The Carboxyl-terminal Tail of Noxa Protein Regulates the Stability of Noxa and Mcl-1

The BH3-only protein Noxa is a critical mediator of apoptosis and functions primarily by sequestering/inactivating the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family protein Mcl-1. Although Noxa is a highly labile protein, recent studies suggested that it is degraded by the proteasome in a ubiquitylation-independent manner. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism of Noxa degradation and its ability to regulate the stability of Mcl-1. We found that the ubiquitylation-independent degradation of Noxa does not require a physical association with Mcl-1. A short stretch of amino acid residues in the C-terminal tail was found to mediate the proteasome-dependent degradation of Noxa. Ectopic placement of this degron was able to render other proteins unstable. Surprisingly, mutation of this sequence not only attenuated the rapid degradation of Noxa, but also stabilized endogenous Mcl-1 through the BH3-mediated direct interaction. Together, these results suggest that the C-terminal tail of Noxa regulates the stability of both Noxa and Mcl-1.     

Caspase cleavage of Mcl-1 impairs its anti-apoptotic activity and proteasomal degradation in non-small lung cancer cells

Global cleavage of cellular proteins by activated caspases is a hallmark of apoptosis, which causes biochemical collapse of the cell. Recent studies suggest that, rather than completely destroying a protein, caspase cleavage can confer novel characteristics or functions. In this respect, the post-caspase role of Bcl-2 family proteins remains uncharacterized. Here, we showed that Mcl-1, a pro-survival member of the Bcl-2 family, was cleaved by caspase-3 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells undergoing chemotherapeutic agent-triggered apoptosis. Caspase cleavage partially impaired the anti-apoptotic activity of Mcl-1 by reducing its mitochondrial localization and impeding its association with the permeability transition pore-forming protein Bak. However, the stability of cleaved Mcl-1 was markedly enhanced because it was more refractory to ubiquitination-dependent proteasomal degradation, thereby improving cell viability to a greater extent than full-length Mcl-1 when transiently expressed in NSCLC cells. These findings shed new light on the role of Mcl-1 in apoptosis and suggest potential novel targets for optimizing the tumoricidal capacity of chemotherapy.     

Mcl-1 Integrates the Opposing Actions of Signaling Pathways That Mediate Survival and Apoptosis

