From the Rac1 small GTPase plays pivotal roles in various
cell functions such as cell morphology, cell polarity, and cell
proliferation. We have previously identified IQGAP1 from bovine brain
cytosol as a target for Rac1 by an affinity purification method. By
using the same method, we purified a specifically Rac1-associated
protein with a molecular mass of about 140 kDa (p140) from bovine brain cytosol. This protein interacted with guanosine
5 Rac1, a member of the Rho small GTPases, has been shown to
regulate actin filament reorganization and cell substratum adhesion such as focal contact (for a review, see Ref. 1). Rac1 has been shown
to be involved in platelet-derived growth factor-induced membrane
ruffling (2) and insulin-induced membrane ruffling in KB cells (3). In
addition to the regulation of actin cytoskeleton, Rac1 has been shown
to regulate multiple cellular processes; Rac1 has been shown to
stimulate the arachidonic acid release in Swiss 3T3 cells or in Rat-1
cells (4) and to regulate the activities of c-Jun N-terminal kinase and
p38 (5-7), members of mitogen-activated protein kinases. Ectopic
expression of dominant active Rac1 in mice results in the reduction of
Purkinje cell axon terminals (8).
Rac1 has two interconvertible forms as follows: GDP-bound inactive form
and GTP-bound active form (for reviews, see Refs. 1 and 9), and the
GTP-bound form interacts with its target molecules and exerts its
biological functions. The target molecules for Rac1 have been
identified to be serine/threonine kinase PAK (10, 11),
WASP1 (12, 13), POR1 (14),
and p67phox (15, 16) in neutrophil. Recently, we and other
groups (17-20) have identified IQGAP as a target for Cdc42 and Rac1.
Among these targets, POR1 has been shown to specifically interact with
Rac1 but not with Cdc42. POR1 has been shown to be involved in the Rac1-induced membrane ruffling formation (14). However, it still remains to be clarified how Rac1-specific function is achieved. Therefore, it is important to identify its novel targets.
In the present study, we purified putative targets for Rac1 with
molecular masses of 140 kDa and 120 kDa and identified them as a
KIAA0068 gene product (Sra-1) (21) and HEM-2 (22), respectively. We
found here that Sra-1 directly interacts with activated Rac1 and
F-actin, suggesting that Sra-1 is a novel target for Rac1.
Materials and Chemicals--
The cDNA of human Sra-1
(KIAA0068) was identified as described (21). Actin was prepared from
rabbit skeletal muscle as described (23). KB cells were kindly provided
from Dr. Y. Miyata (Kyoto University, Japan). Anti-Myc polyclonal
antibody and anti-HA monoclonal antibody (12CA5) were purchased from
Santa Cruz Co. (Santa Cruz, CA) and Boehringer Mannheim, respectively.
Reticulocyte in vitro translation system kit was purchased
from Promega Co. (Madison, WI). Other materials and chemicals were
obtained from commercial sources.
Plasmid Construction--
Recombinant wild-type and mutant small
GTPases were expressed as GST fusion proteins and purified as described
(20). For expression in COS7 cells, pEF-BOS-HA-small GTPases were
prepared as described (20). To obtain pBluescript KS( GST-Rac1 Affinity Column Chromatography--
The affinity
purification was performed essentially as described (20). Briefly, 30 ml of bovine brain cytosol (25 mg/ml protein) was passed through
glutathione beads (1 ml) to remove endogenous GST. Then, the pass
fraction was loaded on glutathione beads (1 ml) coated with GST-small
GTPases preloaded with guanine nucleotides as described (20). After
washing the columns, bound proteins were coeluted with GST-small
GTPases by the addition of 5 ml of reduced glutathione. After p140 was
resolved by SDS-PAGE, the protein was transferred to polyvinylidene
difluoride membrane and subjected to amino acid sequencing as described
(24). The eluates (40 µl) were subjected to SDS-PAGE followed by
immunoblotting using anti-Sra-1 antibody.
