Skip to main content
PMC home page
Molecular Biology of the Cell logoLink to Molecular Biology of the Cell
. 1993 Jan;4(1):79–92. doi: 10.1091/mbc.4.1.79

Phosphorylation independent activation of human cyclin-dependent kinase 2 by cyclin A in vitro.

L Connell-Crowley 1, M J Solomon 1, N Wei 1, J W Harper 1
PMCID: PMC300902  PMID: 8443411

Abstract

p33cdk2 is a serine-threonine protein kinase that associates with cyclins A, D, and E and has been implicated in the control of the G1/S transition in mammalian cells. Recent evidence indicates that cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (Cdk2), like its homolog Cdc2, requires cyclin binding and phosphorylation (of threonine-160) for activation in vivo. However, the extent to which mechanistic details of the activation process are conserved between Cdc2 and Cdk2 is unknown. We have developed bacterial expression and purification systems for Cdk2 and cyclin A that allow mechanistic studies of the activation process to be performed in the absence of cell extracts. Recombinant Cdk2 is essentially inactive as a histone H1 kinase (< 4 x 10(-5) pmol phosphate transferred.min-1 x microgram-1 Cdk2). However, in the presence of equimolar cyclin A, the specific activity is approximately 16 pmol.mon-1 x microgram-1, 4 x 10(5)-fold higher than Cdk2 alone. Mutation of T160 in Cdk2 to either alanine or glutamic acid had little impact on the specific activity of the Cdk2/cyclin A complex: the activity of Cdk2T160E was indistinguishable from Cdk2, whereas that of Cdk2T160A was reduced by five-fold. To determine if the Cdk2/cyclin A complex could be activated further by phosphorylation of T160, complexes were treated with Cdc2 activating kinase (CAK), purified approximately 12,000-fold from Xenopus eggs. This treatment resulted in an 80-fold increase in specific activity. This specific activity is comparable with that of the Cdc2/cyclin B complex after complete activation by CAK (approximately 1600 pmol.mon-1 x microgram-1). Neither Cdk2T160A/cyclin A nor Cdk2T160E/cyclin A complexes were activated further by treatment with CAK. In striking contrast with cyclin A, cyclin B did not directly activate Cdk2. However, both Cdk2/cyclin A and Cdk2/cyclin B complexes display similar activity after activation by CAK. For the Cdk2/cyclin A complex, both cyclin binding and phosphorylation contribute significantly to activation, although the energetic contribution of cyclin A binding is greater than that of T160 phosphorylation by approximately 5 kcal/mol. The potential significance of direct activation of Cdk2 by cyclins with respect to regulation of cell cycle progression is discussed.

Full text

PDF
79

Images in this article

83Image
on p.83
83Image
on p.83
85Image
on p.85
86Image
on p.86
86Image
on p.86
88Image
on p.88

