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Biochemistry and Biophysics |
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Medical Nobel Institute, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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CEACAM1 occurs as several splice isoforms (3) , the two major of which, differing only in their cytoplasmic domains, are known as CEACAM14L [four extracellular immunoglobulin domains and a large cytoplasmic domain (L) of 7173 amino acids] and CEACAM14S [four extracellular immunoglobulin domains and a small cytoplasmic domain (S) of 1012 amino acids]. These two isoforms are coexpressed in most CEACAM1-expressing tissues, although at varying ratios (10) . The L domain is highly conserved between species and contains two phosphorylatable tyrosine residues in immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motif sequences (3) . The immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motif sequences are lacking in the S domain. After tyrosine phosphorylation, CEACAM14L can bind and activate src-family tyrosine kinases (11 , 12) as well as the SH2-domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatases SHP1 and SHP2 (13 , 14) . In addition, an increased intracellular calcium concentration leads to binding of calmodulin to the cytoplasmic domains of both the L and the S isoforms, which influences CEACAM1 dimerization (15 , 16) . Interactions of CEACAM1 with the actin filament system also have been observed (17 , 18) . Human CEACAM1 as well as CEACAM3 (formerly CGM1 or CD66d), CEACAM6 (formerly NCA or CD66c) and CEA are receptors for Opa-protein expressing bacterial strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and N. meningitides (9) . Binding of such bacteria to CEACAM14L in human granulocytes activates the Jun-N-terminal kinase pathway and leads to intracellular bacterial uptake (9) .
A number of reports have shown that CEACAM1 is down-regulated in various types of carcinomas (19, 20, 21, 22, 23) , and it has recently been demonstrated that CEACAM14L can inhibit in vivo tumor growth of several different carcinomas (24, 25, 26, 27, 28) . This important inhibitory signaling activity resides in the L domain and depends on the two tyrosine residues as well as of other portions of the L domain (24 , 28) . CEACAM14S cannot inhibit tumor growth on its own, but it seems to influence the inhibitory activity of the L isoform in a significant way (29) . Available data indicate that both the ratio of the two isoforms and the absolute expression levels are important for the tumor inhibition activity.
The tumor growth inhibitory effect of CEACAM14L was demonstrated by transfecting several tumor cells from different species with sense cDNA for CEACAM1 (24, 25, 26, 27, 28) . Furthermore, it was found that transfection of a nontumorigenic, CEACAM1-expressing rat prostate epithelial cell line (NbE cells; Ref. 30 ) with antisense cDNA reduced CEACAM1 expression and induced tumor formation (25) , demonstrating that endogenously expressed CEACAM1 also has tumor-suppressive activity. However, other cells, e.g., the bladder carcinoma-derived NBT-II cell line, give rise to tumors in syngeneic animals (31) , despite that their expression of CEACAM1 (17) . In addition, some human malignant tumors exhibit significant CEACAM1 expression (32, 33, 34) . Thus, expression of CEACAM1 does not always suppress tumor growth. Ascertaining why CEACAM1 can inhibit tumor growth in some cells but not in others will give important insights into the mechanisms of how CEACAM1 regulates cell signaling cascades. For this purpose, NbE and NBT-II cells make up an excellent experimental system.
In this report, we characterized the expression levels, the isoform ratios, and the surface distribution of CEACAM1 in NbE and NBT-II cells that were cultured under various conditions. We show for the first time that the expression levels and isoform ratios of CEACAM1 are different in proliferating and quiescent cells and that the two isoforms are regulated independently in both cell lines. Cell surface interactions participate in the control of CEACAM1 expression, and in both cell lines the cell surface organization of CEACAM1 itself seems to be an important regulating factor. We found that proliferating cells have a characteristic S:L isoform ratio that is much lower than that in quiescent cells, and we demonstrate that endogenous CEACAM1 can regulate p27Kip1 levels and DNA synthesis.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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CC16) against rat
CEACAM1 were prepared and characterized as described by Odin et
al. (6)
. The antipeptide rabbit polyclonal antibody,
L2, which recognizes the cytoplasmic domain of the long isoform of
CEACAM1, was described by Hunter et al. (16)
.