Mcl-1 is a member of the Bcl2-related protein family that is a critical mediator of cell survival. Exposure of cells to stress causes inhibition of Mcl-1 mRNA translation and rapid destruction of Mcl-1 protein by proteasomal degradation mediated by a phosphodegron created by glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) phosphorylation of Mcl-1. Here we demonstrate that prior phosphorylation of Mcl-1 by the c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK) is essential for Mcl-1 phosphorylation by GSK3. Stress-induced Mcl-1 degradation therefore requires the coordinated activity of JNK and GSK3. Together, these data establish that Mcl-1 functions as a site of signal integration between the proapoptotic activity of JNK and the prosurvival activity of the AKT pathway that inhibits GSK3.Mcl-1 is an antiapoptotic member of the Bcl2 family. Gene knockout studies of mice demonstrate that Mcl-1 is essential for embryonic development and for the survival of hematopoietic cells (28-30). Studies of the stress response have demonstrated that Mcl-1 plays an important role in the sensitization of cells to apoptotic signals (1, 11, 25). Thus, exposure to UV radiation causes the rapid degradation of Mcl-1 and the release of proapoptotic partner proteins from Mcl-1 complexes (e.g., Bim). The mechanism of rapid Mcl-1 destruction is mediated by the combined actions of two different pathways. First, the exposure to stress causes phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF-2α) on the inhibitory site Ser-51 that prevents translation of Mcl-1 mRNA (1, 11, 25). Second, Mcl-1 is rapidly degraded by the ubiquitin-dependent proteasome pathway (27). Together, these pathways cause a rapid reduction in Mcl-1 expression. This loss of Mcl-1 may be a required initial response for the apoptosis of cells exposed to stress (25).The E3 ubiquitin protein ligase Mule/ARF-BP1 contains a BH3 domain that interacts with Mcl-1 and can initiate ubiquitin-dependent degradation of Mcl-1 (39). Recent studies have demonstrated that rapid stress-induced degradation of Mcl-1 is mediated by an alternative pathway involving the E3 ubiquitin protein ligase β-TrCP, which binds a stress-induced phosphodegron created by the phosphorylation of Mcl-1 by glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) (7, 21). How the exposure to stress causes GSK3-mediated phosphorylation of Mcl-1 is unclear, but GSK3 has been shown to directly phosphorylate Mcl-1 (7, 21). Mcl-1 phosphorylation and degradation may therefore be controlled by the prosurvival AKT pathway, which can negatively regulate GSK3 (7, 21).Mcl-1 is critically involved in the regulation of cell survival and is therefore subject to regulation by multiple mechanisms (26). Thus, Mcl-1 gene expression is regulated by many growth factors and cytokines (26), and Mcl-1 mRNA is regulated by microRNA pathways (24). The Mcl-1 protein is stabilized by binding TCTP (20) and the BH3-only protein Bim (4). In contrast, the BH3-only protein Noxa binds and destabilizes Mcl-1 (4, 36). Moreover, it is established that Mcl-1 is phosphorylated by several protein kinases on sites that may regulate Mcl-1 function. Phosphorylation of human Mcl-1 (hMcl-1) on Ser-64 (a site that is not conserved in other species) may enhance antiapoptotic activity by increasing the interaction of Mcl-1 with Bim, Noxa, and Bak (18). Phosphorylation on Ser-121 and Thr-163 may inhibit the antiapoptotic activity of hMcl-1 (15), and phosphorylation on Thr-163 may increase hMcl-1 protein stability (9). The conserved GSK3 phosphorylation site Ser-159 (and possibly Ser-155) can initiate rapid proteasomal degradation of hMcl-1 (7, 21). Together, these findings suggest that the function of Mcl-1 is very tightly regulated.The results of previous studies have implicated the c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK) in the regulation of Mcl-1 (15, 18). The purpose of this study was to test whether Mcl-1 is a target of signal transduction by JNK. We demonstrate that a key function of JNK is to prime Mcl-1 for phosphorylation by GSK3. JNK is required for GSK3-mediated degradation of Mcl-1 in response to stress. Coordinated regulation of the stress-activated JNK pathway and the AKT-inhibited GSK3 pathway is therefore required for stress-induced Mcl-1 degradation.     

Mcl-1 depletion in apoptosis elicited by ionizing radiation in peritoneal resident macrophages of C3H mice

Remarkably, apoptosis was induced by exposing peritoneal resident macrophages (PRM) of C3H mice, but not other strains of mice, to ionizing radiation. The molecular mechanism of this strain-specific apoptosis in PRM was studied. The apoptosis elicited in C3H mouse PRM 4 h after exposure was effectively blocked by proteasome inhibitors. Irradiation-induced disruption of mitochondrial transmembrane potential and the release of cytochrome c into the cytosol were also suppressed by a proteasome inhibitor but not by a caspase inhibitor. To determine whether the apoptosis occurred due to a depletion of antiapoptotic proteins, Bcl-2 family proteins were examined. Irradiation markedly decreased the level of Mcl-1, but not Bcl-2, Bcl-X(L), Bax, A1, or cIAP1. Mcl-1's depletion was suppressed by a proteasome inhibitor but not by a caspase inhibitor. The amount of Mcl-1 was well correlated with the rate of apoptosis in C3H mouse PRM exposed to irradiation and not affected by irradiation in radioresistant B6 mouse PRM. Irradiation increased rather than decreased the Mcl-1 mRNA expression in C3H mouse PRM. On the other hand, Mcl-1 protein synthesis was markedly suppressed by irradiation. Global protein synthesis was also suppressed by irradiation in C3H mouse PRM but not in B6 mouse PRM. The down-regulation of Mcl-1 expression with Mcl-1-specific small interfering RNA or antisense oligonucleotide significantly induced apoptosis in both C3H and B6 mouse PRM without irradiation. It was concluded that the apoptosis elicited in C3H mouse PRM by ionizing radiation was attributable to the depletion of Mcl-1 through radiation-induced arrest of global protein synthesis.     

