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Showing papers on "MG132 published in 2000"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Evidence is provided that PKC theta is functionally coupled to CD28 costimulation by virtue of its selective ability to activate the CD28RE/activator protein-1 (AP-1) element in the IL-2 gene promoter, which identifies a unique PKCtheta-mediated pathway for the costimulatory action of CD28, which involves activation of the IkappaB-kinase beta/IkappaB/NF-kappa B-signaling cascade.
Abstract: Protein kinase C-theta (PKCtheta) is a Ca(2+)-independent member of the PKC family that is selectively expressed in skeletal muscle and T lymphocytes and plays an important role in T cell activation. However, the molecular basis for the important functions of PKCtheta in T cells and the manner in which it becomes coupled to the T cell receptor-signaling machinery are unknown. We addressed the functional relationship between PKCtheta and CD28 costimulation, which plays an essential role in T cell receptor-mediated IL-2 production. Here, we provide evidence that PKCtheta is functionally coupled to CD28 costimulation by virtue of its selective ability to activate the CD28RE/activator protein-1 (AP-1) element in the IL-2 gene promoter. First, CD28 costimulation enhanced the membrane translocation and catalytic activation of PKCtheta. Second, among several PKC isoforms, PKCtheta was the only one capable of activating NF-kappaB or CD28RE/AP-1 reporters in T cells (but not in 293T cells). Third, wild-type PKCtheta synergized with CD28/CD3 signals to activate CD28RE/AP-1. In addition, PKCtheta selectively synergized with Tat to activate a CD28RE/AP-1 reporter. Fourth, CD3/CD28-induced CD28RE/AP-1 activation and NF-kappaB nuclear translocation were blocked by a selective PKCtheta inhibitor. Last, PKCtheta-mediated activation of the same reporter was inhibited by the proteasome inhibitor MG132 (which blocks IkappaB degradation) and was found to involve IkappaB-kinase beta. These findings identify a unique PKCtheta-mediated pathway for the costimulatory action of CD28, which involves activation of the IkappaB-kinase beta/IkappaB/NF-kappaB-signaling cascade.

297 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Inhibition of proteasomal degradation of AhR increases the amount of the nuclear AhR·Arnt complex and “superinduces” the expression of endogenous CYP1A1 gene by TCDD, indicating that the proteasome degradation ofAhR serves as a mechanism for controlling the activity of the activated receptor.

289 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The finding that 14‐3‐3s participate in a nutrient‐sensing pathway controlling cleavage of many targets may underlie the effects of these proteins on plant development.
Abstract: Despite 14-3-3 proteins being implicated in the control of the eukaryotic cell cycle, metabolism, cell signalling and survival, little is known about the global regulation or functions of the phosphorylation-dependent binding of 14-3-3s to diverse target proteins. We identified Arabidopsis cytosolic proteins that bound 14-3-3s in competition with a 14-3-3-binding phosphopeptide, including nitrate reductase, glyceraldehyde- 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, a calcium-dependent protein kinase, sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS) and glutamyl-tRNA synthetase. Remarkably, in cells starved of sugars or fed with non-metabolizable glucose analogues, all 14-3-3 binding was lost and the target proteins were selectively cleaved into proteolytic fragments. 14-3-3 binding reappeared after several hours of re-feeding with sugars. Starvation-induced degradation was blocked by 5-amino imidazole-4-carboxamide riboside (which is converted to an AMP-mimetic) or the protease inhibitor MG132 (Cbz-leu-leu-leucinal). Extracts of sugar-starved (but not sugar-fed) Arabidopsis cells contained an ATP-independent, MG132-sensitive, neutral protease that cleaved Arabidopsis SPS, and the mammalian 14-3-3-regulated transcription factor, FKHR. Cleavage of SPS and phosphorylated FKHR in vitro was blocked by binding to 14-3-3s. The finding that 14-3-3s participate in a nutrient-sensing pathway controlling cleavage of many targets may underlie the effects of these proteins on plant development.

