Le complexe cohésine est un complexe protéique en forme d'anneau composé de quatre sous-unités essentielles très conservées: Smc1, Smc3, Rad21 et Scc3. Par sa capacité à encercler les molécules d’ADN, les cohésines participent à de nombreux processus cellulaires tels que la ségrégation des chromosomes, la signalisation et la réparation des dommages à l’ADN, la régulation de la transcription et l'organisation du génome. Pour assurer ces différentes fonctions biologiques les cohésines doivent être finement régulées à la fois dans le temps et l’espace. Ces régulations reposent en partie sur le contrôle de leur association à la chromatine (capture de l’ADN). Cela nécessite l'action d'un «facteur de chargement » composé de deux protéines conservées et essentielles, Mis4 et Ssl3 chez la levure S. pombe. Comment ce complexe régule la capture de l’ADN par l’anneau de cohésine dans l'espace et le temps demeure à ce jour très mal compris. Afin d’identifier des régulateurs de l’association des cohésines à la chromatine, nous avons réalisé un crible génétique visant à rechercher des suppresseurs de la mutation thermosensible mis4-367. Ce crible a conduit à l’identification de la Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Pef1 qui agit comme un régulateur négatif de la cohésion des chromatides soeurs en contrôlant vraisemblablement négativement l’association des cohésines à la chromatine. De forts arguments expérimentaux indiquent que Pef1 exerce sa fonction en régulant directement la phosphorylation de la sous-unité Rad21 du complexe cohésine. De façon intéressante, via un autre crible génétique, nous avons identifié la phosphatase Pph3/Psy2 qui joue un rôle dans l’établissement de la cohésion des chromatides soeurs en contrôlant la déphosphorylation de Rad21.Ensemble, ces données suggèrent que le contrôle de l’état de phosphorylation de la sous-unité Rad21 du complexe cohésine joue un rôle central dans le processus de cohésion chez la levure S. Pombe. / Cohesin is a highly conserved ring-shaped protein complex made of four essential subunits: Psm1, Psm3, Rad21 and Psc3. By its ability to capture DNA molecules within its ring-like structure, cohesion plays a key role in many cellular processes such as chromosome segregation, DNA damage signalling and repair, transcriptional gene regulation and nuclear organization. To ensure all of its biological functions, cohesin must be tightly regulated in space and time. This regulation relies in part on the control of cohesin binding to chromatin (DNA capture). Cohesin recruitment to chromatin requires the action of a “loading complex” made of two conserved and essential proteins named Mis4 and Ssl3 in the fission yeast. How this complex regulates where and when DNA capture by the cohesin ring must occur remains poorly understood. To identify regulators of cohesin binding to chromatin we have performed a genetic screen for suppressors of the thermosensitive mutation mis4-367. This genetic screen has led to the identification of the cyclin-dependent-kinase Pef1 that acts as a negative regulator of sister chromatids cohesion may be bynegatively controlling cohesin binding to chromatin. Strong experimental evidences indicate that Pef1 exerts its function at least in part by directly phosphorylating the Rad21 subunit of the cohesin complex. Interestingly, a genetic screen made in parallel identified the Pph3/Psy2 phosphatase as implicated in the establishment of sister chromatid cohesion by regulating Rad21 dephosphorylation. Strikingly, the control of Rad21 phosphorylation status appears central to the cohesion process in the fission yeast S. pombe.