Interaction of Sra-1 with Small GTPases--
The insect cells
overexpressing Myc-Sra-1 were homogenized with buffer containing 20 mM Tris/HCl at pH 7.5, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 1 mM EDTA, and 10 µM
(p-amidinophenyl)methanesulfonyl fluoride on ice and
centrifuged at 100,000 × g for 1 h at 4 °C and
purified from the supernatant by MonoQ column chromatography. Myc-Sra-1 (100 µg) was loaded on the affinity beads coated with GST-small GTPases (50 µg each) preloaded with guanine nucleotides as described (20). After washing the columns, elution was performed by the addition
of 500 µl of reduced glutathione. Forty µl of the eluates were
resolved by SDS-PAGE followed by silver staining. In vitro translation was performed using reticulocyte lysate and T7 polymerase, and the fragments were labeled with [35S]Met. The
indicated fragments of in vitro translated Sra-1 were mixed
with affinity beads coated with the GST-small GTPases. After washing
the beads, the bound proteins were coeluted with the small GTPases by
the addition of glutathione. The eluates were resolved by SDS-PAGE, and
radioactivities were detected using the bioimaging analyzer BAS2000
(Fujix, Tokyo, Japan).
Microinjection--
KB cells were cultured and seeded onto a
polylysine-coated dish (3, 20). Subconfluent KB cells (5 × 105/6-cm dish) were serum-starved for 36 h. Then,
expression plasmids pEF-BOS-Myc-Sra-1 (0.1 mg/ml) with
pEF-BOS-HA-Rac1Val-12 (0.02 mg/ml) were microinjected into
nuclei of serum-starved KB cells. Four hours after the injections,
cells were fixed and doubly stained with anti-Myc polyclonal antibody
and with either anti-HA monoclonal antibody (12CA5) or
rhodamine-labeled phalloidin.
Cosedimentation Assay--
Cosedimentation assay was performed
as described (25). Myc-Sra-1 (260 nM) and F-actin (3 µM) were mixed and incubated for 2 h at 4 °C. The
mixture (50 µl) was loaded onto 20% (w/v) sucrose layer (100 µl)
and then centrifuged at 200,000 × g for 1 h at 4 °C. The supernatant and the pellet were then subjected to SDS-PAGE followed by immunoblotting with anti-Sra-1 antibody, and the amounts of
Sra-1 were quantified.
Other Procedures--
Anti-Sra-1 polyclonal antibody was raised
against GST-Sra-1 (1-407 aa) by standard procedures.
To identify Rac1-interacting molecules, the bovine brain cytosol
was loaded onto a GST-Rac1 affinity column as described (20). The
proteins bound to the affinity column were coeluted with GST-Rac1 by
the addition of glutathione. Proteins with molecular masses of about
180 kDa (p180), 170 kDa (p170), 140 kDa (p140), 120 kDa (p120), 110 kDa
(p110), and 90 kDa (p90) were detected in the glutathione eluate from
the GTP Division of Signal Transduction,
Department of Biochemistry,
Department of Virology II,
ABSTRACT
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Procedures
Results & Discussion
References
-(3-O-thio)triphosphate (GTP
S)·glutathione
S-transferase (GST)-Rac1 but not with the GDP·GST-Rac1,
GTP
S·GST-Cdc42, or GTP
S·GST-RhoA. The amino acid sequences of
this protein revealed that p140 is identified as a product of KIAA0068
gene. We denoted this protein as Sra-1 (Specifically Rac1-associated protein). Recombinant Sra-1 interacted with
GTP
S·GST-Rac1 and weakly with GDP·Rac1 but not with GST-Cdc42 or
GST-RhoA. The N-terminal domain of Sra-1 (1-407 amino acids) was
responsible for the interaction with Rac1. Myc-tagged Sra-1 and the
deletion mutant capable of interacting with Rac1, but not the mutants
unable to bind Rac1, were colocalized with dominant active
Rac1Val-12 and cortical actin filament at the
Rac1Val-12-induced membrane ruffling area in KB cells.
