Stromal cell derived factor-1 acutely promotes neural progenitor cell proliferation in vitro by a mechanism involving the ERK1/2 and PI-3K signal pathways

Stromal cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1), a member of the chemotactic cytokine family, has attracted attention in recent years. It participates in diverse processes such as the regulation of neuronal migration and activation of CD4+ T cells; it is also a co-receptor for human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1). Here, we show that the proliferation of neural progenitor cells dissociated from rat cortex and cultured in vitro with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is stimulated by SDF-1. PD98059 and wortmannin, which are, respectively, specific inhibitors of the extracellular regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2) and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI-3K) signal pathways, markedly attenuate this stimulation of proliferation. These findings indicate that SDF-1 acutely promotes the proliferation of NPCs in vitro involving the ERK1/2 and PI-3 kinase pathways, suggesting that it plays a basic role in the development of neural progenitors.     

Cutting edge: stromal cell-derived factor-1 is a costimulator for CD4+ T cell activation

Stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1 is a chemoattractant for T cells, precursor B cells, monocytes, and neutrophils. SDF-1alpha was also found to up-regulate expression of early activation markers (CD69, CD25, and CD154) by anti-CD3-activated CD4+ T cells. In addition, SDF-1alpha costimulated proliferation of CD4+ T cells and production of IL-2, IFN-gamma, IL-4, and IL-10. Stimulation with SDF-1alpha alone did not induce activation marker expression, proliferation, or cytokine production by the CD4+ T cells. SDF-1alpha-mediated costimulation was blocked by anti-CXC chemokine receptor-4 mAb. RANTES also increased activation marker expression by anti-CD3-stimulated peripheral CD4+ T cells, but less effectively than SDF-1alpha did, and did not up-regulate IL-2 production and proliferation. These results indicate that SDF-1 and CXC chemokine receptor-4 interactions not only play a role in T cell migration but also provide potent costimulatory signals to Ag-stimulated T cells.     

Stromal cell-derived factor-1alpha induces astrocyte proliferation through the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 pathway

Stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), the ligand of the CXCR4 receptor, is a chemokine involved in chemotaxis and brain development that also acts as co-receptor for HIV-1 infection. We previously demonstrated that CXCR4 and SDF-1alpha are expressed in cultured type-I cortical rat astrocytes, cortical neurones and cerebellar granule cells. Here, we investigated the possible functions of CXCR4 expressed in rat type-I cortical astrocytes and demonstrated that SDF-1alpha stimulated the proliferation of these cells in vitro. The proliferative activity induced by SDF-1alpha in astrocytes was reduced by PD98059, indicating the involvement of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2) in the astrocyte proliferation induced by CXCR4 stimulation. This observation was further confirmed showing that SDF-1alpha treatment selectively activated ERK1/2, but not p38 or stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK). Moreover, both astrocyte proliferation and ERK1/2 phosphorylation, induced by SDF-1alpha, were inhibited by pertussis toxin (PTX) and wortmannin treatment indicating the involvement of a PTX sensitive G-protein and of phosphatidyl inositol-3 kinase in the signalling of SDF-1alpha. In addition, Pyk2 activation represent an upstream components for the CXCR4 signalling to ERK1/2 in astrocytes. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating a proliferative effect for SDF-1alpha in primary cultures of rat type-I astrocytes, and showing that the activation of ERK1/2 is responsible for this effect. These data suggest that CXCR4/SDF-1 should play an important role in physiological and pathological glial proliferation, such as brain development, reactive gliosis and brain tumour formation.     