La voie NOTCH est activée de manière aberrante dans de nombreux cancers. Son activation implique la liaison d’un récepteur transmembranaire NOTCH à son ligand, engendrant une série de clivages qui libèrent le domaine intracellulaire de NOTCH appelé NIC. Ce dernier transloque au noyau, s’associe à ses partenaires transcriptionnels MAML1 et CSL pour réguler l’expression génique. À prime abord, la signalisation NOTCH apparaît donc simple. Cependant, il existe certainement des mécanismes de régulation précis encore mal connus à ce jour qui permettent de réguler finement cette voie de signalisation. Bien que des études montrent que NOTCH1 est constamment internalisé, l’activation de NOTCH1 au niveau des endosomes est controversée chez les mammifères. Nous n’avons pas pu déterminer clairement si l’activation de NOTCH1 pouvait se réaliser au niveau des endosomes. Néanmoins, nous avons observé que l’inhibition de l’endocytose réduit les niveaux d’expression de NIC1 suggérant une contribution des processus endocytiques dans la régulation de NOTCH1/NIC1. De plus, nous avons découvert qu’une forme de NIC1 non phosphorylée est rapidement dégradée dans le lysosome tandis qu’une forme de NIC1 hautement phosphorylée est dégradée par le protéasome. Les mécanismes de régulation de NIC1, une fois libéré, étant peu connus, une équipe avait généré des souris transgéniques ROSANic1. Cependant, nous avons remarqué que ce Nic1 était tronqué d’une grande partie de son domaine C-terminal. Nous avons donc généré une version humaine de NIC1 similaire au Nic1 des souris ROSANic1, nommé NIC1dC. Nous avons observé que NIC1dC est beaucoup plus stable que NIC1 et qu’il n’est plus dégradé par le protéasome. Cependant, nos résultats montrent qu’une plus grande stabilité de NIC1dC ne confère ni un plus fort pouvoir transcriptionnel à NIC1dC vs. NIC1 ni une plus grande capacité aux cellules de croître en indépendance d’ancrage comparativement aux cellules qui expriment NIC1. Nos analyses de spectrométrie de masse montrent que les partenaires d’interaction de NIC1dC sont différents de NIC1. Finalement, nos résultats démontrent que la délétion du domaine C-terminal de NIC1 augmente la stabilité de son partenaire transcriptionnel MAML1 et prévient sa phosphorylation. Dans leur ensemble, notre étude montre que la signalisation induite par NIC1dC ne phénocopie pas celle de NIC1 et suggère que le domaine C-terminal de NIC1 est important pour récapituler la durée et l’amplitude du signal NOTCH1 afin de médier des réponses cellulaires appropriées.

Tuberculosis, caused by the intracellular pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in our world today. In order to survive within the host the bacteria need to sense and respond to changes in the environment; however, signal transduction in this bacterium is poorly understood. PknB is a serine/threonine kinase essential for the in vitro survival of M. tuberculosis and therefore a potential drug target against the bacteria. It is the goal of the current study to elucidate downstream substrates of PknB. We have found that PknB shares in vitro substrates with another serine/threonine kinase, PknH, implying the potential complexity of the signaling pathways in the bacteria. We have also provided the first description of the coupling between serine/threonine kinases PknB and PknH with a two-component system response regulator DevR, and further proposed Ser/Thr phosphorylation as the negative regulator of DevR transcription activator activity based on LC-MS/MS analysis. Finally, we have identified a previously unknown phosphoprotein glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase encoded by the ORF Rv1436, which demonstrates autophosphorylation activity and which phosphorylation is independent of PknB. Overall, the current study has contributed to advance our understanding of the signal transduction pathways and phosphoproteome in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. / Medicine, Faculty of / Medicine, Department of / Experimental Medicine, Division of / Graduate

S. cerevisiae have developed the ability to forage for nutrients when presented with conditions of starvation. This dimorphic adaptation is particularly noticeable when yeast are subject to nitrogen depravation and has been termed filamentous growth, as cells form filament-like projections away from the center of the colony. The regulation of this response is under the control of the well-characterized MAPK and cAMP pathways. Previous work showed that Cdk8p phosphorylated a key transcriptional activator of the filamentous response, Ste12p, and subsequently targeted the factor for degradation under conditions of limiting nitrogen. Data presented in this thesis suggests that Cdk8p is regulated by another kinase, Tpk2p. In vitro kinase assays demonstrate that Tpk2p directly phosphorylates Cdk8p on residue Thr37, leading to the destabilization of Cdk8p after growth for 4 hours in SLAD media. Lack of phosphorylation on Thr37 yields a hypo-hypofilamentous phenotype, whereas a phospho-mimic mutant, T37E displays a filamentous hyper-filamentous phenotype. / Medicine, Faculty of / Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of / Graduate

