A phosphorylation of RIPK3 kinase initiates an intracellular apoptotic pathway that promotes corpus luteum regression
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Evaluation Summary:
This manuscript is of potential interest to the field of cell death research in terms of understanding basic mechanisms and in the context of disease. The authors have used a broad range of methodologies and identified key phosphorylation sites on the protein kinase RIPK3 that determine whether cells undergo necroptotic or apoptotic cell death. The authors examine this phosphorylation event in the context of corpus luteum regression.
(This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)
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Abstract
Receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) normally signals to necroptosis by phosphorylating MLKL. We report here that when the cellular RIPK3 chaperone Hsp90/CDC37 level is low, RIPK3 also signals to apoptosis. The apoptotic function of RIPK3 requires phosphorylation of the serine 165/threonine 166 sites on its kinase activation loop, resulting in inactivation of RIPK3 kinase activity while gaining the ability to recruit RIPK1, FADD, and caspase-8 to form a cytosolic caspase-activating complex, thereby triggering apoptosis. We found that PGF 2α induces RIPK3 expression in luteal granulosa cells in the ovary to cause luteal regression through this RIPK3-mediated apoptosis pathway. Mice carrying homozygous phosphorylation-resistant RIPK3 S165A/T166A knockin mutations failed to respond to PGF 2α but retained pro-necroptotic function, whereas mice with phospho-mimicking S165D/T166E homozygous knockin mutation underwent spontaneous apoptosis in multiple RIPK3-expressing tissues and died shortly after birth. Thus, RIPK3 signals to either necroptosis or apoptosis depending on its serine 165/threonine 166 phosphorylation status.
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Reviewer #2 (Public Review):
The authors sought to understand the mechanisms determining whether the kinase RIPK3 induces apoptosis or necroptosis and the physiological significance of this dual function. They identified a new phosphorylation event on RIPK3 (S164/T165) that appears to inhibit its capacity to induce necroptosis and make it a potent inducer or apoptosis. Low levels of the chaperone HSP90/CDC37 seem to favor S164/T165 RIPK3 phosphorylation, which is suggested to be important for luteal regression by inducing apoptosis in luteal granulosa cells in the ovaries of female mice.
The results presented expand on previous studies showing that whereas RIPK3 induces necroptosis by phosphorylating MLKL, inhibition of RIPK3 kinase activity by small molecules or by D160N mutation caused apoptosis and embryonic lethality. The authors …
Reviewer #2 (Public Review):
The authors sought to understand the mechanisms determining whether the kinase RIPK3 induces apoptosis or necroptosis and the physiological significance of this dual function. They identified a new phosphorylation event on RIPK3 (S164/T165) that appears to inhibit its capacity to induce necroptosis and make it a potent inducer or apoptosis. Low levels of the chaperone HSP90/CDC37 seem to favor S164/T165 RIPK3 phosphorylation, which is suggested to be important for luteal regression by inducing apoptosis in luteal granulosa cells in the ovaries of female mice.
The results presented expand on previous studies showing that whereas RIPK3 induces necroptosis by phosphorylating MLKL, inhibition of RIPK3 kinase activity by small molecules or by D160N mutation caused apoptosis and embryonic lethality. The authors provide experimental evidence supporting that phosphorylation on S164/T165 promotes apoptosis in vitro and in vivo, however the mechanisms regulating this transition remain poorly understood. The data on HSP90/CDC37 is supportive but largely correlative. The authors speculate that association with this chaperone is necessary for proper folding of RIPK3 into a configuration that can only be activated by upstream necroptosis inducers, while at low HSP90/CDC37 levels RIPK3 is not correctly folded and likely auto-phosphorylates on S164/T165, however this remains to be demonstrated. The authors propose that this process is particularly important in luteal granulosa cells and provide some evidence suggesting that RIPK3 phosphorylation on S164/T165 occurs in the ovaries of older mice. This seems counterintuitive given that corpus luteum involution occurs as part of the ovulation cycle and should therefore be especially relevant in young, sexually mature mice. Most importantly, there is no evidence that RIPK3 phosphorylation at these sites is important for female reproductive function, questioning its physiological significance. It would be important to know whether RIPK3 deficient or S165a/T166A mutant mice show any reproductive defects that would be expected by the lack of the proposed RIPK3-mediated apoptosis program in luteal granulosa cells.