Structure-Function Analysis of the Mcl-1 Protein Identifies a Novel Senescence-regulating Domain

Unlike other antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members, Mcl-1 also mediates resistance to cancer therapy by uniquely inhibiting chemotherapy-induced senescence (CIS). In general, Bcl-2 family members regulate apoptosis at the level of the mitochondria through a common prosurvival binding groove. Through mutagenesis, we determined that Mcl-1 can inhibit CIS even in the absence of its apoptotically important mitochondrion-localizing domains. This finding prompted us to generate a series of Mcl-1 deletion mutants from both the N and C termini of the protein, including one that contained a deletion of all of the Bcl-2 homology domains, none of which impacted anti-CIS capabilities. Through subsequent structure-function analyses of Mcl-1, we identified a previously uncharacterized loop domain responsible for the anti-CIS activity of Mcl-1. The importance of the loop domain was confirmed in multiple tumor types, two in vivo models of senescence, and by demonstrating that a peptide mimetic of the loop domain can effectively inhibit the anti-CIS function of Mcl-1. The results from our studies appear to be highly translatable because we discerned an inverse relationship between the expression of Mcl-1 and of various senescence markers in cancerous human tissues. In summary, our findings regarding the unique structural properties of Mcl-1 provide new approaches for targeted cancer therapy.     

Negative regulation of the stability and tumor suppressor function of Fbw7 by the Pin1 prolyl isomerase

Fbw7 is the substrate recognition component of the Skp1-Cullin-F-box (SCF)-type E3 ligase complex and a well-characterized tumor suppressor that targets numerous oncoproteins for destruction. Genomic deletion or mutation of FBW7 has been frequently found in various types of human cancers; however, little is known about the upstream signaling pathway(s) governing Fbw7 stability and cellular functions. Here we report that Fbw7 protein destruction and tumor suppressor function are negatively regulated by the prolyl isomerase Pin1. Pin1 interacts with Fbw7 in a phoshorylation-dependent manner and promotes Fbw7 self-ubiquitination and protein degradation by disrupting Fbw7 dimerization. Consequently, overexpressing Pin1 reduces Fbw7 abundance and suppresses Fbw7's ability to inhibit proliferation and transformation. By contrast, depletion of Pin1 in cancer cells leads to elevated Fbw7 expression, which subsequently reduces Mcl-1 abundance, sensitizing cancer cells to Taxol. Thus, Pin1-mediated inhibition of Fbw7 contributes to oncogenesis, and Pin1 may be a promising drug target for anticancer therapy.     

Vaccinia Virus F1L Interacts with Bak Using Highly Divergent Bcl-2 Homology Domains and Replaces the Function of Mcl-1

The Bcl-2 family regulates induction of apoptosis at the mitochondria. Essential to this regulation are the interactions between Bcl-2 family members, which are mediated by Bcl-2 homology (BH) domains. Vaccinia virus F1L is a unique inhibitor of apoptosis that lacks significant sequence similarity with the Bcl-2 family and does not contain obvious BH domains. Despite this, F1L inhibits cytochrome c release from mitochondria by preventing Bak and Bax activation. Although F1L constitutively interacts with Bak to prevent Bak activation, the precise mechanism of this interaction remains elusive. We have identified highly divergent BH domains in F1L that were verified by the recent crystal structure of F1L (Kvansakul, M., Yang, H., Fairlie, W. D., Czabotar, P. E., Fischer, S. F., Perugini, M. A., Huang, D. C., and Colman, P. M. (2008) Cell Death Differ. 15, 1564–1571). Here we show that F1L required these BH domains to interact with ectopically expressed and endogenous Bak. The interaction between F1L and Bak was conserved across species, and both F1L and the cellular antiapoptotic protein Mcl-1 required the Bak BH3 domain for interaction. Moreover, F1L replaced Mcl-1 during infection, as the Bak·Mcl-1 complex was disrupted during vaccinia virus infection. In contrast to UV irradiation, vaccinia virus infection did not result in rapid degradation of Mcl-1, consistent with our observation that vaccinia virus did not initiate a DNA damage response. Additionally, Mcl-1 expression prevented Bak activation and apoptosis during infection with a proapoptotic vaccinia virus devoid of F1L. Our data suggest that F1L replaces the antiapoptotic activity of Mcl-1 during vaccinia virus infection by interacting with Bak using highly divergent BH domains.     

