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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 283, Issue 19, 12736-12746, May 9, 2008
Identification of a Conserved Rac-binding Site on NADPH Oxidases Supports a Direct GTPase Regulatory Mechanism*
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| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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The NADPH oxidase of phagocytic leukocytes, Nox2, is the best characterized oxidase system in terms of regulation, and serves as a prototype for understanding the control of the nonphagocyte Noxs. The redox center of the system is a heterodimeric flavocytochrome b558 composed of two integral membrane proteins, Nox2 (also known as gp91phox) and p22phox. The transfer of electrons from cytosolic NADPH to molecular oxygen to form superoxide anion is catalyzed by this Nox2/p22phox complex (1, 2). Assembly of the system and activation of electron transfer is controlled, however, by the action of cytosolic regulatory subunits, including p40phox, p47phox, p67phox, and Rac2 GTPase in human leukocytes (1, 2). Indeed, genetic deficiency in humans of Nox2 or any one of the regulatory oxidase components results in chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), a disorder of innate immunity characterized by severe, recurrent bacterial and fungal infections (6, 7).
The molecular events associated with NADPH oxidase assembly and activation have been partially established (reviewed in Refs. 8, 9); p40phox and p47phox are adapters containing protein-protein interaction PXXP and Src homology 3 motifs, as well as lipid/membrane-binding phox motifs. Although critical for the membrane assembly of the NADPH oxidase in response to cellular stimuli (10), these adapter proteins are not absolutely required for intrinsic activity of the in vitro system (11, 12). In contrast, p67phox and Rac GTPase are absolutely required for Nox2 activity. p67phox contains an "activation domain" that is necessary to stimulate electron transfer by Nox2 (13). In addition, p67phox contains a series of tetratricopeptide repeats that mediate its interaction with Rac GTPases (14, 15). Rac GTPase (Rac2 in human neutrophils (16, 17); Rac1 in human monocytes (18)) is required for activity of Nox2 in vivo, as evidenced by the lack of stimulated NADPH oxidase activity in the Rac2 knock-out mouse (19). In adherent leukocytes, Rac2 appears to act as the critical "molecular switch" for activating the NADPH oxidase (20). Although it has been proposed that Rac GTPases solely act to position the activation domain of p67phox on cytochrome b558 for regulation of electron transfer, there is also significant evidence that Rac itself interacts directly with the cytochrome b558 to catalyze the initial electron transfer step from NADPH to Nox2-bound FAD (reviewed in Ref. 21). In prior studies we provided evidence, using changes in the fluorescence of Rac2-N-methylanthraniloyl-GppNHp, for a direct interaction of Rac2 with partially purified cytochrome b558 (22), and we showed that GST-Rac1 or -Rac2 specifically bound cytochrome b558 from neutrophil membrane extracts (23). However, whether there is a direct regulatory interaction of Rac GTPase with Nox2 remains controversial (21, 24).
Similar to the phagocyte Nox2 system, recent evidence also indicates that the closely homologous Nox1 and Nox3 oxidases of nonphagocytic cells also require Rac GTPases for optimal activity (24–27). However, regulation by Rac GTPase does not appear to be required for the function of Nox4, Nox5, or the Duox family members (28–30). Studies to date have implicated the interaction of Rac1 with the NoxA1 regulatory component (the p67phox-homolog) as the means by which Nox function is regulated by Rac1 GTPase. However, the possible interaction of Rac1 directly with Nox1 or Nox3 has not been determined.
