|
Advertisement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 282, Issue 6, 4162-4171, February 9, 2007
GABAB Receptor Association with the PDZ Scaffold Mupp1 Alters Receptor Stability and Function*From the Department of Pharmacology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322
Received for publication, August 11, 2006 , and in revised form, November 6, 2006.
-Aminobutyric acid, type B (GABAB) receptors are heterodimeric G protein-coupled receptors that mediate slow inhibitory synaptic transmission in the central nervous system. To identify novel interacting partners that might regulate GABAB receptor (GABABR) functionality, we screened the GABABR2 carboxyl terminus against a recently created proteomic array of 96 distinct PDZ (PSD-95/Dlg/ZO-1 homology) domains. The screen identified three specific PDZ domains that exhibit interactions with GABABR2: Mupp1 PDZ13, PAPIN PDZ1, and Erbin PDZ. Biochemical analysis confirmed that full-length Mupp1 and PAPIN interact with GABABR2 in cells. Disruption of the GABABR2 interaction with PDZ scaffolds by a point mutation to the carboxyl terminus of the receptor dramatically decreased receptor stability and attenuated the duration of GABAB receptor signaling. The effects of mutating the GABABR2 carboxyl terminus on receptor stability and signaling were mimicked by small interference RNA knockdown of endogenous Mupp1. These findings reveal that GABAB receptor stability and signaling can be modulated via GABABR2 interactions with the PDZ scaffold protein Mupp1, which may contribute to cell-specific regulation of GABAB receptors in the central nervous system.
GABAB 2 receptors are G protein-coupled receptors responsible for mediating slow inhibitory synaptic transmission by the neurotransmitter GABA (1). They belong to G protein-coupled receptor Family C and bear a high degree of homology to other family members such as the metabotropic glutamate receptors, calcium receptor, and vomeronasal receptors. GABAB receptors are believed to be heterodimeric combinations of two G protein-coupled receptors, GABABR1 and GABABR2 (2-4). Heterodimerization of GABABR1 and GABABR2 is necessary for the proper trafficking of GABABR1 to the cell surface (5, 6). In the context of the heterodimer, GABABR1 is thought to bind the ligand (7), whereas GABABR2 is believed to be the primary G protein contact site (8-11).
Given that GABAB receptors are important therapeutic targets for a wide variety of diseases, including depression, anxiety, epilepsy, and drug addiction (12, 13), understanding GABAB receptor signaling and regulation is of significant clinical interest. The cloning of the GABAB receptors has advanced the study of the GABAB receptors substantially over the past decade. However, some discrepancies between the properties of native GABAB receptors and heterologously expressed recombinant receptors still remain. For example, GABAB receptors in native tissue undergo robust endocytosis and desensitization (14), whereas recombinant GABABR1/GABABR2 expressed in most heterologous cells neither internalize nor desensitize (14, 15). One possible explanation for such discrepancies is that GABAB receptor signaling and trafficking properties are highly dependent on cellular context. This implies that interaction with differentially expressed cellular proteins might modulate GABAB receptor function. Indeed, we previously reported that association of GABAB receptors with the GABAA receptor
GABABR2 possesses a carboxyl-terminal motif (VSGL) that has the potential to interact with PDZ-domain containing scaffold proteins. PDZ (PSD-95/Discs-large/ZO-1) domains are 90-amino acid protein-protein interaction modules that recognize and bind to specialized motifs in the distal carboxyl termini of target proteins such as G protein-coupled receptors and ion channels (22). Multiple PDZ domains on the same PDZ protein can allow these proteins to act as scaffolds for the assembly of large protein complexes at the cell surface. In addition, PDZ proteins can play crucial roles in regulating the sorting, clustering, trafficking, signaling, and stability of proteins in multicellular organisms (23). More than 440 PDZ domains are predicted to exist in the human genome, of which more than a quarter are likely to be Class I PDZ domains based on the amino acid requirement for their binding partners. Class I PDZ proteins bind to the motif (S/T)X
In this study, we screened a proteomic array consisting of known or putative Class I PDZ domains to identify PDZ proteins that might interact with GABABR2. We identified three PDZ proteins that interact with the GABABR2 carboxyl terminus: Mupp1, Erbin, and PAPIN. We further studied the interactions of these proteins with GABABR2 in cells and examined the roles of these interactions in regulating GABAB receptor signaling, trafficking, and stability.
