A role for the noncatalytic N terminus in the function of Cdc25, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ras-guanine nucleotide exchange factor

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae CDC25 gene encodes a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Ras proteins. Its catalytic domain is highly homologous to Ras-GEFs from all eukaryotes. Even though Cdc25 is the first Ras-GEF identified in any organism, we still know very little about how its function is regulated in yeast. In this work we provide evidence for the involvement of the N terminus of Cdc25 in the regulation of its activity. A truncated CDC25 lacking the noncatalytic C-terminal coding sequence was identified in a screen of high-copy suppressors of the heat-shock-sensitive phenotype of strains in which the Ras pathway is hyper-activated. The truncated gene acts as a dominant-negative mutant because it only suppresses the heat-shock sensitivity of strains that require the function of CDC25. Our two-hybrid assays and immunoprecipitation analyses show interactions between the N terminus of Cdc25 and itself, the C terminus, and the full-length protein. These results suggest that the dominant-negative effect may be a result of oligomerization with endogenous Cdc25. Further evidence of the role of the N terminus of Cdc25 in the regulation of its activity is provided by the mapping of the activating mutation of CDC25HS20 to the serine residue at position 365 in the noncatalytic N-terminal domain. This mutation induces a phenotype similar to activating mutants of other genes in the Ras pathway in yeast. Hence, the N terminus may exert a negative control on the catalytic activity of the protein. Taken together these results suggest that the N terminus plays a crucial role in regulating Cdc25 and consequently Ras activity, which in S. cerevisiae is essential for cell cycle progression.     

Influence of guanine nucleotides on complex formation between Ras and CDC25 proteins.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae CDC25 gene and closely homologous genes in other eukaryotes encode guanine nucleotide exchange factors for Ras proteins. We have determined the minimal region of the budding yeast CDC25 gene capable of activity in vivo. The region required for full biological activity is approximately 450 residues and contains two segments homologous to other proteins: one found in both Ras-specific exchange factors and the more distant Bud5 and Lte1 proteins, and a smaller segment of 48 amino acids found only in the Ras-specific exchange factors. When expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion protein, this region of CDC25 was found to be a potent catalyst of GDP-GTP exchange on yeast Ras2 as well as human p21H-ras but inactive in promoting exchange on the Ras-related proteins Ypt1 and Rsr1. The CDC25 fusion protein catalyzed replacement of GDP-bound to Ras2 with GTP (activation) more efficiently than that of the reverse reaction of replacement of GTP for GDP (deactivation), consistent with prior genetic analysis of CDC25 which indicated a positive role in the activation of Ras. To more directly study the physical interaction of CDC25 and Ras proteins, we developed a protein-protein binding assay. We determined that CDC25 binds tightly to Ras2 protein only in the absence of guanine nucleotides. This higher affinity of CDC25 for the nucleotide-free form than for either the GDP- or GTP-bound form suggests that CDC25 catalyzes exchange of guanine nucleotides bound to Ras proteins by stabilization of the transitory nucleotide-free state.     

Anti-Cdc25 antibodies inhibit guanyl nucleotide-dependent adenylyl cyclase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and cross-react with a 150-kilodalton mammalian protein.

The CDC25 gene product of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been shown to be a positive regulator of the Ras protein. The high degree of homology between yeast RAS and the mammalian proto-oncogene ras suggests a possible resemblance between the mammalian regulator of Ras and the regulator of the yeast Ras (Cdc25). On the basis of this assumption, we have raised antibodies against the conserved C-terminal domain of the Cdc25 protein in order to identify its mammalian homologs. Anti-Cdc25 antibodies raised against a beta-galactosidase-Cdc25 fusion protein were purified by immunoaffinity chromatography and were shown by immunoblotting to specifically recognize the Cdc25 portion of the antigen and a truncated Cdc25 protein, also expressed in bacteria. These antibodies were shown both by immunoblotting and by immunoprecipitation to recognize the CDC25 gene product in wild-type strains and in strains overexpressing Cdc25. The anti-Cdc25 antibodies potently inhibited the guanyl nucleotide-dependent and, approximately 3-fold less potently, the Mn(2+)-dependent adenylyl cyclase activity in S. cerevisiae. The anti-Cdc25 antibodies do not inhibit cyclase activity in a strain harboring RAS2Val-19 and lacking the CDC25 gene product. These results support the view that Cdc25, Ras2, and Cdc35/Cyr1 proteins are associated in a complex. Using these antibodies, we were able to define the conditions to completely solubilize the Cdc25 protein. The results suggest that the Cdc25 protein is tightly associated with the membrane but is not an intrinsic membrane protein, since only EDTA at pH 12 can solubilize the protein. The anti-Cdc25 antibodies strongly cross-reacted with the C-terminal domain of the Cdc25 yeast homolog, Sdc25. Most interestingly, these antibodies also cross-reacted with mammalian proteins of approximately 150 kDa from various tissues of several species of animals. These interactions were specifically blocked by the beta-galactosidase-Cdc25 fusion protein.     

