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Adhesion to and internalization into host cells is an essential step in the pathogenesis of various bacterial infections. Here we investigated the effects of growth factors on the internalization of Escherichia coliO18 strains isolated from patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) by human epithelial cells. A dramatic increase in the uptake of Escherichia coliwas observed after treatment of epithelial cells with epidermal growth factor (EGF) and to a lower extent with insulin. EGF-dependent internalization can be suppressed by tyrosine kinase inhibitors suggesting an involvement of the receptor tyrosine kinases in the regulation of the endocytotic process. Inhibitors of phospholipase A2, lipoxygenase, and cyclooxygenase significantly decreased internalization of bacteria induced by EGF. Finally, the specific inhibitor of PI 3-kinases Wortmannin was shown to suppress completely the EGF-indepemdent internalization.

The signaling routes linking G-protein-coupled receptors to mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) may involve tyrosine kinases, phosphoinositide 3-kinase gamma (PI3Kgamma), and protein kinase C (PKC). To characterize the mitogenic pathway of bradykinin (BK), COS-7 cells were transiently cotransfected with the human bradykinin B(2) receptor and hemagglutinin-tagged MAPK. We demonstrate that BK-induced activation of MAPK is mediated via the alpha subunits of a G(q/11) protein. Both activation of Raf-1 and activation of MAPK in response to BK were blocked by inhibitors of PKC as well as of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor. Furthermore, in PKC-depleted COS-7 cells, the effect of BK on MAPK was clearly reduced. Inhibition of PI3-Kgamma or Src kinase failed to diminish MAPK activation by BK. BK-induced translocation and overexpression of PKC isoforms as well as coexpression of inactive or constitutively active mutants of different PKC isozymes provided evidence for a role of the diacylglycerol-sensitive PKCs alpha and epsilon in BK signaling toward MAPK. In addition to PKC activation, BK also induced tyrosine phosphorylation of EGF receptor (transactivation) in COS-7 cells. Inhibition of PKC did not alter BK-induced transactivation, and blockade of EGF receptor did not affect BK-stimulated phosphatidylinositol turnover or BK-induced PKC translocation, suggesting that PKC acts neither upstream nor downstream of the EGF receptor. Comparison of the kinetics of PKC activation and EGF receptor transactivation in response to BK also suggests simultaneous rather than consecutive signaling. We conclude that in COS-7 cells, BK activates MAPK via a permanent dual signaling pathway involving the independent activation of the PKC isoforms alpha and epsilon and transactivation of the EGF receptor. The two branches of this pathway may converge at the level of the Ras-Raf complex.

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) has been shown to play an essential role in G protein-induced signaling even in non-myeloid cells where few agonists of G protein-coupled receptors are known to activate PI3K. We have identified adherent cell lines where lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) strongly and rapidly activates the accumulation of PI3K lipid products. The process is not modified by expression of a kinase-dead mutant of the Gbetagamma-responsive PI3K p110gamma. In contrast, it is inhibited by genistein or expression of a dominant negative mutant of p85 and potentiated by overexpressing wild-type p110alpha or -beta but not -gamma. By using a specific chemical inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and expression of a dominant negative mutant, we have observed that recruitment of p85/p110 PI3Ks occurs through transactivation of the EGFR by LPA and downstream mobilization of the docking protein Gab1 that associates with p85 upon LPA stimulation. Finally, we show that LPA cannot activate PI3K in cell lines lacking the EGFR/Gab1 pathway, including cells that transactivate the PDGF receptor. Altogether, these results demonstrate that activation of PI3K by LPA is conditioned by the ability of LPA to transactivate an EGFR/Gab1 signaling pathway.

The signaling routes connecting G protein-coupled receptors to the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway reveal a high degree of complexity and cell specificity. In the human colon carcinoma cell line SW-480, we detected a mitogenic effect of bradykinin (BK) that is mediated via a pertussis toxin-insensitive G protein of the Gq/11 family and that involves activation of MAPK. Both BK-induced stimulation of DNA synthesis and activation of MAPK in response to BK were abolished by two different inhibitors of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), wortmannin and LY 294002, as well as by two different inhibitors of protein kinase C (PKC), bisindolylmaleimide and Ro 31-8220. Stimulation of SW-480 cells by BK led to increased formation of PI3K lipid products (phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol 3, 4-bisphosphate) and to enhanced translocation of the PKCepsilon isoform from the cytosol to the membrane. Both effects of BK were inhibited by wortmannin, too. Using subtype-specific antibodies, only the PI3K subunits p110beta and p85, but not p110alpha and p110gamma, were detected in SW-480 cells. Finally, p110beta was found to be co-immunoprecipitated with PKCepsilon. Our data suggest that in SW-480 cells, (i) dimeric PI3Kbeta is activated via a Gq/11 protein; (ii) PKCepsilon is a downstream target of PI3Kbeta mediating the mitogenic signal to the MAPK pathway; and (iii) PKCepsilon associates with the p110 subunit of PI3Kbeta. Thus, these results add a novel possibility to the emerging picture of multiple pathways linking G protein-coupled receptors to MAPK.