Here we use deletion analysis, site-directed mutagenesis, and in vitro/in vivo activity assays to identify a Rac-binding regulatory site on Nox2. This site is conserved on the Rac-dependent NADPH oxidases 1 and 3 but not on other Nox family members known to be insensitive to Rac GTPases. Peptides derived from the putative Rac interaction domain, as well as point mutations within the Rac binding region in the Nox proteins, disrupt Rac binding and Rac-dependent Nox2 and Nox1 activity in intact cell systems. Our results support a paradigm in which Rac GTPase directly interacts with Nox proteins to regulate ROS formation.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
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S were from Roche Applied Science. Endofree plasmid maxi kit was purchased from Qiagen. Geneticin, isopropyl 1-thio-β-D-galactopyranoside, and molecular weight markers for SDS-PAGE were from Invitrogen. Nitrocellulose sheets for Western blotting were purchased from Amersham Biosciences. Green fluorescent protein antibody (A-11122) was purchased from Molecular Probes. Rabbit polyclonal anti-p67phox antibody (number 3958) was kindly provided by Dr. Sergio Catz (The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla). Rac2 (R786), p47phox (R039), and Myc antibodies were generated in-house (31, 32). Rac1 monoclonal antibody (number 23A8) was from Upstate. A polyclonal antibody specific for Nox1 was a gift from Dr. David Lambeth (Emory University). Monoclonal antibodies 7D5, 44.1, and 54.1, specific for Nox2/gp91phox, were kindly provided by Dr. Mark Quinn (Montana State University). All Nox2 peptides and TAT epitope (YGRKKRRQRRR) peptides (33) were synthesized, purified, and sequence confirmed by the TSRI Peptide Core facility.
Expression and Purification of Recombinant Proteins—The recombinant cytosolic domain of Nox2/gp91phox (aa 290–570) and truncations thereof were expressed and purified as a GST fusion protein in Escherichia coli using standard isolation protocols. Rac2 proteins were also expressed and purified as GST fusion proteins in E. coli, but the GST tag was cleaved with thrombin prior to use in in vitro binding assays, per the manufacturer's directions. Purified Rac2 proteins were quantified by the binding of [35S]GTP
S and preloaded with guanine nucleotides as described previously (34, 35).
Circular Dichroism and Fluorescence Spectroscopy—For spectral analysis of the GST-gp91phox fusion constructs, the isolated proteins (in PBS) were centrifuged at 15,000 x g for 30 min at 4 °C, and the resulting protein concentrations were determined by absorption spectroscopy (
280 based on the primary sequence using ProtParam). Far-UV CD measurements were collected at room temperature on a Jasco-J710 spectropolarimeter in 1-mm quartz cuvettes using protein concentrations from 50 to 120 µg/ml and the following instrument parameters: wavelength, 240–200 nm; bandwidth, 1 nm; scan rate, 50 nm/min; response time, 0.25 s; five acquisitions. The resulting CD spectra were smoothed and subtracted from buffer alone, and data were processed with software provided by the manufacturer. The secondary structure content of GST alone (in the absence of the C-terminal linker region that is encoded in the recombinant protein) was obtained on line using the Protein Data Bank file 1UA5. Fluorescence spectroscopy was conducted using a Quanta-Master QM-1 fluorometer from Photon Technologies at room temperature with the excitation monochromator set at 295 nm and intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence monitored from 305 to 400 nm. For fluorescence measurements, isolated proteins were diluted to 500 nM final in PBS or PBS, 3 M guanidine hydrochloride and incubated for at least 15 min at room temperature prior to analysis.
Pulldown Assays—2 µg of Rac2 protein (preloaded with either GTP
S or GDP) was incubated with 2 µg of GST-cytosolic domain of gp91phox (Nox2) or an equivalent amount of GST protein and 30 µl of glutathione-Sepharose beads in 0.5 ml of binding buffer (25 mM Tris, pH 7.4, 50 mM NaCl, 5 mM MgCl2, and protease inhibitor mixture) for 2 h with constant inversion at 4 °C. The complexes bound on the glutathione-Sepharose beads were washed with 1 ml of wash buffer (25 mM Tris, pH 7.4, 50 mM NaCl, 5 mM MgCl2, and 1% Nonidet P-40) three times and then eluted with 30 µl of Laemmli sample buffer prior to 12% SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis using polyclonal Rac2 (R786) antibody at 1:1,000 dilution (23). A similar protocol was followed with p47phox or p67phox.
