Tyrosine Phosphorylation of WASP Promotes Calpain-Mediated Podosome Disassembly In Myeloid Cells.

Abstract 1498

We have previously shown that a point mutation (Ile294Thr) in the Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome Protein (WASP) detected in a Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome (WAS) patient led to enhanced actin polymerising activity of WASP ¹ and well as increased instability². We also showed that macrophages from this patient displayed an increased number of actin based adhesion structures called podosomes. Additionally, podosomes in macrophages from this patient were extremely dynamic with a high rate of turnover. Based on these results we proposed that the active open conformation of WASP promotes actin polymerisation but it also induces podosome disassembly and adhesion turnover. Although the idea that the same open conformation of WASP leads to both assembly and disassembly of podosomes may be counterintuitive at first, it is possible that for termination of podosomes actin polymerisation and integrin recruitment have to be discontinued and the same constituents of growing podosomes such as active WASP may contribute to the disassembly process. We have also shown that the rapid turn-over of podosomes involves cleavage of WASP by the protease calpain, further supporting a role of WASP in both podosome formation and disassembly. However, the specific signalling mechanisms that make active WASP susceptible to cleavage by calpain leading to podosome disassembly remain unknown and need further clarification. Phosphorylation of WASP Y291 (human) or Y293 (mouse) promotes the open conformation of WASP and results in enhanced actin polymerisation. We now report that in myeloid cells, tyrosine phosphorylation of WASP negatively regulates the stability of podosomes, leading to their calpain-dependent disassembly. Additionally, we found that constitutive phosphorylation of WASP results in extensive degradation in a process that involves calpain. Our data also indicate that phosphorylation of WASP sustains the open/active conformation that promotes cleavage of WASP by calpain. Interestingly, phosphorylated WASP can bind to the WASP interacting protein (WIP) and other proteins that form a complex with WASP in podosomes such as Nck, cortactin. Taken together, our data indicate that in myeloid cells, tyrosine phosphorylation sustains the open conformation of WASP and it enhances its susceptibility to calpain-mediated cleavage preventing accumulation of actin filaments and integrin associated proteins in podosomes. This process facilitates podosome disassembly and cell translocation. These new findings support the key role of WASP as a protein that integrates actin polymerisation and cell adhesion required for mobilisation of myeloid cells during the immune response.

Reference List

1. Ancliff PJ, Blundell MP, Cory GO et al. Two novel activating mutations in the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein result in congenital neutropenia. Blood 2006;108:2182-2189.

2. Moulding DA, Blundell MP, Spiller DG et al. Unregulated actin polymerization by WASp causes defects of mitosis and cytokinesis in X-linked neutropenia. J Exp. Med 2007;204:2213–2224.