Construction of the PDZ Domain Proteomic ArrayPDZ protein cDNA constructs were kindly donated by a large number of colleagues (24, 25). These cDNAs were used as templates to amplify by means of PCR the regions encoding various PDZ domains, which were ultimately subcloned into pET30A for fusion protein expression. PDZ domains were expressed as His- and S-tagged fusion proteins by using the vector pET30A (Novagen) and purified using ProBond nickel resin (Invitrogen). PlasmidsEpitope-tagged (HA-, FLAG-, Myc-, and Histagged) versions of human GABABR1b and GABABR2 in the mammalian expression vector pcDNA3.1 were kindly provided by Fiona Marshall (GlaxoSmithKline). Myc-Mupp1 was kindly provided by Dr. Yoko Hamazaki (Kyoto University). GFPPAPIN was kindly provided by Dr. Yutaka Hata (Tokyo Medical and Dental University). Myc-Erbin was kindly provided by Dr. Amy Lee (Emory University). FLAG-GABABR2V938A, FLAG-GABABR2S939A, and FLAG-GABABR2L941A mutants were generated using a site-directed mutagenesis kit from Stratagene. Overlay AssaysTo assess the binding of receptor carboxyl-terminal GST fusion proteins to the PDZ domain array, the purified PDZ domain fusion proteins were spotted at 1 µg per bin onto Nytran SuperCharge 96-grid nylon membranes (Schleicher & Schuell). The membranes were allowed to dry overnight and then blocked in "blot buffer" (2% nonfat dry milk/0.1% Tween 20/50 mM NaCl/10 mM HEPES, pH 7.4) for 1 h at room temperature. GST-GABABR2 carboxyl terminus (CT) was prepared via PCR amplification of the region encoding the last 35 amino acids of rat GABABR2 and subcloned into the pGEX-4T1 vector (Amersham Biosciences) using EcoR1 and XhoI restriction enzymes. Overlays with GABABR2-CT fusion protein (100 nM in blot buffer) were then performed by using a previously described technique (24, 25). Fusion Protein Pull-down AssaysHexahistidine-tagged PDZ domain fusion proteins were grown in Escherichia coli and purified on ProBond nickel resin (Invitrogen). Aliquots of the fusion protein on beads were blocked for 30 min with 1 ml of a 3% "BSA buffer" (10 mM HEPES, 50 mM NaCl, 0.1% Tween 20, 3% BSA) at 4 °C. Solubilized lysates from transfected COS-7 cells were then incubated with the beads end-over-end at 4 °C for 2 h. Following three washes with 1 ml of BSA buffer, the proteins were eluted off of the beads with sample buffer, resolved via SDS-PAGE, and analyzed via Western blot using appropriate antibodies. Cell Culture and TransfectionAll tissue culture media and related reagents were purchased from Invitrogen. COS-7 and HEK-293 cells were maintained in complete medium (Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium plus 10% fetal bovine serum and 1% penicillin/streptomycin) in a 37 °C, 5% CO2 incubator. For heterologous expression of receptors, 2-4 µg of cDNA was mixed with 15 µl of Lipofectamine 2000 (Invitrogen) and added to 5 ml of serum-free medium in 10-cm tissue cultures plates containing cells at 80-90% confluency. Following overnight incubation, the medium was replaced with 12 ml of complete media, and the cells were harvested 24 h later.
