Heat-stable Enterotoxin Receptor Research Articles

A Novel PDZ Protein Regulates the Activity of Guanylyl Cyclase C, the Heat-stable Enterotoxin Receptor

A Novel PDZ Protein Regulates the Activity of Guanylyl Cyclase C, the Heat-stable Enterotoxin Receptor

Structure and function of the heat-stable enterotoxin receptor/guanylyl cyclase C.

Guanylyl cyclase C (GC-C) was found to function as the principal receptor for heat-stable enterotoxins (STa), major causative factors in E. coli-induced secretory diarrhea. GC-C is enriched in intestinal epithelium, but was also detected in other epithelial tissues. The enzyme belongs to the family of receptor guanylyl cyclases, and consists of an extracellular receptor domain, a single transmembrane domain, a kinase homology domain, and a catalytic domain. GC-C is modified by N-linked glycosylation and, at least in the small intestine, by proteolysis, resulting in a STa receptor that is coupled non-covalently to the intracellular domain. So far two endogenous ligands of mammalian GC-C have been identified i.e. the small cysteine-rich peptides guanylin and uroguanylin. The guanylins are released in an auto- or paracrine fashion into the intestinal lumen but may also function as endocrine hormones in gut-kidney communication and as regulators of ion transport in extra-intestinal epithelia. They are thought to activate GC-C by inducing a conformational change in the extracellular portion of the homotrimeric GC-C complex, which allows two of the three intracellular catalytic domains to dimerize and form two active catalytic clefts. In the intestine, activation of GC-C results in a dual action: stimulation of Cl and HCO3 secretion, through the opening of apical CFTR Cl channels; and inhibition of Na absorption, through blockade of an apical Na/H exchanger. The principal effector of the GC-C effect on ion transport is cGMP dependent protein kinase type II, which together with GC-C and the ion transporters, may form a supramolecular complex at the apical border of epithelial cells.

Intestine-specific activity of the human guanylyl cyclase C promoter is regulated by Cdx2.

The heat-stable enterotoxin receptor, guanylyl cyclase C, exhibits an intestine-specific pattern of expression. The aim of this study was to identify the transcriptional activator that mediates intestine-specific expression of guanylyl cyclase C. Fragments of the promoter were assayed to isolate regions directing intestine-specific gene activation. Deoxyribonuclease I footprinting was used to identify a site of intestine-specific protection. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) and supershift analyses were used to characterize the protein that bound to the protected site. The protected site was mutated to analyze its role in promoter activity. Reporter gene assays revealed that intestine-specific expression of guanylyl cyclase C is directed by the proximal promoter. Deoxyribonuclease I footprinting identified a specific site in the proximal promoter that exhibited intestine-specific protection. EMSAs and supershift analyses revealed that the transcription factor Cdx2 bound to an intestine-specific site of protection. Mutation of the Cdx2-protected site of the promoter eliminated binding of Cdx2 and reduced reporter gene activity to the level of extraintestinal cells. These data show that Cdx2 and its consensus-binding site in the promoter are required for intestine-specific expression of the guanylyl cyclase C gene.

Regulation of Photoreceptor Membrane Guanylyl Cyclases by Guanylyl Cyclase Activator Proteins

Guanylyl cyclase (GC) plays a central role in the responses of vertebrate rod and cone photoreceptors to light. cGMP is an internal messenger molecule of vertebrate phototransduction. Light stimulates hydrolysis of cGMP, causing the closure of cGMP-dependent cation channels in the plasma membranes of photoreceptor outer segments. Light also lowers the concentration of intracellular free Ca2+ and by doing so it stimulates resynthesis of cGMP by guanylyl cyclase. The guanylyl cyclases that couple Ca2+ to cGMP synthesis in photoreceptors are members of a family of transmembrane guanylyl cyclases that includes atrial natriuretic peptide receptors and the heat-stable enterotoxin receptor. The photoreceptor membrane guanylyl cyclases, RetGC-1 and RetGC-2 (also referred to as GC-E and GC-F), are regulated intracellularly by two Ca2+-binding proteins, GCAP-1 and GCAP-2. GCAPs bind Ca2+ at three functional EF-hand structures. Several lines of biochemical evidence suggest that guanylyl cyclase activator proteins (GCAPs) bind constitutively to an intracellular domain of RetGCs. In the absence of Ca2+ GCAP stimulates and in the presence of Ca2+ it inhibits cyclase activity. Proper functioning of RetGC and GCAP is necessary not only for normal photoresponses but also for photoreceptor viability since mutations in RetGC and in GCAP cause photoreceptor degeneration.

