Signal transduction pathways mediated by colony stimulating factor-1 receptor

Colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1), which is necessary for cell proliferation and differentiation, regulates both immediate and delayed early responses throughout G1 phase. The binding of CSF-1 to its receptor (CSF-1R) triggers phosphorylation of the receptor and its intrinsic tyrosine kinase. The activated receptor binds directly to cytoplasmic effector proteins, which induce multiple-signal transduction pathways. CSF-1 can induce the c-myc gene expression via Ras and Ets-related proteins. The expression of c-fos/jun family genes is also targeted following the activation of Ras. CSF-1R activates STAT1 and STAT3 to participate in signaling, but JAKs do not appear to contribute to signaling by CSF-1R. CSF-1R activates PI3-kinase, and PI3-ki can interact with downstream proteins by the MAPKK-related pathway independent of Ras/Raf. PC-PLC can enforce signaling in response to CSF-1. Furthermore, the turnover and dephosphorylation by the phosphatase SHPTP1 of CSF-1R are the major mechanism in the negative regulation of signaling by CSF-1R     

The colony stimulating factor-1 receptor associates with and activates phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase

Colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) is a lineage-specific growth factor required for proliferation and survival of mononuclear phagocytes and their precursors. The CSF-1 receptor belongs to a family of ligand-activated protein-tyrosine kinases. Activation of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor, but not the CSF-1 receptor, leads to an increase in phospholipase C activity and a subsequent elevation in intracellular calcium. Recent studies have shown that a novel phosphoinositol (PtdIns) kinase, termed PtdIns-3 kinase, is stimulated by the platelet-derived growth factor receptor and certain oncogenes in the protein-tyrosine kinase family. PtdIns-3 kinase phosphorylates the D-3 hydroxyl position of the inositol ring of PtdIns, and its products do not participate in the generation of the second messenger inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P3). Here we report that addition of CSF-1 is followed by activation of PtdIns-3 kinase in a macrophage cell line (P388 D1), which contains CSF-1 receptors, and in BALB/c fibroblasts made to express the human CSF-1 receptor. Furthermore, we show that activation of the CSF-1 receptor results in the accumulation in intact cells of polyphosphoinositides phosphorylated at the D-3 position of the inositol ring. Thus activation of the CSF-1 receptor stimulates PtdIns-3 kinase activity, indicating a novel pathway for CSF-1 receptor-mediated signal transduction.     

Transforming potential of the c-fms proto-oncogene (CSF-1 receptor)

The c-fms proto-oncogene encodes a transmembrane glycoprotein that is probably identical to the receptor for the macrophage colony stimulating factor, CSF-1. Forty C-terminal amino acids of the normal receptor are replaced by 11 unrelated residues in the feline v-fms oncogene product, deleting a C-terminal tyrosine residue (Tyr969) whose phosphorylation might negatively regulate the receptor kinase activity. We show that the human c-fms gene stimulates growth of mouse NIH 3T3 cells in agar in response to human recombinant CSF-1, indicating that receptor transduction is sufficient to induce a CSF-1 responsive phenotype. Although cells transfected with c-fms genes containing either Tyr969 or Phe969 were not transformed, cotransfection of these genes with CSF-1 complementary DNA induced transformation, with c-fms(Phe969) showing significantly more activity than c-fms(Tyr969). In the absence of CSF-1, chimaeric v-fms/c-fms genes encoding the wild-type c-fms C terminus were poorly transforming, whereas chimaeras bearing Phe969 were as transforming as v-fms. Thus, the Phe969 mutation, although not in itself sufficient to induce transformation, activates the oncogenic potential of c-fms in association with an endogenous ligand or in conjunction with mutations elsewhere in the c-fms gene that confer ligand-independent signals for growth.     

The v-fms oncogene induces factor independence and tumorigenicity in CSF-1 dependent macrophage cell line

The McDonough strain of feline sarcoma virus (SM-FeSV) transforms fibroblast cell lines in culture and produces fibrosarcomas in domestic cats. SM-FeSV does not induce haematopoietic malignancies in spite of the fact that its viral oncogene, v-fms, codes for a glycoprotein related to the receptor for the mononuclear phagocyte colony stimulating factor, CSF-1. The v-fms-coded polypeptide includes the complete extracellular domain of the c-fms proto-oncogene product and retains the ability to bind CSF-1 specifically. The two molecules have very similar sequences except at their extreme carboxyl terminal ends where 40 amino acids of the c-fms-coded glycoprotein are replaced by 11 unrelated residues in the v-fms product. Autophosphorylation of the c-fms gene product on tyrosine is enhanced by CSF-1 addition, whereas phosphorylation of the v-fms-coded glycoprotein appears to be constitutive. We now show that introduction of the v-fms gene into simian virus-40 (SV40)-immortalized, CSF-1 dependent macrophages renders them independent of CSF-1 for growth and tumourigenic in nude mice. These factor-independent cell lines express unaltered levels of the c-fms product which is down-modulated in response to either CSF-1 or the tumour promoter 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA). The induction of factor independence by a non-autocrine mechanism suggests that the v-fms product is an unregulated kinase that provides growth stimulatory signals in the absence of ligand.     