Cerebellar Granule Neuron CulturePrimary cultures of cerebellar granule neurons were obtained from 7-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats. Isolated cerebella were stripped of meninges, minced by mild trituration with a Pasteur pipette, and treated with trypsin for 15 min at 37 °C. Granule cells were then dissociated by three successive trituration and sedimentation steps in DNase-containing Neurobasal media, centrifuged, and resuspended in Neurobasal medium containing 10% heatinactivated fetal bovine serum, B-27 serum-free supplement, 0.5 mM glutamine, 25 µM glutamic acid, and 25 mM KCl. The neurons were plated onto poly-D-lysine-coated culture slides (Fisher) at a density of
Immunoprecipitation, Surface Expression Assay, and Western BlottingCo-immunoprecipitation of full-length proteins from COS-7 cells was performed using appropriate primary antibodies and methods described previously (16). Monoclonal anti-FLAG M2 antibody resin (Sigma) was the primary antibody used to immunoprecipitate epitope-tagged proteins. Surface expression of GABAB receptors was verified using a luminometer-based surface expression assay as described previously (16). Purified proteins, cell extracts, and/or immunoprecipitated samples were separated by SDS-PAGE, blotted onto nitrocellulose, and detected with appropriate antibodies as described previously (16). AntibodiesThe primary antibodies utilized were M2 monoclonal anti-FLAG antibody (Sigma), horseradish peroxidase-coupled 12CA5 anti-HA antibody (Roche Applied Science), monoclonal anti-c-myc 9E10 antibody (Sigma), anti-GABABR1 antibody, anti-GABABR2 antibody (Chemicon), anti-Mupp1 antibody (Upstate%20Biotechnology">Upstate Biotechnology), and anti-GFP antibody (BD Biosciences). Double Immunofluorescence MicroscopyCerebellar granule neurons or transfected COS-7 cells were plated in culture slides, fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde, and permeabilized with buffer containing 2% bovine serum albumin and 1% Triton X-100 in phosphate-buffered saline for 30 min at room temperature. The cells were then incubated with anti-GABABR2 antibody (Chemicon) plus either monoclonal anti-Mupp1 (Upstate) or anti-c-myc 9E10 antibody (Sigma) for 1 h at room temperature. After three washes (5 min) with buffer, the cells were incubated with a Rhodamine Red-conjugated anti-mouse IgG and fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated anti-guinea pig IgG (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories) for 30 min at room temperature. After three washes (5 min) with buffer, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole was used to label the nucleus. After one wash with phosphate-buffered saline, coverslips were mounted, and Rhodamine Red-labeled Mupp1 and fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled GABABR2 were visualized with a Zeiss LSM-510 laser confocal microscope. Multiple control experiments, utilizing either transfected cells in the absence of primary antibody or untransfected cells in the presence of primary antibody, revealed a very low level of background staining, indicating that the primary antibody-dependent immunostaining observed in the cells was specific. Pulse-Chase AnalysisTransiently transfected COS-7 cells were split into 60-mm tissue culture plates. Approximately 40 h after transfection, the cells were washed with sterile phosphate-buffered saline and incubated for 30 min in methionine-free Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (BIOSOURCE). 60 µCi of Redivue L-[35S]methionine (Amersham Biosciences) was added to each plate and incubated for another 30 min. The radioactive media was removed; the cells were washed with sterile phosphate-buffered saline and then chased with Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 3 mM cold L-methionine (Sigma) for various time periods. Cells were harvested at 0-, 1-, 2-, 4-, 8-, 12-, 24-, and 48-h time points and frozen at -80 °C. The cells were solubilized, adjusted for protein concentration, and immunoprecipitated using anti-FLAG resin. The immunoprecipitates were run on an SDS-PAGE gel, dried, and exposed to a phosphor screen for 1 week. The autoradiographic images were obtained with a phosphorimaging device (Typhoon) and analyzed with ImageQuaNT and GraphPad prism software. Within each experiment, the values of GABABR2 expression at the zero time point were considered as 100%, and then other time point values were normalized as a percentage of this starting value. The averaged data were subjected to nonlinear regression curve fitting (one phase exponential decay) to determine the protein half-life values.
ERK Activation AssayTransfected HEK-293 cells were plated in 35-mm tissue culture plates at 80% confluency and serum starved overnight the day before the assay. The cells were stimulated with 200 µM baclofen for specified time periods, rinsed with ice-cold phosphate-buffered saline/Ca2+, and lysed in 80 µl of sample buffer. The cell lysates were run on SDS-PAGE gels and then analyzed via Western blotting with anti-phospho-p44/42 MAPK and anti-p44/42 MAPK antibodies (Cell Signaling). Calcium ImagingThe Ca2+-sensitive fluorophore fura-2AM (Molecular Probes) was used for ratiometric Ca2+ imaging in COS-7 cells. All fluorescence measurements were made from subconfluent areas of the dishes so that individual cells could be readily identified. After transfection in 100-mm plates, cells were split onto coverslips immersed in 0.5 ml of media in 24-well plates and grown for 1-2 days. Before imaging, coverslips were incubated at room temperature for 30 min in extracellular recording solution composed of 150 mM NaCl/10 mM Hepes/3 mM KCl/2 mM CaCl2/2 mM MgCl2/5.5 mM glucose, pH 7.3, 325 mosM. Extracellular recording solution was supplemented with pluronic acid (0.001%) and fura-2 AM (2 µM). Subsequently, coverslips were thoroughly rinsed with extracellular solution lacking fura-2AM and BSA and mounted onto the microscope stage for imaging. Intensity images of 510 nm emission wavelengths were taken at 340 and 380 nm excitation wavelengths, and the two resulting images were taken from individual cells for ratio calculations. Imaging work-bench 2.2.1 (Axon Instruments, Union City, CA) was used for acquisition of intensity images and conversion to ratios. Baclofen (100 µM) was dissolved in extracellular recording solution and applied by bath perfusion. Mupp1 siRNAA Mupp1 siRNA construct (identification no. 107246) was purchased from Ambion along with control siRNA. Approximately 6 h after transfection with appropriate plasmids, cells were transfected for 36-48 h with 100 nM of either Mupp1 siRNA or control siRNA using TransIT-Quest transfection reagent from Mirus.
