Signal transduction in endothelial cells by the angiogenesis inhibitor histidine-rich glycoprotein targets focal adhesions

Histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRGP) is an abundant heparin-binding plasma protein. We have shown that a fragment released from the central histidine/proline-rich (His/Pro-rich) domain of HRGP blocks endothelial cell migration in vitro and vascularization and growth of murine fibrosarcoma in vivo. The minimal active HRGP domain exerting the anti-angiogenic effect was recently narrowed down to a 35 amino acid peptide, HRGP330, derived from the His/Pro-rich domain of HRGP. By use of a signal transduction antibody array representing 400 different signal transduction molecules, we now show that HRGP and the synthetic peptide HRGP330 specifically induce tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and its downstream substrate paxillin in endothelial cells. HRGP/HRGP330 treatment of endothelial cells induced disruption of actin stress fibers, a process reversed by treatment of cells with the FAK inhibitor geldanamycin. In addition, VEGF-mediated endothelial cell tubular morphogenesis in a three-dimensional collagen matrix was inhibited by HRGP and HRGP330. In contrast, VEGF-induced proliferation was not affected by HRGP or HRGP330, demonstrating the central role of cell migration during tube formation. In conclusion, our data show that HRGP targets focal adhesions in endothelial cells, thereby disrupting the cytoskeletal organization and the ability of endothelial cells to assemble into vessel structures.     

Rac signaling in breast cancer: a tale of GEFs and GAPs

Rac GTPases, small G-proteins widely implicated in tumorigenesis and metastasis, transduce signals from tyrosine-kinase, G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and integrins, and control a number of essential cellular functions including motility, adhesion, and proliferation. Deregulation of Rac signaling in cancer is generally a consequence of enhanced upstream inputs from tyrosine-kinase receptors, PI3K or Guanine nucleotide Exchange Factors (GEFs), or reduced Rac inactivation by GTPase Activating Proteins (GAPs). In breast cancer cells Rac1 is a downstream effector of ErbB receptors and mediates migratory responses by ErbB1/EGFR ligands such as EGF or TGFα and ErbB3 ligands such as heregulins. Recent advances in the field led to the identification of the Rac-GEF P-Rex1 as an essential mediator of Rac1 responses in breast cancer cells. P-Rex1 is activated by the PI3K product PIP3 and Gβγ subunits, and integrates signals from ErbB receptors and GPCRs. Most notably, P-Rex1 is highly overexpressed in human luminal breast tumors, particularly those expressing ErbB2 and estrogen receptor (ER). The P-Rex1/Rac signaling pathway may represent an attractive target for breast cancer therapy.     

Allosteric modulation of zinc speciation by fatty acids

Background

Serum albumin is the major protein component of blood plasma and is responsible for the circulatory transport of a range of small molecules that include fatty acids, hormones, metal ions and drugs. Studies examining the ligand-binding properties of albumin make up a large proportion of the literature. However, many of these studies do not address the fact that albumin carries multiple ligands (including metal ions) simultaneously in vivo. Thus the binding of a particular ligand may influence both the affinity and dynamics of albumin interactions with another.

Scope of review

Here we review the Zn^2 + and fatty acid transport properties of albumin and highlight an important interplay that exists between them. Also the impact of this dynamic interaction upon the distribution of plasma Zn^2 +, its effect upon cellular Zn^2 + uptake and its importance in the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia are considered.

Major conclusions

We previously identified the major binding site for Zn^2 + on albumin. Furthermore, we revealed that Zn^2 +-binding at this site and fatty acid-binding at the FA2 site are interdependent. This suggests that the binding of fatty acids to albumin may serve as an allosteric switch to modulate Zn^2 +-binding to albumin in blood plasma.

General significance

Fatty acid levels in the blood are dynamic and chronic elevation of plasma fatty acid levels is associated with some metabolic disorders such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Since the binding of Zn^2 + to albumin is important for the control of circulatory/cellular Zn^2 + dynamics, this relationship is likely to have important physiological and pathological implications. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Serum Albumin.     

rLj-RGD3全RGD缺失基因重组突变体——rLj-112的分子克隆及其广谱抑真菌活性

Lj-112是日本七鳃鳗RGD毒素蛋白野生型Lj-RGD3的RGD全缺失基因突变体,其一级结构具有富组氨酸的特点．富组氨酸糖蛋白具有抑菌功能．为了研究Lj-112是否具有抑菌作用,使用基因合成和原核表达的方法,获得了纯化重组蛋白rLj-112,将其对不同菌种进行抑菌试验.结果表明,以野生型rLj-RGD3、RGD模体与组氨酸全缺失突变体rLj-26为对照,rLj-112有较广谱的抑菌活性,其中对白念球菌的最低抑菌浓度（MIC）为7 μmol/L,对稻瘟病菌的MIC值为7.5 μmol/L,对毛癣菌和禾谷病菌的MIC值分别为11.9 μmol/L和29.9 μmol/L．可见,rLj-112能作为抗真菌药物候选,为提高农作物的生产质量和减轻人类感染疾病的用药压力奠定了基础．     

富组氨酸糖蛋白(HRG)的结构与功能

富组氨酸糖蛋白(HRG)为一种多结构域血浆糖蛋白,可与多种配体结合而行使多种功能.HRG配体包括锌离子、肝素和硫酸肝素、纤溶酶原、纤溶酶、纤维蛋白原、凝血酶敏感素、原肌球蛋白、IgG、FcγR及补体.在锌离子存在或在低pH的环境中(如组织损伤或肿瘤生长),HRG的富含组氨酸结构域与配体的结合能力加强.HRG的多结构域特点及其与多种配体结合的性质表明,其可以作为细胞外衔接蛋白衔接细胞表面的不同配体.除了细胞表面分子,HRG还可以结合IgG,从而阻止可溶性免疫复合物的产生.HRG与大多数细胞发生结合的功能是在锌离子存在或低pH环境下,通过与细胞表面硫酸肝素蛋白聚糖相互作用实现的.HRG还具有加强凋亡细胞、坏死的吞噬细胞和免疫复合物的清除、抗血管新生、细胞的粘附和迁移、纤维蛋白溶解作用、血凝固、补体激活等生理活动调节等功能.本文针对HRG的分子结构与功能及其在临床上的研究进展进行概述.     

