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Imre G, Berthelet J, Heering J, Kehrloesser S, Melzer IM, Lee BI, Thiede B, Dötsch V, Rajalingam K. Apoptosis inhibitor 5 is an endogenous inhibitor of caspase-2. EMBO Rep 2017; 18:733-744. [PMID: 28336776 DOI: 10.15252/embr.201643744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2016] [Revised: 02/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Caspases are key enzymes responsible for mediating apoptotic cell death. Across species, caspase-2 is the most conserved caspase and stands out due to unique features. Apart from cell death, caspase-2 also regulates autophagy, genomic stability and ageing. Caspase-2 requires dimerization for its activation which is primarily accomplished by recruitment to high molecular weight protein complexes in cells. Here, we demonstrate that apoptosis inhibitor 5 (API5/AAC11) is an endogenous and direct inhibitor of caspase-2. API5 protein directly binds to the caspase recruitment domain (CARD) of caspase-2 and impedes dimerization and activation of caspase-2. Interestingly, recombinant API5 directly inhibits full length but not processed caspase-2. Depletion of endogenous API5 leads to an increase in caspase-2 dimerization and activation. Consistently, loss of API5 sensitizes cells to caspase-2-dependent apoptotic cell death. These results establish API5/AAC-11 as a direct inhibitor of caspase-2 and shed further light onto mechanisms driving the activation of this poorly understood caspase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gergely Imre
- MSU-FZI, Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center Mainz, JGU, Mainz, Germany
| | - Jean Berthelet
- MSU-FZI, Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center Mainz, JGU, Mainz, Germany
| | - Jan Heering
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry and Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Sebastian Kehrloesser
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry and Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Inga Maria Melzer
- MSU-FZI, Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center Mainz, JGU, Mainz, Germany
| | - Byung Il Lee
- Division of Convergence Technology, Biomolecular Function Research Branch, National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
| | - Bernd Thiede
- Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Volker Dötsch
- Institute of Biophysical Chemistry and Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Krishnaraj Rajalingam
- MSU-FZI, Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center Mainz, JGU, Mainz, Germany .,UCT, Mainz, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Frankfurt/Mainz, Frankfurt, Germany.,German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
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Eißmann M, Schwamb B, Melzer IM, Moser J, Siele D, Köhl U, Rieker RJ, Wachter DL, Agaimy A, Herpel E, Baumgarten P, Mittelbronn M, Rakel S, Kögel D, Böhm S, Gutschner T, Diederichs S, Zörnig M. A functional yeast survival screen of tumor-derived cDNA libraries designed to identify anti-apoptotic mammalian oncogenes. PLoS One 2013; 8:e64873. [PMID: 23717670 PMCID: PMC3661464 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2012] [Accepted: 04/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Yeast cells can be killed upon expression of pro-apoptotic mammalian proteins. We have established a functional yeast survival screen that was used to isolate novel human anti-apoptotic genes overexpressed in treatment-resistant tumors. The screening of three different cDNA libraries prepared from metastatic melanoma, glioblastomas and leukemic blasts allowed for the identification of many yeast cell death-repressing cDNAs, including 28% of genes that are already known to inhibit apoptosis, 35% of genes upregulated in at least one tumor entity and 16% of genes described as both anti-apoptotic in function and upregulated in tumors. These results confirm the great potential of this screening tool to identify novel anti-apoptotic and tumor-relevant molecules. Three of the isolated candidate genes were further analyzed regarding their anti-apoptotic function in cell culture and their potential as a therapeutic target for molecular therapy. PAICS, an enzyme required for de novo purine biosynthesis, the long non-coding RNA MALAT1 and the MAST2 kinase are overexpressed in certain tumor entities and capable of suppressing apoptosis in human cells. Using a subcutaneous xenograft mouse model, we also demonstrated that glioblastoma tumor growth requires MAST2 expression. An additional advantage of the yeast survival screen is its universal applicability. By using various inducible pro-apoptotic killer proteins and screening the appropriate cDNA library prepared from normal or pathologic tissue of interest, the survival screen can be used to identify apoptosis inhibitors in many different systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moritz Eißmann
- Chemotherapeutisches Forschungsinstitut Georg-Speyer-Haus, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | - Bettina Schwamb
- Chemotherapeutisches Forschungsinstitut Georg-Speyer-Haus, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | - Inga Maria Melzer
- Chemotherapeutisches Forschungsinstitut Georg-Speyer-Haus, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | - Julia Moser