Preimmune rabbit IgG was depleted of anti-CEACAM1 reactivity by
absorption on a column of Sepharose-coupled purified rat CEACAM1
(6)
. The mouse Mab F7 has been described previously
(17)
, and the mouse Mab 5.4 was generously provided by Dr.
D. C. Hixson, Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University, Providence,
RI. Both F7 and 5.4 are directed against the
NH2-terminal immunoglobulin domain of rat
CEACAM1. A mouse Mab, Sab-1, was produced by immunizing BALB/c mice
with BALB/c 3T3 cells transfected with human CEACAM1 (BGPa). Sab-1
recognizes human CEACAM1 (BGP, CD66a), CEACAM3 (CGM1, CD66d), CEACAM4
(CGM7), CEA (CD66e), CEACAM6 (NCA, CD66c), and CEACAM7 (CGM2), but it
does not recognize rat CEACAM1 and does not bind to NbE or NBT-II
cells. Subclass determination showed that both 5.4 and F7, as well as
Sab-1, consist of IgG1-
immunoglobulins.
Cell Culture.
Cells were grown in a 5% CO2 humidified
atmosphere at 37°C. The NBT-II cell line was cultured in DMEM
supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated FCS, 2 mM
L-glutamine, 100 IU/ml penicillin, and 100 mg/ml
streptomycin (17)
. The NbE cell line (provided by Dr.
S.-H. Lin, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, with
permission from Dr. L. Chung, Department of Urology, Health Sciences
Center, Charlottesville, VA) was cultured in 80% DMEM-20% Hams F12
medium supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated FCS, 2 mM
L-glutamine, 100 IU/ml penicillin, 100 mg/ml streptomycin,
5 mg/ml insulin, 14 pg/ml triiodothyronine, 5 mg/ml transferrin, 0.24
mg/ml biotin, and 25 mg/ml adenine.
For some experiments, confluent cell layers were subjected to a limited trypsin treatment. The cells were treated with trypsin-EDTA (Life Technologies, Inc.) for 3 min, after which the trypsin was inactivated by addition of medium containing 10% FCS, the cell layers were washed gently, and fresh medium was added to the cultures. This caused the cells to round up slightly, but no cells were lost from the dishes. In another experimental series, confluent cell layers were cultured in the presence of antibodies (100 µg/ml) against CEACAM1 for 16 h; the cells were then harvested, and the CEACAM1 isoform ratios were determined.
Phase-Contrast and Fluorescence Microscopy.
NbE and NBT-II cells were grown on glass coverslips and fixed at room
temperature in buffer 3 [137 mM NaCl, 4.7 mM
MgSO4, 1.2 mM
CaCl2, 10 mM HEPES (pH 7.4)]
containing 3% paraformaldehyde for 30 min, followed by incubation in
buffer 3 containing 0.1 M glycine for 30 min to quench
reactive aldehyde groups. Permeabilization was performed with 0.1%
Triton X-100 in buffer 3 for 20 min. Fixed cells were incubated
overnight at 4°C with affinity-purified polyclonal anti-CEACAM1
antibodies (50 µg/ml), followed by incubation with FITC-conjugated
swine antirabbit secondary antibodies (Dako) for 60 min at room
temperature. The cells were then examined in a Nikon Labophot
phase-epifluorescence microscope and photographed on Kodak Tri-X pan
film at 400 ASA.
To study the effects of antibodies on the distribution of CEACAM1, cell cultures were incubated with polyclonal or monoclonal immunoglobulins (25 µg/ml in buffer 3) for 60 min at 37°C prior to fixation.
Flow Cytometry.
Cells were removed from culture dishes by trypsinization. A fraction of
106 cells was resuspended in 25 µl of 3% FCS
in PBS, and 50 µl of rat CEACAM1-specific antibodies (50 µg/ml) in
3% FCS in PBS were added. The cells were incubated for 60 min at
4°C, washed twice with 3% FCS in PBS, and finally incubated with
FITC-conjugated secondary antibodies (Dako) for 60 min at 4°C.