Distinct role of ZAP-70 and Src homology 2 domain-containing leukocyte protein of 76 kDa in the prolonged activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase by the stromal cell-derived factor-1 alpha/CXCL12 chemokine

Stimulation of T lymphocytes with the ligand for the CXCR4 chemokine receptor stromal cell-derived factor-1alpha (SDF-1alpha/CXCL12), results in prolonged activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) ERK1 and ERK2. Because SDF-1alpha is unique among several chemokines in its ability to stimulate prolonged ERK activation, this pathway is thought to mediate special functions of SDF-1alpha that are not shared with other chemokines. However, the molecular mechanisms of this response are poorly understood. In this study we show that SDF-1alpha stimulation of prolonged ERK activation in Jurkat T cells requires both the ZAP-70 tyrosine kinase and the Src homology 2 domain-containing leukocyte protein of 76 kDa (SLP-76) scaffold protein. This pathway involves ZAP-70-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of SLP-76 at one or more of its tyrosines, 113, 128, and 145. Because TCR activates ERK via SLP-76-mediated activation of the linker of activated T cells (LAT) scaffold protein, we examined the role of LAT in SDF-1alpha-mediated ERK activation. However, neither the SLP-76 proline-rich domain that links to GADS and LAT, nor LAT, itself are required for SDF-1alpha to stimulate SLP-76 tyrosine phosphorylation or to activate ERK. Together, our results describe the distinct mechanism by which SDF-1alpha stimulates prolonged ERK activation in T cells and indicate that this pathway is specific for cells expressing both ZAP-70 and SLP-76.     

Dual role of H-Ras in regulation of lymphocyte function antigen-1 activity by stromal cell-derived factor-1alpha: implications for leukocyte transmigration

We investigated the role of H-Ras in chemokine-induced integrin regulation in leukocytes. Stimulation of Jurkat T cells with the CXC chemokine stromal cell-derived factor-1alpha (SDF-1alpha) resulted in a rapid increase in the phosphorylation, i.e., activation of extracellular signal receptor-activated kinase (ERK) but not c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase or p38 kinase, and phosphorylation of Akt, reflecting phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) activation. Phosphorylation of ERK in Jurkat cells was enhanced and attenuated by expression of dominant active (D12) or inactive (N17) forms of H-Ras, respectively, while N17 H-Ras abrogated SDF-1alpha-induced Akt phosphorylation. SDF-1alpha triggered a transient regulation of adhesion to intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 mediated by lymphocyte function antigen-1 (LFA-1) and very late antigen-4 (VLA-4), respectively, and a rapid increase in LFA-1 binding to soluble ICAM-1.Ig, which was inhibited by D12 but not N17 H-Ras. Both D12 and N17 H-Ras abrogated the regulation of LFA-1 but not VLA-4 avidity, and impaired LFA-1-mediated transendothelial chemotaxis but not VLA-4-dependent transmigration induced by SDF-1alpha. Analysis of the mutant Jurkat J19 clone revealed LFA-1 with constitutively high affinity and reduced ERK phosphorylation, which were partially restored by expression of active H-Ras. Inhibition of PI3-K blocked the up-regulation of Jurkat cell adhesion to ICAM-1 by SDF-1alpha, whereas inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase impaired the subsequent down-regulation and blocking both pathways abrogated LFA-1 regulation. Our data suggest that inhibition of initial PI3-K activation by inactive H-Ras or sustained activation of an inhibitory ERK pathway by active H-Ras prevail to abolish LFA-1 regulation and transendothelial migration induced by SDF-1alpha in leukocytes, establishing a complex and bimodal involvement of H-Ras.     

Stromal cell-derived factor 1alpha (SDF-1alpha) induces gene-expression of early growth response-1 (Egr-1) and VEGF in human arterial endothelial cells and enhances VEGF induced cell proliferation

Abstract. Stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), mainly known as a chemotactic factor for haematopoietic progenitor cells, also provides angiogenetic potency. Since the intracellular signalling of SDF-1-induced neovascularization remains unclear, we studied in human umbilical arterial endothelial cells (HUAEC) the influence of SDF-1α on induction of the genes of early growth response-1 (Egr-1) and VEGF, as well as the activation of extracellular regulated kinases (ERK) 1/2, which are all known to be involved in endothelial cell proliferation. We found a time-dependent induction of Egr-1 and VEGF mRNA expression and phosphorylation of ERK1/2 by SDF-1α. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Egr-1 expression is dependent on ERK 1/2 activation. Finally, we tried to confirm the relevance of the induced gene expression by detecting the [3H]thymidine incorporation as a marker for cell proliferation in HUAEC after stimulation with SDF-1α alone or together with VEGF. This particular test showed, that SDF-1α alone has no effect, but is able to significantly enhance VEGF induced DNA synthesis. In summary, SDF-1α is involved in different steps of endothelial cell proliferation, but, since Egr-1 and VEGF offer different functions, it may also play a so far undefined role on other conditions of the endothelium.     

