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 DAPLE protein inhibits nucleotide exchange on Gαs and Gαq via the same motif that activates Gαi

2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (8) ◽  
pp. 2270-2284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Marivin ◽  
Marcin Maziarz ◽  
Jingyi Zhao ◽  
Vincent DiGiacomo ◽  
Isabel Olmos Calvo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
G Proteins ◽  
Birth Defects ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
G Protein Coupled Receptors ◽  
Heterotrimeric G Proteins ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Cytoplasmic Proteins ◽  
G Protein Coupled

Besides being regulated by G-protein–coupled receptors, the activity of heterotrimeric G proteins is modulated by many cytoplasmic proteins. GIV/Girdin and DAPLE (Dvl-associating protein with a high frequency of leucine) are the best-characterized members of a group of cytoplasmic regulators that contain a Gα-binding and -activating (GBA) motif and whose dysregulation underlies human diseases, including cancer and birth defects. GBA motif–containing proteins were originally reported to modulate G proteins by binding Gα subunits of the Gi/o family (Gαi) over other families (such as Gs, Gq/11, or G12/13), and promoting nucleotide exchange in vitro. However, some evidence suggests that this is not always the case, as phosphorylation of the GBA motif of GIV promotes its binding to Gαs and inhibits nucleotide exchange. The G-protein specificity of DAPLE and how it might affect nucleotide exchange on G proteins besides Gαi remain to be investigated. Here, we show that DAPLE's GBA motif, in addition to Gαi, binds efficiently to members of the Gs and Gq/11 families (Gαs and Gαq, respectively), but not of the G12/13 family (Gα12) in the absence of post-translational phosphorylation. We pinpointed Met-1669 as the residue in the GBA motif of DAPLE that diverges from that in GIV and enables better binding to Gαs and Gαq. Unlike the nucleotide-exchange acceleration observed for Gαi, DAPLE inhibited nucleotide exchange on Gαs and Gαq. These findings indicate that GBA motifs have versatility in their G-protein–modulating effect, i.e. they can bind to Gα subunits of different classes and either stimulate or inhibit nucleotide exchange depending on the G-protein subtype.

scholarly journals A biochemical and genetic discovery pipeline identifies PLCδ4b as a nonreceptor activator of heterotrimeric G-proteins

2018 ◽  
Vol 293 (44) ◽  
pp. 16964-16983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin Maziarz ◽  
Stefan Broselid ◽  
Vincent DiGiacomo ◽  
Jong-Chan Park ◽  
Alex Luebbers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
G Proteins ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Heterotrimeric G Proteins ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Protein Activity ◽  
Conserved Sequence ◽  
Discovery Pipeline

Recent evidence has revealed that heterotrimeric G-proteins can be activated by cytoplasmic proteins that share an evolutionarily conserved sequence called the Gα-binding-and-activating (GBA) motif. This mechanism provides an alternative to canonical activation by G-protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) and plays important roles in cell function, and its dysregulation is linked to diseases such as cancer. Here, we describe a discovery pipeline that uses biochemical and genetic approaches to validate GBA candidates identified by sequence similarity. First, putative GBA motifs discovered in bioinformatics searches were synthesized on peptide arrays and probed in batch for Gαi3 binding. Then, cDNAs encoding proteins with Gαi3-binding sequences were expressed in a genetically-modified yeast strain that reports mammalian G-protein activity in the absence of GPCRs. The resulting GBA motif candidates were characterized by comparison of their biochemical, structural, and signaling properties with those of all previously described GBA motifs in mammals (GIV/Girdin, DAPLE, Calnuc, and NUCB2). We found that the phospholipase Cδ4 (PLCδ4) GBA motif binds G-proteins with high affinity, has guanine nucleotide exchange factor activity in vitro, and activates G-protein signaling in cells, as indicated by bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET)-based biosensors of G-protein activity. Interestingly, the PLCδ4 isoform b (PLCδ4b), which lacks the domains required for PLC activity, bound and activated G-proteins more efficiently than the full-length isoform a, suggesting that PLCδ4b functions as a G-protein regulator rather than as a PLC. In summary, we have identified PLCδ4 as a nonreceptor activator of G-proteins and established an experimental pipeline to discover and characterize GBA motif–containing proteins.

