Analysis and regulation of vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein serine 239 phosphorylation in vitro and in intact cells using a phosphospecific monoclonal antibody.

The development and functional analysis of a monoclonal antibody (16C2) are reported; the antibody recognizes vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP; an established substrate of both cAMP- and cGMP-dependent protein kinase) only when serine 239 is phosphorylated. VASP serine 239 represents one of the best characterized cGMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation sites in vitro and in intact cells. Experiments with purified, recombinant human VASP and various VASP constructs with mutated phosphorylation sites (S157A, S239A, T278A) and experiments with intact cells (human/rat platelets and other cells) treated with cyclic nucleotide-elevating agents demonstrated the specificity of the monoclonal antibody 16C2. Quantitative analysis of the VASP shift from 46 to 50 kDa (indicating VASP serine 157 phosphorylation) and the appearance of VASP detected by the 16C2 monoclonal antibody (VASP serine 239 phosphorylation) in human platelets stimulated by selective protein kinase activators confirmed that serine 239 is the VASP phosphorylation site preferred by cGMP-dependent protein kinase in intact cells. Immunofluorescence experiments with human platelets treated with cGMP analogs showed that the 16C2 monoclonal antibody also detects VASP serine 239 phosphorylation in situ at established intracellular localization sites. Analysis of VASP serine 239 phosphorylation by the 16C2 antibody appears to be the best method presently available to measure cGMP-dependent protein kinase activation in intact cells. Also, the 16C2 antibody promises to be an excellent tool for the evaluation of VASP function in intact cells.

Single amino acid substitutions in proteins of the armadillo gene family abolish their binding to alpha-catenin.

Analysis of the calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin has led to the identification of catenins, which are necessary for cadherin function. Growing evidence that cadherins and catenins are subjected to genetic alterations in carcinogenesis makes it especially important to understand protein-protein interactions within the cadherin-catenin complex. Here we report the identification and analysis of the alpha-catenin binding site in plakoglobin (gamma-catenin). Using N- and C-terminal truncations of plakoglobin, we identified a domain of 29 amino acids necessary and sufficient for binding alpha-catenin. The alpha-catenin binding site is fully encoded within exon 3 of plakoglobin but only partially represented in Armadillo repeat 1. This suggests that exons rather than individual Arm repeats encode functional domains of plakoglobin. Site-directed mutagenesis identified residues in the alpha-catenin binding site indispensable for binding in vitro. Analogous mutations in beta-catenin and Armadillo had identical effects. Our results indicate that single amino acid mutations in the alpha-catenin binding site of homologs of Armadillo could prevent a stable association with alpha-catenin, thus affecting cadherin-mediated adhesion.

Assembly of the cadherin-catenin complex in vitro with recombinant proteins.

The cytoplasmic domain of classical cadherins is tightly associated with three proteins termed alpha-, beta- and gamma-catenin. These accessory proteins are of central importance for the adhesive properties of this class of cell adhesion molecules. In order to examine the molecular architecture of the cadherin-catenin complex in more detail we have expressed the catenins and the cytoplasmic domain of E-cadherin as fusion proteins in Escherichia coli, and analyzed the interaction of purified recombinant cadherin and catenins in combinatorial protein-protein interaction experiments. The cytoplasmic domain of E-cadherin cannot directly associate with alpha-catenin but interacts with high affinity with beta-catenin, whereas the binding of gamma-catenin (plakoglobin) to E-cadherin is less efficient. alpha- and beta-catenin assemble into a 1:1 heterodimeric complex. The analysis of various truncated beta-catenins revealed that an alpha-catenin binding site in beta-catenin is localized between amino acid positions 120 and 151. The central role of beta-catenin for the assembly of the heterotrimeric E-cadherin/alpha-catenin/beta-catenin complex in mixing experiments with all components was demonstrated. The reconstitution in vitro of the cadherin-catenin complex should allow the study of the interaction with signalling molecules and with the actin-based cytoskeleton.

Beta-catenin mediates the interaction of the cadherin-catenin complex with epidermal growth factor receptor.

Catenins mediate the linkage of classical cadherins with actin microfilaments and are part of a higher order protein structure by which cadherins are connected to other cytoplasmic and transmembrane proteins. The ratio of actin-bound to free cadherin-catenin complex, which varies depending on the type and growth rate of cells, is thought to be altered by cellular signals, such as those associated with mitosis, polarization of cells and growth factors during development. EGF induces an immediate tyrosine phosphorylation of beta-catenin and gamma-catenin (plakoglobin). We show here an association of the EGF-receptor with the cadherin-catenin complex. Using recombinant proteins we demonstrate the interaction of EGF-receptor and beta-catenin in in vitro kinase assays. This interaction is mediated by the evolutionarily conserved central "core" region of beta-catenin. These results suggest that catenins represent an important link between EGF-induced signal transduction and cadherin function.