Cell Culture, Transient Transfection, and Western Blot–COS-p22 cells (a COS-7 cell line that stably expresses the phagocytic NADPH oxidase component p22phox (36)) were maintained in low glucose Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium with 10% fetal bovine serum, 100 units/ml penicillin, and 100 µg/ml streptomycin. For transfection, the cells were plated in 10-cm plates (Falcon) at 1.2 x 106 cells/ml on the day before transfection. Lipofectamine Plus (Invitrogen) was used to transfect 6 µg of the desired cDNA following the manufacturer's instructions. 21–24 h after transfection, the cells were harvested by trypsinization and lysed in RIPA buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4, 150 mM NaCl, 1%, Nonidet P-40, 0.25% sodium deoxycholate, 1 mM EDTA) with protease inhibitor mixture (Sigma). Proteins (30 µg) were resolved by 12% SDS-PAGE and transferred to nitrocellulose membranes using the semi-dry electrophoretic transfer cell (Bio-Rad) at 8 V for 2 h. Following blocking with 3% bovine serum albumin, blots were probed using specific antibodies at the indicated dilutions (anti-p47phox antibody at 1:10,000; anti-p67phox antibody at 1:5,000; anti-Rac1 antibody at 1:1,000).
HEK293 cells were maintained in high glucose Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium with 10% fetal bovine serum, 100 units/ml penicillin, and 100 µg/ml streptomycin. For transfection, the 293 cells were plated in 6-well plates (Falcon) at appropriate density, grown overnight, and then transfected by using Lipofectamine 2000 following the manufacturer's instructions. 24 h after transfection, cells were washed twice in ice-cold PBS and then lysed in RIPA buffer with protease inhibitor mixture (Sigma). Proteins (20 µg) were resolved by 10% SDS-PAGE and transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride membrane using the semi-dry electrophoretic transfer cell (Bio-Rad) at 15 V for 1 h. Following blocking with nonfat dry milk (5%), blots were probed using specific antibodies at appropriate dilutions. Proteins were detected using standard Western blotting and visualized by ECL. The blots were stripped and re-probed as necessary.
Site-directed Mutagenesis of Nox2 and Nox1 Proteins—All mutations in Nox2 and Nox1 were created using the QuikChange site-directed mutagenesis kit (Stratagene) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The sequences of all constructs were confirmed by DNA sequencing.
Detection of Nox Protein Expression—5 x 106 of COS-p22 cells were incubated with 1 µg of monoclonal antibody 7D5 (37, 38) or control monoclonal antibody 54.1 that recognizes the cytosolic domain of Nox2/gp91phox (39). After washing with HBSS three times, the cells were incubated with Alexa Fluor® 488 goat anti-mouse IgG (H+L) (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR), and then flow cytometric analysis (FACSCalibur, BD Biosciences) was performed to detect cell surface protein expression. The expression of Nox2 and Nox1 proteins was also verified by Western blot using monoclonal antibody 54.1 for Nox2 detection (1:500 dilution) and Nox1-specific polyclonal antibody for Nox1 detection (1:2,000 dilution).
Cell-free Assay for Measurement of Electron Transfer—Human neutrophil membrane fractions (GSP) and neutrophil cytosolic fractions (GSS) were prepared as described (40). The cytochrome c reduction assay was as described previously (22) For determination of the rate of FAD reduction, 10 µg of purified neutrophil membrane and 100 µg of purified neutrophil cytosol were used for each reaction, as in Ref. 22. Iodonitrotetrazolium violet (INT) (100 µM, final), GTP
S (10 µM, final), FAD (10 µM, final), and SDS (90 µM, final) were then added to each reaction (22). Control wells also contained diphenyliodonium (2 µM, final). After the reaction mixture was incubated for 5 min at 25 °C, the reaction was initiated by the addition of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, the reduced form of NADPH (400 µM, final). The rate and extent of INT reduction was monitored for 8 min at 490 nm using a Versamax microplate reader (Molecular Devices). Initial rates were used to calculate Vmax values using Softmax Pro software (Molecular Devices).