Structural alteration of viral homologue of receptor proto-oncogene fms at carboxyl terminus

A role for proto-oncogenes in the regulation and modulation of cell proliferation has been suggested by the findings that the B-chain of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is encoded by the proto-oncogene sis and that the erb-B oncogene product is a truncated form of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor. Furthermore, the product of the proto-oncogene fms (c-fms) may be related or identical to the receptor for macrophage colony-stimulating factor (CSF-1). v-fms is the transforming gene of the McDonough strain of feline sarcoma virus (SM-FeSV) and belongs to the family of src-related oncogenes which have tyrosine-specific kinase activity. Furthermore, nucleotide sequence analysis of the v-fms gene product revealed topological properties of a cell-surface receptor protein. To elucidate the features involved in the conversion of a normal cell-surface receptor gene into an oncogenic one, we have now determined the complete nucleotide sequence of a human c-fms complementary DNA. The 972-amino-acid c-fms protein has an extracellular domain, a membrane-spanning region, and a cytoplasmic tyrosine protein kinase domain. Comparison of the feline v-fms and human c-fms sequences reveals that the proteins share extensive homology but have different carboxyl termini.     

Raf functions downstream of Ras1 in the Sevenless signal transduction pathway.

Specification of the R7 cell fate in the developing Drosophila eye requires activation of the Sevenless (Sev) receptor tyrosine kinase, located on the surface of the R7 precursor cell, by its interaction with the Boss protein, expressed on the surface of the neighbouring R8 cell. Four genes that participate in the intracellular transmission of this signal have so far been identified and molecularly characterized: Ras1, Sos, Gap1 and sina (refs 4-8). The Drosophila homologue of the mammalian Raf-1 serine/threonine kinase, which has been implicated in signal transduction pathways activated by many receptor tyrosine kinases (reviewed in refs 9 and 10), is encoded by the raf locus (also known as l(1)polehole, Draf-1 or Draf). Here we show that the Drosophila Raf serine/threonine kinase also plays a crucial role in the R7 pathway: the response to Sev activity is dependent on raf function, and a constitutively activated Raf protein can induce R7 cell development in the absence of sev function. We also present genetic evidence suggesting that Raf acts downstream of Ras1 and upstream of Sina in this signal transduction cascade.     

Structure of the insulin receptor substrate IRS-1 defines a unique signal transduction protein.

Since the discovery of insulin nearly 70 years ago, there has been no problem more fundamental to diabetes research than understanding how insulin works at the cellular level. Insulin binds to the alpha subunit of the insulin receptor which activates the tyrosine kinase in the beta subunit, but the molecular events linking the receptor kinase to insulin-sensitive enzymes and transport processes are unknown. Our discovery that insulin stimulates tyrosine phosphorylation of a protein of relative molecular mass between 165,000 and 185,000, collectively called pp185, showed that the insulin receptor kinase has specific cellular substrates. The pp185 is a minor cytoplasmic phosphoprotein found in most cells and tissues; its phosphorylation is decreased in cells expressing mutant receptors defective in signalling. We have now cloned IRS-1, which encodes a component of the pp185 band. IRS-1 contains over ten potential tyrosine phosphorylation sites, six of which are in Tyr-Met-X-Met motifs. During insulin stimulation, the IRS-1 protein undergoes tyrosine phosphorylation and binds phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, suggesting that IRS-1 acts as a multisite 'docking' protein to bind signal-transducing molecules containing Src-homology 2 and Src-homology-3 domains. Thus IRS-1 may link the insulin receptor kinase and enzymes regulating cellular growth and metabolism.     