Background fluorescence was determined using nonimmune rabbit IgG or
Mab Sab-1 instead of primary antibodies. For DNA quantification, the
cells were fixed in 70% ethanol and then were incubated for 15 min at
37°C in PBS containing 0.1% Triton X-100, 100 µg/ml DNase-free
RNase (Sigma), and 10 µg/ml propidium iodide. For simultaneous
determination of CEACAM1 and DNA, the cells were stained with propidium
iodide after antibody labeling for CEACAM1. The stained cells were
examined in a FACSCalibur flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson) and
analyzed by CellQuest software (Becton Dickinson). In all calculations,
we used the median values of the fluorescence intensities.
[3H]Thymidine Incorporation.
Thymidine incorporation was determined in cells growing in 96-well
plates (5-mm diameter per well) or in 24-well plates (16-mm diameter
per well). In both procedures, the cells were first cultured in
standard medium containing 10% FCS for 48 h, and then in medium
containing 0.5% FCS for another 24 h. The cells in 96-well plates
were then cultured in standard medium containing either 0.5% FCS or
10% FCS for 12 h. [3H]Thymidine (4
µCi/ml; Amersham) was added, and the cells were cultured for an
additional 4 h. The wells were washed thoroughly and then
transferred to glass fiber filters (Wallac), using a cell harvester (96
MACH III; Tomtec), and analyzed by a Micro Beta counter (Wallac). The
cells in 24-well plates were used to examine the effects of different
antibodies on DNA synthesis. In these experiments, the cells were first
cultured for 10 h in standard medium containing 10% or 0.5% FCS.
Monoclonal or polyclonal anti-CEACAM1 antibodies or control IgG (200
µg/ml), and [3H]thymidine (1 µCi/ml;
Amersham) were then added for an additional 6 h. The cells were
washed thoroughly, treated with 10% trichloroacetic acid, washed,
lysed with 0.1 M sodium hydroxide, transferred to liquid
scintillation fluid, and counted in a liquid scintillation ß counter
(Wallac).
Immunoblotting.
Cells were harvested by either mechanical scraping or trypsinization.
No differences in the amount of recovered CEACAM1 were seen between the
cells that were trypsinized and those that were scraped,
agreeing with previous observations that cell surface exposed CEACAM1
is insensitive to trypsin. The harvested cells were washed twice in
ice-cold PBS and solubilized in lysis buffer [1% NP-40, 0.1% SDS, 50
mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 5 mM sodium
PPi, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM
EGTA, 50 mM sodium fluoride, 1 mM
phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 10 µg/ml leupeptin, 10 µg/ml
chymostatin, 10 µg/ml pepstatin A, and 1000 kIU/ml Trasylol]. The
samples were cleared by centrifugation for 30 min at 15,000 x g, and the protein concentrations of the
supernatants were determined by a modified micro Lowry assay
(17)
. The cell lysates were mixed with an equal volume of
2x SDS sample buffer, reduced with 50 mM DTT,
and boiled for 5 min. Samples (75 µg protein) were electrophoresed on
10% polyacrylamide gels and transferred to PVDF membranes (Millipore).
After blocking with 5% defatted milk powder in TBS for 60 min at room
temperature, the membranes were incubated with L2 antiserum (1:500) for
60 min, washed twice in TBS containing 0.05% Tween 20, incubated with
horseradish peroxidase-labeled swine antirabbit antibodies (Dako), and
developed by ECL. The membranes were then stripped with 0.1
M glycine (pH 2.5) containing 0.05% Tween 20 at
56°C for 60 min, blocked with 5% defatted milk powder in TBS,
incubated with
CC16 antibodies, and developed by ECL as described
above.
For analyses of the expression levels of p27Kip1 or cyclin E, NBT-II cell cultures were incubated in the presence of 10% FCS at 37°C for various times with or without 50 µg/ml of Mabs 5.4 or Sab-1. The cells were washed twice with ice-cold PBS and solubilized in lysis buffer containing 0.1% ß-mercaptoethanol but no sodium fluoride. The samples (40 µg of protein) were analyzed by SDS-PAGE (on 15% polyacrylamide gels), immunoblotting, and ECL as described above. The membranes were first developed with rabbit polyclonal antibodies against p27Kip1 (2 µg/ml; Santa Cruz Biotechnology) and after stripping with rabbit polyclonal antibodies against cyclin E (2 µg/ml; Santa Cruz Biotechnology).
