| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
Biochemistry and Biophysics |
Laboratory of Biochemical Neuroendocrinology Clinical Research Institute of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, H2W 1R7 [G. S., A-M. K., S. B., N. G. S.], and Regional Protein Chemistry Centre, Diseases of Ageing Program, Ottawa Health Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4E9 [A-M. K., M. C.] Canada
| ABSTRACT |
|---|
|
|
|---|
2-macroglobulin and
1-antitrypsin. Chinese hamster ovary cells overexpressing pro-PDGF-A (ARKA86) failed to induce tumors in nude mice. Thus, PC-directed inhibitors might represent new agents for therapy in neoplasia induced by PDGF-A. | INTRODUCTION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
and PDGF receptor-ß (6, 7, 8, 9)
. The
-receptor binds both the A and B chains of PDGF, but the ß-receptor binds only the B chain. Two new members of the PDGF family, PDGF-C and PDGF-D were reported recently, exhibiting similar binding properties to PDGF-AB (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
. Alternative splicing of the PDGF-A mRNA results in a long and short form. The longer variant (211 aa) is less common and differs from the shorter one (196 aa) by a COOH-terminal extension of 15 aa (8
, 4
, 15) . After dimerization of PDGF-A monomers in the ER into a Mr
50,000 form, this complex transits through the Golgi apparatus toward the trans Golgi Network where it is proteolytically cleaved at the sequence RRKR86
and secreted as a Mr
30,000 dimeric product (15)
. However, nothing is known about the enzymes involved in this processing event, likely leading to the activation of PDGF-A. The RRKR86
cleavage site suggested that the dibasic-specific PCs could be implicated in this process (16)
. The mammalian subtilisin-like PCs constitute a family of seven known dibasic-specific proteinases, namely, Furin, PC1, PC2, PC4, PACE4, PC5, and PC7, as well as the two nonbasic specific convertase SKI-1 (16
, 17) and NARC-1 (18)
. The PCs are implicated in the processing of multiple protein precursors, including proteases, growth factors, and receptors at multibasic recognition sites exhibiting the general motif (K/R)-(X)n-(K/R)
(n = 0, 2, 4, or 6; Refs. 16
, 17
). The enzyme SKI-1 recognizes the motif (R/K)-X-(L,V)-Z
, where Z is any aa except Pro, Cys, Glu, and Val (17)
and NARC-1 prefers the motif Y-X-(V/I)-X-(L/M)
(18)
. The purpose of this study was to identify the protease(s) involved in the processing of PDGF-A, and to evaluate the importance of this cleavage in PDGF-A-mediated ex vivo functions and in vivo tumor growth. | MATERIALS AND METHODS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Transfections and Cell Culture.
The Furin-deficient LoVo-C5 human colon adenocarcinoma cells were transiently cotransfected with the empty vector pIRES2-EGFP-V5, pIRES2-EGFP-PDGF-A-V5 construct or with the pIRES2-EGFP-PDGF-A-V5 and pIRES2-EGFP vector that expresses either full-length Furin, PACE4, PC5A, PC5B, PC7, or SKI-1 cDNAs (19)
. The human embryonic kidney (HK293) cells were transiently cotransfected with the pIRES2-EGFP-V5 empty vector, pIRES2-EGFP-PDGF-A-V5 construct, or with the pIRES2-EGFP-PDGF-A-V5 and pIRES2-EGFP that express PCs inhibitors including ppFurin, ppPACE4, ppPC5, ppPC7, ppSKI-1, (wild-type) or mutated
2-MG-F, and
1-PDX (19)
. In several experiments HK293 cells or CHO cells lacking SKI-1 (20)
or the same cells stably expressing SKI-1 [SKI-1 (+) cells] were transiently transfected with pIRES2-EGFP-V5 vector expressing either wild-type or mutated PDGF-A cDNAs. Wild-type CHO-K1 cells were stably transfected with pIRES2-EGFP-V5 empty vectors, or pIRES2-EGFP-V5 vector containing wild PDGF-A or mutated PDGF-A (ARKA86) cDNAs. Pools of stably transfected cells were selected using G418 resistance, and controlled by Western blotting for wild-type and mutant PDGF-A expression. All of the transfections were carried out using the Effectene transfection reagent (Qiagen Inc., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) as recommended by the manufacturer. Cells were grown in DMEM supplemented with 10% FCS, 100 units/ml penicillin, and 100 µg/ml streptomycin (Life Technologies, Inc., Burlington, Ontario, Canada). For the stably transfected CHO cells 400 µg/ml G418 were added.
