Project description:SLK controls the cytoskeleton, cell adhesion and migration. Analysis of a protein kinase phosphorylation site dataset showed that podocyte adhesion proteins – paxillin, vinculin and talin-1 may be potential SLK substrates. The project examines if these adhesion proteins are substrates of SLK.
Project description:Interphase microtubules are organized into a radial array with centrosome in the center. This organization is a subject of cellular regulation that can be driven by protein phosphorylation. Only few protein kinases that regulate microtubule array in interphase cells have been described. Ste20-like protein kinase LOSK (SLK) was identified as a microtubule and centrosome-associated protein. In this study we have shown that the inhibition of LOSK activity by dominant-negative mutant K63R-DeltaT or by LOSK depletion with RNAi leads to unfocused microtubule arrangement. Microtubule disorganization is prominent in Vero, CV-1, and CHO-K1 cells but less distinct in HeLa cells. The effect is a result neither of microtubule stabilization nor of centrosome disruption. In cells with suppressed LOSK activity centrosomes are unable to anchor or to cap microtubules, though they keep nucleating microtubules. These centrosomes are depleted of dynactin. Vero cells overexpressing K63R-DeltaT have normal dynactin "comets" at microtubule ends and unaltered morphology of Golgi complex but are unable to polarize it at the wound edge. We conclude that protein kinase LOSK is required for radial microtubule organization and for the proper localization of Golgi complex in various cell types.
Project description:The microtubule- and centrosome-associated Ste20-like kinase (SLK; long Ste20-like kinase [LOSK]) regulates cytoskeleton organization and cell polarization and spreading. Its inhibition causes microtubule disorganization and release of centrosomal dynactin. The major function of dynactin is minus end-directed transport along microtubules in a complex with dynein motor. In addition, dynactin is required for maintenance of the microtubule radial array in interphase cells, and depletion of its centrosomal pool entails microtubule disorganization. Here we demonstrate that SLK (LOSK) phosphorylates the p150(Glued) subunit of dynactin and thus targets it to the centrosome, where it maintains microtubule radial organization. We show that phosphorylation is required only for centrosomal localization of p150(Glued) and does not affect its microtubule-organizing properties: artificial targeting of nonphosphorylatable p150(Glued) to the centrosome restores microtubule radial array in cells with inhibited SLK (LOSK). The phosphorylation site is located in a microtubule-binding region that is variable for two isoforms (1A and 1B) of p150(Glued) expressed in cultured fibroblast-like cells (isoform 1B lacks 20 amino acids in the basic microtubule-binding domain). The fact that SLK (LOSK) phosphorylates only a minor isoform 1A of p150(Glued) suggests that transport and microtubule-organizing functions of dynactin are distinctly divided between the two isoforms. We also show that dynactin phosphorylation is involved in Golgi reorientation in polarized cells.
Project description:Cell migration involves a multitude of signals that converge on cytoskeletal reorganization, essential for development, immune responses, and tissue repair. Here, we show that the microtubule-associated Ste20 kinase SLK, required for cell migration, interacts with the LIM domain binding transcriptional cofactor proteins Ldb1/CLIM2 and Ldb2/CLIM1/NLI. We demonstrate that Ldb1 and 2 bind directly to the SLK carboxy-terminal AT1-46 homology domain in vitro and in vivo. We find that Ldb1 and -2 colocalize with SLK in migrating cells and that both knockdown and overexpression of either factor results in increased motility. Supporting this, knockdown of Ldb1 increases focal adhesion turnover and enhances migration in fibroblasts. We propose that Ldb1/2 function to maintain SLK in an inactive state before its activation. These findings highlight a novel function for Ldb1 and -2 and expand their role to include the control of cell migration.
Project description:We have demonstrated that a novel Ste20-related kinase, designated SLK, mediates apoptosis and actin stress fiber dissolution through distinct domains generated by caspase 3 cleavage. Overexpression of SLK in C2C12 myoblasts stimulated the disassembly of actin stress fibers and focal adhesions and induced apoptosis, as determined by annexin V binding and terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling analysis. SLK was cleaved by caspase 3 in vitro and in vivo during c-Myc-, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and UV-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, cleavage of SLK released two domains with distinct activities: an activated N-terminal kinase domain that promoted apoptosis and cytoskeletal rearrangements and a C-terminus domain that disassembled actin stress fibers. Moreover, our analysis has identified a novel conserved region (termed the AT1-46 homology domain) that efficiently promotes stress fiber disassembly. Finally, transient transfection of SLK also activated the c-Jun N-terminal kinase signaling pathway. Our results suggest that caspase-activated SLK represents a novel effector of cytoskeletal remodeling and apoptosis.
Project description:Invasion can be stimulated in vitro using the soluble ligand transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) to induce a process called epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) characterized by cell-cell junction breakdown and an invasive phenotype. We have previously demonstrated a role for Ste20-like kinase SLK cell migration and invasion. Here we show that SLK depletion in NMuMG mammary epithelial cells significantly impairs their TGFβ-induced migration and invasion. Immunofluorescence studies show that a fraction of SLK localizes to E-cadherin-positive adherens junction and that SLK impairs the breakdown of cell-cell contacts. We find that SLK-depleted cultures express significantly lower levels of vimentin protein as well as Snai1 and E-cadherin mRNA levels following TGF-β treatment. Surprisingly, our data show that SLK depletion does not affect the activation and nuclear translocation of Smad3. Furthermore, we show that expression of a dominant negative kinase does not impair tight junction breakdown and rescues Snai1 mRNA expression levels. Together these data suggest that SLK plays a novel role in TGFβ-induced EMT, independent of Smads, in a kinase activity-independent manner.