RT-Triple-Primer PCR.
Total RNA was isolated from NbE and NBT-II cells by guanidinium
thiocyanate extraction, using the Qiagen RNAeasy mini-kit (Qiagen).
Samples containing 2 µg of RNA in a final volume of 20 µl were
reverse transcribed by Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse
transcriptase (MBI Fermentas), according to the recommendations of the
manufacturer, using a 15-mer oligonucleotide primer (BP45,
5'-GGCATTGAAGTTCAG-3') that specifically hybridizes to the
3'-region of CEACAM1-L and CEACAM1-S. The second-strand cDNA synthesis
and further amplification were performed in a final volume of 50 µl
containing 2 µl of first-strand cDNA solution, 0.2 mM
deoxynucleotide triphosphates, 1 µCi of
[32P]dCTP (NEN), 5 units of Taq DNA
polymerase (Pharmacia & UpJohn), 5 µl of 10x PCR buffer (supplied
with the Taq polymerase), and 0.6 µM of each of the PCR
primers. A common sense primer that recognized both CEACAM1 splice
isoforms equally well (FP45, 5'-CTTTGAGCCAGTGACTCAGCCCT-3'), and two
antisense primers that were specific for the two splice isoforms were
used. The antisense primer for the L isoform (BP43,
5'-CTGGAGGTTGAGGTTTGTGCTC-3') recognized the alternatively spliced exon
7 present only in the L isoform, and the antisense primer
for the S isoform (BP42, 5'-TCAGAAGGACCCAGATCCGCC-3') was constructed
to anneal across the splice junction between exon 6 and exon 8. The PCR
was initiated by heating the samples to 94°C for 60 s, followed
by 28 cycles at 94°C for 45 s, 64°C for 45 s, 72°C for
60 s, and an extension at 72°C for 10 min. Equivalent aliquots
from each PCR were separated electrophoretically on 2.7% agarose gels
in Tris-borate EDTA buffer containing 40 µg/ml ethidium bromide; the
gels were dried, and the radioactive PCR products were quantitated with
a PhosphoImager using the ImageQuant analyses software (Molecular
Dynamics).
| RESULTS |
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Analysis by indirect immunofluorescence demonstrated that both the NbE
and the NBT-II cells expressed CEACAM1 on their surfaces (Fig. 1)
. Single cells in subconfluent cultures had a rather even distribution
of CEACAM1 all over the cell surface. Most cells in the subconfluent
cultures grew as colonies, and in such colonies CEACAM1 was highly
concentrated in the lateral cell-cell contact areas (Fig. 1, a and f)
. A similar high concentration of CEACAM1
in the lateral cell-cell contact areas was seen in just confluent
(99%) cells of both types (Fig. 1, b and g)
. In
superconfluent (100%) NBT-II cells, CEACAM1 remained localized to the
lateral borders at apparent high concentration, and this staining was
identical regardless of whether the fixed cells were permeabilized with
(Fig. 1i)
or without (Fig. 1h)
nonionic
detergent. Also in superconfluent (100%) NbE cells, significant
CEACAM1 staining occurred at the lateral borders, but this was visible
only when the cells were permeabilized (Fig. 1d)
. In
nonpermeabilized, superconfluent NbE cells (Fig. 1c)
, no
lateral staining was detected because at this stage the NbE cells
became highly polarized and developed tight junctions that prevented
access of the antibodies to the lateral borders. In addition to the
lateral staining, just confluent and superconfluent cultures of both
NbE and NBT-II cells exhibited significant CEACAM1 expression on their
apical surfaces (i.e., the upper, free surfaces). This was
particularly prominent in the confluent NbE cells (Fig. 1, b and c)
. However, the less polarized NBT-II cells also had a
significant expression on their apical surfaces, which showed up as a
diffuse staining of the whole cell bodies in Fig. 1, g and h
. That this represented a true apical staining was
demonstrated by focusing directly on the apical surfaces (not shown).