The precise mechanism regulating focal adhesion disassembly has yet to be elucidated. Recently, we have implicated the Ste20-like kinase SLK in mediating efficient focal adhesion turnover and cell migration in a Rac-1 and FAK-dependent manner. Although an indirect association of this kinase with the microtubule network has been determined, the exact involvement of SLK in the disassembly of the adhesion complex remains unclear. With the identification of the focal adhesion protein paxillin as a substrate of SLK, we show that SLK regulates adhesion turnover through its phosphorylation at S250. Mutation of S250 to a threonine residue ablates SLK phosphorylation of paxillin in vitro and results in reduced adhesion turnover and migration in vivo. Additionally, our studies demonstrate that overexpression of the paxillin S250T mutation prevents the redistribution of paxillin to the membrane ruffle in migrating cells. The complete loss of polyubiquitylation in the S250T mutant, combined with no observed reduction in S250T protein expression, suggests that S250 phosphorylation is required for a ubiquitin-mediated modification that regulates paxillin redistribution within the cell. Moreover, we show that phosphorylation of S250 is required for paxillin to interact with FAK. An observed accumulation of phospho-FAKY397 in cells overexpressing the paxillin S250T mutant suggests that phosphorylation of S250 is involved in regulating FAK-dependent focal adhesion dynamics. Consequently, our data suggests that SLK regulates adhesion turnover through the phosphorylation of paxillin at S250.

Immunosuppressants that target the serine/threonine phosphatase calcineurin are commonly administered following organ transplantation. Their chronic use is associated with reduced insulin secretion and new onset diabetes in a subset of patients, suggestive of pancreatic β cell dysfunction. Calcineurin plays a critical role in the activation of CREB, a key transcription factor required for β cell function and survival. CREB activity in the islet is activated by glucose and cAMP, in large part due to activation of Crtc2, a critical coactivator for CREB. Previous studies have demonstrated that Crtc2 activation is dependent on dephosphorylation regulated by calcineurin. In this study, we sought to evaluate the impact of calcineurin-inhibiting immunosuppressants on Crtc2-CREB activation in the primary β cell. In addition, we further characterized the role and regulation of Crtc2 in the β cell. We demonstrate that Crtc2 is required for glucose dependent up-regulation of CREB target genes. The phosphatase calcineurin and kinase regulation by LKB1 contribute to the phosphorylation status of Crtc2 in the β cell. CsA and FK506 block glucose-dependent dephosphorylation and nuclear translocation of Crtc2. Overexpression of a constitutively active mutant of Crtc2 that cannot be phosphorylated at Ser171 and Ser275 enables CREB activity under conditions of calcineurin inhibition. Furthermore, β cells lacking Crtc2 display impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and cell survival. Together, these results demonstrate that phosphorylation of Crtc2 plays a critical role in regulating CREB activity and contributes to β cell dysfunction and death caused by chronic immunosuppression.

