PKA phosphorylation and 14-3-3 interaction regulate the function of neurofibromatosis type I tumor suppressor, neurofibromin

Neurofibromin, a neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) tumor suppressor gene product, has a domain acting as a GTPase activating protein and functions in part as a negative regulator of Ras. Loss of neurofibromin expression in NF1 patients is associated with elevated Ras activity and increased cell proliferation. Therefore, regulation of the function of neurofibromin is heavily involved in cell growth and differentiation. In the present study, we identified a novel cellular neurofibromin-associating protein, 14-3-3, which belongs to a highly conserved family of proteins that regulate intracellular signal transduction events in all eukaryotic cells. The interaction of 14-3-3 is mainly directed to the C-terminal domain (CTD) of neurofibromin, and the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA)-dependent phosphorylation clustered on CTD-Ser (2576, 2578, 2580, 2813) and Thr (2556) is required for the interaction. Interestingly, the increased phosphorylation and association of 14-3-3 negatively regulate the function of neurofibromin. These findings indicate that PKA phosphorylation followed by 14-3-3 protein interaction may modulate the biochemical and biological functions of neurofibromin.     

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) tumor suppressor, neurofibromin, regulates the neuronal differentiation of PC12 cells via its associating protein, CRMP-2

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) tumor suppressor gene product, neurofibromin, functions in part as a Ras-GAP, a negative regulator of Ras. Neurofibromin is implicated in the neuronal abnormality of NF1 patients; however, the precise cellular function of neurofibromin has yet to be clarified. Using proteomic strategies, we identified a set of neurofibromin-associating cellular proteins, including axon regulator CRMP-2 (Collapsin response mediator protein-2). CRMP-2 directly bound to the C-terminal domain of neurofibromin, and this association was regulated by the manner of CRMP-2 phosphorylation. In nerve growth factor-stimulated PC12 cells, neurofibromin and CRMP-2 co-localized particularly on the distal tips and branches of extended neurites. Suppression of neurofibromin using NF1 small interfering RNA significantly inhibited this neurite outgrowth and up-regulated a series of CRMP-2 phosphorylations by kinases identified as CDK5, GSK-3b, and Rho kinase. Overexpression of the NF1-RAS-GAP-related domain rescued these NF1 small interfering RNA-induced events. Our results suggest that neurofibromin regulates neuronal differentiation by performing one or more complementary roles. First, neurofibromin directly regulates CRMP-2 phosphorylation accessibility through the complex formation. Also, neurofibromin appears to indirectly regulate CRMP-2 activity by suppressing CRMP-2-phosphorylating kinase cascades via its Ras-GAP function. Our study demonstrates that the functional association of neurofibromin and CRMP-2 is essential for neuronal cell differentiation and that lack of expression or abnormal regulation of neurofibromin can result in impaired function of neuronal cells, which is likely a factor in NF1-related pathogenesis.     

The C-terminal domains of human neurofibromin and its budding yeast homologs Ira1 and Ira2 regulate the metaphase to anaphase transition

The human tumor suppressor neurofibromin contains a cysteine and serine-rich domain/Ras-GTPase activating protein domain (CSRD/RasGAP) and a C-terminal domain (CTD). Domain studies of neurofibromin suggest it has other functions in addition to being a RasGAP, but the mechanisms underlying its tumor suppressor activity are not well understood. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a good model system for studying neurofibromin function because it possesses Ira1 and Ira2, which are homologous to human neurofibromin in both sequence and function. We found that overexpression of CTD or a neurofibromin CTD-homologous domain (CHD) of Ira1/2 in budding yeast delayed degradation of the securin protein Pds1, whereas overexpression of CSRD/RasGAP did not affect Pds1 degradation. We also found that when CTD or CHD was overexpressed, the number of cells in metaphase was higher than in the control. These results demonstrate that CTD and CHD function in the metaphase to anaphase transition. In addition, Δira1Δira2 cells bypassed mitotic arrest in response to spindle damage, indicating that Ira1 and Ira2 may be involved in the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). However, Δira1Δira2Δmad2 cells are more sensitive to spindle damage than Δmad2 or Δira1Δira2 cells are, suggesting that Ira1/2 and Mad2 function in different pathways. Overexpression of CTD but not CSRD/RasGAP partially rescued the hypersensitivity of Δira1Δira2Δmad2 cells to microtubule-destabilizing drugs, indicating a role for CTD in the SAC pathway. Taken together, independently of RasGAP activity, the C-terminal domains of neurofibromin, Ira1, and Ira2 regulate the metaphase to anaphase transition in a Mad2-independent fashion.     

