Phosphoinositides play a central role in the control of several cellular events including actin cytoskeleton organization. Here we show that, upon infection of epithelial cells with the Gram‐negative pathogen Shigella flexneri, the virulence factor IpgD is translocated directly into eukaryotic cells and acts as a potent inositol 4‐phosphatase that specifically dephosphorylates phosphatidylinositol 4,5‐bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P2] into phosphatidylinositol 5‐monophosphate [PtdIns(5)P] that then accumulates. Transfection experiments indicate that the transformation of PtdIns(4,5)P2 into PtdIns(5)P by IpgD is responsible for dramatic morphological changes of the host cell, leading to a decrease in membrane tether force associated with membrane blebbing and actin filament remodelling. These data provide the molecular basis for a new mechanism employed by a pathogenic bacterium to promote membrane ruffling at the entry site.

Control of gene expression by stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) cascades is crucial for combating cytotoxic stress. Elements of these cascades have been investigated in detail, but regulation of stress signal transduction from the cytoplasm to the nucleus is poorly understood. Herein are reported subcellular localization studies of fission yeast Spc1, a homolog of human p38 and budding yeast Hog1p SAPKs. Stress induces transient nuclear localization of Spc1. Nuclear translocation of Spc1 is coupled with disassociation from its activator kinase Wis1. However, Spc1 does not concentrate in the nucleus of ⌬wis1 cells; therefore Wis1 does not tether Spc1 in the cytoplasm. Unphosphorylatable forms of Spc1 are dispersed in the cytoplasm and nucleus, even in cells that also produce wild-type Spc1. Thus, Spc1 must be phosphorylated by Wis1 to localize in the nucleus. Nuclear retention of Spc1 requires Atf1, a transcription factor that is the key nuclear substrate of Spc1. Nuclear localization of Atf1 requires Pcr1, a heterodimerization partner of Atf1. These studies show that phosphorylation and association with Atf1 are required for nuclear localization of Spc1.

From very recent studies, including molecular cloning of cDNA coding for membrane receptors, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) reached the status of a novel phospholipid mediator with various biological activities. Another strong argument supporting this view was the discovery that LPA is secreted from activated platelets, resulting in its appearance in serum upon blood coagulation. The metabolic pathways as well as the enzymes responsible for LPA production are poorly characterized. However, a survey of literature data indicates some interesting issues which might be used as the basis for further molecular characterization of phospholipases A able to degrade phosphatidic acid.

Stress-activated signal transduction pathways, which are largely conserved among a broad spectrum of eukaryotic species, have a crucial role in the survival of many forms of stress. It is therefore important to discover how these pathways are both positively and negatively regulated. Recent genetic studies have implicated protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C) as a novel negative regulator of stress response pathways in both budding and fission yeasts. Moreover, it was hypothesized that PP2C dephosphorylates one or more components of protein kinase cascades that are at the core of stress-activated signal transduction pathways. Herein we present genetic and biochemical studies of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe that disprove this hypothesis and indicate that PP2C instead negatively regulates a downstream element of the pathway. First, high expression of PP2C produces phenotypes that are inconsistent with negative regulation of the Wik1-Wis1-Spc1 stress-activated kinase cascade. Second, high expression of PP2C leads to sustained activating tyrosine phosphorylation of Spc1. Third, Spc1-dependent phosphorylation of Atf1, a transcription factor substrate of Spc1, is unaffected by high expression of PP2C. Fourth, high expression of PP2C suppresses Atf1-dependent transcription of a stress-response gene. These studies strongly suggest that PP2C acts downstream of Spc1 kinase in the stress-activated signal transduction pathway.Eukaryotic organisms frequently encounter environmental conditions that cause cytotoxic damage; hence, they have developed sophisticated systems of sensing and responding to physiological stress. Protein kinase cascades are at the core of these stress sensor pathways (1). These cascades follow the paradigm established for mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) 1 cascades: a MAPK kinase kinase (MAPKKK) phosphorylates a MAPK kinase (MAPKK), which in turn phosphorylates a MAPK. The MAPKKK and MAPK components are serine-threonine kinases, whereas MAPKKs are dual specificity enzymes, activating MAPK substrates by phosphorylating threonine and tyrosine residues in a conserved motif (2). It is not understood why protein kinase cascades are used to transmit stress signals, although it is likely that the spatial distribution of the cascade elements facilitates rapid signaling from the cell surface to the nucleus where MAPK homologs phosphorylate transcription factor substrates.Recent studies have revealed impressive functional and structural conservation of stress response pathways in yeast, plants, and various metazoan species, including humans (3). The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe has been focus of some of the most interesting investigations, in part because studies of fission yeast have uncovered a link between stress response pathways and cell cycle control (4, 5). The S. pombe stress-activated kinase cascade consists of Wik1-Wis1-Spc1 kinases (6). The Spc1 MAPK homolog, which is also known as Sty1 and Phh1 (4, 7), is highly similar to mammalian p38 kinases (8) and Hog1p kinase of the bud...