scholarly journals A Gs-RhoGEF interaction: An old G protein finds a new job

2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (50) ◽  
pp. 16929-16930
Author(s):  
Vladlen Z. Slepak ◽  
Alexey Pronin
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
Rho Gtpases ◽  
Small Gtpases ◽  
Adenylyl Cyclases ◽  
Heterotrimeric G Proteins ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange Factor ◽  
Downstream Effectors ◽  
Cytoskeletal Rearrangements

The heterotrimeric G proteins are known to have a variety of downstream effectors, but Gs was long thought to be specifically coupled to adenylyl cyclases. A new study indicates that activated Gs can also directly interact with a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Rho family small GTPases, PDZ-RhoGEF. This novel interaction mediates activation of the small G protein Cdc42 by Gs-coupled GPCRs, inducing cytoskeletal rearrangements and formation of filopodia-like structures. Furthermore, overexpression of a minimal PDZ-RhoGEF fragment can down-regulate cAMP signaling, suggesting that this effector competes with canonical signaling. This first demonstration that the Gαs subfamily regulates activity of Rho GTPases extends our understanding of Gαs activity and establishes RhoGEF coupling as a universal Gα function.

scholarly journals Nedd4 Regulates Ubiquitination and Stability of the Guanine-Nucleotide Exchange Factor CNrasGEF

2001 ◽  
Vol 276 (50) ◽  
pp. 46995-47003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nam Pham ◽  
Daniela Rotin
Keyword(s):  
Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Exchange Factor ◽  
Guanine Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange Factor ◽  
In Cells

Cyclic nucleotide ras GEF (CNrasGEF) is a guanine-nucleotide exchange factor previously isolated in a screen for Nedd4-WW domain interacting proteins (Pham, N., Cheglakov, I., Koch, C. A., de Hoog, C. L., Moran, M. F., and Rotin, D. (2000)Curr. Biol.10, 555–558). It activates Ras in a cAMP-dependent manner and Rap-1 independent of cAMP. Here we show that CNrasGEF is a likely substrate of the ubiquitin protein ligase Nedd4. CNrasGEF possesses two PY motifs at its C terminus that are responsible for binding to Nedd4in vitro. Moreover, Nedd4 and CNrasGEF co-immunoprecipitate from 293T cells expressing ectopic CNrasGEF and endogenous Nedd4, and this co-immunoprecipitation is abrogated in PY motif-mutated CNrasGEF (CNrasGEFΔ2PY). CNrasGEF is ubiquitinated in cells, and this ubiquitination is augmented upon overexpression of wt-Nedd4 but is inhibited in cells overexpressing a catalytically inactive Nedd4 (Nedd4(CS)) or in cells expressing CNrasGEFΔ2PY, which cannot bind Nedd4. Moreover, pulse-chase experiments have demonstrated that the half-life of CNrasGEF is reduced 5-fold (from ∼10 to ∼2 h) in cells co-expressing Nedd4 with CNrasGEF but not with CNrasGEFΔ2PY (t0.5∼ 14 h). CNrasGEF is also stabilized in cells co-expressing Nedd4(CS) or following treatment with lactacystin, indicating proteasomal degradation of this protein. Deletion/mutation of the CDC25 domain to abrogate Ras (or Rap-1) binding leads to impaired ubiquitination of CNrasGEF, suggesting that such binding is critical for ubiquitination. Treatment of cells with the cAMP analogue 8-bromo-cAMP does not affect the ability of CNrasGEF to bind Nedd4 nor its level of ubiquitination, suggesting that Ras bindingper seand not its activation is the critical step in triggering ubiquitination of CNrasGEF. These results suggest that CNrasGEF is a substrate for Nedd4, which regulates its ubiquitination and stability in cells.

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.

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