The N-terminal domain of Janus kinase 2 is required for Golgi processing and cell surface expression of erythropoietin receptor.

We show that Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), and more specifically just its intact N-terminal domain, binds to the erythropoietin receptor (EpoR) in the endoplasmic reticulum and promotes its cell surface expression. This interaction is specific as JAK1 has no effect. Residues 32 to 58 of the JAK2 JH7 domain are required for EpoR surface expression. Alanine scanning mutagenesis of the EpoR membrane proximal region reveals two modes of EpoR-JAK2 interaction. A continuous block of EpoR residues is required for functional, ligand-independent binding to JAK2 and cell surface receptor expression, whereas four specific residues are essential in switching on prebound JAK2 after ligand binding. Thus, in addition to its kinase activity required for cytokine receptor signaling, JAK is also an essential subunit required for surface expression of cytokine receptors.     

The membrane-proximal region of the thrombopoietin receptor confers its high surface expression by JAK2-dependent and -independent mechanisms

Janus tyrosine kinase 2 (JAK2) is essential for signaling by the thrombopoietin (TpoR) and erythropoietin (EpoR) receptors. In the absence of JAK2 most EpoR molecules are retained in the endoplasmic reticulum in an Endo H-sensitive form. In contrast, we show that in the absence of JAK2 a large fraction of the TpoR is processed to the mature Endo H-resistant form and reaches the cell surface. By studying chimeras of the TpoR and EpoR we show that high surface expression of the TpoR is entirely conferred by the membrane-proximal region of the intracellular domain that includes the juxtamembrane, Box 1, and Box 2 regions. The TpoR intracellular domain shows similar effects on receptor endocytosis rate as that of the EpoR, but does stabilize the mature receptor isoform from degradation. Co-expression of JAK2 further stabilizes mature TpoR and thus further increases its surface expression. This JAK2 effect depends on the Box 1 region, the only JAK2 interacting site in the TpoR. By contrast, EpoR requires Box 1 as well as the flanking 20 residues on the C-terminal side for JAK2 interaction and JAK2-dependent surface expression. Our study suggests that whereas cell surface expression of type I cytokine receptors requires their cognate JAKs, the mechanisms governing receptor-JAK interactions differ among receptors interacting with the same JAK protein.     

Erythropoietin and interleukin-2 activate distinct JAK kinase family members.

The erythropoietin (EPO) receptor and the interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor beta-chain subunit are members of the cytokine receptor superfamily. They have conserved primary amino acid sequences in their cytoplasmic domains and activate phosphorylation of common substrates, suggesting common biochemical signaling mechanisms. We have generated a cell line, CTLL-EPO-R, that contains functional cell surface receptors for both EPO and IL-2. CTLL-EPO-R cells demonstrated similar growth kinetics in EPO and IL-2. Stimulation with EPO resulted in the rapid, dose-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK2. In contrast, stimulation with IL-2 or the related cytokine IL-4 resulted in the rapid, dose-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK1 and an additional 116-kDa protein. This 116-kDa protein was itself immunoreactive with a polyclonal antiserum raised against JAK2 and appears to be a novel member of the JAK kinase family. Immune complex kinase assays confirmed that IL-2 and IL-4 activated JAK1 and EPO activated JAK2. These results demonstrate that multiple biochemical pathways are capable of conferring a mitogenic signal in CTLL-EPO-R cells and that the EPO and IL-2 receptors interact with distinct JAK kinase family members within the same cellular background.     

Janus kinase 2 determinants for growth hormone receptor association,surface assembly,and signaling

GH signaling depends on functional interaction of the GH receptor (GHR) and the cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase, Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), which possesses a C-terminal kinase domain, a catalytically inactive pseudokinase domain just N-terminal to the kinase domain, and an N-terminal half shown by us and others to harbor elements for GHR association. Computational analyses indicate that JAKs contain in their N termini ( approximately 450 residues) divergent FERM domains. FERM domains (or subdomains within them) in JAKS may be important for associations with cytokine receptors. For some cytokine receptors, JAK interaction may be required for receptor surface expression. We previously demonstrated that a JAK2 mutant devoid of its N-terminal 239 residues (JAK2-Delta1-239) did not associate with GHR and could not mediate GH- induced signaling. In this report we employ a JAK2-deficient cell line to further define N-terminal JAK2 regions required for physical and functional association with the GHR. We also examine whether JAK2 expression affects cell surface expression of the GHR. Our results suggest that FERM motifs play an important role in the interaction of GHR and JAK2. While JAK2 expression is not required for detectable surface GHR expression, an increased JAK2 level increases the fraction of GHRs that achieves resistance to deglycosylation by endoglycosidase H, suggesting that the GHR-JAK2 association may enhance either the receptor's efficiency of maturation or its stability. Further, we report evidence for the existence of a novel GH-inducible functional interaction between JAK2 molecules that may be important in the mechanism of GH-triggered JAK2 signaling.     