Targeted Gene Disruption in the Development of Mouse Models to Elucidate the Role of Receptor Guanylyl Cyclase Signaling Pathways in Physiological Function

The physiological role of receptor guanylyl cyclases (GCs), which transduce a signal via the generation of intracellular cyclic GMP, has been somewhat speculative since there are few specific inhibitors that discriminate among various receptor isoforms. Although the natriuretic peptide receptors have been thought to regulate cardiovascular and renal function, the exact contribution of the receptor subtypes has not been clarified. The normal role of the heat-stable enterotoxin receptor guanylyl cyclase remains undefined, and several orphan members of the family await the identification of ligands as well as function. Targeted gene disruption, familiarly known as gene knockout, has emerged during the past decade as a powerful technique for probing the function of gene products, and has been used to develop animal models of inherited human diseases. We are just beginning to apply gene targeting technology to the guanylyl cyclase receptor family. Reviewed here is the information gained to date from the targeted disruption of several members of the guanylyl cyclase receptor family, their ligands, or effector molecules.

Functionally Active Catalytic Domain Is Essential for Guanylyl Cyclase-Linked Receptor Mediated Inhibition of Human Aldosterone Synthesis

An aspartate-to-alanine point mutation in the catalytic domain (D853A) of guanylyl cyclase-C (GC-C), the heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) receptor, rendered the enzyme catalytically inactive. Mn2+/Triton X-100-stimulated guanylyl cyclase activity was detected in membranes from COS7 cells overexpressing GC-C but not GC-CD853A. STa treatment of paired cells resulted in cGMP production in those transiently expressing GC-C but not GC-CD853A. GC-C and GC-CD853A showed similar Bmax and Kd values for [125I]STa binding in these cells, indicating that the lack of catalytic activity in the latter was not due to differing expression levels or reduced binding affinity. The involvement of the catalytic domain in aldosteronogenesis was studied in human adrenocortical H295R cells. COS7 and H295R cells infected with vaccinia virus-expressing GC-C and GC-CD853A (VVGC-CD853A) had [125I]STa-binding characteristics akin to those in transfected cells. Immunoblot confirmed that both GC-C and GC-CD853A formed similar higher order oligomers in infected cells. Virus-mediated expression of GC-C in H295R cells revealed concentration-dependent STa-stimulated cGMP formation that was undetectable in VVGC-CD853A-infected cells. STa decreased angiotensin II-stimulated human aldosterone generation in a concentration-dependent manner in vaccinia virus-expressing GC-C-infected cells but not in those infected with VVGC-CD853A. These results demonstrate that a catalytically active guanylyl cyclase is required for the inhibition of aldosteronogenesis.

Identification of ligand recognition sites in heat-stable enterotoxin receptor, membrane-associated guanylyl cyclase C by site-directed mutational analysis.