Biosynthetic Labeling and Immunoprecipitation.
Two days after transfection, the cells were washed and then pulse-labeled for 23 h with 200 µCi/ml [35S]Cys. After the pulse period, cells were lysed in buffer containing 150 mM NaCl, 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 6.8), 0.5% NP40, and 0.5% sodium deoxycholate (Roche Molecular Biochemicals), and prepared for immunoprecipitations as described previously (19)
. Anti-V5 (1:1000 dilution; Invitrogen) was used as the primary antibody.
Western Blotting.
Twenty-four h after transfection, the cells were lysed in PBS containing 2% NP40, Lysates were subjected to SDS-PAGE on 8% gels, and proteins were blotted onto nitrocellulose membranes. The primary antibodies used were: monoclonal antibodies directed against either the V5 epitope (1:1000 dilution; Invitrogen) or antiphosphotyrosine (2 µg/ml; Sigma-Aldrich Ltd., Oakville, Ontario, Canada).
Tyrosine Phosphorylation Assay.
Confluent fibroblast NIH BALB/c-3T3 cells grown in 75-cm2 flask dishes were maintained in serum-free DMEM for 24 h and incubated with or without medium derived from the indicated cells. Cells were washed twice in ice-cold PBS and lysed with lysis buffer [50 mM HEPES (pH 7.6), 150 mM NaCl, 1% Triton X-100, 2 mM vanadate, 100 mM NaF, and 0.40 mg/ml phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride], and proteins were analyzed by Western blotting.
Cell Growth Assay.
This assay was monitored as described previously elsewhere (21)
. Briefly, serum-starved BALB/c-3T3 cells were incubated for 24 h in medium derived from transfected HK293 cells. For the last 6 h of incubation, 0.5 µCi/well of [3H]methyl-thymidine (Amersham) was added, and cells were harvested onto glass-fiber filters using a cell harvester (Pharmacia, Wallac Oy, Turku, Finland), and radioactivity was counted. Results were expressed as percentages of the values obtained for cells incubated with medium derived from HK293 cells transfected with empty vectors and medium derived from HK293 cells transfected with wild or mutated PDGF-A cDNAs.
In Vivo Tumorigenecity Assays.
For tumor growth measurement, pools of control CHO-K1 cells or CHO-K1 cells expressing wild-type or mutant PDGF-A cDNA (RRKR86 to ARKA86) were assessed for their ability to proliferate as indicated above and injected s.c. into 46-week-old male athymic mice. Animals were monitored for tumor formation every 7 days as described previously (21)
, and tumors were cryosectioned and stained with H&E.
| RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
25,000 corresponding to the intact monomeric PDGF-A precursor. Cotransfection of pro-PDGF-A with vectors encoding each of the PCs revealed that Furin, and to a much lesser extent PC5A and PC7, could process the Mr
25,000 protein into a Mr
15,000 product, corresponding to the mature form of monomeric PDGF-A. Western blot analysis of conditioned medium derived from LoVo cells cotransfected with pro-PDGF-A, and each of the PCs revealed that aside from Furin, PC5A > PACE4 and PC7 but not SKI-1 can process pro-PDGF-A under steady-state conditions (Fig. 1C)
|
2-MG-F, and of the serpin
1-PDX (19)
. Both biosynthesis (Fig. 1D)
60%), and ppPACE4 (
50%), as well as by
2-MG-F (
40%) and
1-PDX (100%). In contrast, ppSKI-1 and ppPC7 or wild-type
1-AT failed to inhibit processing. Because close to complete inhibition of pro-PDGF-A cleavage occurred only with ppFurin and
1-PDX, theses results suggest that most of the PDGF-A-converting activity found in HK293 cells is related to Furin, and that ppPC5 and ppPACE4 can partially inhibit Furin (19
, 22
, 23)
.
Cleavage Site Specificity of PDGF-A Processing in HK293 Cells.
