Final Exam Study guide - experiments and pathways Flashcards
Dorsal pathway in Drosophila D/V patterning
- Follicle cells will secrete proteins into the space between the egg shell and egg membrane, one of these being Spaetzle and certain proteases (Easter)
- Spaetzle is locally activated on the ventral side by cleavage by the Easter protease (i.e. easter protease is only secreted on the ventral side whereas the Toll receptor and Spaetzle will be everywhere0
- Activated Spaetzle ligand binds to Toll receptor, activating it
- Toll activation leads to Myd88 adaptor protein binding
- Myd88 recruits and activates the IRAK kinase complex
- IRAK phosphorylates and activates IKK
- IKK phosphorylates Cactus (IkB), targeting it for proteasomal-mediated degradation
- Dorsal (NFkB) is no longer sequestered by Cactus, enters the nucleus and promote transcription of Twist in ventral cells
- Twist TF promotes EMT
NFkB signaling in the inflammatory response
- Cells of the innate immune system release cytokines, including TNFα at the site of inflammation
- TNFα, a trimer, binds to the TNFα receptor on the surface of a macrophage, activating it
- Activated TNFα receptor recruits Myd88 adaptor protein
- Myd88 recruits and activates the IRAK complex
- Activated IRAK phosphorylates and activates the IKK complex
- Activated IKK phosphorylates IkB leading to its ubiquitination and proteasome-mediated degradation
- Relieved of its inhibition, NFkB enters the nucleus and promotes the transcription of cytokines and other target genes
Toll pathway in Drosophila innate immunity
- A secreted protease is activated in response to bacterial/fungal proteins
- The activated protease cleaves Spaetzle, activating the ligand
- Spaetzle binds to Toll, activating it
- Activated Toll recruits Myd88, the adaptor protein
- Myd88 recruits and activates IRAK
- Activated IRAK phosphorylates and activates IKK
- IKK phosphorylates IkB leading to proteasome-mediated degradation
- NFkB is liberated and enters the nucleus to promote transcription of genes such as Drosomycin and other anti-bacterial/fungal genes
Toll pathway in vertebrate innate immunity
- Toll-like receptors, a type of PRR, binds to PAMPs from microbial pathogens
- Binding of PAMPs to the toll-like receptor leads to its activation
- Toll-like receptor activation leads to signaling via NFkB which enters the nucleus and promotes transcription of cytokines and other innate stimulatory proteins
- Cytokines activate innate immune cells
- pathway will be similar to the other NFkB ones
Antigen presentation to TH-cells (i.e from dendritic cell binding to the T-helper cell to the activation of something by the T-cell)
- Dendritic cell contacts TH-cell through a heterophilic interaction between the Ig-superfamily molecule on the dendritic cell and the LFA-Integrin on the T-cell
- If the TCR recognizes the MHC-II + peptide, it is activated
- Activated TH-cell stimulates the humoral immunity
MHC-II presentation by an APC
- Endocytosis of antigenic peptide/phagocytosis of bacterial pathogen and delivery to the endosome (early –> late)
- Partial proteolysis of bacterial peptides in the late endosome (partial acid hydrolase activity)
- Peptides are diverted to specialized secretory vesicles where they bind to an MHC-II receptor
- MHC-II with bound antigenic peptide are delivered to the cell surface to be recognize by a TH-cell with a TCR specific to that antigen
Sequential activation of the immune response
- Bacterial infection
- Recognition by cells of the innate immune system (macrophages, neutrophils and dendritic cells)
- Dendritic cell display peptides derived from bacterial proteins on their MHC-II platform, to T helper cells
- TH-cells with matching TCR is activated
- Activated TH-cell stimulates humoral response
Axon guidance – growth cone collapse mediated by ephrin
- Leading edge of the growth cone from a motor neuron comes into contact with a non-target cell, expressing an ephrin on its membrane
- Ephrhin binds to the ephrin receptor (Eph4A), an RTK, on the surface of the growth cone
- Ligand (Ephrin) binding to the RTK (Eph4A) activates it leading to dimerization and autophosphorylation fully active
- Activated Eph4A recruits a tyrosine kinase that phosphorylates and activates Ephexin, the Rho-GEF
- Ephexin promotes the GTP-bound state of Rho, thereby promoting its activity
- Rho activity at the leading edge leads to retreat of the growth cone
Chemotaxis of a neutrophil towards a bacterium
- Bacteria releases peptides that are N-formylated