Whole Cell Assay for Superoxide Production—Neutrophils were isolated from healthy human venous blood as in Ref. 41. 4 x 106 neutrophils were incubated with 100 µM cytochrome c in 200 µl of KRGH buffer (25 mM Hepes, pH 7.4, 1.2 mM KH2PO4, 118 mM NaCl, 4.7 mM KCl, 1 mM MgSO4, 1mM CaCl2, 5.5 mM dextrose) for 5 min at 37 °C. Superoxide production was induced with fMet-Leu-Phe (5 x 10–6 M) or PMA (2 µg/ml). For experiments using TAT peptides, the neutrophils were preincubated with the indicated concentration of each TAT peptide for 15 min at 37 °C prior to assay.
For COS-p22 cells, 2.5 x 105 cells were incubated with 50 µg/ml horseradish peroxidase and 72 µM luminol in 250 µl of HBSS buffer with calcium and magnesium (Invitrogen). The production of reactive oxygen species was monitored by chemiluminescence (42) upon the injection of PMA to the final concentration of 0.26 µg/ml (see below). For HEK293 cells, 2 x 105 cells in HBSS with calcium and magnesium were mixed with 250 µM luminol plus 1 unit of horseradish peroxidase in a 200-µl total volume in each well. Luminescence was quantified 30 min after the addition of the mixture by using a 96-well plate luminometer (Microplate LB 96V, Berthold), recording data every minute for 1 h.
| RESULTS |
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To narrow down the region involved in the binding of Rac GTPase to the cytoplasmic domain of Nox2, we generated a series of deletion constructs in which increasingly larger N-terminal portions of the cytoplasmic domain were removed (see Fig. 1A). Using these purified fusion protein constructs in pulldown assays, we observed that Rac2 binding was maintained until the loss of the segment spanning aa 408–450, whereupon Rac binding was lost (Fig. 1B). To provide a more detailed characterization of the GST-gp91phox fusion constructs used in this study, the isolated proteins were examined by both CD and fluorescence spectroscopy. Characterization of the serially truncated GST-gp91phox constructs used in Fig. 1B demonstrated far-UV CD spectra (see Fig. 4D) that were qualitatively similar, and intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence spectra that demonstrated a similar red-shift from
337 nm in phosphate-buffered saline to
348 nm in the presence of 3 M guanidine hydrochloride (data not shown). These spectral data support the hypothesis that loss of Rac binding was thus not simply because of structural changes in the cytoplasmic domain constructs, as there was no evidence for extensive protein unfolding as the C-terminal tail was sequentially deleted (43, 44). These data thus suggest that the aa 408–450 region is critical for the interaction of Nox2 with Rac2.
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To do so, we generated a series of 12-amino acid peptides that sequentially overlapped throughout aa 408–450, and we tested these for their ability to antagonize Rac2-dependent NADPH oxidase activity. As shown in Table 1, Peptide 3 (aa 419–430) was the only peptide that significantly inhibited cell-free NADPH oxidase activity when tested at a concentration of 400 µM. Over a concentration range from 0 to 400 µM, Peptide 3 produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of cell-free NADPH oxidase activity measured by cytochrome c reduction, up to a maximum inhibition of
75%, with an approximate Ki of 80 µM (data not shown). In contrast, neither Peptide 1, Peptide 4, nor a reverse-sequence Peptide 3 had a comparable inhibitory effect. Similar results are shown in Fig. 2A using the INT assay to measure the initial electron transfer step from NADPH to Nox2-bound FAD in the cell-free assay, which we have previously verified to be a Rac-dependent reaction (22). Thus, Peptide 3, encompassing the putative Rac-interaction domain on the Nox2 cytoplasmic tail, inhibits the initial Rac-dependent electron transfer step in NADPH oxidase activation, the transfer of electrons from NADPH to Nox2-bound FAD. In contrast, a peptide derived from the adjacent region on the Nox2 cytoplasmic tail, Peptide 4 (see Table 1), had no inhibitory effect at the concentrations examined. We had difficulty maintaining the solubility of a reversed sequence (or scrambled sequence) Peptide 3 in this assay, thus precluding a precise determination of soluble peptide concentration, but the level of inhibition observed appeared to be substantially less than with wild type Peptide 3 (not shown).
