Normal function of the transcription factor NFAT1 in wasted mice. Chromosome localization of NFAT1 gene

NFAT1 (NFATp), a cytosolic component of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT), is encoded by a single gene which was mapped to mouse chromosome 2 in the vicinity of the wasted (wst) locus. Although wasted mice display a severe immune disorder, they express normal levels of NFAT1 protein. The NFAT1 protein in wasted mice is properly regulated and possesses comparable DNA binding activity as that in their littermate controls. Therefore, the wasted phenotype is not due to a defect in the expression or early regulation of the NFAT1 protein     

Angiotensin II and norepinephrine activate specific calcineurin-dependent NFAT transcription factor isoforms in cardiomyocytes

Norepinephrine (NE) and angiotensin II (ANG II) are primary effectors of the sympathetic adrenergic and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone systems, mediating hypertrophic, apoptotic, and fibrotic events in the myocardium. As NE and ANG II have been shown to affect intracellular calcium in cardiomyocytes, we hypothesized that they activate the calcium-sensitive, prohypertrophic calcineurin-nuclear factor of activated T-cell (NFATc) signaling pathway. More specifically, we have investigated isoform-specific activation of NFAT in NE- and ANG II-stimulated cardiomyocytes, as it is likely that each of the four calcineurin-dependent isoforms, c1-c4, play specific roles. We have stimulated neonatal ventriculocytes from C57/B6 and NFAT-luciferase reporter mice with ANG II or NE and quantified NFAT activity by luciferase activity and phospho-immunoblotting. ANG II and NE increased calcineurin-dependent NFAT activity 2.4- and 1.9-fold, measured as luciferase activity after 24 h of stimulation, and induced protein synthesis, measured by radioactive leucine incorporation after 24 and 72 h. To optimize measurements of NFAT isoforms, we examined the specificity of NFAT antibodies on peptide arrays and by immunoblotting with designed blocking peptides. Western analyses showed that both effectors activate NFATc1 and c4, while NFATc2 activity was regulated by NE only, as measured by phospho-NFAT levels. Neither ANG II nor NE activated NFATc3. As today's main therapies for heart failure aim at antagonizing the adrenergic and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone systems, understanding their intracellular actions is of importance, and our data, through validating a method for measuring myocardial NFATs, indicate that ANG II and NE activate specific NFATc isoforms in cardiomyocytes.     

Regulation of nucleocytoplasmic trafficking of transcription factor OREBP/TonEBP/NFAT5

The osmotic response element-binding protein (OREBP), also known as tonicity enhancer-binding protein (TonEBP) or NFAT5, regulates the hypertonicity-induced expression of a battery of genes crucial for the adaptation of mammalian cells to extracellular hypertonic stress. The activity of OREBP/TonEBP is regulated at multiple levels, including nucleocytoplasmic trafficking. OREBP/TonEBP protein can be detected in both the cytoplasm and nucleus under isotonic conditions, although it accumulates exclusively in the nucleus or cytoplasm when subjected to hypertonic or hypotonic challenges, respectively. Using immunocytochemistry and green fluorescent protein fusions, the protein domains that determine its subcellular localization were identified and characterized. We found that OREBP/TonEBP nuclear import is regulated by a nuclear localization signal. However, under isotonic conditions, nuclear export of OREBP/TonEBP is mediated by a CRM1-dependent, leucine-rich canonical nuclear export sequence (NES) located in the N terminus. Disruption of NES by site-directed mutagenesis yielded a mutant OREBP/TonEBP protein that accumulated in the nucleus under isotonic conditions but remained a target for hypotonicity-induced nuclear export. More importantly, a putative auxiliary export domain distal to the NES was identified. Disruption of the auxiliary export domain alone is sufficient to abolish the nuclear export of OREBP/TonEBP induced by hypotonicity. By using bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay, we showed that CRM1 interacts with OREBP/TonEBP, but not with a mutant protein deficient in NES. Our findings provide insight into how nucleocytoplasmic trafficking of OREBP/TonEBP is regulated by changes in extracellular tonicity.