Ankyrin Recruitment Research Articles

Neuron Glia-Related Cell Adhesion Molecule (NrCAM) Promotes Topographic Retinocollicular Mapping

NrCAM (Neuron-glial related cell adhesion molecule), a member of the L1 family of cell adhesion molecules, reversibly binds ankyrin and regulates axon growth, but it has not been studied for a role in retinotopic mapping. During development of retino-collicular topography, NrCAM was expressed uniformly in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) along both mediolateral and anteroposterior retinal axes, and was localized on RGC axons within the optic tract and superior colliculus (SC). Anterograde tracing of RGC axons in NrCAM null mutant mice at P10, when the map resembles its mature form, revealed laterally displaced ectopic termination zones (eTZs) of axons from the temporal retina, indicating defective mediolateral topography, which is governed by ephrinB/EphBs. Axon tracing at P2 revealed that interstitial branch orientation of ventral-temporal RGC axons in NrCAM null mice was compromised in the medial direction, likely accounting for displacement of eTZs. A similar retinocollicular targeting defect in EphB mutant mice suggested that NrCAM and EphB interact to regulate mediolateral retino-collicular targeting. We found that EphB2 tyrosine kinase but not an EphB2 kinase dead mutant, phosphorylated NrCAM at a conserved tyrosine residue in the FIGQY ankyrin binding motif, perturbing ankyrin recruitment in NrCAM transfected HEK293 cells. Furthermore, the phosphorylation of NrCAM at FIGQY in SC was decreased in EphB1/3 and EphB1/2/3 null mice compared to WT, while phospho-FIGQY of NrCAM in SC was increased in EphB2 constitutively active (F620D/F620D) mice. These results demonstrate that NrCAM contributes to mediolateral retinocollicular axon targeting by regulating RGC branch orientation through a likely mechanism in which ephrinB/EphB phosphorylates NrCAM to modulate linkage to the actin cytoskeleton.

EphB regulates L1 phosphorylation during retinocollicular mapping

Interaction of the cell adhesion molecule L1 with the cytoskeletal adaptor ankyrin is essential for topographic mapping of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons to synaptic targets in the superior colliculus (SC). Mice mutated in the L1 ankyrin-binding motif (FIGQY(1229)H) display abnormal mapping of RGC axons along the mediolateral axis of the SC, resembling mouse mutant phenotypes in EphB receptor tyrosine kinases. To investigate whether L1 functionally interacts with EphBs, we investigated the role of EphB kinases in phosphorylating L1 using a phospho-specific antibody to the tyrosine phosphorylated FIGQY(1229) motif. EphB2, but not an EphB2 kinase dead mutant, induced tyrosine phosphorylation of L1 at FIGQY(1229) and perturbed ankyrin recruitment to the membrane in L1-transfected HEK293 cells. Src family kinases mediated L1 phosphorylation at FIGQY(1229) by EphB2. Other EphB receptors that regulate medial-lateral retinocollicular mapping, EphB1 and EphB3, also mediated phosphorylation of L1 at FIGQY(1229). Tyrosine(1176) in the cytoplasmic domain of L1, which regulates AP2/clathrin-mediated endocytosis and axonal trafficking, was not phosphorylated by EphB2. Accordingly mutation of Tyr(1176) to Ala in L1-Y(1176)A knock-in mice resulted in normal retinocollicular mapping of ventral RGC axons. Immunostaining of the mouse SC during retinotopic mapping showed that L1 colocalized with phospho-FIGQY in RGC axons in retinorecipient layers. Immunoblotting of SC lysates confirmed that L1 was phosphorylated at FIGQY(1229) in wild type but not L1-FIGQY(1229)H (L1Y(1229)H) mutant SC, and that L1 phosphorylation was decreased in the EphB2/B3 mutant SC. Inhibition of ankyrin binding in L1Y(1229)H mutant RGCs resulted in increased neurite outgrowth compared to WT RGCs in retinal explant cultures, suggesting that L1-ankyrin binding serves to constrain RGC axon growth. These findings are consistent with a model in which EphB kinases phosphorylate L1 at FIGQY(1229) in retinal axons to modulate L1-ankyrin binding important for mediolateral retinocollicular topography.

