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Journal of Virology, November 2006, p. 10874-10878, Vol. 80, No. 21
0022-538X/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.00767-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21231
Received 14 April 2006/ Accepted 18 August 2006
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subunit of the IL-6
receptor complex. By utilizing a gp80-refractory vIL-6 variant,
vIL-6(R189L), we found that signal transduction, as measured by STAT1
and STAT3 activation and gp130 tyrosine phosphorylation in
gp80+/gp130+ HEK293T cells, was
modulated by gp80. Furthermore, the signaling and BAF-130 cell
growth-promoting activities of vIL-6 and hIL-6 could be distinguished,
and exogenous addition of soluble gp80 enhanced cell growth supported
by vIL-6. Our findings demonstrate that gp80 can modulate vIL-6
activity and that vIL-6 and hIL-6 signaling are not directly
equivalent. |
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receptor
subunit and gp130 to form hexameric signaling complexes
(IL-62:gp802:gp1302), dimerization of
gp130 leading to phosphorylation of gp130 cytoplasmic
tyrosine residues by gp130-associated Janus kinases (Jaks)
(8). This triggers
recruitment and activation of signal transducer and activator of
transcription 1 (STAT1) and/or STAT3 transcription factors or Src
homology protein 2 (SHP2) that initiates mitogen-activated protein
kinase signaling. Negative feedback regulation is mediated in part by
SHP2 and STAT-activated suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3)
recruitment to gp130 phosphotyrosine-759, leading to tyrosine
dephosphorylation and Jak inactivation. It remains unclear what the
conformational requirements are for inducing Jak phosphorylation of
gp130 tyrosines and whether signaling can be modulated as a function of
conformational restraints imposed by specific ligands or non-gp130
receptor subunits. Recent electron microscopy studies with
extracellular portions of gp80 and gp130 suggested that the gp80
subunits of the IL-6 receptor complex allow the close juxtapositioning
of gp130 subunits at the membrane surface
(19). However, human
herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) viral IL-6 (vIL-6) can signal in the absence of
gp80, via formation of stable tetrameric complexes with gp130
(vIL-62:gp1302), although vIL-6 also can signal
via hexameric complexes that incorporate gp80
(2,
14,
16,
22). It is possible,
therefore, that conformational differences with respect to gp130 dimers
in the presence and absence of gp80 might influence signal
transduction. To address this issue, we first sought to dissociate tetrameric signaling by vIL-6 from hexameric signal transduction through the use of an engineered vIL-6 protein. Using coprecipitation-based procedures, we screened several previously reported vIL-6 variants (14) for their abilities to interact with gp130 and gp80 and to induce dimerization of gp130 and heterodimerization of gp130 and gp80; results for one of the vIL-6 proteins, vIL-6(R189L), are shown in Fig. 1A. vIL-6(R189L), containing a substitution for a suspected gp80-interacting "site I" residue, had no detectable interaction with gp80 and could not induce gp80:gp130 complexing while being unaffected with respect to gp130 binding and induced gp130 dimerization. Consistent with these results, vIL-6(R189L) was able to activate STAT1 and STAT3 in gp80/gp130+ BAF-130 cells (10) (Fig. 1B).
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FIG. 1. Analysis
of vIL-6 site I variant R189L for its receptor-binding properties and
functional interactions with gp130. (A) Comparison of
vIL-6(R189L) with wild-type vIL-6 with respect to its abilities to
induce gp130:gp130 (1) and gp80:gp130 (2) complexing and to interact
independently with gp130 (3) and gp80 (4). For subpanel 1, coexpression
of ligand, gp130, and gp130-Fc was achieved by cotransfections of
appropriate expression vectors, and cell lysates were used for protein
A-agarose-mediated coprecipitations; for subpanels 2 to 4, soluble
receptor components and ligand, derived from conditioned media of
separately transfected cells, were mixed in vitro (as described
previously [13]).
vIL-6(R189L) binding to gp130 (3) and induction of gp130 dimerization
(1) were equivalent to that of wild-type vIL-6, but the R189L variant
could not bind gp80 independently (4) or induce gp80:gp130 complexing
(2). wt, wild type; Prot. A, protein A. (B) STAT1 and STAT3
activation by vIL-6 and vIL-6(R189L) in
gp80/gp130+ BAF-130 cells
(20-min cytokine treatment), as determined by Western analysis of cell
lysates using phospho-STAT-specific antibodies (Cell Signaling,
Beverly, Mass.; catalog no. 9171 and 9131). Total STAT3 antibody (Santa
Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, Calif.; catalog no. sc-482) was applied
to the stripped membrane to verify equal protein loading. Doses of
vIL-6 and vIL-6(R189L) used matched catalog
no. sc-482) was applied to the stripped membrane to verify equal
protein loading. Doses of vIL-6 and vIL-6(R189L) used matched
those indicated in the "vIL-6 input"
blot in panel A [note the slightly lower levels of vIL-6(R189L)].