195 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This is the first demonstration, to the authors' knowledge, of a quality control function in a propeptide domain of a secretory protein and represents an additional mechanism to ensure correct folding of proteins leaving the ER.
Abstract: Macrophage inhibitory cytokine (MIC-1), a divergent member of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily and activation associated cytokine, is secreted as a 28 kDa dimer. To understand its secretion, we examined its processing in MIC-1-transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells. Mature MIC-1 dimer arises post-endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by proteolytic cleavage of dimeric pro-MIC-1 precursor at a furin-like site. Unlike previously characterized TGF-β superfamily members, MIC-1 dimers are also secreted in constructs lacking the propeptide. A clue to the function of the propeptide came from the observation that a range of proteasome inhibitors, including lactacystin and MG132, cause major increases in levels of undimerized pro-MIC-1 precursor. There was no effect of proteasome inhibitors on cells expressing mature MIC-1 without the propeptide, suggesting that the propeptide can signal misfolding of MIC-1, leading to proteasomal degradation. Deletion mutagenesis showed the N-terminal 28 amino acids of the propeptide are necessary for proteasomal degradation. This is the first demonstration, to our knowledge, of a quality control function in a propeptide domain of a secretory protein and represents an additional mechanism to ensure correct folding of proteins leaving the ER.

145 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the mechanism by which T4 regulates its activation to T3 by the type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase (D2) and found that the fusion of FLAG epitope to the COOH terminus of D2 prolongs its half-life approximately 2.5-fold and increases the levels of active and especially, especially, Ub-D2.
Abstract: We investigated the mechanism by which T4 regulates its activation to T3 by the type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase (D2). D2 is a short- lived (t1/2 50 min), 31-kDa endoplasmic reticulum (ER) integral membrane selenoenzyme that generates intracellular T3. Inhibition of the ubiquitin (Ub) activating enzyme, E1, or MG132, a proteasome blocker, inhibits both the basal and substrate-induced acceleration of D2 degradation. Using a catalytically active transiently expressed FLAG-tagged-NH2-D2, we found rapid synthesis of high molecular mass (100-300 kDa) Ub-D2 conjugates that are catalytically inactive. Ub-D2 increases when cells are exposed to D2 substrate or MG132 and disappears rapidly after E1 inactivation. Fusion of FLAG epitope to the COOH terminus of D2 prolongs its half-life approximately 2.5-fold and increases the levels of active and, especially, Ub-D2. This indicates that COOH-terminal modification interferes with proteasomal uptake of Ub-D2 that can then be deubiquitinated. Interestingly, the type 1 deiodinase, a related selenoenzyme that also converts T4 to T3 but with a half-life of >12 h, is inactivated but not ubiquitinated or degraded after exposure to substrate. Thus, ubiquitination of the ER-resident enzyme D2 constitutes a specific posttranslational mechanism for T4 regulation of its own activation in the central nervous system and pituitary tissues in which D2-catalyzed T4 to T3 conversion is the major source of intracellular T3.

144 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is concluded that IGF-I can cause ligand-mediated degradation of IRS-1 via the ubiquitin-mediated 26S proteasome and a phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase-dependent mechanism and that control of degradation may have profound effects on downstream activation of signaling pathways.
Abstract: Insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) is a critical adapter protein involved in both insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling. Due to the fact that alteration of IRS-1 levels can affect the sensitivity and response to both insulin and IGF-I, we examined the ability of each of these ligands to affect IRS-1 expression. IGF-I (10 nM) stimulation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells caused a transient tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-1 that was maximal at 15 min and decreased thereafter. The decrease in tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-1 was paralleled by an apparent decrease in IRS-1 levels. The IGF-mediated decrease in IRS-1 expression was posttranscriptional and due to a decrease in the half-life of the IRS-1 protein. Insulin (10 nM) caused tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS-1 but not degradation, whereas high concentrations of insulin (10 microM) resulted in degradation of IRS-1. IGF-I (10 nM) stimulation resulted in transient IRS-1 phosphorylation and extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) activation. In contrast, insulin (10 nM) caused sustained IRS-1 phosphorylation and ERK activation. Inhibition of 26S proteasome activity by the use of lactacystin or MG132 completely blocked IGF-mediated degradation of IRS-1. Furthermore, coimmunoprecipitation experiments showed an association between ubiquitin and IRS-1 that was increased by treatment of cells with IGF-I. Finally, IGF-mediated degradation of IRS-1 was blocked by inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase activity but was not affected by inhibition of ERK, suggesting that this may represent a direct negative-feedback mechanism resulting from downstream IRS-1 signaling. We conclude that IGF-I can cause ligand-mediated degradation of IRS-1 via the ubiquitin-mediated 26S proteasome and a phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase-dependent mechanism and that control of degradation may have profound effects on downstream activation of signaling pathways.

