Determinants of growth hormone receptor down-regulation

GH receptor (GHR) is a cytokine receptor family member that responds to GH by activation of the receptor-associated tyrosine kinase, JAK2 (Janus family of tyrosine kinase 2). We previously showed that JAK2, in addition to being a signal transducer, dramatically increases the half-life of mature GHR, partly by preventing constitutive GHR down-regulation. Herein we explored GHR and JAK2 determinants for both constitutive and GH-induced GHR down-regulation, exploiting the previously characterized GHR- and JAK2-deficient gamma2A reconstitution system. We found that JAK2's ability to protect mature GHR from rapid degradation measured in the presence of the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, depended on the presence of GHR's Box 1 element and the intact JAK2 FERM (band 4.1/Ezrin/Radixin/Moesin); domain, but not the kinase-like or kinase domains of JAK2. Thus, GHR-JAK2 association, but not JAK2 kinase activity, is required for JAK2 to inhibit constitutive GHR down-regulation and enhance GHR half-life. In cells that expressed JAK2, but not cells lacking JAK2, GH markedly enhanced GHR degradation. Like JAK2-induced protection from constitutive down-regulation, GH-induced GHR down-regulation required the GHR Box 1 element and an intact JAK2 FERM domain. However, a JAK2 mutant lacking the kinase-like and kinase domains did not mediate GH-induced GHR down-regulation. Likewise, a kinase-deficient JAK2 was insufficient for this purpose, indicating that kinase activity is required. Both lactacystin (a proteasome inhibitor) and chloroquine (a lysosome inhibitor) blocked GH-induced GHR loss. Interestingly, GH-induced GHR ubiquitination, like down-regulation, was prevented in cells expressing a kinase-deficient JAK2 protein. Further, a GHR mutant, of which all the cytoplasmic tyrosine residues were changed to phenylalanines, was resistant to GH-induced GHR ubiquitination and down-regulation. Collectively, our data suggest that determinants required for JAK2 to protect mature GHR from constitutive degradation differ from those that drive GH-induced GHR down-regulation. The latter requires GH-induced JAK2 activation and GHR tyrosine phosphorylation and is correlated to GHR ubiquitination in our reconstitution system.     

Disulfide linkage of growth hormone (GH) receptors (GHR) reflects GH-induced GHR dimerization. Association of JAK2 with the GHR is enhanced by receptor dimerization.

The growth hormone (GH) receptor (GHR) binds GH in its extracellular domain and transduces activating signals via its cytoplasmic domain. Both GH-induced GHR dimerization and JAK2 tyrosine kinase activation are critical in initiation of GH signaling. We previously described a rapid GH-induced disulfide linkage of GHRs in human IM-9 cells. In this study, three GH-induced phenomena (GHR dimerization, GHR disulfide linkage, and enhanced GHR-JAK2 association) were examined biochemically and immunologically. By using the GH antagonist, G120K, and an antibody recognizing a dimerization-sensitive GHR epitope, we demonstrated that GH-induced GHR disulfide linkage reflects GH-induced GHR dimerization. GH, not G120K, promoted both GHR disulfide linkage and enhanced association with JAK2. Measures that diminished GH-dependent JAK2 and GHR tyrosine phosphorylation diminished neither GH-induced GHR disulfide linkage nor GH-enhanced GHR-JAK2 association. By using both transient and stable expression systems, we determined that cysteine 241 (an unpaired extracellular cysteine) was critical for GH-induced GHR disulfide linkage; however, GH-induced GHR dimerization, GHR-JAK2 interaction, and GHR, JAK2, and STAT5 tyrosine phosphorylation still proceeded when this cysteine residue was mutated. We conclude GH-induced GHR disulfide linkage is not required for GHR dimerization, and activation and GH-enhanced GHR-JAK2 association depends more on GHR dimerization than on GHR and/or JAK2 tyrosine phosphorylation.     

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.     

Growth hormone receptor targeting to lipid rafts requires extracellular subdomain 2