The addition of anti-CEACAM1 antibodies to viable, nonfixed
superconfluent cells caused rearrangement and clustering of CEACAM1 on
the cell surfaces (Fig. 1, e and k)
. In confluent
NBT-II cells, both lateral and apical CEACAM1 was rearranged (Fig. 1k)
, whereas in confluent NbE cells, mainly the apically
localized CEACAM1 was affected (Fig. 1e)
because the
antibodies did not gain access to the laterally localized CEACAM1.
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The shift in CEACAM1 expression levels in superconfluent
versus subconfluent NbE and NBT-II cells was confirmed by
immunoblot analysis using an antibody that recognized both CEACAM1
isoforms (Fig. 3)
. However, when we compared these data with the immunoblot pattern
obtained with an antibody specific for the L cytoplasmic sequence, it
was obvious that the two CEACAM1 splice isoforms were regulated
differently (Fig. 3)
. The results indicated that subconfluent and
superconfluent cells had different isoform ratios. Because we did not
have an antibody that was specific for the S isoform, we decided to
analyze the expression patterns of the two isoforms in more detail at
the mRNA level.
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As mentioned above, trypsin treatment per se did not cause
any detectable degradation or loss of surface-exposed CEACAM1. However,
several hours after the trypsin pulse treatment, we observed transient
changes in the surface expression of CEACAM1, such that the expression
levels decreased in the NbE cells and increased in the NBT-II cells
(Fig. 5)
. The effect was maximal between 3 and 24 h, and 46 h after
the trypsin pulse the surface expression had returned to the same
levels as seen before the trypsin treatment. The isoform ratios were
measured 16 h after the trypsin pulse and were also dramatically
changed. In both cell types, the S:L ratios decreased significantly and
approached the values seen in subconfluent cells (Table 2)
. Thus, trypsin treatment of confluent NbE and NBT-II cells mimicked
the effects seen in subconfluent cells with respect to both the total
expression levels and the isoform ratios of CEACAM1. Because the
trypsin treatment did not alter the cell density, these results
suggested that specific molecular cell surface interactions
participated in the regulation of CEACAM1 expression on the cell
surface.
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As demonstrated in Fig. 1, e and k
, addition of
anti-CEACAM1 antibodies caused rearrangement and clustering of CEACAM1
on the cell surfaces. In confluent NBT-II cells, both lateral and
apical CEACAM1 was rearranged (Fig. 1k)
, whereas in
confluent NbE cells, mainly the apically localized CEACAM1 was affected
(Fig. 1e)
because the antibodies did not gain access to the
laterally localized CEACAM1. In both cell types, both antibodies
changed the CEACAM1 isoform ratios in confluent cultures toward the
ratios observed in subconfluent cultures, i.e., the S:L
ratios decreased (Table 2)
. These results thus demonstrated that
CEACAM1 on the cell surface participated in the regulation of its own
expression levels.
Relation of CEACAM1 Expression to Cell Proliferation.
The striking differences in the CEACAM1 expression levels and isoform
ratios between subconfluent and superconfluent cells suggested a
correlation between the CEACAM1 expression pattern and cellular
proliferation. To investigate this idea further, we determined the
proliferative status of the cells by measuring both DNA synthesis and
DNA content. As shown in Fig. 6
, serum-starved cells did not synthesize DNA if not stimulated with
growth factors. Ten percent FCS resulted in a large increase in
thymidine incorporation in subconfluent but not in superconfluent NbE
and NBT-II cells provided that the monolayers were intact without
cell-free areas. Analysis of the DNA content confirmed that at 100%
confluency essentially, only cells in the
G1-G0 phase occurred,
whereas both NbE and NBT-II cells in 30 and 99% confluent cultures
were actively cycling and contained high proportions of cells in both
the S-phase and the G2-M phase (Fig. 7)
. Flow cytometric determination showed that all cells in subconfluent
cultures of their respective cell lines had the same CEACAM1 expression
levels regardless of DNA content (Table 3)
. Thus, proliferating cells in all phases of the cell cycle expressed
different amounts of CEACAM1 compared with nonproliferating cells,
which means that the switch in CEACAM1 expression levels occurred when
the cells entered/exited the cell cycle from/to the quiescent
G0 phase. This conclusion was supported by the
finding that trypsin treatment of confluent cell layers, which altered
the CEACAM1 expression pattern (Fig. 5
and Table 2
), was accompanied by
a more than 2-fold stimulation of DNA synthesis (data not shown) and
that proliferating NbE and NBT-II cells exhibited similar CEACAM1
expression levels and isoform ratios, regardless of whether the cells
were subconfluent or confluent.
