Wilson disease is a severe genetic disorder associated with intracellular copper overload. The affected gene, ATP7B, has been identified, but the molecular events leading to Wilson disease remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that genetically engineered Atp7b-/- mice represent a valuable model for dissecting the disease mechanisms. These mice, like Wilson disease patients, have intracellular copper accumulation, low-serum oxidase activity, and increased copper excretion in urine. Their liver pathology developed in stages and was determined by the time of exposure to elevated copper rather than copper concentration per se. The disease progressed from mild necrosis and inflammation to extreme hepatocellular injury, nodular regeneration, and bile duct proliferation. Remarkably, all animals older than 9 months showed regeneration of large portions of the liver accompanied by the localized occurrence of cholangiocarcinoma arising from the proliferating bile ducts. The biochemical characterization of Atp7b-/- livers revealed copper accumulation in several cell compartments, particularly in the cytosol and nuclei. The increase in nuclear copper is accompanied by marked enlargement of the nuclei and enhanced DNA synthesis, with these changes occurring before pathology development. Our results suggest that the early effects of copper on cell genetic material contribute significantly to pathology associated with Atp7b inactivation.

Copper is a trace element essential for normal cell homeostasis. The major physiological role of copper is to serve as a cofactor to a number of key metabolic enzymes. In humans, genetic defects of copper distribution, such as Wilson's disease, lead to severe pathologies, including neurodegeneration, liver lesions, and behavior abnormalities. Here, we demonstrate that, in addition to its role as a cofactor, copper can regulate important posttranslational events such as protein phosphorylation. Specifically, in human cells copper modulates phosphorylation of a key copper transporter, the Wilson's disease protein (WNDP). Copper-induced phosphorylation of WNDP is rapid, specific, and reversible and correlates with the intracellular location of this copper transporter. WNDP is found to have at least two phosphorylation sites, a basal phosphorylation site and a site modified in response to increased copper concentration. Comparative analysis of WNDP, the WNDP pineal isoform, and WNDP C-terminal truncation mutants revealed that the basal phosphorylation site is located in the C-terminal Ser All living organisms require copper for growth and development. Copper is an integral cofactor for numerous enzymes that play key roles in various cell processes, including oxidative metabolism, neurotransmitter synthesis, free radical detoxification, and iron uptake (1-3). Either copper deficiency or copper accumulation is deleterious to cells, and the intracellular concentration of cooper is tightly controlled. Two homologous proteins, products of the ATP7A (Menkes disease) and ATP7B (Wilson's disease) genes, are essential for transmembrane transport of copper in mammalian cells (4 -6). Mutations in these genes cause severe pathologies in humans associated either with inborn copper deficiency (Menkes disease) or with vast accumulation of copper in tissues (Wilson's disease). Both Menkes and Wilson's disease proteins (WNDP) 1 are coppertransporting P-type ATPases that utilize energy of ATP hydrolysis to transport copper from the cytosol across cell membranes (7-9). Recent studies indicate that copper plays an active role in regulation of its own metabolism, modulating gene transcription, copper uptake, and protein trafficking (10 -13). Although the ability of copper to regulate these cellular events is firmly established, the precise molecular mechanisms through which copper acts are poorly understood. In this study we demonstrate that in human cells changes in copper concentration are "translated" into alterations of the phosphorylation levels for at least one protein target, WNDP. Phosphorylation of WNDP in response to copper is likely to represent a regulatory event, because it is rapid, specific, and reversible and has association with another cellular process, the subcellular redistribution of WNDP. We conclude that protein phosphorylation could be one of the molecular mechanisms by which copper regulates its own metabolism. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Treatment of Cells with Various Metals-Human hepatoma (HepG2)and hepatocarci...