GH receptor (GHR) is a single membrane-spanning glycoprotein dimer that binds GH in its extracellular domain (ECD). GH activates the GHR intracellular domain (ICD)-associated tyrosine kinase, JAK2, which causes intracellular signaling. We previously found that plasma membrane (PM)-associated GHR was dramatically enriched in the lipid raft (LR) component of the membrane and that localization of GHR within PM regions may regulate GH signaling by influencing the profile of pathway activation. In this study, we examined determinants of LR localization of the GHR using a reconstitution system which lacks endogenous JAK2 and GHR. By non-detergent extraction and multistep fractionation, we found that GHR was highly enriched in the LR fraction independent of JAK2 expression. Various GHR mutants were examined in transfectants harboring JAK2. LR concentration was observed for a GHR in which the native transmembrane domain (TMD) is replaced by that of the unrelated LDL receptor and for a GHR that lacks its ICD. Thus, LR association requires neither the TMD nor the ICD. Similarly, a GHR that lacks the ECD, except for the membrane-proximal ECD stem region, was only minimally LR-concentrated. Mutants with internal stem deletions in the context of the full-length receptor were LR-concentrated similar to the wild-type. A GHR lacking ECD subdomain 1 reached the PM and was LR-concentrated, while one lacking ECD subdomain 2, also reached the PM, but was not LR-concentrated. These data suggest LR targeting resides in ECD subdomain 2, a region relatively uninvolved in GH binding.     

Prediction of the structure of human Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) comprising JAK homology domains 1 through 7

A theoretical model of human Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) comprising all seven Janus homology domains is presented. The model was generated by application of homology modelling approaches. The three-dimensional structure contains, starting from the N-terminus, FERM (4.1, ezrin, radixin, moesin), SH2 (Src homology region 2), tyrosine kinase-like, and tyrosine kinase domains. The predicted inter-domain orientation in JAK2 is discussed and the currently existing mutational data for Janus kinases are evaluated. Structural details of the SH2 and the FERM domains are presented. The predictions indicate that the SH2 domain is not fully functional. A number of hydrophobic amino acids of the FERM domain that are predicted to be involved in the constitutive association with the cytokine receptors are highlighted. The model gives new insights into the structure-function relationship of this important protein, and areas that could be investigated by mutation studies are highlighted.     

生长激素受体的研究进展

生长激素（GH）在促进动物生长、发育等代谢过程中起着重要作用,GH发挥生理作用的第一步是与靶细胞膜表面的生长激素受体（CHR）结合。现已基本阐明了CHR的结构及由CHR介导的信号转导途径,对GHR基因表达调节的机制也有了一定的了解。GHR是由约620个氨基酸组成的单链跨膜糖蛋白,其胞外区、跨膜区及胞区内分别由约245、25及350个氨基酸组成。由GHR介导的信号转导途径主要有：①酪氨酸激酶系统;②蛋白激酶C途径;③胰岛素受体底物途径。营养状况及GH等内分泌因子对GHR的表达也有调节作用。     

Physical and functional interaction of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I signaling elements

GH and IGF-I are critical regulators of growth and metabolism. GH interacts with the GH receptor (GHR), a cytokine superfamily receptor, to activate the cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase, Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), and initiate intracellular signaling cascades. IGF-I, produced in part in response to GH, binds to the heterotetrameric IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR), which is an intrinsic tyrosine kinase growth factor receptor that triggers proliferation, antiapoptosis, and other biological actions. Previous in vitro and overexpression studies have suggested that JAKs may interact with IGF-IR and that IGF-I stimulation may activate JAKs. In this study, we explore interactions between GHR-JAK2 and IGF-IR signaling pathway elements utilizing the GH and IGF-I-responsive 3T3-F442A and 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cell lines, which endogenously express both the GHR and IGF-IR. We find that GH induces formation of a complex that includes GHR, JAK2, and IGF-IR in these preadipocytes. The assembly of this complex in intact cells is rapid, GH concentration dependent, and can be prevented by a GH antagonist, G120K. However, it is not inhibited by the kinase inhibitor, staurosporine, which markedly inhibits GHR tyrosine phosphorylation. Moreover, complex formation does not appear dependent on GH-induced activation of the ERK or phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling pathways or on the tyrosine phosphorylation of GHR, JAK2, or IGF-IR. These results suggest that GH-induced formation of the GHR-JAK2-IGF-IR complex is governed instead by GH-dependent conformational change(s) in the GHR and/or JAK2. We further demonstrate that GH and IGF-I can synergize in acute aspects of signaling and that IGF-I enhances GH-induced assembly of conformationally active GHRs. These findings suggest the existence of previously unappreciated relationships between these two hormones.     

