scholarly journals Ancient complement and lineage-specific evolution of the Sec7 ARF GEF proteins in eukaryotes

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (15) ◽  
pp. 1846-1863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shweta V. Pipaliya ◽  
Alexander Schlacht ◽  
Christen M. Klinger ◽  
Richard A. Kahn ◽  
Joel Dacks

Guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) are the initiators of signaling by every regulatory GTPase, which in turn act to regulate a wide array of essential cellular processes. To date, each family of GTPases is activated by distinct families of GEFs. Bidirectional membrane trafficking is regulated by ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) GTPases and the development throughout eukaryotic evolution of increasingly complex systems of such traffic required the acquisition of a functionally diverse cohort of ARF GEFs to control it. We performed phylogenetic analyses of ARF GEFs in eukaryotes, defined by the presence of the Sec7 domain, and found three subfamilies (BIG, GBF1, and cytohesins) to have been present in the ancestor of all eukaryotes. The four other subfamilies (EFA6/PSD, IQSEC7/BRAG, FBX8, and TBS) are opisthokont, holozoan, metazoan, and alveolate/haptophyte specific, respectively, and each is derived from cytohesins. We also identified a cytohesin-derived subfamily, termed ankyrin repeat-containing cytohesin, that independently evolved in amoebozoans and members of the SAR and haptophyte clades. Building on evolutionary data for the ARF family GTPases and their GTPase-­activating proteins allowed the generation of hypotheses about ARF GEF protein function(s) as well as a better understanding of the origins and evolution of cellular complexity in eukaryotes.

2016 ◽  
Vol 397 (10) ◽  
pp. 1055-1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhavin Shah ◽  
Andreas W. Püschel

Abstract Small GTPases are central regulators of many cellular processes. The highly conserved Rap GTPases perform essential functions in the mammalian nervous system during development and in mature neurons. During neocortical development, Rap1 is required to regulate cadherin- and integrin-mediated adhesion. In the adult nervous system Rap1 and Rap2 regulate the maturation and plasticity of dendritic spine and synapses. Although genetic studies have revealed important roles of Rap GTPases in neurons, their regulation by guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) that activate them and GTPase activating proteins (GAPs) that inactivate them by stimulating their intrinsic GTPase activity is just beginning to be explored in vivo. Here we review how GEFs and GAPs regulate Rap GTPases in the nervous system with a focus on their in vivo function.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Tucholska

The Fcγ receptor is a cell surface protein essential in the immune response that binds IgG-opsonized particles resulting in phagocytosis. Phagocytosis is a process used to remove pathogens and confine them in a vacuole that will enable their breakdown. The members of the Ras superfamily of small G proteins have been identified in samples where the activated Fcγ receptor complex was captured and analyzed using tandem mass spectrometry. The protein Rap. beloning to the Ras superfamily, guanosine triphosphatases (GTPase) activating proteins (GAPs), which promote the dissociation of GTP, and guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs), that permits the exchange of GDP for GTP, were detected by SEQUEST in RAW 264.7 macrophages and futher analyzed using various methods. In this study, Raps, RasGAPs, and RapGEFs, were observed by tandem mass spectrometry and sequence correlation analysis. The selected isoforms were confirmed by Western blots, live cell confocal microscopy with fluorescent fusion constructs and antibody staining to verify the localization of Ras proetins, specifically Rap1, p120RasGAP and C3G, a RapGEF, to activated Fc reeceptor [sic].


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramoji Kosuru ◽  
Magdalena Chrzanowska