Rapid turnover of mcl-1 couples translation to cell survival and apoptosis

Inhibition of translation plays a role in apoptosis induced by a variety of stimuli, but the mechanism by which it promotes apoptosis has not been established. We have investigated the hypothesis that selective degradation of anti-apoptotic regulatory protein(s) is responsible for apoptosis resulting from translation inhibition. Induction of apoptosis by cycloheximide was detected within 2-4 h and blocked by proteasome inhibitors, indicating that degradation of short-lived protein(s) was required. Caspase inhibition and overexpression of Bcl-x(L) blocked cycloheximide-induced apoptosis. In addition, cycloheximide induced rapid activation of Bak and Bax, which required proteasome activity. Mcl-1 was degraded by the proteasome with a half-life of approximately 30 min following inhibition of protein synthesis, preceding Bak/Bax activation and the onset of apoptosis. Overexpression of Mcl-1 blocked apoptosis induced by cycloheximide, whereas RNA interference knockdown of Mcl-1 induced apoptosis. Knockdown of Bim and Bak, downstream targets of Mcl-1, inhibited cycloheximide-induced apoptosis, as did knockdown of Bax. Apoptosis resulting from inhibition of translation thus involves the rapid degradation of Mcl-1, leading to activation of Bim, Bak, and Bax. Because of its rapid turnover, Mcl-1 may serve as a convergence point for signals that affect global translation, coupling translation to cell survival and the apoptotic machinery.     

Mcl-1 involvement in mitochondrial dynamics is associated with apoptotic cell death

The B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) family proteins are critical regulators of apoptosis and consist of both proapoptotic and antiapoptotic factors. Within this family, the myeloid cell leukemia factor 1 (Mcl-1) protein exists in two forms as the result of alternative splicing. The long variant (Mcl-1L) acts as an antiapoptotic factor, whereas the short isoform (Mcl-1S) displays proapoptotic activity. In this study, using splice-switching antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), we increased the synthesis of Mcl-1S, which induced a concurrent reduction of Mcl-1L, resulting in increased sensitivity of cancer cells to apoptotic stimuli. The Mcl-1 ASOs also induced mitochondrial hyperpolarization and a consequent increase in mitochondrial calcium (Ca²⁺) accumulation. The high Mcl-1S/L ratio correlated with significant hyperfusion of the entire mitochondrial network, which occurred in a dynamin-related protein (Drp1)–dependent manner. Our data indicate that the balance between the long and short variants of the Mcl-1 gene represents a key aspect of the regulation of mitochondrial physiology. We propose that the Mcl-1L/S balance is a novel regulatory factor controlling the mitochondrial fusion and fission machinery.     

Deubiquitylating enzyme USP9x regulates radiosensitivity in glioblastoma cells by Mcl-1-dependent and -independent mechanisms