Corresponding author SH-PTP1 is a protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) predominantly expressed in haematopoietic cells and containing two src homology-2 (SH2) domains. Here we report that SH-PTP1 is phosphorylated on both serine and tyrosine residues in response to thrombin or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), which increased by 60 and 40%, respectively, SH-PTP1 activity. Thrombin-induced phosphorylation of SH-PTP1 is an early signalling event (maximal within 10 s) involving neither integrin signalling, nor calcium, nor release of ADP or thromboxane A2. Moreover, in contrast with PMA, the effect of thrombin on the tyrosine phosphorylation of SH-PTP1 was hardly affected by GF109203X, a specific protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor. Finally, phosphorylation of SH-PTP1 could be provoked in permeabilized platelets by thrombin or GTPyS. This was abolished by pertussis toxin, the specificity of this effect being verified with the megakaryocytic cell line Dami cell. Our data thus identify SH-PTP1 as an in vivo substrate of a putative protein tyrosine kinase linked to the thrombin receptor by a G; protein. This might offer some clue to unravel the mechanism of thrombin not only in platelets but also in nucleated cells, where its mitogenic effect is known to involve pertussis toxin-sensitive G-proteins, tyrosine phosphorylation and the ras pathway.

Transcriptional induction of many stress-response genes is dependent on stress-induced nuclear accumulation of stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs). In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, nuclear accumulation of the SAPK Spc1 (also known as StyI) requires activating phosphorylation catalyzed by the SAPK kinase Wis1; however, it is unknown whether the localization of Spc1 is regulated by nuclear transport factors. Herein are reported studies that show that Spc1 localization is regulated by active transport mechanisms during osmotic stress. Nuclear import of Spc1 requires Pim1, a homologue of the guanine nucleotide exchange factor RCC1 that is essential for nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of proteins. Nuclear export of Spc1 is regulated by the export factor Crm1. An Spc1-Crm1 complex forms as Spc1 is exported from the nucleus. Wis1 and the tyrosine phosphatases Pyp1 and Pyp2 that inactivate Spc1 are excluded from the nucleus by a Crm1-independent mechanism; hence the nuclear import of Spc1 leads to transient isolation from its regulatory proteins. Thus, active nucleocytoplasmic shuttling is required for both the function and regulation of Spc1 during the osmotic shock response.

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Protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase) activity was examined in two cell lines: human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVE) cells, which display contact inhibition of cell growth, and A427 human adenocarcinoma cells, which have lost this ability. HUVE cells harvested at high density displayed a 10-fold increase in membrane-associated PTPase activity. A427 cells exhibited no such phenomenon. Moreover, modification of HUVE cell growth rate by a stimulating agent such as basic fibroblast growth factor or by blocking compounds such as thymidine or suramin resulted in no change in PTPase activity, suggesting that the observed increase in membrane-associated activity at confluency was specific for cell-cell-contact-directed growth arrest. The expression of various PTPase mRNAs was examined in HUVE and A427 cells. Of the receptor-like PTPases tested, two were exclusively expressed in HUVE cells (PTP gamma and HPTP beta). Only HPTP beta, which is structurally similar in its extracellular region to cell-adhesion receptors of the immunoglobulin superfamily, displayed a pattern of expression related to the increase in PTPase activity. Competitive PCR was used to quantify its expression during cell culture. A 12-fold increase in HPTP beta mRNA expression was detected and it parallelled the time course of PTPase activity. This observation strongly implicates receptor-like PTPases in density-dependent growth arrest.