SDF-1α对胶质瘤细胞U87过氧化氢损伤的保护作用

目的：探讨基质细胞衍生因子1α（SDF-1α）对过氧化氢（H2O2）损伤人脑胶质瘤细胞U87的保护作用及机制。方法：双抗体夹心酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测胶质瘤细胞U87自分泌SDF-1α;细胞增殖实验研究外源SDF-1α对U87细胞增殖的影响;SDF-1α作用U87 12小时后,0.7 mM H2O2处理6小时,流式细胞术检测细胞凋亡率;蛋白质免疫印记实验（western blot）检测SDF-1α对U87细胞中蛋白激酶B（Akt）和细胞外信号调节激酶1/2（ERK1/2）磷酸化的影响。结果：胶质瘤细胞U87自身几乎不分泌SDF-1α,24小时内外源性SDF-1α对U87细胞增殖无明显影响;H2O2损伤后,SDF-1α预处理组细胞存活率高于对照组,凋亡率和死亡率低于对照组,差异具有统计学意义;Western blot显示SDF-1α处理能够诱导U87细胞Akt和ERK1/2的快速磷酸化。结论：SDF-1α能够提高H2O2损伤的U87细胞存活率,降低凋亡率和死亡率,其机制可能与磷脂酰肌醇3激酶（PI3K）-Akt和丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPK）-ERK1/2通路的激活有关。     

Phorbol myristate acetate-activated keratinocytes stimulate proliferation of resting peripheral blood mononuclear lymphocytes via a MHC-independent, but protein kinase C- and intercellular adhesion molecule-1-dependent, mechanism.

Recent attention has focused on the role keratinocytes (KC) may play in the induction of T cell-mediated inflammatory responses in skin, particularly because KC, when activated by immunologic stimuli, express MHC class II Ag and secrete immunomodulatory cytokines. We tested the capacity of normal human KC that were stimulated with PMA to induce PBMC proliferation. PMA-treated, but not untreated, KC induced proliferation of allogeneic as well as autologous PBMC; in addition, when purified CD4+ or CD8+ T cells were used as responders, each subset proliferated. PBMC proliferation was not due to direct action of PMA on PBMC, nor to contamination of KC cultures with Langerhans cells (LC) or dermal APC. Pretreatment with different protein kinase C inhibitors abrogated the capacity of PMA-stimulated KC to induce proliferation. Paraformaldehyde-fixed PMA-KC stimulated PBMC proliferation, whereas supernatants from PMA-treated KC failed to do so, indicating that a membrane-associated activity on PMA-KC contributes to the induction of PBMC proliferation. PMA induced intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression on KC; furthermore, mAb against ICAM-1 or against its ligand lymphocyte function-associated Ag (LFA-1) (CD11a/CD18) significantly, but incompletely, reduced the stimulatory capacity of PMA-treated KC, indicating that ICAM-1/LFA-1 interaction contributed to PBMC proliferation. IFN-gamma or TNF-alpha also induced ICAM-1 on KC, but these KC failed to stimulate proliferation, suggesting that PMA induces additional signals from KC, which act in concert with ICAM-1 to promote proliferation. Finally, mAb against HLA-ABC or HLA-DR did not inhibit proliferation. We conclude that PMA can activate KC to stimulate T cell proliferation in a MHC-independent fashion. This activation is mediated by protein kinase C and in part by the induction of ICAM-1 expression on KC.     

