Faculty Bibliography

Interferons (IFNs) induce early-response genes by stimulating Janus family (Jak) tyrosine kinases, leading to tyrosine phosphorylation of Stat transcription factors. Previous studies implicated protein-tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) activity in the control of IFN-regulated Jak/Stat signaling, but the specific PTPs responsible remained unidentified. We have found that SH2 domain-containing PTP1 (SHPTP1; also called PTP1C, HCP, or SHP) reversibly associates with the IFN-alpha receptor complex upon IFN addition. Compared with macrophages from normal littermate controls, macrophages from motheaten mice, which lack SHPTP1, show dramatically increased Jak1 and Stat1 alpha tyrosine phosphorylation, whereas Tyk2 and Stat2 activation is largely unaffected. These findings correlate with selectively increased complex formation on a gamma response element, but not an IFN-stimulated response element, in motheaten macrophages. Our results establish that SHPTP1 selectively regulates distinct components of Jak/Stat signal transduction pathways in vivo.

Retinoic acid (RA) is required for normal airway epithelial cell growth and differentiation both in vivo and in vitro. One of the earliest events following the exposure of bronchial epithelial cells to RA is the strong induction of RA receptor beta (RAR beta) mRNA. Previous work established that many lung cancer cell lines and primary tumors display abnormal RAR beta mRNA expression, most often absence or weak expression of the RAR beta 2 isoform, even after RA treatment. Restoration of RAR beta 2 into RAR beta-negative lung cancer cell lines has been reported to inhibit tumorigenicity. Since RAR beta 2 inactivation may contribute to lung cancer, we have investigated the molecular mechanism of defective RAR beta 2 expression. Nuclear run-on assays and transient transfections with RAR beta 2 promoter constructs indicate the presence of trans-acting transcriptional defects in most lung cancer cell lines, which map to the RA response element (RARE). These defects cannot be complemented by RAR-retinoid X receptor cotransfection and can be separated into two types: (i) one affecting transcription from direct repeat RAREs, but not palindromic RAREs, and (ii) another affecting transcription from both types of RARE. Studies using chimeras between RAR alpha, TR alpha, and other transcription factors suggest the existence of novel RAR-thyroid hormone receptor AF-2-specific cofactors, which are necessary for high levels of transcription. Furthermore, these factors may be frequently inactivated in human lung cancer.

Insulin activates hexose transport via at least two mechanisms: a p21ras-dependent pathway, leading to an increase in the amount of cell surface GLUT1; and a metabolic, p21ras-independent pathway, leading to translocation of the insulin-responsive transporter GLUT4 to the cell surface. Following insulin stimulation, SHPTP2, a non-transmembrane protein-tyrosine phosphatase, associates with insulin receptor substrate 1 via its Src homology 2 (SH2) domains. Microinjection of a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein encoding the N- and C-terminal SH2 domains of SHPTP2 (GST-NC-SH2) or anti-SHPTP2 antibodies into NIH-3T3 fibroblasts overexpressing the insulin receptor blocks insulin-induced DNA synthesis. Microinjection of either GST-NC-SH2 or anti-SHPTP2 antibodies into 3T3-L1 adipocytes inhibited the insulin-stimulated increase in expression of GLUT1. In contrast, translocation of GLUT4 to the cell surface was unaffected by either GST-NC-SH2 or anti-SHPTP2 antibodies. These data confirm a role for SHPTP2 in insulin-stimulated mitogenesis and indicate that whereas SHPTP2 is necessary for insulin-stimulated expression of GLUT1, it is not required for activation of the metabolic pathway leading to GLUT4 translocation.

The binding of erythropoietin (EPO) to its receptor (EPO-R) activates the protein tyrosine kinase JAK2. The mechanism of JAK2 inactivation has been unclear. We show that the hematopoietic protein tyrosine phosphatase SH-PTP1 (also called HCP and PTP1C) associates via its SH2 domains with the tyrosine-phosphorylated EPO-R. In vitro binding studies suggest that Y429 in the cytoplasmic domain of the EPO-R is the binding site for SH-PTP1. Mutant EPO-Rs lacking Y429 are unable to bind SH-PTP1; cells expressing such mutants are hypersensitive to EPO and display prolonged EPO-induced autophosphorylation of JAK2. Our results suggest that activation of SH-PTP1 by binding to the EPO-R plays a major role in terminating proliferative signals.