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| DISCUSSION |
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The CEACAM1 Expression Pattern of Quiescent Cells Reflects That of
the Parental Tissues.
The cell lines that were used originated from normal prostatic
epithelium (NbE cells) and from a bladder carcinoma (NBT-II cells),
respectively. One advantage with these cells is that they express
endogenous CEACAM1, and thus they are not subject to aberrant signaling
effects that can occur by overexpression in cells that lack endogenous
CEACAM1 production. The morphology and the surface location of CEACAM1
of confluent NbE cells were the same as in the columnar epithelial
cells of normal prostate glands, which have the highest concentrations
of CEACAM1 at their apical surfaces (35)
. Subconfluent NbE
cells grew as colonies of incompletely polarized cells, with CEACAM1
distributed all over the surface and the highest concentrations at
lateral borders of contacting cells. This resembles the situation in
castrated rats, in which the prostate degenerates and the glandular
epithelium transforms into less polarized cells, with CEACAM1
distributed on the entire cell surface (35)
. The lower
CEACAM1 expression in confluent NBT-II cells compared with confluent
NbE cells correlated with the expression levels in normal bladder
mucosa and normal prostate (36
, 37)
. Confluent NBT-II
cells were seemingly less polarized than confluent NbE cells and had
the highest CEACAM1 expression in the lateral borders. The low degree
of polarization is a characteristic pattern of the cuboidal, deeper
cells of the transitional epithelium of the bladder mucosa (38
, 39)
, which suggests that NBT-II cells originate from these
cells. Hence, it seems likely that the different expression patterns of
CEACAM1 in confluent, quiescent cultures of the prostate epithelial
cell line and the bladder carcinoma cell line reflect mainly the
origins of these cells, although it cannot be ruled out that the
strikingly different expression dynamics of the NbE and the NBT-II
cells to some extent depends on the malignant transformation of the
latter cell type.
Proliferating Epithelial Cells Have a Characteristic CEACAM1
Expression Pattern.
The two cell lines grew as monolayers that showed the characteristic
properties of contact-inhibited growth. Because they exhibited vastly
different patterns of CEACAM1 expression in the quiescent state, it was
surprising to find that actively proliferating cells of both types
acquired almost identical CEACAM1 expression patterns concerning
surface concentration, isoform ratio, and surface location. Because all
factors and conditions that promoted cell proliferation caused the same
characteristic CEACAM1 expression pattern, it seems likely that this
expression pattern is functionally associated with and is important for
the proliferative state of rodent epithelial cells. Similar expression
patterns have also been observed in proliferating, regenerating
hepatocytes (37
, 40)
and in proliferating placental
trophoblasts (41)
. Furthermore, it recently was reported
that isoforms of CEACAM1 carrying the L cytoplasmic domain were
strongly up-regulated in activated human T cells, and it was
demonstrated that CEACAM1 under these conditions acted as a
costimulatory receptor that enhanced T-cell receptor-mediated,
CD3-triggered cell proliferation (42)
. Taken together,
these data indicate that certain expression levels and ratios of the
two CEACAM1 isoforms, characterized by a relatively high expression of
the L isoform, are compatible with and may even promote controlled cell
proliferation.
CEACAM1 Regulates Cell Proliferation.
