Autophagy is a major degradation system for intracellular macromolecules. Its decline with age or obesity is related to the onset and development of various intractable diseases. Although dietary phytochemicals are expected to enhance autophagy for preventive medicine, few studies have addressed their effects on the autophagy flux, which is the focus of the current study. Herein, 67 dietary phytochemicals were screened using a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3)-red fluorescent protein (RFP)-LC3ΔG probe for the quantitative assessment of autophagic degradation. Among them, isorhamnetin, chrysoeriol, 2,2′,4′-trihydroxychalcone, and zerumbone enhanced the autophagy flux in HeLa cells. Meanwhile, analysis of the structure–activity relationships indicated that the 3′-methoxy-4′-hydroxy group on the B-ring in the flavone skeleton and an ortho-phenolic group on the chalcone B-ring were crucial for phytochemicals activities. These active compounds were also effective in colon carcinoma Caco-2 cells, and some of them increased the expression of p62 protein, a typical substrate of autophagic proteolysis, indicating that phytochemicals impact p62 levels in autophagy-dependent and/or -independent manners. In addition, these compounds were characterized by distinct modes of action. While isorhamnetin and chrysoeriol enhanced autophagy in an mTOR signaling-dependent manner, the actions of 2,2′,4′-trihydroxychalcone and zerumbone were independent of mTOR signaling. Hence, these dietary phytochemicals may prove effective as potential preventive or therapeutic strategies for lifestyle-related diseases.

Several genes related to mitochondrial functions have been identified as causative genes of neuropathy or ataxia. Cytochrome c oxidase assembly factor 7 (COA7) may have a role in assembling mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes that function in oxidative phosphorylation. Here we identified four unrelated patients with recessive mutations in COA7 among a Japanese case series of 1396 patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) or other inherited peripheral neuropathies, including complex forms of CMT. We also found that all four patients had characteristic neurological features of peripheral neuropathy and ataxia with cerebellar atrophy, and some patients showed leukoencephalopathy or spinal cord atrophy on MRI scans. Validated mutations were located at highly conserved residues among different species and segregated with the disease in each family. Nerve conduction studies showed axonal sensorimotor neuropathy. Sural nerve biopsies showed chronic axonal degeneration with a marked loss of large and medium myelinated fibres. An immunohistochemical assay with an anti-COA7 antibody in the sural nerve from the control patient showed the positive expression of COA7 in the cytoplasm of Schwann cells. We also observed mildly elevated serum creatine kinase levels in all patients and the presence of a few ragged-red fibres and some cytochrome c oxidase-negative fibres in a muscle biopsy obtained from one patient, which was suggestive of subclinical mitochondrial myopathy. Mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme assay in skin fibroblasts from the three patients showed a definitive decrease in complex I or complex IV. Immunocytochemical analysis of subcellular localization in HeLa cells indicated that mutant COA7 proteins as well as wild-type COA7 were localized in mitochondria, which suggests that mutant COA7 does not affect the mitochondrial recruitment and may affect the stability or localization of COA7 interaction partners in the mitochondria. In addition, Drosophila COA7 (dCOA7) knockdown models showed rough eye phenotype, reduced lifespan, impaired locomotive ability and shortened synaptic branches of motor neurons. Our results suggest that loss-of-function COA7 mutation is responsible for the phenotype of the presented patients, and this new entity of disease would be referred to as spinocerebellar ataxia with axonal neuropathy type 3.

Although autophagy is classically viewed as a non-selective degradation system, recent studies have revealed that various forms of selective autophagy also play crucial physiological roles. However, the induction of selective autophagy is not well understood. In this study, we established a forced selective autophagy system using a fusion of an autophagy adaptor and a substrate-binding protein. In both mammalian cells and fertilized mouse embryos, efficient forced lipophagy was induced by expression of a fusion of p62 (Sqstm1) and a lipid droplet (LD)-binding domain. In mouse embryos, induction of forced lipophagy caused a reduction in LD size and number, and decreased the triglyceride level throughout embryonic development, resulting in developmental retardation. Furthermore, lipophagy-induced embryos could eliminate excess LDs and were tolerant of lipotoxicity. Thus, by inducing forced lipophagy, expression of the p62 fusion protein generated LD-depleted cells, revealing an unexpected role of LD during preimplantation development.

