Gas6 is a γ-carboxylated ligand for the receptor tyrosine kinase Axl. Gas6-Axl interactions can rescue endothelial cells from apoptosis, and this study examined the intracellular signaling mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon. Using flow cytometry, we first confirmed that Gas6 can abrogate apoptosis induced by serum starvation of primary cultures of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). This effect is mediated through phosphorylation of the serine-threonine kinase Akt, with maximal phosphorylation observed after 4 h of treatment with 100 ng/ml Gas6. Inhibition of Akt phosphorylation and abrogation of gas6-mediated survival of HUVECs by wortmannin implicated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase as the mediator of Akt phosphorylation. Dominant negative Akt constructs largely abrogated the protective effect of Gas6 on HUVECs, underscoring the importance of Akt activation in Gas6-mediated survival. Several downstream regulators of this survival pathway were identified in HUVECs, namely, NF-κB as well as the antiapoptotic and proapoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and caspase 3, respectively. We showed that NF-κB is phosphorylated early after Gas6 treatment as evidenced by doublet formation on Western blotting. As well, the level of Bcl-2 protein increased, supporting the notion that the Bcl-2 antiapoptotic pathway is stimulated. The levels of expression of the caspase 3 activation products p12 and p20 decreased with Gas6 treatment, consistent with a reduction in proapoptotic caspase 3 activation. Taken together, these experiments provide new information about the mechanism underlying Gas6 protection from apoptosis in primary endothelial cell cultures.

Summary. Gas6 is a novel member of the vitamin K-dependent family of c-carboxylated proteins and is a ligand for the receptor tyrosine kinase Axl. Gas6-Axl interactions have been shown to mediate cell survival in vascular endothelium. Although the receptor-binding portion of gas6 lies in the C-terminus, the significance of the N-terminal c-carboxylated residues (Gla domain) is not clear. To address this question, this study examines the role of the Gla domain in phospholipid binding as well as in the promotion of cell survival, especially in endothelial cells. The results show that carboxylated gas6 binds to phosphatidylserine-containing phospholipid membranes in an analogous manner to other c-carboxylated proteins whereas decarboxylated gas6 does not. The c-carboxylation inhibitor warfarin abrogates gas6-mediated protection of NIH3T3 fibroblasts from serum starvation-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, the role of c-carboxylation in gas6Õs survival effect on endothelium is demonstrated directly in that only carboxylated, but not decarboxylated, gas6 protects endothelial cells from serum starvation-induced apoptosis. c-carboxylation is also required for both Axl phosphorylation and PI 3 kinase activation. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that c-carboxylation is necessary not only for gas6 binding to phospholipid membranes, but also for gas6-mediated endothelial cell survival.

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Gas6 is a novel member of the vitamin K-dependent family of γ-carboxylated proteins and is a ligand for the receptor tyrosine kinase Axl. Gas6-Axl interactions have been shown to mediate cell survival in vascular endothelium. Although the receptor-binding portion of gas6 lies in the C-terminus, the significance of the N-terminal γ-carboxylated residues (Gla domain) is not clear. To address this question, we recombinantly produced both carboxylated and decarboxylated gas6 and confirmed that the latter is not γ-carboxylated by both Western blotting and fluorescence spectroscopy. Using DAPI staining and flow cytometry, we show that carboxylated gas6 mediates protection of endothelial cells from serum starvation-induced apoptosis whereas decarboxylated gas6 does not. Furthermore, carboxylated gas6, but not decarboxylated gas6, activates Axl and phosphorylates Akt during gas6-Axl-mediated protection of endothelial cells. Interestingly, although decarboxylated gas6 cannot activate Axl and rescue endothelium from serum starvation-induced apoptosis, it can inhibit the survival effect of carboxylated gas6. To further explore the properties of Gla domain of gas6, the binding each form of gas6 to endothelial cells was determined. Both carboxylated and decarboxylated gas6 bind to endothelial cells with an equal affinity of 50 nM. The binding of both forms of gas6 to endothelium is inhibited by an antibody to the extracellular domain of Axl thereby demonstrating that the Gla domain is not required for the direct binding of the C-terminus of gas6 to Axl. These findings support the conclusion that inhibition of gas6-mediated survival by decarboxylated gas6 is not mediated through inhibition of binding of gas6 to its receptor Axl. Rather, the Gla domain of gas6 has a key role by impacting Axl activation via heretofore unknown mechanism(s). Taken together, the results of this study suggest a novel role for γ-carboxylation in gas6 function.