That CEACAM1 under certain conditions indeed can regulate cell
proliferation was demonstrated by the stimulation of DNA synthesis in
confluent, quiescent NBT-II cells by antibody-induced cross-linking of
CEACAM1. This effect occurred only in the presence of 10% FCS, whereas
cells in nearly serum-free medium remained quiescent. Proliferation of
subconfluent cells, on the other hand, was effectively stimulated by
FCS without surface perturbation of CEACAM1. On the basis of these
results, we suggest that cell surface-localized CEACAM1 in confluent
cells inhibits growth factor-induced proliferation. Because the
perturbation of CEACAM1 led to altered protein levels of the
cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1, this
effect presumably involves regulation of the activity of the cyclin
E-dependent kinase cdk2.
The influence of CEACAM1 on proliferation of confluent cells suggests a role for CEACAM1 in contact inhibition. Contact inhibition of cell proliferation is a phenomenon that apparently can be mediated by several different cell-cell recognition mechanisms. It has, for example, been found that both N-CAM (43) and E-cadherin (44) , as well as hyaluronan-mediated cell aggregation (44 , 45) , can contribute to contact inhibition of cell proliferation. N-CAM (46) and E-cadherin (44) have been demonstrated to interact with distinct growth factor receptors, and both E-cadherin- and hyaluronan-dependent growth arrest involves regulation of p27Kip1. In the case of E-cadherin, it was found that this effect was due to an inhibition of the activity of the epithelial growth factor receptor, which when active cause down-regulation of p27Kip1 expression. Thus, E-cadherin and CEACAM1 act in a similar manner in that they seem to regulate growth factor receptor-induced signaling pathways that influence p27Kip1. Interestingly, many epithelial cells express both E-cadherin and CEACAM1. It will therefore be important to investigate in future analyses the mechanisms of how these two cell adhesion systems influence cellular proliferation and how they might interact.
Mechanisms for Signal Regulation by CEACAM1.
There are at least two possibilities for how antibody perturbation
could lead to altered cell proliferation. This could be a direct effect
on growth factor receptor-induced signaling because of altered activity
of the surface-located CEACAM1 molecules to which the antibodies bind.
Such altered activity might release putative inhibitory effects on
growth factor receptor-triggered signaling. Alternatively, it could be
the result of a more indirect effect that has to do with the altered
expression levels and isoform ratios of CEACAM1 that are caused by the
antibodies. A change of CEACAM1 expression toward the pattern seen in
proliferating cells might result in a release of the inhibitory
effects, or even in a stimulatory effect, on growth factor
receptor-induced signaling. It remains to be seen whether the
regulatory effects of CEACAM1 on growth factor receptor activity and on
CEACAM1 expression involve the same or distinct signaling pathways.
Clearly, interactions of the extracellular domain of CEACAM1 are important because antibodies added to the cells could release the growth inhibition. The extracellular domain interactions probably regulate the activities of the intracellular cytoplasmic L domain, which contains phosphorylatable tyrosine residues. It has been demonstrated that an intact L domain is necessary for the tumor-inhibitory properties of CEACAM1. In the context of contact inhibition, it is interesting to note that tyrosine-phosphorylated CEACAM1-L can recruit and activate the protein tyrosine phosphatases SHP1 and SHP2 (14) because increased plasma membrane-associated tyrosine phosphatase activity is a hallmark of contact-inhibited cells (47) . Furthermore, it was shown that tyrosine phosphatases are involved in E-cadherin-mediated growth arrest (44) , and it was suggested that this would cause dephosphorylation and deactivation of the epithelial growth factor receptor. Activation of SHP1/SHP2 by CEACAM1 might have similar consequences, or it might alternatively lead to altered CEACAM1 expression, which might interfere indirectly with cell cycle regulation, as discussed above.