5-HT activates ERK MAP kinase in cultured-human peripheral blood mononuclear cells via 5-HT1A receptors

In the present work, we tested the hypothesis that serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine = 5-HT) might activate the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). PBMC were maintained in culture for 72 hrs at 37 degrees C prior to the addition of 5-HT. Our results showed an increase in ERK activation by 5-HT with a peak effect at 30 min and maximal stimulation with 5-HT at 1microM. This activation of ERK did not occur in adherent monocytes suggesting that the effect was on lymphocytes. In addition, p38 MAP kinase was not activated under these conditions. The effect of 5-HT on ERK activation appeared to be mediated through the activation of 5-HT1A receptors since similar results were obtained with R-+-8-hydroxy-DPAT, a selective 5-HT1A receptor agonist and WAY100635, a selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist, reversed the 5-HT and the R-+-8-hydroxy-DPAT effects. Results from Western blot analysis confirmed the presence of 5-HT1A receptors on the PBMC. A 5-HT2A antagonist, ketanserin, and a 5-HT transport inhibitor, fluoxetine, both failed to block the activation of ERK by 5-HT. Our results indicate that 5-HT activates ERK, but not p38, MAP kinase of human PBMC via a 5-HT1A receptor.     

The CXC chemokine stromal cell-derived factor activates a Gi-coupled phosphoinositide 3-kinase in T lymphocytes

The cellular effects of stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) are mediated primarily by binding to the CXC chemokine receptor-4. We report in this study that SDF-1 and its peptide analogues induce a concentration- and time-dependent accumulation of phosphatidylinositol-(3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P3) in Jurkat cells. This SDF-1-stimulated generation of D-3 phosphoinositide lipids was inhibited by pretreatment of the cells with an SDF-1 peptide antagonist or an anti-CXCR4 Ab. In addition, the phosphoinositide 3 (PI 3)-kinase inhibitors wortmannin and LY294002, as well as the Gi protein inhibitor pertussis toxin, also inhibited the SDF-1-stimulated accumulation of PtdIns(3,4,5)P3. The effects of SDF-1 on D-3 phosphoinositide lipid accumulation correlated well with activation of the known PI 3-kinase effector protein kinase B, which was also inhibited by wortmannin and pertussis toxin. Concentrations of PI 3-kinase inhibitors, sufficient to inhibit PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 accumulation, also inhibited chemotaxis of Jurkat and peripheral blood-derived T lymphocytes in response to SDF-1. In contrast, SDF-1-stimulated actin polymerization was only partially inhibited by PI 3-kinase inhibitors, suggesting that while chemotaxis is fully dependent on PI 3-kinase activation, actin polymerization requires additional biochemical inputs. Finally, SDF-1-stimulated extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK)-1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase activation was inhibited by PI 3-kinase inhibitors. In addition, the mitogen-activated protein/ERK kinase inhibitor PD098059 partially attenuated chemotaxis in response to SDF-1. Hence, it appears that ERK1/2 activation is dependent on PI 3-kinase activation, and both biochemical events are involved in the regulation of SDF-1-stimulated chemotaxis.     

Stromal cell-derived factor-1alpha (SDF-1alpha/CXCL12) stimulates ovarian cancer cell growth through the EGF receptor transactivation

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the leading cause of death in gynecologic diseases in which there is evidence for a complex chemokine network. Chemokines are a family of proteins that play an important role in tumor progression influencing cell proliferation, angiogenic/angiostatic processes, cell migration and metastasis, and, finally, regulating the immune cells recruitment into the tumor mass. We previously demonstrated that astrocytes and glioblastoma cells express both the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and its ligand stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), and that SDF-1alpha treatment induced cell proliferation, supporting the hypothesis that chemokines may play an important role in tumor cells' growth in vitro. In the present study, we report that CXCR4 and SDF-1 are expressed in OC cell lines. We demonstrate that SDF-1alpha induces a dose-dependent proliferation in OC cells, by the specific interaction with CXCR4 and a biphasic activation of ERK1/2 and Akt kinases. Our results further indicate that CXCR4 activation induces EGF receptor (EGFR) phosphorylation that in turn was linked to the downstream intracellular kinases activation, ERK1/2 and Akt. In addition, we provide evidence for cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase (c-Src) involvement in the SDF-1/CXCR4-EGFR transactivation. These results suggest a possible important "cross-talk" between SDF-1/CXCR4 and EGFR intracellular pathways that may link signals of cell proliferation in ovarian cancer.     