Treatment of cells with pSG5-transfected cell conditioned medium (Cntl)
or conditioned medium containing functionally active concentrations of
hIL-6 (gp80 dependent) provided negative
controls.
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FIG. 2. Comparisons
of STAT1 and STAT3 activation by vIL-6, vIL-6(R189L), and hIL-6 in
gp130+/gp80+ HEK293T cells.
(A) Transfected cell conditioned media containing the viral
cytokines (normalized) were applied, in different doses, to HEK293T
cells for 15 min. Cells were then harvested for preparation of cell
lysates for Western analysis to determine levels of
tyrosine-phosphorylated (activated) STAT1 and STAT3. Probing for total
STAT3 provided a protein-loading control. Depletion of vIL-6 by
immunoprecipitation with vIL-6 antiserum
(22) led to loss of STAT3
activation by vIL-6 conditioned medium (v) in proportion to antibody
dose (dose 2 = 3x dose 1) and number (1x,
2x) of cycles of immunoprecipitation (left), with complete loss
of activity at a high ratio of antibody to vIL-6 (right). Antiserum to
HHV-8 vCCL-2 (vMIP-1B/vMIP-II) was used as a negative control and could
not deplete STAT-inducing activity of vIL-6 conditioned medium. These
results demonstrate that vIL-6 is the active component in the
conditioned medium. (B) STAT induction assays using
protein-normalized transfected cell conditioned media containing
vIL-6-Flag and hIL-6-Flag. (C) Dose-response
experiments to determine the relative activations of STAT1 and STAT3 by
vIL-6, vIL-6(R189L), and hIL-6. Dose ranges of the cytokines giving
similar STAT3 activation following 20-min treatment were used for this
experiment. Wild-type vIL-6 activated higher levels of STAT1 than
either vIL-6(R189L) or hIL-6 at doses of the cytokines giving equal
levels of STAT3 activation. (D) Time course experiments for
STAT activation by vIL-6, vIL-6(R189L), and hIL-6, using doses of the
cytokines that gave the same level of STAT3 activation following
stimulation for 10 min (arrows) and 20 min (data not shown). exp.,
exposure; Cntl, control (pSG5-transfected cell conditioned
medium).
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To further compare vIL-6, vIL-6(R189L), and hIL-6 signaling, we followed the kinetics of STAT1 and STAT3 activation by undertaking a time course experiment using STAT3 activation-normalized (20-min stimulation) doses of the three cytokines. The results of these experiments (Fig. 2D) revealed prolonged activations of STAT1 and STAT3 by vIL-6 relative to hIL-6. For vIL-6, STAT signaling was sustained for up to 4 h, at maximal levels for STAT3, while hIL-6 activations of STAT1 and STAT3 returned to basal or near-basal levels by 2 h. STAT1 activation by vIL-6(R189L) was of shorter duration and of lesser amplitude than that induced by vIL-6; STAT3 activation was identical at 10 and 30 min to that induced by wild-type vIL-6 and intermediate between vIL-6- and hIL-6-activated STAT3 at 2 h and 4 h. Together, these data provide further, kinetic evidence for qualitative differences in STAT signaling between vIL-6, vIL-6(R189L), and hIL-6 and suggest that vIL-6 signaling is less susceptible to negative regulation than that induced by hIL-6 and vIL-6(R189L).
We next examined levels of tyrosine phosphorylation of endogenous gp130 or transfected (overexpressed) gp130-Fc, in the presence or absence of co-overexpressed gp80, in HEK293T cells in response to treatment with vIL-6 and gp80-refractory vIL-6(R189L). For the transfected cells, both vIL-6 and vIL-6(R189L) were able to induce gp130 phosphorylation to equivalent levels in the absence of co-overexpressed gp80, but gp130 phosphorylation was augmented by gp80 only for wild-type vIL-6 (Fig. 3A). This increase, while small, was highly reproducible in repeat experiments. Consistent with this result, relative levels of phosphorylation of endogenously expressed gp130 in HEK293T cells, which naturally express gp80 also, were higher for wild-type vIL-6-treated cells than for those treated with vIL-6(R189L) (Fig. 3B). Thus, gp80 can influence signal transduction via enhancement of the initial event, tyrosine phosphorylation of gp130.
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FIG.3. Tyrosine
phosphorylation of gp130 induced by vIL-6 and vIL-6(R189L).
(A) HEK293T cells were transfected with a gp130-Fc expression
vector with or without cotransfection of a gp80 expression plasmid.
