Carbon monoxide (CO) plays a significant role in vascular functions. We here examined the molecular mechanism by which CO regulates HIF-1 (hypoxia-inducible transcription factor-1)-dependent expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is an important angiogenic factor. We found that astrocytes stimulated with CORM-2 (CO-releasing molecule) promoted angiogenesis by increasing VEGF expression and secretion. CORM-2 also induced HO-1 (hemeoxygenase-1) expression and increased nuclear HIF-1␣ protein level, without altering its promoter activity and mRNA level. VEGF expression was inhibited by treatment with HIF-1␣ siRNA and a hemeoxygenase inhibitor, indicating that CO stimulates VEGF expression via up-regulation of HIF-1␣ protein level, which is partially associated with HO-1 induction. CORM-2 activated the translational regulatory proteins p70S6k and eIF-4E as well as phosphorylating their upstream signal mediators Akt and ERK. These translational signal events and HIF-1␣ protein level were suppressed by inhibitors of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), MEK, and mTOR, suggesting that the PI3K/Akt/mTOR and MEK/ERK pathways are involved in a translational increase in HIF-1␣. In addition, CORM-2 also increased stability of the HIF-1␣ protein by suppressing its ubiquitination, without altering the proline hydroxylase-dependent HIF-1␣ degradation pathway. CORM-2 increased HIF-1␣/HSP90␣ interaction, which is responsible for HIF-1␣ stabilization, and HSP90-specific inhibitors decreased this interaction, HIF-1␣ protein level, and VEGF expression. Furthermore, HSP90␣ knockdown suppressed CORM-2-induced increases in HIF-1␣ and VEGF protein levels. These results suggest that CO stimulates VEGF production by increasing HIF-1␣ protein level via two distinct mechanisms, translational stimulation and protein stabilization of HIF-1␣.Carbon monoxide (CO) is a diffusible gas that has recently been found to play an important role in several biological processes, including angiogenesis and cytoprotection (1-4). CO is the product of the breakdown of heme by heme oxygenase (HO) 2 enzymes (5). There are two heme oxygenase functional isoforms: an inducible form, HO-1, and a constitutive form, HO-2. CO produced from heme by the catalytic reaction of HO induces the synthesis of angiogenic mediators, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), IL-8, and stromal cell-derived factor-1, as well as decreasing the anti-angiogenic factors, namely soluble VEGF receptor-1 and soluble endoglin, resulting in the promotion of endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and anti-apoptotic responses (6 -9). In addition, glutamate-induced CO in astrocytes can act as a signal or regulatory molecule that contributes to the homeostatic regulation of vascular functions such as vasodilation (10, 11).HIF-1 (hypoxia-inducible factor) is a transcriptional complex involved in the regulation of crucial aspects of cellular functions, such as cell proliferation, survival, invasion, and glucose metabolism (12, 13). HIF-1 is composed of two s...

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The tetraspanin membrane protein CD151 has been suggested to regulate cancer invasion and metastasis by initiating signaling events. The CD151-mediated signaling pathways involved in this regulation remain to be revealed. In this study, we found that stable transfection of CD151 into MelJuSo human melanoma cells lacking CD151 expression significantly increased cell motility, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression, and invasiveness. The enhancement of cell motility and MMP-9 expression by CD151 overexpression was abrogated by inhibitors and small interfering RNAs targeted to focal adhesion kinase (FAK), Src, p38 MAPK, and JNK, suggesting an essential role of these signaling components in CD151 signaling pathways. Also, CD151-induced MMP-9 expression was shown to be mediated

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CD99, a cell surface glycoprotein with a molecular mass of 32 kDa, was originally described as a human thymus leukemia antigen (1), a Ewing sarcoma-specific membrane marker molecule (2, 3), and a putative adhesion molecule (termed E2) involved in spontaneous rosette formation of T cells with erythrocytes (4 -7). CD99 is broadly distributed on many cell types, with particularly strong expression on human cortical thymocytes, Ewing sarcoma cells, and peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumors (3,8). The functional role of CD99 is not fully understood, and most information about its functions is derived from triggering CD99-mediated signaling events with agonistic CD99 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) 2 in hematopoietic cells. In normal cells, CD99 has been functionally implicated in cell adhesion, migration, apoptosis, differentiation, activation, and proliferation of lymphocytes and monocyte extravasation and transport of several transmembrane proteins (9 -19). In particular, the role of CD99 in the modulation of cell adhesion has been demonstrated by the ability of anti-CD99 mAbs to induce homotypic aggregation of CD4 ϩ CD8 ϩ thymocytes, whereas other anti-CD99 antibodies block spontaneous T cell-erythrocyte rosette formation (4,6,11,20). It was also shown that antibody ligation of CD99 molecules up-regulated the expression of LFA-1 (␣ L ␤ 2 integrin), and CD99-induced cell aggregation was blocked by the addition of mAbs to LFA-1 or intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) in a B cell line (20). These results suggest that signal transduction via CD99 modulates cell adhesion of lymphocytes by regulating the expression level of the cell adhesion molecule, integrin LFA-1. Several signal transducing molecules, including MAPKs and protein kinase C, have been found to mediate CD99-dependent cell adhesion of T cells (21,22). In addition, it was found that CD99 on one cell binds to another neighboring CD99 on the next, indicating that CD99 is a homophilic cell surface interacting protein (18). However, the molecular mechanisms of CD99-mediated signal transduction remain largely unknown.

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Phox . These results suggest that CD44-EGFR interaction is necessary for HA-promoted cell motility by regulating PKC signaling. EGFR-Akt interaction promoted by HA was responsible for the increased production of ROS and HA-promoted cell motility. In summary, HA promotes CD44-EGFR interaction, which in turn activates PKC signaling, involving Akt, Rac1, Phox, and the production of ROS, FAK, and MMP-2, to enhance melanoma cell motility.

In yeast, the pheromone ␣-factor acts as an antiproliferative factor that induces G 1 arrest and cellular differentiation. Previous data have indicated that Far1, a factor dedicated to pheromone-induced cell cycle arrest, is under positive and negative posttranslational regulation. Phosphorylation by the pheromone-stimulated mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase Fus3 has been thought to enhance the binding of Far1 to G 1 -specific cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) complexes, thereby inhibiting their catalytic activity. Cdk-dependent phosphorylation events were invoked to account for the high instability of Far1 outside early G 1 phase. To confirm any functional role of Far1 phosphorylation, we undertook a systematic mutational analysis of potential MAP kinase and Cdk recognition motifs. Two putative phosphorylation sites that strongly affect Far1 behavior were identified. A change of serine 87 to alanine prevents the cell cycle-dependent degradation of Far1, causing enhanced sensitivity to pheromone. In contrast, threonine 306 seems to be an important recipient of an activating modification, as substitutions at this position abolish the G 1 arrest function of Far1. Only the phosphorylated wild-type Far1 protein, not the T306-to-A substitution product, can be found in stable association with the Cdc28-Cln2 complex. Surprisingly, Far1-associated Cdc28-Cln2 complexes are at best moderately inhibited in immunoprecipitation kinase assays, suggesting unconventional inhibitory mechanisms of Far1.