Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) play key roles in the regulation of normal and pathological processes ranging from cell proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, and survival to many human diseases including cancer and diabetes. Functional studies of PTP can be greatly facilitated by small molecule probes that covalently label the active site of a PTP through an activity-dependent chemical reaction. In this communication, we characterize phenyl vinyl sulfonate (PVSN) and phenyl vinyl sulfone (PVS) as a new class of mechanism-based PTP probes. PVSN and PVS inactivate a broad range of PTPs in a time-and concentration-dependent fashion. The PVSN and PVS-mediated PTP inactivation is active site-directed and irreversible, resulting from a Michael addition of the active site Cys Sγ onto the terminal carbon of the vinyl group. Structural and mechanistic analyses reveal the molecular basis for the preference of PVSN/PVS toward the PTPs, which lies in the ability of PVSN and PVS to engage the conserved structural and catalytic machinery of the PTP active site. In contrast to early α-bromobenzyl phosphonate based probes, PVSN and PVS are resistant to solvolysis and are cell permeable, and thus hold promise for in vivo applications. Collectively, these properties bode well for the development of aryl vinyl sulfonates/sulfones based PTP probes to interrogate PTP activity in complex proteomes.

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) are involved in the regulation of many aspects of cellular activity including proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, migration, and survival. Given the large number and complexity of PTPs in cell signaling, new strategies are needed for the integrated analysis of PTPs in the whole proteome. Unfortunately, the activities of many PTPs are tightly regulated by posttranslational mechanisms, limiting the utility of standard genomics and proteomics methods for functional characterization of these enzymes. To facilitate the global analysis of PTPs, we designed and synthesized two activity-based probes that consist of ␣-bromobenzylphosphonate as a PTP-specific trapping device and a linker that connects the trapping device with a biotin tag for visualization and purification. We showed that these probes are active site-directed irreversible inactivators of PTPs and form a covalent adduct with PTPs involving the active site Cys residue. Additionally, we demonstrated that the probes are extremely specific toward PTPs while remaining inert to other proteins, including the whole proteome from Escherichia coli. Consequently, these activity-based PTP probes can be used to profile PTP activity in complex proteomes. The ability to interrogate the entire PTP family on the basis of changes in their activity should greatly accelerate both the assignment of PTP function and the identification of potential therapeutic targets. P rotein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) constitute a large family of signaling enzymes (Ͼ100 in humans) that are important for the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, migration, and survival (1, 2). Dysfunction in PTPs results in aberrant Tyr phosphorylation, which has been linked to the etiology of several human diseases, including cancer and diabetes (3, 4). Unlike protein kinases, of which Tyr-and Ser͞Thr-specific kinases share sequence identity, the PTPs show no sequence similarity with Ser͞Thr phosphatases or the broad-specificity phosphatases, such as acid or alkaline phosphatases. The hallmark that defines the PTP superfamily is the active site amino acid sequence C(X) 5 R, also called the PTP signature motif, in the catalytic domain. The PTPs can be broadly divided into two groups based on active site substrate specificity: the Tyr-specific and the dual-specificity phosphatases, which hydrolyze pSer͞Thr as well as pTyr. Despite variations in primary structure and differences in substrate specificity, key structural features in the active site and the mechanism of catalysis are conserved among all members of the PTP superfamily (5, 6).Although PTPs share a common catalytic mechanism, they have distinct (and often unique) biological functions in vivo. One of the major challenges in the field is to rapidly establish functional roles for PTPs, in both normal physiology and pathogenic conditions. Gene knockout analysis is useful in assessing the role of a number of PTPs in cellular signaling. However, this process is often tedious, and gene a...

Multiple peptide systems, including neuropeptide Y, leptin, ghrelin, and others, are involved with the control of food intake and body weight. The peptide LENSSPQAPARRLLPP (BigLEN) has been proposed to act through an unknown receptor to regulate body weight. In the present study, we used a combination of ligandbinding and receptor-activity assays to characterize a Gα i/o proteincoupled receptor activated by BigLEN in the mouse hypothalamus and Neuro2A cells. We then selected orphan G protein-coupled receptors expressed in the hypothalamus and Neuro2A cells and tested each for activation by BigLEN. G protein-coupled receptor 171 (GPR171) is activated by BigLEN, but not by the C terminally truncated peptide LittleLEN. The four C-terminal amino acids of BigLEN are sufficient to bind and activate GPR171. Overexpression of GPR171 leads to an increase, and knockdown leads to a decrease, in binding and signaling by BigLEN and the C-terminal peptide. In the hypothalamus GPR171 expression complements the expression of BigLEN, and its level and activity are elevated in mice lacking BigLEN. In mice, shRNA-mediated knockdown of hypothalamic GPR171 leads to a decrease in BigLEN signaling and results in changes in food intake and metabolism. The combination of GPR171 shRNA together with neutralization of BigLEN peptide by antibody absorption nearly eliminates acute feeding in food-deprived mice. Taken together, these results demonstrate that GPR171 is the BigLEN receptor and that the BigLEN-GPR171 system plays an important role in regulating responses associated with feeding and metabolism in mice.proSAAS | NPY/AgRP | neuroendocrine peptide | deorphanization | orexigenic