To assess the cleavage site specificity of PDGF-A processing we analyzed whether Arg for Ala or Lys substitutions at the P1 and/or the P4 positions at the PC-motif RRKR86 will affect processing of pro-PDGF-A by endogenous or exogenous Furin-like activity. The results of expression of these constructs in HK293 cells and their processing by endogenous enzymes or after overexpression of Furin are shown in Fig. 2
. As described previously in Fig. 1
, when wild-type pro-PDGF-A (RRKR86) and EGFP vector are cotransfected in HK293 cells, one major band corresponding to mature PDGF-A is detected in the conditioned medium (Fig. 2A)
. When the PDGF-A mutant ARKA86 is transfected in these cells, the processing of pro-PDGF-A is completely blocked. These results highlight the importance of Arg at positions P1 and P4 for the processing of pro-PDGF-A. Transfection of HK293 cells with the pro-PDGF-A mutants RRKL86 or RRLL86 revealed that the processing of these mutants is not completely blocked (Fig. 2A)
. Overexpression of Furin in the presence of these pro-PDGF-A constructs revealed that only the processing of the mutant RRKL86 was increased from 25% to 100%. This suggested that Furin could process this mutant, possibly at the alternative dibasic RR84
KL site, containing a favorable Leu at P2' (17)
. However, because Furin cannot process precursors with a P1' Leu (17)
, it is not surprising that the RRLL86 mutant is not processed by Furin. However, expression of these PDGF-A cDNA constructs in SKI-1(+) cells mainly increased the processing of the pro-PDGF-A mutant RRLL86 and much less so of the RRKL86 one, without affecting that of the wild-type86 or ARKA86 mutant (data not shown).
|
|
| DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
-receptor but not PDGF-B during the early stage of development (24
, 25)
. Defects in PDGF-A interaction with its receptors during development results in anatomical defects leading to lethality (25)
. In addition, overexpression of PDGF-A mRNA in many cancers including brain and gastric carcinoma, and the lethal phenotype associated with cell hyperplasia in transgenic mice overexpressing PDGF-A (26)
make this growth factor particularly interesting for proliferative disorder investigations. Upon synthesis of pre-pro-PDGF-A, the signal peptide is rapidly removed and pro-PDGF-A is then translocated to the Golgi network where other post-translational modifications occur. The newly synthesized PDGF-A chains are dimerized in the ER and thereafter transferred to the Golgi complex for proteolytic processing to produce a Mr
30,000 dimeric molecule that is carried in vesicles to the cell surface for release extracellularly by exocytosis (15)
. The presence of an optimum Furin consensus cleavage motif (RRKR
SI) in PDGF-A (16
, 17)
and the ubiquitous expression of Furin suggested that this convertase is a good candidate for PDGF-A processing and activation. In pulse-chase experiments, using the Furin-deficient human colon carcinoma cell line LoVo (18)
, we found that Furin is the major candidate pro-PDGF-A convertase. However, Western blotting experiments revealed that under steady-state conditions other PCs such as PC5, PACE4, and PC7, were also able to processes PDGF-A. A similar conclusion was also reached with the transforming growth factor ß (27)
. The endogenous processing of PDGF-A by PCs is confirmed by the inhibition of pro-PDGF-A processing in HK293 cells by the PC prosegments of Furin, PC5, PACE4, the Furin-motif variants of
2-MG-F, and serpin
1 pdx. However, the inhibitory prosegments of PC7, SKI-1, or wild-type
2-MG- and
1-antitrypsin did not significantly affect this cleavage. Expression experiments with pro-PDGF-A mutants containing substitutions at the potential cleavage site RRKR
SL revealed that pro-PDGF-A is processed at Arg86 in HK293 cells. Experiments with additional mutants revealed that Arg83, Lys85, and Arg86 were also required for optimal endoproteolysis, and underline the requirement for basic residues in the P1, P2, and P4 positions, which are characteristic of the substrate specificity of some members of the PC family including Furin (16
, 17)
. The efficient secretion of the unprocessed pro-PDGF-A mutants indicates that the intracellular proteolytic cleavage is not a prerequisite for PDGF-A secretion. This was additionally confirmed by the accumulation of pro-PDGF-A in media derived from PDGF-A-transfected LoVo cells and HK293 cells transfected with PC inhibitors. The importance of the RRKR86 sequence in pro-PDGF-A processing was reported previously by Mercola et al. (24)
. They demonstrated that alteration of the pro-PDGF-A cleavage site RRKR86 to RSNG86 resulted in the formation of a stable PDGF-A precursor. In agreement, our results demonstrated that the processing of pro-PDGF-A mutants RRKR86 into ARKA86 is completely blocked. However, transfections with the mutants RRKR86 into RRLL86 and RRKR86 into RRKL86 still produce the mature form of PDGF-A. The processing of the RRLL86 mutant is not mediated by a PC-like activity, because overexpression of Furin did not significantly affect its processing (Fig. 2B)
, as deduced from its ability to process brain-derived neurotrophic factor, sterol regulatory element binding proteins, and recently the ER stress-induced transcription factor ATF6 (reviewed in Ref. 17
). This conclusion cautions the indiscriminate mutation of processing sites in precursors, as this may result in a switching of the type of convertase involved that normally does not cleave at this site.
