小G蛋白ROP的研究进展

小G蛋白(small GTPases)是近年来研究细胞信号转导过程的热点问题,包括Ras、Rab、Rho、Arf和Ran5个亚家族,其中ROP蛋白是Rho家族成员,为植物特有,在调控细胞生长、发育及调节植物对环境响应等各方面起重要作用.对ROP蛋白的活性调节和功能进行了重点介绍.     

Rho小G蛋白介导的细胞周期调控

Rho小G蛋白作为一个信号分子家族具有多样化的功能, 可以调节细胞骨架重排 、细胞迁移、细胞极性、基因表达、细胞周期调控等. Rho小G蛋白家族对细胞周期 调控的研究主要集中在其对于有丝分裂期细胞的调节作用,包括调节有丝分裂期前 期细胞趋圆化、后期染色体排列及收缩环的收缩作用.近期的研究显示,Rho小G蛋白及其效应分子对于细胞周期G1、S、G2期的调控主要是通过影响细胞周期的正调控因子细胞周期蛋白D1 (cyclin D1) 和负调控因子细胞周期蛋白依赖型激酶相互作用蛋白1及细胞周期蛋白依赖型激酶抑制蛋白27 (p21cip1/p27kip1) 进行的.本文总结了Rho小G蛋白及其效应分子在细胞周期调控,尤其是对G1/S期调控的研究进展,并简要阐述了Rho小G蛋白介导的细胞周期调控异常与癌症发生的关系.     

水稻小G蛋白OsPra2基因的克隆及功能分析

利用micro array 技术对水稻幼苗在营养胁迫条件下根部基因表达的研究中发现: 一个与豌豆Pra2(小G蛋白)基因有同源性的基因的RNA水平在营养胁迫后再补充营养时, 表达量下降。用RT-PCR和PCR方法分别获得该基因的cDNA克隆—OsPra2和该基因翻译起始位点上游1 kb的启动子序列。OsPra2基因编码的蛋白质具有结合GTP/GDP的4个保守结构域和构成小G蛋白Rab家族的特有的结构域。该基因cDNA与GST蛋白基因融合表达载体在洋葱表皮细胞中的瞬间表达结果显示该蛋白定位在在细胞膜和细胞核上, OsPra2基因启动子与GUS报告基因融合表达转基因水稻显示该基因启动子驱动GUS在胚芽鞘和根中表达, 35S启动子驱动OsPra2基因过表达转基因水稻与野生水稻株型相比明显矮化, 类似BR缺陷型植物株型。本实验还对OsPra2和P450蛋白的相互作用及在BR代谢途径中的可能作用进行了分析。     

Rho小G蛋白相关激酶的结构与功能

Rho小G蛋白家族是Ras超家族成员之一,人类Rho小G蛋白包括20个成员,研究最清楚的有RhoA、Rac1和Cdc42。Rho小G蛋白参与了诸如细胞骨架调节、细胞移动、细胞增殖、细胞周期调控等重要的生物学过程。在这些生物学过程的调节中,Rho小G蛋白的下游效应蛋白质如蛋白激酶（p21-activated kinase,PAK）、ROCK（Rho-kinase）、PKN（protein kinase novel）和MRCK（myotonin-related Cdc42-binding kinase）发挥了不可或缺的作用。迄今研究发现,PAK可调节细胞骨架动力学和细胞运动,另外,PAK通过MAPK（mitogen-activated protein kinases）参与转录、细胞凋亡和幸存通路及细胞周期进程;ROCK与肌动蛋白应力纤维介导黏附复合物的形成及与细胞周期进程的调节有关;哺乳动物的PKN与RhoA/B/C相互作用介导细胞骨架调节;MRCK与细胞骨架重排、细胞核转动、微管组织中心再定位、细胞移动和癌细胞侵袭等有关。该文简要介绍Rho小G蛋白下游激酶PAK、ROCK、PKN和MRCK的结构及其在细胞骨架调节中的功能,重点总结它们在真核细胞周期调控中的作用,尤其是在癌细胞周期进程中所发挥的作用,为寻找癌症治疗的新靶点提供理论依据。     