Autophagy is a cytoplasmic degradation system that is important for starvation adaptation and cellular quality control. Previously, we reported that Atg5-null mice are neonatal lethal; however, the exact cause of their death remains unknown. Here, we show that restoration of ATG5 in the brain is sufficient to rescue Atg5-null mice from neonatal lethality. This suggests that neuronal dysfunction, including suckling failure, is the primary cause of the death of Atg5-null neonates, which would further be accelerated by nutrient insufficiency due to a systemic failure in autophagy. The rescued Atg5-null mouse model, as a resource, allows us to investigate the physiological roles of autophagy in the whole body after the neonatal period. These rescued mice demonstrate previously unappreciated abnormalities such as hypogonadism and iron-deficiency anemia. These observations provide new insights into the physiological roles of the autophagy factor ATG5.

The small GTPase Rab11 dynamically changes its location to regulate various cellular processes such as endocytic recycling, secretion, and cytokinesis. However, our knowledge of its upstream regulators is still limited. Here, we identify the RAB-11-interacting protein-1 (REI-1) as a unique family of guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) for RAB-11 in Caenorhabditis elegans. Although REI-1 and its human homolog SH3-binding protein 5 do not contain any known Rab-GEF domains, they exhibited strong GEF activity toward Rab11 in vitro. In C. elegans, REI-1 is expressed in the germline and co-localizes with RAB-11 on the late-Golgi membranes. The loss of REI-1 specifically impaired the targeting of RAB-11 to the late-Golgi compartment and the recycling endosomes in embryos and further reduced the RAB-11 distribution to the cleavage furrow, which resulted in cytokinesis delay. These results suggest that REI-1 is a GEF specifically regulating the RAB-11 localization and functions in early embryos.

Peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22) resides in the plasma membrane and is required for myelin formation in the peripheral nervous system. Many PMP22 mutants accumulate in excess in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and lead to the inherited neuropathies of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease. However, the mechanism through which PMP22 mutants accumulate in the ER is unknown. Here, we studied the quality control mechanisms for the PMP22 mutants L16P and G150D, which were originally identified in mice and patients with CMT. We found that the ER-localised ubiquitin ligase Hrd1/SYVN1 mediates ER-associated degradation (ERAD) of PMP22(L16P) and PMP22(G150D), and another ubiquitin ligase, gp78/AMFR, mediates ERAD of PMP22(G150D) as well. We also found that PMP22(L16P), but not PMP22(G150D), is partly released from the ER by loss of Rer1, which is a Golgi-localised sorting receptor for ER retrieval. Rer1 interacts with the wild-type and mutant forms of PMP22. Interestingly, release of PMP22(L16P) from the ER was more prominent with simultaneous knockdown of Rer1 and the ER-localised chaperone calnexin than with the knockdown of each gene. These results suggest that CMT disease-related PMP22(L16P) is trapped in the ER by calnexin-dependent ER retention and Rer1-mediated early Golgi retrieval systems and partly degraded by the Hrd1-mediated ERAD system.

Rhodopsin is a pigment in photoreceptor cells. Some rhodopsin mutations cause the protein to accumulate in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), leading to photoreceptor degeneration. Although several mutations have been reported, how mutant rhodopsin is retained in the ER remains unclear. In this study, we identified Rer1p as a modulator of ER retention and rhodopsin trafficking. Loss of Rer1p increased the transport of wild-type rhodopsin to post-Golgi compartments. Overexpression of Rer1p caused immature wild-type rhodopsin to accumulate in the ER. Interestingly, the G51R rhodopsin mutant, which has a mutation in the first transmembrane domain and accumulates in the ER, was released to the plasma membrane or lysosomes in Rer1-knockdown cells. Consistent with these results, Rer1p interacted with both wild-type and mutant rhodopsin. These results suggest that Rer1p regulates the ER retention of immature or misfolded rhodopsin and modulates its intracellular trafficking through the early secretory pathway.