The large N-terminal domain of Cdc25 protein of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is required for glucose-induced Ras2 activation

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae CDC25 gene encodes a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Ras proteins whose catalytic domain is highly homologous to Ras-guanine nucleotide exchange factors from higher eukaryotes. In this study, glucose-induced Ras activation and cAMP response were investigated in mutants lacking the N-terminal domain of Cdc25 or where the entire CDC25 coding sequence was substituted by an expression cassette for a mammalian guanine nucleotide exchange factor catalytic domain. Our results suggest that an unregulated, low Ras guanine nucleotide exchange factor activity allows a normal glucose-induced cAMP signal that appears to be mediated mainly by the Gpr1/Gpa2 system, but it was not enough to sustain the glucose-induced increase of Ras2-GTP normally observed in a wild-type strain.     

Interaction between the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CDC25 gene product and mammalian ras.

In order to characterize the interaction between the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cdc25 protein and Harvey-ras (p21H-ras), we have constructed a yeast strain disrupted at the RAS1 and RAS2 loci, expressing both p21H-ras and the catalytic domain of the bovine GTPase activating protein (GAP) and containing the cdc25-2 mutation. Such a strain exhibits a temperature-sensitive phenotype. The shift to the nonpermissive temperature is accompanied by the loss of guanyl nucleotide-dependent activity of adenylylcyclase in vitro. The temperature-sensitive phenotype can be rescued by CDC25 itself, as well as by a plasmid containing a truncated SDC25 gene. In addition, wild type CDC25 significantly improves the guanyl nucleotide response observed in the background of the cdc25ts allele at the permissive temperature in a dosage-dependent manner and restores the guanyl nucleotide response at the restrictive temperature. Both CDC25 and a truncated SDC25 also restored p21H-ras-dependent guanyl nucleotide response in a strain isogenic to the one described above but containing a disrupted CDC25 locus instead of the temperature-sensitive allele. These results suggest that the S. cerevisiae Cdc25 protein interacts with p21H-ras expressed in yeast by promoting GDP-GTP exchange. It follows that the yeast system can be used for characterizing the interaction between guanyl nucleotide exchangers of Ras proteins and mammalian p21H-ras.     

The CDC25 protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae promotes exchange of guanine nucleotides bound to ras.

The product of the CDC25 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in its capacity as an activator of the RAS/cyclic AMP pathway, is required for initiation of the cell cycle. In this report, we provide an identification of Cdc25p, the product of the CDC25 gene, and evidence that it promotes exchange of guanine nucleotides bound to Ras in vitro. Extracts of strains containing high levels of Cdc25p catalyze both removal of GDP from and the concurrent binding of GTP to Ras. This same activity is also obtained with an immunopurified Cdc25p-beta-galactosidase fusion protein, suggesting that Cdc25p participates directly in the exchange reaction. This biochemical activity is consistent with previous genetic analysis of CDC25 function.     

Simian virus 40 large T antigen affects the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell cycle and interacts with p34CDC28.

Simian virus 40 tumor (T) antigen, an established viral oncoprotein, causes alterations in cell growth control through interacting with, and altering the function of, cellular proteins. To examine the effects of T antigen on cell growth control, and to identify the cellular proteins with which it may functionally interact, T antigen was expressed in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The yeast cells expressing T antigen showed morphological alterations as well as growth inhibition attributable, at least in part, to a lag in progression from G1 to S. This point in the cell cycle is also known to be affected by T antigen in mammalian cells. Both p34CDC28 and p34CDC2Hs were shown to bind to a chimeric T antigen-glutathione S-transferase fusion protein, indicating that T antigen interacts directly with cell cycle proteins which control the G1 to S transition. This interaction was confirmed by in vivo cross-linking experiments, in which T antigen and p34CDC28 were coimmunoprecipitated from extracts of T-antigen-expressing yeast cells. These immunoprecipitated complexes could phosphorylate histone H1, indicating that kinase activity was retained. In addition, in autophosphorylation reactions, the complexes phosphorylated a novel 60-kDa protein which appeared to be underphosphorylated (or underrepresented) in p34CDC28-containing complexes from cells which did not express T antigen. These results suggest that T antigen interacts with p34CDC28 and alters the kinase function of p34CDC28-containing complexes. These events correlate with alterations in the yeast cell cycle at the G1 to S transition.     

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.     

Identification of residues of the H-ras protein critical for functional interaction with guanine nucleotide exchange factors.