Phosphorylation of the head domain of neurofilament protein (NF-M): a factor regulating topographic phosphorylation of NF-M tail domain KSP sites in neurons

In neurons the phosphorylation of neurofilament (NF) proteins NF-M and NF-H is topographically regulated. Although kinases and NF subunits are synthesized in cell bodies, extensive phosphorylation of the KSP repeats in tail domains of NF-M and NF-H occurs primarily in axons. The nature of this regulation, however, is not understood. As obligate heteropolymers, NF assembly requires interactions between the core NF-L with NF-M or NF-H subunits, a process inhibited by NF head domain phosphorylation. Phosphorylation of head domains at protein kinase A (PKA)-specific sites seems to occur transiently in cell bodies after NF subunit synthesis. We have proposed that transient phosphorylation of head domains prevents NF assembly in the soma and inhibits tail domain phosphorylation; i.e. assembly and KSP phosphorylation in axons depends on prior dephosphorylation of head domain sites. Deregulation of this process leads to pathological accumulations of phosphorylated NFs in the soma as seen in some neurodegenerative disorders. To test this hypothesis, we studied the effect of PKA phosphorylation of the NF-M head domain on phosphorylation of tail domain KSP sites. In rat cortical neurons we showed that head domain phosphorylation of endogenous NF-M by forskolin-activated PKA inhibits NF-M tail domain phosphorylation. To demonstrate the site specificity of PKA phosphorylation and its effect on tail domain phosphorylation, we transfected NIH3T3 cells with NF-M mutated at PKA-specific head domain serine residues. Epidermal growth factor stimulation of cells with mutant NF-M in the presence of forskolin exhibited no inhibition of NF-tail domain phosphorylation compared with the wild type NF-M-transfected cells. This is consistent with our hypothesis that transient phosphorylation of NF-M head domains inhibits tail domain phosphorylation and suggests this as one of several mechanisms underlying topographic regulation.     

Domain-domain interaction of P-Rex1 is essential for the activation and inhibition by G protein betagamma subunits and PKA

PtdIns(3, 4, 5)P(3)-dependent Rac exchanger (P-Rex) 1 is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for the small GTPase Rac. P-Rex1 is activated by G protein betagamma subunits (Gbetagamma), and the Gbetagamma-induced activation is inhibited by cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA). However, the details of regulatory mechanism of P-Rex1 remain to be clarified. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism of activation and inhibition of P-Rex1 using various truncated and alanine-substituted mutants and found that the domain-domain interaction of P-Rex1 is important for Gbetagamma-induced activation and PKA-induced inhibition. Immunoprecipitation analysis showed that the second Disheveled/EGL-10/Pleckstrin (DEP) and first PSD-95/Dlg/ZO-1 (PDZ) domains of P-Rex1 associate with the inositol polyphosphate-4-phosphatase (IP4P) domain. Carboxyl-terminal truncation on the IP4P domain or mutations in the protein-binding pocket of the first PDZ domain abolished the association. Analysis of in vitro guanine nucleotide exchange assay, PAK1/2 phosphorylation, and Rac-specific actin reorganization revealed that Gbetagamma could activate a complex of the P-Rex1 mutant lacking the IP4P domain and the isolated IP4P domain as well as full-length P-Rex1. Moreover, PKA phosphorylation prevented the domain-domain interaction and Gbetagamma-binding. These results provide a new insight into the regulation of other Rho-family GEFs and cell responses induced by the heterotrimeric G protein.     

Pathogenic Mutations Associated with Legius Syndrome Modify the Spred1 Surface and Are Involved in Direct Binding to the Ras Inactivator Neurofibromin

Neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) and Legius syndrome are rare inherited disorders that share diagnostic symptoms including dermal abnormalities like axillary and inguinal freckling and café au lait spots. In addition, patients suffering from NF1 have a demanding risk for the development of severe tumors of the peripheral and central nervous system among other NF1-specific symptoms. NF1 and Legius syndrome are caused by alterations in the NF1 and SPRED1 genes encoding the Ras inhibitors neurofibromin and Spred1 (sprouty related EVH1 domain-containing protein), respectively. Neurofibromin functions as a Ras-specific GTPase-activating protein (Ras-GAP), and Spred1 enhances Ras inactivation by recruiting neurofibromin from the cytosol to membrane-anchored Ras. In a previous study, we mapped the Spred binding site to the GAP-related domain of neurofibromin (NF1-GAP) and identified the GAPex subdomain as critical for Spred1 binding. Here, we characterize the binding site of these proteins in more detail focusing on a mutant Spred1 variant carrying a pathogenic missense mutation (threonine 102 to arginine). Introduction of this mutation, which locates at the N-terminal EVH1 domain of Spred1, weakens the interaction with neurofibromin by about 3 orders of magnitude without perturbing the protein fold, and the binding site of NF1-GAP on the mutant Spred1(EVH1) variant can be identified by NMR spectroscopy. Taken together, our data provide structural insight into the interaction of Spred1 and neurofibromin and characterize the structural or functional consequence of selected patient-derived mutations associated with Legius syndrome.     

