Chapter 28: Intracellular Receptors and Regulated Proteolysis Flashcards
(45 cards)
Regulated roteolysis of Latent Gene Regulatory Proteins
- Many signaling systems rely on the activation of latent gene regulatory proteins to transmit the signal to the DNA that gene transcription must be altere.
- Stats (cytokine receptors) and Smads (receptror ser/thr kinases) are activated by phoshorylation
- β-catenin, NF-κB, Notch, and Hedgehog/sonic hedgehog, are activated by regulated degradatioin of a component in the signaling pathway
- This ‘regulated proteolysis’ involves polyubiquitination (Lys 48 – Gly 76) followed by proteasomal degradation. It differs from the proteolysis triggered by misfolded proteins in that the targets of the E3 ubiquitin ligases are very specific – not just an exposed hydrophobic region.
Regulated Proteasomal Degradation can be Controlled by a Variety of Mechanisms
- Wnt signaling>dephosphorylation of the protein to be degraded
- NF-κB signaling > phophorylation of the protein to be degraded
Regulated Proteolysis: The Wnt Signaling Pathway
- ‘Wnt’ was coined by combining the names for two orthologs into a single name:
- Wingless: a segment polarity gene in Drosophila. Discovered because mutations made flies wingless
- Int: a gene that promotes mammary tumors in mice when a virus (MMTV) integrates next to it and activates it.
- Wnts are a family of secreted ligands (19 in humans) that act as paracrine mediators to control many aspects of development. They also contribute to cancer formation.
Signaling Through ‘Canonical’ Wnt Pathway
- There are 3 Wnt signaling pathways, we are focusing on most common one
- In all 3 pathways, the Wnt signal molecule binds to the Frizzled family of 7 cell surface receptors.
- Frizzled receptors transverse the membrane 7 times and thus resemble GPCRs. However, no G protein has been identified that is activated by Frizzled.
- Activation of Frizzled involves a co-receptor known as LRP (LDL-receptor-related protein).
- The Wnt pathway acts by regulating the proteolysis of β-catenin, which functions both in cell adhesion (adherens junctions) and in gene regulation.
Basal State of Wnt Pathway
- In its inactive state, the b-catenin (Armadillo in flies) that is not bound to cell-cell adherens junctions is sequestered in the cytoplasm in a “degradation” complex with 4 other proteins: Axin, APC, GSK3, CK1
- Phosphorylation of b-catenin by CK1 and then by GSK3 marks it for ubiquitination and rapid degradation.
- Wnt responsive genes are kept inactive by the Groucho co-repressor bound to the LEF1/TCF activators.
Axin
Scaffold protein
APC
(Adenomatous polyposis coli), scaffold protein
GSK3
(glycogen synthase kinase 3)
ser/thr protein kinase
CK1
(Casein kinase 1)
shr/thr kinase
Activation of Wnt Signaling
- Wnt ligands cause the Frizzled and LRP receptors to cluster together, which in a poorly understood process, activates the Dishevelled (Dsh) scaffold protein.
- Somehow, Dsh recruits GSK1 and CK1 to the receptor complex, and LRP gets phosphorylated.
- Axin is also brought to the receptor.
- All of this disrupts the degradation complex, so b-catenin is no longer phosphorylated and recognized by a ligase for ubiquitination.
- Unphosphorylated b-catenin accumulates and goes to the nucleus, where it kicks off Groucho and binds to LEF1/TCF This recruits the degradation complex to the receptors, inhibiting GSK3 activity and thus the degradation of b-catenin.
- Target genes for b-catenin include Myc, which is a transcription factor that promotes cell growth and proliferation.
- 1, 2, 4, 6, most important
(Familial) Adenomatous Polyposis Coli
- First hereditary colorectal cancer syndrom analyzed
- 100’s to 1000’s of polyps appear early in adult life
- If the colon is not removed, one or more will progress to cancer within about 12 years. About 80% of the time this is the result of mutation/inactivation of both copies of the Apc gene.