Platelet-derived growth factor and lysophosphatidic acid inhibit growth hormone binding and signaling via a protein kinase C-dependent pathway

Growth hormone (GH) regulates body growth and metabolism. GH exerts its biological action by stimulating JAK2, a GH receptor (GHR)-associated tyrosine kinase. Activated JAK2 phosphorylates itself and GHR, thus initiating multiple signaling pathways. In this work, we demonstrate that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) down-regulate GH signaling via a protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent pathway. PDGF substantially reduces tyrosyl phosphorylation of JAK2 induced by GH but not interferon-gamma or leukemia inhibitory factor. PDGF, but not epidermal growth factor, decreases tyrosyl phosphorylation of GHR (by approximately 90%) and the amount of both total cellular GHR (by approximately 80%) and GH binding (by approximately 70%). The inhibitory effect of PDGF on GH-induced tyrosyl phosphorylation of JAK2 and GHR is abolished by depletion of 4beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-sensitive PKCs with chronic PMA treatment and is severely inhibited by GF109203X, an inhibitor of PKCs. In contrast, extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase appear not to be involved in this inhibitory effect of PDGF. LPA, a known activator of PKC, also inhibits GH-induced tyrosyl phosphorylation of JAK2 and GHR and reduces the number of GHR. We propose that ligands that activate PKC, including PDGF, LPA, and PMA, down-regulate GH signaling by decreasing the number of cell surface GHR through promoting GHR internalization and degradation and/or cleavage of membrane GHR and release of the extracellular domain of GHR.     

Unexpected effects of FERM domain mutations on catalytic activity of Jak3: structural implication for Janus kinases.

Janus kinases comprise carboxyterminal kinase, pseudokinase, SH2-like, and N-terminal FERM domains. We identified three patient-derived mutations in the FERM domain of Jak3 and investigated the functional consequences of these mutations. These mutations inhibited receptor binding and also abrogated kinase activity, suggesting interactions between the FERM and kinase domains. In fact, the domains were found to physically associate, and coexpression of the FERM domain enhanced activity of the isolated kinase domain. Conversely, staurosporine, which alters kinase domain structure, disrupted receptor binding, even though the catalytic activity of Jak3 is dispensable for receptor binding. Thus, the Jak FERM domain appears to have two critical functions: receptor interaction and maintenance of kinase integrity.     

Binding of SH2-B family members within a potential negative regulatory region maintains JAK2 in an active state

The tyrosine kinase Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) transduces signaling for the majority of known cytokine receptor family members and is constitutively activated in some cancers. Here we examine the mechanisms by which the adapter proteins SH2-Bbeta and APS regulate the activity of JAK2. We show that like SH2-Bbeta, APS binds JAK2 at multiple sites and that binding to phosphotyrosine 813 is essential for APS to increase active JAK2 and to be phosphorylated by JAK2. Binding of APS to a phosphotyrosine 813-independent site inhibits JAK2. Both APS and SH2-Bbeta increase JAK2 activity independent of their N-terminal dimerization domains. SH2-Bbeta-induced increases in JAK2 dimerization require only the SH2 domain and only one SH2-Bbeta to be bound to a JAK2 dimer. JAK2 mutations and truncations revealed that amino acids 809 to 811 in JAK2 are a critical component of a larger regulatory region within JAK2, most likely including amino acids within the JAK homology 1 (JH1) and JH2 domains and possibly the FERM domain. Together, our data suggest that SH2-Bbeta and APS do not activate JAK2 as a consequence of their own dimerization, recruitment of an activator of JAK2, or direct competition with a JAK2 inhibitor for binding to JAK2. Rather, they most likely induce or stabilize an active conformation of JAK2.     

Metalloprotease-mediated GH receptor proteolysis and GHBP shedding. Determination of extracellular domain stem region cleavage site

Growth hormone-binding protein (GHBP) is complexed to a substantial fraction of circulating GH. In humans, rabbits, and other species, GHBP derives from proteolytic shedding of the GH receptor (GHR) extracellular domain. In cell culture studies, stimuli such as phorbol ester, platelet-derived growth factor, or serum induce GHR proteolysis, which concomitantly yields shed GHBP in cell supernatants and a cell-associated cytoplasmic domain-containing GHR remnant. This process is sensitive to metalloprotease inhibition, and genetic reconstitution studies identify tumor necrosis factor-alpha converting enzyme (TACE/ADAM-17), a transmembrane metalloprotease, as a GHR sheddase. Stimuli that induce GHR proteolysis render cells less responsive to GH, but the mechanism(s) of this desensitization is not yet understood. In this study, we mapped the rabbit (rb) GHR cleavage site. We adenovirally expressed a C-terminal epitope-tagged rbGHR lacking most of its cytoplasmic domain, purified the remnant protein induced by the phorbol ester, PMA, and derived the cleavage site by N-terminal sequencing of the purified remnant. The N-terminal sequence, (239)FTCEEDFR(246), matched perfectly the rbGHR and suggests that cleavage occurs eight residues from the membrane in the proximal extracellular domain stem region. Deletion and alanine substitution mutagenesis indicated that, similar to other TACE substrates, the spacing of residues in this region, more than their identity, influences GHR cleavage susceptibility. Further, we determined that PMA pretreatment desensitized a cleavage-sensitive GHR mutant, but not a cleavage-insensitive mutant, to GH-induced JAK2 activation. These results suggest that inducible GHR proteolysis can regulate GH signaling.     