Ras proteins are activated in vivo by guanine nucleotide exchange factors encoded by genes homologous to the CDC25 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We have taken a combined genetic and biochemical approach to probe the sites on Ras proteins important for interaction with such exchange factors and to further probe the mechanism of CDC25-catalyzed GDP-GTP exchange. Random mutagenesis coupled with genetic selection in S. cerevisiae was used to generate second-site mutations within human H-ras-ala15 which could suppress the ability of the Ala-15 substitution to block CDC25 function. We transferred these second-site suppressor mutations to normal H-ras and oncogenic H-rasVal-12 to test whether they induced a general loss of function or whether they selectively affected CDC25 interaction. Four highly selective mutations were discovered, and they affected the surface-located amino acid residues 62, 63, 67, and 69. Two lines of evidence suggested that these residues may be involved in binding to CDC25: (i) using the yeast two-hybrid system, we demonstrated that these mutants cannot bind CDC25 under conditions where the wild-type H-Ras protein can; (ii) we demonstrated that the binding to H-Ras of monoclonal antibody Y13-259, whose epitope has been mapped to residues 63, 65, 66, 67, 70, and 73, is blocked by the mouse sos1 and yeast CDC25 gene products. We also present evidence that the mechanism by which CDC25 catalyzes exchange is more involved than simply catalyzing the release of bound nucleotide and passively allowing nucleotides to rebind. Most critically, a complex of Ras and CDC25 protein, unlike free Fas protein, possesses significantly greater affinity for GTP than for GDP. Furthermore, the Ras CDC25 complex is more readily dissociated into free subunits by GTP than it is by GDP. Both of these results suggest a function for CDC25 in promoting the selective exchange of GTP for GDP.     

Budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model to study oxidative modification of proteins in eukaryotes

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a well studied unicellular eukaryotic organism the genome of which has been sequenced. The use of yeast in many commercial systems makes its investigation important not only from basic, but also from practical point of view. Yeast may be grown under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The investigation of the response of eukaryotes to different kinds of stresses was pioneered owing to yeast and here we focus mainly on the so-called oxidative stress. It is a result of an imbalance between the formation and decomposition of reactive oxygen species increasing their steady-state concentration. Reactive oxygen species may attack any cellular component. In the present review oxidation of proteins in S. cerevisiae is analyzed. There are two connected approaches to study oxidative protein modification - characterization of the overall process and identification of individual oxidized proteins. Because all aerobic organisms possess special systems which defend them against reactive oxygen species, the involvement of so-called antioxidant enzymes, particularly superoxide dismutase and catalase, in the protection of proteins is also analyzed.     

Ras proteins control mitochondrial biogenesis and function in<Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis>

The evolutionarily conserved Ras proteins function as a point of convergence for different signaling pathways in eukaryotes and have been implicated in both aging and cancer development. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae the plasma membrane proteins Ras1 and Ras2 are sensing the nutritional status of the environments, e.g., the abundance and quality of available carbon sources. The cAMP-protein kinase A pathway is the most explored signaling pathway controlled by Ras proteins; it affects a large number of genes, some of which are important to defend the cell against oxidative stress. In addition, recent analysis has shown that the Ras system of yeast is involved in the development of mitochondria and in regulating their activity. As a sensor of environmental status and an effector of mitochondrial activity, Ras serves as a Rosetta stone of cellular energy transduction. This review summarizes the physical and functional involvement of Ras proteins and Ras-dependent signaling pathways in mitochondrial function in S. cerevisiae. Since mitochondria produce harmful reactive oxygen species as an inevitable byproduct and are partly under control of Ras, illuminating these regulatory interactions may improve our understanding of both cancer and aging.     

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rheb G-protein is involved in regulating canavanine resistance and arginine uptake

The new member of the Ras superfamily of G-proteins, Rheb, has been identified in rat and human, but its function has not been defined. We report here the identification of Rheb homologues in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ScRheb) as well as in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Drosophila melanogaster, zebrafish, and Ciona intestinalis. These proteins define a new class of G-proteins based on 1) their overall sequence similarity, 2) high conservation of their effector domain sequence, 3) presence of a unique arginine in their G1 box, and 4) presence of a conserved CAAX farnesylation motif. Characterization of an S. cerevisiae strain deficient in ScRheb showed that it is hypersensitive to growth inhibitory effects of canavanine and thialysine, which are analogues of arginine and lysine, respectively. Accordingly, the uptake of arginine and lysine was increased in the ScRheb-deficient strain. This increased arginine uptake requires the arginine-specific permease Can1p. The function of ScRheb is dependent on having an intact effector domain since mutations in the effector domain of ScRheb are incapable of complementing canavanine hypersensitivity of scrheb disruptant cells. Furthermore, the conserved arginine in the G1 box plays a role in the activity of ScRheb, as a mutation of this arginine to glycine significantly reduced the ability of ScRheb to complement canavanine hypersensitivity of ScRheb-deficient yeast. Finally, a mutation in the C-terminal CAAX farnesylation motif resulted in a loss of ScRheb function. This result, in combination with our finding that ScRheb is farnesylated, suggests that farnesylation plays a key role in ScRheb function. Our findings assign the regulation of arginine and lysine uptake as the first physiological function for this new farnesylated Ras superfamily G-protein.     

