Species specificity and organ, cellular and subcellular localization of the 100 kDa Ras GTPase activating protein

1994 ◽  
Vol 107 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Mollat ◽  
A. Fournier ◽  
C.Z. Yang ◽  
E. Alsat ◽  
Y. Zhang ◽  
...  

A p100-GAP isoform, generated by an alternative splicing mechanism that eliminates the 180 hydrophobic amino acids at the amino terminus of p120-GAP, has been described in human placenta, in addition to the known p120GAP and neurofibromin. This p100-GAP possesses full Ras-GTPase stimulating activity. p120-GAP is ubiquitously localized in the cytosol while the localization of p100-GAP is unknown. Here we have explored the precise localization of p100-GAP and show that p100-GAP is present only in extracts of primate placenta. It is abundant in both human and Maccaca Rhesus placentae, where it is present in far larger amounts than p120-GAP. The p100-GAP is species-specific since it was not detected in the placenta of pig, sheep, mouse or rat. p100-GAP was also found to be organ-specific, since it was not detectable in organs other than the placenta. In this connection, we substantiated our previous finding that p100-GAP is mainly localized in the trophoblasts. Both subcellular trophoblast fractionation and immunofluorescence analyses showed that this protein was distributed between the cytosol, plasma membrane and a fraction bound to the nucleus, but not inside it. This highly restrictive specificity of p100-GAP localization in relation to species, organ and cell type, confirms the extreme singularity of this protein, and strongly suggests a particular specific function in the trophoblast.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 6508
Author(s):  
Arathi Nair ◽  
Katharina F. Kubatzky ◽  
Bhaskar Saha

The central protein in the oncogenic circuitry is the Ras GTPase that has been under intense scrutiny for the last four decades. From its discovery as a viral oncogene and its non–oncogenic contribution to crucial cellular functioning, an elaborate genetic, structural, and functional map of Ras is being created for its therapeutic targeting. Despite decades of research, there still exist lacunae in our understanding of Ras. The complexity of the Ras functioning is further exemplified by the fact that the three canonical Ras genes encode for four protein isoforms (H-Ras, K-Ras4A, K-Ras4B, and N-Ras). Contrary to the initial assessment that the H-, K-, and N-Ras isoforms are functionally similar, emerging data are uncovering crucial differences between them. These Ras isoforms exhibit not only cell–type and context-dependent functions but also activator and effector specificities on activation by the same receptor. Preferential localization of H-, K-, and N-Ras in different microdomains of the plasma membrane and cellular organelles like Golgi, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and endosome adds a new dimension to isoform-specific signaling and diverse functions. Herein, we review isoform-specific properties of Ras GTPase and highlight the importance of considering these towards generating effective isoform-specific therapies in the future.


2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Danish Sayed

Stress granules (SGs) are dynamic, microscopically visible, cytoplasmic bodies that play a major role in mRNA metabolism (e.g. sorting, storage, decay) and induced in cells during stress conditions like starvation, oxidative strain or growth. With substantial role in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, these granules have never been studied during cardiac hypertrophy, or in the heart in general. Several studies have identified independent proteins, mostly mRNA binding proteins that are part of these granules, some of which are sufficient to nucleate the assembly in quiescent cells even without stress. One such mRNA binding protein is Ras GTPase-activating protein SH3 domain binding protein 1 (G3BP1), which increases during cardiac hypertrophy via posttranscriptional regulation. Thus, we hypothesized that G3BP1 might be involved in the induction of SGs during hypertrophy and hence in regulating mRNA processing and gene expression. Our aim was to investigate, 1) if these SGs appear in hypertrophied hearts and 2) if G3BP1 is necessary and sufficient to induce them during hypertrophic stimuli. In vivo staining of TIA-1/TIAR (SG marker) in mouse hearts subjected to sham or transaortic coarctation (TAC) surgeries showed accumulation of these granules with cardiac hypertrophy. Similar induction was seen in isolated, cultured, rat neonatal cardiac myocytes with hypertrophic stimulation (Endothelin1) or overexpression of G3BP1 alone (>60% of myocytes stained for SG). Conversely, switch to growth-inhibited conditions or knockdown of G3BP1 in hypertrophying myocytes was sufficient to prevent the assembly of these structures. Co-staining with other components of these granules like TIA-1/TIAR or proteins specific to P bodies, like decapping enzyme 1 validated these structures as SGs in cardiac myocytes. Interestingly, a long non-coding RNA, Gas5 (Growth Arrest Specific 5) that is validated binding partner of G3BP1 sequestered to perinuclear focal locations in myocytes stimulated with ET1, suggesting growth-induced recruitment to SGs. While we are still in process of examining G3BP1 targets that are recruited to SGs and their role in hypertrophy development, we have concluded that G3BP1 is required for the induction of SGs during cardiac hypertrophy


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