scholarly journals Molecular Characterization of the SUMO-1 Modification of RanGAP1 and Its Role in Nuclear Envelope Association

1998 ◽  
Vol 140 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohit Mahajan ◽  
Larry Gerace ◽  
Frauke Melchior

The mammalian guanosine triphosphate (GTP)ase-activating protein RanGAP1 is the first example of a protein covalently linked to the ubiquitin-related protein SUMO-1. Here we used peptide mapping, mass spectroscopy analysis, and mutagenesis to identify the nature of the link between RanGAP1 and SUMO-1. SUMO-1 is linked to RanGAP1 via glycine 97, indicating that the last 4 amino acids of this 101– amino acid protein are proteolytically removed before its attachment to RanGAP1. Recombinant SUMO-1 lacking the last four amino acids is efficiently used for modification of RanGAP1 in vitro and of multiple unknown proteins in vivo. In contrast to most ubiquitinated proteins, only a single lysine residue (K526) in RanGAP1 can serve as the acceptor site for modification by SUMO-1. Modification of RanGAP1 with SUMO-1 leads to association of RanGAP1 with the nuclear envelope (NE), where it was previously shown to be required for nuclear protein import. Sufficient information for modification and targeting resides in a 25-kD domain of RanGAP1. RanGAP1–SUMO-1 remains stably associated with the NE during many cycles of in vitro import. This indicates that removal of RanGAP1 from the NE is not a required element of nuclear protein import and suggests that the reversible modification of RanGAP1 may have a regulatory role.

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 630-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yutaka Ogawa ◽  
Yoichi Miyamoto ◽  
Munehiro Asally ◽  
Masahiro Oka ◽  
Yoshinari Yasuda ◽  
...  

Npap60 (Nup50) is a nucleoporin that binds directly to importin α. In humans, there are two Npap60 isoforms: the long (Npap60L) and short (Npap60S) forms. In this study, we provide both in vitro and in vivo evidence that Npap60L and Npap60S function differently in nuclear protein import. In vitro binding assays revealed that Npap60S stabilizes the binding of importin α to classical NLS-cargo, whereas Npap60L promotes the release of NLS-cargo from importin α. In vivo time-lapse experiments showed that when the Npap60 protein level is controlled, allowing CAS to efficiently promote the dissociation of the Npap60/importin α complex, Npap60S and Npap60L suppress and accelerate the nuclear import of NLS-cargo, respectively. These results demonstrate that Npap60L and Npap60S have opposing functions and suggest that Npap60L and Npap60S levels must be carefully controlled for efficient nuclear import of classical NLS-cargo in humans. This study provides novel evidence that nucleoporin expression levels regulate nuclear import efficiency.


1993 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 785-798 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Schlenstedt ◽  
E Hurt ◽  
V Doye ◽  
P A Silver

We have developed an in vitro nuclear protein import reaction from semi-intact yeast cells. The reaction uses cells that have been permeabilized by freeze-thaw after spheroplast formation. Electron microscopic analysis and antibody-binding experiments show that the nuclear envelope remains intact but the plasma membrane is perforated. In the presence of ATP and cytosol derived from yeast or mammalian cells, a protein containing the nuclear localization sequence (NLS) of SV40 large T-antigen is transported into the nucleus. Proteins with mutant NLSs are not imported. In the absence of cytosol, binding of NLS-containing proteins occurs at the nuclear envelope. N-ethylmaleimide treatment of the cytosol as well as antibodies to the nuclear pore protein Nsp1 inhibit import but not binding to the nuclear envelope. Yeast mutants defective in nuclear protein transport were tested in the in vitro import reaction. Semi-intact cells from temperature-sensitive nsp1 mutants failed to import but some binding to the nuclear envelope was observed. On the other hand, no binding and thus no import into nuclei was observed in semi-intact nsp49 cells which are mutated in another nuclear pore protein. Np13 mutants, which are defective for nuclear protein import in vivo, were also deficient in the binding step under the in vitro conditions. Thus, the transport defect in these mutants is at the level of the nucleus and the point at which nuclear transport is blocked can be defined.


1995 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 3617-3626 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Imamoto ◽  
T. Shimamoto ◽  
T. Takao ◽  
T. Tachibana ◽  
S. Kose ◽  
...  

FEBS Letters ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 437 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 127-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang-Jie Jiang ◽  
Naoko Imamoto ◽  
Rikyu Matsuki ◽  
Yoshihiro Yoneda ◽  
Naoki Yamamoto

1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 1835-1855 ◽  
Author(s):  
C DeHoratius ◽  
P A Silver