- Apc is a tumor suppressor gene**
beta-Catenin, APC, and the Biology of Colonic Crypts
- In normal intestine, the stromal cells send out Wnt ligand, which causes the cells at the bottom to replicate, and it also prevents their differentiation.
- As the epithelial cells migrate away from the stromal cells, the Wnt signal decreases, the cells stop replicating and they differentiate. After 3 – 4 days, the cells at the lumen go through apoptosis.
- In cells lacking APC, β-catenin remains high even without Wnt because β-catenin is not sequestered in the degradation complex by APC.
NF-kB proteins
- NF-kB proteins are latent transcription factors that are present in most animal cells and are central to stressful, inflammatory, and innate immune responses.
- There are 5 NF-kB proteins in mammals (RelA, RelB, c-Rel, NF-kB1, and NF-kB2 ).
- These proteins form a variety of homodimers and heterodimers, each of which activates its own characteristic set of genes.
- However, the signaling pathway that activates these various transcription factors is the same
Regulated Proteolysis: Activation of NF-kB
- NF-kB activates the transcription of >150 genes involved in cell responses to inflammation and the immune response
- NF-kB activity is regulated by inflammation, infection, and other stressful situations such as ionizing radiation
- Two inflammatory cytokines that activate NF-kB are TNF-a and interleukin-1 (IL-1)
NF-kB
- In its inactive state, NF-kB is stored in the cytoplasm complexed with an inhibitory protein, I-kB, which hides its NLS (nuclear localization signal)
- Binding of an inflammatory cytokine to its receptor triggers a protein kinase cascade that leads to the phosphorylation of I-kB by I-kB kinase.
- The phosphorylated I-kB is recognized by a specific E3 ligase, which ubiquitinates I-kB
- Polyubiquitinated I-kB is recognized and degraded by the proteasome
- Removal of I-kB exposes NLS on NF-kB so that it can enter the nucleus
Intracellular Receptors=
Nuclear Receptors=Steroid Receptors
NRs Play Profound Roles in Normal and Abnormal Physiology
- NRs generally have long-term effects on the body
- The endogenous ligands are synthesized on demand (not stored).
- The ligands have relatively long half-lives (hours to days).
- The effects of NRs are mostly at the level of gene transcription.
Normal Physiological Effects of Estrogen
- Cardiovascular and neuronal activity; protects against dementia
- Liver, fat, and bone cell metabolism
- Reproduction – development and function
- Immune responses
- Estrogen receptor targets genes involved in cellular proliferation, cellular differentiation, cell survival
The Nuclear Receptor Superfamily
- The receptors for many lipophilic hormones, metabolites, and xenobiotic endocrine disruptors are intracellular proteins that function as ligand-activated transcription factors.
- ~13% of the FDA approved drugs target these receptors.
- Nuclear receptors are only found in metazoans (animals).
- There are 48 nuclear receptors in humans, 49 in mice, and 250 in C. elegans
NRs Have Many Functional Domains
A/B region: 100 – 500 aa long with essentially no aa identity among family members
C = DNA binding domain = DBD: ~68 aa long and 42 – 94% aa identity
D = hinge region. Involved in receptor folding
E = ligand binding domain = LBD = 15 – 57% aa identity. Also involved in receptor dimerization, interaction with other proteins, and nuclear localization
AF-1: transcriptional activation function 1. Thought to be activated primarily by phosphorylation.
AF-2: transcriptional activation function 2. Activated by ligand binding

NR Type I
Bind to inverted repeats as homodimers. May be cytoplasmic and/or nuclear (the steroid receptors)
NR Type II
Bind to direct repeats as heterodimers with RXR. Are nuclear. Usually called the orphan receptors
NR Type III
Bind to direct repeats as homodimers
NR Type IV
Bind as monomers or heterodimers but only one receptor binds to DNA
