CUEDC2与雌激素受体β相互作用并抑制其转录活性

目的：探索未知功能蛋白CUEDC2对雌激素受体（ER）β转录活性的调控,为进一步阐明CUEDC2在乳腺癌发生发展中的作用提供线索。方法：运用双荧光报告系统检测雌激素受体的转录激活活性,运用GST pull-down技术检测CUEDC2与ERβ的相互作用,同时外源过表达CUEDC2及ERβ,通过Western印迹检测CUEDC2对ERβ表达水平的影响。结果与结论：CUEDC2能够与ERβ相互作用并抑制ERβ的转录活性,但其对ERβ的表达水平没有影响。     

CUE domain containing 2 regulates degradation of progesterone receptor by ubiquitin-proteasome

Accumulated evidence indicates that progesterone receptors (PR) are involved in proliferation of breast cancer cells and are implicated in the development of breast cancer. In this paper, a yeast two-hybrid screen for PR led to the identification of CUE domain containing 2 (CUEDC2), whose function is unknown. Our results demonstrate that CUEDC2 interacts with PR and promotes progesterone-induced PR degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. The inhibition of endogenous CUEDC2 by siRNA nearly abrogated the progesterone-induced degradation of PR, suggesting that CUEDC2 is involved in progesterone-induced PR ubiquitination and degradation. Moreover, we identify the sumoylation site Lys-388 of PR as the target of CUEDC2-promoted ubiquitination. CUEDC2 decreases the sumoylation while promoting ubiquitination on Lys-388 of PRB. We also show that CUEDC2 represses PR transactivation, inhibits the ability of PR to stimulate rapid MAPK activity, and impairs the effect of progesterone on breast cancer cell growth. Therefore, our results identify a key post-translational mechanism that controls PR protein levels and for the first time provide an important insight into the function of CUEDC2 in breast cancer proliferation.     

CUEDC2中CUE结构域的表达纯化及结构初探

目的:建立CUEDC2中CUE结构域的原核表达系统,获得13C、15N同位素标记的CUE结构域蛋白质,以用于结构生物学研究。方法:利用分子生物学方法将CUE结构域编码序列构建到pET-28a原核表达系统,表达和纯化13C、15N标记的重组蛋白;用SDS-PAGE等方法对其进行鉴定。结果:目的蛋白经SDS-PAGE和MALDI-TOF/MS检测,相对分子质量正确,圆二色谱和核磁共振波谱结果显示目的蛋白折叠良好。结论:获得了高浓度、高纯度、折叠良好的CUE结构域标记蛋白质,利于进一步的结构生物学研究。     

Heat shock and light activation of aChlamydomonas HSP70 gene are mediated by independent regulatory pathways

Induction ofHSP70 heat shock genes by light has been demonstrated inChlamydomonas. Our aim was to establish whether this induction by light is mediated by the heat stress sensing pathway or by an independent signal chain. Inhibitors of cytoplasmic protein synthesis revealed an initial difference. Cycloheximide and other inhibitors of protein synthesis preventedHSP70A induction upon illumination but not during heat stress. Analysis ofHSP70A induction in cells that had differentiated into gametes revealed a second difference. While heat shock resulted in elevatedHSP70A mRNA levels, light was no longer able to serve as an inducer in gametes. To identify the regulatory sequences that mediate the response of theHSP70A gene to either heat stress or light we introduced a series of progressive 5′ truncations into its promoter sequence. Analyses of the levels of mRNA transcribed from these deletion constructs showed that in most of them the responses to heat shock and light were similar, suggesting that light induction is mediated by a light-activated heat shock factor. However, we show that theHSP70A promoter also containscis-acting sequences involved in light induction that do not participate in induction by heat stress. Together, these results provide evidence for a regulation ofHSP70A gene expression by light through a heat shock-independent signal pathway.     

CUE domain‐containing protein 2 promotes the Warburg effect and tumorigenesis

Cancer progression depends on cellular metabolic reprogramming as both direct and indirect consequence of oncogenic lesions; however, the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. Here, we report that CUEDC2 (CUE domain‐containing protein 2) plays a vital role in facilitating aerobic glycolysis, or Warburg effect, in cancer cells. Mechanistically, we show that CUEDC2 upregulates the two key glycolytic proteins GLUT3 and LDHA via interacting with the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) or 14‐3‐3ζ, respectively. We further demonstrate that enhanced aerobic glycolysis is essential for the role of CUEDC2 to drive cancer progression. Moreover, using tissue microarray analysis, we show a correlation between the aberrant expression of CUEDC2, and GLUT3 and LDHA in clinical HCC samples, further demonstrating a link between CUEDC2 and the Warburg effect during cancer development. Taken together, our findings reveal a previously unappreciated function of CUEDC2 in cancer cell metabolism and tumorigenesis, illustrating how close oncogenic lesions are intertwined with metabolic alterations promoting cancer progression.     