134 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A relatively small, potentially amphipathic α‐helical region that is required for the rapid turnover of the phosphorylated Stat5 proteins is defined, consistent with a model in which the transcriptional activation domain of activated Stat5 is requiredfor its transcriptional activity and downregulation through a proteasome‐dependent pathway.
Abstract: Cytokines induce the tyrosine phosphorylation and associated activation of signal transducers and acti– vators of transcription (Stat). The mechanisms by which this response is terminated are largely unknown. Among a variety of inhibitors examined, the proteasome inhibitors MG132 and lactacystin affected Stat4, Stat5 and Stat6 turnover by significantly stabilizing the tyrosine-phosphorylated form. However, these proteasome inhibitors did not affect downregulation of the tyrosine-phosphorylated Stat1, Stat2 and Stat3. With Stat5 isoforms, we have observed that tyrosine-phosphorylated carboxyl-truncated forms of Stat5 proteins were considerably more stable than phos– phorylated wild-type forms of the protein. Also, the C–terminal region of Stat5 could confer proteasome-dependent downregulation to Stat1. With a series of C–terminal deletion mutants, we have defined a relatively small, potentially amphipathic α-helical region that is required for the rapid turnover of the phosphorylated Stat5 proteins. The region is also required for transcriptional activation, suggesting that the functions are linked. The results are consistent with a model in which the transcriptional activation domain of activated Stat5 is required for its transcriptional activity and downregulation through a proteasome-dependent pathway.

126 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Evidence is provided that PKCθ is functionally coupled to CD28 costimulation by virtue of its selective ability to activate the CD28RE/activator protein-1 (AP-1) element in the IL-2 gene promoter, which identifies a unique PKC θ-mediated pathway for the costimulatory action of CD28, which involves activation of the IκB-kinase β/IκB/NF-κB signaling cascade.
Abstract: Protein kinase C-θ (PKCθ) is a Ca2+-independent member of the PKC family that is selectively expressed in skeletal muscle and T lymphocytes and plays an important role in T cell activation. However, the molecular basis for the important functions of PKCθ in T cells and the manner in which it becomes coupled to the T cell receptor-signaling machinery are unknown. We addressed the functional relationship between PKCθ and CD28 costimulation, which plays an essential role in T cell receptor-mediated IL-2 production. Here, we provide evidence that PKCθ is functionally coupled to CD28 costimulation by virtue of its selective ability to activate the CD28RE/activator protein-1 (AP-1) element in the IL-2 gene promoter. First, CD28 costimulation enhanced the membrane translocation and catalytic activation of PKCθ. Second, among several PKC isoforms, PKCθ was the only one capable of activating NF-κB or CD28RE/AP-1 reporters in T cells (but not in 293T cells). Third, wild-type PKCθ synergized with CD28/CD3 signals to activate CD28RE/AP-1. In addition, PKCθ selectively synergized with Tat to activate a CD28RE/AP-1 reporter. Fourth, CD3/CD28-induced CD28RE/AP-1 activation and NF-κB nuclear translocation were blocked by a selective PKCθ inhibitor. Last, PKCθ-mediated activation of the same reporter was inhibited by the proteasome inhibitor MG132 (which blocks IκB degradation) and was found to involve IκB-kinase β. These findings identify a unique PKCθ-mediated pathway for the costimulatory action of CD28, which involves activation of the IκB-kinase β/IκB/NF-κB-signaling cascade.

123 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is proposed that the cytokine signaling inhibitor CIS is a key mediator of the STAT5b desensitization response seen in cells and tissues exposed to GH chronically, such as adult female rat liver.

118 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
15 Apr 2000-Blood
TL;DR: The results suggest that extracellular Ub was incorporated into hematopoietic cells and mediated their growth suppression and apoptosis through proteasome-dependent degradation of selective cellular proteins such as STAT3.