Embryo quality is a critical parameter in assisted reproductive technologies. Although embryo quality can be evaluated morphologically, embryo morphology does not correlate perfectly with embryo viability. To improve this, it is important to understand which molecular mechanisms are involved in embryo quality control. Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved catabolic process in which cytoplasmic materials sequestered by autophagosomes are degraded in lysosomes. We previously demonstrated that autophagy is highly activated after fertilization and is essential for further embryonic development. Here, we developed a simple fluorescence-based method for visualizing autophagic activity in live mouse embryos. Our method is based on imaging of the fluorescence intensity of GFP-LC3, a versatile marker for autophagy, which is microinjected into the embryos. Using this method, we show that embryonic autophagic activity declines with advancing maternal age, probably due to a decline in the activity of lysosomal hydrolases. We also demonstrate that embryonic autophagic activity is associated with the developmental viability of the embryo. Our results suggest that embryonic autophagic activity can be utilized as a novel indicator of embryo quality.

Lysosomes are acidic and highly dynamic organelles that are essential for macromolecule degradation and many other cellular functions. However, little is known about lysosomal function during early embryogenesis. Here, we found that the number of lysosomes increased after fertilization. Lysosomes were abundant during mouse preimplantation development until the morula stage, but their numbers decreased slightly in blastocysts. Consistently, the protein expression level of mature cathepsins B and D was high from the one-cell to morula stages but low in the blastocyst stage. One-cell embryos injected with siRNAs targeted to both lysosome-associated membrane protein 1 and 2 (LAMP1 and LAMP2) were developmentally arrested at the two-cell stage. Pharmacological inhibition of lysosomes also caused developmental retardation, resulting in accumulation of lipofuscin. Our fndings highlight the functional changes in lysosomes in mouse preimplantation embryos. © 2013 by the Society for Reproduction and Development.

It is generally accepted that soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors mediate the docking and fusion of transport intermediates with target membranes. Our research identifies Caenorhabditis elegans homologue of synaptosomal-associated protein 29 (SNAP-29) as an essential regulator of membrane trafficking in polarized intestinal cells of living animals. We show that a depletion of SNAP-29 blocks yolk secretion and targeting of apical and basolateral plasma membrane proteins in the intestinal cells and results in a strong accumulation of small cargo-containing vesicles. The loss of SNAP-29 also blocks the transport of yolk receptor RME-2 to the plasma membrane in nonpolarized oocytes, indicating that its function is required in various cell types. SNAP-29 is essential for embryogenesis, animal growth, and viability. Functional fluorescent protein-tagged SNAP-29 mainly localizes to the plasma membrane and the late Golgi, although it also partially colocalizes with endosomal proteins. The loss of SNAP-29 leads to the vesiculation/fragmentation of the Golgi and endosomes, suggesting that SNAP-29 is involved in multiple transport pathways between the exocytic and endocytic organelles. These observations also suggest that organelles comprising the endomembrane system are highly dynamic structures based on the balance between membrane budding and fusion and that SNAP-29-mediated fusion is required to maintain proper organellar morphology and functions.

The molecular circadian clock consists of a feedback loop in which canonical clock proteins negatively regulate transcription of their own genes. Timed nuclear entry of these proteins is critical, but regulation of this event is poorly understood. In Drosophila melanogaster, the idea that nuclear entry of PERIOD (PER) is controlled by its partner protein TIMELESS (TIM) has been challenged by several studies. We identify here a novel mutation in the tim gene that eliminates behavioral rhythms while allowing robust expression of TIM and PER. Mutant TIM can bind to and stabilize PER. However, neither protein is expressed cyclically, and phosphorylation of both is reduced. In addition, TIM and PER are localized in the cytoplasm at all times of day, and mutant TIM attenuates transcriptional feedback by PER in cultured cells, suggesting that it holds PER in the cytoplasm. In fact, much of the reduced phosphorylation of PER in the new tim mutant appears to result from the cytoplasmic localization of PER. Interestingly, mutating a threonine near the original mutation produces similar phenotypes, raising the possibility that defective phosphorylation is the basis of TIM dysfunction in the novel tim mutant. We also show that a stable form of PER is cytoplasmic in tim-null flies. These studies establish an essential role of TIM in the timed nuclear entry of PER.

