Rewiring MAP kinase pathways using alternative scaffold assembly mechanisms

How scaffold proteins control information flow in signaling pathways is poorly understood: Do they simply tether components, or do they precisely orient and activate them? We found that the yeast mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase scaffold Ste5 is tolerant to major stereochemical perturbations; heterologous protein interactions could functionally replace native kinase recruitment interactions, indicating that simple tethering is largely sufficient for scaffold-mediated signaling. Moreover, by engineering a scaffold that tethers a unique kinase set, we could create a synthetic MAP kinase pathway with non-natural input-output properties. These findings demonstrate that scaffolds are highly flexible organizing factors that can facilitate pathway evolution and engineering.     

Using engineered scaffold interactions to reshape MAP kinase pathway signaling dynamics

Scaffold proteins link signaling molecules into linear pathways by physically assembling them into complexes. Scaffolds may also have a higher-order role as signal-processing hubs, serving as the target of feedback loops that optimize signaling amplitude and timing. We demonstrate that the Ste5 scaffold protein can be used as a platform to systematically reshape output of the yeast mating MAP kinase pathway. We constructed synthetic positive- and negative-feedback loops by dynamically regulating recruitment of pathway modulators to an artificial binding site on Ste5. These engineered circuits yielded diverse behaviors: ultrasensitive dose response, accelerated or delayed response times, and tunable adaptation. Protein scaffolds provide a flexible platform for reprogramming cellular responses and could be exploited to engineer cells with novel therapeutic and biotechnological functions.     

An insulin-stimulated protein kinase similar to yeast kinases involved in cell cycle control

A protein kinase characterized by its ability to phosphorylate microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP2), is thought to be an early intermediate in an insulin-stimulated phosphorylation cascade and in a variety of other mammalian cell responses to extracellular signals. A complementary DNA that encodes this protein serine-threonine kinase has been cloned, and the protein designated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 (ERK1). ERK1 has striking similarity to two protein kinases, KSS1 and FUS3, from yeast. The yeast kinases function in an antagonistic manner to regulate the cell cycle in response to mating factors. Thus, ERK1 and the two yeast kinases constitute a family of evolutionarily conserved enzymes involved in regulating the response of eukaryotic cells to extracellular signals.     

Conformational control of the Ste5 scaffold protein insulates against MAP kinase misactivation

Cells reuse signaling proteins in multiple pathways, raising the potential for improper cross talk. Scaffold proteins are thought to insulate against such miscommunication by sequestering proteins into distinct physical complexes. We show that the scaffold protein Ste5, which organizes the yeast mating mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, does not use sequestration to prevent misactivation of the mating response. Instead, Ste5 appears to use a conformation mechanism: Under basal conditions, an intramolecular interaction of the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain with the von Willebrand type A (VWA) domain blocks the ability to coactivate the mating-specific MAPK Fus3. Pheromone-induced membrane binding of Ste5 triggers release of this autoinhibition. Thus, in addition to serving as a conduit guiding kinase communication, Ste5 directly receives input information to decide if and when signal can be transmitted to mating output.     

MAP激酶在植物信号传递网络中的功能

促分裂素原活化蛋白激酶(mitogen-activated protein kinases,MAP激酶,MAPK)链是真核生物信号传递网络中的重要途径之一.MAPK链由3类蛋白激酶MAP3K-MAP2K-MAPK组成,通过依次磷酸化将上游信号传递至下游应答分子.本文主要阐述MAPK链在植物的逆境反应、抗病反应和激素调控等信号传递网络中的功能.     

Regulation of MAPK function by direct interaction with the mating-specific Galpha in yeast

The mating response of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is mediated by a prototypical heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein (G protein) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. Although signal transmission by such pathways has been modeled in detail, postreceptor down-regulation is less well understood. The pheromone-responsive G protein alpha subunit (Galpha) of yeast down-regulates the mating signal, but its targets are unknown. We have found that Galpha binds directly to the mating-specific MAPK in yeast cells responding to pheromone. This interaction contributes both to modulation of the mating signal and to the chemotropic response, and it demonstrates direct communication between the top and bottom of a Galpha-MAPK pathway.     