Glioblastoma is a very aggressive form of brain tumor with limited therapeutic options. Usually, glioblastoma is treated with ionizing radiation (IR) and chemotherapy after surgical removal. However, radiotherapy is frequently unsuccessful, among others owing to resistance mechanisms the tumor cells have developed. Antiapoptotic B-cell leukemia (Bcl)-2 family members can contribute to radioresistance by interfering with apoptosis induction in response to IR. Bcl-2 and the closely related Bcl-xL and Mcl-1 are often overexpressed in glioblastoma cells. In contrast to Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, Mcl-1 is a short-lived protein whose stability is closely regulated by ubiquitylation-dependent proteasomal degradation. Although ubiquitin ligases facilitate degradation, the deubiquitylating enzyme ubiquitin-specific protease 9x (USP9x) interferes with degradation by removing polyubiquitin chains from Mcl-1, thereby stabilizing this protein. Thus, an inability to downregulate Mcl-1 by enhanced USP9x activity might contribute to radioresistance. Here we analyzed the impact of USP9x on Mcl-1 levels and radiosensitivity in glioblastoma cells. Correlating Mcl-1 and USP9x expressions were significantly higher in human glioblastoma than in astrocytoma. Downregulation of Mcl-1 correlated with apoptosis induction in established glioblastoma cell lines. Although Mcl-1 knockdown by siRNA increased apoptosis induction after irradiation in all glioblastoma cell lines, USP9x knockdown significantly improved radiation-induced apoptosis in one of four cell lines and slightly increased apoptosis in another cell line. In the latter two cell lines, USP9x knockdown also increased radiation-induced clonogenic death. The massive downregulation of Mcl-1 and apoptosis induction in A172 cells transfected with USP9x siRNA shows that the deubiquitinase regulates cell survival by regulating Mcl-1 levels. In contrast, USP9x regulated radiosensitivity in Ln229 cells without affecting Mcl-1 levels. We conclude that USP9x can control survival and radiosensitivity in glioblastoma cells by Mcl-1-dependent and Mcl-1-independent mechanisms.Along with surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy are the main treatment options of tumors. While the former aims to remove the tumor bulk mass, the latter two intend to neutralize remaining tumor cells. Ionizing radiation (IR) exerts its cytotoxic effects by inducing cell death. One form of specific cell death induced by IR is intrinsic apoptosis, which is regulated by members of the B-cell leukemia (Bcl)-2 protein family.¹The Bcl-2 protein family consists of protective antiapoptotic and pro-apoptotic members, which keep each other in check by antagonizing each other''s function.² The activation of pro-apoptotic multidomain proteins Bax and Bak is essential to induce mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization, resulting in the release of cytochrome C and other apoptotic factors into the cytosol where, in turn, caspases become activated. Antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members prevent the activation of Bax and Bak either by direct interaction or indirectly by sequestering pro-apoptotic BH3-only proteins Bim and Bid that are required to activate Bax and Bak. Other BH3-only proteins are also able to bind to antiapoptotic proteins, thereby releasing Bax and Bak from their inhibitory complexes with antiapoptotic proteins. Changing the balance between anti- and pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members can shift the cells toward survival or apoptosis, depending on whether the protective or the detrimental proteins dominate.Bcl-2 itself, Bcl-xL, and myeloid cell lymphoma-1 (Mcl-1) belong to the antiapoptotic proteins of the Bcl-2 family. They are often overexpressed in tumor cells and are associated with increased resistance to apoptosis induction in response to radio- and chemotherapy.^{3, 4} As more than one of the protective proteins can be upregulated in tumors, the neutralization of all antiapoptotic proteins is needed to successfully induce apoptosis. Blocking the antiapoptotic function of Bcl-2/Bcl-xL by inhibitors mimicking BH3-only proteins, such as ABT737 and ABT263, can induce apoptosis in cells with low Mcl-1 levels but has no effect on cells with high Mcl-1 levels.^{5, 6, 7} In contrast, specific inhibitors targeting Mcl-1 have been insufficiently described until now. However, Mcl-1 availability might be modulated by targeting pathways that regulate Mcl-1 stability.In contrast to Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, Mcl-1 is a relatively short-lived protein.^{8, 9} Usually, Mcl-1 is quickly ubiquitylated by specific ubiquitin ligases and targeted for proteasomal degradation. Phosphorylation of Mcl-1, for example by glycogen synthase kinase GSK-3β, can accelerate this degrading process,^{10, 11} whereas deubiquitinases counteract it by removing the polyubiquitin chain, thereby stabilizing the short-lived protein. The ubiquitin-specific protease 9x (USP9x) was recently identified as a Mcl-1 specific deubiquitinase.¹² However, the circumstances under which USP9x regulates Mcl-1 stability are not well understood. Schwickart et al.¹² showed that USP9x levels correlated with Mcl-1 levels, suggesting a constitutive regulation of Mcl-1 levels by the deubiquitinase. In contrast, our recent results showed no effect of USP9x on Mcl-1 levels in healthy Jurkat cells, but an accelerated IR-induced Mcl-1 degradation was detected when USP9x was knocked down.⁹ This indicates that the association of USP9x with Mcl-1 is regulated by a yet unknown mechanism in response to irradiation.In the present study, we aimed to analyze the impact of USP9x on Mcl-1 and cell survival in glioblastoma cell lines. Glioblastoma is not only the most common but also a very aggressive form of brain tumor that are primarily removed by surgery as radically as possible and consecutively treated with radiochemotherapy, if the patient''s condition allows for adjuvant therapy.¹³ Despite the multimodal treatment, the median patient survival is below 1.5 years. Comparing human grade III astrocytoma with grade IV glioblastoma samples, we could show that Mcl-1 and USP9x are upregulated during tumor progression. Furthermore, we examined four established (A172, U373, Ln229, T98G) and two primary (LKI, WKI) glioblastoma cell lines that differ in their ability to downregulate Mcl-1 and induce apoptosis in response to IR. Analyzing A172 and U373 cells more closely, we detected an increased Mcl-1 ubiquitylation that correlated with a reduced Mcl-1 stability 48 h after irradiation in U373 cells, but not in A172 cells. Moreover, Mcl-1 knockdown sensitized A172, Ln229, and T98G cells to IR-induced apoptosis, suggesting that Mcl-1 is an important factor increasing glioblastoma cell survival after irradiation. In contrast, USP9x knockdown slightly increased apoptosis in IR-resistant A172 cells and significantly in Ln229 cells and reduced clonogenic survival after irradiation only on these two cell lines. Although USP9x knockdown reduced Mcl-1 levels and increased apoptosis in A172 cells, USP9x regulated radiosensitivity independently of Mcl-1 in Ln229 cells.Our results show a different requirement of USP9x in the control of glioblastoma cell survival and radiosensitivity.     