Project description:The Scar/WAVE complex is the principal catalyst of pseudopod and lamellipod formation. Here we show that Scar/WAVE's proline-rich domain is polyphosphorylated after the complex is activated. Blocking Scar/WAVE activation stops phosphorylation in both Dictyostelium and mammalian cells, implying that phosphorylation modulates pseudopods after they have been formed, rather than controlling whether they are initiated. Unexpectedly, phosphorylation is not promoted by chemotactic signaling but is greatly stimulated by cell:substrate adhesion and diminished when cells deadhere. Phosphorylation-deficient or phosphomimetic Scar/WAVE mutants are both normally functional and rescue the phenotype of knockout cells, demonstrating that phosphorylation is dispensable for activation and actin regulation. However, pseudopods and patches of phosphorylation-deficient Scar/WAVE last substantially longer in mutants, altering the dynamics and size of pseudopods and lamellipods and thus changing migration speed. Scar/WAVE phosphorylation does not require ERK2 in Dictyostelium or mammalian cells. However, the MAPKKK homologue SepA contributes substantially-sepA mutants have less steady-state phosphorylation, which does not increase in response to adhesion. The mutants also behave similarly to cells expressing phosphorylation-deficient Scar, with longer-lived pseudopods and patches of Scar recruitment. We conclude that pseudopod engagement with substratum is more important than extracellular signals at regulating Scar/WAVE's activity and that phosphorylation acts as a pseudopod timer by promoting Scar/WAVE turnover.
Project description:The level of TGF-β/bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling through Smad is tightly regulated to ensure proper embryonic patterning and homeostasis. Here we show that Smad activation by TGF-β/BMP is blocked by a highly conserved phosphorylation event in the α-helix 1 region of Smad [T312 in Drosophila Smad1 (MAD)]. α-helix 1 phosphorylation reduces Smad interaction with TGF-β/BMP receptor kinase and affects all receptor-activated Smads except Smad3. Tissue culture and transgenic studies in Drosophila further demonstrate that the biological activity of MAD is repressed by T312 phosphorylation in vivo. Through RNAi screening of the kinome, we have identified Misshapen (Msn) and the mammalian orthologs TNIK, MINK1, and MAP4K4 as the kinases responsible for α-helix 1 phosphorylation. Targeted expression of an active form of Msn in the wing imaginal disk disrupted activation of endogenous MAD by Dpp and expression of the Dpp/MAD target gene. Msn kinases belong to the Ste20 kinase family that has been shown to act as MAP kinase kinase kinase kinase (MAP4K). Our findings thus reveal a function of Msn independent of its impact on MAP kinase cascades. This Smad inhibition mechanism by Msn likely has important implications for development and disease.
Project description:HGK (hepatocyte progenitor kinase-like/germinal center kinase-like kinase) is a member of the human STE20/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase kinase family of serine/threonine kinases and is the ortholog of mouse NIK (Nck-interacting kinase). We have cloned a novel splice variant of HGK from a human tumor line and have further identified a complex family of HGK splice variants. We showed HGK to be highly expressed in most tumor cell lines relative to normal tissue. An active role for this kinase in transformation was suggested by an inhibition of H-Ras(V12)-induced focus formation by expression of inactive, dominant-negative mutants of HGK in both fibroblast and epithelial cell lines. Expression of an inactive mutant of HGK also inhibited the anchorage-independent growth of cells yet had no effect on proliferation in monolayer culture. Expression of HGK mutants modulated integrin receptor expression and had a striking effect on hepatocyte growth factor-stimulated epithelial cell invasion. Together, these results suggest an important role for HGK in cell transformation and invasiveness.
Project description:Podocytes, a type of highly specialized epithelial cells, require substantial levels of energy to maintain glomerular integrity and function, but little is known on the regulation of podocytes' energetics. Lack of metabolic analysis during podocyte development led us to explore the distribution of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis, the two major pathways of cell metabolism, in cultured podocytes during in vitro differentiation. Unexpectedly, we observed a stronger glycolytic profile, accompanied by an increased mitochondrial complexity in differentiated podocytes, indicating that mature podocytes boost both glycolysis and mitochondrial metabolism to meet their augmented energy demands. In addition, we found a shift of predominant energy source from anaerobic glycolysis in immature podocyte to oxidative phosphorylation during the differentiation process. Furthermore, we identified a crucial metabolic regulator for podocyte development, pyruvate kinase M2. Pkm2-knockdown podocytes showed dramatic reduction of energy metabolism, resulting in defects of cell differentiation. Meanwhile, podocyte-specific Pkm2-knockout (KO) mice developed worse albuminuria and podocyte injury after adriamycin treatment. We identified mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) as a critical regulator of PKM2 during podocyte development. Pharmacological inhibition of mTOR potently abrogated PKM2 expression and disrupted cell differentiation, indicating the existence of metabolic checkpoint that need to be satisfied in order to allow podocyte differentiation.