The objective of this protocol is to label, enrich, and identify substrates of protein kinase CK2 from a complex biological sample such as a cell lysate or tissue homogenate. This method leverages unique aspects of CK2 biology for this purpose.
The study of kinase-substrate relationships is essential to gain a complete understanding of the functions of these enzymes and their downstream targets in both physiological and pathological states. CK2 is an evolutionarily conserved serine/threonine kinase with a growing list of hundreds of substrates involved in multiple cellular processes. Due to its pleiotropic properties, identifying and characterizing a comprehensive set of CK2 substrates has been particularly challenging and remains a hurdle in the study of this important enzyme. To address this challenge, we have devised a versatile experimental strategy that enables the targeted enrichment and identification of putative CK2 substrates. This protocol takes advantage of the unique dual co-substrate specificity of CK2 allowing for specific thiophosphorylation of its substrates in a cell or tissue lysate. These substrate proteins are subsequently alkylated, immunoprecipitated, and identified by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We have previously used this approach to successfully identify CK2 substrates from Drosophila ovaries and here we extend the application of this protocol to human glioblastoma cells, illustrating the adaptability of this method to investigate the biological roles of this kinase in various model organisms and experimental systems.
Protein kinases are key components of signal transduction cascades. Phosphorylation of substrate proteins by these enzymes elicits biological responses that regulate critical events controlling cell division, metabolism, and differentiation, among others. CK2 is a ubiquitously expressed, acidophilic serine/threonine kinase that is conserved from yeast to humans and that plays important roles in many cellular processes ranging from transcriptional regulation to cell cycle progression to apoptosis1,2,3. The enzyme is a heterotetramer composed of two catalytic α (or α') subunits and two regulatory β subunits4. In addition to being highly pleiotropic, CK2 exhibits two other unusual characteristics that complicate its analysis, namely constitutive activity5 and dual co-substrate specificity6. This latter property endows CK2 with the ability to use GTP as well as ATP for phosphorylation of substrate proteins.
Genetic deletion of the catalytic or regulatory subunits of CK2 in mice results in embryonic lethality indicating that it plays crucial roles during development and organogenesis7,8. CK2 is also overexpressed in several types of cancer and thus represents a promising therapeutic target9,10,11. Indeed, specific inhibitors that target CK2 kinase activity are currently under investigation for this purpose12,13,14. While inhibition of CK2 is a viable option, given its pleiotropic nature, an alternative and perhaps more rational approach would be to target critical CK2 substrates that underlie the progression of certain cancers. Therefore, the comprehensive identification and characterization of CK2 substrate proteins would be of significant benefit for elucidating the specific function(s) of this kinase within a particular tissue or tumor type.
Here, we describe a versatile biochemical method for identifying CK2 substrates from a complex biological sample such as a cell or tissue lysate. This protocol takes advantage of the dual co-substrate specificity of CK2 by use of the GTP analogue GTPγS (guanosine 5'-[γ-thio]triphosphate) that other endogenous kinases cannot use. This effectively allows the kinase to "label" its substrates within this sample for subsequent isolation and identification.
NOTE: Ensure that the required materials are available and properly prepared (see Table of Materials).