118 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The hypothesis that the balance between SAPK and protein phosphatases affects the duration and magnitude of ATF2 transcriptional output because of the effect on substrate recognition for ubiquitination and degradation is proposed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Sub substrate-induced loss of D2 activity is due to proteasomal degradation of the enzyme and requires interaction with the catalytic center of the protein.
Abstract: Type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase (D2) catalyzes the first step in thyroid hormone action, the deiodination of T4 to T3 . Endogenous D2 activity is posttranslationally regulated by substrate that accelerates its degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. To understand how D2 activity correlates with D2 protein during its normal decay and rT3-induced down-regulation, HEK-293 cells, transiently expressing human D2, were labeled with Na75SeO3 and then treated with 100μ m cycloheximide (CX), 30 nm rT3, and/or 10 μm MG132, a specific proteasome inhibitor, for 2–4 h. D2 protein and enzyme activity changed in parallel, disappearing with a half-life of 2 h in the presence of CX, or 1 h when CX + rT3 were combined. Treatment with MG132 blocked these effects. We created selenocysteine (Sec) 133 to cysteine (Cys) or alanine (Ala) D2 mutants, without changing Sec 266. The CysD2 activity and protein levels were also parallel, with a similar half-life of approximately 2 h, whereas the rT3-induced D2 down-regul...

Journal ArticleDOI
08 Jun 2000-Oncogene
TL;DR: The results suggest that proteasome inhibition leads to upregulation of specific members of transcription factor families controlling cellular stress response and proliferation.
Abstract: The ubiquitin/proteasome pathway has been implicated in a wide variety of cellular processes and the number of substrates degraded by the proteasome is impressive. Most prominently, the stability of a large number of transcription factors is regulated by ubiquitination. To elucidate pathways regulated by the proteasome, gene expression profiles were generated, comparing changes of mRNA expression of 7900 genes from the UniGene collection upon exposure of cells to the proteasome inhibitors Lactacystin, Lactacystin-β-lactone or MG132 by means of microarray based cDNA hybridization. The three profiles were very similar, but differed significantly from a gene expression profile generated with the histone deacetylase inhibitor Trapoxin A, indicating that the observed alterations were indeed due to proteasome inhibition. Two of the most prominently induced genes encoded the growth arrest and DNA damage inducible protein Gadd153 and the activating transcription factor ATF3, both transcription factors of the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) family. A third gene encoded for the transcriptional repressor and c-Myc antagonist Mad1. Our results suggest that proteasome inhibition leads to upregulation of specific members of transcription factor families controlling cellular stress response and proliferation.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jul 2000-Blood
TL;DR: It is shown that only specific—not nonspecific—proteasomal inhibitors can discriminate between malignant and normal lymphocytes in inducing the apoptotic death response, and raises the possibility that two different proteolytic pathways controlling p53 stability may be pathologically imbalanced.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The data support a model for ER-associated degradation in which both the release of a soluble nonglycosylated protein from BiP and its retrotranslocation out of the ER are tightly coupled with proteasome activity.
Abstract: Unassembled immunoglobulin light chains expressed by the mouse plasmacytoma cell line NS1 (kappa(NS1)) are degraded in vivo with a half-life of 50-60 min in a way that closely resembles endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated degradation (). Here we show that the peptide aldehydes MG132 and PS1 and the specific proteasome inhibitor lactacystin effectively increased the half-life of kappa(NS1), arguing for a proteasome-mediated degradation pathway. Subcellular fractionation and protease protection assays have indicated an ER localization of kappa(NS1) upon proteasome inhibition. This was independently confirmed by the analysis of the folding state of kappa(NS1) and size fractionation experiments showing that the immunoglobulin light chain remained bound to the ER chaperone BiP when the activity of the proteasome was blocked. Moreover, kinetic studies performed in lactacystin-treated cells revealed a time-dependent increase in the physical stability of the BiP-kappa(NS1) complex, suggesting that additional proteins are present in the older complex. Together, our data support a model for ER-associated degradation in which both the release of a soluble nonglycosylated protein from BiP and its retrotranslocation out of the ER are tightly coupled with proteasome activity.