Following a 15-min stimulation with vIL-6 or vIL-6(R189L) conditioned
medium (vIL-6 protein normalized), cells were lysed, gp130-Fc was
precipitated with protein A-agarose, and size-fractionated and
membrane-blotted protein was probed with antibody (Cell Signaling;
catalog no. 9411) specific for phosphotyrosine (PY) to measure levels
of gp130 phosphorylation. Precipitated gp130 (total) was detected by
probing the stripped blot with a gp130 antibody (BD Biosciences, San
Diego, Calif.; catalog no. 555756). Cotransfection of gp80 with
gp130-Fc was able to enhance gp130 phosphorylation induced by vIL-6,
but not by vIL-6(R189L), above the high levels obtained with
overexpressed gp130-Fc alone. (B) An analogous experiment was
undertaken using untransfected HEK293T cells
(gp80+/gp130+) to investigate
vIL-6- and vIL-6(R189L)-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of endogenous
gp130. In this case, gp130 was immunoprecipitated prior to gel
fractionation and Western blotting. As before, equal applied doses of
vIL-6 and vIL-6(R189L) were used. Cntl, control (pSG5-transfected cell
conditioned
medium).
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FIG. 4. BAF-130
growth assays to determine effects of gp80 on vIL-6 biological activity
and differences between vIL-6 and hIL-6. (A)
Cytokine-dependent BAF-130 cells were incubated in serum-free medium
overnight prior to addition of an equal volume of vIL-6 or hIL-6
conditioned medium (containing 10% fetal bovine serum) either with or
without added recombinant sgp80 (50, 100, or 200 ng/ml; R&D
Systems, Minneapolis, Minn.; catalog no. 227-SR). Doses of cytokines
used were in excess of those that gave maximal STAT3 activation in
HEK293T cells. Triplicate samples of cells were extracted daily from
each culture for counting of trypan blue-excluding (viable) cells.
Values plotted are the averages from three sample counts per culture at
each time point. (B) The experiment was repeated, this time
performed in triplicate, at 50 ng/ml of sgp80. Error bars indicate the
standard deviations from the means calculated from each set of
triplicate wells. The pSG5 (empty vector) negative controls, ±
sgp80, have been omitted for clarity but mirrored the results for hIL-6
in the absence of sgp80. (C) STAT3 activation assays in
BAF-130 cells to confirm activities of the applied doses of vIL-6 and
hIL-6 used in the growth assays. Cells were harvested after
24 h of cytokine treatment. Cntl, control (pSG5-transfected
cell conditioned
medium).
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The mechanistic basis for these gp80-mediated and vIL-6-versus-hIL-6 differences in signal transduction remains to be determined. A reasonable hypothesis is that these effects result from gp80- and ligand-induced conformational differences in the signaling complex that affect relative accessibility of gp130 tyrosine residues to Jaks, SHP2, SOCS3, and/or STATs. As mentioned in the introductory section, biophysical evidence has been published demonstrating the influence of gp80 on the juxtapositioning of regions of gp130 distal to the cytokine-binding domains (19), and models in which gp130 ligands not only mediate gp130 dimerization but also induce specific conformational relationships between the gp130 subunits have been proposed (reviewed in reference 8). Therefore, ligand- and gp80-determined differences in gp130:gp130 complexing could affect signal transduction at the levels of gp130 phosphorylation by Jaks (for which we present evidence here), negative regulation by SOCS3 and/or SHP2 (6, 21), or activation of STAT1 versus STAT3, which are recruited differently to the four distal phosphorylated SH2 motifs of gp130 (7, 9, 18, 20). Notwithstanding our demonstration that gp80 plays a positive role in vIL-6-simulated BAF-130 cell growth (Fig. 4), the actual biological relevance of the effects of gp80 on vIL-6-activated STAT signaling identified in this report is difficult to predict. It is known that STAT3 activation is important for cell survival, and high levels of constitutively active STAT3 have been identified in several lymphoid and other tumors (1, 3, 11). The enhanced and prolonged activation of STAT3 that our results indicate could occur in gp80+/gp130+ cells in response to vIL-6 could conceivably play a direct role in HHV-8-induced neoplasia. STAT1, on the other hand, has been linked classically to interferon responses and induction of cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and inflammation. However, more recently it has been appreciated that the precise inducer and context of STAT1 activation are crucial determinants of the biological response. For example, gamma interferon and gp130-cytokine oncostatin M both activate STAT1, but only the former can induce STAT1-responsive target genes in human endothelial cells (15), and SOCS3 plays a pivotal role in preventing gamma interferon-like responses following IL-6 stimulation of murine macrophages and liver cells (5, 12). Thus, the biological effects of efficient STAT1 activation by vIL-6, both on cells and on virus replication, will need to be determined empirically.
This work was supported by NIH grant CA76445.
Published
ahead of print on 6 September 2006. ![]()
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receptor
subunit that are involved in ligand binding and signaling by human
herpesvirus 8-encoded interleukin-6. J. Virol.
76:5627-5636.This article has been cited by other articles:
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