Elevated expression of CUEDC2 protein confers endocrine resistance in breast cancer

Endocrine resistance is a major obstacle to hormonal therapy for breast cancers. Although reduced expression of estrogen receptor-α (ER-α) is a known contributing factor to endocrine resistance, the mechanism of ER-α downregulation in endocrine resistance is still not fully understood. Here we report that CUE domain-containing protein-2 (CUEDC2), a ubiquitin-binding motif-containing protein, is a key factor in endocrine resistance in breast cancer. We show that CUEDC2 modulates ER-α protein stability through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Through the study of specimens from a large cohort of subjects with breast cancer, we found a strong inverse correlation between CUEDC2 and ER-α protein expression. Notably, subjects with tumors that highly expressed CUEDC2 had poor responsiveness to tamoxifen treatment and high potential for relapse. We further show that ectopic CUEDC2 expression impaired the responsiveness of breast cancer cells to tamoxifen. Therefore, our findings suggest that CUEDC2 is a crucial determinant of resistance to endocrine therapies in breast cancer.     

CUEDC2的N端结构域溶液结构初步探索

目的:为了更好地研究CUEDC2(CUE domain containing 2)的生物学功能,对其N端含133个氨基酸残基的结构域的三维结构进行初步探索。方法:用亲和纯化方法纯化GST-CUEDC2(1-133 aa)和His-CUEDC2(1-133aa),采用圆二色谱和核磁共振方法初步研究其结构。结果:圆二色谱实验表明CUEDC2(1-133 aa)cut比CUEDC2(1-133 aa)uncut的螺旋结构更多,折叠更好;核磁共振实验表明CUEDC2(1-133 aa)cut的1H-15N HSQC谱交叉峰更多,峰强度更均匀。结论:CUEDC2(1-133 aa)cut为最适合用核磁共振方法进行结构计算的片段。     

Stress-induced localization of HSPA6 (HSP70B′) and HSPA1A (HSP70-1) proteins to centrioles in human neuronal cells

The localization of yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-tagged HSP70 proteins was employed to identify stress-sensitive sites in human neurons following temperature elevation. Stable lines of human SH-SY5Y neuronal cells were established that expressed YFP-tagged protein products of the human inducible HSP70 genes HSPA6 (HSP70B′) and HSPA1A (HSP70-1). Following a brief period of thermal stress, YFP-tagged HSPA6 and HSPA1A rapidly appeared at centrioles in the cytoplasm of human neuronal cells, with HSPA6 demonstrating a more prolonged signal compared to HSPA1A. Each centriole is composed of a distal end and a proximal end, the latter linking the centriole doublet. The YFP-tagged HSP70 proteins targeted the proximal end of centrioles (identified by γ-tubulin marker) rather than the distal end (centrin marker). Centrioles play key roles in cellular polarity and migration during neuronal differentiation. The proximal end of the centriole, which is involved in centriole stabilization, may be stress-sensitive in post-mitotic, differentiating human neurons.     

Heat shock and light activation of aChlamydomonas HSP70 gene are mediated by independent regulatory pathways

Induction ofHSP70 heat shock genes by light has been demonstrated inChlamydomonas. Our aim was to establish whether this induction by light is mediated by the heat stress sensing pathway or by an independent signal chain. Inhibitors of cytoplasmic protein synthesis revealed an initial difference. Cycloheximide and other inhibitors of protein synthesis preventedHSP70A induction upon illumination but not during heat stress. Analysis ofHSP70A induction in cells that had differentiated into gametes revealed a second difference. While heat shock resulted in elevatedHSP70A mRNA levels, light was no longer able to serve as an inducer in gametes. To identify the regulatory sequences that mediate the response of theHSP70A gene to either heat stress or light we introduced a series of progressive 5 truncations into its promoter sequence. Analyses of the levels of mRNA transcribed from these deletion constructs showed that in most of them the responses to heat shock and light were similar, suggesting that light induction is mediated by a light-activated heat shock factor. However, we show that theHSP70A promoter also containscis-acting sequences involved in light induction that do not participate in induction by heat stress. Together, these results provide evidence for a regulation ofHSP70A gene expression by light through a heat shock-independent signal pathway.     

