Ezrin is required for efficient Rap1-induced cell spreading.

The Rap family of small GTPases regulate the adhesion of cells to extracellular matrices. Several Rap-binding proteins have been shown to function as effectors that mediate Rap-induced adhesion. However, little is known regarding the relationships between these effectors, or about other proteins that are downstream of or act in parallel to the effectors. To establish whether an array of effectors was required for Rap-induced cell adhesion and spreading, and to find new components involved in Rap-signal transduction, we performed a small-scale siRNA screen in A549 lung epithelial cells. Of the Rap effectors tested, only Radil blocked Rap-induced spreading. Additionally, we identified a novel role for Ezrin downstream of Rap1. Ezrin was necessary for Rap-induced cell spreading, but not Rap-induced cell adhesion or basal adhesion processes. Furthermore, Ezrin depletion inhibited Rap-induced cell spreading in several cell lines, including primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Interestingly, Radixin and Moesin, two proteins with high homology to Ezrin, are not required for Rap-induced cell spreading and cannot compensate for loss of Ezrin to rescue Rap-induced cell spreading. Here, we present a novel function for Ezrin in Rap1-induced cell spreading and evidence of a non-redundant role of an ERM family member.

Specificity in Ras and Rap signaling.

Ras and Rap proteins are closely related small GTPases. Whereas Ras is known for its role in cell proliferation and survival, Rap1 is predominantly involved in cell adhesion and cell junction formation. Ras and Rap are regulated by different sets of guanine nucleotide exchange factors and GTPase-activating proteins, determining one level of specificity. In addition, although the effector domains are highly similar, Rap and Ras interact with largely different sets of effectors, providing a second level of specificity. In this review, we discuss the regulatory proteins and effectors of Ras and Rap, with a focus on those of Rap.

cAMP-induced Epac-Rap activation inhibits epithelial cell migration by modulating focal adhesion and leading edge dynamics.

Epithelial cell migration is a complex process crucial for embryonic development, wound healing and tumor metastasis. It depends on alterations in cell-cell adhesion and integrin-extracellular matrix interactions and on actomyosin-driven, polarized leading edge protrusion. The small GTPase Rap is a known regulator of integrins and cadherins that has also been implicated in the regulation of actin and myosin, but a direct role in cell migration has not been investigated. Here, we report that activation of endogenous Rap by cAMP results in an inhibition of HGF- and TGFbeta-induced epithelial cell migration in several model systems, irrespective of the presence of E-cadherin adhesion. We show that Rap activation slows the dynamics of focal adhesions and inhibits polarized membrane protrusion. Importantly, forced integrin activation by antibodies does not mimic these effects of Rap on cell motility, even though it does mimic Rap effects in short-term cell adhesion assays. From these results, we conclude that Rap inhibits epithelial cell migration, by modulating focal adhesion dynamics and leading edge activity. This extends beyond the effect of integrin affinity modulation and argues for an additional function of Rap in controlling the migration machinery of epithelial cells.

The PI3K effector Arap3 interacts with the PI(3,4,5)P3 phosphatase SHIP2 in a SAM domain-dependent manner.

Arap3 is a phosphoinositide (PI) 3 kinase effector that serves as a GTPase activating protein (GAP) for both Arf and Rho G-proteins. The protein has multiple pleckstrin homology (PH) domains that bind preferentially phosphatidyl-inositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PI(3,4,5,)P3) to induce translocation of Arap3 to the plasma membrane upon PI3K activation. Arap3 also contains a Ras association (RA) domain that interacts with the small G-protein Rap1 and a sterile alpha motif (SAM) domain of unknown function. In a yeast two-hybrid screen for new interaction partners of Arap3, we identified the PI 5'-phosphatase SHIP2 as an interaction partner of Arap3. The interaction between Arap3 and SHIP2 was observed with endogenous proteins and shown to be mediated by the SAM domain of Arap3 and SHIP2. In vitro, these two domains show specificity for a heterodimeric interaction. Since it was shown previously that Arap3 has a higher affinity for PI(3,4,5,)P3 than for PI(3,4)P2, we propose that the SAM domain of Arap3 can function to recruit a negative regulator of PI3K signaling into the effector complex.