An extra high dose of erythropoietin fails to support the proliferation of erythropoietin dependent cell lines

Erythropoietin is responsible for the red blood cell formation by stimulating the proliferation and the differentiation of erythroid precursor cells. Erythropoietin triggers the conformational change in its receptor thereby induces the phosphorylation of JAK2. In this study, we show that an extra high dose of erythropoietin, however, fails to activate the erythropoietin receptor, to stimulate the phosphorylation of JAK2 and to support the cell proliferation of Ep-FDC-P2 cell. Moreover, high dose of EPO also inhibited the proliferation of various erythropoietin-dependent cell lines, suggesting that excess amount of EPO could not trigger the conformational change of the receptor. In the presence of an extra high dose of erythropoietin as well as in the absence of erythropoietin, the cells caused the DNA fragmentation, a typical symptom of apoptosis. The impairment of cell growth and the DNA fragmentation at the extremely high concentration of EPO was rescued by the addition of erythropoietin antibody or soluble form of erythropoietin receptor by titrating the excess erythropoietin. These results suggest that two erythropoietin binding sites on erythropoietin receptor dimer should be occupied by a single erythropoietin molecule for the proper conformational change of the receptor and the signal transduction of erythropoietin, instead, when two erythropoietin binding sites on the receptor are shared by two erythropoietin molecules, it fails to evoke the conformational change of erythropoietin receptor adequate for signal transduction.     

The erythropoietin receptor cytosolic juxtamembrane domain contains an essential, precisely oriented, hydrophobic motif

We report that the erythropoietin receptor cytosolic juxtamembrane region is conformationally rigid and contains a hydrophobic motif, composed of residues L253, I257, and W258, that is crucial for Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) activation and receptor signaling. Alanine insertion mutagenesis shows that the orientation of this motif and not its distance from the membrane bilayer is critical. Intragenic complementation studies suggest that L253 is contained within an alpha helix functionally continuous to the transmembrane alpha helix. The alpha-helical orientation of L53 is required not for JAK2 activation but for activated JAK2 to induce phosphorylation of the erythropoietin receptor. This motif is highly conserved among cytokine receptors and couples ligand-induced conformational changes in the receptor to intracellular activation of JAK2.     

JAK2 associates with the beta c chain of the receptor for granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and its activation requires the membrane-proximal region.

The high-affinity receptor for granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) consists of a unique alpha chain and a beta c subunit that is shared with the receptors for interleukin-3 (IL-3) and IL-5. Two regions of the beta c chain have been defined; these include a membrane-proximal region of the cytoplasmic domain that is required for mitogenesis and a membrane-distal region that is required for activation of Ras, Raf-1, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and S6 kinase. Recent studies have implicated the cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinase JAK2 in signalling through a number of the cytokine receptors, including the IL-3 and erythropoietin receptors. In the studies described here, we demonstrate that GM-CSF stimulation of cells induces the tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK2 and activates its in vitro kinase activity. Mutational analysis of the beta c chain demonstrates that only the membrane-proximal 62 amino acids of the cytosolic domain are required for JAK2 activation. Thus, JAK2 activation is correlated with induction of mitogenesis but does not, alone, activate the Ras pathway. Carboxyl truncations of the alpha chain, which inactivate the receptor for mitogenesis, are unable to mediate GM-CSF-induced JAK2 activation. Using baculovirus-expressed proteins, we further demonstrate that JAK2 physically associates with the beta c chain but not with the alpha chain. Together, the results further support the hypothesis that the JAK family of kinase are critical to coupling cytokine binding to tyrosine phosphorylation and ultimately mitogenesis.     

