Isolation of multiple mouse cDNAs with coding homology to Saccharomyces cerevisiae CDC25: identification of a region related to Bcr, Vav, Dbl and CDC24

Identification of tuberin, the tuberous sclerosis-2 product. Tuberin possesses specific Rap1GAP activity

Tuberous sclerosis (TSC) is a human genetic syndrome characterized by the development of benign tumors in a variety of tissues, as well as rare malignancies. Two different genetic loci have been implicated in TSC; one of these loci, the tuberous sclerosis-2 gene (TSC2), encodes an open reading frame with a putative protein product of 1784 amino acids. The putative TSC2 product (tuberin) contains a region of limited homology to the catalytic domain of Rap1GAP. We have generated antisera against the N-terminal and C-terminal portions of tuberin, and these antisera specifically recognize a 180-kDa protein in immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting analyses. A wide variety of human cell lines express the 180-kDa tuberin protein, and subcellular fractionation revealed that most tuberin is found in a membrane/particulate (100,000 x g) fraction. Immunoprecipitates of native tuberin contain an activity that specifically stimulates the intrinsic GTPase activity of Rap1a. These results were confirmed in assays with a C-terminal fragment of tuberin, expressed in bacteria or Sf9 cells. Tuberin did not stimulate the GTPase activity of Rap2, Ha-Ras, Rac, or Rho. These results suggest that the loss of tuberin leads to constitutive activation of Rap1 in tumors of patients with tuberous sclerosis.

Guanine nucleotide exchange factors: activators of the Ras superfamily of proteins

Ras proteins function as critical relay switches that regulate diverse signaling pathways between cell surface receptors and the nucleus. Over the past 2-3 years researchers have identified many components of these pathways that mediate Ras activation and effector function. Among these proteins are several guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs), which are responsible for directly interacting with and activating Ras in response to extracellular stimuli. Analogous GEFs regulate Ras-related proteins that serve other diverse cellular functions. In particular, a growing family of proteins (Dbl homology proteins) has recently been identified, which may function as GEFs for the Rho family of Ras-related proteins. This review summarizes our current knowledge of the structure, biochemistry and biology of Ras and Rho family GEFs. Additionally, we describe mechanisms of GEF activation of Ras in signal transduction and address the potential that deregulated GEFs might contribute to malignant transformation through chronic Ras protein activation.

Cloning and analysis of human cDNAs encoding a 140-kDa brain guanine nucleotide-exchange factor, Cdc25GEF, which regulates the function of Ras

Ras proteins bound to GDP are biologically inactive while those bound to GTP are active. Ras-specific guanine nucleotide-exchange factors (GEFs) have been shown to activate Ras proteins. We used oligodeoxyribonucleotide primers with sequences similar to the cDNAs of rat and mouse cdc25 (encoding a Ras-GEF) to amplify, by the PCR, sequences with the potential to encode a 1275-amino-acid protein homologous to the rodent Cdc25GEF proteins. Northern blot analysis detected a brain-specific 5-kb transcript. We provide evidence for a novel alternately spliced transcript of cdc25 and show that these alternately spliced transcripts are differentially expressed in various regions of the adult nervous system. Antibodies raised against the C terminus of the protein recognize a 140-kDa protein in brain extracts of human, rat, guinea pig and cow; the 140-kDa protein is associated predominantly, if not exclusively, with a crude membrane fraction of brain. The C terminus of human Cdc25GEF can complement the loss of CDC25 function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A glutathione S-transferase fusion protein containing the C terminus of the cdc25 product can stimulate guanine nucleotide exchange on H-Ras in vitro. Further, the Cdc25-fusion protein binds tightly to the nucleotide-free form of H-Ras in vitro, and this binding is reversed by the addition of GTP.

Two subclasses of guanine exchange factor (GEF) domains revealed by comparison of activities of chimeric genes constructed from CDC25, SDC25 and BUD5 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Guanine Exchange Factor (GEF) activity for Ras proteins has been associated with a conserved domain in Cdc25p, Sdc25p in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and several other proteins recently found in other eukaryotes. We have assessed the structure-function relationships between three different members of this family in S. cerevisiae, Cdc25p, Sdc25p and Bud5p. Cdc25p controls the Ras pathway, whereas Bud5p controls bud site localization. We demonstrate that the GEF domain of Sdc25p is closely related to that of Cdc25p. We first constructed a thermosensitive allele of SDC25 by specifically altering amino acid positions known to be changed in the cdc25-1 mutation. Secondly, we constructed three chimeric genes from CDC25 and SDC25, the products of which are as active in the Ras pathway as are the wild-type proteins. In contrast, similar chimeras made between CDC25 and BUD5 lead to proteins that are inactive both in the Ras and budding control pathways. This difference in the ability of chimeric proteins to retain activity allows us to define two subclasses of structurally different GEFs: Cdc25p and Sdc25p are Ras-specific GEFs, and Bud5p is a putative GEF for the Rsr1/Bud1 Rap-like protein.

Cooperative interaction of S. pombe proteins required for mating and morphogenesis

We isolated two S. pombe genes, scd1 and scd2, that are required for normal morphology and mating. scd1 and scd2 are homologous to CDC24 and BEM1, respectively, of S. cerevisiae. Epistasis analyses indicate that scd2 and ras1 converge upon scd1, which, in turn, interacts with cdc42sp, a RHO-like GTPase. Studies with the yeast two-hybrid system indicate that scd2 forms complexes with both scd1 and cdc42sp. Furthermore, biochemical studies indicate that the interaction between scd1 and scd2 is direct. The yeast two-hybrid data further suggest that scd1, scd2, cdc42sp, and ras1, in its GTP-bound state, act cooperatively to form a protein complex.

Identification of an invasion-inducing gene, Tiam-1, that encodes a protein with homology to GDP-GTP exchangers for Rho-like proteins

Using proviral tagging in combination with in vitro selection for invasiveness, we have identified a gene, designated Tiam-1, that affects invasion. In the selected invasive T lymphoma variants, proviral insertions were found within coding exons of the Tiam-1 gene, resulting in both truncated 5'-end and 3'-end transcripts that give rise to N- and C-terminal Tiam-1 protein fragments. In one invasive variant, amplification of the Tiam-1 locus was observed with concomitant increase in the amount of normal Tiam-1 protein. Cell clones that were invasive in vitro produced experimental metastases in nude mice, and transfection of truncated Tiam-1 cDNAs into noninvasive cells made these cells invasive. The predicted Tiam-1 protein harbors a Dbl- and Pleckstrin-homologous domain, which it shares with GDP-GTP exchangers for Rho-like proteins that have been implicated in cytoskeletal organization.

Guanine-nucleotide exchange factors: a family of positive regulators of Ras and related GTPases

The past year has seen remarkable advances in our understanding of how members of the Ras superfamily of GTPases are activated. Not only have new guanine-nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) that activate these GTPases been identified, but in some cases, the mechanisms by which GEFs are connected to events at the cell surface have also been described. We have also come to appreciate the possibilities that GEFs may be multifunctional and that they may contribute to tissue-specific regulation of their cognate GTPase.

The Ras signal transduction pathway

Considerable progress has been made over the past year in elucidating the mechanisms by which extracellular signals are transduced via cell surface receptors to trigger changes in gene expression which determine the growth and differentiated state of a cell. In particular, Ras proteins have been implicated as key intermediates that mediate the signal from upstream tyrosine kinases to a downstream cascade of serine/threonine kinases, which then activate nuclear factors that control gene expression and protein synthesis. How Ras proteins function is regulated in this role as a molecular switch, and how the signal is transmitted between the various components of the pathway, are now being determined. Finally, the Rho family of Ras-related proteins, which regulate the actin cytoskeleton, have also been implicated as mediators of oncogenic Ras transformation. The brisk pace at which the key components of Ras-mediated signal transduction pathways are being identified hold great promise that new targets for therapeutic intervention in cancer may now be identified.

Localization of the cellular expression pattern of cdc25NEF and ras in the juvenile rat brain

In this report, we demonstrate that the brain-specific ras nucleotide-exchange factor, cdc25NEF-B, is expressed in specific neuronal populations in the juvenile rat brain. Because cdc25NEF-B likely regulates one or more of the vertebrate ras proteins, H-, K- and N-ras, we also examined their levels of expression and pattern of expression in the juvenile rat brain. We find cdc25NEF-B to be highly expressed in the hippocampus, some deep nuclei, neocortex, and the granule cell layer of the anterior lobules of the cerebellum. Our observations suggest a functional link between cdc25NEF-B and H-ras in a neuronal signal transduction pathway.

