title: Mass spectrometry-based identification of Y745 of Vav1 as a tyrosine residue crucial in maturation of acute promyelocytic leukemia-derived cells.
abstract: Vav1, whose physiological expression is restricted to hematopoietic system, is one of the signaling proteins up-regulated by all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL)-derived precursors, in which it promotes the overcoming of the differentiation blockade. High levels of tyrosine phosphorylated Vav1 accumulate in differentiating APL-derived cells, suggesting that one or more Vav1 tyrosine residues are involved in neutrophil differentiation of tumoral promyelocytes. Here, we have found that phosphorylation of Vav1 Y174, that is known to regulate Vav1 activity in mature neutrophils, is up-regulated by ATRA in NB4 cells. Nevertheless, this tyrosine residue does not seem crucial for the agonist-induced phenotypical differentiation of APL-derived cells. Mass spectrometry analysis performed on Vav1 from differentiating NB4 cells allowed to identify the highly conserved Y745 residue as a phosphorylated tyrosine that plays crucial roles in the completion of the maturation program of this cell line. In fact, the overexpression of a mutated form of Vav1, in which Y745 was replaced with a phenylalanine, significantly reduced the ATRA-induced CD11b expression and essentially abrogated the differentiation-related acquisition of the migratory capability. Even though the intracellular signaling involving Vav1 phosphorylated in Y745 is unknown, the identification of a tyrosine residue essential for differentiation of tumoral precursors may constitute the basis to identify new specific targets for differentiation therapy of APL.
authors.affiliation: Signal Transduction Unit, Section of Human Anatomy, Department of Morphology and Embryology, University of Ferrara, 44100 Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bertagnolo
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grassilli
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: D'Aguanno
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brugnoli
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bavelloni
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Faenza
authors.forename: Ervin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nika
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Urbani
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cocco
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Capitani
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D017931:DNA Primers; D006801:Humans; D015473:Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D051567:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-vav / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D051567:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-vav; C496618:VAV1 protein, human; D014443:Tyrosine; D014212:Tretinoin