Screening of a PDZ Proteomic Array with the GABABR2 Carboxyl Terminus and Elucidation of the Structural Determinants of GABABR2 Binding to PDZ ProteinsTo identify PDZ domain-containing proteins that might associate with the GABABR2 carboxyl terminus (GABABR2-CT), we first created a GST fusion protein corresponding to the last 35 amino acids of GABABR2, which possesses the putative PDZ binding motif VSGL. We next screened a previously reported (24, 25) proteomic array containing 96 distinct Class I PDZ domains for interactions with the GABABR2-CT-GST fusion protein. GABABR2-CT did not detectably associate with the vast majority of PDZ domains on the array but did specifically interact with three PDZ domains: Mupp1-PDZ13, PAPIN-PDZ1, and Erbin-PDZ (data not shown). The results from the proteomic array screens were confirmed via a second independent technique in pull-down experiments examining PDZ interactions with both wild-type full-length GABABR2 and various full-length GABABR2 carboxyl terminus mutants. The amino acids Val-938, Ser-939, and Leu-941 of the GABABR2 carboxyl-terminal motif (VSGL) were sequentially mutated to alanine. Lysates from COS-7 cells transfected with wild-type GABABR2 or one of the three GABABR2 mutants were separately incubated with the three PDZ domains (Mupp1-PDZ13, Erbin-PDZ, and Papin-PDZ1) expressed as hexahistidine-tagged fusion proteins and adsorbed to nickel resin. A robust association of all the three PDZ fusion proteins with the wild-type GABABR2 was observed (Fig. 1). Alanine mutations at the Ser-939 and Val-938 positions of the GABABR2 PDZ-binding motif partially inhibited GABABR2 binding with all the three PDZ proteins. Strikingly, mutation of the GABABR2 terminal leucine (Leu-941) to alanine strongly reduced the interaction with the PDZ proteins. These results confirm that full-length GABABR2 associates with PDZ domains from Mupp1, PAPIN, and Erbin and also elucidate key residues on GABABR2 that mediate the interaction with PDZ proteins.
Mupp1 and PAPIN, but Not Erbin, Associate with GABAB Receptors in CellsWe next examined whether GABABR2 can interact with full-length versions of the various PDZ proteins in a cellular environment. Myc-tagged Mupp1 was expressed alone or in the presence of either wild-type FLAG-tagged GABABR2 or FLAG-tagged GABABR2 L941A mutant in COS-7 cells (Fig. 2A). When FLAG-tagged GABABR2 was immunoprecipitated, robust co-immunoprecipitation of Mupp1 was observed from the cell lysates expressing wild-type GABABR2 and Mupp1. However, Mupp1 co-immunoprecipitation from cell lysates expressing the GABABR2 L941A mutant and Mupp1 was much weaker. Similarly, GFP-tagged PAPIN co-immunoprecipitated with GABABR2 from cells expressing GABABR2 or GABABR2/GABABR1 (Fig. 2B). We also expressed either Myc-tagged Erbin or Myc-tagged Erbin lacking the PDZ domain (Myc-Erbin PDZ) in the presence or absence of FLAG-tagged GABABR2 in COS-7 cells (Fig. 2C). However, immunoprecipitation of GABABR2 from these cell lysates did not yield any detectable co-immunoprecipitation of Erbin. These results demonstrate that full-length Mupp1 and PAPIN, but not Erbin, physically associate with GABAB receptors in transfected COS-7 cells. Mupp1 Co-localizes with GABABR2 in Neurons