Mapping the nucleotide-dependent conformational change of human N-ras p21 in solution by heteronuclear-edited proton-observed NMR methods

Heteronuclear-edited proton-detected NMR methods are used to study the nucleotide-dependent conformational change between GDP- and GTP gamma S-bound forms of human N-ras p21. Amide groups of Asp are used as sensitive probes. When GTP gamma S is substituted for GDP in cellular N-ras p21, the chemical shifts of resonances Asp-47, -126, -154, and Asn-172, as well as Gly-77 and -151, are not sensitive to nucleotide exchange, whereas Asp-30, -33, -38, -54, -57, -69, -92, -105, and -119 are affected. Distinct chemical shift changes of Asp-33, -38, and -69 indicate that substantial structure changes occur in the effector-binding region and the switch II region. Crystallographic studies of H-ras p21 have indicated that the conformational differences are confined to residues 32-38 and 60-76. Our observations indicate that the nucleotide-dependent structural transitions of the protein in solution may not be identical to those in the crystal. They suggest that the peptide beyond Glu-76 participates in a conformational switch, and possibly is involved in effector function. We propose that the region roughly from Asp-92 to -105, and the region of guanine base-binding motif(s), e.g., 116NKXD, are candidate sites recognized by either a GDP/GTP release factor or a GTPase-affected protein.

Human Sos1: a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Ras that binds to GRB2

A human complementary DNA was isolated that encodes a widely expressed protein, hSos1, that is closely related to Sos, the product of the Drosophila son of sevenless gene. The hSos1 protein contains a region of significant sequence similarity to CDC25, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Ras from yeast. A fragment of hSos1 encoding the CDC25-related domain complemented loss of CDC25 function in yeast. This hSos1 domain specifically stimulated guanine nucleotide exchange on mammalian Ras proteins in vitro. Mammalian cells overexpressing full-length hSos1 had increased guanine nucleotide exchange activity. Thus hSos1 is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Ras. The hSos1 interacted with growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (GRB2) in vivo and in vitro. This interaction was mediated by the carboxyl-terminal domain of hSos1 and the Src homology 3 (SH3) domains of GRB2. These results suggest that the coupling of receptor tyrosine kinases to Ras signaling is mediated by a molecular complex consisting of GRB2 and hSos1.

Tyrosine kinase-stimulated guanine nucleotide exchange activity of Vav in T cell activation

The hematopoietically expressed product of the vav proto-oncogene, Vav, shared homology with guanine nucleotide releasing factors (GRFs) [also called guanosine diphosphate-dissociation stimulators (GDSs)] that activate Ras-related small guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding proteins. Human T cell lysates or Vav immunoprecipitates possessed GRF activity that increased after T cell antigen receptor (TCR)-CD3 triggering; an in vitro-translated Vav fragment that contained the putative GRF domain was also active. Vav-associated GRF stimulation after TCR-CD3 ligation paralleled its tyrosine phosphorylation; both were blocked by a protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor. Vav also was a substrate for the p56lck PTK. Thus, Vav is a PTK-regulated GRF that may be important in TCR-CD3-initiated signal transduction through the activation of Ras.

A murine CDC25/ras-GRF-related protein implicated in Ras regulation

A partial cDNA encoding a novel putative p2, ras guanine nucleotide release-inducing factor (GRF), GRF2, was amplified from murine embryonic stem cells. The presumptive catalytic region of GRF2 is related to the yeast Ras GRF encoded by CDC25. GRF2 is 80% identical to murine CDC25Mm/ras-GRF, but is more similar to yeast CDC25 than to other ras GRFs related to the Drosophila son of sevenless gene product. A 9-kb GRF2 messenger RNA was highly expressed in brain, but GRF2-specific antibodies recognized apparent GRF2 proteins in various mouse tissues in addition to brain. Thus GRF2 represents a novel widely-expressed protein that is highly related to CDC25Mm/ras-GRF, at least in its catalytic domain. Both GRF2 and CDC25Mm/ras-GRF are expressed in murine embryonic stem cells, suggesting that different Ras activators may regulate ras-dependent proliferation and differentiation in early mouse development.