However, tyrosine-phosphorylated CEACAM1-L can also bind and activate src-family tyrosine kinases (11 , 12) . A key question, therefore, is when and under what conditions tyrosine-phosphorylated CEACAM1 binds to and activates tyrosine kinases and when it binds to and activates tyrosine phosphatases. We have suggested that such a differential binding and activation of kinases or phosphatases could be influenced by the dimerization status of CEACAM1 (3 , 48) , such that monomeric and dimeric L domains preferentially bind and activate either phosphatases or kinases, respectively. We have found that the dimerization of CEACAM1 in NBT-II cells is regulated by the intracellular calcium concentration and by binding of calmodulin to the cytoplasmic domains of CEACAM1 (16) . Furthermore, CEACAM1 monomers and dimers are in equilibrium with each other (16) ; therefore, dimerization is also regulated by both the CEACAM1 expression levels and the isoform ratios (3) . We have also postulated that CEACAM1 dimerization might be regulated by CEACAM1-mediated cell contact formation as a result of homophilic binding between the extracellular domains of CEACAM1 (3) . In such a scenario, CEACAM1 in subconfluent cells, which are characterized by a particular CEACAM1 expression pattern and low abundance of cell-cell contacts, might preferentially activate tyrosine kinases and allow cell proliferation, whereas CEACAM1 in superconfluent cells, with a different CEACAM1 expression pattern and high abundance of cell-cell contacts, might preferentially activate tyrosine phosphatases and inhibit cell proliferation.
CEACAM1 Expression in the Malignant State.
The tumor growth inhibitory effect of CEACAM1 might be due to its
contact-inhibiting properties. This is in agreement with the observed
down-regulation of CEACAM1 expression in a variety of human, mouse, and
rat carcinomas (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
, but is in apparent conflict with
reports that some human cancers have unaltered or even increased
expression levels of CEACAM1 (32, 33, 34)
. However, in light
of the present results, it is clear that certain expression levels and
isoform ratios of CEACAM1 allow and might even stimulate cell
proliferation. Therefore, it seems plausible that tumors that express
CEACAM1 have different expression levels and isoform ratios than
normal, nonproliferating tissues. Accordingly, it will be important to
characterize factors that regulate CEACAM1 expression in malignant
tumors. It has been found that IFN-
induces CEACAM1 expression in
human colon carcinoma cells (49)
and that fibroblast
growth factor-1 influences CEACAM1 expression in NBT-II cells
(17)
. One component that affects tumor growth is the cells
of the tumor stroma; therefore, the effects of tumor stromata on
CEACAM1 expression should be investigated. In this context, it is
interesting to note that NbE cells injected alone into nude mice do not
form tumors, but when injected together with malignant, bladder-derived
mesenchymal cells, they form typical carcinomas (30)
. This
could be due to induction of altered CEACAM1 expression, which indeed
has been demonstrated to result in formation of malignant tumors from
NbE cells (25)
.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
| FOOTNOTES |
|---|
1 Supported by grants from the Swedish Medical
Research Council (project 05200), the Swedish Cancer Foundation
(projects 3809 and 3957), Petrus and Augusta Hedlunds Foundation, and
Karolinska Institutet. B. B. S. and I. S. were supported
by the Wenner-Gren Foundations. ![]()
2 To whom requests for reprints should be
addressed, at Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Medical Nobel
Institute, Box 285, S-17177 Stockholm, Sweden. Phone: 46-8-728-7300;
Fax: 46-8-30-1833; E-mail: Bjorn.Obrink{at}cmb.ki.se ![]()
3 The abbreviations used are: CEA,
carcinoembryonic antigen; Mab, monoclonal antibody; TBS, Tris-buffered
saline; ECL, electrochemiluminescence; RT, reverse transcription. ![]()
Received 9/15/99. Accepted 1/ 6/00.
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E. Klaile, M. M. Muller, C. Kannicht, W. Otto, B. B. Singer, W. Reutter, B. Obrink, and L. Lucka The Cell Adhesion Receptor Carcinoembryonic Antigen-related Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 Regulates Nucleocytoplasmic Trafficking of DNA Polymerase {delta}-Interacting Protein 38 J. Biol. Chem., September 7, 2007; 282(36): 26629 - 26640. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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Q. Yu, E. M. C. Chow, H. Wong, J. Gu, O. Mandelboim, S. D. Gray-Owen, and M. A. Ostrowski CEACAM1 (CD66a) Promotes Human Monocyte Survival via a Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase- and AKT-dependent Pathway J. Biol. Chem., December 22, 2006; 281(51): 39179 - 39193. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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