IL-2 activation of a PI3K-dependent STAT3 serine phosphorylation pathway in primary human T cells

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is the major growth factor of activated T lymphocytes. By inducing cell cycle progression and protection from apoptosis in these cells, IL-2 is involved in the successful execution of an immune response. Upon binding its receptor, IL-2 activates a variety of signal transduction pathways, including the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and Janus kinase (JAK)/STAT cascades. In addition, activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and several of its downstream targets has also been shown. However, the coupling of STAT3 serine phosphorylation to PI3K in response to IL-2 has yet to be shown in either T cell lines or primary human T cells. This report shows that the PI3K inhibitors LY294002 and wortmannin block activation of MEK and ERK by IL-2 in primary human T cells. Moreover, these inhibitors significantly reduce IL-2-triggered STAT3 serine phosphorylation without affecting STAT5 serine phosphorylation. Analysis of the effects of these inhibitors on cell cycle progression and apoptosis strongly suggests that PI3K-mediated events, which includes STAT3 activation, are involved in IL-2-mediated cell proliferation but not cell survival. Finally, results presented illustrate that in primary human T cells, activation of Akt is insufficient for IL-2-induced anti-apoptosis. Thus, these results demonstrate that IL-2 stimulates PI3K-dependent events that correlate with cell cycle progression, but not anti-apoptosis, in activated primary human T cells.     

Stromal Cell-Derived Factor 1α Activates LIM Kinase 1 and Induces Cofilin Phosphorylation for T-Cell Chemotaxis

Stromal cell-derived factor 1 alpha (SDF-1alpha), the ligand for G-protein-coupled receptor CXCR4, is a chemotactic factor for T lymphocytes. LIM kinase 1 (LIMK1) phosphorylates cofilin, an actin-depolymerizing and -severing protein, at Ser-3 and regulates actin reorganization. We investigated the role of cofilin phosphorylation by LIMK1 in SDF-1alpha-induced chemotaxis of T lymphocytes. SDF-1alpha significantly induced the activation of LIMK1 in Jurkat human leukemic T cells and peripheral blood lymphocytes. SDF-1alpha also induced cofilin phosphorylation, actin reorganization, and activation of small GTPases, Rho, Rac, and Cdc42, in Jurkat cells. Pretreatment with pertussis toxin inhibited SDF-1alpha-induced LIMK1 activation, thus indicating that Gi protein is involved in LIMK1 activation. Expression of dominant negative Rac (DN-Rac), but not DN-Rho or DN-Cdc42, blocked SDF-1alpha-induced activation of LIMK1, which means that SDF-1alpha-induced LIMK1 activation is mediated by Rac but not by Rho or Cdc42. We used a cell-permeable peptide (S3 peptide) that contains the phosphorylation site (Ser-3) of cofilin to inhibit the cellular function of LIMK1. S3 peptide inhibited the kinase activity of LIMK1 in vitro. Treatment of Jurkat cells with S3 peptide inhibited the SDF-1alpha-induced cofilin phosphorylation, actin reorganization, and chemotactic response of Jurkat cells. These results suggest that the phosphorylation of cofilin by LIMK1 plays a critical role in the SDF-1alpha-induced chemotactic response of T lymphocytes.     

Antibodies against the CD44 p80, lymphocyte homing receptor molecule augment human peripheral blood T cell activation