In isolated erythrocyte membranes, increasing the free Mg2+ concentration from 0.5 to 10 mM progressively activates the membrane-bound phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) kinase and leads to the establishment of a new equilibrium with higher phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PtdIns4P) and lower PtdIns concentrations. The steady-state turnover of the phosphomonoester group of PtdIns4P also increases at high Mg2+ concentrations, indicating a simultaneous activation of PtdIns4P phosphomonoesterase by Mg2+. Half-maximum inhibition of PtdIns kinase occurs at 10 microM free Ca2+ in the presence of physiological free Mg2+ concentrations. Increasing free Mg2+ concentrations overcome Ca2+ inhibition of PtdIns kinase. In the presence of Ca2+, calmodulin activates Ca2+-transporting ATPase 5-fold, but does not alter pool size and radiolabelling of PtdIns4P. In intact erythrocytes, adding EGTA or EGTA plus Mg2+ and the ionophore A23187 to the external medium does not exert significant effects on concentration and radiolabelling of polyphosphoinositides when compared with controls in the presence of 1.4 mM free Ca2+.

The serine/threonine protein kinase Akt has recently been shown to be implicated in the pathway leading to cell survival in response to serum and growth factors in a variety of cellular systems. However, the existence of a biochemical route connecting this kinase to the large family of receptors that signal through heterotrimeric G proteins is yet to be explored. In this study, we set out to investigate whether GTP-binding protein (G protein)-coupled receptors (GPCRs) can stimulate Akt activity and survival pathways and, if so, to define the mechanism(s) whereby this class of cell surface receptors could regulate Akt function. Using ectopic expression of GPCRs in COS-7 cells as a model, we have observed that both m1 and m2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, representative of those GPCRs coupled to Gq and Gi proteins, respectively, can readily activate an epitope-tagged form of Akt kinase and prevent UV-induced apoptosis. We have also found that the pathway connecting G proteins to Akt implicates signals emanating from Galphaq, Galphai, and beta gamma dimers, but not from Galphas or Galpha12, in each case acting through a pathway that involves a phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase activity. Moreover, our findings suggest a role for a novel beta gamma-sensitive complex, p101.phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase-gamma, in the transduction of signals leading to Akt stimulation and cell survival by GPCRs and open new avenues for research on the function of the large family of G protein-linked receptors in the regulation of anti-apoptotic pathways.

FK506-binding proteins and cyclophilins are intracellular proteins that express peptidylproline cis-trans-isomerase (PPIase) activity. The effects of FK506-binding protein 12 (FKBP12) and the cyclophilins 18 and 23 on autophosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor prepared from plasma membranes of the human epidermoid cell line A431 have been investigated. Whereas FKBP12 inhibited EGF receptor tyrosine kinase activity in a concentration-dependent manner, the cyclophilins did not affect autophosphorylation. In contrast to the wild-type enzyme, several variants of FKBP12 with greatly reduced PPIase activity were unable to suppress EGF receptor tyrosine kinase significantly. Pervanadate an inhibitor of protein tyrosine phosphatases, abolished the effect of FKBP12 on EGF receptor autophosphorylation. Finally, FK506 and rapamycin, which are known to block the PPIase activity of FKBP12, induced a significant stimulation of EGF receptor autophosphorylation in intact A431 cells suggesting suppression of EGF receptor autophosphorylation by intracellular FKBP12 in vivo. Taken together the data point to an inhibitory function of FKBP12 in EGF receptor signaling, possibly induced by stimulation of a protein tyrosine phosphatase coupled to the EGF receptor. Both PPIase activity and substrate specificity of FKBP12 seem to be indispensable for this effect.

An increasing amount of experimental data suggest that cross-talk exists between pathways involving tyrosine kinases and heterotrimeric G proteins. In a previous study, we demonstrated that bradykinin (BK) increases the intracellular accumulation of cAMP in the human epidermoid carcinoma cell line A431 by stimulating adenylate cyclase activity via a stimulatory G protein (Gsalpha) (Liebmann, C., Graness, A., Ludwig, B., Adomeit, A., Boehmer, A., Boehmer, F.-D., Nürnberg, B., and Wetzker, R. (1996) Biochem. J. 313, 109-118). Here, we present several lines of evidence indicating the ability of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to suppress BK-induced activation of the cAMP pathway in A431 cells via tyrosine phosphorylation of Gsalpha. Gsalpha was specifically immunoprecipitated from A431 cells using the anti-alphas antiserum AS 348. Tyrosine phosphorylation of Gsalpha was detectable in EGF-pretreated cells with monoclonal anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies. Additionally, A431 cells were labeled with [32P]orthophosphate in vivo and treated with EGF, and the resolved immunoprecipitates were subjected to amino acid analysis. The results clearly indicate that EGF induces tyrosine phosphorylation of Gsalpha in A431 cells. Treatment of A431 cells with EGF decreased BK-induced cAMP accumulation in intact cells as well as the stimulation of adenylate cyclase by BK, NaF, and guanyl nucleotides, but not by forskolin. Also, EGF treatment abolished both the BK- and isoprenaline-induced stimulation of guanosine 5'-O-(3-[35S]thiotriphosphate) binding to Gsalpha. In contrast, the BK-evoked, Gq-mediated stimulation of inositol phosphate formation in A431 cells was not affected by EGF pretreatment. Thus, EGF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Gsalpha is accompanied by a loss of its susceptibility to G protein-coupled receptors and its ability to stimulate adenylate cyclase via guanyl nucleotide exchange. We propose that Gsalpha may represent a key regulatory protein in the cross-talk between the signal transduction pathways of BK and EGF in A431 cells.