The in vivo data in the knock-in mouse models clearly show that phosphomimetic mutations (RIPK3S165D/T166E) on RIPK3 cause severe pathology in multiple organs associated with increased numbers of dying cells. However, rescue experiments, for example by crossing to caspase-8 knockout mice, to prove that the pathology is indeed induced by apoptosis are lacking. It is also interesting that heterozygous expression of the phosphomimetic mutants does not cause any pathology in vivo. The authors speculate that a threshold of expression is required for activation of this mutant, however an alternative explanation could be that the presence of the wild type protein prevents its activation, e.g. by trans-autophosphorylation on S227. Introducing a RIPK3 null allele to generate heterozygous RIPK3S165D/T166E mice that do not express wild type RIPK3 could help resolve this question, as in that case the phosphomimetic mutant will be expressed at the same level but in the absence of the wild type protein.
Finally, most of the in vitro mechanistic studies rely on overexpression of the different mutants in cell lines. Using cells from the knock-in mice expressing the mutated proteins at endogenous levels would be a more appropriate experimental system to explore the mechanistic underpinnings such as the interaction with HSP90/CDC37.
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Reviewer #1 (Public Review):
The protein kinase RIPK3 was widely known to promote a form of lytic cell death termed necroptosis. However, RIPK3 could also promote apoptotic cell death under certain conditions. However, the mechanism by which RIPK3 promotes apoptosis and the physiological relevance of this apoptotic activity were not understood. In this study, the authors provided answers to these two questions.
Strengths:
The authors found that a specific phosphorylation on RIPK3 plays a critical role in the switch of RIPK3 into an apoptosis-inducing protein. The authors provided strong evidence to support their conclusion using mouse genetics and demonstrated a role for this RIPK3 activity in reproductive physiology.
Weaknesses:
Although the authors succeeded in finding the protein phosphorylation that controls the form of cell death …
Reviewer #1 (Public Review):
The protein kinase RIPK3 was widely known to promote a form of lytic cell death termed necroptosis. However, RIPK3 could also promote apoptotic cell death under certain conditions. However, the mechanism by which RIPK3 promotes apoptosis and the physiological relevance of this apoptotic activity were not understood. In this study, the authors provided answers to these two questions.
Strengths:
The authors found that a specific phosphorylation on RIPK3 plays a critical role in the switch of RIPK3 into an apoptosis-inducing protein. The authors provided strong evidence to support their conclusion using mouse genetics and demonstrated a role for this RIPK3 activity in reproductive physiology.
Weaknesses:
Although the authors succeeded in finding the protein phosphorylation that controls the form of cell death mediated by RIPK3, key questions remained as to how this modification prevents RIPK3 from promoting necroptosis. Also, the authors implied that the kinase activity of RIPK3 is critical in this switch to apoptosis. However, the phenotypes of mice that lack RIPK3 kinase activity do not match that of the mice that harbor mutations that mimic this phosphorylation.
Overall, this work should provide useful information for future studies to further examine the mechanism by which RIPK3 controls different types of cell death in normal and pathophysiology.
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Evaluation Summary:
This manuscript is of potential interest to the field of cell death research in terms of understanding basic mechanisms and in the context of disease. The authors have used a broad range of methodologies and identified key phosphorylation sites on the protein kinase RIPK3 that determine whether cells undergo necroptotic or apoptotic cell death. The authors examine this phosphorylation event in the context of corpus luteum regression.
(This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)
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