SH-PTP2, the vertebrate homolog of Drosophila corkscrew, associates with several activated growth factor receptors, but its biological function is unknown. We assayed the effects of injection of wild-type and mutant SH-PTP2 RNAs on Xenopus embryogenesis. An internal phosphatase domain deletion (delta P) acts as a dominant negative mutant, causing severe posterior truncations. This phenotype is rescued by SH-PTP2, but not by the closely related SH-PTP1. In ectodermal explants, delta P blocks fibroblast growth factor (FGF)- and activin-mediated induction of mesoderm and FGF-induced mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activation. Our results indicate that SH-PTP2 is required for early vertebrate development, acting as a positive component in FGF signaling downstream of the FGF receptor and upstream of MAP kinase.

The steady-state kinetic properties of SH-PTP1 (PTP1C, SHP, HCP), a Src homology 2 (SH2) domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase), were assessed and compared with those of three truncation mutants, using p-nitrophenyl phosphate, phosphotyrosyl (pY) peptides, and reduced, carboxyamido-methylated, maleylated, and tyrosyl-phosphorylated lysozyme as substrates. At physiological pH (7.4), truncation of the two N-terminal SH2 domains [SH-PTP1(delta SH2)] or the last 35 amino acids of the C-terminus [SH-PTP1(delta C35)] activated the phosphatase activity by 30-fold and 20-34-fold relative to the wild-type enzyme, respectively. Truncation of the last 60 amino acids resulted in a mutant [SH-PTP1(delta C60)] with wild-type activity. SH-PTP1 and SH-PTP1(delta C60) displayed apparent saturation kinetics toward pNPP only at acidic pH (pH < or = 5.4); as pH increased above 5.5, their apparent KM values increased dramatically. In contrast, SH-PTP1(delta SH2) obeyed normal Michaelis-Menten kinetics at all pH values tested (pH 5.1-7.4) with a constant KM (10-14 mM). Furthermore, two synthetic pY peptides corresponding to known and potential phosphorylation sites on the erythropoietin (EPOR pY429) and interleukin-3 (IL-3R pY628) receptors bound specifically to the N-terminal SH2 domain of SH-PTP1 (KD = 1.8-10 microM) and activated the catalytic activity of SH-PTP1 and SH-PTP1(delta C60) but not SH-PTP1(delta SH2), in a concentration-dependent manner. Maximal activation (25-30-fold) of SH-PTP1 was achieved at 70 microM EPOR pY429, and the maximally activated enzyme approached the activity of SH-PTP1(delta SH2). Addition of EPOR pY429 peptide, which corresponds to the recently identified in vivo binding site for SH-PTP1, at 40 microM also completely restored the saturation kinetic behavior of SH-PTP1 (at pH 7.4) toward pNPP, with catalytic parameters (KM = 12.8 mM, kcat = 3.2 s-1) similar to those of SH-PTP1(delta SH2). These data suggest that the SH2 domains of SH-PTP1 serve to autoinhibit the phosphatase activity of the PTPase domain. A model is proposed in which the SH2 domains interact with the PTPase domain in a pY-independent fashion and drive the PTPase domain into an inactive conformation.

Protein-tyrosine-phosphatase SHPTP2 (Syp/PTP-1D/PTP2C) is the homologue of the Drosophila corkscrew (csw) gene product, which transmits positive signals from receptor tyrosine kinases. Likewise, SHPTP2 has been implicated in positive signaling from platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFR). Upon PDGF stimulation, SHPTP2 binds to the PDGFR and becomes tyrosine-phosphorylated. We have identified tyrosine-542 (pY542TNI) as the major in vivo site of SHPTP2 tyrosine phosphorylation. The pY542TNI sequence conforms to the consensus binding site for the SH2 domain of Grb2, which, by association with Sos1, couples some growth factor receptors to Ras. Following PDGF stimulation, Grb2 binds tyrosine-phosphorylated SHPTP2. Moreover, a mutant PDGFR lacking its SHPTP2 binding site displays markedly reduced Grb2 binding. These data indicate that phosphorylation of SHPTP2 couples Grb2 to PDGFR in vivo, providing a mechanism for Ras activation by PDGFR and for positive signaling via SHPTP2 and Csw.

