Activation of resting peripheral blood lymphocytes through the T cell receptor induces rapid phosphorylation of Op18.

Op18 is a highly conserved major cytosolic phosphoprotein that has been implicated in signal transduction in a wide variety of cell types. Freshly isolated peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) constitutively express low levels of mostly unphosphorylated Op18. After mitogenic stimulation of PBL, Op18 synthesis is induced at a time when cells are entering S-phase. In this study, we have examined the phosphorylation of Op18 in freshly isolated PBL after activation of the T cell receptor by OKT3. Quantitative analysis of Op18 phosphorylation was undertaken by metabolic labeling with 32Pi and PhosphorImager analysis of two-dimensional gels. After 10 or 15 min of activation by OKT3, one of the three major phosphorylated forms of Op18, designated Op18c, increased approximately 10-fold, which represented a most pronounced change among a large number of phosphoproteins analyzed. In time course experiments, increased Op18 phosphorylation to yield Op18c was observed as early as 2 min. Continued OKT3-induced activation for 20 to 72 h resulted in a further increase in phosphorylated Op18 forms, which paralleled new Op18 synthesis and occurred at a time when cells were entering S-phase, as determined by [3H]-thymidine incorporation. Inhibitors of lymphoid proliferation, cyclosporin A and RPM, had no effect on early (less than 15 min) phosphorylation. Addition of calphostin C, a specific inhibitor of protein kinase C, 1 min prior to stimulation of resting T cells with OKT3 completely inhibited further phosphorylation of Op18. Incubation of PBL with calphostin C for 75 min decreased constitutive levels of phosphorylated Op18. In contrast, inhibition of cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinases with HA1004 had no effect on Op18 phosphorylation. Activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase with Forskolin or 8Br-cAMP did not increase Op18 phosphorylation. Our results suggest that Op18 phosphorylation is mediated by protein kinase C activation as an early event in T cell activation through the T cell receptor.     

Expression of the influenza A virus M2 protein is restricted to apical surfaces of polarized epithelial cells.

The M2 protein of influenza A virus is a small, nonglycosylated transmembrane protein that is expressed on surfaces of virus-infected cells. A monoclonal antibody specific for the M2 protein was used to investigate its expression in polarized epithelial cells infected with influenza virus or a recombinant vaccinia virus that expresses M2. The expression of M2 on the surfaces of influenza virus-infected cells was found to be restricted to the apical surface, closely paralleling that of the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA). Membrane domain-specific immunoprecipitation indicated that the M2 protein was inserted directly into the apical membrane with transport kinetics similar to those of HA. In polarized cells infected with a recombinant vaccinia virus that expresses M2, we found that 86 to 93% of surface M2 was restricted to the apical domain compared with 88 to 90% of HA in a similar assay. These results indicate that the M2 protein undergoes directional transport in the absence of other influenza virus proteins and that M2 contains the structural features required for apical transport in polarized epithelial cells. The ultrastructural localization of the M2 protein in influenza virus-infected MDCK cells was investigated by immunoelectron microscopy using M2 antibody and a gold conjugate. In cells in which extensive virus budding was occurring, the apical cell membrane was labeled with gold particles evenly distributed between microvilli and the surrounding membrane. In addition, a significant fraction of the M2 label was apparently associated with virions. A monoclonal antibody specific for HA demonstrated a similar labeling pattern. These results indicate that M2 is localized in close proximity to budding and assembled virions.     

Protein phosphatase type-1, not type-2A, modulates actin microfilament integrity and myosin light chain phosphorylation in living nonmuscle cells

Dynamic reorganization of the actin microfilament networks is dependent on the reversible phosphorylation of myosin light chain. To assess the potential role of protein phosphatases in this process in living nonmuscle cells, we have microinjected the purified type-1 and type-2A phosphatases into the cytoplasm of mammalian fibroblasts. Our studies reveal that elevating type-1 phosphatase levels led to the rapid (within 30 min) and fully reversible disassembly of the actin microfilament network as determined by immunofluorescence analysis. In contrast, microinjection of equivalent amounts of the purified type-2A phosphatase had no effect on actin microfilament organization. Metabolic labeling of cells after injection of purified phosphatases was used to analyze changes in protein phosphorylation. Concomitant with the disassembly of the actin microfilaments induced by type-1 phosphatase, there was an extensive dephosphorylation of myosin light chain. No such change was observed when cells were injected with type-2A phosphatase. In addition, after extraction of fibroblasts with Triton X-100, the type-1 phosphatase could be specifically localized by immunofluorescence to a fibrillar network of microfilaments. Furthermore, neutralizing type-1 phosphatase activity in vivo by microinjection of an affinity-purified antibody, prevented the reorganization of actin microfilaments that we had previously described following injection of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. These data support the notion that type 1 and type-2 phosphatases have distinct substrate specificity in living cells, and that type-1 phosphatase plays a predominant role in the dephosphorylation of myosin light chain and thus in the modulation of actin microfilament organization in vivo in intact nonmuscle cells.     

Protein phosphatase type 1 in mammalian cell mitosis: chromosomal localization and involvement in mitotic exit

We have examined the role of protein phosphatase type 1 (PP-1) in mammalian cell mitosis. Immunofluorescence using anti-PP-1 antibodies revealed that PP-1, which is mainly localized in the cytoplasm of G1 and S phase cells, accumulates in the nucleus during G2 phase and intensely colocalizes with individual chromosomes at mitosis. This increase in nuclear PP-1 in G2/M cells was confirmed by immunoblotting on subcellular fractions. Microinjection of neutralizing anti-PP-1 antibodies before division blocked cells at metaphase, whereas injection of PP-1 in one pole of an anaphase B cell accelerated cytokinesis and the reflattening of the injected cell. These results reveal a specific cell cycle-dependent redistribution of PP-1 and its involvement in reversing p34cdc2-induced effects after mid-mitosis in mammalian cells.     

cdc25 is a nuclear protein expressed constitutively throughout the cell cycle in nontransformed mammalian cells

A family of proteins homologous to the cdc25 gene product of the fission yeast bear specific protein tyrosine phosphatase activity involved in the activation of the p34cdc2-cyclin B kinase. Using affinity-purified antibodies raised against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the catalytic site of the cdc25 phosphatase, we show that cdc25 protein is constitutively expressed throughout the cell cycle of nontransformed mammalian fibroblasts and does not undergo major changes in protein level. By indirect immunofluorescence, cdc25 protein is found essentially localized in the nucleus throughout interphase and during early prophase. Just before the complete nuclear envelope breakdown at the prophase-prometaphase boundary, cdc25 proteins are redistributed throughout the cytoplasm. During metaphase and anaphase, cdc25 staining remains distributed throughout the cell and excludes the condensed chromosomes. The nuclear locale reappears during telophase. In light of the recent data describing the cytoplasmic localization of cyclin B protein (Pines, J., and T. Hunter. 1991. J. Cell Biol. 115:1-17), the data presented here suggest that separation in two distinct cellular compartments of the cdc25 phosphatase and its substrate p34cdc2-cyclin B may be of importance in the regulation of the cdc2 kinase activity.