Autophagy is a major pathway for degradation of cytoplasmic proteins and organelles, and has been implicated in tumor suppression. Here, we report that mice with systemic mosaic deletion of Atg5 and liver-specific Atg7-/- mice develop benign liver adenomas. These tumor cells originate autophagy-deficient hepatocytes and show mitochondrial swelling, p62 accumulation, and oxidative stress and genomic damage responses. The size of the Atg7-/- liver tumors is reduced by simultaneous deletion of p62. These results suggest that autophagy is important for the suppression of spontaneous tumorigenesis through a cellintrinsic mechanism, particularly in the liver, and that p62 accumulation contributes to tumor progression. © 2011 by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Genetic ablation of autophagy in mice leads to liver and brain degeneration accompanied by the appearance of ubiquitin (Lib) inclusions, which has been considered to support the hypothesis that ubiquitination serves as a cis-acting signal for selective autophagy We show that tissue-specific disruption of the essential autophagy genes Atg5 and Atg7 leads to the accumulation of all detectable Ub-Ub topologies, arguing against the hypothesis that any particular Ub linkage serves as a specific autophagy signal The increase in Ub conjugates in Atg7(-/-) liver and brain is completely suppressed by simultaneous knockout of either p62 or Nrf2 We exploit a novel assay for selective autophagy in cell culture, which shows that inactivation of Atg5 leads to the selective accumulation of aggregation prone proteins, and this does not correlate with an increase in substrate ubiquitination We propose that protein oligomerization drives autophagic substrate selection and that the accumulation of poly Ub chains in autophagy deficient circumstances is an indirect consequence of activation of Nrf2-dependent stress response pathways

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a member of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinase (PIKK) family and is a major regulator of translation, cell growth, and autophagy. mTOR exists in two distinct complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2, that differ in their subunit composition. In this study, we identified KIAA0406 as a novel mTOR-interacting protein. Because it has sequence homology with Schizosaccharomyces pombe Tti1, we named it mammalian Tti1. Tti1 constitutively interacts with mTOR in both mTORC1 and mTORC2. Knockdown of Tti1 suppresses phosphorylation of both mTORC1 substrates (S6K1 and 4F-BP1) and an mTORC2 substrate (Akt) and also induces autophagy. S. pombe Tti1 binds to Tel2, a protein whose mammalian homolog was recently reported to regulate the stability of PIKKs. We confirmed that Tti1 binds to Tel2 also in mammalian cells, and Tti1 interacts with and stabilizes all six members of the PIKK family of proteins (mTOR, ATM, ATR, DNA-PKcs, SMG-1, and TRRAP). Furthermore, using immuno-precipitation and size-exclusion chromatography analyses, we found that knockdown of either Tti1 or Tel2 causes disassembly of mTORC1 and mTORC2. These results indicate that Tti1 and Tel2 are important not only for mTOR stability but also for assembly of the mTOR complexes to maintain their activities.

Autophagy is a major route by which cytoplasmic contents are delivered to the lysosome for degradation. Many autophagy-related (ATG) genes have been identified in yeast. Although most of them are conserved in human, the molecular composition of the Atg1 complex appears to differ between yeast and mammals. In yeast, Atg1 forms a complex with Atg11, Atg13, Atg17, Atg29 and Atg31, whereas mammalian Atg1 (ULK1/2) interacts with Atg13 and FIP200. Here, we identify a novel mammalian Atg13 binding protein, named Atg101. Atg1O1 shows no homology with other Atg proteins, and is conserved in various eukaryotes, but not in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Atg101 associates with the ULK-Atg13-FIP200 complex, most likely through direct interaction with Atg13. In Atg13 siRNA-treated cells, Atg101 is present solely as a monomer. Interaction between Atg 10 1 and the ULK-Atg13-FIP200 complex is stable, and is not regulated by nutrient conditions. GFP-Atg101 localizes to the isolation membrane/phagophore. GFP-LC3 dot formation is suppressed and endogenous LC3-I accumulates in Atg101 siRNA-treated cells, suggesting that Atg101 is a critical factor for autophagy. Furthermore, Atg101 is important for the stability and basal phosphorylation of Atg13 and ULK1. These data suggest that Atg101 is a novel Atg protein that functions together with ULK, Atg13 and FIP200.