Jun kinases (JNK) are involved in the stress response of mammalian cells. Stimulation of JNK can be induced by stress factors and by agonists of tyrosine kinase and G protein-coupled receptors. G protein-dependent receptors stimulate JNK via Gbetagamma subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins, but the subsequent signaling reaction has been undefined. Here we demonstrate JNK activation in COS-7 cells by Gbetagamma-stimulated phosphoinositide 3-kinase gamma (PI3Kgamma). Signal transduction from PI3Kgamma to JNK can be suppressed by dominant negative mutants of Ras, Rac, and the protein kinase PAK. These results identify PI3Kgamma as a mediator of Gbetagamma-dependent regulation of JNK activity.

Class I phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) regulate important cellular processes such as mitogenesis, apoptosis, and cytoskeletal functions. They include PI3Kalpha, -beta, and -delta isoforms coupled to receptor tyrosine kinases and a PI3Kgamma isoform activated by receptor-stimulated G proteins. This study examines the direct interaction of purified recombinant PI3Kgamma catalytic subunit (p110gamma) and Gbetagamma complexes. When phosphatidylinositol was used as a substrate, Gbetagamma stimulated p110gamma lipid kinase activity more than 60-fold (EC50, approximately 20 nM). Stimulation was inhibited by Galphao-GDP or wortmannin in a concentration-dependent fashion. Stoichiometric binding of a monoclonal antibody to the putative pleckstrin homology domain of p110gamma did not affect Gbetagamma-mediated enzymatic stimulation, whereas incubation of Gbetagamma with a synthetic peptide resembling a predicted Gbetagamma effector domain of type 2 adenylyl cyclase selectively inhibited activation of p110gamma. Gbetagamma complexes bound to N- as well as C-terminal deletion mutants of p110gamma. Correspondingly, these enzymatically inactive N- and C-terminal mutants inhibited Gbetagamma-mediated activation of wild type p110gamma. Our data suggest that (i) p110gamma directly interacts with Gbetagamma, (ii) the pleckstrin homology domain is not the only region important for Gbetagamma-mediated activation of the lipid kinase, and (iii) Gbetagamma binds to at least two contact sites of p110gamma, one of which is close to or within the catalytic core of the enzyme.

Stimulation of platelets by thrombin leads to an increased association of activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-K) with a membrane cytoskeletal fraction (CSK). Activation of PI 3-K is dependent upon GTP-binding protein(s), since PI 3-K in permeabilized platelets is stimulated by GTP gamma S (guanosine 5'-3-O-(thio)triphosphate), and stimulation of platelet cytosolic PI 3-K by GTP gamma S requires a functional small G-protein, Rho. Recent reports indicate that cytosolic PI 3-Ks can also be activated by the beta gamma subunits of heterotrimeric G-proteins (G beta gamma). We now report that the activated PI 3-K that is associated with CSK can be inhibited by a recombinant protein containing the G beta gamma-binding pleckstrin homology domain of beta-adrenergic receptor kinase 1 (beta ARK-PH). Inhibition is blocked by G beta gamma. PI 3-K in nonactivated platelet CSK is activated by GTP gamma S but unaffected by beta ARK-PH or G beta gamma. Western blots indicate that activated platelet CSK contains a novel 110-kDa PI 3-K(gamma) that has been shown to be stimulated by G beta gamma and to lack binding sites for the 85-kDa subunit of conventional PI 3-K. PI 3-K in immunoprecipitates obtained via p85 subunit-directed antibodies can be activated by GTP gamma S but not by G beta gamma. PI 3-K that is stimulatable by G beta gamma remains soluble, as does PI 3-K(gamma), and is unaffected by Rho. In contrast, ADP-ribosylation of Rho present in p85 immunoprecipitates is inhibitory. Further, activation of PI 3-K in permeabilized platelets exposed to thrombin or GTP gamma S is inhibited by beta ARK-PH and/or Rho-specific ADP-ribosylating enzymes. We conclude that Rho and G beta gamma each, respectively, contributes to the activation of different PI 3-Ks (p85-containing heterodimer and PI 3-K (gamma)) in thrombin-stimulated platelets.