TCTP protects from apoptotic cell death by antagonizing bax function

Translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) is a potential target for cancer therapy. It functions as a growth regulating protein implicated in the TSC1-TSC2 -mTOR pathway or a guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor for the elongation factors EF1A and EF1Bbeta. Accumulating evidence indicates that TCTP also functions as an antiapoptotic protein, through a hitherto unknown mechanism. In keeping with this, we show here that loss of tctp expression in mice leads to increased spontaneous apoptosis during embryogenesis and causes lethality between E6.5 and E9.5. To gain further mechanistic insights into this apoptotic function, we solved and refined the crystal structure of human TCTP at 2.0 A resolution. We found a structural similarity between the H2-H3 helices of TCTP and the H5-H6 helices of Bax, which have been previously implicated in regulating the mitochondrial membrane permeability during apoptosis. By site-directed mutagenesis we establish the relevance of the H2-H3 helices in TCTP's antiapoptotic function. Finally, we show that TCTP antagonizes apoptosis by inserting into the mitochondrial membrane and inhibiting Bax dimerization. Together, these data therefore further confirm the antiapoptotic role of TCTP in vivo and provide new mechanistic insights into this key function of TCTP.     

Caspase-3-dependent export of TCTP: a novel pathway for antiapoptotic intercellular communication

The apoptotic program incorporates a paracrine component of importance in fostering tissue repair at sites of apoptotic cell deletion. As this paracrine pathway likely bears special importance in maladaptive intercellular communication leading to vascular remodeling, we aimed at further defining the mediators produced by apoptotic endothelial cells (EC), using comparative and functional proteomics. Apoptotic EC were found to release nanovesicles displaying ultrastructural characteristics, protein markers and functional activity that differed from apoptotic blebs. Tumor susceptibility gene 101 and translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) were identified in nanovesicle fractions purified from medium conditioned by apoptotic EC and absent from purified apoptotic blebs. Immunogold labeling identified TCTP on the surface of nanovesicles purified from medium conditioned by apoptotic EC and within multivesicular blebs in apoptotic EC. These nanovesicles induced an extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK 1/2)-dependent antiapoptotic phenotype in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), whereas apoptotic blebs did not display antiapoptotic activity on VSMC. Caspase-3 biochemical inhibition and caspase-3 RNA interference in EC submitted to a proapoptotic stimulus inhibited the release of nanovesicles. Also, TCTP siRNAs in EC attenuated the antiapoptotic activity of purified nanovesicles on VSMC. Collectively, these results identify TCTP-bearing nanovesicles as a novel component of the paracrine apoptotic program of potential importance in vascular repair.     

Inhibition of Na,K-ATPase-suppressive activity of translationally controlled tumor protein by sorting nexin 6

Translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) has both extra- and intracellular functions. Our group recently reported that TCTP interacts with Na,K-ATPase and suppresses its activity. Our studies led to the identification of sorting nexin 6 (SNX6) which binds with TCTP as a potential negative regulator of TCTP. SNX6 does not interact directly with any cytoplasmic domains of Na,K-ATPase. However, when overexpressed, it restores the Na,K-ATPase activity suppressed by TCTP. This was confirmed by measurements of purified plasma membrane Na,K-ATPase activity after incubation with recombinant TCTP and SNX6. SNX6 alone has no effect on Na,K-ATPase activity, but activates Na,K-ATPase via inhibition of TCTP. Inhibition of endogenous TCTP by the overexpression of SNX6 or knockdown of TCTP expression by siTCTP increased Na,K-ATPase activity above the basal level. The interaction between SNX6 and TCTP thus appears to regulate Na,K-ATPase activity.     