Cdk1 is an important cell cycle regulator that, in association with different cyclin regulatory subunits, is responsible for signaling important cell cycle events in all eukaryotic cells. In budding yeast, inhibition of Cdk1 by selective deletion of cyclin subunits has been shown to prevent anaphase onset, suggesting that Cdk1 activity is critically important for triggering anaphase onset. In many eukaryotes, Cdk1 has been shown to phosphorylate subunits of the anaphase promoting complex (APC), an E3 ubiquitin ligase which directly signals anaphase onset by triggering the degradation of the anaphase inhibitor securin. It is currently unclear, however, whether the APC is the sole essential substrate of Cdk1 in anaphase onset or if Cdk1 triggers anaphase onset by phosphorylating additional proteins. Eukaryotic Cdk1 is regulated by the Wee1 family of tyrosine kinases and the Cdc25 family of phosphatases which directly oppose Wee1 activity. Wee1 phosphorylation of Cdk1 on a single tyrosine residue inhibits Cdk1 and has been shown to prevent or delay mitotic entry. In this work we sought to further elucidate the mechanism through which Cdk1 regulates anaphase onset. We showed that, in addition to regulating mitotic entry, the budding yeast Wee1 kinase and Cdc25 phosphatase (Swe1 and Mih1 respectively in S. cerevisiae) regulate anaphase onset by modulating Cdk1 activity. Activation of Swe1 delays anaphase onset and cells lacking SWE1 enter anaphase prematurely, demonstrating that Swe1 regulates anaphase onset in unperturbed cell cycles. Deletion of the CDC55 regulatory subunit of PP2A has been shown to bypass cell cycle delays due to Swe1 activation. We showed that this is due, in part, to PP2ACdc55 dephosphorylation of Cdk1 sites on the APC. We have also shown that Cdk1 directly phosphorylates separase, the protease that dissolves sister chromatid linkages upon release from inhibitory securin/separase complexes upon APC-mediated securin degradation. Similar to phosphoregulation of the APC, we showed that Cdk1 phosphorylation of separase is opposed by PP2ACdc55. Phosphoregulation of separase appears to be important for regulation of the separase substrate Slk19 which cooperates with the conserved kinesin-5 Cin8 and microtubule bundling protein Ase1 to regulate spindle elongation at the spindle midzone.

The enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA) contributes to multiple physiological processes by catalysing the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide. However, regulation of CA activity in response to homeostatic challenges remains poorly understood. The objectives of this thesis were to investigate whether CA is transcriptionally regulated by cortisol in fish and whether post-translational modification (PTM) of CA occurs in fish. The results of an in vivo reporter assay used to investigate potential transcriptional regulation of zebrafish, Danio rerio, cytoplasmic CA (CAc) were inconsistent, and it remains unclear whether zebrafish CAc is regulated transcriptionally by cortisol. Phosphorylation of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, CAc was predicted from in silico analysis of the putative amino acid sequence and confirmed by Western analysis of phosphoprotein levels following in vitro incubation of CA, purified from trout gill, under conditions designed to potentiate endogenous kinases. Again using in vitro incubations designed to potentiate endogenous kinases and phosphatases, changes to the phosphorylation state of CAc were found to modulate its enzymatic properties. These findings suggest that CA activity may be regulated by signalling pathways that activate cellular protein kinases, and future work should focus on identifying these pathways.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第23415号 / 医博第4760号 / 新制||医||1052(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 武藤 学, 教授 浅野 雅秀, 教授 川口 義弥 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Regulation of penicillin-binding protein Pbp2a in Streptococcus pneumoniae Streptococcus pneumoniae is an extracellular human pathogen that encodes a unique eukaryotic-type Ser/Thr protein kinase StkP in its genome. This enzyme is involved in other cellular processes, such as cell division and cell wall synthesis, through phosphorylation with its substrates. A transmembrane protein MacP has been identified as a substrate of StkP. It is an activator of penicillin-binding protein PBP2a, which is involved in the synthesis of peptidoglycan with its transpeptidase and transglycosylase activities. We found that MacP is phosphorylated by the protein kinase StkP at positions T32 and T56. We confirmed that proteins MacP and PBP2a interact with each other and that phosphoablative and phosphomimetic mutations of the major phosphorylated residues of the MacP protein do not affect the interaction with PBP2a and do not fundamentally affect the function of MacP in vivo. Furthermore, we showed that the ∆macP mutation is synthethically lethal with the ∆pbp1a mutation, confirming that MacP is an activator of the PBP2a protein. MacP is located in the cell septum and interacts with a number of S. pneumoniae cell division proteins. Keywords: Streptococcus pneumoniae, cell division, MacP, PBP2a, phosphorylation