and Transfected CellsGABABR2, Mupp1, and PAPIN have been reported to exhibit overlapping distributions in various regions of the brain (26-28), but it is not known if these proteins are expressed in the same cells. Therefore, we examined the subcellular distributions of GABABR2 and Mupp1 in cultured cerebellar granule neurons (Fig. 3, A-C) and cortical neurons (data not shown) via immunohistochemistry using specific GABABR2 and Mupp1 primary antibodies and differentially tagged fluorescent secondary antibodies. We observed a significant overlap in the distribution patterns of GABABR2 and Mupp1 on the plasma membrane of the cell bodies and processes of these neurons, suggesting that these two proteins are present together in the same subcellular domains of the same cells. Comparable studies examining PAPIN were not possible due to the lack of a specific anti-PAPIN antibody. Next, we used fluorescence immunohistochemistry to study the subcellular distribution of GABABR2 and Mupp1 in transfected cells. COS-7 cells were transfected with either Myc-tagged Mupp1 alone or Myc-tagged Mupp1 plus FLAG-tagged GABABR2. Double immunofluorescence was performed with monoclonal anti-Myc and polyclonal anti-GABABR2 antibodies. In contrast to the prominent expression in the plasma membrane that was seen in neurons, Mupp1 expressed alone in COS-7 cells was distributed diffusely throughout the cytoplasm with little or no plasma membrane localization (Fig. 3, D-F). Interestingly, upon co-expression with GABABR2 in COS-7 cells, Mupp1 displayed a predominantly plasma membrane localization similar to its native subcellular distribution in neurons (Fig. 3, G-I). These findings suggest that association with GABABR2 can alter the subcellular distribution of Mupp1.
Mutation of the PDZ-binding Motif Decreases GABAB Receptor StabilityTransfection of the GABABR2 L941A mutant into COS-7 cells resulted in consistently low expression of this mutant compared with wild-type GABABR2 as assessed by Western blot (Fig. 4A). Additionally, quantification of the plasma membrane expression of GABAB receptors using a luminometer-based cell surface expression assay yielded evidence for a striking decrease in surface expression of the L941A mutant relative to wild-type GABABR2 (Fig. 4B). Thus, we postulated that the stability of GABABR2 might be affected by the L941A mutation that disrupts the PDZ-binding motif. To test this hypothesis, we compared the halflives of wild-type GABABR2 and the GABABR2 L941A mutant using pulse-chase metabolic labeling. COS-7 cells were transfected with GABABR2 alone, GABABR1 plus GABABR2, or GABABR1 plus the GABABR2 L941A mutant. The cells were then metabolically labeled with L-[35S]methionine and chased with cold methionine for various periods of time (Fig. 4C). The half-life of wild-type GABABR2 alone measured by this method was found to be 6 h, whereas the half-life of wild-type GABABR2 co-expressed with GABABR1 was found to be significantly increased to 13.2 h. Interestingly, the half-life of the GABABR2 L941A mutant co-expressed with GABABR1 was only 5.2 h (Fig. 4D). These results indicate that disruption of the interaction between GABAB receptors and PDZ scaffold proteins decreases the stability of the receptors.
