The carboxy terminus of pp60c-src is a regulatory domain and is involved in complex formation with the middle-T antigen of polyomavirus.

A large number of mutations were introduced into the carboxy-terminal domain of pp60c-src. The level of phosphorylation on Tyr-416 and Tyr-527, the transforming activity (as measured by focus formation on NIH 3T3 cells), kinase activity, and the ability of the mutant pp60c-src to associate with the middle-T antigen of polyomavirus were examined. The results indicate that Tyr-527 is a major carboxy-terminal element responsible for regulating pp60c-src in vivo. A good but not perfect correlation exists between lack of phosphorylation at Tyr-527 and increased phosphorylation at Tyr-416, between elevated phosphorylation on Tyr-416 and activated kinase activity, and between activated kinase activity and transforming activity. Phosphorylation of Tyr-527 was insensitive to the mutation of adjacent residues, indicating that the primary sequence only has a minor role in recognition by kinases or phosphatases which regulate it in vivo. Three mutants which have in common a modified Glu-524 residue were phosphorylated on Tyr-416 and Tyr-527 and were weakly transforming. This suggests that other mechanisms besides complete dephosphorylation of Tyr-527 can lead to increased phosphorylation of Tyr-416 and activation of the transforming activity of pp60c-src. Furthermore, the residues between Asp-518 and Pro-525 were required to form a stable complex with middle-T antigen. The proximity of these sequences to Tyr-527 suggests a model in which middle-T activates pp60c-src by binding directly to this region of the molecular and thereby preventing phosphorylation of Tyr-527. Alternatively, middle-T binding may mediate a conformational change in this region, which in turn induces an alteration in the level of phosphorylation at Tyr-527 and Tyr-416.     

Regulation of pp60c-src and its interaction with polyomavirus middle T antigen in insect cells.

High yields of soluble, biologically active pp60c-src and middle t antigen (MTAg) of polyomavirus were produced in insect cells, using a baculovirus expression system. In mammalian cells, pp60c-src undergoes a regulatory phosphorylation on Tyr-527 in vivo and is autophosphorylated on Tyr-416 in vitro. In insect cells, pp60c-src was phosphorylated primarily on Tyr-416, although Tyr-527 was detectable at a low level. A kinase-negative mutant of pp60c-src was not phosphorylated on either Tyr-527 or Tyr-416 in insect cells and thus is an excellent biochemical reagent to search for the regulatory kinase that usually phosphorylates Tyr-527 in mammalian cells. MTAg synthesized in insect cells was not phosphorylated on tyrosine residues in vivo or in vitro, suggesting that it did not associate with any endogenous tyrosine kinases. However, MTAg isolated from cells coinfected with viruses encoding both MTAg and pp60c-src was phosphorylated on tyrosine residues both in vivo and in vitro.     

Dephosphorylation or antibody binding to the carboxy terminus stimulates pp60c-src.

Phosphorylation of pp60c-src at Tyr-527, six residues from the carboxy terminus, has been implicated in regulation of the protein-tyrosine kinase activity of pp60c-src. Here we show that dephosphorylation of pp60c-src by phosphatase treatment in vitro caused a 10- to 20-fold increase in pp60c-src protein-tyrosine kinase activity. Binding of specific antibody to the region of pp60c-src which contains phosphotyrosine-527 also increased kinase activity. Each treatment increased phosphorylation of added substrates and of Tyr-416 within pp60c-src by a similar mechanism that involved altered interactions with ATP and increased catalytic rate. We suggest that the phosphorylated carboxy terminus acts as an inhibitor of the protein kinase domain of pp60c-src, unless its conformation is altered by either dephosphorylation or antibody binding. The antibody additionally stimulated the phosphorylation of forms of pp60c-src that had reduced gel mobility, much like those phosphorylated in kinase reactions containing pp60c-src activated by polyomavirus medium tumor antigen. These in vitro experiments provide models for the activation of pp60c-src in cells transformed by polyomavirus. We also show that autophosphorylation of pp60c-src at Tyr-527 occurs only to a very limited extent in vitro, even when Tyr-527 is made available for phosphorylation by treatment with phosphatase. This suggests that other protein-tyrosine kinases may normally phosphorylate Tyr-527 and regulate pp60c-src in the cell.     