The CD44 inhibitor Lutheran [In(Lu)]-related p80 molecule has recently been shown to be identical to the Hermes-1 lymphocyte homing receptor and to the human Pgp-1 molecule. We have determined the effect of addition of CD44 antibodies to in vitro activation assays of PBMC. CD44 antibodies did not induce PBMC proliferation alone, but markedly enhanced PBMC proliferation induced by a mitogenic CD2 antibody pair or by CD3 antibody. CD44 antibody addition had no effect upon PBMC activation induced by PHA or tetanus toxoid. CD44 antibody enhancement of CD2 antibody-induced T cell activation was specific for mature T cells as thymocytes could not be activated in the presence of combinations of CD2 and CD44 antibodies. CD44 antibody enhancement of CD2-mediated T cell triggering occurred if CD44 antibody was placed either on monocytes or on T cells. In experiments with purified monocyte and T cell suspensions, CD44 antibodies A3D8 and A1G3 augmented CD2-mediated T cell activation by three mechanisms. First, CD44 antibody binding to monocytes induced monocyte IL-1 release, second, CD44 antibodies enhanced the adhesion of T cells and monocytes in CD2 antibody-stimulated cultures, and third, CD44 antibodies augmented T cell IL-2 production in response to CD2 antibodies. Thus, ligand binding to CD44 molecules on T cells and monocytes may regulate numerous events on both cell types that are important for T cell activation. Given that recent data suggest that the CD44 molecule may bind to specific ligands on endothelial cells (vascular addressin) and within the extracellular matrix (collagen, fibronectin), these data raise the possibility that binding of T cells to endothelial cells or extracellular matrix proteins may induce or up-regulate T cell activation in inflammatory sites.     

B-Raf contributes to sustained extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation associated with interleukin-2 production stimulated through the T cell receptor

A T cell receptor (TCR) recognizes and responds to an antigenic peptide in the context of major histocompatibility complex-encoded molecules. This provokes T cells to produce interleukin-2 (IL-2) through extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation. We investigated the roles of B-Raf in TCR-mediated IL-2 production coupled with ERK activation in the Jurkat human T cell line. We found that TCR cross-linking could induce up-regulation of both B-Raf and Raf-1 activities, but Raf-1 activity was decreased rapidly. On the other hand, TCR-stimulated kinase activity of B-Raf was sustained. Expression of a dominant-negative mutant of B-Raf abrogated sustained but not transient TCR-mediated MEK/ERK activation. The inhibition of sustained ERK activation by either expression of a dominant-negative B-Raf or treatment with a MEK inhibitor resulted in a decrease of the TCR-stimulated nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) activity and IL-2 production. Collectively, our data provide the first direct evidence that B-Raf is a positive regulator of TCR-mediated sustained ERK activation, which is required for NFAT activation and the full production of IL-2.     

Possible role of stromal-cell-derived factor-1/CXCR4 signaling on lymph node metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma

We examined the role of chemokine signaling on the lymph node metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) using lymph node metastatic (HNt and B88) and nonmetastatic oral SCC cells. Of 13 kinds of chemokine receptors examined, only CXCR4 expression was up-regulated in HNt and B88 cells. CXCR4 ligand, stromal-cell-derived factor-1alpha (SDF-1alpha; CXCL12), induced characteristic calcium fluxes and chemotaxis only in CXCR4-expressing cells. CXCR4 expression in metastatic cancer tissue was significantly higher than that in nonmetastatic cancer tissue or normal gingiva. Although SDF-1alpha was undetectable in either oral SCC or normal epithelial cells, submandibular lymph nodes expressed the SDF-1alpha protein, mainly in the stromal cells, but occasionally in metastatic cancer cells. The conditioned medium from lymphatic stromal cells promoted the chemotaxis of B88 cells, which was blocked by the CXCR4 neutralization. SDF-1alpha rapidly activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and Akt/protein kinase B (PKB), and their synthetic inhibitors attenuated the chemotaxis by SDF-1alpha. SDF-1alpha also activated Src family kinases (SFKs), and its inhibitor PP1 diminished the SDF-1alpha-induced chemotaxis and activation of both ERK1/2 and Akt/PKB. These results indicate that SDF-1/CXCR4 signaling may be involved in the establishment of lymph node metastasis in oral SCC via activation of both ERK1/2 and Akt/PKB induced by SFKs.     

