be learned from the system with respect to the biosynthesis of GPI's in general.

Biosynthesis of mannosylinositolphosphoceramide in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is dependent on genes controlling the flow of secretory vesicles from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains several abundant phosphoinositol-containing sphingolipids, namely inositolphosphoceramides (IPCs), mannosyl-inositolphosphoceramide (MIPC), which is substituted on the headgroup with an additional mannose, and M(IP)2C, a ceramide substituted with one mannose and two phosphoinositol groups. Using well-defined temperature-sensitive secretion mutants we demonstrate that the biosynthesis of MIPC, M(IP)2C, and a subclass if IPCs is dependent on genes that are required for the vesicular transport of proteins from the ER to the Golgi. Synthesis of these lipids in intact cells is dependent on metabolic energy. A likely but tentative interpretation of the data is that the biosynthesis of these sphingolipids is restricted to the Golgi apparatus, and that one or more substrates for the biosynthesis of these sphingolipids (phosphatidylinositol, IPCs, or MIPC) are delivered to the Golgi apparatus by an obligatory vesicular transport step. Alternative models to explain the data are also discussed.

Myoinositol gets incorporated into numerous membrane glycoproteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae; incorporation is dependent on phosphomannomutase (sec53).

We recently described a 125 kd membrane glycoprotein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae which is anchored in the lipid bilayer by an inositol-containing phospholipid. We now find that when S. cerevisiae cells are metabolically labeled with [3H]myoinositol, many glycoproteins become labeled more strongly than the 125 kd protein. Myoinositol is attached to these glycoproteins as part of a phospholipid moiety which resembles glycophospholipid anchors of other organisms. Labeling of proteins with [3H]myoinositol for short times and in secretion mutants blocked at various stages of the secretory pathway shows that these phospholipid moieties can be added to proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum and that these proteins are transported to the Golgi by the regular secretory pathway. sec53, a mutant which cannot produce GDP-mannose at 37 degrees C, does not incorporate myoinositol or palmitic acid into membrane glycoproteins at this temperature, suggesting that GDP-mannose is required for the biosynthesis of these phospholipid moieties. All other secretion and glycosylation mutants tested add phospholipid moieties to proteins normally.

A major 125-kd membrane glycoprotein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is attached to the lipid bilayer through an inositol-containing phospholipid.

A number of plasma membrane glycoproteins of mammalian and protozoan origin are released from cells by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C. Some of these proteins have been shown to be attached to the lipid bilayer via a covalently linked, structurally complex glycophospholipid. Here we establish the existence of similarly linked glycoproteins in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The most abundant of these is a tightly membrane-bound glycoprotein of 125 kd. The detergent-binding moiety of this protein can be removed by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C of bacterial origin or from Trypanosoma brucei. Metabolic labeling indicates that the protein contains covalently attached fatty acid and inositol. It also contains the cross-reacting determinant (CRD), an antigen found previously on the glycophospholipid anchor of protozoan and mammalian origin. Treatment of the protein with endoglycosidases F and H results in a 95-kd species. In the secretion mutant sec18, grown at 37 degrees C, the vesicular transport of glycoproteins is reversibly blocked between the rough endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus. We find that sec18 cells, when grown at 37 degrees C, do add phospholipid anchors to newly synthesized glycoproteins. This indicates that these anchors are added in the rough endoplasmic reticulum.