Posttranslational modifications of Rab GTPases help their insertion into membranes

Post translational modifications of Rab GTPases

Rab GTPases, the highly conserved members of Ras GTPase superfamily are central players in the vesicular trafficking. They are critically involved in intracellular trafficking pathway, beginning from formation of vesicles on donor membranes, defining trafficking specificity to facilitating vesicle docking on target membranes. Given the dynamic roles of Rabs during different stages of vesicular trafficking, mechanisms for their spatial and temporal regulation are crucial for normal cellular function. Regulation of Rab GTPase activity, localization and function has always been focused in and around the association of GDP dissociation inhibitor (GDI), Guanine nucleotide Exchange Factor (GEFs) and GTPase accelerating protein (GAP) to Rabs. However, several recent studies have highlighted the importance of different post-translational modifications in regulation of Rab activation and function. This review provides a summary of various post translational modifications (PTMs) and their significance to regulate localization and function of different Rabs.

A role for Rab23 in the trafficking of Kif17 to the primary cilium

The small GTPase Rab23 is an antagonist of sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling during mouse development. Given that modulation of Shh signaling depends on the normal functioning of the primary cilium, and overexpression of Evi5L, a putative Rab23 GTPase-activating protein (GAP), leads to reduced ciliogenesis, Rab23 could have a role at the primary cilium. Here, we found that wild-type Rab23 and the constitutively active Rab23 Q68L mutant were enriched at the primary cilium. Therefore, we tested the role of Rab23 in the ciliary targeting of known cargoes and found that ciliary localization of the kinesin-2 motor protein Kif17 was disrupted in Rab23-depleted cells. Co-immunoprecipitation and affinity-binding studies revealed that Rab23 exists in a complex with Kif17 and importin β2 (the putative Kif17 ciliary import carrier), implying that Kif17 needs to bind to regulatory proteins like Rab23 for its ciliary transport. Although a ciliary-cytoplasmic gradient of nuclear Ran is necessary to regulate the ciliary transport of Kif17, Rab23 and Ran appear to have differing roles in regulating the ciliary entry of Kif17. Our findings have uncovered a hitherto unknown effector of Rab23 and demonstrate how Rab23 could mediate the transport of Kif17 to the primary cilium.

GSK3β-Dzip1-Rab8 cascade regulates ciliogenesis after mitosis

The primary cilium, which disassembles before mitotic entry and reassembles after mitosis, organizes many signal transduction pathways that are crucial for cell life and individual development. However, how ciliogenesis is regulated during the cell cycle remains largely unknown. Here we show that GSK3β, Dzip1, and Rab8 co-regulate ciliogenesis by promoting the assembly of the ciliary membrane after mitosis. Immunofluorescence and super-resolution microscopy showed that Dzip1 was localized to the periciliary diffusion barrier and enriched at the mother centriole. Knockdown of Dzip1 by short hairpin RNAs led to failed ciliary localization of Rab8, and Rab8 accumulation at the basal body. Dzip1 preferentially bound to Rab8GDP and promoted its dissociation from its inhibitor GDI2 at the pericentriolar region, as demonstrated by sucrose gradient centrifugation of purified basal bodies, immunoprecipitation, and acceptor-bleaching fluorescence resonance energy transfer assays. By means of in vitro phosphorylation, in vivo gel shift, phospho-peptide identification by mass spectrometry, and GST pulldown assays, we demonstrated that Dzip1 was phosphorylated by GSK3β at S520 in G0 phase, which increased its binding to GDI2 to promote the release of Rab8GDP at the cilium base. Moreover, ciliogenesis was inhibited by overexpression of the GSK3β-nonphosphorylatable Dzip1 mutant or by disabling of GSK3β by specific inhibitors or knockout of GSK3β in cells. Collectively, our data reveal a unique cascade consisting of GSK3β, Dzip1, and Rab8 that regulates ciliogenesis after mitosis.

Genes involved in cell adhesion and signaling: a new repertoire of retinoic acid receptor target genes in mouse embryonic fibroblasts

Nuclear retinoic acid (RA) receptors (RARα, β and γ) are ligand-dependent transcription factors that regulate the expression of a battery of genes involved in cell differentiation and proliferation. They are also phosphoproteins and we previously showed the importance of their phosphorylation in their transcriptional activity. In the study reported here, we conducted a genome-wide analysis of the genes that are regulated by RARs in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) by comparing wild-type MEFs to MEFs lacking the three RARs. We found that in the absence of RA, RARs control the expression of several gene transcripts associated with cell adhesion. Consequently the knockout MEFs are unable to adhere and to spread on substrates and they display a disrupted network of actin filaments, compared with the WT cells. In contrast, in the presence of the ligand, RARs control the expression of other genes involved in signaling and in RA metabolism. Taking advantage of rescue cell lines expressing the RARα or RARγ subtypes (either wild-type or mutated at the N-terminal phosphorylation sites) in the null background, we found that the expression of RA-target genes can be controlled either by a specific single RAR or by a combination of RAR isotypes, depending on the gene. We also selected genes that require the phosphorylation of the receptors for their regulation by RA. Our results increase the repertoire of genes that are regulated by RARs and highlight the complexity and diversity of the transcriptional programs regulated by RARs, depending on the gene.