Alterations in the band3/Rh Protein Complex in Erythrocyte Membranes of Protein 4.2 (Chartres) deficient Cells Occur Late during Erythropoiesis

We report on a 40 year old patient with mild hereditary spherocytosis (RBC: 4.43×1012/dL; Reticulocyte count: 253×109/dL; Hb: 14g/dL), whose red blood cells completely lack protein 4.2. Genetic analysis showed that the patient was a double heterozygote for EPB42 deletions; one allele lacked exon 9 but the sequence remained in frame (protein 4.2 Chartres I) and the other allele contained a di-nucleotide deletion resulting in a premature stop signal (protein 4.2 Chartres II). Homology modelling showed that the hairpin region that forms the proposed band 3 binding site is still present in both mutants. However, the deletion of exon 9 removes a large portion of Domain 2 (core domain) of protein 4.2, potentially removing a band 3 binding groove, and the truncation mutant lacks a portion of the core domain and the whole domains 3 and 4. Therefore, these mutations are likely to destabilize protein 4.2 either directly, or indirectly by disturbing the interaction of protein 4.2 with band 3. Flow cytometry, SDS-PAGE and Western blotting of erythrocyte membranes showed a significant reduction of 70–80 % in CD47 levels, altered Rh associated glycoprotein (RhAG) mobility, reduced GPA/GPB heterodimers, and a 3 fold increase in CD44 levels as reported previously for protein 4.2 null red cells. We stored mature red cells at 4 degrees Celsius over 35 days and found that CD47 continues to be lost in microvesicles as the red cell ages, consistent with a weaker link of CD47 with the cytoskeleton. We investigated band 3 complex stability by performing co-immunoprecipitations and found that lower amounts of band 3 were co-immunoprecipitated using an anti-ankyrin antibody in Chartres red cells compared to wild type, suggesting that the association of band 3 with the cytoskeleton is severely affected. Furthermore, less band 3 was co-immunoprecipitated with an anti-RhAG antibody, consistent with a disturbance of the association of the Rh complex with band 3. We next investigated the stage during erythropoiesis at which the observed changes in band 3 macrocomplex proteins occur. To this end we expanded and differentiated erythroid progenitors from peripheral blood of wild type and the Chartres patient using a three culture system modified from Leberbauer et al. (2005). Synchronous differentiation of a pure erythroid progenitor pool (60% enucleation) demonstrated that protein 4.2 co-immunoprecipitated with band 3 early on in erythroid progenitor differentiation. However, in protein 4.2 Chartres progenitors the mutant forms of protein 4.2 were not expressed at any stage during erythropoiesis, demonstrating that both protein 4.2 mutants are unstable and rapidly degraded. Surprisingly, flow cytometry and western blot analysis revealed that CD47, RhAG, band 3, CD44, and GPA/GPB levels are all similar compared to wild type during erythroid differentiation. Thus, despite the absence of protein 4.2 throughout erythropoiesis, the final changes in the Rh/band3 complex observed in patient's erythrocytes are not observed. Overall our results suggest that protein 4.2 Chartres is unstable probably due to specific 4.2 mutations that either cause disruption of the band 3 binding sites or an intrinsic instability of these individual mutant proteins. The association of band 3 and ankyrin also appears to be altered in protein 4.2 Chartres suggestive of a weakening of the band 3 cytoskeleton linkage, which could also contribute to the HS phenotype. Importantly, the absence of protein 4.2 not only disturbs ankyrin recruitment to band 3 but also affects association of band 3 with RhAG and disturbs GPA/GPB complexes, which demonstrates the importance of protein 4.2 in the process of band 3 complex formation. Most strikingly, our work demonstrates that the loss of CD47 and the other alterations observed in the band 3/Rh complex in protein 4.2 Chartres must occur late during red blood cell progenitor maturation, presumably after enucleation.

Nodes of Ranvier and axon initial segments are ankyrin G–dependent domains that assemble by distinct mechanisms

Axon initial segments (AISs) and nodes of Ranvier are sites of action potential generation and propagation, respectively. Both domains are enriched in sodium channels complexed with adhesion molecules (neurofascin [NF] 186 and NrCAM) and cytoskeletal proteins (ankyrin G and βIV spectrin). We show that the AIS and peripheral nervous system (PNS) nodes both require ankyrin G but assemble by distinct mechanisms. The AIS is intrinsically specified; it forms independent of NF186, which is targeted to this site via intracellular interactions that require ankyrin G. In contrast, NF186 is targeted to the node, and independently cleared from the internode, by interactions of its ectodomain with myelinating Schwann cells. NF186 is critical for and initiates PNS node assembly by recruiting ankyrin G, which is required for the localization of sodium channels and the entire nodal complex. Thus, initial segments assemble from the inside out driven by the intrinsic accumulation of ankyrin G, whereas PNS nodes assemble from the outside in, specified by Schwann cells, which direct the NF186-dependent recruitment of ankyrin G.