WW domains provide a platform for the assembly of multiprotein networks.

WW domains are protein modules that mediate protein-protein interactions through recognition of proline-rich peptide motifs and phosphorylated serine/threonine-proline sites. To pursue the functional properties of WW domains, we employed mass spectrometry to identify 148 proteins that associate with 10 human WW domains. Many of these proteins represent novel WW domain-binding partners and are components of multiprotein complexes involved in molecular processes, such as transcription, RNA processing, and cytoskeletal regulation. We validated one complex in detail, showing that WW domains of the AIP4 E3 protein-ubiquitin ligase bind directly to a PPXY motif in the p68 subunit of pre-mRNA cleavage and polyadenylation factor Im in a manner that promotes p68 ubiquitylation. The tested WW domains fall into three broad groups on the basis of hierarchical clustering with respect to their associated proteins; each such cluster of bound proteins displayed a distinct set of WW domain-binding motifs. We also found that separate WW domains from the same protein or closely related proteins can have different specificities for protein ligands and also demonstrated that a single polypeptide can bind multiple classes of WW domains through separate proline-rich motifs. These data suggest that WW domains provide a versatile platform to link individual proteins into physiologically important networks.

The Epstein-Barr virus protein, latent membrane protein 2A, co-opts tyrosine kinases used by the T cell receptor.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the causative agent of infectious mononucleosis and is associated with several human malignancies. The EBV protein latent membrane protein 2A (LMP2A) promotes viral latency in memory B cells by interfering with B cell receptor signaling and provides a survival signal for mature B cells that have lost expression of surface immunoglobulin. The latter function has suggested that LMP2A may enhance the survival of EBV-positive tumors. EBV is associated with several T cell malignancies and, since LMP2A has been detected in several of these disorders, we examined the ability of LMP2A to transmit signals and interfere with T cell receptor signaling in T cells. We show that LMP2A is tyrosine-phosphorylated in Jurkat TAg T cells, which requires expression of the Src family tyrosine kinases, Lck and Fyn. Lck and Fyn are recruited to the tyrosine-phosphorylated Tyr112 site in LMP2A, whereas phosphorylation of an ITAM motif in LMP2A creates a binding site for the ZAP-70/Syk tyrosine kinases. LMP2A also associates through its two PPPPY motifs with AIP4, a NEDD4 family E3 ubiquitin ligase; this interaction results in ubiquitylation of LMP2A and serves to regulate the stability of LMP2A and LMP2A-kinase complexes. Furthermore, stable expression of LMP2A in Jurkat T cells down-regulated T cell receptor levels and attenuated T cell receptor signaling. Thus, through recruiting tyrosine kinases involved in T cell receptor activation, LMP2A may provide a survival signal for EBV-positive T cell tumors, whereas LMP2A-associated NEDD4 E3 ligases probably titer the strength of this signal.

Activation of FoxO transcription factors contributes to the antiproliferative effect of cAMP.

cAMP is a potent inhibitor of cell proliferation in a variety of cell lines. Downregulation of cyclin D1 and upregulation of the cell cycle inhibitor p27Kip1 are two mechanisms by which cAMP may induce a G1-arrest. Here we show that cAMP inhibits proliferation of cells that constitutively express cyclin D1 or are deficient for Rb, demonstrating that changes in these cell cycle regulators do not account for the cAMP-induced growth effects in mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs). Interestingly, the antiproliferative effect of cAMP mimics the effect previously observed for FoxO transcription factors. These transcription factors are under negative control of protein kinase B (PKB). We show that in MEFs cAMP strongly induces transcriptional activation of FoxO4 through the inhibition of PKB. Accordingly, not only p27Kip1 but also the FoxO target MnSOD is upregulated by cAMP. Importantly, introduction of dominant-negative FoxO partially rescues cAMP-induced inhibition of proliferation. From these results we conclude that inhibition of PKB and subsequent activation of FoxO transcription factors mediates an antiproliferative effect of cAMP.