- Chemotherapeutisches Forschungsinstitut Georg-Speyer-Haus, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | - Dagmar Siele
- Chemotherapeutisches Forschungsinstitut Georg-Speyer-Haus, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | - Ulrike Köhl
- Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, IFB-Tx, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | | | | | - Abbas Agaimy
- Institute for Pathology, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Esther Herpel
- Institute of Pathology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Peter Baumgarten
- Institute of Neurology (Edinger Institute), Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | | | - Stefanie Rakel
- Experimental Neurosurgery, Center for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Goethe University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | - Donat Kögel
- Experimental Neurosurgery, Center for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Goethe University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | - Stefanie Böhm
- Chemotherapeutisches Forschungsinstitut Georg-Speyer-Haus, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
| | - Tony Gutschner
- Helmholtz-University-Group Molecular RNA Biology & Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sven Diederichs
- Helmholtz-University-Group Molecular RNA Biology & Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Martin Zörnig
- Chemotherapeutisches Forschungsinstitut Georg-Speyer-Haus, Frankfurt/Main, Germany
- * E-mail:
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Eißmann M, Melzer IM, Fernández SBM, Michel G, Hrabě de Angelis M, Hoefler G, Finkenwirth P, Jauch A, Schoell B, Grez M, Schmidt M, Bartholomae CC, Newrzela S, Haetscher N, Rieger MA, Zachskorn C, Mittelbronn M, Zörnig M. Overexpression of the anti-apoptotic protein AVEN contributes to increased malignancy in hematopoietic neoplasms. Oncogene 2012; 32:2586-91. [PMID: 22751129 DOI: 10.1038/onc.2012.263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
AVEN has been identified as an inhibitor of apoptosis, which binds to the adaptor protein, APAF-1, and thereby prevents apoptosome formation and mitochondrial apoptosis. Recent data have demonstrated high expression levels of AVEN messenger RNA in acute leukemias as well as a positive correlation between AVEN mRNA overexpression and poor prognosis in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. On the basis of these data, we investigated the potential involvement of AVEN in tumorigenesis. First, we confirmed the overexpression of AVEN in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (T-ALL) patient samples. We then established a transgenic mouse model with T-cell-specific overexpression of AVEN, with which we demonstrated the oncogenic cooperation of AVEN with heterozygous loss of p53. Finally, we used a subcutaneous xenograft mouse model to show that AVEN knockdown in the T-ALL cell lines, MOLT-4 and CCRF-CEM, and in the acute myeloblastic leukemia cell line, Kasumi-1, leads to a halt in tumor growth owing to the increased apoptosis and decreased proliferation of tumor cells. Collectively, our data demonstrate that the anti-apoptotic molecule, AVEN, functions as an oncoprotein in hematopoietic neoplasms.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Eißmann
- Chemotherapeutisches Forschungsinstitut Georg-Speyer-Haus, Frankfurt, Germany
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John von Freyend S, Rosenqvist H, Fink A, Melzer IM, Clos J, Jensen ON, Wiese M. LmxMPK4, an essential mitogen-activated protein kinase of Leishmania mexicana is phosphorylated and activated by the STE7-like protein kinase LmxMKK5. Int J Parasitol 2010; 40:969-78. [PMID: 20178803 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2010.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2009] [Revised: 02/08/2010] [Accepted: 02/09/2010] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The essential mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase), LmxMPK4, of Leishmania mexicana is minimally active when purified following recombinant expression in Escherichia coli and was therefore unsuitable for drug screening until now. Using an E. coli protein co-expression system we identified LmxMKK5, a STE7-like protein kinase from L. mexicana, which phosphorylates and activates recombinant LmxMPK4 in vitro. LmxMKK5 is comprised of 525 amino acids and has a calculated molecular mass of 55.9kDa. The co-expressed, purified LmxMPK4 showed strong phosphotransferase activity in radiometric kinase assays and was confirmed by immunoblot and tandem mass spectrometry analyses to be phosphorylated on threonine 190 and tyrosine 192 of the typical TXY MAP kinase activation motif. The universal protein kinase inhibitor staurosporine reduced the phosphotransferase activity of co-expressed and activated LmxMPK4 in a dose-dependent manner. To our knowledge this is the first time that an in vitro activator of an essential Leishmania MAP kinase was identified and our findings form the basis for the development of drug screening assays to identify small molecule inhibitors of LmxMPK4 in the search for new therapeutic drugs against leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona John von Freyend
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, 27 Taylor Street, Glasgow G40NR, UK
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