Mutation of the GABABR2 PDZ-binding Motif Alters GABAB Receptor SignalingWe next addressed the role of PDZ interactions on the functional activity of GABAB receptors. We have previously shown that GABAB receptors are capable of activating the ERK
Thus, we next performed studies utilizing real-time calcium imaging and chimeric Gqi5 G proteins to allow for much greater temporal resolution. Gqi5 is a chimeric G protein in which the last five amino acids of G q have been replaced with the last five amino acids of G i (29). This chimeric G protein can link G i-coupled receptors such as GABAB receptors to G q-activated intracellular Ca2+ mobilization, which can then be visualized using Ca2+-sensitive dyes such as Fura-2. Application of the GABAB receptor agonist baclofen (100 µM) to a field of cells transfected with wild-type GABAB receptors plus Gqi5 or PDZ mutant GABAB receptors plus Gqi5 resulted in transient increases in intracellular Ca2+ (Fig. 6, A and B). The mean ± S.E. 340/380 evoked by baclofen in wild-type GABAB receptors was 0.31 ± 0.01 as compared with 0.30 ± 0.01 for PDZ mutant GABAB receptors. However, while the magnitude of the response amplitudes was similar between the wild-type versus mutant receptors, the duration of the responses initiated by PDZ mutant GABAB receptors was much shorter than those initiated by wild-type receptors. Quantification of the decay of the amplitudes of the Ca2+ responses as a function of time after the onset of peak amplitude (Fig. 6C) revealed that the responses of the PDZ mutant GABAB receptors decayed much faster (18.2 ± 0.6 s) than the responses of the wild-type GABAB receptors (27.8 ± 0.7 s) (p < 0.0001). These data demonstrate that interaction with PDZ scaffolds influences the kinetics of GABAB receptor signaling. Association with Mupp1 Alters GABAB Receptor Function and StabilityWestern blots with the specific anti-Mupp1 antibody revealed that COS-7 cells express a significant level of endogenous Mupp1. To determine whether the association of endogenous Mupp1 and GABAB receptors alters receptor function, we performed Ca2+ signaling experiments examining GABABR1/GABABR2 signaling in COS-7 cells in the absence and presence of Mupp1 siRNA knockdown. We first verified the ability of our Mupp1 siRNA to knock down endogenous Mupp1. As shown in Fig. 7A, cells transfected with Mupp1 siRNA exhibited a nearly complete loss of detectable Mupp1 expression, whereas cells receiving the control siRNA exhibited Mupp1 expression equivalent to untransfected cells. To determine if the expression levels of transfected GABAB receptors in these studies were comparable to endogenous levels of GABAB receptor expression in CNS neurons, lysates were prepared from both mouse brain and the COS-7 cells transfected with GABABR1 and GABABR2. Equal amounts of protein were loaded on SDS-PAGE gels and analyzed via immunoblotting. These Western blotting analyses revealed that the expression levels of GABABR2 obtained by transient transfection of COS-7 cells were similar to the expression levels of endogenous GABABR2 in native brain tissue (Fig. 7B).
After analyzing the expression levels of the GABAB receptors and endogenous Mupp1, we proceeded to assess GABAB receptor signaling through Gqi5 in the presence versus absence of Mupp1 protein expression. Upon baclofen stimulation of COS-7 cells transfected with GABAB receptors and Gqi5, response amplitudes were unchanged by siRNA treatments (data not shown). However, the duration of Ca2+ responses in cells transfected with Mupp1 siRNA was much shorter (12.9 ± 0.9 s) compared with either cells transfected with control siRNA (17.7 ± 1.8 s) or cells receiving no siRNA (19.3 ± 0.1 s) (Fig. 7C). These findings, taken together with the results from the experiments shown in Fig. 6, suggest that interaction with the PDZ scaffold protein Mupp1 enhances GABAB receptor signaling. Finally, we also examined the half-life of GABAB receptors in the presence and absence of Mupp1 protein expression. COS-7 cells transfected with GABABR1 plus GABABR2 were treated with either control siRNA or Mupp1 siRNA for
We utilized a proteomic screen to identify three PDZ scaffold proteins, Mupp1, Erbin, and PAPIN, as novel GABABR2-interacting partners. These interactions were confirmed via fusion protein pull-down assays. Further characterization of cellular interactions between GABAB receptors and the three PDZ proteins via co-immunoprecipitation studies revealed that only Mupp1 and PAPIN physically associate with GABABR2 in cells. Moreover, Mupp1 was found to co-localize with GABABR2 on the plasma membrane of cerebellar granule neurons and to undergo a translocation from the cytoplasm of COS-7 cells to the plasma membrane upon co-transfection with GABABR2. These data suggest that Mupp1 is a specific binding partner of GABABR2, because out of 96 PDZ domains we found only three that bind well to GABABR2, only two that associate with full-length GABABR2 in cells, and only one (Mupp1) for which we could find evidence of regulation of GABAB receptor signaling and stability.