Seasonal variation in expression pattern of genes under HSP70

Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is one of the most abundant and best characterized heat shock protein family that consists of highly conserved stress proteins, expressed in response to stress, and plays crucial roles in environmental stress tolerance and adaptation. The present study was conducted to identify major types of genes under the HSP70 family and to quantify their expression pattern in heat- and cold-adapted Indian goats (Capra hircus) with respect to different seasons. Five HSP70 gene homologues to HSPA8, HSPA6, HSPA1A, HSPA1L, and HSPA2 were identified by gene-specific primers. The cDNA sequences showed high similarity to other mammals, and proteins have an estimated molecular weight of around 70 kDa. The expression of HSP70 genes was observed during summer and winter. During summer, the higher expression of HSPA8, HSPA6, and HSPA1A was observed, whereas the expression levels of HSPA1L and HSPA2 were found to be lower. It was also observed that the expression of HSPA1A and HSPA8 was higher during winter in both heat- and cold-adapted goats but downregulates in case of other HSPs. Therefore, both heat and cold stress induced the overexpression of HSP70 genes. An interesting finding that emerged from the study is the higher expression of HSP70 genes in cold-adapted goats during summer and in heat-adapted goats during winter. Altogether, the results indicate that the expression pattern of HSP70 genes is species- and breed-specific, most likely due to variations in thermal tolerance and adaptation to different climatic conditions.     

Proteomic analysis reveals significant elevation of heat shock protein 70 in patients with chronic heart failure due to arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy

As proteins are the ultimate biological determinants of phenotype of disease, we screened altered proteins associated with heart failure due to arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) to identify biomarkers potential for rapid diagnosis of heart failure. By 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, we identified five commonly altered proteins with more than 1.5 fold changes in eight ARVC failing hearts using eight non-failing hearts as reference. Noticeably, one of the altered proteins, heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), was increased by 1.64 fold in ARVC failing hearts compared with non-failing hearts. The increase of cardiac HSP70 was further validated by Western blot, immunochemistry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in failing hearts due to not only ARVC, but also dilated (DCM, n = 18) and ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM, n = 8). Serum HSP70 was also observed to be significantly increased in heart failure patients derived from the three forms of cardiomyopathies. In addition, we observed hypoxia/serum depletion stimulation induced significantly elevation of intracellular and extracellular HSP70 in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. For the first time to our knowledge, we revealed and clearly demonstrated significant up-regulation of cardiac and serum HSP70 in ARVC heart failure patients. Our results indicate that elevated HSP70 is the common feature of heart failure due to ARVC, DCM, and ICM, which suggests that HSP70 may be used as a biomarker for the presence of heart failure due to cardiomyopathies of different etiologies and may hold diagnostic/prognostic potential in clinical practice.     

Toxoplasma gondii 70 kDa Heat Shock Protein: Systemic Detection Is Associated with the Death of the Parasites by the Immune Response and Its Increased Expression in the Brain Is Associated with Parasite Replication

The heat shock protein of Toxoplasma gondii (TgHSP70) is a parasite virulence factor that is expressed during T. gondii stage conversion. To verify the effect of dexamethasone (DXM)-induced infection reactivation in the TgHSP70-specific humoral immune response and the presence of the protein in the mouse brain, we produced recombinant TgHSP70 and anti-TgHSP70 IgY antibodies to detect the protein, the specific antibody and levels of immune complexes (ICs) systemically, as well as the protein in the brain of resistant (BALB/c) and susceptible (C57BL/6) mice. It was observed higher TgHSP70-specific antibody titers in serum samples of BALB/c compared with C57BL/6 mice. However, the susceptible mice presented the highest levels of TgHSP70 systemically and no detection of specific ICs. The DXM treatment induced increased parasitism and lower inflammatory changes in the brain of C57BL/6, but did not interfere with the cerebral parasitism in BALB/c mice. Additionally, DXM treatment decreased the serological TgHSP70 concentration in both mouse lineages. C57BL/6 mice presented high expression of TgHSP70 in the brain with the progression of infection and under DXM treatment. Taken together, these data indicate that the TgHSP70 release into the bloodstream depends on the death of the parasites mediated by the host immune response, whereas the increased TgHSP70 expression in the brain depends on the multiplication rate of the parasite.     