植物小G蛋白的研究进展

小G蛋白(small GTPases)是近年来细胞信号转导的研究热点,包括Ras、Rho、Rab、Arf和Ran等5个亚家族.植物中存在一种特殊的小G蛋白ROP(Rho-related GTPase from plants)是Rho家族成员,在调控细胞生长发育及植物防御反应体系的建立等方面起重要作用.在植物细胞中ROP存在两种形式,一种是与GTP结合的激活态,另一种是与GDP结合的非激活态,通过这种激活态与非激活态之间的转变,ROPs作为植物生长发育过程中重要的"分子开关"参与调控多种信号转导过程.本文主要对国内外近年来有关小G蛋白的种类及其调节机制,以及植物小G蛋白ROP在花粉管生长、根毛发育、H2O2的产生、脱落酸(ABA)以及防御应答反应中的调节作用等方面的研究进展进行综述.     

植物小G蛋白功能的研究进展

近年来,小G蛋白的调控途径已经成为人们研究细胞信号转导过程的热点问题.小G蛋白家族包括Ras、Rab、Rho、Arf和Ran亚家族,它们起着许多不同的重要细胞生理作用,例如基因表达、细胞骨架重组装、微管的形成以及囊泡和核孔运输机制.这些小G蛋白作为重要的分子开关,具有一个非常保守的功能区域,即I-Ⅳ结构区,它起着关键性作用.从拟南芥(Arabidopsisthaliana)基因组预测分析得出,拟南芥含有93个小G蛋白同源序列,包含Rab、Rho、Arf和Ran亚家族,但没有Ras亚家族.本文主要阐述了迄今在植物中研究小G蛋白各个亚家族功能的最新进展,并对植物、酵母和动物相关的同 源蛋白的生理功能进行比较和推测.     

植物小G 蛋白功能的研究进展

近年来,小G蛋白的调控途径已经成为人们研究细胞信号转导过程的热点问题。小G蛋白家族包括Ras、Rab、Rho、Arf和Ran亚家族,它们起着许多不同的重要细胞生理作用,例如基因表达、细胞骨架重组装、微管的形成以及囊泡和核孔运输机制。这些小G蛋白作为重要的分子开关,具有一个非常保守的功能区域,即I-IV结构区,它起着关键性作用。从拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)基因组预测分析得出,拟南芥含有93个小G蛋白同源序列,包含Rab、Rho、Arf和Ran亚家族,但没有Ras亚家族。本文主要阐述了迄今在植物中研究小G蛋白各个亚家族功能的最新进展,并对植物、酵母和动物相关的同源蛋白的生理功能进行比较和推测。     

基于GST-pull down的小G蛋白Racl活性检测体系的建立

目的:根据人PA KI基因的p21结合结构域(PBD)能够特异结合GTP-Rac 1的特性,构建GST-PBD原核表达质粒,并利用CST-pull down方法检测真核细胞内小G蛋白RacI的活性.方法:将人PAK1基因的PBD结构域克隆到pGEX原核表达载体上,经诱导纯化得到GST-PBD融合蛋白,并通过GST-pull down实验评枯该方法的特异性和准确性.结果:pGEX-PBD质粒构建成功;纯化得到的GST-PBD融合蛋白能够特异性地与激活形式的Rac1(GTP-Rac1)结合,并且能够准确反映血小板衍生生长因子刺激下细胞内Rac1的激活过程.结论:GST-PBD融合蛋白及其整套CST-pull down检测体系能方便有效地检测细胞内Rael的活性.     

小G蛋白在植物抗病性中的作用

小G蛋白一类是低分子量GTP结合蛋白,其分子量大约20～30 kDa.小G蛋白作为重要的分子开关参与了细胞许多重要生理信号途径的调控.近几年在植物中的研究、尤其是对模式植物水稻杭病分子机制的研究发现,Rho家族的小G蛋白在植物抗病信号传导途径的调控中起了关健的作用.本文对植物特有的Rho家族小G蛋白在植物免疫反应中的最...     