Sra-1 was cosedimented with filamentous actin (F-actin), indicating
that Sra-1 directly interacts with F-actin. These results suggest that
Sra-1 is a novel and specific target for Rac1.
INTRODUCTION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Procedures
Results & Discussion
References
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Procedures
Results & Discussion
References
) full-length
cDNA of Sra-1, cDNA of Sra-1 subcloned into EcoRV
and NotI sites of pBluescript SK(
) was digested with
SacII, blunted, and inserted into ClaI-digested
and blunt-ended pBluescript KS(
). To produce pGEX4T-1 Sra-1 (1-407
aa), the cDNA fragment corresponding 1-407 aa was ligated into
EcoRI and SmaI sites of pGEX4T-1. For the in vitro translation, the cDNA fragments encoding Sra-1
N-1 (1-959 aa), Sra-1 N-2 (1-632 aa), Sra-1 N-3 (1-407 aa), and
Sra-1 C-1 (659-1253 aa) were inserted into pBluescript SK (
). To
produce pBluescript KS (
)-Myc-Sra-1, the full-length cDNA of
Sra-1 was inserted into EcoRV and XhoI sites of
pBluescript KS (
)-Myc (20). To express the various mutants Myc-Sra-1
in mammalian cells, the respective cDNA fragments were inserted
into XbaI site of pEF-BOS. To produce Myc-Sra-1 in insect
cells, the cDNA of Myc-Sra-1 was inserted into XbaI
sites of pAcYM1.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Procedures
Results & Discussion
References
S·GST-Rac1 affinity column but not from the GST or
GDP·GST-Rac1 affinity column (20) (Fig. 1A). We have previously
identified p170, p110, and p90 as IQGAP1, p110, and p85 subunits of
phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase, respectively (20). To determine the
molecular identities of the p140 and p120, they were subjected to amino
acid sequencing as described (24). Seven peptide sequences derived from
p140 were determined (Fig. 1B). The amino acid sequences of
p140 revealed that p140 was identical to those of a putative protein
encoded by a human cDNA, KIAA0068 (DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank accession
number D38549), which was identified by the cDNA project (21). The
amino acid sequences of the p120 are 1) AAEDLFVNIRGY, 2) ELATVLSDQPG,
3) ASLSLADHREL, and 4) RLSSVDSVLK, all of which are identical to the
deduced amino acid sequence of rat HEM-2
(22).2 We have also determined the amino
acid sequence of p180 and found that p180 is a novel protein which is
highly homologous to myosin heavy
chain.3 The molecular weights
of a KIAA0068 gene product and HEM-2 are calculated to be 145,180 and
128,250, respectively, which are almost the same as the apparent
molecular masses of p140 and p120 estimated by SDS-PAGE. Moreover,
anti-Sra-1 antibody recognized p140 in the eluate from
GST-GTP
S·Rac1 affinity column (Fig.
2A). Therefore, we concluded that p140 and
p120 were the bovine counterparts of a human KIAA0068 gene product and
HEM-2, respectively. We also confirmed that p140 was detected
specifically in the GST-Rac1-affinity eluate but not in the GST-Cdc42
nor GST-RhoA affinity eluates from bovine brain cytosol (20). Since
p140 specifically interacted with Rac1 as described below, we denoted
this protein as Sra-1 (Specifically
Rac1-interacting protein) and hereafter refer to it as
Sra-1.
View larger version (64K):
[in a new window]
Fig. 1.
Predicted amino acid sequence of p140.
A, affinity purification of p140 and p120. The bovine brain
cytosol was subjected to GST, GDP·GST-Rac1, or GTP S·GST-Rac1
affinity column, and the bound proteins were eluted with GST-small
GTPases by the addition of glutathione (20). The eluates were subjected
to SDS-PAGE followed by silver staining. Lane 1, GST;
lane 2, GDP·GST-Rac1; lane 3, GTP
S·GST-Rac1. B, The predicted amino acid sequence of human Sra-1. Sequences derived from bovine p140 were determined. The
determined sequences identical to human Sra-1 were boxed. These sequence data are available from DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank under accession number D38549.
