A B Reynolds

Transformation of cells by the src oncogene results in elevated tyrosine phosphorylation of two related proteins, p80 and p85 (p80/85). Immunostaining with specific monoclonal antibodies revealed a striking change of subcellular localization of p80/85 in src-transformed cells. p80/85 colocalizes with F-actin in peripheral extensions of normal cells and rosettes (podosomes) of src-transformed cells. Sequence analysis of cDNA clones encoding p80/85 revealed an amino-terminal domain composed of six copies of a direct tandem repeat, each repeat containing 37 amino acids, a carboxyl-terminal SH3 domain, and an interdomain region composed of a highly charged acidic region and a region rich in proline, serine, and threonine. The multidomain structure of p80/85 and its colocalization with F-actin in normal and src-transformed cells suggest that these proteins may associate with components of the cytoskeleton and contribute to organization of cell structure.

We used myristylated and nonmyristylated c-src-based variants and phosphotyrosine-specific antibodies to reevaluate the role of tyrosine phosphorylation in cellular transformation by pp60src. Prior methods used to detect tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins failed to discriminate predicted differences in tyrosine phosphorylation which are clearly observed with phosphotyrosine-specific antibodies and Western blotting (immunoblotting). Here we report the observation of a 120,000-Mr protein whose phosphorylation on tyrosine correlates with the induction of morphological transformation. p120 was not observed in cells overexpressing the regulated, nononcogenic pp60c-src, whereas phosphorylation of p120 was greatly enhanced in cells expressing activated, oncogenic pp60527F. Furthermore, phosphorylation of p120 was not induced by expression of the activated but nonmyristylated src variant pp602A/527F, which is transformation defective. p120 partitioned preferentially with cellular membranes, consistent with the observation that transforming src proteins are membrane associated. Although a number of additional putative substrates were identified and partially characterized with respect to intracellular localization, tyrosine phosphorylation of these proteins was not tightly linked to transformation.

The monoclonal antibody 2B12 is directed toward p120, a 120-kDa cellular protein originally identified as a protein tyrosine kinase substrate in cells expressing membrane-associated oncogenic variants of pp60src. In this report, we show that p120 was tyrosine phosphorylated in avian cells expressing membrane-associated, enzymatically activated variants of c-src, including variants having structural alterations in the src homology regions 2 and 3. In contrast, p120 was not tyrosine phosphorylated in cells expressing enzymatically activated, nonmyristylated pp60src. Furthermore, p120 was tyrosine phosphorylated in avian cells expressing middle T antigen, the transforming protein of polyomavirus, as well as in rodent cells stimulated with either epidermal growth factor (EGF) or platelet-derived growth factor. Analysis of the time course of p120 tyrosine phosphorylation in EGF-stimulated cells revealed a rapid onset of tyrosine phosphorylation. In addition, both the extent and duration of p120 phosphorylation increased when cells overexpressing the EGF receptor were stimulated with EGF. Biochemical analysis showed that p120 (in both normal and src-transformed cells) was membrane associated, was myristylated, and was phosphorylated on serine and threonine residues. Hence, p120 appears to be a substrate of both nonreceptor- and ligand-activated transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases and of serine/threonine kinases and is perhaps a component of both mitogen-stimulated and tyrosine kinase oncogene-induced signaling pathways.

Transformation of chicken embryo cells by oncogenic forms of pp60src (e.g., pp60v-src or pp60527F) is linked with a concomitant increase in the steady-state levels of tyrosine-phosphorylated cellular proteins. Activated forms of the Src protein-tyrosine kinase stably associate with tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins, including a protein of 110 kDa, pp110. Previous reports have established that stable complex formation between pp110 and pp60src requires the structural integrity of the Src SH2 and SH3 domains, whereas tyrosine phosphorylation of pp110 requires only the structural integrity of the SH3 domain. In normal chicken embryo cells, pp110 colocalizes with actin stress filaments, and in Src-transformed cells, pp110 is found associated with podosomes (rosettes). Here, we report the identification and characterization of cDNAs encoding pp110. The predicted open reading frame encodes a polypeptide of 635 amino acids which exhibits little sequence similarity with other protein sequences present in the available sequence data bases. Thus, pp110 is a distinctive cytoskeleton-associated protein. On the basis of its association with actin stress filaments, we propose the term AFAP-110, for actin filament-associated protein of 110 kDa. In vitro analysis of AFAP-110 binding to bacterium-encoded glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins revealed that AFAP-110 present in normal cell extracts binds efficiently to Src SH3/SH2-containing fusion proteins, less efficiently to Src SH3-containing proteins, and poorly to SH2-containing fusion proteins. In contrast, AFAP-110 in Src-transformed cell extracts bound to GST-SH3/SH2 and GST-SH2 fusion proteins. Analysis of AFAP-110 cDNA sequences revealed the presence of sequence motifs predicted to bind to SH2 and SH3 domains, respectively. We suggest that AFAP-110 may represent a cellular protein capable of interacting with SH3-containing proteins and, upon tyrosine phosphorylation, binds tightly to SH2-containing proteins, such as pp60src or pp59fyn. The potential roles of AFAP-110 as an SH3/SH2 cytoskeletal binding protein are discussed.