Guanylyl cyclase C (STaR), a receptor protein for heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) elaborated by Escherichia coli, is associated with and spans the plasma membrane of mammalian intestinal cells. The extracellular domain functions in the binding of STa and the association of each domain to an oligomeric form. Two amino acid residues, Arg-136 and Asp-347, were identified as the residues binding to STa in the extracellular domain of pig STaR by site-directed mutagenesis and analysis of expression on 293T cells. Replacement of these residues by other amino acid residues resulted in the loss of binding of pig STaR to STa, and as a result, STa-induced guanylyl cyclase activity was eliminated. Furthermore, mutation in a region (from Asp-347 to Val-401) which is close to the transmembrane domain caused a significant reduction in both STa-binding activity and guanylyl cyclase catalytic activity. These results suggest that the region adjacent to the transmembrane domain plays an important role in facilitating a favorable conformation of STaR for STa binding.

Expression of the Extracellular Domain of the Human Heat-Stable Enterotoxin Receptor inEscherichia coliand Generation of Neutralizing Antibodies

The entire extracellular domain of the human heat-stable enterotoxin (ST) receptor as well as a truncated N-terminal domain were cloned as glutathioneS-transferase fusion proteins and expressed inEscherichia coli.The recombinant fusion proteins were purified from both the cytosol and the inclusion body fractions by selective detergent extraction followed by glutathione-agarose affinity chromatography. The purified protein, corresponding to the entire extracellular domain, bound the stable toxin peptide with an affinity comparable to that of the native receptor characterized from the human colonic T84 cell line. No binding was observed with the N-terminal truncated fragment of the receptor under similar conditions. Polyclonal antibodies were raised to the entire extracellular domain fusion protein as well as the truncated extracellular domain fusion protein, and the antibodies were purified by affinity chromatography. Addition of the purified antibodies to T84 cells inhibited ST binding and abolished ST-mediated cGMP production, indicating that critical epitopes involved in ligand interaction are present in the N-terminal fragment of the receptor. Purified antibodies recognized a single protein ofMr160,000 Da on Western blotting with T84 membranes, corresponding to a size of the native glycosylated receptor in T84 cells. These studies are the first report of the expression, purification, and characterization of any member of the guanylyl cyclase family of receptors inE. coliand show that binding of the toxin to the extracellular domain of the receptor is possible in the absence of any posttranslational modifications such as glycosylation. The recombinant fusion proteins as well as the antibodies that we have generated could serve as useful tools in the identification of critical residues of the extracellular domain involved in ligand interaction.

The significance of Ser 1029 of the heat-stable enterotoxin receptor (STaR): Relation of STa-mediated guanylyl cyclase activation and signaling by phorbol myristate acetate

To characterize Ser 1029 in STaR at a consensus sequence of phosphorylation site by PKC, two mutants of mS1029A with replacement of Ser 1029 to Ala 1029 and CΔ1029 lacking 22 amino acids including Ser 1029 were prepared. Preincubation of the wild type-STaR (wt-STaR) transfectant with 1 μM PMA caused additional STa-mediated guanylyl cyclase (GC) activation compared to control, whereas the mS1029A- and CΔ1029-transfected cells did not show a similar enhanced GC activation by PMA. After metabolic labeling with [ 32P]phosphate, transfected cells with wt-STaR and mutants were incubated with 1 μM PMA. Subsequent 32P-radiolabeled proteins were immunoprecipitated using anti-STaR antibody, and analyzed by autoradiography after separation on SDS-PAGE. The immunoprecipitated wt-STaR but not mS1029A and CΔ1029 had a significant radioactivity. These results suggest that the effect of PMA on wt-STaR transfectants may be caused by phosphorylation of Ser 1029. The CΔ1012 mutant, with further truncation (Gln 1012-Phe 1050) of the carboxy terminus, did not show STa-mediated GC activation. Based on these data, these 17 amino acids (Gln 1012-Ala 1028), essential for signaling of GC activation by STa, have an abundance of basic amino acids which might be functionally influenced by phosphorylation of Ser 1029.

The E. Coli Heat-Stable Enterotoxin (ST) Receptor is a Novel Marker for Targeting Therapeutics to Colon Carcinoma Cells.

Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (1996) 59, 187–187; doi: 10.1038/sj.clpt.1996.246

Biogenesis, cellular localization, and functional activation of the heat-stable enterotoxin receptor (guanylyl cyclase C).