玉米叶片蛋白对AM菌根接种和（或）砷胁迫的应答

【目的】研究接种菌根与砷胁迫条件下玉米叶片组织相关蛋白质的变化。【方法】以玉米植株叶片为材料,采用双向凝胶电泳技术（2-DE）研究玉米叶片蛋白表达谱对丛枝菌根（AM菌根）接种和（或）砷胁迫的应答。【结果】经软件分析并搜索NCBInr数据库,结果显示,砷胁迫植株叶片中有7个蛋白点被成功鉴定,其中有3个未知蛋白,其余4个分别为2-phosphoglycerate kinase、oxidoreductase、MAP3K delta-1 protein kinase和Os06g0262800。接种且加砷处理植株叶片中有11个蛋白点被成功鉴定,有4个未知蛋白,其余蛋白分别为oxygen-evolving enhancer protein 3-1、putative M protein、SNF1-related protein kinase 2.2、ATP synthase CF1 beta subunit、ATP synthase CF1 alpha subunit、pathogenesis-related protein 10、 MAP kinase kinase和MEI1 protein。【结论】菌根接种促进加砷处理玉米植株生长,并显著降低玉米植株地下部砷浓度。玉米植株叶片蛋白表达量及种类的变化,表明砷胁迫条件下菌根接种有可能激发与植物生长、养分吸收以及抗性有关的蛋白产生应答,有助于提高玉米对砷毒的抗性。     

Spinophilin blocks arrestin actions in vitro and in vivo at G protein-coupled receptors

Arrestin regulates almost all G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-mediated signaling and trafficking. We report that the multidomain protein, spinophilin, antagonizes these multiple arrestin functions. Through blocking G protein receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) association with receptor-Gbetagamma complexes, spinophilin reduces arrestin-stabilized receptor phosphorylation, receptor endocytosis, and the acceleration of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity following endocytosis. Spinophilin knockout mice were more sensitive than wild-type mice to sedation elicited by stimulation of alpha2 adrenergic receptors, whereas arrestin 3 knockout mice were more resistant, indicating that the signal-promoting, rather than the signal-terminating, roles of arrestin are more important for certain response pathways. The reciprocal interactions of GPCRs with spinophilin and arrestin represent a regulatory mechanism for fine-tuning complex receptor-orchestrated cell signaling and responses.     

G protein signalling involved in host recognition and mycoparasitismrelated chitinase expression in Trichoderma atroviride

Mycoparasitic species of Trichoderma are commercially applied as biological control agents against various fungal pathogens. The mycoparasitic interaction is host specific and includes recognition, attack and subsequent penetration and killing of the host. Investigations on the underlying events revealed that Trichoderma responds to multiple signals from the host (e.g. lectins or other ligands such as low molecular weight components released from the host's cell wall) and host attack is ac…     

Unfolded proteins are Ire1-activating ligands that directly induce the unfolded protein response

The unfolded protein response (UPR) detects the accumulation of unfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and adjusts the protein-folding capacity to the needs of the cell. Under conditions of ER stress, the transmembrane protein Ire1 oligomerizes to activate its cytoplasmic kinase and ribonuclease domains. It is unclear what feature of ER stress Ire1 detects. We found that the core ER-lumenal domain (cLD) of yeast Ire1 binds to unfolded proteins in yeast cells and to peptides primarily composed of basic and hydrophobic residues in vitro. Mutation of amino acid side chains exposed in a putative peptide-binding groove of Ire1 cLD impaired peptide binding. Peptide binding caused Ire1 cLD oligomerization in vitro, suggesting that direct binding to unfolded proteins activates the UPR.     

A 32-kD GTP-binding protein associated with the CD4-p56lck and CD8-p56lck T cell receptor complexes

The guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding proteins include signal-transducing heterotrimeric G proteins (for example, Gs, Gi), smaller GTP-binding proteins that function in protein sorting, and the oncogenic protein p21ras. The T cell receptor complexes CD4-p56lck and CD8-p56lck were found to include a 32- to 33-kilodalton phosphoprotein (p32) that was recognized by an antiserum to a consensus GTP-binding region in G proteins. Immunoprecipitated CD4 and CD8 complexes bound GTP and hydrolyzed it to guanosine diphosphate (GDP). The p32 protein was covalently linked to [alpha-32P]GTP by ultraviolet photoaffinity labeling. These results demonstrate an interaction between T cell receptor complexes and an intracellular GTP-binding protein.     