Sodium Channel β1 Subunits Promote Neurite Outgrowth in Cerebellar Granule Neurons

Many immunoglobulin superfamily members are integral in development through regulation of processes such as growth cone guidance, cell migration, and neurite outgrowth. We demonstrate that homophilic interactions between voltage-gated sodium channel beta1 subunits promote neurite extension in cerebellar granule neurons. Neurons isolated from wild-type or beta1(-/-) mice were plated on top of parental, mock-, or beta1-transfected fibroblasts. Wild-type neurons consistently showed increased neurite length when grown on beta1-transfected monolayers, whereas beta1(-/-) neurons showed no increase compared with control conditions. beta1-mediated neurite extension was mimicked using a soluble beta1 extracellular domain and was blocked by antibodies directed against the beta1 extracellular domain. Immunohistochemical analysis suggests that the beta1 and beta4 subunits, but not beta2 and beta3, are expressed in cerebellar Bergmann glia as well as granule neurons. These results suggest a novel role for beta1 during neuronal development and are the first demonstration of a functional role for sodium channel beta subunit-mediated cell adhesive interactions.

Sodium Channel β1 Subunit-mediated Modulation of Nav1.2 Currents and Cell Surface Density Is Dependent on Interactions with Contactin and Ankyrin

Voltage-gated sodium channels are composed of a pore-forming alpha subunit and at least one auxiliary beta subunit. Both beta1 and beta2 are cell adhesion molecules that interact homophilically, resulting in ankyrin recruitment. In contrast, beta1, but not beta2, interacts heterophilically with contactin, resulting in increased levels of cell surface sodium channels. We took advantage of these results to investigate the molecular basis of beta1-mediated enhancement of sodium channel cell surface density, including elucidating structure-function relationships for beta1 association with contactin, ankyrin, and Nav1.2. beta1/beta2 subunit chimeras were used to assign putative sites of contactin interaction to two regions of the beta1 Ig loop. Recent studies have shown that glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins containing portions of Nav1.2 intracellular domains interact directly with ankyrinG. We show that native Nav1.2 associates with ankyrinG in cells in the absence of beta subunits and that this interaction is enhanced in the presence of beta1 but not beta1Y181E, a mutant that does not interact with ankyrinG. beta1Y181E does not modulate Nav1.2 channel function despite efficient association with Nav1.2 and contactin. beta1Y181E increases Nav1.2 cell surface expression, but not as efficiently as wild type beta1. beta1/beta2 chimeras exchanging various regions of the beta1 Ig loop were all ineffective in increasing Nav1.2 cell surface density. Our results demonstrate that full-length beta1 is required for channel modulation and enhancement of sodium channel cell surface expression.

Structural Requirements for Interaction of Sodium Channel β1 Subunits with Ankyrin

Sodium channel beta subunits modulate channel kinetic properties and cell surface expression levels and function as cell adhesion molecules. beta 1 and beta 2 participate in homophilic cell adhesion resulting in ankyrin recruitment to cell contact sites. We hypothesized that a tyrosine residue in the cytoplasmic domain of beta 1 may be important for ankyrin recruitment and tested our hypothesis using beta 1 mutants replacing Tyr(181) with alanine (beta 1Y181A), phenylalanine (beta 1Y181F), or glutamate (beta 1Y181E), or a truncated construct deleting all residues beyond Tyr(181) (beta 1L182(STOP)). Ankyrin recruitment was observed in beta 1L182(STOP), showing that residues Ile(166)-Tyr(181) contain the major ankyrin recruiting activity of beta 1. Ankyrin recruitment was abolished in beta 1Y181E, suggesting that tyrosine phosphorylation of beta 1 may inhibit beta 1-ankyrin interactions. Ankyrin(G) and beta 1 associate in rat brain membranes and in transfected cells expressing beta 1 and ankyrin(G) in the absence of sodium channel alpha subunits. beta 1 subunits are recognized by anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies following treatment of these cell lines with fibroblast growth factor. beta 1 and ankryin(G) association is not detectable in cells following treatment with fibroblast growth factor. Ankyrin(G) and beta 1Y181E do not associate even in the absence of fibroblast growth factor treatment. beta 1 subunit-mediated cell adhesion and ankyrin recruitment may contribute to sodium channel placement at nodes of Ranvier. The phosphorylation state of beta 1Y181 may be a critical regulatory step in these developmental processes.

Cytoplasmic Domain Mutations of the L1 Cell Adhesion Molecule Reduce L1–Ankyrin Interactions