Growth hormone receptor is a target for presenilin-dependent gamma-secretase cleavage

Growth hormone receptor (GHR) is a cytokine receptor superfamily member that binds growth hormone (GH) via its extracellular domain and signals via interaction of its cytoplasmic domain with JAK2 and other signaling molecules. GHR is a target for inducible metalloprotease-mediated cleavage in its perimembranous extracellular domain, a process that liberates the extracellular domain as the soluble GH-binding protein and leaves behind a cell-associated GHR remnant protein containing the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains. GHR metalloproteolysis can be catalyzed by tumor necrosis factor-alpha-converting enzyme (ADAM-17) and is associated with down-modulation of GH signaling. We now study the fate of the GHR remnant protein. By anti-GHR cytoplasmic domain immunoblotting, we observed that the remnant induced in response to phorbol ester or platelet-derived growth factor has a reliable pattern of appearance and disappearance in both mouse preadipocytes endogenously expressing GHR and transfected fibroblasts expressing rabbit GHR. Lactacystin, a specific proteasome inhibitor, did not appreciably change the time course of remnant appearance or clearance but allowed detection of the GHR stub, a receptor fragment slightly smaller than the remnant but containing the C terminus of the remnant (receptor cytoplasmic domain). In contrast, MG132, another (less specific) proteasome inhibitor, strongly inhibited remnant clearance and prevented stub appearance. Inhibitors of gamma-secretase, an aspartyl protease, also prevented the appearance of the stub, even in the presence of lactacystin, and concomitantly inhibited remnant clearance in the same fashion as MG132. In addition, mouse embryonic fibroblasts derived from presenilin 1 and 2 (PS1/2) knockouts recapitulated the gamma-secretase inhibitor studies, as compared with their littermate controls (PS1/2 wild type). Confocal microscopy indicated that the GHR cytoplasmic domain became localized to the nucleus in a fashion dependent on PS1/2 activity. These data indicate that the GHR is subject to sequential proteolysis by metalloprotease and gamma-secretase activities and may suggest GH-independent roles for the GHR.     

An agonist-induced conformational change in the growth hormone receptor determines the choice of signalling pathway

The growth and metabolic actions of growth hormone (GH) are believed to be mediated through the GH receptor (GHR) by JAK2 activation. The GHR exists as a constitutive homodimer, with signal transduction by ligand-induced realignment of receptor subunits. Based on the crystal structures, we identify a conformational change in the F'G' loop of the lower cytokine module, which results from binding of hGH but not G120R hGH antagonist. Mutations disabling this conformational change cause impairment of ERK but not JAK2 and STAT5 activation by the GHR in FDC-P1 cells. This results from the use of two associated tyrosine kinases by the GHR, with JAK2 activating STAT5, and Lyn activating ERK1/2. We provide evidence that Lyn signals through phospholipase C gamma, leading to activation of Ras. Accordingly, mice with mutations in the JAK2 association motif respond to GH with activation of hepatic Src and ERK1/2, but not JAK2/STAT5. We suggest that F'G' loop movement alters the signalling choice between JAK2 and a Src family kinase by regulating TMD realignment. Our findings could explain debilitated ERK but not STAT5 signalling in some GH-resistant dwarfs and suggest pathway-specific cytokine agonists.     

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 JAK-binding protein JAB inhibits Janus tyrosine kinase activity through binding in the activation loop

The Janus family of protein tyrosine kinases (JAKs) regulate cellular processes involved in cell growth, differentiation and transformation through their association with cytokine receptors. However, compared with other kinases, little is known about cellular regulators of the JAKs. We have recently identified a JAK-binding protein (JAB) that inhibits JAK signaling in cells. In the studies presented here we demonstrate that JAB specifically binds to the tyrosine residue (Y1007) in the activation loop of JAK2, whose phosphorylation is required for activation of kinase activity. Binding to the phosphorylated activation loop requires the JAB SH2 domain and an additional N-terminal 12 amino acids (extended SH2 subdomain) containing two residues (Ile68 and Leu75) that are conserved in JAB-related proteins. An additional N-terminal 12-amino-acid region (kinase inhibitory region) of JAB also contributes to high-affinity binding to the JAK2 tyrosine kinase domain and is required for inhibition of JAK2 signaling and kinase activity. Our studies define a novel type of regulation of tyrosine kinases and might provide a basis for the design of specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors.