Ras-related GTP-binding Proteins Research Articles

Carboxyl-terminal isoprenylation of ras-related GTP-binding proteins encoded by rac1, rac2, and ralA

Membrane localization of p21ras is dependent upon its posttranslational modification by a 15-carbon farnesyl group. The isoprenoid is linked to a cysteine located within a conserved carboxyl-terminal sequence termed the "CAAX" box (where C is cysteine, A is an aliphatic amino acid, and X is any amino acid). We now show that three GTP-binding proteins encoded by the recently identified rac1, rac2, and ralA genes also undergo isoprenoid modification. cDNAs coding for each protein were transcribed in vitro, and the RNAs were translated in reticulocyte lysates. Incorporation of isoprenoid precursors, [3H]mevalonate or [3H]farnesyl pyrophosphate, indicated that the translation products were modified by isoprenyl groups. A protein recognized by an antibody to rac1 also comigrated with a protein metabolically labeled by a product of [3H] mevalonate in cultured cells. Gel permeation chromatography of radiolabeled hydrocarbons released from the rac1, rac2, and ralA proteins by reaction with Raney nickel catalyst indicated that unlike p21Hras, which was modified by a 15-carbon moiety, the rac and ralA translation products were modified by 20-carbon isoprenyl groups. Site-directed mutagenesis established that the isoprenylated cysteines in the rac1, rac2, and ralA proteins were located in the fourth position from the carboxyl terminus. The three-amino acid extension distal to the cysteine was required for this modification. The isoprenylation of rac1 (CSLL), ralA (CCIL), and the site-directed mutants rac1 (CRLL) and ralA (CSIL), demonstrates that the amino acid adjacent to the cysteine need not be aliphatic. Therefore, proteins with carboxyl-terminal CXXX sequences that depart from the CAAX motif should be considered as potential targets for isoprenoid modification.

Phosphorylation of two small GTP-binding proteins of the Rab family by p34cdc2

Entry of a cell into mitosis induces a series of structural and functional changes including arrest of intracellular transport. Knowledge of how the mitotic cycle is driven progressed substantially with the identification of the p34cdc2 protein kinase as a subunit of maturation-promoting factor, the universal regulating component of the mitotic cycle. Activation of the kinase at the onset of mitosis is thought to trigger the important mitotic events by phosphorylating key proteins. Small guanine nucleotide-binding proteins have been implicated in regulating transport pathways. For instance, two small Ras-related GTP-binding proteins, Sec4p and Ypt1p, control distinct stages of the secretory pathway in budding yeast. The GTP-binding proteins of the Rab family in rats and humans display strong homologies with Sec4p and Ypt1p, and might therefore also be involved in regulating intracellular transport. Indeed, distinct Rab proteins are located in the exocytotic and endocytotic compartments. Interruption of vesicular transport during mitosis might involve modification of these proteins. We now present biochemical evidence for a mitosis-specific p34cdc2 phosphorylation of Rab1Ap and Rab4p. By contrast, Rab2p and Rab6p are not phosphorylated. We also show that the distribution of Rab1Ap and Rab4p between cytosolic and membrane-bound forms is different in interphase and mitotic cells. This may provide a clue to the mechanism by which phosphorylation could affect membrane traffic during mitosis.

Post-translational modification of proteins by 15-carbon and 20-carbon isoprenoids in three mammalian cell lines

