scholarly journals The small G protein Arl1 directs the trans-Golgi–specific targeting of the Arf1 exchange factors BIG1 and BIG2

2012 ◽  
Vol 196 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chantal Christis ◽  
Sean Munro
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
G Proteins ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Affinity Purification ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Purification Method ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Small G Protein ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange Factor ◽  
Small G Proteins

The small G protein Arf1 regulates Golgi traffic and is activated by two related types of guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF). GBF1 acts at the cis-Golgi, whereas BIG1 and its close paralog BIG2 act at the trans-Golgi. Peripheral membrane proteins such as these GEFs are often recruited to membranes by small G proteins, but the basis for specific recruitment of Arf GEFs, and hence Arfs, to Golgi membranes is not understood. In this paper, we report a liposome-based affinity purification method to identify effectors for small G proteins of the Arf family. We validate this with the Drosophila melanogaster Arf1 orthologue (Arf79F) and the related class II Arf (Arf102F), which showed a similar pattern of effector binding. Applying the method to the Arf-like G protein Arl1, we found that it binds directly to Sec71, the Drosophila ortholog of BIG1 and BIG2, via an N-terminal region. We show that in mammalian cells, Arl1 is necessary for Golgi recruitment of BIG1 and BIG2 but not GBF1. Thus, Arl1 acts to direct a trans-Golgi–specific Arf1 GEF, and hence active Arf1, to the trans side of the Golgi.

scholarly journals Structure of small G proteins and their regulators.

2001 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 829-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Paduch ◽  
F Jeleń ◽  
J Otlewski
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
G Proteins ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Microtubule Organization ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Small G Protein ◽  
Small G Proteins

In recent years small G proteins have become an intensively studied group of regulatory GTP hydrolases involved in cell signaling. More than 100 small G proteins have been identified in eucaryotes from protozoan to human. The small G protein superfamily includes Ras, Rho Rab, Rac, Sarl/Arf and Ran homologs, which take part in numerous and diverse cellular processes, such as gene expression, cytoskeleton reorganization, microtubule organization, and vesicular and nuclear transport. These proteins share a common structural core, described as the G domain, and significant sequence similarity. In this paper we review the available data on G domain structure, together with a detailed analysis of the mechanism of action. We also present small G protein regulators: GTPase activating proteins that bind to a catalytic G domain and increase its low intrinsic hydrolase activity, GTPase dissociation inhibitors that stabilize the GDP-bound, inactive state of G proteins, and guanine nucleotide exchange factors that accelerate nucleotide exchange in response to cellular signals. Additionally, in this paper we describe some aspects of small G protein interactions with down-stream effectors.

scholarly journals Complementary biosensors reveal different G-protein signaling modes triggered by GPCRs and non-receptor activators

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikel Garcia-Marcos
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
G Proteins ◽  
Protein Signaling ◽  
Heterotrimeric G Proteins ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Cytoplasmic Proteins ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange Factor ◽  
In Cells

It has become evident that activation of heterotrimeric G-proteins by cytoplasmic proteins that are not G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) plays a role in physiology and disease. Despite sharing the same biochemical guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) activity as GPCRs in vitro, the mechanisms by which these cytoplasmic proteins trigger G-protein-dependent signaling in cells have not been elucidated. Heterotrimeric G-proteins can give rise to two active signaling species, Gα-GTP and dissociated Gβγ, with different downstream effectors, but how non-receptor GEFs affect the levels of these two species in cells is not known. Here, a systematic comparison of GPCRs and three unrelated non-receptor proteins with GEF activity in vitro (GIV/Girdin, AGS1/Dexras1, and Ric-8A) revealed high divergence in their contribution to generating Gα-GTP and free Gβγ in cells directly measured with live-cell biosensors. These findings demonstrate fundamental differences in how receptor and non-receptor G-protein activators promote signaling in cells despite sharing similar biochemical activities in vitro.

scholarly journals Activation of G proteins by guanine nucleotide exchange factors relies on GTPase activity

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob J Stanley ◽  
Geraint MH Thomas
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
G Proteins ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide ◽  
Gtpase Activity ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Signalling Molecules ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange Factors ◽  
Experimental Strategies