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli elaborate a peptide called heat-stable enterotoxin (ST), which binds to and activates the intestinal ST receptor (STaR). STaR, also known as guanylyl cyclase C (GC-C), is a member of the transmembrane guanylyl cyclase receptor family. The mRNA for STaR encodes an approximately 120 kDa protein with the N-terminal ligand binding domain on the cell surface. Ligand affinity cross-linking studies have previously demonstrated several species of potential ST binding proteins, ranging in size from approximately 50 to 160 kDa. Although these smaller forms of STaR (50-80 kDa) have been proposed to act in vivo as toxin binding proteins, their biogenesis and localization have not previously been examined. Using pulse labeling in vivo and synchronized translation in vitro, we demonstrate that these smaller forms represent incomplete translational products and are not formed through limited proteolysis of the full-length receptor, as had previously been believed. We determined, using fluorescence confocal microscopy and surface labeling, that only approximately 25% of cellular receptors are expressed at the surface, while the remaining population is retained within the endoplasmic reticulum. Only full-length receptor is found at the surface of the cell, indicating this to be the biologically active form of STaR responsible for interacting with the heat-stable enterotoxin and other luminal intestinal peptides. The large intracellular receptor population, and potential for function before translocation to the cell surface, may impact on how pharmacologic modulators of this clinically important receptor are designed.

Regulation of cell signaling by the cytoplasmic domains of the heat-stable enterotoxin receptor: identification of autoinhibitory and activating motifs.

Infection with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli is a leading cause of traveler's diarrhea. Many enterotoxigenic E. coli strains produce heat-stable enterotoxin (ST), a peptide that binds to the intestinal receptor guanylyl cyclase C known as STaR. The toxin-receptor interaction elevates intracellular cGMP, which then activates apical chloride secretion, resulting in secretory diarrhea. In this report, we examine how the intracellular domains of STaR participate in the propagation and regulation of signaling. We show that STaR exists as an oligomer in both the presence and the absence of toxin. We also demonstrate that deletion of the intracellular kinase-homology domain produces a constitutively active mutant, suggesting that this domain subserves an autoinhibitory function. Finally, we constructed a point mutant within a highly conserved region of the cyclase domain that completely inactivates the catalytic activity of guanylyl cyclase. Cotransfection of this point mutant with wild-type receptor causes a dominant-negative effect on receptor activation. This suggests that interaction of receptor subunits is required for toxin-induced activation and that the cyclase domain is involved in this essential interaction. We propose that the binding of ST to STaR promotes a conformational change across the cell membrane. This removes the inhibitory effects of the kinase-homology domain and promotes an interaction between cyclase domains that leads to receptor activation. The data suggest a paradigm of signal transduction that may also be relevant to other members of the guanylyl cyclase receptor family.

Immunohistochemical Localization of Guanylin in the Rat Small Intestine and Colon

Guanylin is an endogenous mammalian ligand which binds to guanylate cyclase C(GC-C), the Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin receptor. This interaction results in intestinal Cl− and fluid secretion, which is largely, if not exclusively, mediated through the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR). Using in situ hybridization, we have previously localized guanylin mRNA to villus epithelial cells of the rat small intestine and to superficial epithelial cells of the rat colon. In the present study, we demonstrate immunoreactive guanylin in a subpopulation of goblet cells in the rat jejunum and ileum. In the colon, there was immunostaining of superficial epithelial cells and goblet cells. The immunohistochemical localization of guanylin parallels the observed distribution of guanylin mRNA. Localization of guanylin in goblet cells leads us to speculate that an in vivo function of guanylin regulated, CFTR-mediated Cl− secretion is to hydrate intestinal mucin.

Pig intestinal membrane-bound receptor (guanylyl cyclase) for heat-stable enterotoxin: cDNA cloning, functional expression, and characterization.