Journal Article
TL;DR: It is found that exposure of cultured primary human keratinocytes to UV irradiation substantially reduced RARγ and RXRα mRNA and protein within 8 h, and this indicates that ubiquitin/proteasome-mediated breakdown is an important mechanism regulating the levels of nuclear retinoid receptors.
Abstract: Repeated exposure of human skin to solar UV radiation leads to premature aging (photoaging) and skin cancer. UV-induced skin damage can be ameliorated by all-trans retinoic acid treatment. The actions of retinoic acid in skin keratinocytes are mediated primarily by nuclear retinoic acid receptor gamma (RARgamma) and retinoid X receptor alpha (RXRalpha). We found that exposure of cultured primary human keratinocytes to UV irradiation (30 mJ/cm2) substantially reduced (50-90%) RARgamma and RXRalpha mRNA and protein within 8 h. The rates of disappearance of RARgamma and RXRalpha proteins after UV exposure or treatment with the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide were similar. UV irradiation did not increase the rate of breakdown of RARgamma or RXRalpha but rather reduced their rate of synthesis. The addition of proteasome inhibitors MG132 and LLvL, but not the lysosomal inhibitor E64, prevented loss of RARgamma and RXRalpha proteins after exposure of keratinocytes to either UV radiation or cycloheximide. Soluble extracts from nonirradiated or UV-irradiated keratinocytes possessed similar levels of proteasome activity that degraded RARgamma and RXRalpha proteins in vitro. Furthermore, RARgamma and RXRalpha were polyubiquitinated in intact cells. RXRalpha was found to contain two proline, glutamate/aspartate, serine, and threonine (PEST) motifs, which confer rapid turnover of many short-lived regulatory proteins that are degraded by the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway. However, the PEST motifs in RXRalpha did not function to regulate its stability, because deletion of the PEST motifs individually or together did not alter ubiquitination or proteasome-mediated degradation of RXRalpha. These results demonstrate that loss of RARgamma and RXRalpha proteins after UV irradiation results from degradation via the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway. Taken together, the data here indicate that ubiquitin/proteasome-mediated breakdown is an important mechanism regulating the levels of nuclear retinoid receptors.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reveal the mechanism of suppression of NF-κB activity by A238Lp, an open reading frame from African swine fever virus (ASFV), encoding a protein with 40% homology to porcine IκBα exerts a potent anti-inflammatory effect in host macrophages.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that during G1 phase, but not in G2, MyoD abundance is down-regulated by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway through phosphorylation of serine 200, which represents the regulatory checkpoint in growing myoblasts allowing progression into S phase in a manner similar to the recently examplified cdk2-phosphorylation/degradation of p27(Kip1).