Reconstitution of G1 cyclin ubiquitination with complexes containing SCFGrr1 and Rbx1

Control of cyclin levels is critical for proper cell cycle regulation. In yeast, the stability of the G1 cyclin Cln1 is controlled by phosphorylation-dependent ubiquitination. Here it is shown that this reaction can be reconstituted in vitro with an SCF E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. Phosphorylated Cln1 was ubiquitinated by SCF (Skp1-Cdc53-F-box protein) complexes containing the F-box protein Grr1, Rbx1, and the E2 Cdc34. Rbx1 promotes association of Cdc34 with Cdc53 and stimulates Cdc34 auto-ubiquitination in the context of Cdc53 or SCF complexes. Rbx1, which is also a component of the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor complex, may define a previously unrecognized class of E3-associated proteins.     

Activated signal transduction kinases frequently occupy target genes

Cellular signal transduction pathways modify gene expression programs in response to changes in the environment, but the mechanisms by which these pathways regulate populations of genes under their control are not entirely understood. We present evidence that most mitogen-activated protein kinases and protein kinase A subunits become physically associated with the genes that they regulate in the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) genome. The ability to detect this interaction of signaling kinases with target genes can be used to more precisely and comprehensively map the regulatory circuitry that eukaryotic cells use to respond to their environment.     

A conserved family of enzymes that phosphorylate inositol hexakisphosphate

Inositol pyrophosphates are a diverse group of high-energy signaling molecules whose cellular roles remain an active area of study. We report a previously uncharacterized class of inositol pyrophosphate synthase and find it is identical to yeast Vip1 and Asp1 proteins, regulators of actin-related protein-2/3 (ARP 2/3) complexes. Vip1 and Asp1 acted as enzymes that encode inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) and inositol heptakisphosphate (IP7) kinase activities. Alterations in kinase activity led to defects in cell growth, morphology, and interactions with ARP complex members. The functionality of Asp1 and Vip1 may provide cells with increased signaling capacity through metabolism of IP6.     

Photoexcited CRY2 interacts with CIB1 to regulate transcription and floral initiation in Arabidopsis

Cryptochromes (CRY) are photolyase-like blue-light receptors that mediate light responses in plants and animals. How plant cryptochromes act in response to blue light is not well understood. We report here the identification and characterization of the Arabidopsis CIB1 (cryptochrome-interacting basic-helix-loop-helix) protein. CIB1 interacts with CRY2 (cryptochrome 2) in a blue light-specific manner in yeast and Arabidopsis cells, and it acts together with additional CIB1-related proteins to promote CRY2-dependent floral initiation. CIB1 binds to G box (CACGTG) in vitro with a higher affinity than its interaction with other E-box elements (CANNTG). However, CIB1 stimulates FT messenger RNA expression, and it interacts with chromatin DNA of the FT gene that possesses various E-box elements except G box. We propose that the blue light-dependent interaction of cryptochrome(s) with CIB1 and CIB1-related proteins represents an early photoreceptor signaling mechanism in plants.     

G protein signaling in yeast: new components, new connections, new compartments

Signaling by cell surface receptors and heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins) is one of the most exhaustively studied processes in the cell but remains a major focus of molecular pharmacology research. The pheromone-response system in yeast (see the Connections Map at Science's Signal Transduction Knowledge Environment) has provided numerous major advances in our understanding of G protein signaling and regulation. However, the basic features of this prototypical pathway have remained largely unchanged since the mid-1990s. New tools available in yeast are beginning to uncover new pathway components and interactions and have revealed signaling in unexpected locations within the cell.     

酵母双杂交筛选小麦TaMBD2互作蛋白

为探讨小麦甲基结合域蛋白(TaMBD2)在植物生长发育过程中的调控功能,以TaMBD2基因的全长cDNA为模板,构建诱饵载体pGBKT7-TaMBD2,利用酵母双杂交系统从小麦cDNA文库中筛选TaMBD2互作蛋白。结果共筛选到91个菌斑显蓝色的克隆,对其进行菌液PCR检测并测序,然后在NCBI上进行BLAST比对分析,共获得8个可能与TaMBD2互作的蛋白,分别为二磷酸核苷激酶(NDPK)、ENTH结构域蛋白、SIAN蛋白、Agenet结构域蛋白、C2H2型锌指蛋白、磷酸激酶和2个假定蛋白,其中最有可能的TaMBD2互作蛋白为NDPK。这些候选蛋白主要参与细胞信号传导、抗逆、能量代谢和蛋白质运输等。其中,检测结果中参与植物抗逆胁迫的蛋白质为主要互作蛋白,所占比例为54.9%;参与蛋白质运输的互作蛋白所占比例为25.3%,其余互作蛋白所占比例较小。因此,推测TaMBD2可能主要参与植物对干旱、低温和高盐等非生物胁迫逆境的响应及调控。