View larger version (13K):
[in a new window]
Fig. 2.
Direct interaction of Sra-1 with Rac1.
A, the bovine brain cytosol was loaded on the glutathione
column coated with the indicated GST-small GTPases. The bound proteins
were coeluted with the GST-small GTPases by the addition of
glutathione. Aliquots were resolved by SDS-PAGE followed by
immunoblotting using anti-Sra-1 antibody. Lane 1, GST;
lane 2, GTP S·GST-Rac1; lane 3, GDP·GST-Rac1; lane 4, GTP
S·GST-Cdc42; lane
5, GDP·GST-Cdc42; lane 6, GTP
S·GST-RhoA; lane 7, GDP·GST-RhoA. The arrowhead denotes the
position of Sra-1. B, Myc-Sra-1 was loaded on the
glutathione column coated with the indicated GST-small GTPases.
Myc-Sra-1 was coeluted with GST-small GTPases by the addition of 500 µl of glutathione. Lanes are the same as those in the legend of Fig.
2A. Forty µl of the eluates were resolved by SDS-PAGE
followed by silver staining. The arrowhead denotes the
position of Sra-1. The results are representative of three independent
experiments.
To examine whether recombinant Sra-1 interacts with GTPS·Rac1, the
affinity beads coated with GST-small GTPases were mixed with Myc-Sra-1
purified from overexpressing insect cells. After washing the affinity
beads, GST-small GTPases were eluted by the addition of reduced
glutathione. Myc-Sra-1 coeluted strongly with GTP
S·GST-Rac1 and
weakly with GDP·GST-Rac1 (Fig. 2B), indicating that Sra-1
directly interacts with GTP
S·GST-Rac1. Recombinant Sra-1 was not
detected in the eluate of GST-RhoA, GST-Cdc42, or GST affinity
beads.
Rac1 and Cdc42 share their targets PAK (10, 11), WASP (12, 13), and IQGAP (17-20). A specific target for Rac1 has been shown to be POR1 (14) and that for Cdc42 to be ACK (26). Our result indicates that Sra-1 is categorized into a specific target for Rac1, such as POR1.
The indicated mutants of Sra-1 were translated in vitro, and
their interactions with GST-Rac1 were examined. The in vitro translated full-length Sra-1 interacted with GTPS·GST-Rac1 and slightly with GDP·GST-Rac1 (Fig. 3).
Sra-1 N-1 (1-959 aa) interacted with GTP
S·GST-Rac1, whereas Sra-1
C-1 (659-1253 aa) did not. The shorter fragments of Sra-1, N-2 (1-632
aa), and N-3 (1-407 aa) were also interacted with GTP
S·GST-Rac1.
This result indicates that the N-terminal domain of Sra-1 (1-407 aa)
is responsible for the interaction with Rac1. The consensus sequence of
the Rac1-binding domain of the target proteins such as PAK and WASP has
been determined, and it was designated as CRIB (13, 27). The shortest
fragment Sra-1 N-3 did not contain the CRIB domain. Therefore, Sra-1 is categorized into the target group that does not have the CRIB domain.
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Rac1 has been shown to regulate membrane ruffling (2, 3). To explore whether Sra-1 is also involved in the Rac1-mediated regulation of actin cytoskeleton, we microinjected cDNAs of Myc-Sra-1 with HA-Rac1Val-12, structurally equivalent to RasVal-12 (9), into serum-starved KB cells. Membrane ruffling was observed in the injected cells as described (3) (Fig. 4A). Sra-1 specifically accumulated at Rac1-induced membrane ruffling area and colocalized with Rac1Val-12 (Fig. 4, B and C). Myc-Sra-1 was also colocalized with cortical actin filaments (Fig. 4, E and F). We also attempted to examine whether Sra-1 interacts with Rac1 in COS7 cells overexpressing Sra-1 and Rac1Val-12, but we failed to do so (data not shown). When Sra-1 was coexpressed with Rac1, most Sra-1 was recovered in the membrane fraction and hardly extracted by detergents. However, colocalization of Sra-1 with Rac1 strongly suggests that these proteins interact in vivo.