Autophagy is an intracellular degradation system, by which cytoplasmic contents are degraded in lysosomes. Autophagy is dynamically induced by nutrient depletion to provide necessary amino acids within cells, thus helping them adapt to starvation. Although it has been suggested that mTOR is a major negative regulator of autophagy, how it controls autophagy has not yet been determined. Here, we report a novel mammalian autophagy factor, Atg13, which forms a stable similar to 3-MDa protein complex with ULK1 and FIP200. Atg13 localizes on the autophagic isolation membrane and is essential for autophagosome formation. In contrast to yeast counterparts, formation of the ULK1-Atg13-FIP200 complex is not altered by nutrient conditions. Importantly, mTORC1 is incorporated into the ULK1-Atg13-FIP200 complex through ULK1 in a nutrient-dependent manner and mTOR phosphorylates ULK1 and Atg13. ULK1 is dephosphorylated by rapamycin treatment or starvation. These data suggest that mTORC1 suppresses autophagy through direct regulation of the similar to 3-MDa ULK1-Atg13-FIP200 complex.

The yeast serine threonine kinase Atg1 appears to be a key regulator of autophagy and its kinase activity is crucial for autophagy induction. Recent reports have indicated that a mammalian Atg1 homolog, UNC-51-like kinase (ULK) 1, is required for autophagy. We found that ULK1 localizes to the autophagic isolation membrane and its kinase activity is important for autophagy induction. Furthermore, we identified a focal adhesion kinase (FAK) family interacting protein of 200 W (FIP200) as a ULK-interacting protein. FIP200 also localizes to the isolation membrane together with ULK. Using FIP200-deficient cells, we found that FIP200 is essential for autophagosome formation and the proper function of ULK. Here, we discuss the role of the ULK-FIP200 complex in autophagy and the possibility that FIP200 functions as a mammalian counterpart of Atg17.

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved bulk-protein degradation pathway in which isolation membranes engulf the cytoplasmic constituents, and the resulting autophagosomes transport them to lysosomes. Two ubiquitin-like conjugation systems, termed Atg12 and Atg8 systems, are essential for autophagosomal formation. In addition to the pathophysiological roles of autophagy in mammals, recent mouse genetic studies have shown that the Atg8 system is predominantly under the control of the Atg12 system. To clarify the roles of the Atg8 system in mammalian autophagosome formation, we generated mice deficient in Atg3 gene encoding specific E2 enzyme for Atg8. Atg3-deficient mice were born but died within 1 d after birth. Conjugate formation of mammalian Atg8 homologues was completely defective in the mutant mice. Intriguingly, Atg12-Atg5 conjugation was markedly decreased in Atg3-deficient mice, and its dissociation from isolation membranes was significantly delayed. Furthermore, loss of Atg3 was associated with defective process of autophagosome formation, including the elongation and complete closure of the isolation membranes, resulting in malformation of the autophagosomes. The results indicate the essential role of the Atg8 system in the proper development of autophagic isolation membranes in mice.

Autophagy is a membrane-mediated intracellular degradation system. The serine/threonine kinase Atg1 plays an essential role in autophagosome formation. However, the role of the mammalian Atg1 homologues UNC-51-like kinase (ULK) 1 and 2 are not yet well understood. We found that murine ULK1 and 2 localized to autophagic isolation membrane under starvation conditions. Kinase-dead alleles of ULK1 and 2 exerted a dominant-negative effect on autophagosome formation, suggesting that ULK kinase activity is important for autophagy. We next screened for ULK binding proteins and identified the focal adhesion kinase family interacting protein of 200 kD (FIP200), which regulates diverse cellular functions such as cell size, proliferation, and migration. We found that FIP200 was redistributed from the cytoplasm to the isolation membrane under starvation conditions. In FIP200-deficient cells, autophagy induction by various treatments was abolished, and both stability and phosphorylation of ULK1 were impaired. These results suggest that FIP200 is a novel mammalian autophagy factor that functions together with ULKs. © 2008 Hara et al. The Rockefeller University Press.

Inactivation of constitutive autophagy results in formation of cytoplasmic protein inclusions and leads to liver injury and neurodegeneration, but the details of abnormalities related to impaired autophagy are largely unknown. Here we used mouse genetic analyses to define the roles of autophagy in the aforementioned events. Were-port that the ubiquitin-and LC3-binding protein "p62'' regulates the formation of protein aggregates and is removed by autophagy. Thus, genetic ablation of p62 suppressed the appearance of ubiquitin-positive protein aggregates in hepatocytes and neurons, indicating that p62 plays an important role in inclusion body formation. Moreover, loss of p62 markedly attenuated liver injury caused by autophagy deficiency, whereas it had little effect on neuronal degeneration. Our findings highlight the unexpected role of homeostatic level of p62, which is regulated by autophagy, in controlling intracellular inclusion body formation, and indicate that the pathologic process associated with autophagic deficiency is cell-type specific.

