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Coagulation factor XII (FXII) drives production of the inflammatory peptide bradykinin. Pathological mutations in the F12 gene, which encodes FXII, provoke acute tissue swelling in hereditary angioedema (HAE). Interestingly, a recently identified F12 mutation, causing a W268R substitution, is not associated with HAE. Instead, FXII-W268R carriers experience cold-inducible urticarial rash, arthralgia, fever, and fatigue. Here, we aimed to investigate the molecular characteristics of the FXII-W268R variant. We expressed wild type FXII (FXII-WT), FXII-W268R, and FXII-T309R (which causes HAE), as well as other FXII variants in HEK293 freestyle cells. Using chromogenic substrate assays, immunoblotting, and ELISA, we analyzed expression media, cell lysates, and purified proteins for FXII activation. Recombinant FXII-W268R forms increased amounts of intracellular cleavage products that are also present in expression medium and display enzymatic activity. The active site-incapacitated variant FXII-W268R/S544A reveals that intracellular fragmentation is largely dependent on autoactivation. Purified FXII-W268R is highly sensitive to activation by plasma kallikrein and plasmin, compared with FXII-WT or FXII-T309R. Furthermore, binding studies indicated that the FXII-W268R variant leads to the exposure of a plasminogen-binding site that is cryptic in FXII-WT. In plasma, recombinant FXII-W268R spontaneously triggers high-molecular-weight kininogen cleavage. Our findings suggest that the W268R substitution influences FXII protein conformation and exposure of the activation loop, which is concealed in FXII-WT. This results in intracellular autoactivation and constitutive low-grade secretion of activated FXII. These findings help to explain the chronically increased contact activation in carriers of the FXII-W268R variant., (© 2020 Hofman et al.)

ADAM15, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase, is capable of counteracting genotoxic stress-induced apoptosis by the suppression of caspase-3 activation. A cell line expressing the membrane-bound ADAM15 without its cytoplasmic tail, however, lost this anti-apoptotic property, suggesting a crucial role of the intracellular domain as a scaffold for recruitment of survival signal-transducing kinases. Accordingly, an enhanced phosphorylation of FAK at Tyr-397, Tyr-576, and Tyr-861 was detected upon genotoxic stress by camptothecin in ADAM15-transfected T/C28a4 cells, but not in transfectants expressing an ADAM15 mutant without the cytoplasmic tail. Accordingly, a specific binding of the cytoplasmic ADAM15 domain to the C terminus of FAK could be shown by mammalian two-hybrid, pulldown, and far Western studies. In cells expressing full-length ADAM15, a concomitant activation of Src at Tyr-416 was detected upon camptothecin exposure. Cells transfected with a chimeric construct consisting of the extracellular IL-2 receptor α-chain and the cytoplasmic ADAM15 domain were IL-2-stimulated to prove that the ADAM15 tail can transduce a percepted extracellular signal to enhance FAK and Src phosphorylation. Our studies further demonstrate Src binding to FAK but not a direct Src interaction with ADAM15, suggesting FAK as a critical intracellular adaptor for ADAM15-dependent enhancement of FAK/Src activation. Moreover, the apoptosis induction elicited by specific inhibitors (PP2, FAK 14 inhibitor) of FAK/Src signaling was significantly reduced by ADAM15 expression. The newly uncovered counter-regulatory response to genotoxic stress in a chondrocytic survival pathway is potentially also relevant to apoptosis resistance in neoplastic growth.