Stimulation of the phosphatidylinositol pathway can induce T-cell activation

The T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) regulates two signal transduction pathways: the phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) and tyrosine kinase pathways. Stimulation of T cells with antigen or anti-TCR monoclonal antibodies induces an increase in inositol phosphates and diacylglycerol, the second messengers responsible for the mobilization of cytoplasmic free calcium and activation of protein kinase C-4. The TCR also activates a tyrosine kinase that is not intrinsic to the TCR. The relationship between these two signal transduction pathways and their contribution to later T-cell responses is unclear. Studies using variants of a murine hybridoma suggested that the PtdIns pathway might not be necessary for or be involved in regulating interleukin-2 (IL-2) production. To address the relationship between later T-cell responses and the early biochemical signals, we investigated the ability of a heterologous receptor with defined signal transduction function to induce T-cell activation. The human muscarinic subtype-1 receptor (HM1), which elicits PtdIns metabolism in neuronal cells through a G protein-coupled mechanism, also functionally activates this pathway when expressed in the T-cell line Jurkat-derived host, J-HM1-2.2 (ref.8). We show here that stimulation of HM1 alone induced IL-2 production and IL-2 receptor alpha chain expression. HM1 does not induce the tyrosine kinase pathway, suggesting that this pathway does not directly influence later T cell-activation responses. Instead, our studies indicate that activation of the PtdIns pathway is probably sufficient to induce later T-cell responses.     

Protein kinase C phosphorylation of the EGF receptor at a threonine residue close to the cytoplasmic face of the plasma membrane

The receptor for epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a 170,000-180,000 molecular weight single-chain glycoprotein of 1,186 amino acids. Its sequence suggests that it has an external EGF-binding domain, formed by the NH2-terminal 621 amino acids, linked to a cytoplasmic region by a single membrane-spanning segment. In the cytoplasmic portion, starting 50 residues from the membrane, there is a 250-residue stretch similar to the catalytic domain of the src gene family of retroviral tyrosine protein kinases, and, indeed, a tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity intrinsic to the receptor is stimulated when EGF is bound. Increased tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins, detected in A431 cells following EGF binding, may be important in the mitogenic signal pathway. Tumour promoters such as 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), counteract this increase, as well as causing loss of a high affinity class of EGF binding sites. The major receptor for TPA has been identified as the serine/threonine-specific Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent diacylglycerol-activated protein kinase, protein kinase C. By substituting for diacylglycerol, TPA stimulates protein kinase C. Protein kinase C phosphorylates purified EGF receptor at specific sites, and this reduces EGF-stimulated tyrosine protein kinase activity. TPA treatment of A431 cells increases serine and threonine phosphorylation of the EGF receptor at the same sites, which suggests that the reduction of EGF receptor kinase activity in TPA-treated cells is a consequence of the receptor's phosphorylation by the kinase. We have attempted to identify these phosphorylation sites and show here that protein kinase C phosphorylates threonine 654 in the human EGF receptor. This threonine is in a very basic sequence nine residues from the cytoplasmic face of the plasma membrane in the region before the protein kinase domain; it is thus in a position to modulate signalling between this internal domain and the external EGF-binding domain.     

Tyrosine phosphatase CD45 is essential for coupling T-cell antigen receptor to the phosphatidyl inositol pathway

Stimulation of T lymphocytes through their antigen receptor (T-cell receptor; TCR) results in the activation of a tyrosine kinase and the generation of phosphatidyl inositol (PtdIns)-derived second messengers. Several reports have indicated that CD45, a haematopoietic cell-specific surface glycoprotein with tyrosine phosphatase activity in its cytoplasmic domain, is important in lymphocyte activation. To examine the possibility that CD45 might influence proximal signal transduction events through the TCR, we have isolated a variant of the human T-cell leukaemic line, HPB-ALL, which fails to express this phosphatase. Unlike cells expressing CD45, stimulation of the TCR in the CD45-negative cell does not result in PtdIns-derived second messengers. Reconstitution of CD45 expression restored early signalling events through the TCR. To localize the site of CD45 action, the human muscarinic type 1 receptor, which also activates the PtdIns second messenger pathway, was transfected into the CD45-negative cell. Although stimulation of the TCR failed to generate PtdIns-derived second messengers, there was normal activity of the PtdIns pathway when human muscarinic receptor type 1 was stimulated, despite the absence of CD45. These data indicate that CD45 influences a cellular component that is essential for effective coupling of the TCR to the PtdIns second messenger pathway.     

No T-cell tyrosine protein kinase signalling or calcium mobilization after CD4 association with HIV-1 or HIV-1 gp120.