A number of cellular proteins, including p21ras, lamin B, and the G-protein gamma subunits, undergo post-translational modification by 15-carbon farnesyl or 20-carbon geranylgeranyl isoprenoid moieties derived from pyrophosphate intermediates of the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway. In this study, isoprenylated proteins in three mammalian cell lines (Hela cells, Rat-6 fibroblasts and COS cells) were radiolabeled with an isoprenoid precursor, [3H]mevalonate, and resolved by SDS gel electrophoresis. Groups of proteins with different molecular masses were eluted from the gels and the chain-lengths of the radiolabeled isoprenyl groups, released from the proteins by Raney-nickel-catalyzed desulfurization, were established by gel permeation chromatography. 15-Carbon and 20-carbon isoprenyl groups were found in separate classes of proteins within each cell line. With the exception of p21ras, which incorporated a 15-carbon group when expressed in COS cells, the proteins in the region of the 21-28 kDa ras-related GTP binding proteins contained mostly 20-carbon isoprenyl chains. In contrast, proteins belonging to the 66-72 kDa nuclear lamin family, as well as unidentified proteins with molecular masses of 41-46 kDa and 53-55 kDa, contained predominantly 15-carbon isoprenyl chains. The chain-lengths of the isoprenoids associated with particular classes of proteins did not vary from one cell line to another, suggesting that the nature of the isoprenoid modification (farnesyl versus geranylgeranyl) is determined by intrinsic structural features of the proteins, rather than the cell type in which the proteins are expressed.

Posttranslational modification of proteins by isoprenoids in mammalian cells

Isoprenylation is a posttranslational modification that involves the formation of thioether bonds between cysteine and isoprenyl groups derived from pyrophosphate intermediates of the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway. Numerous isoprenylated proteins have been detected in mammalian cells. Those identified include K-, N-, and H-p21ras, ras-related GTP-binding proteins such as G25K (Gp), nuclear lamin B and prelamin A, and the gamma subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins. The modified cysteine is located in the fourth position from the carboxyl terminus in every protein where this has been studied. For p21ras, the last three amino acids are subsequently removed and the exposed cysteine is carboxylmethylated. Similar processing events may occur in lamin B and G protein gamma subunits, but the proteolytic cleavage in prelamin A occurs upstream from the modified cysteine. Lamin B and p21ras are modified by C15 farnesyl groups, whereas other proteins such as the G protein gamma subunits are modified by C20 geranylgeranyl chains. Separate enzymes may catalyze these modifications. The structural features that govern the ability of particular proteins to serve as substrates for isoprenylation by C15 or C20 groups are not completely defined, but studies of the p21ras modification using purified farnesyl:protein transferase suggest that the sequence of the carboxyl-terminal tetrapeptide is important. Isoprenylation plays a critical role in promoting the association of p21ras and the lamins with the cell membrane and nuclear envelope, respectively. Future studies of the role of isoprenylation in the localization and function of ras-related GTP-binding proteins and signal-transducing G proteins should provide valuable new insight into the link between isoprenoid biosynthesis and cell growth.

Compartmentalization of low molecular mass GTP-binding proteins among neutrophil secretory granules.

Neutrophils contain several distinct classes of secretory granules that may sequentially fuse with the phagosome after the ingestion of particulates, or that may be differentially exocytosed after cellular activation with soluble stimuli. The exocytosis of neutrophil secretory granules has been shown to be GTP-dependent at a step distal to activation of the transductional G proteins. Inasmuch as ras-related low molecular mass GTP-binding proteins have been shown to play regulatory roles in vesicle sorting in the secretory pathway in yeast, the differential mobilization of neutrophil granules might be regulated by distinct GTP-binding proteins. We therefore explored the distribution and identity of low molecular mass GTP-binding proteins in neutrophil secretory granules and other subcellular fractions. After lysis by nitrogen cavitation, four highly resolved fractions were harvested from discontinuous Percoll gradients: a microsomal fraction enriched for plasma membranes, specific granules, primary granules, and cytosol. At least seven bands of distinct Mr were detected by probing protein blots with [32P]GTP. Microsomes contained a prominent GTP-binding band at 26 kDa and weaker ones at 24 and 22.5 kDa; specific granules contained bands at 26, 24, 22, and 20 kDa; primary granules showed bands at 24 and 23 kDa; cytosol showed strong bands at 23.5 and 19 kDa and a weak band at 26 kDa. Antiserum against ADP-ribosylation factor reacted strongly with the 19-kDa band in cytosol but with none of the membrane fractions. None of these proteins was recognized by antibodies against ras or against Sec4p. Botulinum exoenzyme C3 labeled bands of molecular mass 20 and 21 kDa in cytosol and microsomes that have distinct mobilities from all the blotted [32P]GTP-binding proteins. The highly compartmentalized subcellular distribution of the blotted [32P]GTP-binding proteins in neutrophils is consistent with a regulatory role in the differential mobilization of granule compartments during cellular activation.