Superoxide and its derivatives are increasingly implicated in the regulation of physiological functions from oxygen sensing and blood pressure regulation to lymphocyte activation and sperm-oocyte fusion. Here we describe a novel superoxide-generating NADPH oxidase referred to as NADPH oxidase 5 (NOX5). NOX5 is distantly related to the gp91(phox) subunit of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase with conserved regions crucial for the electron transport (NADPH, FAD and heme binding sites). However, NOX5 has a unique N-terminal extension that contains three EF hand motifs. The mRNA of NOX5 is expressed in pachytene spermatocytes of testis and in B- and T-lymphocyte-rich areas of spleen and lymph nodes. When heterologously expressed, NOX5 was quiescent in unstimulated cells. However, in response to elevations of the cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration it generated large amounts of superoxide. Upon Ca(2+) activation, NOX5 also displayed a second function: it became a proton channel, presumably to compensate charge and pH alterations due to electron export. In summary, we have identified a novel NADPH oxidase that generates superoxide and functions as a H(+) channel in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. NOX5 is likely to be involved in Ca(2+)-activated, redox-dependent processes of spermatozoa and lymphocytes such as sperm-oocyte fusion, cell proliferation, and cytokine secretion.

The membrane subunit of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase, gp91(phox), possesses a H(+) channel motif formed by membrane-spanning histidines postulated to coordinate the two heme groups forming the redox center of the flavocytochrome. To study the role of heme-binding histidines on proton conduction, we stably expressed the gp91(phox) cytochrome in human embryonic kidney 293 cells and measured proton currents with the patch clamp technique. Similar to its shorter homologue, NADPH oxidase homologue 1, which is predicted not to bind heme, gp91(phox) generated voltage-activated, pH-dependent, H(+)-selective currents that were reversibly blocked by Zn(2+). The gp91(phox) currents, however, activated faster, deactivated more slowly, and were markedly affected by the inhibition of heme synthesis. Upon heme removal, the currents had larger amplitude, activated faster and at lower voltages, and became sensitive to the histidine reagent diethylpyrocarbonate. Mutation of the His-115 residue to leucine abolished both the gp91(phox) characteristic 558-nm absorbance peak and voltage-activated currents, indicating that His-115 is involved in both heme ligation and proton conduction. These results indicate that the gp91(phox) proton channel is activated upon release of heme from its His-115 ligand. During activation of the oxidase complex, changes in heme coordination within the cytochrome might increase the mobility of histidine ligands, thereby coupling electron and proton transport.

During normal cell cycles, the function of mitotic cyclin-cdk1 complexes, as well as of cdc25C phosphatase, is required for G2 phase progression. Accordingly, the G2 arrest induced by DNA damage is associated with a down-regulation of mitotic cyclins, cdk1, and cdc25C phosphatase expression. We found that the promoter activity of these genes is repressed in the G2 arrest induced by DNA damage. We asked whether the CCAAT-binding NF-Y modulates mitotic cyclins, cdk1, and cdc25C gene transcription during this type of G2 arrest. In our experimental conditions, the integrity of the CCAAT boxes of cyclin B1, cyclin B2, and cdc25C promoters, as well as the presence of a functional NF-Y complex, is strictly required for the transcriptional inhibition of these promoters. Furthermore, a dominant-negative p53 protein, impairing doxorubicin-induced G2 arrest, prevents transcriptional down-regulation of the mitotic cyclins, cdk1, and cdc25C genes. We conclude that, as already demonstrated for cdk1, NF-Y mediates the transcriptional inhibition of the mitotic cyclins and the cdc25C genes during p53-dependent G2 arrest induced by DNA damage. These data suggest a transcriptional regulatory role of NF-Y in the G2 checkpoint after DNA damage.

