phosphothreonine and Cell-Transformation--Viral

Topics: Acid Phosphatase; Alkaline Phosphatase; Animals; Cell Transformation, Viral; Oncogenes; Phosphoprotein Phosphatases; Phosphorylation; Phosphoserine; Phosphothreonine; Phosphotyrosine; Retroviridae; Tyrosine

G1 cyclin E controls the initiation of DNA synthesis by activating CDK2, and abnormally high levels of cyclin E expression have frequently been observed in human cancers. We have isolated a novel human cyclin, cyclin E2, that contains significant homology to cyclin E. Cyclin E2 specifically interacts with CDK inhibitors of the CIP/KIP family and activates both CDK2 and CDK3. The expression of cyclin E2 mRNA oscillates periodically throughout the cell cycle, peaking at the G1/S transition, and exhibits a pattern of tissue specificity distinct from that of cyclin E1. Cyclin E2 encodes a short lived protein whose turnover is most likely governed by the proteasome pathway and is regulated by phosphorylation on a conserved Thr-392 residue. Expression of the viral E6 oncoprotein in normal human fibroblasts increases the steady state level of cyclin E2, but not cyclin E1, while expression of the E7 oncoprotein upregulates both. These data suggest that the expression of these two G1 E-type cyclins may be similarly regulated by the pRb function, but distinctly by the p53 activity.

Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Base Sequence; CDC2-CDC28 Kinases; Cell Transformation, Viral; Cloning, Molecular; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 3; Cyclin-Dependent Kinases; Cyclins; Cysteine Endopeptidases; DNA, Complementary; Enzyme Activation; Fibroblasts; G1 Phase; Gene Expression Regulation; Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; Genes; Half-Life; Humans; Molecular Sequence Data; Multienzyme Complexes; Oncogene Proteins, Viral; Organ Specificity; Phosphorylation; Phosphothreonine; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; Protein Processing, Post-Translational; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; Retinoblastoma Protein; RNA, Messenger; Sequence Alignment; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53

Protein phosphorylation plays an important role in the regulation of cellular growth and proliferation and is thus thought to play a role in tumorigenesis. It has previously been reported that cells transformed by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) contain two to four fold higher than normal levels of protein phosphorylation on serine and threonine residues, and two to six fold higher than normal levels of a casein kinase activity. We have now identified the major casein kinase activity found elevated in HCMV transformed cells as casein kinase type II; identification of this kinase was necessary in order to begin to define its role in HCMV mediated morphological transformation. Most of the differences in casein kinase II activity between normal and HCMV transformed cells were explained by differences in casein kinase II protein levels. This represents the first report concerning the elevation of casein kinase II activity in cells transformed by human cytomegalovirus.

Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Casein Kinase II; Cell Line; Cell Transformation, Viral; Cytomegalovirus; Cytoplasm; Humans; Immunoblotting; Molecular Sequence Data; Peptides; Phosphoproteins; Phosphorylation; Phosphoserine; Phosphothreonine; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; Substrate Specificity

Chicken embryo cells (CECs) contain pyruvate kinase (PK) type M2 (M2-PK). Transformation of CECs by Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) leads to a reduction in the affinity of PK for the substrate phosphoenolpyruvate. In vitro, M2-PK can be phosphorylated at tyrosine residues by pp60v-src, the transforming protein of RSV. To study tyrosine phosphorylation of M2-PK in intact RSV-transformed cells, the protein was immunoprecipitated from 32P-labeled normal and RSV-SR-A-transformed CECs. Phosphoamino acid analysis of immunoprecipitated M2-PK revealed that M2-PK of both normal and transformed CECs contained phosphoserine and small amounts of phosphothreonine. Only M2-PK of transformed CECs contained phosphotyrosine in addition. For enzyme kinetic studies M2-PK was partially purified by chromatography upon DEAE-Sephacel and hydroxyapatite. A decreased affinity for phosphoenolpyruvate was observed 3 h after the onset of transformation using the temperature-sensitive mutant of RSV, ts-NY 68. The kinetic changes were correlated with tyrosine phosphorylation of M2-PK, but there is no direct evidence that they are caused by post-translational modification of the enzyme.