Ca2+ is a universal intracellular signal. The modulation of cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration regulates a plethora of cellular processes, such as: synaptic plasticity, neuronal survival, chemotaxis of immune cells, platelet aggregation, vasodilation, and cardiac excitation–contraction coupling. Rap1 GTPases are ubiquitously expressed binary switches that alternate between active and inactive states and are regulated by diverse families of guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) and GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs). Active Rap1 couples extracellular stimulation with intracellular signaling through secondary messengers—cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), Ca2+, and diacylglycerol (DAG). Much evidence indicates that Rap1 signaling intersects with Ca2+ signaling pathways to control the important cellular functions of platelet activation or neuronal plasticity. Rap1 acts as an effector of Ca2+ signaling when activated by mechanisms involving Ca2+ and DAG-activated (CalDAG-) GEFs. Conversely, activated by other GEFs, such as cAMP-dependent GEF Epac, Rap1 controls cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels. It does so by regulating the activity of Ca2+ signaling proteins such as sarcoendoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA). In this review, we focus on the physiological significance of the links between Rap1 and Ca2+ signaling and emphasize the molecular interactions that may offer new targets for the therapy of Alzheimer’s disease, hypertension, and atherosclerosis, among other diseases.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1859
Author(s):  
Laura Streit ◽  
Laurent Brunaud ◽  
Nicolas Vitale ◽  
Stéphane Ory ◽  
Stéphane Gasman

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) belong to a heterogeneous group of neoplasms arising from hormone secreting cells. These tumors are often associated with a dysfunction of their secretory activity. Neuroendocrine secretion occurs through calcium-regulated exocytosis, a process that is tightly controlled by Rho GTPases family members. In this review, we compiled the numerous mutations and modification of expression levels of Rho GTPases or their regulators (Rho guanine nucleotide-exchange factors and Rho GTPase-activating proteins) that have been identified in NETs. We discussed how they might regulate neuroendocrine secretion.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 1345-1356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tess Shideler ◽  
Daniel P. Nickerson ◽  
Alexey J. Merz ◽  
Greg Odorizzi

Vps9 and Muk1 are guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that regulate membrane trafficking in the endolysosomal pathway by activating Rab5 GTPases. We show that Vps9 is the primary Rab5 GEF required for biogenesis of late endosomal multivesicular bodies (MVBs). However, only Vps9 (but not Muk1) is required for the formation of aberrant class E compartments that arise upon dysfunction of endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRTs). ESCRT dysfunction causes ubiquitinated transmembrane proteins to accumulate at endosomes, and we demonstrate that endosomal recruitment of Vps9 is promoted by its ubiquitin-binding CUE domain. Muk1 lacks ubiquitin-binding motifs, but its fusion to the Vps9 CUE domain allows Muk1 to rescue endosome morphology, cargo trafficking, and cellular stress-tolerance phenotypes that result from loss of Vps9 function. These results indicate that ubiquitin binding by the CUE domain promotes Vps9 function in endolysosomal membrane trafficking via promotion of localization.


F1000Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 1676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew B. Goryachev ◽  
Marcin Leda

Small GTPases are organizers of a plethora of cellular processes. The time and place of their activation are tightly controlled by the localization and activation of their regulators, guanine-nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) and GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs). Remarkably, in some systems, the upstream regulators of GTPases are also found downstream of their activity. Resulting feedback loops can generate complex spatiotemporal dynamics of GTPases with important functional consequences. Here we discuss the concept of positive autoregulation of small GTPases by the GEF–effector feedback modules and survey recent developments in this exciting area of cell biology.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clàudia Salat-Canela ◽  
Mercè Carmona ◽  
Rebeca Martín-García ◽  
Pilar Pérez ◽  
José Ayté ◽  
...  

Cdc42 rules cell polarity and growth in fission yeast. It is negatively and positively regulated by GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) and by Guanine-nucleotide Exchange factors (GEFs), respectively. Active Cdc42-GTP localizes to the poles, where it associates with numerous proteins constituting the polarity module. However, little is known about its down-regulation. We describe here that oxidative stress causes Sty1 kinase-dependent Cdc42 inactivation at cell poles. Both the amount of active Cdc42 at poles and cell length inversely correlate with Sty1 activity, explaining the elongated morphology of Δsty1 cells. We have created stress-blinded cell poles by either eliminating two Cdc42 GAPs or through the constitutive tethering of a GEF to the cell tips, and biochemically demonstrate that Rga3 is a direct substrate of Sty1. We propose that stress-activated Sty1 promotes GTP hydrolysis and prevents GEF activity at the cell tips, thus leading to the inhibition of Cdc42 and polarized growth cessation.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maciek Adamowski ◽  
Ivana Matijević ◽  
Jiří Friml