This study addresses the role of store-operated Ca2+ influx in the regulation of exocytosis in inflammatory cells. In HL-60 granulocytes, which do not possess voltage-operated Ca2+ channels, the chemotactic peptide fMet-Leu-Phe (fMLP) was able to stimulate store-operated Ca2+ influx and to trigger exocytosis of primary granules. An efficient triggering of exocytosis by fMLP required the presence of extracellular Ca2+ and was inhibited by blockers of store-operated Ca2+ influx. However, receptor-independent activation of store-operated Ca2+ influx through thapsigargin did not trigger exocytosis. fMLP was unable to stimulate exocytosis in the absence of cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration [Ca2+]c elevations. However, a second signal generated by fMLP synergized with store-operated Ca2+ influx to trigger exocytosis and led to a left shift of the exocytosis/[Ca2+]c relationship in ionomycin-stimulated cells. The synergistic fMLP-generated signaling cascade was long-lasting, involved a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein and a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. In summary, store-operated Ca2+ influx is crucial for the efficient triggering of exocytosis in HL-60 granulocytes, but, as opposed to Ca2+ influx through voltage-operated Ca2+ channels in neurons, it is not a sufficient stimulus by itself and requires synergistic receptor-generated signals.

Inhibition of inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P3) binding by Ca2+ and Mg2+ remains a controversial issue: the Ca2+ effect may also be explained by Ins(1,4,5)P3 generation due to a Ca(2+)-sensitive phospholipase C, and the Mg2+ effect by Ins(1,4,5)P3 degradation. In this study, we have, therefore, investigated the effects of Ca2+ and Mg2+ on Ins(1,4,5)P3 binding to membranes of the myeloid cell line HL-60 and assayed in parallel phospholipase C activity and Ins(1,4,5)P3 degradation. The assays for Ins(1,4,5)P3 binding, Ins(1,4,5)P3 generation, and Ins(1,4,5)P3 degradation were performed under identical experimental conditions. Ca2+ significantly and reversibly decreased Ins(1,4,5)P3 binding at submicromolar concentrations. Ca2+ stimulated Ins(1,4,5)P3 generation only at concentrations above 1 microM. At 1 microM [Ca2+], Ins(1,4,5)P3 binding was inhibited by 46 +/- 6%, but no Ins(1,4,5)P3 generation was observed. [Mg2+] between 0 and 1 mM slightly stimulated, while higher concentrations inhibited, Ins(1,4,5)P3 binding. Mg2+ did not activate phospholipase C. Neither Ca2+ nor Mg2+ induced relevant Ins(1,4,5)P3 degradation under the conditions of the binding assay. The effects of Ca2+ and Mg2+ on Ins(1,4,5)P3 binding were conserved after solubilization of HL-60 membranes. However, only Mg2+, but not Ca2+, inhibited Ins(1,4,5)P3 binding to the receptor that had been partially purified by heparin affinity chromatography. The Ca2+ sensitivity of Ins(1,4,5)P3 binding to the partially purified receptor could be reconstituted by addition of the flow-through of the heparin column. No Ca(2+)-dependent Ins(1,4,5)P3 generation was observed in the reconstituted system. Thus, we conclude that both Ca2+ and Mg2+ can inhibit Ins(1,4,5)P3 binding independently of phospholipase C activation and Ins(1,4,5)P3 breakdown. The Ca2+ effect depends upon factors that can be separated biochemically from the Ins(1,4,5)P3 receptor. Mg2+ acts either directly on the Ins(1,4,5)P3 receptor or on a closely associated target.