To identify components involved in nuclear protein import, we used a genetic selection to isolate mutants that mislocalized a nuclear-targeted protein. We identified temperature-sensitive mutants that accumulated several different nuclear proteins in the cytoplasm when shifted to the semipermissive temperature of 30 degrees C; these were termed npl (nuclear protein localization) mutants. We now present the properties of yeast strains bearing mutations in the NPL4 gene and report the cloning of the NPL4 gene and the characterization of the Np14 protein. The npl4-1 mutant was isolated by the previously described selection scheme. The second allele, npl4-2, was identified from an independently derived collection of temperature-sensitive mutants. The npl4-1 and npl4-2 strains accumulate nuclear-targeted proteins in the cytoplasm at the nonpermissive temperature consistent with a defect in nuclear protein import. Using an in vitro nuclear import assay, we show that nuclei prepared from temperature-shifted npl4 mutant cells are unable to import nuclear-targeted proteins, even in the presence of cytosol prepared from wild-type cells. In addition, npl4-2 cells accumulate poly(A)+ RNA in the nucleus at the nonpermissive temperature, consistent with a failure to export mRNA from the nucleus. The npl4-1 and npl4-2 cells also exhibit distinct, temperature-sensitive structural defects: npl4-1 cells project extra nuclear envelope into the cytoplasm, whereas npl4-2 cells from nuclear envelope herniations that appear to be filled with poly(A)+ RNA. The NPL4 gene encodes an essential M(r) 64,000 protein that is located at the nuclear periphery and localizes in a pattern similar to nuclear pore complex proteins. Taken together, these results indicate that this gene encodes a novel nuclear pore complex or nuclear pore complex-associated component required for nuclear membrane integrity and nuclear transport.


1992 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Sterne-Marr ◽  
J M Blevitt ◽  
L Gerace

Mediated import of proteins into the nucleus requires cytosolic factors and can be blocked by reagents that bind to O-linked glycoproteins of the nuclear pore complex. To investigate whether a cytosolic transport factor directly interacts with these glycoproteins, O-linked glycoproteins from rat liver nuclear envelopes were immobilized on Sepharose beads via wheat germ agglutinin or specific antibodies. When rabbit reticulocyte lysate (which provides cytosolic factors required for in vitro nuclear import) was incubated with the immobilized glycoproteins, the cytosol was found to be inactivated by up to 80% in its ability to support mediated protein import in permeabilized mammalian cells. Inactivation of the import capacity of cytosol, which was specifically attributable to the glycoproteins, involves stoichiometric interactions and is likely to involve binding and depletion of a required factor from the cytosol. This factor is distinct from an N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive receptor for nuclear localization sequences characterized recently since it is insensitive to N-ethylmaleimide. Cytosol inactivation is suggested to be caused by at least two proteins of the glycoprotein fraction, although substantial capacity for inactivation can be attributed to protein bound by the RL11 antibody, consisting predominantly of a 180-kD glycosylated polypeptide. Considered together, these experiments identify a novel cytosolic factor required for nuclear protein import that directly interacts with O-linked glycoproteins of the pore complex, and provide a specific assay for isolation of this component.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 7782-7791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Köhler ◽  
Christian Speck ◽  
Marret Christiansen ◽  
F. Ralf Bischoff ◽  
Siegfried Prehn ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Importin α plays a pivotal role in the classical nuclear protein import pathway. Importin α shuttles between nucleus and cytoplasm, binds nuclear localization signal-bearing proteins, and functions as an adapter to access the importin β-dependent import pathway. In contrast to what is found for importin β, several isoforms of importin α, which can be grouped into three subfamilies, exist in higher eucaryotes. We describe here a novel member of the human family, importin α7. To analyze specific functions of the distinct importin α proteins, we recombinantly expressed and purified five human importin α’s along with importin α from Xenopus andSaccharomyces cerevisiae. Binding affinity studies showed that all importin α proteins from humans or Xenopus bind their import receptor (importin β) and their export receptor (CAS) with only marginal differences. Using an in vitro import assay based on permeabilized HeLa cells, we compared the import substrate specificities of the various importin α proteins. When the substrates were tested singly, only the import of RCC1 showed a strong preference for one family member, importin α3, whereas most of the other substrates were imported by all importin α proteins with similar efficiencies. However, strikingly different substrate preferences of the various importin α proteins were revealed when two substrates were offered simultaneously.


1991 ◽  
Vol 115 (5) ◽  
pp. 1203-1212 ◽  
Author(s):  
D A Jans ◽  
M J Ackermann ◽  
J R Bischoff ◽  
D H Beach ◽  
R Peters

The nuclear import of transcription regulatory proteins appears to be used by the cell to trigger transitions in cell cycle, morphogenesis, and transformation. We have previously observed that the rate at which SV-40 T antigen fusion proteins containing a functional nuclear localization sequence (NLS; residues 126-132) are imported into the nucleus is enhanced in the presence of the casein kinase II (CK-II) site S111/112. In this study purified p34cdc2 kinase was used to phosphorylate T antigen proteins specifically at T124 and kinetic measurements at the single-cell level performed to assess its effect on nuclear protein import. T124 phosphorylation, which could be functionally simulated by a T-to-D124 substitution, was found to reduce the maximal extent of nuclear accumulation whilst negligibly affecting the import rate. The inhibition of nuclear import depended on the stoichiometry of phosphorylation. T124 and S111/112 could be phosphorylated independently of one another. Two alternative mechanisms were considered to explain the inhibition of nuclear import by T124 phosphorylation: inactivation of the NLS and cytoplasmic retention, respectively. Furthermore, we speculate that in vivo T124 phosphorylation may regulate the small but functionally significant amount of cytoplasmic SV-40 T antigen. A sequence comparison showed that many transcription regulatory proteins contain domains comprising potential CK-II-sites, cdc2-sites, and NLS. This raises the possibility that the three elements represent a functional unit regulating nuclear protein import.


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