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that UV can exert biological effects mainly by affecting cell surface receptors and that this is independent of its ability to induce nuclear DNA damage.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: By regulating intracellular levels of precursor IL‐1β, the proteasome plays an important and previously unrecognized role in controlling the amount of biologically active IL-1β that is exported by activated monocytes.
Abstract: Interleukin-1beta is a secreted protein that accumulates in the cytosol as an inactive precursor (pIL-1beta) before processing and release of biologically active protein. To understand the impact of this property on IL-1beta production, we examined the intracellular stability of pIL-1beta in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human monocytes. Precursor IL-1beta was degraded with a relatively short half-life of 2.5 h in the promonocytic cell line, THP-1, and in primary monocytes. MG132 (carbobenzoxyl-leucinyl-leucinyl-leucinal) stabilized pIL-1beta levels in THP-1 cells, suggesting that degradation was proteasome-mediated, but this inhibitor was toxic for primary monocytes, causing release of pIL-1beta as well as the cytoplasmic enzyme, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) into supernatants. In contrast, clasto-lactacystin beta-lactone, a specific inhibitor of the proteasome, caused a dose-dependent stabilization of intracellular pIL-1beta, and this led to a corresponding increase in mIL-1beta and pIL-1beta but not LDH release into culture supernatants. Therefore, by regulating intracellular levels of precursor IL-1beta, the proteasome plays an important and previously unrecognized role in controlling the amount of biologically active IL-1beta that is exported by activated monocytes.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is concluded that 26S proteasomes are mainly involved in the degradation of TPH, and a PEST sequence that is widely shared among short-lived proteins has been recognized.
Abstract: Previously we demonstrated that tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) undergoes very fast turnover driven by ATP-dependent proteolysis in serotonin producing mast cells [Hasegawa et al. (1995) FEBS Lett. 368, 151-154]. We searched for the major proteases involved in the rapid degradation of TPH in RBL2H3 cells. Among various protease inhibitors tested, proteasome inhibitors MG115, MG101, MG132, and lactacystin effectively inhibited the intracellular degradation of TPH. Administration of the proteasome inhibitors to cultured cells caused more than a 5-fold accumulation of TPH. Administration of the inhibitors together with cycloheximide stabilized the amount of TPH with no appreciable increase or decrease. Although MG-series proteasome inhibitors could inhibit calpain, the involvement of calpain was excluded since the cysteine protease inhibitor E-64-d, which acts on calpain, had no effect. Extracts of RBL2H3 cells were shown to contain a protease that digests TPH in an ATP-dependent manner and is sensitive to proteasome inhibitors. The ubiquitination of TPH could be visualized by Western blot analysis using both anti-TPH and anti-ubiquitin antibodies. Based on these results, we conclude that 26S proteasomes are mainly involved in the degradation of TPH. In the reported amino acid sequences of TPH from various sources including human, rabbit, rat, and mouse, a PEST sequence that is widely shared among short-lived proteins has been recognized. It was noted that the PEST sequence lies within the most conserved portion of the enzyme, the pteridine binding site.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of proteasome inhibitors such as MG132 and N-acetyl-L-leucinyl (L-LEUCINYL) on apoptosis and NF-kappaB activation induced by etoposide, using a human leukemia cell line (U937) and leukemia blasts freshly isolated from patients with acute leukemia.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Observations indicate that prolonged inhibition of the ubiquitin-26S-proteasome results in cardiomyocyte apoptosis accompanied by increased ubiquinated proteins, thus suggesting that accumulation of these abnormal proteins may act as a signal to activate the cell death program.
Abstract: Intracellular proteases play an important role in the regulation of apoptosis. A study was performed to determine whether inhibition of the cardiac ATP-dependent ubiquitin 26S protease complex affects cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Isolated rat hearts were perfused for up to 80 min with Krebs-Henseleit buffer +/- the 26S-proteasome inhibitor, MG132 (Z-leu-leu-leucinal). TUNEL-staining of hearts perfused with 25 microM MG132 for 50 min revealed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the apoptotic index from 1.1% to 15.5% when compared with control hearts perfused with buffer only. Histology of adjacent myocardial sections revealed no signs of necrotic or late apoptotic (nuclear condensation) changes, indicating that the TUNEL-positive nuclei were in the early stages of apoptosis. This early stage of apoptosis was associated with a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in cardiac function. There was a 63% decrease in the rate pressure product in hearts perfused with 25 microM MG132 as compared with a 35% decrease in control hearts over the 80-min perfusion period. Soluble ubiquitin-conjugated proteins, as detected by probing with a specific antibody to ubiquitin, were increased in MG132-treated hearts. In hearts perfused with 50 microM MG132, a greater accumulation of ubiquinated proteins was observed accompanied by a more rapid and greater reduction in hemodynamic function. These observations indicate that prolonged inhibition of the ubiquitin-26S-proteasome results in cardiomyocyte apoptosis accompanied by increased ubiquinated proteins, thus suggesting that accumulation of these abnormal proteins may act as a signal to activate the cell death program.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Impairment of proteasome-dependent proteolysis rescued some, but not all, temperature-sensitive defects of anu2Δ cells, providing evidence that ε-COP plays a critical role in maintaining the structural integrity of α-C COP.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors suggest an alternative strategy: the delivery of epitopes directly to the cell cytosol in a proteasome bypass mechanism of processing, useful for the development of efficient synthetic cell-free vaccines.
Abstract: Summary: The development of a cell-free synthetic vaccine to induce an effective cytotoxic T lymphocyte response is an important challenge in T-cell–mediated immunity. Because standard vaccinations with nominal epitopes were found to be only partially effective in vivo, the authors suggest an alternative strategy: the delivery of epitopes directly to the cell cytosol in a proteasome bypass mechanism of processing. Two model peptides, the presentation level on the cell surface of which can be directly assessed, were conjugated via a cross-linker to an internalization peptide derived from an antennapedia homeobox protein. The linker was designed to undergo spontaneous hydrolysis, after which the epitope is subsequently released. The conjugates were shown to enter RMA and P815 cells, where the epitopes were released mainly in cytosol and endogenously loaded on the major histocompatibility complex class I molecules to be presented on the cell surface. Concomitant inhibition of proteasome activity by MG132 significantly increased the presentation level of both model peptides, indicating proteasome-independent processing. This phenomenon was exploited to enhance the immunogenicity of the conjugates. Conjugates were emulsified with MG132 in incomplete Freund's adjuvant and injected into mouse footpads. Analysis of the draining lymph nodes indicated an increase in the percentage of both CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes. In vitro cytolytic assays implied significant, albeit moderate, priming only when the proteasome inhibitor was administered with the conjugate. This approach may be useful for the development of efficient synthetic cell-free vaccines.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that TIM is degraded through the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway, and it was shown that light-induced TIM tyrosine phosphorylation is a prerequisite for degradation.