Ca2+ binding to rabbit skeletal calsequestrin was studied at physiological ionic strength by equilibrium flow dialysis, Hummel-Dryer gel filtration and microcalorimetry. 31 Ca(2+)-binding sites with a mean dissociation constant (KD) of 0.79 mM were titrated in the absence, and 23 sites with a KD of 0.88 mM in the presence of 3 mM Mg2+. No cooperativity was observed. For Mg2+ binding, the combination of gel filtration and microcalorimetry yielded a stoichiometry of 26 Mg2+/protein with a KD of 2mM. 1 mM Ca2+ decreased the stoichiometry to 20 Mg2+/protein. Binding of Ca2+ in the absence and presence of 3 mM Mg2+ was accompanied by a release of 2.0 and 2.7 H+/protein, respectively. Mg2+ binding did not lead to a significant proton release suggesting a qualitative difference in the Ca(2+)- and Mg(2+)-binding sites. After correction for proton release, the enthalpy change for Ca2+ binding was very low (-1.5 kJ/protein in the absence, and -15 kJ/protein in the presence of 3 mM Mg2+). The entropy change (+59 J/K.site in the absence and +56 J/K.site in the presence of Mg2+) was therefore virtually the sole driving force for Ca2+ binding. Mg2+ binding is slightly more exothermic (-12.6 kJ/protein), but as for Ca2+, the entropy change (+50 J/K.site) constituted the major driving force of the reaction. A fluorimetric study indicates that the conformation of tryptophan in Mg(2+)-saturated calsequestrin was clearly different from that in the Ca(2+)-saturated protein, but that the (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-saturated protein was not distinct from the Ca(2+)-saturated protein. Thus, in addition to the thermodynamic characterization of the Ca2+/calsequestrin interaction, our data indicate that Ca2+ and Mg2+ do not bind to the same sites on calsequestrin. The data also predict considerable proton fluxes upon Ca(2+)-Mg2+ exchange in vivo.

Sphinganine has been proposed to be a specific inhibitor of protein kinase C. In the present study we have evaluated whether sphinganine is a convenient tool to probe for the role of protein kinase C in neutrophil function. Human neutrophils were loaded with the fluorescent probe quin2 and then tested in parallel for cytosolic free Ca2+, [Ca2+]i, membrane potential changes, O2- production, and exocytosis of primary granules (containing beta-glucuronidase) in response to various stimuli. In addition to inhibiting O2- production and exocytosis in a dose-dependent manner, sphinganine also blocked formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine-induced [Ca2+]i, transients. Furthermore, sphinganine inhibited exocytosis elicited by the calcium ionophore ionomycin. Although sphinganine blocked O2- production due to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, the most striking finding was that the drug rendered the cells leaky. Thus, at similar concentrations as those inhibiting cellular functions, sphinganine was shown to lead to cell permeabilization, as assessed by release of quin2 and cytoplasmic markers into the extracellular medium, and changes in plasma membrane potential. We conclude, therefore, that sphinganine does not appear to be a suitable compound for the evaluation of the involvement of protein kinase C in neutrophil activation.

The regulation of cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]c) by intracellular organelles was studied in permeabilized bovine adrenal glomerulosa cells. Two compartments, with distinct characteristics, were able to pump Ca2+. A first pool, sensitive to ruthenium red and presumably mitochondrial, required respiratory chain substrates to maintain [Ca2+]c around 700 nM. Ca2+ efflux from this compartment was activated by Na+ (ED50 = 5 mM). Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) had no effect on this pool. A second nonmitochondrial pool required ATP to lower [Ca2+]c to about 200 nM and released Ca2+ transiently upon addition of IP3. When the two systems were allowed to work simultaneously, the nonmitochondrial pool regulated [Ca2+]c and IP3 released Ca2+ in a concentration-dependent manner (EC50 = 0.6 microM). Under these conditions the mitochondria seemed Ca2+ depleted. Upon repeated stimulations with IP3, a marked attenuation of the response was observed. This phenomenon was due to Ca2+ sequestration by a nonmitochondrial IP3-insensitive pool. Neither dantrolene (200 microM) nor 8-(N,N-diethylamino)octyl-3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate (10 microM) were able to abolish IP3-induced Ca2+ release, though both compounds efficiently inhibited aldosterone production in intact cells stimulated with angiotensin II (10 nM) or K+ (12 mM). These results suggest that in permeabilized adrenal glomerulosa cells: the nonmitochondrial pool is responsible for buffering [Ca2+]c and for releasing Ca2+ in response to IP3; at resting [Ca2+]c levels, the mitochondria appear Ca2+ depleted; when [Ca2+]c rises above their set point, the mitochondria accumulate Ca2+ as a function of [Na+]c; 4) the mitochondria are not involved in the desensitization mechanism of the response to IP3.