- N-formyl peptides from bacteria bind to GPCR on cell surface of neutrophil, activating it
- Activated GPCR activates two different G-proteins: Gi and G12/13
- Gi at the leading edge activates PI3K
- PI3K phosphorylates a membrane-bound PIP to make PIP3
- PIP3 serves as a docking site for Rac-GEF and recruits Rho-GAP
- Rac-GEF promotes local activation of Rac and local inhibition of Rho at the leading edge
- Rac-GTP activates PI3K (+ve feedback loop) PI phosphatases ensure transient activation
a. Rac-GTP activates WASp activates Arp2/3 promotes actin polymerization/branching actin recruits integrins and lamellipodia protrusion in target direction
b. Rac-GTP activates PAK:
i. PAK stimulates filamin stabilizes overlapping actin filaments
ii. PAK inhibits MLCK leads to decreased myosin activity decreased stress fiber formation - The polymerized actin filament undergoes treadmilling at the leading edge and actin will be ADP-bound due to hydrolysis of ATP near the minus end
- Cofilin binds to actin-ADP and promotes actin disassembly here
- Behind the leading edge, G12/13 activates Rho-GEF (by default)
- Rho-GEF promotes Rho-GTP, active state
- Rho-GTP promotes formin activity recruits actin monomers to + end actin bundle growth
a. Rho-GTP activates ROCK
i. ROCK phosphorylates MLC increased myosin activity
ii. ROCK phosphorylates LIM kinase and activates it LIM kinase phosphorylates cofilin, inhibiting it
iii. Rho-GTP promotes stress fiber formation integrin clustering and focal adhesion formation promote adhesion to substratum - At the trailing edge focal adhesion disassembly, actin/myosin contraction around cell cortex
Actin treadmilling in lamellipodia extension
- WASp activation of Arp2/3 at leading edge nucleates new actin polymers at sides of newly formed polymers.
- (Actin plus ends become capped)
- Actin hydrolyses its ATP as filaments age
- Cofilin binds ADP-actin
- Cofilin mediates disassembly of filaments behind the leading edge.
- filaments that persist will initiate focal adhesions
Focal adhesions mediate integrin signaling
- (Integrin head domain binds to RGD domain on fibronectin activating it)
- Active integrin recruits Talin
- Talin recruits Fak (Focal adhesion kinase)
- Fak binding to Talin causes it to be active, autophosphorylate itself and recruit Src kinase
- Src kinase phosphorylates Fak
- Phosphorylated Fak recruits Grb2 Grb2 recruits Sos (Ras-GEF) Sos promotes GTP-bound state of Ras (membrane associated) active Ras activates Raf (P) Mek (P) MAPK MAPK enters nucleus and phosphorylates/activates TF promote transcription of genes for cell division
a. Fak/Src inhibit recycling of E-cadherin to the cell surface upon internalization this leads to reduced E-cadherin reduced cell-cell adhesion
Experiment to show that Talin is a tension sensor
- Genetically engineered talin with tag (fusion protein) that can adhere to glass slide (N-terminus) and with its c-terminus conjugated to a magnetic bead
- Apply magnet to c-terminal end to make the protein stretch out
- Add fluorescently labelled vinculin
- Wash
- See fluorescence emanating from slide
• If you do this without the magnet, get no fluorescence
Inside-out activation
- Integrin intracellular tail domain (beta) binds to Talin which leads to unfolding of extracellular head domain
- Unfolding of the extracellular head domain leads to increased affinity for the extracellular ligand (fibronectin) binds strongly to RGD motifs
- Tension from actin/myosin contraction leads to further activation focal adhesions
Outside-in activation:
- Head domain of Integrin binds to RGD motifs on extracellular ligand/substratum in the ECM (such as fibronectin)
- Binding of integrin to fibronectin leads to integrin activation
- Outside activated integrin has its intracellular domains separate α and β subunits separate
- β domain binds talin strongly
- Talin binds to and recruits actin; also binds vinculin which binds actin
- α-actinin promotes formation of anti-parallel contractile actin bundles
- Myosin recruited to actin leading to contraction
- Contraction of actin by myosin II motor and binding of integrin to fibronectin leads to tension
- Tension on talin exposes its vinculin binding sites increases vinculin binding
- Vinculin promotes further actin polymerization
- Further actin polymerization leads to greater recruitment of integrins (sort of positive feedback pathway) focal adhesions
Planar polarity signaling – Fat and DS
- Fat atypical cadherin binds to DS in neighbouring cell
- Fat in one cell leads to inhibition of DS at that site in the same cell; DS inhibits Fat at the opposite site mutually exclusive domains of localization