Like the other PDGFs, PDGF-A elicits its biological activity through interactions with transmembrane high-affinity receptors. Binding of PDGF-AA ligand to its receptor results in the autophosphorylation of the latter (9)
. In turn, the PDGF receptor activates an enzyme cascade that includes various phosphorylating enzymes, e.g., protein kinase C, Ras, Raf, and mitogen-activated protein kinase, and ultimately triggers cell division (6, 7, 8, 9)
. Similar to vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor, PDGF acts as a "competence" factor enabling cells to enter the G1 phase, and participates with "progression" factors such as insulin-like growth factor I to move cells from the G1 into S phase, ultimately resulting in cell division. Our studies demonstrate that complete inhibition of PDGF-A processing by mutagenesis (mutant ARKA86) blocked the ability of PDGF-A to mediate PDGF-A receptor tyrosine phosphorylation and [3H]thymidine incorporation in 3T3 cells. In contrast, although the processing the PDGF-A mutants RRLL86 and RRKL86 is dramatically reduced, the low level of the produced mature PDGF-A was enough to mediate PDGF-A receptor tyrosine phosphorylation and to stimulate [3H]thymidine incorporation. To investigate the biological role of PDGF-A processing in vivo in tumor growth, we used CHO-K1 cells (that do not produce endogenous PDGF-A) to study the effects of wild and mutant PDGF-A (ARKA86) on tumor growth in nude mice. Our results demonstrated that expression of PDGF-A in these cells increased the incidence and growth rate of the developed tumors. These results are in agreement with a previous report showing that PDGF-A overexpression in various tumor cells including mesothelioma increased tumor formation (28)
. In contrast, s.c. inoculation of tumor cells expressing the PDGF-A mutant ARKA86 cDNA induced tumors with reduced size as compared with tumors obtained from control or wild-type PDGF-A transfected cells. This in vivo tumor growth inhibition by the PDGF-A mutant expressed in CHO-K1 cells could be explained by the action of pro-PDGF-A as a dominant negative (29)
. Like the other PDGF ligands, interaction of PDGF-A with their receptors induces the dimerization of the subunits and induces the formation of PDGF
r-PDGF
r homodimers. The absence of fully processed PDGF-A may affect the dimerization of the corresponding receptors leading to a loss of biological activity. In addition, the possible antagonist role of the PDGF-A mutant that may compete with the active PDGF-A for the PDGF receptors is not ruled out; however, additional studies are required to fully verify these hypotheses.
In conclusion, we have demonstrated that Furin, and to a lower extent PC5, PACE4, and PC7 are the cognate members of the PC family involved in the processing of pro-PDGF-A, and demonstrated that the biological functions of PDGF-A ex vivo and in vivo in tumors are critically dependent on the processing of pro-PDGF-A by the PCs. Our findings support the notion that targeting PDGF-A cleavage may provide a pharmacological complement that could be used for treatment of malignancies induced by this growth factor.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
| FOOTNOTES |
|---|
1 Supported by a Canadian Institute of Health Research group grant no. MGC-11474, a CIHR grant no. MGP-44363, and by the Protein Engineering Network Centers of Excellence. ![]()
2 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Laboratory of Biochemical Neuroendocrinology, Clinical Research Institute of Montreal, 110 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H2W 1R7. Phone: (514) 987-5609; Fax: (514) 987-5542; E-mail: seidahn{at}ircm.qc.ca ![]()
3 The abbreviations used are: PDGF, platelet-derived growth factor; CHO, Chinese hamster ovary; aa, amino acid;
2-MG-F,
2-macroglobulin;
1-PDX,
1-antitrypsin; pp, preprosegment; PC, proprotein convertase; ER, endoplasmic reticulum; EGFP, enhanced green fluorescent protein. ![]()
Received 11/20/02. Accepted 1/31/03.
| REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
receptor expression suggests an autocrine and/or paracrine loop in osteosarcoma. Mod. Pathol., 13: 632-637, 2000.[Medline]
receptor expression or function alters the metastatic phenotype of 3LL cells. Oncogene, 15: 1545-1554, 1997.[Medline]
and ß receptor. J. Biol. Chem., 276: 27406-27414, 2001.