Akt activation through the phosphorylation of erythropoietin receptor at tyrosine 479 is required for myeloproliferative disorder-associated JAK2 V617F mutant-induced cellular transformation

The disruption of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) signaling regulation by its point mutation, V617F, is involved in various myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs). JAK2 V617F mutant induced constitutive activation of Akt when erythropoietin receptor (EpoR) was coexpressed; however, the physiological role of Akt activation in MPDs has not been elucidated. LY294002, a phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor, inhibited Akt activation and induced apoptotic cell death in cells expressing JAK2 V617F mutant and EpoR. Previously, it has been shown that the phosphorylation at Y479 in EpoR is critical for the interaction with PI3K, an upstream molecule of Akt. Hence, EpoR mutant with a point mutation of Y479F, which fails to activate Akt, is useful for addressing the role of Akt activation in JAK2 V617F mutant-induced tumorigenesis. Interestingly, under the expression of EpoR Y479F mutant, JAK2 V617F mutant failed to exhibit potent anti-apoptotic activity. In addition, JAK2 V617F mutant-induced phosphorylation of CREB and GSK-3β was significantly decreased in cells expressing EpoR Y479F mutant, resulting in the downregulation of Bcl-XL and Mcl-1 expression. Furthermore, compared with when nude mice were inoculated with cells expressing JAK2 V617F mutant and EpoR, the lifespan of nude mice inoculated with cells expressing JAK2 V617F mutant and EpoR Y479F mutant was effectively prolonged. Taken together, it was clarified that PI3K-Akt activation through the phosphorylation of EpoR at Y479 is required for oncogenic signaling of JAK2 V617F mutant and that targeted disruption of this pathway has therapeutic utility.     

Tyrosine phosphorylation of p95Vav in myeloid cells is regulated by GM-CSF, IL-3 and steel factor and is constitutively increased by p210BCR/ABL.

Vav is a recently described proto-oncogene expressed only in hematopoietic cells which contains an SH2 and two SH3 domains and shares homology with the Dbl GDP-GTP exchange factor and BCR. p95Vav is phosphorylated on tyrosine residues in response to stimulation of the T cell antigen receptor, cross-linking of IgE or IgM receptors and stimulation of immature hematopoietic cells by Steel factor. Monoclonal antibodies to human Vav were generated and used to examine the events which regulate tyrosine phosphorylation of p95Vav in myeloid cells. In the factor-dependent MO7e cell line, p95Vav was rapidly phosphorylated on tyrosine residues in a dose- and time-dependent manner by GM-CSF, IL-3 and Steel factor. Introduction of the BCR/ABL oncogene into this cell line resulted in factor-independent proliferation and constitutive phosphorylation of p95Vav. Tyrosine phosphorylation of p95Vav was also substantially increased by treatment of cytokine-deprived cells with the tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor sodium vanadate. Since many of the cytokines known to induce tyrosine phosphorylation of p95Vav are also known to activate JAK family tyrosine kinases, we looked for an interaction of p95Vav with JAK kinases. p95Vav co-precipitated with JAK2 in MO7e cells stimulated with GM-CSF, but not in unstimulated cells. Also, JAK2 was found to be constitutively associated with p95Vav in vivo when expressed at high levels in insect cells using baculovirus vectors. A fusion protein consisting of glutathione-S-transferase and the SH2 domain of p95Vav (GST-Vav-SH2) precipitated JAK2, suggesting that this interaction is mediated by the SH2 domain of p95Vav.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A functional green fluorescent protein-erythropoietin receptor despite physical separation of JAK2 binding site and tyrosine residues

Signaling through hematopoietic cytokine receptors such as the erythropoietin receptor (EpoR) depends on the activation of a receptor-bound Janus kinase (JAK) and tyrosine phosphorylation of the cytoplasmic domain. To visualize the EpoR and elucidate structural requirements coordinating signal transduction, we probed the EpoR by inserting the green fluorescent protein (GFP) at various positions. We show that insertion of GFP in proximity to the transmembrane domain, either in the extracellular or the cytoplasmic domain, results in EpoR-GFP receptors incompetent to elicit biological responses in a factor-dependent cell line or in erythroid progenitor cells. Surprisingly, a receptor harboring GFP insertion in the middle of the cytoplasmic domain, and thereby separating the JAK2 binding site from the tyrosine residues, is capable of supporting signal transduction in response to ligand binding. Comparable with the wild type EpoR, but more efficient than a C-terminal EpoR-GFP fusion, this chimeric receptor promotes the maturation of erythroid progenitor cells and is localized in punctated endosome-like structures. We conclude that the extracellular, transmembrane, and membrane-proximal segment of the cytoplasmic domain form a rigid structural entity whose precise orientation is essential for the initiation of signal transduction, whereas the cytoplasmic domain possesses flexibility in adopting an activated conformation.     

