title: Aph2, a protein with a zf-DHHC motif, interacts with c-Abl and has pro-apoptotic activity.
abstract: c-Abl is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase implicated in DNA damage-induced cell death and in growth factor receptor signaling. To further understand the function and regulation of c-Abl, a yeast two-hybrid screen was performed to identify c-Abl-interacting proteins. Here we report the identification of Abl-philin 2 (Aph2), encoding a novel protein with a unique cysteine-rich motif (zf-DHHC) and a 53-amino acid stretch sharing homology with the creatine kinase family. The zf-DHHC domain is highly conserved from yeast to human. Two proteins containing this motif, Akr1p and Erf2p, have been characterized in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, both implicated in signaling pathways. Deletion analysis by two-hybrid assays revealed that the N-terminal portion of Aph2 interacts with the C terminus of c-Abl. Aph2 was demonstrated to interact with c-Abl by co-immunoprecipitation assays. Aph2 is expressed in most tissues tested and is localized in the cytoplasm, mainly in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The sequences required for ER location reside in the N terminus and the zf-DHHC motif of Aph2. It has been reported that a portion of c-Abl is localized in the ER. We demonstrate here that Aph2 and c-Abl are co-localized in the ER region. Overexpression of Aph2 leads to apoptosis as justified by TUNEL assays, and the induction of apoptosis requires the N terminus. Co-expression of c-Abl and Aph2 had a synergistic effect on apoptosis induction and led to a decreased expression of both proteins, suggesting either that these two proteins are mutually down-regulated or that cells expressing both c-Abl and Aph2 rapidly disappeared from the culture. These results suggest that Aph2 may be involved in ER stress-induced apoptosis in which c-Abl plays an important role.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, National University of Singapore, 30 Medical Drive, Singapore 117609.
authors.forename: Baojie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cong
authors.forename: Choon Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Sherry X
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Goff
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000217:Acyltransferases; D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D019556:COS Cells; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003545:Cysteine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D015536:Down-Regulation; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015723:Gene Library; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D011233:Precipitin Tests; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D016315:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-abl / Q000378:metabolism*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000378:metabolism; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013997:Time Factors; D014162:Transfection; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D000217:Acyltransferases; C464939:Zdhhc16 protein, mouse; C107846:AKR1 protein, S cerevisiae; C403284:ERF2 protein, S cerevisiae; C486768:ZDHHC16 protein, human; D016315:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-abl; D003545:Cysteine