1. Preparation
2. Kinase assay: thiophosphorylation and alkylation
3. Preparation of desalting columns
4. Removal of PNBM
5. Immunoprecipitation: Part I
6. Protein A/G agarose bead preparation
7. Immunoprecipitation: Part II
8. Analysis/Validation of results
A schematic diagram of the experimental procedure is provided in Figure 1. The underlying basis of the technique is the unusual ability of CK2 to use GTP for phosphoryl group transfer. Addition of exogenous CK2 holoenzyme along with the GTP analogue, GTPγS, to a cell lysate results in thiophosphorylation of endogenous CK2 substrates. Subsequent treatment of the lysate with the alkylating reagent p-nitrobenzyl mesylate (PNBM) generates a thiophosphate ester moiety on these specific substrate proteins that can then be immunoprecipitated using an anti-thiophosphate ester antibody and ultimately identified by mass spectrometry. Figure 2 depicts a positive result following the addition of CK2 and GTPγS and then PNBM to T98G (glioblastoma) cell lysate. These results demonstrate that CK2-dependent thiophosphorylation and subsequent alkylation were successful. As expected, an enhanced anti-thiophosphate ester signal by Western blotting is observed only in the lane containing the complete kinase reaction and not in the GTPγS only- and PNBM only-treated samples. Shown in Figure 3 is a Coomassie blue-stained gel of the immunoprecipitated and eluted proteins using isotype control IgG or anti-thiophosphate ester antibodies in the presence or absence of excess CK2 and/or GTPγS. These data also demonstrate a positive result as multiple unique bands are evident only in the anti-thiophosphate ester IP lane in which the lysate was incubated with exogenous CK2 and GTPγS. The band indicated with an asterisk was excised from the gel and submitted for protein identification by mass spectrometry. Figure 4 illustrates representative data obtained by mass spectrometric analysis including protein identification, percent coverage, and number of unique peptides identified per protein within the band. Shown are the top ten hits from the submitted band (Figure 3) and information regarding whether or not the protein has been previously identified as a substrate of CK215,16,17. The identity of one of the known immunoprecipitated CK2 substrates, nucleolin15, was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting of the indicated fractions using an anti-nucleolin antibody.
Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the experimental strategy. The GTP analogue, GTPγS, along with excess recombinant CK2 holoenzyme is added to a cell or tissue lysate and allows for thiophosphorylation of substrates by CK2 but not by other endogenous kinases. Thiophosphorylated substrates are next alkylated with PNBM, generating a thiophosphate ester moiety on these proteins, which are then captured via immunoprecipitation (IP) for subsequent identification by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: Validation of CK2-dependent thiophosphorylation in whole cell lysate. Whole cell lysates prepared from T98G cells were incubated with GTPγS in the presence (kinase reaction) or absence (GTPγS only) of exogenous recombinant CK2 holoenzyme. PNBM was subsequently added to the indicated reactions, and samples were resolved by SDS-PAGE followed by immunoblotting with the indicated antibodies. Protein molecular weight markers are indicated in kDa. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 3: Immunoprecipitation of putative CK2 substrate proteins. Enrichment and visualization of putative CK2 substrates (third lane) is evident as multiple unique bands following immunoprecipitation with anti-thiophosphate ester antibodies. Immunoprecipitates were resolved by SDS-PAGE and the gel was stained with Coomassie blue. The band marked with an asterisk was excised from the gel and submitted for protein identification by mass spectrometry. Protein molecular weight markers are indicated in kDa. IP=immunoprecipitation. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 4: Identification and confirmation of proteins as substrates of CK2 in vitro. Data obtained by mass spectrometry demonstrates that both previously known15,16,17 as well as putative novel CK2 substrates were identified using this experimental approach. Shown are the top ten proteins identified from the excised band (top). The identity of nucleolin, a known CK2 substrate, was confirmed by immunoblotting of the indicated fractions using an anti-nucleolin antibody (bottom). Protein molecular weight markers are indicated in kDa. IP=immunoprecipitation. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Reagent Stock Concentration | Reagent Final Concentration | Example volumes added based on stock concentrations |
1 M Tris pH 7.4 | 20.0 mM | 200 µL |
4 M NaCl | 20.0 mM | 50 µL |
20% Triton X-100 | 0.50% | 250 µL |
1 M MgCl2 | 10.0 mM | 100 µL |
1 M DTT | 0.5 mM | 5 µL |
200 mM Na3VO4 | 1.0 mM | 50 µL |
500 mM NaF | 10.0 mM | 200 µL |
500 mM β-glycerol phosphate | 10.0 mM | 200 µL |
H2O | 8.945 mL | |
+1 cOmplete Mini tab/10 mL | 1 tablet |
Table 1. Lysis buffer recipe (10 mL, 1X).
Here, we describe a relatively simple biochemical method for identifying substrates of protein kinase CK2 from a complex biological sample. The critical steps of this protocol are based on the unusual enzymatic properties of CK2 and include CK2-dependent thiophosphorylation of specific substrate proteins using GTPγS and their subsequent immunoprecipitation and identification. With these results, we have demonstrated the utility and versatility of this approach as we have now applied this strategy in both human glioblastoma cells and Drosophila ovaries18.