日本七鳃鳗Arg-Gly-Asp毒素蛋白Lj-RGD3野生型与RGD全缺失突变体Lj-112的抗血管新生作用

七鳃鳗Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) 毒素肽Lj-RGD3与富含组氨酸糖蛋白HRG具有序列同源性,而RGD毒素蛋白及HRG都具有抑制血管新生的活性,但作用靶点不同。为研究Lj-RGD3结构与功能的关系,对野生型Lj-RGD3及其RGD全缺失突变体Lj-112进行了抗血管新生功能研究。将3个RGD模体的全缺失突变体基因Lj-112全序列合成后构建于pET-23b载体,对野生型Lj-RGD3及突变体 Lj-112蛋白进行IPTG诱导表达,重组蛋白经组氨酸亲和层析纯化;采用MTT法测定野生型和突变体蛋白对人     

Noncompetitive inhibition of hepatocyte growth factor-dependent Met signaling by a phage-derived peptide

Dysregulation of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-induced signaling via its receptor tyrosine kinase Met results in tumor progression and metastasis. To initiate signaling, pro-HGF must be proteolytically activated to reveal a secondary Met binding site within the serine protease-like β-chain of HGF. Although HGF/Met is a large complex, we sought to discover relatively small antagonists that might interfere with this critical Met binding region. Pools of disulfide-constrained random peptide libraries displayed on phage were selected for binding to HGF, ultimately resulting in a disulfide-constrained 15-mer peptide (VNWVCFRDVGCDWVL) termed HB10, which bound to the recombinant human HGF β-chain (HGF β) and competitively inhibited binding to Met with an IC₅₀ of 450 nM. In MDA-MB435 cells, HB10 reduced HGF-dependent Met phosphorylation by 70%, and phosphorylation of downstream kinases AKT and ERK1/ERK2 by 74% and 69%, respectively. Addition of HB10 also inhibited HGF-dependent migration of these cells with an IC₅₀ of ∼ 20 μM. The 2D ¹H-NMR structure of HB10 revealed a β-hairpin loop stabilized by the disulfide bond and cross-strand pairing of Trp3 and Trp13. HGF β mutants deficient in Met binding also have reduced HB10 binding, suggesting an overlapping binding site. Notably HB10 did not inhibit full length HGF binding to Met. Thus steric hindrance of the interaction between HGF β domain binding to Met is sufficient for inhibiting full-length HGF-dependent Met signaling and cell migration that is consistent with a noncompetitive inhibitory mechanism of Met signal transduction.     

Histidine-rich glycoprotein and concanavalin A synergistically stimulate the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-independent signaling pathway in leukocytes leading to increased cell adhesion and changes in cell morphology

Histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) promoted the adhesion and morphological changes of human T-cell line MOLT-4 in a Con A-dependent manner. This morphological change-promoting activity was specific for HRG and the Arg23-Lys66 glycopeptide from human HRG. The carbohydrate chain at Asn45 was essential for this activity. The morphological changes of MOLT-4 cells caused by HRG and Con A (HRG/Con A) were not inhibited by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor, wortmannin or LY294002, while the changes by Con A alone were completely inhibited by these reagents, suggesting that HRG/Con A cooperate to activate leukocytes via a signaling pathway distinct from that by Con A alone. The morphological changes by Con A were associated with pseudopodia like structure. On the other hand, the morphological changes caused by HRG/Con A were associated not only with pseudopodia like structure but also with an increase of the F-actin-rich surface protrusions. Wortmannin inhibited only the formation of pseudopodia like structure.     

High affinity interaction between histidine-rich glycoprotein and the cell surface type ATP synthase on T-cells

Histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) is a plasma protein implicated in the innate immune system. In recent studies, we showed that either HRG, or the Arg23-Lys66 glycopeptide derived from HRG, in concert with concanavalin A (Con A), promotes a morphological change and adhesion of the human leukemic T-cell line MOLT-4 to culture dishes, and that cell surface glycosaminoglycan or Fcγ receptors do not participate in this cellular event. In the present study, we identified the α-subunit of ATP synthase as one of the HRG-binding proteins on the surface of T-cells by HRG-derived glycopeptide affinity chromatography and by a peptide mass finger printing method. HRG specifically interacted with mitochondrial ATP synthase with a dissociation constant of 66 nM. The presence of α- and β-subunits of ATP synthase on the plasma membrane of MOLT-4 cell was demonstrated by immunofluorescent staining and FACS analysis. The HRG/Con A-induced morphological changes of MOLT-4 cells were specifically inhibited by a monoclonal antibody against the β-subunit of ATP synthase. These results strongly suggest that the cell surface ATP synthase functions as a binding protein for HRG on MOLT-4 cells, which is required for the morphological changes observed in MOLT-4 cells following treatment with HRG/Con A.