Autophagy is an intracellular bulk degradation process, through which a portion of cytoplasm is delivered to lysosomes to be degraded. In many organisms, the primary role of autophagy is adaptation to starvation. However, we have found that autophagy is also important for intracellular protein quality control. Atq5(-/-) mice die shortly after birth due, at least in part, to nutrient deficiency. These mice also exhibit an intracellular accumulation of protein aggregates in neurons and hepatocytes. We now report the generation of neural cell-specific Atg5-deficient mice. Atg5(flox/flox);Nestin-Cre mice show progressive deficits in motor function and degeneration of some neural cells. In autophagy-deficient cells, diffuse accumulation of abnormal proteins occurs, followed by the generation of aggregates and inclusions. This study emphasizes the point that basal autophagy is important even in individuals who do not express neurodegenerative disease-associated mutant proteins. Furthermore, the primary targets of autophagy are diffuse cytosolic proteins, not protein aggregates themselves.

Autophagy is an intracellular bulk degradation process through which a portion of the cytoplasm is delivered to lysosomes to be degraded(1-4). Although the primary role of autophagy in many organisms is in adaptation to starvation, autophagy is also thought to be important for normal turnover of cytoplasmic contents, particularly in quiescent cells such as neurons. Autophagy may have a protective role against the development of a number of neurodegenerative diseases(5-8). Here we report that loss of autophagy causes neurodegeneration even in the absence of any disease-associated mutant proteins. Mice deficient for Atg5 (autophagy-related 5) specifically in neural cells develop progressive deficits in motor function that are accompanied by the accumulation of cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in neurons. In Atg5(-/-) cells, diffuse, abnormal intracellular proteins accumulate, and then form aggregates and inclusions. These results suggest that the continuous clearance of diffuse cytosolic proteins through basal autophagy is important for preventing the accumulation of abnormal proteins, which can disrupt neural function and ultimately lead to neurodegeneration.

KPC2 (Kip1 ubiquitylation-promoting complex 2) together with KPC1 forms the ubiquitin ligase KPC, which regulates degradation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27 at the G, phase of the cell cycle. KPC2 contains a ubiquitin-like (UBL) domain, two ubiquitin-associated (UBA) domains, and a heat shock chaperonin-binding (STI1) domain. We now show that KPC2 interacts with KPC1 through its UBL domain, with the 26S proteasome through its UBL and NH2-terminal UBA domains, and with polyubiquitylated proteins through its UBA domains. The association of KPC2 with KPC1 was found to stabilize KPC1 in a manner dependent on the STI1 domain of KPC2. KPC2 mutants that lacked either the NH2-terminal or the COOH-terminal UBA domain supported the polyubiquitylation of p27 in vitro, whereas a KPC2 derivative lacking the STI1 domain was greatly impaired in this regard. Depletion of KPC2 by RNA interference resulted in inhibition of p27 degradation at the G, phase, and introduction of KPC2 derivatives into the KPC2-depleted cells revealed that the NH2-terminal UBA domain of KPC2 is essential for p27 degradation. These observations suggest that KPC2 cooperatively regulates p27 degradation with KPC1 and that the STI1 domain as well as the UBL and UBA domains of KPC2 are indispensable for its function.

The cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor p27 is degraded at the G(0)-G(1) transition of the cell cycle by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in a Skp2-independent manner. We recently identified a novel ubiquitin ligase, KPC (Kip1 ubiquitylation-promoting complex), consisting of KPC1 and KPC2, which regulates the ubiquitin-dependent degradation of p27 at G(1) phase. We have now investigated the structural requirements for the interactions of KPC1 with KPC2 and p27. The NH2-terminal region of KPC1 was found to be responsible for binding to KPC2 and to p27. KPC1 mutants that lack this region failed to mediate polyubiquitylation of p27 in vitro and expression of one such mutant delayed p27 degradation in vivo. We also generated a series of deletion mutants of p27 and found that KPC failed to polyubiquitylate a p27 mutant that lacks the CDK inhibitory domain. Interestingly, the cyclin E.CDK2 complex prevented both the interaction of KPC with p27 as well as KPC-mediated polyubiquitylation of p27. A complex of cyclin E with a kinase-negative mutant of CDK2 also exhibited these inhibitory effects, suggesting that cyclin E.CDK2 competes with KPC1 for access to the CDK inhibitory domain of p27. These results suggest that free p27 is recognized by the NH2-terminal region of KPC1, which also associates with KPC2, and that p27 is then polyubiquitylated by the COOH-terminal RING-finger domain of KPC1.