Multimeric Growth Hormone Receptor Complexes Serve as Signaling Platforms

Growth hormone (GH) signaling is required for promoting longitudinal body growth, stem cell activation, differentiation, and survival and for regulation of metabolism. Failure to adequately regulate GH signaling leads to disease: excessive GH signaling has been connected to cancer, and GH insensitivity has been reported in cachexia patients. Since its discovery in 1989, the receptor has served a pivotal role as the prototype cytokine receptor both structurally and functionally. Phosphorylation and ubiquitylation regulate the GH receptor (GHR) at the cell surface: two ubiquitin ligases (SCF^βTrCP2 and CHIP) determine the GH responsiveness of cells by controlling its endocytosis, whereas JAK2 initiates the JAK/STAT pathway. We used blue native electrophoresis to identify phosphorylated and ubiquitylated receptor intermediates. We show that GHRs occur as ∼500-kDa complexes that dimerize into active ∼900-kDa complexes upon GH binding. The dimerized complexes act as platforms for transient interaction with JAK2 and ubiquitin ligases. If GH and receptors are made in the same cell (autocrine mode), only limited numbers of ∼900-kDa complexes are formed. The experiments reveal the dynamic changes in post-translational modifications during GH-induced signaling events and show that relatively simple cytokine receptors like GHRs are able to form higher order protein complexes. Insight in the complex formation of cytokine receptors is crucially important for engineering cytokines that control ligand-induced cell responses and for generating a new class of therapeutic agents for a wide range of diseases.     

The erythropoietin receptor transmembrane region is necessary for activation by the Friend spleen focus-forming virus gp55 glycoprotein.

The erythropoietin receptor (EPO-R), a member of the cytokine receptor superfamily, can be activated by binding either erythropoietin (EPO) or gp55, the Friend spleen focus-forming virus glycoprotein. The highly specific interaction between gp55 and EPO-R triggers cell proliferation and thereby causes the first stage of Friend virus-induced erythroleukemia. We have generated functional chimeric receptors containing regions of the EPO-R and the interleukin-3 receptor (AIC2A polypeptide), a related cytokine receptor which does not interact with gp55. All chimeric receptors were expressed at similar levels, had similar binding affinities for EPO, and conferred EPO-dependent cell growth. Only those chimeric receptors which contained the EPO-R transmembrane region were activated by gp55. These results demonstrate that the transmembrane region of the EPO-R is critical for activation by gp55. In addition, analysis of a soluble, secreted EPO-R and cysteine point mutants of the EPO-R show that the extracytoplasmic region of the EPO-R specifically interacts with gp55.     

Generation and Characterization of a JAK2V617F-Containing Erythroleukemia Cell Line

The JAK2V617F mutation is found in the majority of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). Transgenic expression of the mutant gene causes MPN-like phenotypes in mice. We have produced JAK2V617F mice with p53 null background. Some of these mice developed acute erythroleukemia. From one of these mice, we derived a cell line designated J53Z1. J53Z1 cells were stained positive for surface markers CD71 and CD117 but negative for Sca-1, TER-119, CD11b, Gr-1, F4/80, CD11c, CD317, CD4, CD8a, CD3e, B220, CD19, CD41, CD42d, NK-1.1, and FceR1. Real time PCR analyses demonstrated expressions of erythropoietin receptor EpoR, GATA1, and GATA2 in these cells. J53Z1 cells grew rapidly in suspension culture containing fetal bovine serum with a doubling time of ∼18 hours. When transplanted into C57Bl/6 mice, J53Z1 cells induced acute erythroleukemia with massive infiltration of tumor cells in the spleen and liver. J53Z1 cells were responsive to stimulation with erythropoietin and stem cell factor and were selectively inhibited by JAK2 inhibitors which induced apoptosis of the cells. Together, J53Z1 cells belong to the erythroid lineage, and they may be useful for studying the role of JAK2V617F in proliferation and differentiation of erythroid cells and for identifying potential therapeutic drugs targeting JAK2.