Our metabolic labeling and pulse-chase studies revealed that disruption of the interaction between GABAB receptors and PDZ proteins markedly decreases GABAB receptor stability. An identical decrease in stability was also produced by knockdown of endogenous Mupp1. Interestingly, PDZ interactions have been shown to enhance the stability of various other target proteins. For example, disruption of the PDZ-interacting motif of aquaporin-4 increases the rate of aquaporin-4 degradation (30). Similarly, phosphatase and tensin homolog mutants deficient in PDZ binding have been reported to have reduced stability (31, 32), and PDZ proteins of the syntrophin family have been shown to enhance the stability of both Our studies on GABAB receptor signaling utilizing the chimeric G protein Gqi5 revealed that disruption of GABABR2-PDZ interactions significantly decreased the duration of GABAB receptor-induced responses. Similarly, we found that siRNA knockdown of endogenous Mupp1 markedly decreased the duration of GABAB receptor-mediated signaling. These results provide evidence that association with Mupp1 enhances GABAB receptor signaling, either through direct effects on G protein coupling or through alterations in receptor associations with other proteins. Thus, interactions with Mupp1 may result in a cell type-specific fine-tuning of GABAB receptor signaling, with implications for various physiological phenomena in which GABAB receptors are known to play important roles, including long term depression, epilepsy, neurotransmitter release, and neuroprotection (1, 36). In addition to modifying receptor signaling and stability, Mupp1 interactions with GABAB receptors might have other important physiological effects. For example, Mupp1 has been previously reported to interact with the serotonin 5-HT2C receptor (37, 38). Mupp1 interacts with GABAB receptors and 5-HT2C receptors via different PDZ domains, the 13th and 10th PDZ domains, respectively. Because GABAB receptors, 5-HT2C receptors, and Mupp1 exhibit overlapping distribution in the brain (28, 39), it is possible that Mupp1 might physically link GABAB and 5-HT2C receptors together. Such interactions may serve to facilitate well known examples of cross-talk between GABAB and serotonin receptors (40-42). Interestingly, the Mupp1 interaction with the 5-HT2C receptor is known to be regulated by agonist-mediated receptor phosphorylation (43). Similar regulation of the Mupp1-GABAB receptor interaction by agonist-promoted phosphorylation is possible and could further add to the complexity of GABAB receptor regulation. The GABAB receptor agonist baclofen has been shown to be effective in reducing cravings for several addictive substances, including alcohol, by blocking the development of tolerance (44). Preliminary and preclinical evidence also suggests that baclofen ameliorates various aspects of alcohol addiction by reducing alcohol intake, reducing craving, and suppressing withdrawal symptoms (45-47). In this context, it is interesting to note that the Mupp1 gene has recently been identified as a quantitative trait gene in the loci characterized for alcohol and barbiturate dependence and withdrawal: specifically, lowered Mupp1 expression is genetically correlated with greater withdrawal susceptibility (48, 49). Thus, our finding that Mupp1, a protein linked in genetic studies to the development of drug and alcohol dependence, physically associates with GABAB receptors, which are therapeutic targets for drug and alcohol addiction, represents an intriguing coincidence that may be worthy of future investigation. Additionally, it would be of interest to examine the role of Mupp1 in GABAB receptor regulation of various cellular processes for which no connection to GABAB receptors has previously been considered. Mupp1 has been reported to interact with a variety of disparate signaling proteins, including c-Kit (50), the tandem PH-domain-containing protein-1 TAPP1 (51), the proteoglycan NG2 (52), the tight junction protein claudin-8 (53, 54), the calcium/calmodulindependent protein kinase II (55), and other partners and, therefore, could potentially link GABAB receptors to novel signaling cascades. Therapeutics acting on GABAB receptors are currently in development for the treatment of conditions such as epilepsy, drug addiction, drug withdrawal, depression, anxiety, and pain (12, 13). A thorough understanding of the factors that regulate GABAB receptor signaling is vital to the eventual creation of such therapeutics. We have found in the studies reported here that GABAB receptor functionality is modulated by interactions with the PDZ scaffold protein Mupp1. These findings provide insight into the mechanisms by which GABAB receptor activity may be modulated in a cell-specific fashion and present a novel therapeutic target if small molecules can be developed to specifically disrupt receptor-PDZ interactions (56).
* This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant NS45644 (to R. A. H.), a Distinguished Young Scholar in Medical Research award from the W. M. Keck Foundation (to R. A. H.), an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship (to S. B.), and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship (to S. R. F.). The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. 1 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Dept. of Pharmacology, Emory University School of Medicine, 5113 Rollins Research Center, 1510 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, GA 30322. Tel.: 404-727-3699; Fax: 404-727-0365; E-mail: rhall{at}pharm.emory.edu.
2 The abbreviations used are: GABAB,
We thank Amanda Castleberry, Heide Oller, Hiroyuki Inuzuka, Erin Garcia, Irina Calin-Jagerman, and Anthony Lau for helpful technical assistance and advice. We also thank Steve Traynelis and Yue Feng for the use of their instruments and for advice.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Advertisement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||