The abundance of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor p57(KiP2), an important regulator of cell cycle progression, is thought to be controlled by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. The Skp1/Cul1/F-box (SCF)-type E3 ubiquitin ligase complex SCFSkp2 has now been shown to be responsible for regulating the cellular level of p57(KiP2) by targeting it for ubiquitylation and proteolysis. The elimination of p57(Kip2) was impaired in Skp2(-/-) cells, resulting in abnormal accumulation of the protein. Coimmunoprecipitation analysis also revealed that Skp2 interacts with p57(KiP2) in vivo. Overexpression of WT Skp2 promoted degradation of p57(Kip2), whereas expression of a dominant negative mutant of Skp2 prolonged the half-life of p57(KiP2). Mutation of the threonine residue (Thr-310) of human p57(KiP2) that is conserved between the COOH-terminal QT domains of p57(KiP2) and p27(KiP1) prevented the effect of Skp2 on the stability of p57(KiP2), suggesting that phosphorylation at this site is required for SCFSkp2-mediated ubiquitylation. Finally, the purified recombinant SCFSkp2 complex mediated p57(Kip2) ubiquitylation in vitro in a manner dependent on the presence of the cyclin E-CDK2 complex. These observations thus demonstrate that the SCFSkp2 complex plays an important role in cell-cycle progression by determining the abundance of p57(Kip2) and that of the related CDK inhibitor p27(KiP1).

Phosphorylation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(Kip1) has been thought to regulate its stability. Ser(10) is the major phosphorylation site of p27(Kip1), and phosphorylation of this residue affects protein stability. Phosphorylation of p27(Kip1) on Ser(10) has now been shown to be required for the binding of CRM1, a carrier protein for nuclear export. The p27(Kip1) protein was translocated from the nucleus to the cytoplasm at the Go-G, transition of the cell cycle, and this export was inhibited by leptomycin B, a specific inhibitor of CRM1-dependent nuclear export. The nuclear export and subsequent degradation of p27(Kip1) at the Go-G, transition were observed in cells lacking Skp2, the F-box protein component of an SCF ubiquitin ligase complex, indicating that these early events are independent of Skp2-mediated proteolysis. Substitution of Ser(10) with Ala (S10A) markedly reduced the extent of p27(Kip1) export, whereas substitution of Ser(10) with Asp (S10D) or Glu (S10E) promoted export. Co-immunoprecipitation analysis showed that CRM1 preferentially interacted with S10D and S10E but not with S10A, suggesting that the phosphorylation of p27(Kip1) on Ser(10) is required for its binding to CRM1 and for its subsequent nuclear export.

Targeting of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(Kip1) for proteolysis has been thought to be mediated by Skp2, the F-box protein component of an SCF ubiquitin ligase complex. Degradation of p27(Kip1) at the Go-G, transition of the cell cycle has now been shown to proceed normally in Shp2(-/-) lymphocytes, whereas p27(Kip1) proteolysis during S-G(2) phases is impaired in these Skp2-deficient cells. Degradation of p27(Kip1) at the G,-G(1), transition was blocked by lactacystin, a specific proteasome inhibitor, suggesting that it is mediated by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. The first cell cycle of stimulated Shp2(-/-) lymphocytes appeared normal, but the second cycle was markedly inhibited, presumably as a result of P27(Kip1) accumulation during S-G, phases of the first cell cycle. Polyubiquitination of p27(Kip1) in the nucleus is dependent on Skp2 and phosphorylation of P27(Kip1) on threonine 187. However, polyubiquitination activity was also detected in the cytoplasm of Shp2(-/-) cells, even with a threonine 187 --> alanine mutant of P27(Kip1) as substrate. These results suggest that a polyubiquitination activity in the cytoplasm contributes to the early phase of p27(Kip1) degradation in a Skp2-independent manner, thereby promoting cell cycle progression from Go to G,.