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To explore further the interaction of Sra-1 with Rac1, we microinjected various deletion mutants of Sra-1 with Rac1Val-12 into serum-starved KB cells and analyzed their distributions. When the deletion mutants were microinjected with Rac1Val-12 into the cells, the membrane ruffling was elicited (Fig. 5, A, D, G, and J), and Rac1Val-12 was accumulated at the membrane ruffling area (Fig. 5, C, F, I, and L). The deletion mutants capable of interacting with Rac1Val-12 were accumulated at the membrane ruffling area (Fig. 5, B, E, and H), whereas the mutant unable to interact with Rac1Val-12 was not (Fig. 5K), suggesting that the interaction of Sra-1 with Rac1 is necessary for the accumulation of Sra-1 at the membrane ruffling area. This result is consistent with the in vitro interaction result and suggests that Rac1 may recruit Sra-1 to the membrane ruffling area.
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Activated Rac1 and Cdc42 induce distinct phenotypes, membrane ruffling, and filopodia formation, respectively (2, 28, 29). It is likely that the distinct phenotype elicited by Cdc42 and Rac1 reflects their specific target activities. POR1 enhances the Ha-RasVal-12-induced membrane ruffling, and truncated POR1 inhibited the Rac1-induced membrane ruffling (14). Although this suggests that POR1 is required for the membrane ruffling formation, it is possible that other targets are also required for the membrane ruffling formation elicited by Rac1. Our results suggest that Sra-1, in addition to POR1, is involved in the membrane ruffling formation.
We explored the relationship between Sra-1 and actin filament. When Myc-Sra-1 was incubated with F-actin and centrifuged, Myc-Sra-1 was cosedimentated with F-actin (Fig. 6). Myc-Sra-1 was not cosedimentated in the absence of F-actin. This result indicates that Sra-1 directly interacts with F-actin. It is difficult to examine whether Rac1 affects the interaction of Sra-1 with F-actin, because Sra-1 was sedimentated even in the absence of F-actin when it was mixed with GST-Rac1 for an unknown reason. Taken together, it is likely that Sra-1 is involved in the regulation of membrane ruffling formation induced by Rac1 through the interaction with F-actin.
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Recently, it is reported that introduction of activated PAK, a common target for Rac1 and Cdc42, resulted in the formation of filopodia in Swiss 3T3 cells (30) and induces the morphological change of HeLa cells (31). We have recently found that IQGAP1, another common target for Rac1 and Cdc42, directly interacts with F-actin (32). It is likely that these targets may be required for alteration of actin filament necessary for both filopodia and membrane ruffling formation. Our results suggest that Sra-1 is the specific machinery necessary for the membrane ruffling formation. Taken together, it is plausible that Sra-1 can function in concert with other targets such as PAK, IQGAP1, and POR1, resulting in the formation of membrane ruffling.
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FOOTNOTES |
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* This study was supported by grants-in-aid for Scientific Research and for Cancer Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan (1996) and by grants from the Mitsubishi Foundation and Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd. The cDNA Research Program was supported in part by the Kazusa DNA Research Institute.The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
The nucleotide sequence(s) reported in this paper has been submitted to the GenBankTM/EMBL Data Bank with accession number(s) D38549.
§ Present address: Division of Microbial Molecular Genetics, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma 630-01, Japan.
¶¶ To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 81-7437-2-5440; Fax: 81-7437-2-5449; E-mail: kaibuchi{at}bs.aist_nara.ac.jp.
1
The abbreviations used are: WASP,
Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein; GAP, GTPase-activating protein; GST,
glutathione S-transferase; HA, hemagglutinin; aa, amino
acid; PAGE, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; GTPS, guanosine
5
-(3-O-thio)triphosphate; CRIB, Cdc42/Rac1 interactive binding region; F-actin, filamentous-actin.
2 Detailed analysis of HEM-2 will be described elsewhere.
3 Detailed analysis of p180 will be described elsewhere.
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