A number of previously published studies using quantitative phosphoproteomics approaches have indeed proven successful in identifying novel CK2 substrates19,20,21,22,23. However, some of these strategies make use of immobilized substrate arrays, and it is possible that the conformation of an immobilized protein may render a potential phosphorylation site inaccessible to the kinase. The technique described here permits phosphorylation within a more physiological or native environment (i.e., a cell lysate), thereby reducing the probability of site inaccessibility. Another benefit of this strategy is that once protein identification is determined by mass spectrometry, validation of putative CK2 substrates can easily be performed on samples collected during the procedure if antibodies directed against the substrate protein(s) of interest are available. For example, using standard western blotting, one should observe a reduction in the level of the relevant protein in the depleted (post-IP) samples and its presence in the anti-thiophosphate ester immunoprecipitates as we have demonstrated for the known CK2 substrate nucleolin (Figure 4).
A notable limitation of this method is that the final step of the procedure prior to analysis by mass spectrometry relies on the ability to discern discrete differences in banding pattern on a gel. Thus, it is certainly possible that specific CK2 substrates may be missed if they are of low abundance and therefore below the limit of visual detection. If one is concerned about this possibility, a more sensitive method such as silver staining can be used to visualize these proteins instead of using Coomassie blue. An additional consideration that should be acknowledged is that a number of CK2 substrates may not be identified using this strategy since the physiologically relevant sites will already be phosphorylated in vivo. This is almost certainly to be the case given the constitutive activity of CK2. Finally, it should also be noted that this methodology only identifies proteins as putative substrates of CK2 in vitro. Subsequent assays to validate that these are physiologically relevant substrates of CK2 in vivo are required and should entail identification of CK2-dependent phosphorylation sites and assessing if phosphorylation of these particular residues is altered in response to manipulation of CK2 kinase activity.
In summary, this strategy coupled with downstream experimental approaches (phosphorylation site mapping by truncation/deletion analysis, site-directed mutagenesis, functional in vitro and in vivo assays, etc.) will facilitate the study of this unusual kinase and will increase our understanding of the various roles that CK2 plays in multiple biological systems.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
This work was supported in part by a Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health to T.I.S.
12 mg/mL PNBM | Abcam | ab138910 | 40.5 µL |
2.5 mM GTPγS | Sigma-Aldrich | G8634-1MG | 5.4 µL |
Anti-CK2α (E-7) mouse monoclonal antibody | Santa Cruz Biotechnology | sc-373894 | 1:1000 for Western blotting |
Anti-GAPDH (6C5) mouse monoclonal antibody | Santa Cruz Biotechnology | sc-32233 | 1:1000 for Western blotting |
Anti-nucleolin rabbit polyclonal antibody | Abcam | ab22758 | 1:1000 for Western blotting |
Anti-thiophosphate ester [51-8] rabbit monoclonal antibody | Abcam | ab92570 | Varies (final concentration 2.8 µg for each sample) |
Centrifuge pre-set to 4ºC | ThermoScientific | Sorvall Legend Micro 21R Cat# 75-772-436 | |
cOmplete Mini EDTA-Free Protease Inhibitor | Roche | 11836170001 | |
Lysis Buffer | See recipe below | See recipe below | 30 mL |
Normal rabbit IgG antibody (isotype control) | Cell Signaling Technology | 2729S | Varies (final concentration 2.8 µg for each sample) |
PD MiniTrap Column | GE Healthcare | 28-9180-10 | 3 columns |
Protein A/G Plus Agarose Beads | Santa Cruz Biotechnology | sc-2003 | 600 µL |
Recombinant human CK2 holoenzyme | New England Biolabs | P6010S | 2.7 µL |
Rotator | Labnet: Mini Labroller | Mini Labroller SKU# H5500 | |
T98G human glioblastoma cells | ATCC | CRL-1690 | |
Water bath pre-set to 30ºC | Shel Lab | H20 Bath Series Model# SWB15 |