G proteins are an important family of signalling molecules controlled by guanine nucleotide exchange and GTPase activity in what is commonly called an 'activation/inactivation cycle'. The molecular mechanism by which guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) catalyse the activation of monomeric G proteins is well-established, however the complete reversibility of this mechanism is often overlooked. Here, we use a theoretical approach to prove that GEFs are unable to positively control G protein systems at steady-state in the absence of GTPase activity. Instead, positive regulation of G proteins must be seen as a product of the competition between guanine nucleotide exchange and GTPase activity -- emphasising a central role for GTPase activity beyond merely signal termination. We conclude that a more accurate description of the regulation of G proteins via these processes is as a 'balance/imbalance' mechanism. This result has implications for the understanding of many intracellular signalling processes, and for experimental strategies that rely on modulating G protein systems.

scholarly journals Activation of Rac1 by the Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor Dck1 Is Required for Invasive Filamentous Growth in the Pathogen Candida albicans

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 3638-3651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Hope ◽  
Stéphanie Bogliolo ◽  
Robert A. Arkowitz ◽  
Martine Bassilana
Keyword(s):  
Candida Albicans ◽  
G Proteins ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor ◽  
Filamentous Growth ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Exchange Factor ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange Factor

Rho G proteins and their regulators are critical for cytoskeleton organization and cell morphology in all eukaryotes. In the opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans, the Rho G proteins Cdc42 and Rac1 are required for the switch from budding to filamentous growth in response to different stimuli. We show that Dck1, a protein with homology to the Ced-5, Dock180, myoblast city family of guanine nucleotide exchange factors, is necessary for filamentous growth in solid media, similar to Rac1. Our results indicate that Dck1 and Rac1 do not function in the same pathway as the transcription factor Czf1, which is also required for embedded filamentous growth. The conserved catalytic region of Dck1 is required for such filamentous growth, and in vitro this region directly binds a Rac1 mutant, which mimics the nucleotide-free state. In vivo overexpression of a constitutively active Rac1 mutant, but not wild-type Rac1, in a dck1 deletion mutant restores filamentous growth. These results indicate that the Dock180 guanine nucleotide exchange factor homologue, Dck1 activates Rac1 during invasive filamentous growth. We conclude that specific exchange factors, together with the G proteins they activate, are required for morphological changes in response to different stimuli.

scholarly journals Novel Functions of Ect2 in Polar Lamellipodia Formation and Polarity Maintenance during “Contractile Ring-Independent” Cytokinesis in Adherent Cells

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masamitsu Kanada ◽  
Akira Nagasaki ◽  
Taro Q.P. Uyeda
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Contractile Ring ◽  
Rhoa Activity ◽  
Rhoa Activation ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange Factor ◽  
Ht1080 Cells ◽  
Lamellipodia Formation

Some mammalian cells are able to divide via both the classic contractile ring-dependent method (cytokinesis A) and a contractile ring-independent, adhesion-dependent method (cytokinesis B). Cytokinesis A is triggered by RhoA, which, in HeLa cells, is activated by the guanine nucleotide-exchange factor Ect2 localized at the central spindle and equatorial cortex. Here, we show that in HT1080 cells undergoing cytokinesis A, Ect2 does not localize in the equatorial cortex, though RhoA accumulates there. Moreover, Ect2 depletion resulted in only modest multinucleation of HT1080 cells, enabling us to establish cell lines in which Ect2 was constitutively depleted. Thus, RhoA is activated via an Ect2-independent pathway during cytokinesis A in HT1080 cells. During cytokinesis B, Ect2-depleted cells showed narrower accumulation of RhoA at the equatorial cortex, accompanied by compromised pole-to-equator polarity, formation of ectopic lamellipodia in regions where RhoA normally would be distributed, and delayed formation of polar lamellipodia. Furthermore, C3 exoenzyme inhibited equatorial RhoA activation and polar lamellipodia formation. Conversely, expression of dominant active Ect2 in interphase HT1080 cells enhanced RhoA activity and suppressed lamellipodia formation. These results suggest that equatorial Ect2 locally suppresses lamellipodia formation via RhoA activation, which indirectly contributes to restricting lamellipodia formation to polar regions during cytokinesis B.

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