scholarly journals Lte1 contributes to Bfa1 localization rather than stimulating nucleotide exchange by Tem1

2009 ◽  
Vol 187 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Geymonat ◽  
Adonis Spanos ◽  
Geoffroy de Bettignies ◽  
Steven G. Sedgwick

Lte1 is a mitotic regulator long envisaged as a guanosine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Tem1, the small guanosine triphosphatase governing activity of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitotic exit network. We demonstrate that this model requires reevaluation. No GEF activity was detectable in vitro, and mutational analysis of Lte1’s putative GEF domain indicated that Lte1 activity relies on interaction with Ras for localization at the bud cortex rather than providing nucleotide exchange. Instead, we found that Lte1 can determine the subcellular localization of Bfa1 at spindle pole bodies (SPBs). Under conditions in which Lte1 is essential, Lte1 promoted the loss of Bfa1 from the maternal SPB. Moreover, in cells with a misaligned spindle, mislocalization of Lte1 in the mother cell promoted loss of Bfa1 from one SPB and allowed bypass of the spindle position checkpoint. We observed that lte1 mutants display aberrant localization of the polarity cap, which is the organizer of the actin cytoskeleton. We propose that Lte1’s role in cell polarization underlies its contribution to mitotic regulation.

2010 ◽  
Vol 189 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Qin ◽  
Walter H. Meisen ◽  
Yi Hao ◽  
Ian G. Macara

The Cdc42 guanosine triphosphatase is essential for cell polarization in several organisms and in vitro for the organization of polarized epithelial cysts. A long-standing question concerns the identity of the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) that controls this process. Using Madin–Darby canine kidney cells grown in Matrigel, we screened 70 GEFs by RNA interference. Of these, six positives were identified that caused a multilumen phenotype, including Tuba, a Cdc42-specific GEF localized below the apical cortex. Loss of Tuba abolishes Cdc42 enrichment at the apical cortex. Normal lumen formation is rescued by human Tuba or active Cdc42 but not by a GEF-negative Tuba mutant. Silencing Cdc42 causes a similar phenotype, including multilumen formation and reduced atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) activity. Lumen disorganization after depletion of Tuba or Cdc42 or inhibition of aPKC is caused by defective spindle orientation. Together, our findings implicate Tuba as a key activator of the Cdc42 GTPase during epithelial ductal morphogenesis, which in turn activates apical aPKC to ensure that spindles orient parallel to the lateral plane.


Science ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 325 (5940) ◽  
pp. 607-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang-Liang Zhang ◽  
Megumi Katoh ◽  
Tadao Shibasaki ◽  
Kohtaro Minami ◽  
Yasuhiro Sunaga ◽  
...  

Epac2, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the small guanosine triphosphatase Rap1, is activated by adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer and binding experiments revealed that sulfonylureas, widely used antidiabetic drugs, interact directly with Epac2. Sulfonylureas activated Rap1 specifically through Epac2. Sulfonylurea-stimulated insulin secretion was reduced both in vitro and in vivo in mice lacking Epac2, and the glucose-lowering effect of the sulfonylurea tolbutamide was decreased in these mice. Epac2 thus contributes to the effect of sulfonylureas to promote insulin secretion. Because Epac2 is also required for the action of incretins, gut hormones crucial for potentiating insulin secretion, it may be a promising target for antidiabetic drug development.


2005 ◽  
Vol 171 (5) ◽  
pp. 871-881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene H.L. Hamelers ◽  
Cristina Olivo ◽  
Alexander E.E. Mertens ◽  
D. Michiel Pegtel ◽  
Rob A. van der Kammen ◽  
...  

The Rho-like guanosine triphosphatase Rac1 regulates various signaling pathways, including integrin-mediated adhesion and migration of cells. However, the mechanisms by which integrins signal toward Rac are poorly understood. We show that the Rac-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor Tiam1 (T-lymphoma invasion and metastasis 1) is required for the integrin-mediated laminin (LN)-5 deposition, spreading, and migration of keratinocytes. In contrast to wild-type keratinocytes, Tiam1-deficient (Tiam1−/−) keratinocytes are unable to adhere to and spread on a glass substrate because they are unable to deposit their own LN5 substrate. Both Tiam1 and V12Rac1 can rescue the defects of Tiam1−/− keratinocytes, indicating that these deficiencies are caused by impaired Tiam1-mediated Rac activation. Tiam1−/− cells are unable to activate Rac upon α3β1-mediated adhesion to an exogenous LN5 substrate. Moreover, Tiam1 deficiency impairs keratinocyte migration in vitro and reepithelialization of excision wounds in mouse skin. Our studies indicate that Tiam1 is a key molecule in α3β1-mediated activation of Rac, which is essential for proper production and secretion of LN5, a requirement for the spreading and migration of keratinocytes.