The SH3 domain of the S. cerevisiae Cdc25p binds adenylyl cyclase and facilitates Ras regulation of cAMP signalling

Cdc25 and Ras are two proteins required for cAMP signalling in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Cdc25 is the guanine nucleotide exchange protein that activates Ras. Ras, in turn, activates adenylyl cyclase. Cdc25 has a Src homology 3 (SH3) domain near the N-terminus and a catalytic domain in the C-terminal region. We find that a point mutation in the SH3 domain attenuates cAMP signalling in response to glucose feeding. Furthermore, we demonstrate, by using recombinant adenylyl cyclase and Cdc25, that the SH3 domain of Cdc25 can bind directly to adenylyl cyclase. Binding was specific, because the SH3 domain of Abp1p (actin-binding protein 1), which binds the 70,000 Mr subunit of adenylyl cyclase, CAP/Srv2, failed to bind adenylyl cyclase. A binding site for Cdc25-SH3 localised to the C-terminal catalytic region of adenylyl cyclase. Finally, pre-incubation with Ras enhanced the SH3-bound adenylyl cyclase activity. These studies suggest that a direct interaction between Cdc25 and adenylyl cyclase promotes efficient assembly of the adenylyl cyclase complex.     

The N-terminal half of Cdc25 is essential for processing glucose signaling in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cdc25 is the prototype Ras GDP/GTP exchange protein. Its C-terminal catalytic domain was found to be highly conserved in the homologues p140(ras-GRF) and Sos. The regulatory domains in each Ras exchanger mediate the signals arriving from upstream elements such as tyrosine kinases for Sos, or Ca2+ and G proteins for p140.(Ras-GRF) In this study, we show that the N-terminal half (NTH) of S. cerevisiae Cdc25, as well as the C-terminal 37 amino acids, is essential for processing the elevation of cAMP in response to glucose. The mammalian p140(ras-GRF) catalytic domain (CGRF) restores glucose signaling in S. cerevisiae only if tethered between the N-terminal half (NTH) of S. cerevisiae Cdc25 and the C-terminal 37 amino acids. The glucose-induced transient elevation in cAMP is nullified or severely hampered by the deletion of domains within the NTH of Cdc25. These deletions, however, do not modify the intrinsic GDP/GTP exchange activity of mutant proteins as compared to native Cdc25. We also show that 7 Ser to Ala mutations at the cAMP-dependent protein kinase putative phosphorylation sites within the NTH of Cdc25 eliminate the descending portion of the glucose response curve, responsible for signal termination. These findings support a dual role of the NTH of Cdc25 in both enabling the glucose signal and being responsible for its attenuation.     

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae an unbalanced level of tyrosine phosphorylation down-regulates the Ras/PKA pathway

The role of tyrosyl phosphorylation/dephosphorylation in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, whose genome does not encode typical tyrosine kinases, has long remained elusive. Nevertheless, several protein kinases phosphorylating poly(TyrGlu) substrates have been identified. In this work, we use the expression of the low molecular weight tyrosine phosphatase Stp1 from the distantly related yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, as a tool to investigate whether an unbalanced level of protein tyrosine phosphorylation affects S. cerevisiae growth and metabolism. We correlate the previously reported down-regulation of the phosphotyrosine level brought about by overexpression of Stp1 with a large number of phenotypes indicative of down-regulation of the Ras pathway. These phenotypes include reduction in both glucose- and acidification-induced GTP loading of the Ras2 protein and cAMP signaling, impaired growth on a non-fermentable carbon source, alteration of cell cycle parameters, delayed recovery from nitrogen starvation, increased heat-shock resistance, attenuated pseudohyphal and invasive growth. Genetic data suggest that Stp1 acts either at, or above, the level of Ras2, possibly on the Ira proteins. Consistently, Stp1 was found to bind to immunoprecipitated Ira2. Since a catalytically inactive mutant form of Stp1 (Stp1(C11S)) effectively binds to Ira2 without producing any effect on yeast physiology, we conclude that down-regulation of the Ras pathway by Stp1 requires its phosphatase activity. In conclusion, our data suggest a possible cross-talk between tyrosine phosphorylation and the Ras pathway in yeast.     

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.