小蛋白质富集法鉴定酿酒酵母“漏检蛋白”

小蛋白质 (Small proteins,SPs) 是由小开放阅读框 (Short open reading frames,sORFs) 编码长度小于100个氨基酸的多肽。研究发现小蛋白质参与了基因表达调控、细胞信号转导和代谢等重要生物学过程。然而,生命体中大多数的已注释小蛋白质尚缺少蛋白水平存在的实验证据,被称为漏检蛋白 (Missing proteins,MPs)。小蛋白质的高效鉴定是其功能研究的前提,也有助于挖掘“漏检蛋白”。文中采用小蛋白质富集策略鉴定到72个酵母小蛋白质,验证9个“漏检蛋白”,发现低分子量、高疏水性、膜结合、弱密码子使用偏性及不稳定性是蛋白漏检的主要原因,对进一步的技术优化具有指导意义。     

Rho GTPase signaling at the synapse: Implications for intellectual disability

Intellectual disability (ID) imposes a major medical and social–economical problem in our society. It is defined as a global reduction in cognitive and intellectual abilities, associated with impaired social adaptation. The causes of ID are extremely heterogeneous and include non-genetic and genetic changes. Great progress has been made over recent years towards the identification of ID-related genes, resulting in a list of approximately 450 genes. A prominent neuropathological feature of patients with ID is altered dendritic spine morphogenesis. These structural abnormalities, in part, reflect impaired cytoskeleton remodeling and are associated with synaptic dysfunction. The dynamic, actin-rich nature of dendritic spines points to the Rho GTPase family as a central contributor, since they are key regulators of actin dynamics and organization. It is therefore not surprising that mutations in genes encoding regulators and effectors of the Rho GTPases have been associated with ID. This review will focus on the role of Rho GTPase signaling in synaptic structure/function and ID.     

Activation of Rho GTPases by synaptic transmission in the hippocampus

Ras-related GTPases of the Rho family, such as RhoA and RhoB, are well-characterised mediators of morphological change in peripheral tissues via their effects on the actin cytoskeleton. We tested the hypothesis that Rho family GTPases are involved in synaptic transmission in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. We show that GTPases are activated by synaptic transmission. RhoA and RhoB were activated by low frequency stimulation, while the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) by high frequency stimulation was associated with specific activation of RhoB via NMDA receptor stimulation. This illustrates that these GTPases are potential mediators of synaptic transmission in the hippocampus, and raises the possibility that RhoB may play a role in plasticity at hippocampal synapses during LTP.     

Role of Rho GTPase in astrocyte morphology and migratory response during in vitro wound healing

Small Rho GTPases are key regulators of the cytoskeleton in a great variety of cells. Rho function mediates morphological changes as well as locomotor activity. Using astrocyte cultures established from neonatal mice we investigated the role of Rho in process formation during astrocyte stellation. Using a scratch-wound model, we examined the impact of Rho on a variety of morphological and functional variables such as stellation and migratory activity during wound healing. C3 proteins are widely used to study cellular Rho functions. In addition, C3 derived from Clostridium botulinum (C3bot) is considered selectively to promote neuronal regeneration. Because the latter requires a balanced activity of neurones and glial cells, the effects of C3 protein on glial cells such as astrocytes have to be considered carefully. Low nanomolar concentrations of C3 proteins significantly promoted process outgrowth and increased process branching. Besides enzymatic inactivation of Rho by ADP-ribosylation, changes in protein levels of the various Rho GTPases may also contribute to the observed effects. Furthermore, incubation of scratch-wounded astrocyte cultures with C3bot accelerated wound healing. By inhibiting the Rho downstream effector ROCK with the selective inhibitor Y27632 we were able to demonstrate that the accelerated wound closure resulted from both enhanced polarized process formation and increased migratory activity of astrocytes into the lesion site. These results suggest that Rho negatively regulates astrocytic process growth and migratory responses after injury and that its inactivation by C3bot in nanomolar concentrations promotes astrocyte migration.     