On the lysosomal degradation of neurofibromin and its phosphorylation in cultured melanocytes.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is one of the most common inherited disorders in humans. Most of the NF1 gene mutations result in a reduction of the amount of neurofibromin to about 50%. Recently, we found that the level of neurofibromin can be regulated post-translationally through the alteration of its half-life. Here, we investigated whether lysosomes are involved in this post-translational regulation in cultured melanocytes of NF1 patients and controls. When the lysosomal degradation was inhibited by chloroquine, an increase of neurofibromin by a factor of 2 to 3, correlating with an increased half-life, was measured. Incubation with phosphoprotein-phosphatase inhibitors also increased the neurofibromin content in melanocytes. Investigations on phosphorylation of neurofibromin revealed a basal phosphorylation in melanocytes cultured with growth factor-deprived medium that increased upon incubation with the growth stimulators PMA or bFGF. Because both factors are also able to increase the half-life of neurofibromin, we suggest its phosphorylation to be an important step in protecting neurofibromin against specific lysosomal degradation.     

Neurofibromatosis type I tumor suppressor neurofibromin regulates neuronal differentiation via its GTPase-activating protein function toward Ras

Neurofibromin, the neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) gene product, contains a central domain homologous to a family of proteins known as Ras-GTPase-activating proteins (Ras-GAPs), which function as negative regulators of Ras. The loss of neurofibromin function has been thought to be implicated in the abnormal regulation of Ras in NF1-related pathogenesis. In this study, we found a novel role of neurofibromin in neuronal differentiation in conjunction with the regulation of Ras activity via its GAP-related domain (GRD) in neuronal cells. In PC12 cells, time-dependent increases in the GAP activity of cellular neurofibromin (NF1-GAP) were detected after NGF stimulation, which were correlated with the down-regulation of Ras activity during neurite elongation. Interestingly, the NF1-GAP increase was due to the induction of alternative splicing of NF1-GRD type I triggered by the NGF-induced Ras activation. Dominant-negative (DN) forms of NF1-GRD type I significantly inhibited the neurite extension of PC12 cells via regulation of the Ras state. NF1-GRD-DN also reduced axonal and dendritic branching/extension of rat embryonic hippocampal neurons. These results demonstrate that the mutual regulation of Ras and NF1-GAP is essential for normal neuronal differentiation and that abnormal regulation in neuronal cells may be implicated in NF1-related learning and memory disturbance.     

Interaction between a Domain of the Negative Regulator of the Ras-ERK Pathway,SPRED1 Protein,and the GTPase-activating Protein-related Domain of Neurofibromin Is Implicated in Legius Syndrome and Neurofibromatosis Type 1

Constitutional heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in the SPRED1 gene cause a phenotype known as Legius syndrome, which consists of symptoms of multiple café-au-lait macules, axillary freckling, learning disabilities, and macrocephaly. Legius syndrome resembles a mild neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) phenotype. It has been demonstrated that SPRED1 functions as a negative regulator of the Ras-ERK pathway and interacts with neurofibromin, the NF1 gene product. However, the molecular details of this interaction and the effects of the mutations identified in Legius syndrome and NF1 on this interaction have not yet been investigated. In this study, using a yeast two-hybrid system and an immunoprecipitation assay in HEK293 cells, we found that the SPRED1 EVH1 domain interacts with the N-terminal 16 amino acids and the C-terminal 20 amino acids of the GTPase-activating protein (GAP)-related domain (GRD) of neurofibromin, which form two crossing α-helix coils outside the GAP domain. These regions have been shown to be dispensable for GAP activity and are not present in p120^GAP. Several mutations in these N- and C-terminal regions of the GRD in NF1 patients and pathogenic missense mutations in the EVH1 domain of SPRED1 in Legius syndrome reduced the binding affinity between the EVH1 domain and the GRD. EVH1 domain mutations with reduced binding to the GRD also disrupted the ERK suppression activity of SPRED1. These data clearly demonstrate that SPRED1 inhibits the Ras-ERK pathway by recruiting neurofibromin to Ras through the EVH1-GRD interaction, and this study also provides molecular basis for the pathogenic mutations of NF1 and Legius syndrome.