Topics: Animals; Avian Sarcoma Viruses; Cell Transformation, Viral; Chick Embryo; Immunosorbent Techniques; Kinetics; Oncogene Protein pp60(v-src); Phosphoenolpyruvate; Phosphorylation; Phosphoserine; Phosphothreonine; Phosphotyrosine; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; Pyruvate Kinase; Retroviridae Proteins; Tyrosine

Two proteins, termed P85gag-mos and P58gag, are encoded by the temperature-sensitive transformation mutant, ts110 Moloney murine sarcoma virus (MuSV). Based on temperature-shift studies, P85gag-mos is believed to be important for the transforming potential of ts110 MuSV and has been found to be associated with a thermolabile kinase activity that phosphorylates both P85gag-mos and P58gag in immune complexes. Modifications of the original kinase assay conditions are reported here that have allowed a 30-fold increase in the specific activity of P85gag-mos phosphorylated in vitro. The in vitro P85gag-mos-phosphorylating activity was found to be unresponsive to 10 microM-cAMP or 10 microM-cGMP. Addition of 1 mM-pyrophosphate, a known phosphatase inhibitor, to the reaction mixture resulted in an increased yield of phosphorylated P85gag-mos and P58gag; the molar phosphate incorporation per mole of P85gag-mos increased from 0.032 to 0.9, whereas the specific activity of in vitro-phosphorylated P58gag increased 18-fold, from 0.013 to 0.234. pH curves of the in vitro kinase reaction further confirmed the presence of phosphatase activity; in the absence of pyrophosphate, a sharp optimum at pH 4 to 5 was observed, whereas it shifted broadly to pH 7.0 in the presence of pyrophosphate. Under the latter conditions, several experiments were performed in order to determine if the kinase was associated with either gag or mos sequences of P85gag-mos. Antisera directed against p15, p12 and p30 sequences of the gag protein region of P85gag-mos yielded immune complexes that allowed phosphorylation in vitro of P85gag-mos. No phosphorylating activity was detected in immune complexes containing MuSV-124-encoded P62gag. An anti-mos serum generated against a synthetic peptide representing the predicted v-mos amino acid residues 37 to 55 recognizes P85gag-mos and allowed phosphorylation of P85gag-mos in vitro in the absence of P58gag. Peptide mapping of both phosphorylated P85gag-mos and P58gag, by using a combination of Cleveland and Western/immunoperoxidase techniques, demonstrated that P85gag-mos became phosphorylated not only on gag sequences, but also at the N-terminal portion of v-mos. Phosphoamino acid analyses of P85gag-mos and P58gag phosphorylated in vitro under these modified conditions yielded predominantly phosphoserine and lesser amounts of phosphothreonine. Metabolically 32P-labelled P85gag-mos and P58gag were also found to contain phosphoserine and phosphothreonine.

Topics: Antigen-Antibody Complex; Cell Transformation, Viral; Cyclic AMP; Cyclic GMP; Diphosphates; Gene Products, gag; Moloney murine sarcoma virus; Mutation; Phosphorylation; Phosphoserine; Phosphothreonine; Protein Kinases; Quercetin; Retroviridae Proteins; Sarcoma Viruses, Murine; Temperature

In earlier studies, we molecularly cloned a normal cellular gene, c-rasH-1, homologous to the v-ras oncogene of Harvey murine sarcoma virus (v-rasH). By ligating a type c retroviral promotor to c-rasH-1, we could transform NIH 3T3 cells with the c-rasH-1 gene. The transformed cells contained high levels of a p21 protein coded for by the c-rasH-1 gene. In the current studies, we have purified extensively both v-rasH p21 and c-rasH p21 and compared the in vivo and in vitro biochemical properties of both these p21 molecules. The p21 proteins coded for by v-rasH and c-rasH-1 shared certain properties: each protein was synthesized as a precursor protein which subsequently became bound to the inner surface of the plasma membrane; each protein was associated with guanine nucleotide-binding activity, a property which copurified with p21 molecules on a high-pressure liquid chromatography molecular sizing column. In some other properties, the v-rasH and c-rasH p21 proteins differed. In vivo, approximately 20 to 30% of v-rasH p21 molecules were in the form of phosphothreonine-containing pp21 molecules, whereas in vivo only a minute fraction of c-rasH-1 p21 contained phosphate, and this phosphate was found on a serine residue. v-rasH pp21 molecules with an authentic phosphothreonine peptide could be synthesized in vitro in an autophosphorylation reaction in which the gamma phosphate of GTP was transferred to v-rasH p21. No autophosphorylating activity was associated with purified c-rasH-1 p21 in vitro. The results indicate a major qualitative difference between the p21 proteins coded for by v-rasH and c-rasH-1. The p21 coded for by a mouse-derived oncogenic virus, BALB murine sarcoma virus, resembled the p21 coded for by c-rasH-1 in that it bound guanine nucleotides but did not label appreciably with 32Pi. The forms of p21 coded for by other members of the ras gene family were compared, and the results indicate that the guanine nucleotide-binding activity is common to p21 molecules coded for by all known members of the ras gene family.

Topics: Animals; Blood Proteins; Cell Line; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; Cell Transformation, Viral; Genes, Viral; GTP-Binding Proteins; Guanosine Diphosphate; Guanosine Triphosphate; Mice; Oncogenes; Phosphoserine; Phosphothreonine; Receptors, Cell Surface; Sarcoma Viruses, Murine; Viral Proteins