Phosphorylation of p22phox on Threonine 147 Enhances NADPH Oxidase Activity by Promoting p47phox Binding |
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Authors: | Eric M Lewis Susan Sergeant Bill Ledford Natalie Stull Mary C Dinauer and Linda C McPhail |
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Institution: | From the ‡Department of Biochemistry, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157 and ;the §Herman B. Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Department of Pediatrics, Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202 |
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Abstract: | NADPH oxidase comprises both cytosolic and membrane-bound subunits, which, when assembled and activated, initiate the transfer of electrons from NADPH to molecular oxygen to form superoxide. This activity, known as the respiratory burst, is extremely important in the innate immune response as indicated by the disorder chronic granulomatous disease. The regulation of this enzyme complex involves protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions as well as phosphorylation events. Previously, our laboratory demonstrated that the small membrane subunit of the oxidase complex, p22phox, is phosphorylated in neutrophils and that its phosphorylation correlates with NADPH oxidase activity. In this study, we utilized site-directed mutagenesis in a Chinese hamster ovarian cell system to determine the phosphorylation sites within p22phox. We also explored the mechanism by which p22phox phosphorylation affects NADPH oxidase activity. We found that mutation of threonine 147 to alanine inhibited superoxide production in vivo by more than 70%. This mutation also blocked phosphorylation of p22phox in vitro by both protein kinase C-α and -δ. Moreover, this mutation blocked the p22phox-p47phox interaction in intact cells. When phosphorylation was mimicked in vivo through mutation of Thr-147 to an aspartyl residue, NADPH oxidase activity was recovered, and the p22phox-p47phox interaction in the membrane was restored. Maturation of gp91phox was not affected by the alanine mutation, and phosphorylation of the cytosolic component p47phox still occurred. This study directly implicates threonine 147 of p22phox as a critical residue for efficient NADPH oxidase complex formation and resultant enzyme activity. |
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Keywords: | Phorbol Esters Protein Kinase C (PKC) Protein Palmitoylation Protein-Protein Interactions Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Respiratory Burst NADPH Oxidase |
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