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-␣) production is abnormally high in IntroductionThe Fanconi anemia (FA) proteins play an important role in regulating genome stability, 1 but there is little evidence that the loss of the genoprotection per se in FA cells accounts for the molecular pathogenesis of the bone-marrow failure characteristic of this disease. In fact there is evidence that at least some of these proteins are multifunctional 2 and participate in canonical signaling pathways in hematopoietic cells. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Fanconi anemia, complementation group C (FANCC)-deficient cells, for example, are hypersensitive to the apoptotic effects of tumor necrosis factor-␣ (TNF-␣). [4][5][6][7][8][9] In addition, FA cells overproduce TNF-␣ for reasons that have not yet been fully explained. [10][11][12] Most importantly, there is clear evidence that overproduction of and hypersensitivity to TNF-␣ in hematopoietic cells of Fancc Ϫ/Ϫ mice results in bone marrow hypoplasia 13,14 and that long-term ex vivo exposure of murine Fancc Ϫ/Ϫ hematopoietic cells to both growth factors and TNF-␣ results in the evolution of cytogenetically marked preleukemic clones. 9 Therefore, the hematopoietic phenotype of FA may evolve from the overproduction of precisely the cytokine to which FA stem cells are hypersensitive. We designed gene expression microarray experiments by using marrow cells from both patients with FA and normal volunteers in part to seek potential clues to the mechanisms by which FA cells overproduce TNF-␣.Recognizing that transcriptomal analysis would not reveal aspects of the FA phenotype that were controlled translationally or posttranslationally, we also conducted a proteomics analysis. We based our experimental design on an accepted function of the FA "nuclear core complex," that is, its capacity to facilitate monoubiquitinylation of both Fanconi anemia, complementation group I and Fanconi anemia, complementation group D2 (FANCD2). 15,16 Although it is clear that monoubiquitinylation, at least of FANCD2, is required for the avoidance of genotoxicity, 17 it seemed to us unlikely that 8 individual FA genes encoding the "core complex proteins" should have evolved to control the monoubiquitinylation of merely 1 or 2 nuclear proteins. Therefore, reasoning that ubiquitinylation of a variety of other proteins might also be influenced by the core FA proteins, we designed a proteomics survey of ubiquitinylated proteins in FA-C cells and isogenic controls. We reasoned that this approach might lead to the identification of other proteins underubiquitinylated in mutant cells. As reported herein, the gene expression microarray analysis revealed a significant overrepresentation of overexpressed ubiquitin pathway genes in the mutant cells. We therefore took into account the alternative possibility that some ubiquitinylated proteins might be found uniquely in the mutant cells.Indeed, one such protein, Toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8), did appear in the ubiquitin-positive fractions only in FANCC-mutant cells. Given that TLR8 activ...

Fanconi anemia, complementation group C (FANCC)-deficient hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells are hypersensitive to a variety of inhibitory cytokines, one of which, TNF␣, can induce BM failure and clonal evolution in Fancc-deficient mice. FANCC-deficient macrophages are also hypersensitive to TLR activation and produce TNF␣ in an unrestrained fashion. Reasoning that suppression of inhibitory cytokine production might enhance hematopoiesis, we screened small molecules using TLR agonist-stimulated FANCCand Fanconi anemia, complementation IntroductionBM failure is a nearly universal complication of Fanconi anemia (FA), an inherited disease caused by biallelic inactivating mutations of any one of 15 genes. [1][2][3][4] FA gene products collectively facilitate responses to DNA damage, 1 and therefore it is often presumed (notwithstanding a lack of direct evidence supporting the idea) that hematopoietic defects simply reflect attrition of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that have specifically suffered excessive DNA damage. An alternative explanation is that the FA proteins are multifunctional and play a direct role in stem cell maintenance, and therefore, DNA damage in FA HSCs is not necessarily required to suppress their function. [5][6][7][8][9] In normal cells, for example, Fanconi anemia, complementation group C (FANCC) modulates the hematopoietic inhibitory effects of TNF␣, IFN␥, and MIP-1␣, each of which normally function to suppress hematopoiesis. 6,10-12 FANCC influences TNF␣ responsiveness at least in part by modulating the activation state of the IFN-inducible double-stranded RNA activated protein kinase. 13 FANCC also suppresses the activation potential of certain TLR pathways in normal mononuclear phagocytes. 14 Therefore, in hematopoietic tissues, FANCC deficiency results in a TLR-dependent overproduction of TNF␣, one of the cytokines to which the stem-cell pool is uniquely intolerant. 10,[15][16][17][18][19] These abnormalities are important elements in the pathogenesis of BM failure. 6,20 There is also experimental evidence that this TNF␣-inhibitory loop is a selective pressure that enhances the ultimate emergence of TNF-resistant leukemic and preleukemic clones. [21][22][23] Therefore, interdiction of TNF␣-induced BM failure, particularly in ways that might have an additional favorable influence on IFN␥-and MIP-1␣-activated signaling pathways, may improve BM function and reduce the likelihood of clonal evolution by improving the fitness landscape and altering the coefficient of selection. 21 Seeking small molecules with these attributes, in the present study we exploited the TLR-hypersensitive phenotype as a screening tool to identify therapeutic agents that might suppress that pathway in FA cells. Using a TLR8-hypersensitive, FANCCdeficient mononuclear phagocyte cell line that we described previously, 14 we screened 75 small molecules, approximately 50 of which were kinase inhibitors. We identified 2 inhibitors, BIRB 796 and dasatinib, that functioned to suppress the TLR-dependent overproduction...