The T lymphocyte surface protein CD4 is an integral membrane glycoprotein noncovalently associated with the tyrosine protein kinase p56lck. In normal T cells, surface association of CD4 molecules with other CD4 molecules or other T-cell surface proteins, such as the T-cell antigen receptor, stimulates the activity of the p56lck tyrosine kinase, resulting in the phosphorylation of various cellular proteins at tyrosine residues. Thus, the signal transduction in T cells generated through the surface engagement of CD4 is similar to that observed for the class of growth factor receptors possessing endogenous tyrosine kinase activity. As CD4 is also the cellular receptor for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), binding of the virus or gp120 (the virus surface protein responsible for specific CD4+ T-cell association) could mimic the types of immunological interactions that have previously been found to stimulate p56lck and trigger T-cell activation pathways. We have evaluated this possibility and report here that binding of HIV-1 or the virus glycoprotein gp120 to CD4+ human T cells fails to elicit detectable p56lck-dependent tyrosine kinase activation and signalling, alterations in the composition of cellular phosphotyrosine-containing proteins, or changes in intracellular Ca2+ concentration.     

Phagocytosis and clearance of apoptotic cells is mediated by MER

Apoptosis is fundamental to the development and maintenance of animal tissues and the immune system. Rapid clearance of apoptotic cells by macrophages is important to inhibit inflammation and autoimmune responses against intracellular antigens. Here we report a new function for Mer, a member of the Axl/Mer/Tyro3 receptor tyrosine kinase family. mer(kd) mice with a cytoplasmic truncation of Mer had macrophages deficient in the clearance of apoptotic thymocytes. This was corrected in chimaeric mice reconstituted with bone marrow from wild-type animals. Primary macrophages isolated from mer(kd) mice showed that the phagocytic deficiency was restricted to apoptotic cells and was independent of Fc receptor-mediated phagocytosis or ingestion of other particles. The inability to clear apoptotic cells adequately may be linked to an increased number of nuclear autoantibodies in mer(kd) mice. Thus, the Mer receptor tyrosine kinase seems to be critical for the engulfment and efficient clearance of apoptotic cells. This has implications for inflammation and autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus.     

Autophosphorylation sites on the epidermal growth factor receptor

The epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor is a tyrosine-specific protein kinase with autophosphorylating activity. A 300 amino acid-long region of the receptor's cytoplasmic domain matches (35-90% homology) sequences of transforming proteins from the src family and includes a putative nucleotide binding site. Several of the src transforming proteins have tyrosine kinase activity, but v-erb-B, which appears to be a truncated EGF receptor, is virtually identical to the receptor over this region and yet lacks detectable kinase activity. To locate possible acceptor sites in the v-erb-B protein, we have mapped these sites in the human EGF receptor. We report here that three tyrosine sites near the C-terminus are phosphorylated in vitro. In intact cells, we find that EGF stimulates phosphorylation of several sites, the tyrosine 14 residues from the C-terminus being modified the most extensively. The equivalent site is absent in the v-erb-B protein of avian erythroblastosis virus (AEV) and may influence tyrosine kinase activity.     

Engagement of the high-affinity IgE receptor activates src protein-related tyrosine kinases.

The high-affinity IgE receptor (Fc epsilon RI), which is expressed on the surface of mast cells and basophils, has a central role in immediate allergic responses. In the rat basophilic leukaemia cell line RBL-2H3, which is a model system for the analysis of Fc epsilon RI-mediated signal transduction, surface engagement of Fc epsilon RI induces histamine release and the tyrosine phosphorylation of several distinct proteins. Although the alpha, beta, and gamma subunits of Fc epsilon RI lack intrinsic tyrosine protein kinase (TPK) activity, a kinase that copurifies with Fc epsilon RI phosphorylates the beta and gamma subunits of the receptor on tyrosine residues. We report here that in RBL-2H3 cells, p56lyn and pp60c-src are activated after Fc epsilon RI crosslinking, and p56lyn coimmunoprecipitates with Fc epsilon RI. In the mouse mast-cell line PT-18, another cell type used to study FC epsilon RI-mediated signalling, tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins is also an immediate consequence of receptor crosslinking. Notably, the only detectable src protein-related TPK in PT-18 cells is p62c-yes, and it is this TPK that is activated on Fc epsilon RI engagement and coimmunoprecipitates with the receptor. Therefore, it seems that different src protein-related TPKs can associate with the same receptor and become activated after receptor engagement.     

Structure of the receptor for platelet-derived growth factor helps define a family of closely related growth factor receptors

The primary structure of the receptor for platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), determined by means of cloning a cDNA that encodes the murine pre-PDGF receptor, is closely related to that of the v-kit oncogene product and the receptor for macrophage colony stimulating factor (CSF-1). Common structural features include the presence of long sequences that interrupt the tyrosine-specific protein kinase domains of each molecule. The PDGF and CSF-1 receptors also share a characteristic distribution of extracellular cysteine residues. Ubiquitin is covalently bound to the purified PDGF receptor, the human gene for which is on chromosome 5.