2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1428-1440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Asiedu ◽  
Di Wu ◽  
Fumio Matsumura ◽  
Qize Wei

Cooperative communications between the central spindle and the contractile ring are critical for the spatial and temporal regulation of cytokinesis. Here we report that MyoGEF, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor that localizes to the central spindle and cleavage furrow, interacts with centrosome/spindle pole-associated protein (CSPP), which is concentrated at the spindle pole and central spindle during mitosis and cytokinesis. Both in vitro and in vivo pulldown assays show that MyoGEF interacts with CSPP. The C-terminus of MyoGEF and N-terminus of CSPP are required for their interaction. Immunofluorescence analysis indicates that MyoGEF and CSPP colocalize at the central spindle. Depletion of CSPP or MyoGEF by RNA-interference (RNAi) not only causes defects in mitosis and cytokinesis, such as metaphase arrest and furrow regression, but also mislocalization of nonmuscle myosin II with a phosphorylated myosin regulatory light chain (p-MRLC). Importantly, CSPP depletion by RNAi interferes with MyoGEF localization at the central spindle. Finally, MyoGEF interacts with ECT2, and RNAi-mediated depletion of MyoGEF leads to mislocalization of ECT2 and RhoA during cytokinesis. Therefore, we propose that CSPP interacts with and recruits MyoGEF to the central spindle, where MyoGEF contributes to the spatiotemporal regulation of cytokinesis.


2006 ◽  
Vol 172 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Cooper ◽  
Scott A. Nelson

Cell cycle checkpoints can delay mitotic exit in budding yeast. The master controller is the small GTPase Tem1, with inputs from a proposed guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF), Lte1, and a GTPase-activating protein (GAP), Bub2/Bfa1. In this issue, Fraschini et al. (p. 335) show that GAP activity of Bub2/Bfa1 appears to be dispensable for inactivation of Tem1 in cells. Their results call into question the GTP/GDP switch model for Tem1 activity, as have other results in the past. The paper also focuses attention on the two spindle pole bodies as potential sites for regulation of Tem1.


2011 ◽  
Vol 392 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktor Wixler ◽  
Ludmilla Wixler ◽  
Anika Altenfeld ◽  
Stephan Ludwig ◽  
Roger S. Goody ◽  
...  

Abstract The Mss4 (mammalian suppressor of yeast Sec4) is an evolutionarily highly conserved protein and is expressed in all mammalian tissues. Although its precise biological function is still elusive, it has been shown to associate with a subset of secretory Rab proteins (Rab1b, Rab3a, Rab8a, Rab10) and to possess a rather low guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) activity towards them in vitro (Rab1, Rab3a and Rab8a). By screening a human placenta cDNA library with Mss4 as bait, we identified several Rab GTPases (Rab12, Rab13 and Rab18) as novel Mss4-binding Rab proteins. Only exocytic but no endocytic Rab GTPases were found in our search. The binding of Mss4 to Rab proteins was confirmed by direct yeast two-hybrid interaction, by co-immunoprecipitation from lysates of mammalian cells, by immunofluorescence colocalisation as well as by direct in vitro binding studies. Analysis of Mss4 catalytic activity towards different Rab substrates confirmed that it is a somewhat inefficient GEF. These data, together with our mutational analysis of Mss4-Rab binding capacity, support the already proposed idea that Mss4 functions rather as a chaperone for exocytic Rab GTPases than as a GEF.