A cDNA encoding the receptor protein for a heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) produced by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli was cloned from intestinal epithelial cells of a 10-week-old pig. The cDNA had an open reading frame of 3,219 base pairs and coded for a protein with 1,073 amino acid residues. The mature protein consisted of 1,050 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of ca. 121 kDa and was 87% and 82% identical with the human and rat protein, respectively. The CHO cell line overexpressing the pig recombinant STa receptor specifically bound to a photoaffinity-labeled analog of STa and showed marked elevation of the cellular content of cGMP in response to STa.

Heat-stable enterotoxin receptor/guanylyl cyclase C is an oligomer consisting of functionally distinct subunits, which are non-covalently linked in the intestine.

Guanylyl cyclase (GC) C is a heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) receptor with a monomeric M(r) of approximately 140,000. We calculated from its hydrodynamic parameters that an active GC-C complex has a M(r) of 393,000, suggesting that GC-C is a trimer under native conditions. Both trimeric and dimeric GC-C complexes were detected by 125I-STa binding and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under non-reducing conditions. The GC activity and STa binding from intestinal brush border membranes comigrated in gel filtration and velocity sedimentation with recombinant GC-C. However, 125I-STa cross-linking demonstrated that STa receptors with molecular masses of 52 and 74 kDa are non-covalently attached to GC in the intestine. Radiation inactivation revealed different functional sizes for basal GC activity, STa-stimulated GC activity, and STa binding (59, 210-240, and 32-52 kDa, respectively). At low radiation doses, basal GC activity was stimulated, suggesting that GC-C is inhibited by a relatively large, probably internal structure. These results suggest that STa may activate GC-C by promoting monomer-monomer interaction (internal "dimerization") within a homotrimeric GC-C complex, and that GC-C is proteolytically modified in the brush border membrane but retains its function.

Induction of heat-stable enterotoxin receptor activity by a human Alu repeat

The heat-stable enterotoxins (ST) elaborated by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli are a family of small cysteine-rich peptides that bind to specific epithelial receptors in the mammalian intestine, causing a secretory diarrhea. The expression of ST receptors is tightly regulated; they are found primarily in intestine, and their expression is developmentally modulated. One receptor for ST has been cloned, and its cDNA encodes a approximately 120-kDa particulate guanylyl cyclase (guanylyl cyclase-C). Recent studies suggest that there are additional ST receptors that are not homologous to guanylyl cyclase-C. We used an expression cloning strategy to identify intestinal mRNAs that lead to expression of ST receptor activity in transfected cells. Using an ST-specific affinity panning system, we identified a novel 1891-base pair cDNA that does not encode a receptor protein, but instead, consists primarily of untranslated sequence. This cDNA induced receptor activity in both COS and 293 embryonic kidney cells. Northern analysis of the T84 human intestinal cell line, from which this cDNA was cloned, suggests that it is part of a 7.8-kilobase mRNA transcript. This transcript was also identified in human small intestine and colon, as well as in several extra-intestinal tissues. Functional analysis of subcloned fragments reveals that ST binding activity is induced by a 457-base pair human Alu repetitive sequence within the cDNA and that the phenotype is independent of orientation. These findings suggest that a human Alu element induces expression of a unique ST receptor by a transacting mechanism. An unrelated Alu-rich genomic clone did not confer ST binding, suggesting that there may be structural and functional specificity within individual Alu sequences.