Small GTPase Rab2B and Its Specific Binding Protein Golgi-associated Rab2B Interactor-like 4 (GARI-L4) Regulate Golgi Morphology

Rab small GTPases are crucial regulators of the membrane traffic that maintains organelle identity and morphology. Several Rab isoforms are present in the Golgi, and it has been suggested that they regulate the compacted morphology of the Golgi in mammalian cells. However, the functional relationships among the Golgi-resident Rabs, e.g. whether they are functionally redundant or different, are poorly understood. In this study, we used specific siRNAs to perform genome-wide screening for human Rabs that are involved in Golgi morphology in HeLa-S3 cells. The results showed that knockdown of any one of the six Rab isoforms (Rab1A/1B/2A/2B/6B/8A) induced fragmentation of the Golgi in HeLa-S3 cells and that its phenotype was rescued by re-expression of their respective siRNA-resistant construct. We then performed systematic knockdown-rescue experiments in relation to each of the six Rabs. Interestingly, with the exception of the Rab8A knockdown, the Golgi fragmentation phenotype induced by knockdown of a single Rab isoform, e.g. Rab2B, was efficiently rescued by re-expression of its siRNA-resistant Rab alone, not by any of the other five Rabs, e.g. Rab2A, which is highly homologous to Rab2B, indicating that these Rab isoforms non-redundantly regulate Golgi morphology possibly through interaction with isoform-specific effector molecules. In addition, we identified Golgi-associated Rab2B interactor-like 4 (GARI-L4) as a novel Golgi-resident Rab2B-specific binding protein whose knockdown also induced fragmentation of the Golgi. Our findings suggest that the compacted Golgi morphology of mammalian cells is finely tuned by multiple sets of Rab (or Rab-effector complexes) that for the most part function independently.     

Rho GTPase Recognition by C3 Exoenzyme Based on C3-RhoA Complex Structure

C3 exoenzyme is a mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase (ART) that catalyzes transfer of an ADP-ribose moiety from NAD⁺ to Rho GTPases. C3 has long been used to study the diverse regulatory functions of Rho GTPases. How C3 recognizes its substrate and how ADP-ribosylation proceeds are still poorly understood. Crystal structures of C3-RhoA complex reveal that C3 recognizes RhoA via the switch I, switch II, and interswitch regions. In C3-RhoA(GTP) and C3-RhoA(GDP), switch I and II adopt the GDP and GTP conformations, respectively, which explains why C3 can ADP-ribosylate both nucleotide forms. Based on structural information, we successfully changed Cdc42 to an active substrate with combined mutations in the C3-Rho GTPase interface. Moreover, the structure reflects the close relationship among Gln-183 in the QXE motif (C3), a modified Asn-41 residue (RhoA) and NC1 of NAD(H), which suggests that C3 is the prototype ART. These structures show directly for the first time that the ARTT loop is the key to target protein recognition, and they also serve to bridge the gaps among independent studies of Rho GTPases and C3.     

A novel nucleocytoplasmic traffic GTPase identified as a functional target of the bipartite geminivirus nuclear shuttle protein

In contrast to the accumulated data on nuclear transport mechanisms of macromolecules, little is known concerning the regulated release of nuclear-exported complexes and their subsequent trans-cytoplasmic movement. The bipartite begomovirus nuclear shuttle protein (NSP) facilitates the nuclear export of viral DNA and cooperates with the movement protein (MP) to transport viral DNA across the plant cell wall. Here, we identified a cellular NSP-interacting GTPase (NIG) with biochemical properties consistent with a nucleocytoplasmic transport role. We show that NIG is a cytosolic GTP-binding protein that accumulates around the nuclear envelope and possesses intrinsic GTPase activity. NIG interacts with NSP in vitro and in vivo (under transient expression), and redirects the viral protein from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. We propose that NIG acts as a positive contributor to geminivirus infection by modulating NSP nucleocytoplasmic shuttling and hence facilitating MP–NSP interaction in the cortical cytoplasm. In support of this, overexpression of NIG in Arabidopsis enhances susceptibility to geminivirus infection. In addition to highlighting the relevance of NIG as a cellular co-factor for NSP function, our findings also have implications for general nucleocytoplasmic trafficking of cellular macromolecules.