Dynamics of proximal signaling events after TCR/CD8-mediated induction of proliferation or apoptosis in mature CD8+ T cells

Engagement of the TCR can induce different functional outcomes such as activation, proliferation, survival, or apoptosis. How the TCR-mediated signaling cascades generating these distinct cellular responses are organized on the molecular level is so far not completely understood. To obtain insight into this question, we analyzed TCR/CD8-mediated signaling events in mature OT-I TCR transgenic T cells under conditions of stimulation that lead to either proliferation or apoptosis. These experiments revealed major differences in the phosphorylation dynamics of LAT, ZAP70, protein kinase B, phospholipase C-gamma1, protein kinase D1, and ERK1/2. Moreover, input signals leading to apoptosis induced a strong, but transient activation of ERK1/2 mainly at sites of TCR-engagement. In contrast, stimuli promoting survival/proliferation generated a low and sustained activation of ERK1/2, which colocalizes with Ras in recycling endosomal vesicles. The transient activation of ERK1/2 under pro-apoptotic conditions of stimulation is at least partially due to the rapid polyubiquitination and subsequent degradation of ZAP70, whereas the sustained activation of ERK1/2 under survival promoting conditions is paralleled by the induction/phosphorylation of anti-apoptotic molecules such as protein kinase B and Bcl-x(L). Collectively, our data provide signaling signatures that are associated with proliferation or apoptosis of T cells.     

Optimal chemotactic responses of leukemic T cells to stromal cell-derived factor-1 requires the activation of both class IA and IB phosphoinositide 3-kinases

Stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and its receptor CXCR4 are a multifunctional chemokine/receptor system with essential roles in the development of the immune system and other aspects of embryogenesis, including vascularization and organ development. SDF-1 is also a potent chemoattractant for T cells and has roles in both inflammation and immune homeostasis. Our group has previously demonstrated that phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) is activated in SDF-1-stimulated T cells and is indeed required for SDF-1-mediated chemotaxis. In this study Jurkat clones were established, stably expressing dominant negative constructs of class IA and class IB PI 3-kinases under the control of the tetracycline off inducible gene system, to determine the relative roles of these PI 3-kinases in SDF-1 signaling. Our results show that expression of either kinase-dead PI3Kgamma (KD-PI3Kgamma) or Deltap85 (a construct unable to bind class I(A) p110alpha, -beta, or -delta) leads to a partial inhibition of SDF-1-stimulated protein kinase B phosphorylation, but had no effect on SDF-1-induced phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase ERK1/2. Functional studies demonstrated that expression of KD-PI3Kgamma markedly inhibited SDF-1-mediated chemotaxis, typically eliciting 40-60% inhibition. Interestingly, the expression of Deltap85 also leads to inhibition of the SDF-1-mediated chemotactic response, albeit to a much lesser extent than achieved with the KD-PI3Kgamma mutant, typically in the range of 20-40% inhibition. Furthermore, the inhibition of chemotaxis by the expression of dominant negative class IA or class IB PI 3-kinases could be enhanced by the presence of the PI 3-kinase inhibitor LY294002. Together, these results demonstrate that optimal chemotactic response of leukemic T cells to SDF-1 requires the activation of both class IA and class IB PI 3-kinases.     

Rac-PAK signaling stimulates extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation by regulating formation of MEK1-ERK complexes

Utilizing mutants of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 (ERK2) that are defective for intrinsic mitogen-activated protein kinase or ERK kinase (MEK) binding, we have identified a convergent signaling pathway that facilitates regulated MEK-ERK association and ERK activation. ERK2-delta19-25 mutants defective in MEK binding could be phosphorylated in response to mitogens; however, signaling from the Raf-MEK pathway alone was insufficient to stimulate their phosphorylation in COS-1 cells. Phosphorylation of ERK2-delta19-25 but not of wild-type ERK2 in response to Ras V12 was greatly inhibited by dominant-negative Rac. Activated forms of Rac and Cdc42 could enhance the association of wild-type ERK2 with MEK1 but not with MEK2 in serum-starved adherent cells. This effect was p21-activated kinase (PAK) dependent and required the putative PAK phosphorylation sites T292 and S298 of MEK1. In detached cells placed in suspension, ERK2 was complexed with MEK2 but not with MEK1. However, upon replating of cells onto a fibronectin matrix, there was a substantial induction of MEK1-ERK2 association and ERK activation, both of which could be inhibited by dominant-negative PAK1. These data show that Rac facilitates the assembly of a mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling complex required for ERK activation and that this facilitative signaling pathway is active during adhesion to the extracellular matrix. These findings reveal a novel mechanism by which adhesion and growth factor signals are integrated during ERK activation.