Centrosomal kinase Nek2 is overexpressed in different cancers, yet how it contributes toward tumorigenesis remains poorly understood. dNek2 overexpression in a Drosophila melanogaster model led to upregulation of Drosophila Wnt ortholog wingless (Wg), and alteration of cell migration markers—Rho1, Rac1 and E-cadherin (Ecad)—resulting in changes in cell shape and tissue morphogenesis. dNek2 overexpression cooperated with receptor tyrosine kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling to upregulate activated Akt, Diap1, Mmp1 and Wg protein to promote local invasion, distant seeding and metastasis. In tumor cell injection assays, dNek2 cooperated with Ras and Src signaling to promote aggressive colonization of tumors into different adult fly tissues. Inhibition of the PI3K pathway suppressed the cooperation of dNek2 with other growth pathways. Consistent with our fly studies, overexpression of human Nek2 in A549 lung adenocarcinoma and HEK293T cells led to activation of the Akt pathway and increase in β-catenin protein levels. Our computational approach identified a class of Nek2-inhibitory compounds and a novel drug-like pharmacophore that reversed the Nek2 overexpression phenotypes in flies and human cells. Our finding posits a novel role for Nek2 in promoting metastasis in addition to its currently defined role in promoting chromosomal instability. It provides a rationale for the selective advantage of centrosome amplification in cancer.

No abstract

Glomerular matrix accumulation is a hallmark of diabetic nephropathy. We showed that transactivation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is an important mediator of matrix upregulation in mesangial cells (MC) in response to high glucose (HG). Here, we study the mechanism of EGFR transactivation. In primary MC, EGFR transactivation by 1 h of HG (30 mM) was unaffected by inhibitors of protein kinase C, reactive oxygen species, or the angiotensin II AT1 receptor. However, general metalloprotease inhibition, as well as specific inhibitors of heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF), prevented both EGFR and downstream Akt activation. HB-EGF was released into the medium by 30 min of HG, and this depended on metalloprotease activity. One of the metalloproteases shown to cleave proHB-EGF is ADAM17 (TACE). HG, but not an osmotic control, activated ADAM17, and its inhibition prevented EGFR and Akt activation and HB-EGF release into the medium. siRNA to either ADAM17 or HB-EGF prevented HG-induced EGFR transactivation. We previously showed that EGFR/Akt signaling increases transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 transcription through the transcription factor activator protein (AP)-1. HG-induced AP-1 activation, as assessed by EMSA, was abrogated by inhibitors of metalloproteases, HB-EGF and ADAM17. HB-EGF and ADAM17 siRNA also prevented AP-1 activation. Finally, these inhibitors and siRNA prevented TGF-β1 upregulation by HG. Thus, HG-induced EGFR transactivation in MC is mediated by the release of HB-EGF, which requires activity of the metalloprotease ADAM17. The mechanism of ADAM17 activation awaits identification. Targeting upstream mediators of EGFR transactivation including HB-EGF or ADAM17 provides novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.

Several neuropeptide systems in the hypothalamus, including neuropeptide Y and agouti-related protein (AgRP), control food intake. Peptides derived from proSAAS, a precursor implicated in the regulation of body weight, also control food intake. GPR171 is a heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide–binding protein (G protein)– coupled receptor (GPCR) for BigLEN (b-LEN), a peptide derived from proSAAS. To facilitate studies exploring the physiological role of GPR171, we sought to identify small-molecule ligands for this receptor by performing a virtual screen of a compound library for interaction with a homology model of GPR171. We identified MS0015203 as an agonist of GPR171 and demonstrated the selectivity of MS0015203 for GPR171 by testing the binding of this compound to 80 other membrane proteins, including family A GPCRs. Reducing the expression of GPR171 by shRNA (short hairpin RNA)–mediated knockdown blunted the cellular and tissue response to MS0015203. Peripheral injection of MS0015203 into mice increased food intake and body weight, and these responses were significantly attenuated in mice with decreased expression of GPR171 in the hypothalamus. Together, these results suggest that MS0015203 is a useful tool to probe the pharmacological and functional properties of GPR171 and that ligands targeting GPR171 may eventually lead to therapeutics for food-related disorders.

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) consist of a large family of enzymes known to play important roles in controlling virtually all aspects of cellular processes. However, assigning functional significance of PTPs in normal physiology and in diseases remains a major challenge in cell signaling. Since the function of a PTP is directly associated with its intrinsic activity, which is subject to post-translational regulation, new tools are needed to monitor the dynamic activities of PTPs, rather than mere abundance, on a global scale within the physiologically relevant environment of cells. To meet this objective, we report the synthesis and characterization of two rhodamine-conjugated probes that covalently label the active site of the PTPs in an activity-dependent manner, thus providing a direct readout of PTP activity and superior sensitivity, robustness, and quantifiability to previously reported biotinylated probes. We present evidence that the fluorescent probes can be used to identify new PTP markers and targets for potential diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. We also show that the fluorescent probes are capable of monitoring H(2)O(2)-mediated PTP inactivation, which should facilitate the study of regulated H(2)O(2) production as a new tier of control over tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent signal transduction. The ability to profile the entire PTP family on the basis of changes in their activity is expected to yield new functional insights into pathways regulated by PTPs and contribute to the discovery of PTPs as novel therapeutic targets.