2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 1272-1281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Ju Yang ◽  
Aaron M. Neiman

Spore morphogenesis in yeast is driven by the formation of membrane compartments that initiate growth at the spindle poles during meiosis II and grow to encapsulate daughter nuclei. Vesicle docking complexes, called meiosis II outer plaques (MOPs), form on each meiosis II spindle pole body (SPB) and serve as sites of membrane nucleation. How the MOP stimulates membrane assembly is not known. Here, we report that SpSpo13, a component of the MOP in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, shares homology with the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) domain of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sec2 protein. ScSec2 acts as a GEF for the small Rab GTPase ScSec4, which regulates vesicle trafficking from the late-Golgi to the plasma membrane. A chimeric protein in which the ScSec2-GEF domain is replaced with SpSpo13 is capable of supporting the growth of a sec2Δ mutant. SpSpo13 binds preferentially to the nucleotide-free form of ScSec4 and facilitates nucleotide exchange in vitro. In vivo, a Spspo13 mutant defective in GEF activity fails to support membrane assembly. In vitro specificity experiments suggest that SpYpt2 is the physiological substrate of SpSpo13. These results demonstrate that stimulation of Rab-GTPase activity is a property of the S. pombe MOP essential for the initiation of membrane formation.


2001 ◽  
Vol 153 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil R. Adames ◽  
Jessica R. Oberle ◽  
John A. Cooper

The spindle position checkpoint in Saccharomyces cerevisiae delays mitotic exit until the spindle has moved into the mother–bud neck, ensuring that each daughter cell inherits a nucleus. The small G protein Tem1p is critical in promoting mitotic exit and is concentrated at the spindle pole destined for the bud. The presumed nucleotide exchange factor for Tem1p, Lte1p, is concentrated in the bud. These findings suggested the hypothesis that movement of the spindle pole through the neck allows Tem1p to interact with Lte1p, promoting GTP loading of Tem1p and mitotic exit. However, we report that deletion of LTE1 had little effect on the timing of mitotic exit. We also examined several mutants in which some cells inappropriately exit mitosis even though the spindle is within the mother. In some of these cells, the spindle pole body did not interact with the bud or the neck before mitotic exit. Thus, some alternative mechanism must exist to coordinate mitotic exit with spindle position. In both wild-type and mutant cells, mitotic exit was preceded by loss of cytoplasmic microtubules from the neck. Thus, the spindle position checkpoint may monitor such interactions.


Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 156 (3) ◽  
pp. 995-1004
Author(s):  
Ying-chun Li ◽  
Chang-rung Chen ◽  
Eric C Chang

Abstract Ras1 GTPase is the Schizosaccharomyces pombe homolog of the mammalian Ha-Ras proto-oncoprotein. Ras1 interacts with Scd1 (aka Ral1), a presumptive guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Cdc42sp, to control organization of the cytoskeleton. In this study, we demonstrated that the scd1 deletion (scd1Δ) induced hypersensitivity to microtubule destabilizing drugs and instability of the minichromosome. Overexpression of scd1 induced formation of abnormal spindles and chromosome missegregation. The scd1 deletion worsened the defects of spindle formation in tubulin mutants; by contrast, it did not induce lethality in mutants defective in the spindle pole bodies. These genetic data suggest that Scd1 can interact with tubulin with substantial specificity to affect proper spindle formation and chromosome segregation. Subcellular localization data further illustrated that a GFP-Scd1 fusion protein can associate with the spindle. Finally, we showed that unlike ras1Δ and scd1Δ, byr2Δ (affecting the Ras1 effector for mating) is not synthetically lethal with the tubulin mutations. These data collectively suggest that the Ras1 pathway can impinge upon microtubules through Scd1, but not Byr2, to affect proper spindle formation and chromosome segregation.


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 2089 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iker Lamas ◽  
Nathalie Weber ◽  
Sophie G. Martin

The small GTPase Cdc42 is critical for cell polarization in eukaryotic cells. In rod-shaped fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells, active GTP-bound Cdc42 promotes polarized growth at cell poles, while inactive Cdc42-GDP localizes ubiquitously also along cell sides. Zones of Cdc42 activity are maintained by positive feedback amplification involving the formation of a complex between Cdc42-GTP, the scaffold Scd2, and the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) Scd1, which promotes the activation of more Cdc42. Here, we use the CRY2-CIB1 optogenetic system to recruit and cluster a cytosolic Cdc42 variant at the plasma membrane and show that this leads to its moderate activation also on cell sides. Surprisingly, Scd2, which binds Cdc42-GTP, is still recruited to CRY2-Cdc42 clusters at cell sides in individual deletion of the GEFs Scd1 or Gef1. We show that activated Cdc42 clusters at cell sides are able to recruit Scd1, dependent on the scaffold Scd2. However, Cdc42 activity is not amplified by positive feedback and does not lead to morphogenetic changes, due to antagonistic activity of the GTPase activating protein Rga4. Thus, the cell architecture is robust to moderate activation of Cdc42 at cell sides.


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