The cytoplasmic insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1), which is multiply phosphorylated in vivo on tyrosine residues, is a known binding protein for the tandem src homology 2 (SH2) domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase, SH-PTP2. Eleven phosphotyrosyl (pY) peptides from IRS-1 were screened for allosteric activation of SH-PTP2 phosphatase activity toward phosphorylated, reduced, carboxyamidomethylated, and maleylated-lysozyme. Peptides IRS-1pY895, IRS-1pY1172, and IRS-1pY1222 showed up to 50-fold acceleration of dephosphorylation. Analyses of Arg to Lys mutants in either or both SH2 domains indicate that both the N-terminal (N-SH2) and C-terminal (C-SH2) domains function in allosteric activation. Direct determination by surface plasmon resonance of the dissociation constants between pY peptides and glutathione S-transferase fusions to N-SH2 and C-SH2 domains reveals a 240-fold preference of the N-SH2 domain (compared with the C-SH2 domain) for IRS-1pY1172. The N-SH2 domain prefers IRS-1pY1172 > IRS-1pY895 > IRS-1pY1222, whereas C-SH2 domain prefers IRS-1pY1222 > IRS-1pY895 > IRS-1pY1172. These data suggest that each SH2 domain can bind to a distinct pY sequence of multiply phosphorylated protein substrates such as IRS-1, while activating hydrolysis at a third pY sequence bound in the SH-PTP2 active site. In addition, proteolysis and truncation studies reveal an autoregulatory function for the C-terminal region of SH-PTP2. Limited tryptic cleavage within the C-terminus results in 27-fold activation of protein tyrosine phosphatase activity. The activated tryptic fragment cannot be further activated by pY peptide binding to the SH2 domains indicating that autoregulatory functions of the SH2 domains are dependent on the C-terminal region. These data suggest that multiple levels for control of SH-PTP2 enzymatic activity may exist in vitro and in vivo.

Signaling by tyrosine kinases involves direct associations between proteins with Src homology 2 (SH2) domains and sites of tyrosine phosphorylation. Specificity in signaling pathways results in part from inherent selectivity in interactions between particular SH2 domains and phosphopeptide sequences. The cytoplasmic phosphotyrosine phosphatase SH-PTP2 (Syp, PTP 1D, PTP-2C) contains two SH2 domains (N and C) which mediate its association with and activation by the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and epidermal growth factor receptors and IRS-1. We have developed a competitive phosphopeptide binding assay to analyze specificity of the SH-PTP2 N-SH2 domain for phosphorylation sites of these phosphoproteins. The sequence surrounding Tyr1009 bound with greatest affinity (ID50 = 14 microM) of eight PDGF receptor-derived phosphopeptides tested. No peptides corresponding to known epidermal growth factor receptor phosphorylation sites bound with high affinity. However, an alternative sequence surrounding Tyr954 bound tightly (ID50 = 21 microM). Of the 13 IRS-1-related peptides analyzed, sequences surrounding Tyr546, Tyr895, and Tyr1172 bound with highest affinity (ID50 = 11, 4, and 1 microM, respectively). Alternative phosphopeptides generally bound with much weaker affinity (ID50 > 150 microM). These findings are consistent with recent mutational analyses of the PDGF receptor and predict site-specific interactions between SH-PTP2 and each of these phosphoproteins. Comparisons between peptide sequences suggest that the N-terminal SH2 domain of SH-PTP2 binds with highest affinity to phosphotyrosine (pY) followed by a beta-branched residue (Val, Ile, Thr) at pY+1 and a hydrophobic residue (Val, Leu, Ile) at pY+3 positions. Peptide truncation studies also indicate that residues outside of the pY-1 to pY+4 motif are required for high affinity interactions.

We have developed a family of mammalian coexpression vectors that permit identification of living or fixed cells overexpressing a gene of interest by surrogate detection of a coexpressed marker protein. Using these 'pMARK' vectors, a fluorescence-based, single cell proliferation assay was developed and used to study the effect of retinoic acid receptor beta (RAR-beta) on cell cycling. We demonstrate that transient overexpression of RAR-beta in the presence, but not absence, of all-trans retinoic acid results in a dramatic suppression of cell proliferation. We further show that this effect requires the DNA binding (C) domain of RAR-beta. It has been previously shown that RAR-beta expression is markedly altered in a variety of neoplasms and cell lines. Our data support the hypothesis that loss of RAR-beta may contribute to tumor progression by removing normal restraints on proliferation. The pMARK vectors should be useful for studying other genes that putatively suppress or enhance proliferation.