HSP70-3 Interacts with Phospholipase Dδ and Participates in Heat Stress Defense

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) function as molecular chaperones and are key components responsible for protein folding, assembly, translocation, and degradation under stress conditions. However, little is known about how HSPs stabilize proteins and membranes in response to different hormonal or environmental cues in plants. Here, we combined molecular, biochemical, and genetic approaches to elucidate the involvement of cytosolic HSP70-3 in plant stress responses and the interplay between HSP70-3 and plasma membrane (PM)-localized phospholipase Dδ (PLDδ) in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Analysis using pull-down, coimmunoprecipitation, and bimolecular fluorescence complementation revealed that HSP70-3 specifically interacted with PLDδ. HSP70-3 bound to microtubules, such that it stabilized cortical microtubules upon heat stress. We also showed that heat shock induced recruitment of HSP70-3 to the PM, where HSP70-3 inhibited PLDδ activity to mediate microtubule reorganization, phospholipid metabolism, and plant thermotolerance, and this process depended on the HSP70-3–PLDδ interaction. Our results suggest a model whereby the interplay between HSP70-3 and PLDδ facilitates the re-establishment of cellular homeostasis during plant responses to external stresses and reveal a regulatory mechanism in regulating membrane lipid metabolism.

The heat shock protein 70-3 interacts with phospholipase Dδ to regulate microtubule organization, lipid metabolism, and plant thermotolerance in Arabidopsis.     

Quantification of Interaction Strengths between Chaperones and Tetratricopeptide Repeat Domain-containing Membrane Proteins

The three tetratricopeptide repeat domain-containing docking proteins Toc64, OM64, and AtTPR7 reside in the chloroplast, mitochondrion, and endoplasmic reticulum of Arabidopsis thaliana, respectively. They are suggested to act during post-translational protein import by association with chaperone-bound preprotein complexes. Here, we performed a detailed biochemical, biophysical, and computational analysis of the interaction between Toc64, OM64, and AtTPR7 and the five cytosolic chaperones HSP70.1, HSP90.1, HSP90.2, HSP90.3, and HSP90.4. We used surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy in combination with Interaction Map® analysis to distinguish between chaperone oligomerization and docking protein-chaperone interactions and to calculate binding affinities for all tested interactions. Complementary to this, we applied pulldown assays as well as microscale thermophoresis as surface immobilization independent techniques. The data revealed that OM64 prefers HSP70 over HSP90, whereas Toc64 binds all chaperones with comparable affinities. We could further show that AtTPR7 is able to bind HSP90 in addition to HSP70. Moreover, differences between the HSP90 isoforms were detected and revealed a weaker binding for HSP90.1 to AtTPR7 and OM64, showing that slight differences in the amino acid composition or structure of the chaperones influence binding to the tetratricopeptide repeat domain. The combinatory approach of several methods provided a powerful toolkit to determine binding affinities of similar interaction partners in a highly quantitative manner.     

HSP25 down-regulation enhanced p53 acetylation by dissociation of SIRT1 from p53 in doxorubicin-induced H9c2 cell apoptosis

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) play important roles in cellular stress resistance. Previous reports had already suggested that HSP27 played multiple roles in preventing doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. Although HSP25 might have biological functions similar to its human homolog HSP27, the mechanism of HSP25 is still unclear in doxorubicin-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis. To investigate HSP25 biological function on doxorubicin-induced apoptosis, flow cytometry was employed to analyze cell apoptosis in over-expressing HSP25 H9c2 cells in presence of doxorubicin. Unexpectedly, the H9c2 cells of over-expressing HSP25 have no protective effect on doxorubicin-induced apoptosis. Moreover, no detectable interactions were detected by coimmunoprecipitation between HSP25 and cytochrome c, and HSP25 over-expression failed in preventing cytochrome c release induced by doxorubicin. However, down-regulation of endogenous HSP25 by a specific small hairpin RNA aggravates apoptosis in H9c2 cells. Subsequent studies found that HSP25, but not HSP90, HSP70, and HSP20, interacted with SIRT1. Knockdown of HSP25 decreased the interaction between SIRT1 and p53, leading to increased p53 acetylation on K379, up-regulated pro-apoptotic Bax protein expression, induced cytochrome c release, and triggered caspase-3 and caspase-9 activation. These findings indicated a novel mechanism by which HSP25 regulated p53 acetylation through dissociation of SIRT1 from p53 in doxorubicin-induced H9c2 cell apoptosis.     

Lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 as extracellular chaperone receptor: its versatile functions and human diseases

Well-known coronary risk factors such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, smoking, and diabetes are reported to induce the oxidative stress. Under the oxidative stress, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is oxidatively modified in the vasculature, and formed oxidized LDL induces endothelial dysfunction, expression of adhesion molecules and apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells. It has become evident that these cellular responses induced by oxidized LDL are mediated by lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1). LOX-1 was originally identified from cultured aortic endothelial cells as a receptor for oxidized LDL; however, recent investigations revealed that LOX-1 has diverse roles in the host-defense system and inflammatory responses, and it is involved in the pathogenesis of various diseases such as atherosclerosis-based cardiovascular diseases and septic shock. Beside oxidized LDL, LOX-1 recognizes multiple ligands including apoptotic cells, platelets, advanced glycation end products, bacteria, and heat shock proteins (HSPs). The HSPs function as a chaperone to affect protein folding of newly synthesized or denatured proteins. There are accumulating evidences that the HSPs released into the extracellular space have potent biological activities and it may work as a kind of cytokines. It is demonstrated that LOX-1 works as a receptor for HSP70, since it has high affinity for HSP70. The interaction of LOX-1 with HSP70 is involved in the cross-presentation of antigen. Given the potent and wide variety of biological activities, more understanding their interaction provides potential therapeutic strategy for various human diseases.     

Co‐evolutionary analysis implies auxiliary functions of HSP110 in Plasmodium falciparum

Plasmodium falciparum encounters frequent environmental challenges during its life cycle which makes productive protein folding immensely challenging for its metastable proteome. To identify the important components of protein folding machinery involved in maintaining P. falciparum proteome, we performed a proteome‐wide phylogenetic profiling across various species. We found that except HSP110, the parasite lost all other cytosolic nucleotide exchange factors essential for regulating HSP70 which is the centrum of the protein folding network. Evolutionary and structural analysis shows that besides its canonical interaction with HSP70, PfHSP110 has acquired sequence insertions for additional dynamic interactions. Molecular co‐evolution profile depicts that the co‐evolving proteins of PfHSP110 belong to distinct pathways like genetic variation, DNA repair, fatty acid biosynthesis, protein modification/trafficking, molecular motions, and apoptosis. These proteins exhibit unique physiochemical properties like large size, high iso‐electric point, low solubility, and antigenicity, hence require PfHSP110 chaperoning to attain functional state. Co‐evolving protein interaction network suggests that PfHSP110 serves as an important hub to coordinate protein quality control, survival, and immune evasion pathways in the parasite. Overall, our findings highlight potential accessory roles of PfHSP110 that may provide survival advantage to the parasite during its lifecycle and febrile conditions. The data also open avenues for experimental validation of auxiliary functions of PfHSP110 and their exploration for design of better antimalarial strategies. Proteins 2015; 83:1513–1525. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Recruitment of the Host Plant Heat Shock Protein 70 by Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus Coat Protein Is Required for Virus Infection

A functional capsid protein (CP) is essential for host plant infection and insect transmission of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) and other monopartite begomoviruses. We have previously shown that TYLCV CP specifically interacts with the heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) of the virus insect vector, Bemisia tabaci. Here we demonstrate that during the development of tomato plant infection with TYLCV, a significant amount of HSP70 shifts from a soluble form into insoluble aggregates. CP and HSP70 co-localize in these aggregates, first in the cytoplasm, then in the nucleus of cells associated with the vascular system. CP-HSP70 interaction was demonstrated by co-immunopreciptation in cytoplasmic - but not in nuclear extracts from leaf and stem. Inhibition of HSP70 expression by quercetin caused a decrease in the amount of nuclear CP aggregates and a re-localization of a GFP-CP fusion protein from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. HSP70 inactivation resulted in a decrease of TYLCV DNA levels, demonstrating the role of HSP70 in TYLCV multiplication in planta. The current study reveals for the first time the involvement of plant HSP70 in TYLCV CP intracellular movement. As described earlier, nuclear aggregates contained TYLCV DNA-CP complexes and infectious virions. Showing that HSP70 localizes in these large nuclear aggregates infers that these structures operate as nuclear virus factories.