Acetaldehyde dissociates the PTP1B-E-cadherin-beta-catenin complex in Caco-2 cell monolayers by a phosphorylation-dependent mechanism

Interactions between E-cadherin, beta-catenin and PTP1B (protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B) are crucial for the organization of AJs (adherens junctions) and epithelial cell-cell adhesion. In the present study, the effect of acetaldehyde on the AJs and on the interactions between E-cadherin, beta-catenin and PTP1B was determined in Caco-2 cell monolayers. Treatment of cell monolayers with acetaldehyde induced redistribution of E-cadherin and beta-catenin from the intercellular junctions by a tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent mechanism. The PTPase activity associated with E-cadherin and beta-catenin was significantly reduced and the interaction of PTP1B with E-cadherin and beta-catenin was attenuated by acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde treatment resulted in phosphorylation of beta-catenin on tyrosine residues, and abolished the interaction of beta-catenin with E-cadherin by a tyrosine kinase-dependent mechanism. Protein binding studies showed that the treatment of cells with acetaldehyde reduced the binding of beta-catenin to the C-terminal region of E-cadherin. Pairwise binding studies using purified proteins indicated that the direct interaction between E-cadherin and beta-catenin was reduced by tyrosine phosphorylation of beta-catenin, but was unaffected by tyrosine phosphorylation of E-cadherin-C. Treatment of cells with acetaldehyde also reduced the binding of E-cadherin to GST (glutathione S-transferase)-PTP1B. The pairwise binding study showed that GST-E-cadherin-C binds to recombinant PTP1B, but this binding was significantly reduced by tyrosine phosphorylation of E-cadherin. Acetaldehyde increased the phosphorylation of beta-catenin on Tyr-331, Tyr-333, Tyr-654 and Tyr-670. These results show that acetaldehyde induces disruption of interactions between E-cadherin, beta-catenin and PTP1B by a phosphorylation-dependent mechanism.     

pp60c-src variants containing lesions that affect phosphorylation at tyrosines 416 and 527.

The biological and biochemical properties of pp60c-src are regulated, in part, by phosphorylation at Tyr-416 and Tyr-527. The tyrosine kinase and transforming activities of pp60c-src are suppressed by phosphorylation at Tyr-527, whereas full activation of pp60c-src requires phosphorylation at Tyr-416. To test specifically the significance of the negatively charged phosphate moieties on these tyrosine residues, we have substituted the codons for both residues with codons for either Glu or Gln. A negatively charged Glu at position 527 was unable to mimic a phosphorylated Tyr at this position, and, in consequence, the mutated pp60c-src was activated and transforming. Similarly, substitution of Tyr-416 with Glu was unable to stimulate the activities of the enzyme. However, mutagenesis of Tyr-416 to Gln (to form the mutant 416Q) activated the kinase activity approximately twofold over that observed for wild-type pp60c-src. When introduced into the mutant 527F (containing Phe-527 instead of Tyr), the double mutant 416Q-527F exhibited weak transforming activity. This is in contrast to the other double mutants 416E-527F and 416F-527F, which were nontransforming. The biochemical basis by which 416Q activates pp60c-src is not understood but probably involves some local conformational perturbation. Deletion of residues 519 to 524 (RH5), a region previously shown to be necessary for association with middle-T antigen, led to loss of phosphorylation at Tyr-527 and activation of the enzymatic and focus-forming activities of pp60c-src. Hence, the sequences necessary for complex formation with middle-T antigen may also be required by the kinase(s) which phosphorylates Tyr-527 in vivo. This suggests that normal cells contain cellular proteins which are analogous to middle-T antigen and whose action regulates the activity of pp60c-src by controlling phosphorylation or dephosphorylation at residue 527.     

Structural differences between repressed and derepressed forms of p60c-src.

The kinase activity of p60c-src is derepressed by removal of phosphate from Tyr-527, mutation of this residue to Phe, or binding of a carboxy-terminal antibody. We have compared the structures of repressed and active p60c-src, using proteases. All forms of p60c-src are susceptible to proteolysis at the boundary between the amino-terminal region and the kinase domain, but there are several sites elsewhere that are more sensitive to trypsin digestion in repressed than in derepressed forms of p60c-src. The carboxy-terminal tail (containing Tyr-527) is more sensitive to digestion by pronase E and thermolysin when Tyr-527 is not phosphorylated. The kinase domain fragment released with trypsin has kinase activity. Relative to intact p60c-src, the kinase domain fragment shows altered substrate specificity, diminished regulation by the phosphorylated carboxy terminus, and novel phosphorylation sites. The results identify parts of p60c-src that change conformation upon kinase activation and suggest functions for the amino-terminal region.     

Regulation of the oncogenic activity of the cellular src protein requires the correct spacing between the kinase domain and the C-terminal phosphorylated tyrosine (Tyr-527).

Repression of the tyrosine kinase activity of the cellular src protein (pp60c-src) depends on the phosphorylation of a tyrosine residue (Tyr-527) near the carboxy terminus. Tyr-527 is located 11 residues C terminal from the genetically defined end of the kinase domain (Leu-516) and is therefore in a negative regulatory region. Because the precise sequence of amino acids surrounding Tyr-527 appears to be unimportant for regulation, we hypothesized that the conformational constraints induced by phosphorylated Tyr-527 may require the correct spacing between the kinase domain (Leu-516) and Tyr-527. In this report, we show that deletions at residue 518 of two, four, or seven amino acids or insertions at this residue of two or four amino acids activated the kinase activity and thus the transforming potential of pp60c-src. As is the case for the prototype transforming variant, pp60527F, activation caused by these deletions or insertions was abolished when Tyr-416 (the autophosphorylation site) was changed to phenylalanine. In comparison with wild-type pp60c-src, the src proteins containing the alterations at residue 518 showed a lower phosphorylation state at Tyr-527 regardless of whether residue 416 was a tyrosine or a phenylalanine. Mechanisms dealing with the importance of spacing between the kinase domain and Tyr-527 are discussed.     

Alterations in pp60c-src accompany differentiation of neurons from rat embryo striatum.

Cultured neurons from rat embryo striatum were found to contain two structurally distinct forms of pp60c-src. The 60-kilodalton (kDa) form appeared similar to pp60c-src from cultured rat fibroblasts or astrocytes. The 61-kDa form was specific to neurons and differed in the NH2-terminal 18 kDa of the molecule. In undifferentiated neurons the predominant phosphorylated species of pp60c-src was the fibroblast form. Upon differentiation, a second phosphorylated form of pp60c-src was detected. This form had two or more additional sites of serine phosphorylation within the NH2-terminal 18-kDa region of the molecule, one of which was Ser-12. The specific protein-tyrosine kinase activity of the total pp60c-src population increased 14-fold, as measured by autophosphorylation, or 7-fold, as measured by phosphorylation of an exogenous substrate, as striatal neurons differentiated. This elevation in protein kinase activity occurred without a detectable decrease in Tyr-527 phosphorylation or increase in Tyr-416 phosphorylation. Our results support the idea that the expression of the neuron-specific form of pp60c-src and the increase in specific protein kinase activity may be important for neuronal differentiation.     

Regulation by the autophosphorylation site in overexpressed pp60c-src.

We show that overexpressed pp60c-src is phosphorylated at Tyr-416 and has increased specific kinase activity when isolated from cells incubated with vanadate, a tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor. This supports the hypothesis that transient Tyr-416 phosphorylation modulates the activity of overexpressed pp60c-src in vivo. Mutagenesis indicates that Tyr-416 modulates pp60v-src activity as well.     

Mutation of amino acids in pp60c-src that are phosphorylated by protein kinases C and A.

The product of the c-src proto-oncogene, pp60c-src, is phosphorylated at Ser-17 by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A and at Ser-12 by calcium-phospholipid-dependent protein kinase C (when stimulated by 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate). We tested the effects of Ser----Ala and Ser----Glu mutations at these sites in pp60c-src and in pp60c-src(F527) (a mutant whose transforming activities are enhanced by Tyr-527----Phe mutation) by transfecting single-, double-, and triple-mutant src expression plasmids into NIH 3T3 cells. Tryptic phosphopeptide analyses of the mutant proteins confirmed prior biochemical identifications of the phosphorylation sites and showed that neither separate nor coordinate mutations at Ser-12 and Ser-17 affected Tyr-416, Tyr-527, or Ser-48 phosphorylation or prevented mitosis-specific phosphorylations of either pp60c-src or pp60c-src(F527). Ser-12 mutation did not affect phosphorylation of the Ser-17-containing peptide, but mutation of Ser-17 significantly increased phosphorylation at Ser-12. Specific kinase activities (both with and without in vivo 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate treatment) and the abilities of pp60c-src and pp60c-src(F527) to induce foci, transformed morphologies, and anchorage-independent growth were unaffected by any of the serine mutations. Thus, pp60c-src transforming activity in NIH 3T3 cells is relatively insensitive to phosphorylation at these sites, but there is a suggestion that Ser-17 phosphorylation may have a subtle regulatory effect.     

Purification and characterization of a pp60c-src-related tyrosine kinase that effectively phosphorylates a synthetic peptide derived from p34cdc2.

A protein tyrosine kinase has been purified from the particulate fraction of bovine spleen to a specific activity of 0.217 mumol/min/mg at 100 microM ATP and 3 mM [Val5] angiotensin II. Both the angiotensin phosphorylation activity and immunoreactivity towards an antibody preparation raised against a synthetic peptide containing the autophosphorylation site of pp60c-src, Cys-src(403-421), were monitored during the purification. The purified sample displayed three closely spaced protein bands with molecular weights of 50-55 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. All bands could be phosphorylated exclusively on tyrosine residues under autophosphorylation conditions. All reacted on immunoblots with an antibody raised against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the consensus autophosphorylation site of members of the pp60c-src family of tyrosine kinases. Tryptic phosphopeptide maps of the three proteins were essentially indistinguishable. The results suggest that the purified enzyme preparation contained mainly three closely related pp60c-src-family protein tyrosine kinases or a pp60src-family protein tyrosine kinase modified posttranslationally to give three closely spaced protein bands on sodium dodecyl sulfate gel. Neither of these proteins appears to be pp60c-src or p56lck. The spleen protein tyrosine kinase was found to phosphorylate a p34cdc2 kinase peptide, Cys-cdc2(8-20), which contained the regulatory tyrosine residue Tyr-15 about 20 times better than [Val5]angiotensin II or Cys-src(403-421) peptide at a peptide substrate concentration of 1 mM. In contrast, epidermal growth factor receptor kinase partially purified from A431 cells did not show preference for Cys-cdc2(8-20) as its substrate. Although Cys-cdc2(8-20) contained two tyrosine residues, only the tyrosine corresponding to Tyr-15 in p34cdc2 was phosphorylated by the spleen tyrosine kinase. The observation suggests that the primary structure surrounding Tyr-15 of p34cdc2 contains substrate structural determinants specific for the spleen tyrosine kinase.     

Substitution of Ser-17 of pp60c-src: biological and biochemical characterization in chicken embryo fibroblasts.

pp60c-src is phosphorylated mainly on Ser-17 and Tyr-527 in vivo. In this study, we examined the effect of the phosphorylation of Ser-17 on the properties of pp60c-src by introducing Rous sarcoma virus variants carrying pp60c-src in which Ser-17 had been substituted, into chicken embryo fibroblasts. The Ala-17 substitution in wild-type pp60c-src and pp60c-src carrying Phe-527 caused a two- to threefold elevation in the kinase activity in vitro of these proteins; the former variant resulted in no morphological changes of infected cells, whereas the latter variant transformed chicken embryo fibroblasts. Since the substitution of Tyr-527 per se has been reported to activate pp60c-src, these results suggest that the abolishment of the phosphorylation of Ser-17 does not affect noticeably the properties of pp60c-src in chicken embryo fibroblasts.     

Activation of the proto-oncogene p60c-src by point mutations in the SH2 domain.

To investigate the importance of a conserved region spanning residues 137 to 241 in the noncatalytic domain of p60c-src (SH2 region), we used oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis to change residues that are highly conserved in this region. Chicken embryo fibroblasts infected with a p60c-src variant containing arginine instead of tryptophan at residue 148 (W148R) appeared more rounded than cells overexpressing a normal c-src gene, and they formed colonies in soft agar. p60c-src variants containing serine instead of arginine at residue 155 (R155S) or isoleucine instead of glycine at residue 170 (G170I) also appeared transformed and were anchorage independent, but to a lesser extent than W148R. Mutation of residue 201 from histidine to leucine (H201L) had no observable effect. The in vitro kinase activity of cells infected with W148R or G170I was elevated twofold. Expression of p60W148R (or, to a lesser extent, of p60G170I) increased the number of proteins phosphorylated on tyrosine in infected cells. All of the mutants were phosphorylated in vivo on Tyr-527, instead of Tyr-416 as observed for p60v-src. Immunoprecipitated p60W148R and p60G170I were found to be associated with a phosphatidylinositol kinase activity, a factor which appears to be necessary for transformation by tyrosine-specific protein kinases. These results show that a single point mutation in the SH2 region of the cellular src gene can activate its transforming potential. This type of activation is in a new category of alterations at the amino terminus that activate but do not cause a shift in phosphorylation at the carboxy terminus.     

Tubulin is phosphorylated at tyrosine by pp60c-src in nerve growth cone membranes

We show here that tubulin is the major in vivo substrate of the tyrosine-specific protein kinase pp60c-src in nerve growth cone membranes. Phosphotyrosine antibodies were used to demonstrate phosphotyrosyl residues in a subpopulation of alpha- and beta-tubulin that was highly enriched in a subcellular fraction of growth cone membranes from fetal rat brain. The presence of phosphotyrosine- modified isoforms of alpha- and beta-tubulin in vivo was confirmed by 32p labeling of rat cortical neurons in culture. Tubulin in growth cone membranes was phosphorylated at tyrosine in endogenous membrane phosphorylation reactions (0.068 mol phosphotyrosine/mol alpha-tubulin and 0.045 mol phosphotyrosine/mol beta-tubulin), and phosphorylation was specifically inhibited by antibodies directed against pp60c-src, which is localized in the growth cone membranes. pp60c-src was capable of directly phosphorylating tubulin as shown in immune complex kinase assays with purified brain tubulin. Phosphopeptide mapping revealed a limited number of sites of tyrosine phosphorylation in alpha- and beta- tubulin, with similar phosphopeptides observed in vivo and in vitro. These results reveal a novel posttranslational modification of tubulin that could regulate microtubule dynamics at the growth cone.     

p120 Catenin-associated Fer and Fyn tyrosine kinases regulate beta-catenin Tyr-142 phosphorylation and beta-catenin-alpha-catenin Interaction

beta-Catenin has a key role in the formation of adherens junction through its interactions with E-cadherin and alpha-catenin. We show here that interaction of beta-catenin with alpha-catenin is regulated by the phosphorylation of beta-catenin Tyr-142. This residue can be phosphorylated in vitro by Fer or Fyn tyrosine kinases. Transfection of these kinases to epithelial cells disrupted the association between both catenins. We have also examined whether these kinases are involved in the regulation of this interaction by K-ras. Stable transfectants of the K-ras oncogene in intestinal epithelial IEC18 cells were generated which show little alpha-catenin-beta-catenin association with respect to control clones; this effect is accompanied by increased Tyr-142 phosphorylation and activation of Fer and Fyn kinases. As reported for Fer, Fyn kinase is constitutively bound to p120 catenin; expression of K-ras induces the phosphorylation of p120 catenin on tyrosine residues increasing its affinity for E-cadherin and, consequently, promotes the association of Fyn with the adherens junction complex. Yes tyrosine kinase also binds to p120 catenin but only upon activation, and stimulates Fer and Fyn tyrosine kinases. These results indicate that p120 catenin acts as a docking protein facilitating the activation of Fer/Fyn tyrosine kinases by Yes and demonstrate the role of these p120 catenin-associated kinases in the regulation of beta-catenin-alpha-catenin interaction.     