Upregulation of Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin receptor in regenerating rat liver

Guanylate cyclase C (GC-C) is a transmembrane protein that serves as a receptor for the recently characterized endogenous ligand guanylin and for Escherichia coli heat-stable toxin (STa). Binding of either guanylin or STa to intestinal GC-C results in net chloride secretion. Although GC-C is expressed in the rat intestine throughout life, its expression in the rat liver has previously been shown to occur only during the perinatal period. As a step toward elucidating the role of this receptor in the liver, we tested the hypothesis that GC-C mRNA expression could be induced in the adult rat liver following 1) partial hepatectomy, a stimulus for hepatocyte proliferation; 2) intraperitoneal carbon tetrachloride injection, a model of hepatocyte regeneration in the presence of inflammatory changes; and 3) subcutaneous turpentine injection, which generates an acute phase response without hepatocyte proliferation. We demonstrated expression of GC-C mRNA in the regenerating rat liver following either partial hepatectomy or CCl4-induced hepatic necrosis. We have also shown that GC-C mRNA expression occurred in association with an acute phase reaction. Coordinate with the expression of GC-C mRNA, there was upregulation of radiolabeled STa binding to liver plasma membranes prepared from turpentine-treated rats. Maximal expression of GC-C occurred in preparations enriched for the canalicular domain. Although the function of GC-C in the liver is unknown, localization to the canalicular domain would be consistent with a role for GC-C in hepatic chloride secretion, especially in the perinatal liver and during hepatocyte regeneration.

Expression of a truncated guanylate cyclase (GC-C), a receptor for heat-stable enterotoxin of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, and its dimer formation in COS-7 cells

A fragment of guanylate cyclase C (GC-C) of about 1.7 k bp corresponding to amino acids 1-553 spanning the extracellular and transmembrane domains and a portion of the intracellular region was amplified using template cDNA prepared from rat intestinal cells by the polymerase chain reaction method. The cloned 1.7 k bp fragment was inserted into the mammalian expression vector pCGUT and the truncated GC-C expressed on the surface of COS-7 cells was demonstrated to bind heat-stable enterotoxin by photo affinity labeling with 125 I-N-5-azidonitrobenzoyl-STh[5-19]. Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis showed that the truncated GC-C formed dimers on the surface of COS-7 cells. The intracellular region of GC-C was found not to be necessary for dimer formation by the GC-C. Comparison of the molecular weights of the truncated GC-C expressed in COS-7 cells and Escherichia coli suggested that the truncated GC-C was glycosylated in the mammalian expression system.

Guanylin mRNA Is Expressed in Villous Enterocytes of the Rat Small Intestine and Superficial Epithelia of the Rat Colon

Guanylin, an endogenous ligand for the Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin receptor, is a recently characterized intestinal peptide. To understand the possible physiologic function of guanylin, we examined the cellular location of guanylin mRNA expression in the rat intestine. Intestinal cells were sequentially isolated from villous tip to crypt in rat jejunum and ileum. Northern blots of total RNA identified a single 0.65 kb guanylin transcript predominantly in the villous cell fractions. In situ hybridization studies demonstrated maximal signal intensity in villous cells in rat ileum and surface epithelial cells in the colon. In the ileum, the signal was nonuniform in distribution in the surface epithelial cells, with focal areas of intense signal in clusters of columnar absorptive cells. In both colon and ileum, signal intensity was near background level in deep crypt cells, lamina propria, and muscularis.

HS-142-1, a novel antagonist for natriuretic peptides, has no effect on the third member of membrane bound guanylate cyclases (GC-C) in T84 cells

HS-142-1, a novel non-peptide antagonist for natriuretic peptide, exerts antagonistic actions almost equally on two similar guanylate cyclase-linked natriuretic peptide receptors (GC-A and GC-B), but has little or no effect on the binding of natriuretic peptides to a membrane protein, the so-called “clearance receptor”, which binds all natriuretic peptides. The third mammalian form of membrane bound guanylate cyclases (GC-C) was identified not as a natriuretic peptide receptor, but as a receptor for heat-stable enterotoxins (STa). In this study, we examined effects of HS-142-1 on GC-C (STaR) in T84 cells and showed that HS-142-1 exerts neither agonistic nor antagonistic activity for GC-C, indicating that HS-142-1 is not a common antagonist for a family of membrane bound guanylate cyclase receptors, but a specific antagonist for the guanylate cyclase-linked natriuretic peptide receptors.