- Fat and DS promote localization of each other (i.e. fat fat and dsds) in the cells
- Once planar polarity is established, Fat cadherin inhibits Dachs
- Dachs generally binds to and promotes the closed conformation of Warts
- When Warts is in the closed conformation unable to function as a kinase even if phosphorylated by Hippo
Hippo pathway – apical/basal polarity
- Establishment of proper apical/basal polarity leads to activation of Hippo
- Activated hippo kinase phosphorylates and activates Warts kinase
- Activated Warts kinase phosphorylates and inhibits Yorkie (or Yap the mammalian equivalent)
- Inhibited yorkie cannot enter the nucleus and promote transcription of DIAP (drosophila inhibitor of apoptosis; or IAP mammalian equivalent) and cyclin E
Disruption of apical/basal polarity (loss of crumbs, par proteins, aPKC, Lgl (parts of crumbs), scribble, E-cadherin) leads to yorkie activation
Making mutant clones in the drosophila eye – white gene marker
- Start with chromosome that has FRT sites on both arms and is w(-)/- on one arm and w+/+ on the other (i.e. mutation is heterozygous) – wt cell; normal colour
- Induce mitotic recombination using flp recombinase produce two cells:
a. w-/w-; -/- and w+/w+;+/+ - If the patches of cells are roughly the same size (identify mutant since white colour in ommatidia), than the mutation is not in a tumour suppressor
a. If the patch of cells corresponding to the mutant is much larger than the wt one, then the mutation is in a tumour suppressor gene
EMT and B-catenin
- B-catenin has dual roles in the cell, generally degraded by inactive wnt pathway or stably associated at the adherens junction as an anchor for actin/cadherin – cell not responsive to Wnt signal
- Loss of adherens junction (Cell loses association with neighbouring cell, accident or LOF mutation in E-cadherin or [overexpression of twist would not causes this])
- B-catenin free from adherens junction and enters nucleus
- B-catenin induces transcription of myc
- Myc promotes cell division and cell growth
Organization of junction complex – specifically from an unpolarized cell
- Par3-Par6-aPKC complex localized to apical site on cell and recruit:
a. Recruits Rac
b. Recruits tight junction components (claudin and occludin)
c. Organizes basal Scribble complex and apical crumbs complex - Rac organizes polarized actin cytoskeleton at its site Actin further recruits Rac
a. Scribble complex recruits adherens junction proteins cadherins and B-catenin - Cadherins in one cell recruit cadherins in a neighbouring cell
a. Claudins in one cell recruit claudins in another cell - Cadherins/claudins in neighbouring cell recruit Par3-Par6-aPKC complex
- Par3-Par6-aPKC complex recruits rac and organizes basal scribble complex and apical crumbs complex
Compaction
- In mammalian embryogenesis, at the 8 cell stage, cells start to express E-cadherin and as a result being to tightly adhere together
- At the 16-cell stage, inner cells determined to be embryo
Identification of cadherins
- Take tissue from animal and add trypsin (non-specific protease + EGTA (chelates cations such as Ca2+) get individual cells
a. If calcium is added back, cells will re-aggregate - Take cells and raise antibodies against cell surface proteins (by injecting into a rabbit for example)
- Test antibody ability to prevent aggregation of cells even after Ca2+ is added
a. If antibody blocks aggregation, may be due to binding and blocking of cadherin activity - Purify antibody and use it to affinity purify cadherin
mRNA transport in Drosophila oocytes
- Egl binds to specific sites on the 3’UTR of bcd mRNA
- Egl with Bcd binds to dynein light chain
- BicD binds to dynactin and BicD-CTD binds to the first 79 amino acids of Egl, stabilizing its interaction with dynein (BicD-CTD can also bind to Rab6-GTP)
- Dynein migrates along the microtubules to the anterior (minus end)
- Localized Bcd mRNA is anchored by association with actin
• BicD mutant phenotype is the same as Egl mutant phenotype; both necessary
Yeast 2-hybrid interaction assay
- Make two fusion proteins; Protein A + TF activating domain (prey) and Protein B + DNA binding domain (bait)
- Introduce transgenes into yeast
- If the proteins are binding partners (or at the very least interact) get a functional TF against a certain reporter gene in the genetically modified yeast
a. Reporter gene can be LacZ or gene required for viability - Presence of blue colonies when stained with X-gal or just presence of viable colonies indicates binding