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Booher R., Beach D. Involvement of cdc13+ in mitotic control in Schizosaccharomyces pombe: possible interaction of the gene product with microtubules. EMBO J. 1988 Aug;7(8):2321–2327. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1988.tb03075.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bradford M. M. A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal Biochem. 1976 May 7;72:248–254. doi: 10.1006/abio.1976.9999. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cao L., Faha B., Dembski M., Tsai L. H., Harlow E., Dyson N. Independent binding of the retinoblastoma protein and p107 to the transcription factor E2F. Nature. 1992 Jan 9;355(6356):176–179. doi: 10.1038/355176a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cross F. R. DAF1, a mutant gene affecting size control, pheromone arrest, and cell cycle kinetics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Cell Biol. 1988 Nov;8(11):4675–4684. doi: 10.1128/mcb.8.11.4675. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Desai D., Gu Y., Morgan D. O. Activation of human cyclin-dependent kinases in vitro. Mol Biol Cell. 1992 May;3(5):571–582. doi: 10.1091/mbc.3.5.571. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Ducommun B., Brambilla P., Félix M. A., Franza B. R., Jr, Karsenti E., Draetta G. cdc2 phosphorylation is required for its interaction with cyclin. EMBO J. 1991 Nov;10(11):3311–3319. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb04895.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Elledge S. J., Richman R., Hall F. L., Williams R. T., Lodgson N., Harper J. W. CDK2 encodes a 33-kDa cyclin A-associated protein kinase and is expressed before CDC2 in the cell cycle. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Apr 1;89(7):2907–2911. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.7.2907. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Elledge S. J., Spottswood M. R. A new human p34 protein kinase, CDK2, identified by complementation of a cdc28 mutation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is a homolog of Xenopus Eg1. EMBO J. 1991 Sep;10(9):2653–2659. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb07808.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Erikson E., Maller J. L. Biochemical characterization of the p34cdc2 protein kinase component of purified maturation-promoting factor from Xenopus eggs. J Biol Chem. 1989 Nov 25;264(33):19577–19582. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Fang F., Newport J. W. Evidence that the G1-S and G2-M transitions are controlled by different cdc2 proteins in higher eukaryotes. Cell. 1991 Aug 23;66(4):731–742. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90117-h. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Gautier J., Minshull J., Lohka M., Glotzer M., Hunt T., Maller J. L. Cyclin is a component of maturation-promoting factor from Xenopus. Cell. 1990 Feb 9;60(3):487–494. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90599-a. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Gautier J., Solomon M. J., Booher R. N., Bazan J. F., Kirschner M. W. cdc25 is a specific tyrosine phosphatase that directly activates p34cdc2. Cell. 1991 Oct 4;67(1):197–211. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90583-k. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ghiara J. B., Richardson H. E., Sugimoto K., Henze M., Lew D. J., Wittenberg C., Reed S. I. A cyclin B homolog in S. cerevisiae: chronic activation of the Cdc28 protein kinase by cyclin prevents exit from mitosis. Cell. 1991 Apr 5;65(1):163–174. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90417-w. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Girard F., Strausfeld U., Fernandez A., Lamb N. J. Cyclin A is required for the onset of DNA replication in mammalian fibroblasts. Cell. 1991 Dec 20;67(6):1169–1179. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90293-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Gould K. L., Moreno S., Owen D. J., Sazer S., Nurse P. Phosphorylation at Thr167 is required for Schizosaccharomyces pombe p34cdc2 function. EMBO J. 1991 Nov;10(11):3297–3309. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb04894.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Gould K. L., Nurse P. Tyrosine phosphorylation of the fission yeast cdc2+ protein kinase regulates entry into mitosis. Nature. 1989 Nov 2;342(6245):39–45. doi: 10.1038/342039a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Gu Y., Rosenblatt J., Morgan D. O. Cell cycle regulation of CDK2 activity by phosphorylation of Thr160 and Tyr15. EMBO J. 1992 Nov;11(11):3995–4005. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1992.tb05493.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Hadwiger J. A., Wittenberg C., Richardson H. E., de Barros Lopes M., Reed S. I. A family of cyclin homologs that control the G1 phase in yeast. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Aug;86(16):6255–6259. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.16.6255. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Hagan I., Hayles J., Nurse P. Cloning and sequencing of the cyclin-related cdc13+ gene and a cytological study of its role in fission yeast mitosis. J Cell Sci. 1988 Dec;91(Pt 4):587–595. doi: 10.1242/jcs.91.4.587. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Hamaguchi J. R., Tobey R. A., Pines J., Crissman H. A., Hunter T., Bradbury E. M. Requirement for p34cdc2 kinase is restricted to mitosis in the mammalian cdc2 mutant FT210. J Cell Biol. 1992 Jun;117(5):1041–1053. doi: 10.1083/jcb.117.5.1041. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Hunt T. Maturation promoting factor, cyclin and the control of M-phase. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 1989 Apr;1(2):268–274. doi: 10.1016/0955-0674(89)90099-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Hunter T., Pines J. Cyclins and cancer. Cell. 1991 Sep 20;66(6):1071–1074. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90028-w. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Kaelin W. G., Jr, Pallas D. C., DeCaprio J. A., Kaye F. J., Livingston D. M. Identification of cellular proteins that can interact specifically with the T/E1A-binding region of the retinoblastoma gene product. Cell. 1991 Feb 8;64(3):521–532. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90236-r. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Knighton D. R., Zheng J. H., Ten Eyck L. F., Ashford V. A., Xuong N. H., Taylor S. S., Sowadski J. M. Crystal structure of the catalytic subunit of cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinase. Science. 1991 Jul 26;253(5018):407–414. doi: 10.1126/science.1862342. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Knighton D. R., Zheng J. H., Ten Eyck L. F., Xuong N. H., Taylor S. S., Sowadski J. M. Structure of a peptide inhibitor bound to the catalytic subunit of cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinase. Science. 1991 Jul 26;253(5018):414–420. doi: 10.1126/science.1862343. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Koff A., Giordano A., Desai D., Yamashita K., Harper J. W., Elledge S., Nishimoto T., Morgan D. O., Franza B. R., Roberts J. M. Formation and activation of a cyclin E-cdk2 complex during the G1 phase of the human cell cycle. Science. 1992 Sep 18;257(5077):1689–1694. doi: 10.1126/science.1388288. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Krek W., Nigg E. A. Differential phosphorylation of vertebrate p34cdc2 kinase at the G1/S and G2/M transitions of the cell cycle: identification of major phosphorylation sites. EMBO J. 1991 Feb;10(2):305–316. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb07951.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Kumagai A., Dunphy W. G. The cdc25 protein controls tyrosine dephosphorylation of the cdc2 protein in a cell-free system. Cell. 1991 Mar 8;64(5):903–914. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90315-p. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Lee M. G., Nurse P. Complementation used to clone a human homologue of the fission yeast cell cycle control gene cdc2. Nature. 1987 May 7;327(6117):31–35. doi: 10.1038/327031a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Lee M. S., Ogg S., Xu M., Parker L. L., Donoghue D. J., Maller J. L., Piwnica-Worms H. cdc25+ encodes a protein phosphatase that dephosphorylates p34cdc2. Mol Biol Cell. 1992 Jan;3(1):73–84. doi: 10.1091/mbc.3.1.73. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Levin L. R., Zoller M. J. Association of catalytic and regulatory subunits of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase requires a negatively charged side group at a conserved threonine. Mol Cell Biol. 1990 Mar;10(3):1066–1075. doi: 10.1128/mcb.10.3.1066. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Meijer L., Azzi L., Wang J. Y. Cyclin B targets p34cdc2 for tyrosine phosphorylation. EMBO J. 1991 Jun;10(6):1545–1554. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb07674.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Moreno S., Nurse P., Russell P. Regulation of mitosis by cyclic accumulation of p80cdc25 mitotic inducer in fission yeast. Nature. 1990 Apr 5;344(6266):549–552. doi: 10.1038/344549a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Morla A. O., Draetta G., Beach D., Wang J. Y. Reversible tyrosine phosphorylation of cdc2: dephosphorylation accompanies activation during entry into mitosis. Cell. 1989 Jul 14;58(1):193–203. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90415-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Murray A. W., Kirschner M. W. Dominoes and clocks: the union of two views of the cell cycle. Science. 1989 Nov 3;246(4930):614–621. doi: 10.1126/science.2683077. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Murray A. W., Solomon M. J., Kirschner M. W. The role of cyclin synthesis and degradation in the control of maturation promoting factor activity. Nature. 1989 May 25;339(6222):280–286. doi: 10.1038/339280a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Ninomiya-Tsuji J., Nomoto S., Yasuda H., Reed S. I., Matsumoto K. Cloning of a human cDNA encoding a CDC2-related kinase by complementation of a budding yeast cdc28 mutation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Oct 15;88(20):9006–9010. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.20.9006. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Norbury C., Blow J., Nurse P. Regulatory phosphorylation of the p34cdc2 protein kinase in vertebrates. EMBO J. 1991 Nov;10(11):3321–3329. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb04896.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Nurse P. Universal control mechanism regulating onset of M-phase. Nature. 1990 Apr 5;344(6266):503–508. doi: 10.1038/344503a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Ogas J., Andrews B. J., Herskowitz I. Transcriptional activation of CLN1, CLN2, and a putative new G1 cyclin (HCS26) by SWI4, a positive regulator of G1-specific transcription. Cell. 1991 Sep 6;66(5):1015–1026. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90445-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Pagano M., Pepperkok R., Verde F., Ansorge W., Draetta G. Cyclin A is required at two points in the human cell cycle. EMBO J. 1992 Mar;11(3):961–971. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1992.tb05135.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Paris J., Le Guellec R., Couturier A., Le Guellec K., Omilli F., Camonis J., MacNeill S., Philippe M. Cloning by differential screening of a Xenopus cDNA coding for a protein highly homologous to cdc2. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Feb 1;88(3):1039–1043. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.3.1039. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Parker L. L., Atherton-Fessler S., Lee M. S., Ogg S., Falk J. L., Swenson K. I., Piwnica-Worms H. Cyclin promotes the tyrosine phosphorylation of p34cdc2 in a wee1+ dependent manner. EMBO J. 1991 May;10(5):1255–1263. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb08067.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Parker L. L., Atherton-Fessler S., Piwnica-Worms H. p107wee1 is a dual-specificity kinase that phosphorylates p34cdc2 on tyrosine 15. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Apr 1;89(7):2917–2921. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.7.2917. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Parker L. L., Piwnica-Worms H. Inactivation of the p34cdc2-cyclin B complex by the human WEE1 tyrosine kinase. Science. 1992 Sep 25;257(5078):1955–1957. doi: 10.1126/science.1384126. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Pines J., Hunter T. p34cdc2: the S and M kinase? New Biol. 1990 May;2(5):389–401. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Riabowol K., Draetta G., Brizuela L., Vandre D., Beach D. The cdc2 kinase is a nuclear protein that is essential for mitosis in mammalian cells. Cell. 1989 May 5;57(3):393–401. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90914-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Richardson H. E., Stueland C. S., Thomas J., Russell P., Reed S. I. Human cDNAs encoding homologs of the small p34Cdc28/Cdc2-associated protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Genes Dev. 1990 Aug;4(8):1332–1344. doi: 10.1101/gad.4.8.1332. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Richardson H. E., Wittenberg C., Cross F., Reed S. I. An essential G1 function for cyclin-like proteins in yeast. Cell. 1989 Dec 22;59(6):1127–1133. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90768-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Rosenblatt J., Gu Y., Morgan D. O. Human cyclin-dependent kinase 2 is activated during the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle and associates with cyclin A. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Apr 1;89(7):2824–2828. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.7.2824. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Roy L. M., Swenson K. I., Walker D. H., Gabrielli B. G., Li R. S., Piwnica-Worms H., Maller J. L. Activation of p34cdc2 kinase by cyclin A. J Cell Biol. 1991 May;113(3):507–514. doi: 10.1083/jcb.113.3.507. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Shirodkar S., Ewen M., DeCaprio J. A., Morgan J., Livingston D. M., Chittenden T. The transcription factor E2F interacts with the retinoblastoma product and a p107-cyclin A complex in a cell cycle-regulated manner. Cell. 1992 Jan 10;68(1):157–166. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90214-w. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Solomon M. J., Glotzer M., Lee T. H., Philippe M., Kirschner M. W. Cyclin activation of p34cdc2. Cell. 1990 Nov 30;63(5):1013–1024. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90504-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Solomon M. J., Lee T., Kirschner M. W. Role of phosphorylation in p34cdc2 activation: identification of an activating kinase. Mol Biol Cell. 1992 Jan;3(1):13–27. doi: 10.1091/mbc.3.1.13. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  55. Strausfeld U., Labbé J. C., Fesquet D., Cavadore J. C., Picard A., Sadhu K., Russell P., Dorée M. Dephosphorylation and activation of a p34cdc2/cyclin B complex in vitro by human CDC25 protein. Nature. 1991 May 16;351(6323):242–245. doi: 10.1038/351242a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  56. Studier F. W., Rosenberg A. H., Dunn J. J., Dubendorff J. W. Use of T7 RNA polymerase to direct expression of cloned genes. Methods Enzymol. 1990;185:60–89. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(90)85008-c. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  57. Surana U., Robitsch H., Price C., Schuster T., Fitch I., Futcher A. B., Nasmyth K. The role of CDC28 and cyclins during mitosis in the budding yeast S. cerevisiae. Cell. 1991 Apr 5;65(1):145–161. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90416-v. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  58. Tsai L. H., Harlow E., Meyerson M. Isolation of the human cdk2 gene that encodes the cyclin A- and adenovirus E1A-associated p33 kinase. Nature. 1991 Sep 12;353(6340):174–177. doi: 10.1038/353174a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  59. Wang J., Chenivesse X., Henglein B., Bréchot C. Hepatitis B virus integration in a cyclin A gene in a hepatocellular carcinoma. Nature. 1990 Feb 8;343(6258):555–557. doi: 10.1038/343555a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  60. Wittenberg C., Sugimoto K., Reed S. I. G1-specific cyclins of S. cerevisiae: cell cycle periodicity, regulation by mating pheromone, and association with the p34CDC28 protein kinase. Cell. 1990 Jul 27;62(2):225–237. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90361-h. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  61. Xiong Y., Zhang H., Beach D. D type cyclins associate with multiple protein kinases and the DNA replication and repair factor PCNA. Cell. 1992 Oct 30;71(3):505–514. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90518-h. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  62. Zindy F., Lamas E., Chenivesse X., Sobczak J., Wang J., Fesquet D., Henglein B., Bréchot C. Cyclin A is required in S phase in normal epithelial cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1992 Feb 14;182(3):1144–1154. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(92)91851-g. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Molecular Biology of the Cell are provided here courtesy of American Society for Cell Biology

RESOURCES