Cyclic AMP delays neutrophil apoptosis via stabilization of Mcl-1

Human neutrophils underwent spontaneous apoptosis, which was accompanied by degradation of Mcl-1, but not other anti-apoptotic molecules (cIAP1, cIAP2, A1, survivin and Bcl-2). Spontaneous neutrophil apoptosis and Mcl-1 degradation were prevented by cyclic AMP (cAMP) agonists (dibutyryl cAMP and prostaglandin E(1)), and the effects of cAMP agonists on neutrophils were highly resistant to cycloheximide, a protein synthesis inhibitor, although slight increase in Mcl-1 mRNA expression was induced by cAMP agonists. Proteasome inhibitors (epoxomicin and lactacystin) also prevented spontaneous neutrophil apoptosis and Mcl-1 degradation to the same extent as cAMP agonists, and no additive effect was obtained by combination of cAMP agonists and proteasome inhibitors. These findings suggest that cAMP agonists, like proteasome inhibitors, delay neutrophil apoptosis primarily via stabilization of Mcl-1.     

FKBP38 Protects Bcl-2 from Caspase-dependent Degradation

The cellular processes that regulate Bcl-2 at the posttranslational levels are as important as those that regulate bcl-2 synthesis. Previously we demonstrated that the suppression of FK506-binding protein 38 (FKBP38) contributes to the instability of Bcl-2 or leaves Bcl-2 unprotected from degradation in an unknown mechanism. Here, we studied the underlying molecular mechanism mediating this process. We first showed that Bcl-2 binding-defective mutants of FKBP38 fail to accumulate Bcl-2 protein. We demonstrated that the FKBP38-mediated Bcl-2 stability is specific as the levels of other anti-apoptotic proteins such as Bcl-X^L and Mcl-1 remained unaffected. FKBP38 enhanced the Bcl-2 stability under the blockade of de novo protein synthesis, indicating it is posttranslational. We showed that the overexpression of FKBP38 attenuates reduction rate of Bcl-2, thus resulting in an increment of the intracellular Bcl-2 level, contributing to the resistance of apoptotic cell death induced by the treatment of kinetin riboside, an anticancer drug. Caspase inhibitors markedly induced the accumulation of Bcl-2. In caspase-3-activated cells, the knockdown of endogenous FKBP38 by small interfering RNA resulted in Bcl-2 down-regulation as well, which was significantly recovered by the treatment with caspase inhibitors or overexpression of FKBP38. Finally we presented that the Bcl-2 cleavage by caspase-3 is blocked when Bcl-2 binds to FKBP38 through the flexible loop. Taken together, these results suggest that FKBP38 is a key player in regulating the function of Bcl-2 by antagonizing caspase-dependent degradation through the direct interaction with the flexible loop domain of Bcl-2, which contains the caspase cleavage site.     