-subunit gene. Brain Res. Dev. Brain Res., 96: 204-209, 1996.[Medline]
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
M. Lapierre, G. Siegfried, N. Scamuffa, Y. Bontemps, F. Calvo, N. G. Seidah, and A.-M. Khatib Opposing Function of the Proprotein Convertases Furin and PACE4 on Breast Cancer Cells' Malignant Phenotypes: Role of Tissue Inhibitors of Metalloproteinase-1 Cancer Res., October 1, 2007; 67(19): 9030 - 9034. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
B. K. McColl, K. Paavonen, T. Karnezis, N. C. Harris, N. Davydova, J. Rothacker, E. C. Nice, K. W. Harder, S. Roufail, M. L. Hibbs, et al. Proprotein convertases promote processing of VEGF-D, a critical step for binding the angiogenic receptor VEGFR-2 FASEB J, April 1, 2007; 21(4): 1088 - 1098. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
N. Scamuffa, F. Calvo, M. Chretien, N. G. Seidah, and A.-M. Khatib Proprotein convertases: lessons from knockouts FASEB J, October 1, 2006; 20(12): 1954 - 1963. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. Shayan, M. G. Achen, and S. A. Stacker Lymphatic vessels in cancer metastasis: bridging the gaps Carcinogenesis, September 1, 2006; 27(9): 1729 - 1738. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. McMahon, M. Charbonneau, S. Grandmont, D. E. Richard, and C. M. Dubois Transforming Growth Factor beta1 Induces Hypoxia-inducible Factor-1 Stabilization through Selective Inhibition of PHD2 Expression J. Biol. Chem., August 25, 2006; 281(34): 24171 - 24181. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. Pasquato, P. Pullikotil, M.-C. Asselin, M. Vacatello, L. Paolillo, F. Ghezzo, F. Basso, C. Di Bello, M. Dettin, and N. G. Seidah The Proprotein Convertase SKI-1/S1P: IN VITRO ANALYSIS OF LASSA VIRUS GLYCOPROTEIN-DERIVED SUBSTRATES AND EX VIVO VALIDATION OF IRREVERSIBLE PEPTIDE INHIBITORS J. Biol. Chem., August 18, 2006; 281(33): 23471 - 23481. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. Essalmani, J. Hamelin, J. Marcinkiewicz, A. Chamberland, M. Mbikay, M. Chretien, N. G. Seidah, and A. Prat Deletion of the Gene Encoding Proprotein Convertase 5/6 Causes Early Embryonic Lethality in the Mouse Mol. Cell. Biol., January 1, 2006; 26(1): 354 - 361. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. C. Darie, M. L. Biniossek, M. A. Gawinowicz, Y. Milgrom, J. O. Thumfart, L. Jovine, E. S. Litscher, and P. M. Wassarman Mass Spectrometric Evidence That Proteolytic Processing of Rainbow Trout Egg Vitelline Envelope Proteins Takes Place on the Egg J. Biol. Chem., November 11, 2005; 280(45): 37585 - 37598. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. Fredriksson, M. Ehnman, C. Fieber, and U. Eriksson Structural Requirements for Activation of Latent Platelet-derived Growth Factor CC by Tissue Plasminogen Activator J. Biol. Chem., July 22, 2005; 280(29): 26856 - 26862. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. V. Ustach and H.-R. C. Kim Platelet-Derived Growth Factor D Is Activated by Urokinase Plasminogen Activator in Prostate Carcinoma Cells Mol. Cell. Biol., July 15, 2005; 25(14): 6279 - 6288. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. McMahon, F. Grondin, P. P. McDonald, D. E. Richard, and C. M. Dubois Hypoxia-enhanced Expression of the Proprotein Convertase Furin Is Mediated by Hypoxia-inducible Factor-1: IMPACT ON THE BIOACTIVATION OF PROPROTEINS J. Biol. Chem., February 25, 2005; 280(8): 6561 - 6569. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. L. de Cicco, J. C. Watson, D. E. Bassi, S. Litwin, and A. J. Klein-Szanto Simultaneous Expression of Furin and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Human Oral Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression Clin. Cancer Res., July 1, 2004; 10(13): 4480 - 4488. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
P. Pullikotil, M. Vincent, S. T. Nichol, and N. G. Seidah Development of Protein-based Inhibitors of the Proprotein of Convertase SKI-1/S1P: PROCESSING OF SREBP-2, ATF6, AND A VIRAL GLYCOPROTEIN J. Biol. Chem., April 23, 2004; 279(17): 17338 - 17347. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Cancer Research | Clinical Cancer Research |
| Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention | Molecular Cancer Therapeutics |
| Molecular Cancer Research | Cancer Prevention Research |
| Cancer Prevention Journals Portal | Cancer Reviews Online |
| Annual Meeting Education Book | Meeting Abstracts Online |