The neural adhesion molecule L1 mediates the axon outgrowth, adhesion, and fasciculation that are necessary for proper development of synaptic connections. L1 gene mutations are present in humans with the X-linked mental retardation syndrome CRASH (corpus callosum hypoplasia, retardation, aphasia, spastic paraplegia, hydrocephalus). Three missense mutations associated with CRASH syndrome reside in the cytoplasmic domain of L1, which contains a highly conserved binding region for the cytoskeletal protein ankyrin. In a cellular ankyrin recruitment assay that uses transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells, two of the pathologic mutations located within the conserved SFIGQY sequence (S1224L and Y1229H) strikingly reduced the ability of L1 to recruit 270 kDa ankyrinG protein that was tagged with green fluorescent protein (ankyrin-GFP) to the plasma membrane. In contrast, the L1 missense mutation S1194L and an L1 isoform lacking the neuron-specific sequence RSLE in the cytoplasmic domain were as effective as RSLE-containing neuronal L1 in the recruitment of ankyrin-GFP. Ankyrin binding by L1 was independent of cell-cell interactions. Receptor-mediated endocytosis of L1 regulates intracellular signal transduction, which is necessary for neurite outgrowth. In rat B35 neuroblastoma cell lines stably expressing L1 missense mutants, antibody-induced endocytosis was unaffected by S1224L or S1194L mutations but appeared to be enhanced by the Y1229H mutation. These results suggested a critical role for tyrosine residue 1229 in the regulation of L1 endocytosis. In conclusion, specific mutations within key residues of the cytoplasmic domain of L1 (Ser(1224), Tyr(1229)) destabilize normal L1-ankyrin interactions and may influence L1 endocytosis to contribute to the mechanism of neuronal dysfunction in human X-linked mental retardation.

Neuroglian and DE-Cadherin Activate Independent Cytoskeleton Assembly Pathways in Drosophila S2 Cells

The cytoskeletal proteins spectrin and ankyrin colocalize with sites of E-cadherin-mediated cell–cell adhesion in mammalian cells. Here we examined the effects of Drosophila DE-cadherin expression on spectrin and ankyrin in Drosophila S2 tissue culture cells. DE-cadherin caused a dramatic change in the cytoplasmic concentration and distribution of armadillo, the Drosophila homolog of β catenin. However, DE-cadherin expression had no detectable effect on the quantity or subcellular distribution of ankyrin or spectrin. In reciprocal experiments, recruitment of ankyrin and αβ spectrin to the plasma membrane by another cell adhesion molecule, neuroglian, had no effect on the quantity or distribution of armadillo. The results indicate that DE-cadherin–catenin complexes and neuroglian-spectrin/ankyrin complexes form by nonintersecting pathways. Recruitment of spectrin does not appear to be a conserved feature of DE-cadherin function.

Cis-activation of L1-mediated Ankyrin Recruitment by TAG-1 Homophilic Cell Adhesion

Neural cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) of the immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily mediate not only cell aggregation but also growth cone guidance and neurite outgrowth. In this study we demonstrate that two neural CAMs, L1-CAM and TAG-1, induce the homophilic aggregation of Drosophila S2 cells but are unable to interact with each other when expressed on different cells (trans-interaction). However, immunoprecipitations from cells co-expressing L1-CAM and TAG-1 showed a strong cis-interaction between the two molecules in the plane of the plasma membrane. TAG-1 is linked to the membrane by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor and therefore is unable to directly interact with cytoplasmic proteins. In contrast, L1-CAM-mediated homophilic cell adhesion induces the selective recruitment of the membrane skeleton protein ankyrin to areas of cell contact. Immunolabeling experiments in which S2 cells expressing TAG-1 were mixed with cells co-expressing L1-CAM and TAG-1 demonstrated that the homophilic interaction between TAG-1 molecules results in the cis-activation of L1-CAM to bind ankyrin. This TAG-1-dependent recruitment of the membrane skeleton provides an example of how GPI-anchored CAMs are able to transduce signals to the cytoplasm. Furthermore, such interactions might ultimately result in the recruitment and the activation of other signaling molecules at sites of cell contacts.

Structural requirements for outside-in and inside-out signaling by Drosophila neuroglian, a member of the L1 family of cell adhesion molecules.

Expression of the Drosophila cell adhesion molecule neuroglian in S2 cells leads to cell aggregation and the intracellular recruitment of ankyrin to cell contact sites. We localized the region of neuroglian that interacts with ankyrin and investigated the mechanism that limits this interaction to cell contact sites. Yeast two-hybrid analysis and expression of neuroglian deletion constructs in S2 cells identified a conserved 36-amino acid sequence that is required for ankyrin binding. Mutation of a conserved tyrosine residue within this region reduced ankyrin binding and extracellular adhesion. However, residual recruitment of ankyrin by this mutant neuroglian molecule was still limited to cell contacts, indicating that the lack of ankyrin binding at noncontact sites is not caused by tyrosine phosphorylation. A chimeric molecule, in which the extracellular domain of neuroglian was replaced with the corresponding domain from the adhesion molecule fasciclin II, also selectively recruited ankyrin to cell contacts. Thus, outside-in signaling by neuroglian in S2 cells depends on extracellular adhesion, but does not depend on any unique property of its extracellular domain. We propose that the recruitment of ankyrin to cell contact sites depends on a physical rearrangement of neuroglian in response to cell adhesion, and that ankyrin binding plays a reciprocal role in stabilizing the adhesive interaction.