Isoprenylation of the low molecular mass GTP-binding proteins rac 1 and rac 2: Possible role in membrane localization

Ras proteins can be modified at their COOH-terminal cysteine in the motif Cys-Ali-Ali-Xaa by a farnesyl isoprenoid. This modification is essential for membrane association and biological activity of ras proteins. A similar COOH-terminal amino acid sequence, Cys-Xaa-Ali-Xaa, exists in the ras-related GTP-binding proteins rac 1 and rac 2. To determine whether these proteins were similarly modified, COS cells were transfected with rac 1 and rac 2 cDNA and expressed proteins were labeled with [ 3H]mevalonic acid. We report here that both rac 1 and rac 2 are post-translationally modified by addition of an isoprenoid group, the likely site of which is the COOH-terminal cysteine. Isoprenylation was found only in racs associated with particulate cell fractions, suggesting that this modification may be associated with membrane localization of the proteins. These data specifically identify mammalian low molecular mass GTP-binding proteins other than ras that undergo post-translational modification and further define the COOH-terminal consensus sequence, Cys-Ali-Ali-Xaa, as an isoprenylation signal. This sequence may identify a larger family of low molecular mass GTP-binding proteins which are isoprenylated.

Small GTP-binding protein associated with Golgi cisternae

Eukaryotic cells seem to use GTP hydrolysis to regulate vesicular traffic in exocytosis and endocytosis. The best evidence for this comes from studies on the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that have identified two small Ras-related GTP-binding proteins, Sec4p and Ypt1p, which control distinct stages of the secretory pathway. In mammalian cells the effects of a non-hydrolysable GTP analogue, GTP-gamma S, on different transport events have suggested that they also have proteins functionally related to yeast Sec4p and Ypt1p. The rab genes have recently been cloned and sequenced for rat and human and their proteins have highly conserved domains in common with Sec4p and Ypt1p (including a putative effector binding site). They are therefore good candidates for GTP-binding proteins involved in intracellular transport in mammalian cells. One of the Rab proteins (Rab1p) is the mammalian counterpart of Ypt1p (ref. 13). Here we report the localization of the protein Rab6p to the Golgi apparatus in several cell types. By immunolabelling and electron microscopy, Rab6p appears to be concentrated predominantly on the medial and trans cisternae and distributed over their entire surface.

Characterization of G25K, a GTP-binding protein containing a novel putative nucleotide binding domain

Amino acid sequences were obtained for four peptides (p1, -2, -3 and 4) generated by chemical or proteolytic cleavage of a 25 kDa GTP-binding protein purified from human placental and platelet membranes. The peptides shared sequence similarities with those contained in several of the ras-related GTP-binding proteins. Peptide p2, a 12-mer, was homologous with a region of the GTP-binding proteins that contains a structural motif proposed to contribute to the nucleotide binding site. However, whereas nearly all GTP-binding proteins exhibit the residues NKXD as this motif, p2 contains TQID. Antisera (Ap1 and Ap3) raised against synthetic peptides corresponding to p1 and p3 specifically reacted on Western blots with the 25 kDa GTP-binding protein purified from human placenta, human platelet and bovine brain as well as with a 25 kDa polypeptide in various cell lines. These results demonstrate the widespread existence of an abundant 25 kDa GTP-binding protein which contains a putative nucleotide binding domain that is chemically distinct from that described for all GTP-binding proteins of known primary structure.