High RAB25 expression is associated with good clinical outcome in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Currently there are no molecular markers able to predict clinical outcome in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In a previous microarray study, RAB25 was identified as a potential prognostic marker. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between RAB25 expression and clinical outcome in patients with locally advanced HNSCC treated with standard therapy. In a retrospective immunohistochemical study (n = 97), we observed that RAB25-negative tumors had lower survival (log-rank, P = 0.01) than patients bearing positive tumors. In an independent prospective mRNA study (n = 117), low RAB25 mRNA expression was associated with poor prognosis. Using classification and regression tree analysis (CART) we established two groups of patients according to their RAB25 mRNA level and their risk of death. Low mRNA level was associated with poor local recurrence-free (log-rank, P = 0.005), progression-free (log-rank, P = 0.002) and cancer-specific (log-rank, P < 0.001) survival. Multivariate Cox model analysis showed that low expression of RAB25 was an independent poor prognostic factor for survival (hazard ratio: 3.84, 95% confidence interval: 1.93-7.62, P < 0.001). Patients whose tumors showed high RAB25 expression had a low probability of death after treatment. We also found lower RAB25 expression in tumors than in normal tissue (Mann-Whitney U, P < 0.001). Moreover, overexpression of RAB25 in the UM-SCC-74B HNSCC cell line increased cisplatin sensitivity, and reduced cell migration and invasion. Our findings support a tumor suppressor role for RAB25 in HNSCC and its potential use to identify locally advanced patients with a high probability of survival after genotoxic treatment.

More than just a cargo adapter, melanophilin prolongs and slows processive runs of myosin Va

Myosin Va (myoVa) is a molecular motor that processively transports cargo along actin tracks. One well studied cargo in vivo is the melanosome, a pigment organelle that is moved first by kinesin on microtubules and then handed off to myoVa for transport in the actin-rich dendritic periphery of melanocytes. Melanophilin (Mlph) is the adapter protein that links Rab27a-melanosomes to myoVa. Using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and quantum dot-labeled full-length myoVa, we show at the single-molecule level that Mlph increases the number of processively moving myoVa motors by 17-fold. Surprisingly, myoVa-Mlph moves ~4-fold slower than myoVa alone and with twice the run length. These two changes greatly increase the time spent on actin, a property likely to enhance the transfer of melanosomes to the adjacent keratinocyte. In contrast to the variable stepping pattern of full-length myoVa, the myoVa-Mlph complex shows a normal gating pattern between the heads typical of a fully active motor and consistent with a cargo-dependent activation mechanism. The Mlph-dependent changes in myoVa depend on a positively charged cluster of amino acids in the actin binding domain of Mlph, suggesting that Mlph acts as a "tether" that links the motor to the track. Our results provide a molecular explanation for the uncharacteristically slow speed of melanosome movement by myoVa in vivo. More generally, these data show that proteins that link motors to cargo can modify motor properties to enhance their biological role.

Protein kinase Cδ differentially regulates cAMP-dependent translocation of NTCP and MRP2 to the plasma membrane

Cyclic AMP stimulates translocation of Na(+)/taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) from the cytosol to the sinusoidal membrane and multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (MRP2) to the canalicular membrane. A recent study suggested that protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ) may mediate cAMP-induced translocation of Ntcp and Mrp2. In addition, cAMP has been shown to stimulate NTCP translocation in part via Rab4. The aim of this study was to determine whether cAMP-induced translocation of NTCP and MRP2 require kinase activity of PKCδ and to test the hypothesis that cAMP-induced activation of Rab4 is mediated via PKCδ. Studies were conducted in HuH-NTCP cells (HuH-7 cells stably transfected with NTCP). Transfection of cells with wild-type PKCδ increased plasma membrane PKCδ and NTCP and increased Rab4 activity. Paradoxically, overexpression of kinase-dead dominant-negative PKCδ also increased plasma membrane PKCδ and NTCP as well as Rab4 activity. Similar results were obtained in PKCδ knockdown experiments, despite a decrease in total PKCδ. These results raised the possibility that plasma membrane localization rather than kinase activity of PKCδ is necessary for NTCP translocation and Rab4 activity. This hypothesis was supported by results showing that rottlerin, which has previously been shown to inhibit cAMP-induced membrane translocation of PKCδ and NTCP, inhibited cAMP-induced Rab4 activity. In addition, LY294002 (a phosphoinositide-3-kinase inhibitor), which has been shown to inhibit cAMP-induced NTCP translocation, also inhibited cAMP-induced PKCδ translocation. In contrast to the results with NTCP, cAMP-induced MRP2 translocation was inhibited in cells transfected with DN-PKCδ and small interfering RNA PKCδ. Taken together, these results suggest that the plasma membrane localization rather than kinase activity of PKCδ plays an important role in cAMP-induced NTCP translocation and Rab4 activity, whereas the kinase activity of PKCδ is necessary for cAMP-induced MRP2 translocation.