Complex Formation with Focal Adhesion Kinase: A Mechanism to Regulate Activity and Subcellular Localization of Src Kinases

Tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) creates a high-affinity binding site for the src homology 2 domain of the Src family of tyrosine kinases. Assembly of a complex between FAK and Src kinases may serve to regulate the subcellular localization and the enzymatic activity of members of the Src family of kinases. We show that simultaneous overexpression of FAK and pp60(c-src) or p59(fyn) results in the enhancement of the tyrosine phosphorylation of a limited number of cellular substrates, including paxillin. Under these conditions, tyrosine phosphorylation of paxillin is largely cell adhesion dependent. FAK mutants defective for Src binding or focal adhesion targeting fail to cooperate with pp60(c-src) or p59(fyn) to induce paxillin phosphorylation, whereas catalytically defective FAK mutants can direct paxillin phosphorylation. The negative regulatory site of pp60(c-src) is hypophosphorylated when in complex with FAK, and coexpression with FAK leads to a redistribution of pp60(c-src) from a diffuse cellular location to focal adhesions. A FAK mutant defective for Src binding does not effectively induce the translocation of pp60(c-src) to focal adhesions. These results suggest that association with FAK can alter the localization of Src kinases and that FAK functions to direct phosphorylation of cellular substrates by recruitment of Src kinases.     

Structural elements that regulate pp59c-fyn catalytic activity, transforming potential, and ability to associate with polyomavirus middle-T antigen.

Except for its unique amino-terminal region (residues 1 through 83), which possibly dictates substrate recognition, pp59c-fyn bears a high degree of homology with other members of the src family of tyrosine kinases. Here we show that the carboxy terminus of pp59c-fyn is necessary for stable middle-T-antigen association, that pp59c-fyn is normally phosphorylated on both serine and tyrosine residues, and that Tyr-531 and Tyr-420 are phosphorylation sites in vivo and in vitro, respectively. Analysis of a spontaneously generated mutant encoding a truncated form of pp59c-fyn and of variants specifically mutated at the Tyr-531 and Tyr-420 phosphorylation sites indicates that pp59c-fyn has regulatory elements analogous to those that have already been identified for other src-like tyrosine kinases. However, further examination of the pp59c-fyn variants suggests the likelihood of additional means by which its activities might be regulated. Although alteration of Tyr-531 to phenylalanine (531F) in pp59c-fyn results in a protein which is more active enzymatically that the wild type, the enhancement is much less than that for the analogous variant of pp60c-src. Furthermore, contrary to results of similar experiments on other src-like proto-oncogene products, 531F did not induce transformation of NIH 3T3 cells. Studies involving pp59c-fyn-pp60c-src chimeras in which the unique amino-terminal sequences (residues 1 through 83) of the two kinases were precisely interchanged implied that the inability of 531F to induce transformation is probably not caused by the absence of substrates for pp59c-fyn in NIH 3T3 cells but rather by the insufficient enhancement of pp59c-fyn kinase activity. It is therefore probable that the kinase and transforming activities of pp59c-fyn are repressed by additional regulatory elements possibly located in the amino-terminal half of the molecule.     

Characterization of purified pp60c-src protein tyrosine kinase from human platelets.

Intact pp60c-src, the cellular homologue of the transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus, was purified from human platelets. The purified fractions also contained small amounts of a 54-kDa proteolytic degradation product of pp60c-src. We investigated some of the biochemical and kinetic properties of pp60c-src protein tyrosine kinase. Maximum kinase activity occurred at pH 6.5 and required a mixture of 2 mM Mn2+/Mg2+ as divalent cations. The enzyme most strongly phosphorylated casein, followed by enolase and alcohol dehydrogenase. The Km value for ATP was 4 microM for substrate phosphorylation and for autophosphorylation. Using casein, we determined a Vmax for substrate phosphorylation by pp60c-src in the range of 1.9-3.4 nmol.min-1.mg-1. Since the Vmax value for the purified 54-kDa fragment of pp60c-src was also included in this value, we conclude that proteolytic degradation of a 6-kDa fragment from the N-terminus of pp60c-src did not affect its kinase activity. Tryptic phosphopeptide analysis identified Tyr-416 as the major autophosphorylation site. Preincubation of purified pp60c-src with ATP increased the amount of autophosphorylation accompanied by an increase in Vmax, whereas the Km values were not altered. Our data directly demonstrate that autophosphorylation at Tyr-416 exerts, in contrast to phosphorylation at Tyr-527, a positive regulatory effect on the pp60c-src kinase activity.