ARF small GTPases are molecular switches acting in intracellular trafficking. Their cycles of activity are controlled by regulators, ARF Guanine nucleotide Exchange Factors (ARF-GEFs) and ARF GTPase Activating Proteins (ARF-GAPs). The ARF-GEF GNOM (GN) and the ARF-GAP VAN3 share a prominent function in auxin-mediated developmental patterning, but the ARFs which they might control were not identified. We conducted a loss-of-function and localization-based screening of the ARF/ARF-LIKE gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana with the primary aim of identifying functional partners of GN and VAN3, while extending the limited understanding of this gene group as a whole. We identified a function of ARLA1 in branching angle control. Mutants lacking the variably localized ARLB1, ARFB1, ARFC1, ARFD1, and ARF3, even in high order combinations, do not exhibit any evident phenotypes. Loss of function arfa1 phenotypes support a major role of ARFA1 in growth and development overall, but patterning defects typical to gn loss of function are not found. ARFA1 are not localized at the plasma membrane, where GN and VAN3 carry out developmental patterning function according to current models. Taken together, putative ARF partners of GN and VAN3 in developmental patterning cannot be conclusively identified.


2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (18) ◽  
pp. 6582-6591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reina E. Itoh ◽  
Kazuo Kurokawa ◽  
Yusuke Ohba ◽  
Hisayoshi Yoshizaki ◽  
Naoki Mochizuki ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Rho family G proteins, including Rac and Cdc42, regulate a variety of cellular functions such as morphology, motility, and gene expression. We developed fluorescent resonance energy transfer-based probes which monitored the local balance between the activities of guanine nucleotide exchange factors and GTPase-activating proteins for Rac1 and Cdc42 at the membrane. These probes, named Raichu-Rac and Raichu-Cdc42, consisted of a Cdc42- and Rac-binding domain of Pak, Rac1 or Cdc42, a pair of green fluorescent protein mutants, and a CAAX box of Ki-Ras. With these probes, we video imaged the Rac and Cdc42 activities. In motile HT1080 cells, activities of both Rac and Cdc42 gradually increased toward the leading edge and decreased rapidly when cells changed direction. Under a higher magnification, we observed that Rac activity was highest immediately behind the leading edge, whereas Cdc42 activity was most prominent at the tip of the leading edge. Raichu-Rac and Raichu-Cdc42 were also applied to a rapid and simple assay for the analysis of putative guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) and GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) in living cells. Among six putative GEFs and GAPs, we identified KIAA0362/DBS as a GEF for Rac and Cdc42, KIAA1256 as a GEF for Cdc42, KIAA0053 as a GAP for Rac and Cdc42, and KIAA1204 as a GAP for Cdc42. In conclusion, use of these single-molecule probes to determine Rac and Cdc42 activity will accelerate the analysis of the spatiotemporal regulation of Rac and Cdc42 in a living cell.


2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1279-1281 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Kanamarlapudi

The ARF (ADP-ribosylation factor) family of small GTPases regulate intracellular membrane trafficking by cycling between an inactive GDP- and an active GTP-bound form. Among the six known mammalian ARFs (ARF1–ARF6), ARF6 is the least conserved and plays critical roles in membrane trafficking and cytoskeletal dynamics near the cell surface. Since ARFs have undetectable levels of intrinsic GTP binding and hydrolysis, they are totally dependent on extrinsic GEFs (guanine nucleotide-exchange factors) for GTP binding and GAPs (GTPase-activating proteins) for GTP hydrolysis. We have recently isolated a novel KIF (kinesin) motor protein (KIF13B) that binds to centaurin-α1, an ARF6GAP that binds to the second messenger PIP3 [PtdIns(3,4,5)P3]. KIFs transport intracellular vesicles and recognize their cargo by binding to proteins (receptors) localized on the surface of the cargo vesicles. Identification of centaurin-α1 as a KIF13B interactor suggests that KIF13B may transport ARF6 and/or PIP3 using centaurin-α1 as its receptor. This paper reviews the studies carried out to assess the interaction and regulation of centaurin-α1 by KIF13B.


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