Role of Ku70 in deubiquitination of Mcl-1 and suppression of apoptosis

Mcl-1 is a unique antiapoptotic Bcl2 family member with a short half-life due to its rapid turnover through ubiquitination. We discovered that Ku70, a DNA double-strand break repair protein, functions as a deubiquitinase to stabilize Mcl-1. Ku70 knockout in mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells or depletion from human lung cancer H1299 cells leads to the accumulation of polyubiquitinated Mcl-1 and a reduction in its half-life and protein expression. Conversely, expression of exogenous Ku70 in Ku70^−/− MEF cells restores Mcl-1 expression. Subcellular fractionation indicates that Ku70 extensively colocalizes with Mcl-1 in mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and nucleus in H1299 cells. Ku70 directly interacts with Mcl-1 via its C terminus (that is, aa 536–609), which is required and sufficient for deubiquitination and stabilization of Mcl-1, leading to suppression of apoptosis. Purified Ku70 protein directly deubiquitinates Mcl-1 by removing K48-linked polyubiquitin chains. Ku70 knockdown not only promotes Mcl-1 turnover but also enhances antitumor efficacy of the BH3-mimetic ABT-737 in human lung cancer xenografts. These findings identify Ku70 as a novel Mcl-1 deubiquitinase that could be a potential target for cancer therapy by manipulating Mcl-1 deubiquitination.Mcl-1 is an antiapoptotic molecule that is overexpressed in various types of cancers, including lung cancer,¹ leukemia,² lymphoma,³ hepatocellular carcinoma⁴ and so on. In addition to its antiapoptotic function, Mcl-1 is also an oncoprotein that promotes the development of cancer.⁵ In contrast to other Bcl2 family members such as Bcl2 and Bcl-XL, Mcl-1 is unique in its short half-life (30 min–3 h) and short-term prosurvival function, which probably relates to the presence of a long proline-, glutamic acid-, serine- and threonine-rich (PEST) region upstream of the Bcl2 homology (BH) domain.¹ The mechanism(s) that stabilizes the Mcl-1 protein are critical for its long-term survival function. Mcl-1 protein can be phosphorylated at multiple sites that distinctly regulate Mcl-1 protein turnover. For example, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2-mediated T163 site phosphorylation enhances the half-life and antiapoptotic function of Mcl-1.^{1, 6} In contrast, S159 phosphorylation by GSK-3β facilitates Mcl-1 ubiquitination and degradation to reduce its survival activity.⁷Ubiquitination and deubiquitination are two reversible processes that can control protein stability. E3 ligases and deubiquitinases (deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs)) are two groups of regulatory enzymes that orchestrate the ubiquitination levels of target proteins in eukaryotic cells.⁸ Recently, Mule and FBW7 have been identified as Mcl-1 ubiquitin E3 ligases that can directly induce polyubiquitination and degradation of Mcl-1.^{9, 10} Inversely, USP9X has been demonstrated as the Mcl-1 deubiquitinase that removes the Lys 48-linked polyubiquitin chains that normally mark Mcl-1 for proteasomal degradation, leading to stabilization of Mcl-1.³ Therefore, the stability of Mcl-1 in cells is tightly regulated by its E3 ligases and deubiquitinase, which is dependent on Mcl-1 phosphorylation status.^{3, 11}Ku70 is a protein that binds to DNA double-strand break (DSB) ends and is required for the non-homologous end-joining pathway of DSB repair.^{12, 13, 14, 15} The Ku70 protein consists of three structural domains, including the N-terminal, central (that is, DNA binding) and C-terminal domains.^{16, 17} Ku70 usually heterodimerizes with Ku86, which forms a functional complex for DSB repair. By forming a bridge between the broken DNA ends, the Ku70/Ku86 heterodimer acts to structurally support and align the DNA ends, to protect them from degradation and to prevent promiscuous binding to unbroken DNA. Ku70/Ku86 effectively aligns the DNA, while still allowing access of polymerases, nucleases and ligases to the broken DNA ends to promote end joining.¹⁸ In some cases, a fourth domain is present at the C terminus of Ku86, which binds to the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit.¹⁹ Importantly, Ku70 also regulates apoptosis independent of its DSB repair activity. For example, a recent report revealed that Ku70 regulates the proapoptotic function of Bax by sequestering Bax from the mitochondria and mediating Bax deubiquitylation.²⁰ Here we discovered that Ku70 functions as a novel Mcl-1 deubiquitinase that directly removes polyubiquitin chains from Mcl-1 protein, leading to reduced Mcl-1 ubiquitination/degradation, enhanced stability and suppression of apoptosis.     

Degradation of Mcl-1 by beta-TrCP mediates glycogen synthase kinase 3-induced tumor suppression and chemosensitization

Apoptosis is critical for embryonic development, tissue homeostasis, and tumorigenesis and is determined largely by the Bcl-2 family of antiapoptotic and prosurvival regulators. Here, we report that glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) was required for Mcl-1 degradation, and we identified a novel mechanism for proteasome-mediated Mcl-1 turnover in which GSK-3beta associates with and phosphorylates Mcl-1 at one consensus motif ((155)STDG(159)SLPS(163)T; phosphorylation sites are in italics), which will lead to the association of Mcl-1 with the E3 ligase beta-TrCP, and beta-TrCP then facilitates the ubiquitination and degradation of phosphorylated Mcl-1. A variant of Mcl-1 (Mcl-1-3A), which abolishes the phosphorylations by GSK-3beta and then cannot be ubiquitinated by beta-TrCP, is much more stable than wild-type Mcl-1 and able to block the proapoptotic function of GSK-3beta and enhance chemoresistance. Our results indicate that the turnover of Mcl-1 by beta-TrCP is an essential mechanism for GSK-3beta-induced apoptosis and contributes to GSK-3beta-mediated tumor suppression and chemosensitization.