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50% inhibitory concentration of Peptide 3 (Km = 17 µM with peptide versus 22 µM without peptide, n = 2). Increasing the Peptide 3 concentration had no additional effect. These data indicate that Peptide 3 does not interfere with the binding of NADPH to Nox2. Finally, to verify that Peptide 3 selectively antagonized Rac binding to Nox2, we examined the effect of various peptides on Rac2 binding to the Nox2 cytoplasmic tail fusion protein. As shown in Fig. 2C, Peptide 3 was effective at inhibiting the binding of Rac2 to the cytoplasmic tail of Nox2. In contrast, other peptides, including the adjacent Peptide 4 (see Fig. 2C), did not inhibit Rac2 binding. Additionally, the effect of Peptide 3 was selective, as it had no effect on the binding of p67phox or p47phox to the Nox2 cytoplasmic tail in vitro (Fig. 2C). Taken together, these results demonstrate the selective antagonism of Nox2 Rac-dependent activity by Peptide 3, encompassing aa 419–430 of the cytoplasmic tail of Nox2, through its ability to antagonize Rac2 binding.
Point Mutations in the Rac Binding Domain of Nox2 Disrupt NADPH Oxidase Activity—In addition to Nox2, a number of other Nox proteins have been shown to require Rac GTPase for full activity, including Nox1 and Nox3 (24). At least a portion of the effect of Rac GTPases on Nox 1–3 function appears to be due to interactions with p67/NoxA1 regulatory components via their tetratricopeptide domains (26). In contrast, the activity of Nox4, Nox5, and the Duox proteins has been reported to be independent of Rac GTPase.
We aligned the sequences of Nox family oxidases surrounding the putative Rac binding region (aa 419–430 of Nox2; Nox2 numbering used throughout) that we had identified. The surrounding (predicted) NADPH-binding motifs (aa 403– 417 and 441– 450) were highly conserved between the Nox1–5 proteins, as well as in Duox1/2 (Fig. 3A). In addition, we noted that there was significant conservation of homology within the aa 419–430 region of Nox1–3 and Duox1/2 but that there were substantial differences in Nox4 and Nox5 in this region. Indeed, Nox5 contained a large peptide insertion just after the amino acid residue equivalent to Nox2 Tyr-425 (Fig. 3A, indicated by arrowhead). To examine the contribution to Rac-dependent NADPH oxidase activity of individual amino acid residues in this domain that were conserved in the Rac-dependent Nox1–3 oxidases, but that differed in Nox4 and 5, we generated individual point mutations in the putative Rac binding region of full-length Nox2, as indicated by the stars in Fig. 3A.
These Nox2 mutants were transiently expressed, along with p47phox and p67phox, in COS-7 cells stably expressing the p22phox Nox2-associated membrane subunit (COS-p22 cells (36)). As shown in supplemental Fig. S1, these Nox2 mutant constructs were expressed as full-length post-translationally modified proteins and were present at the cell surface in substantial and essentially equal amounts. Additionally, the expression of the Nox2 mutants had no effect on the expression levels of p47phox, p67phox, p22phox, or Rac1 in these cells (supplement Fig. S1B). We therefore examined NADPH oxidase activity stimulated by PMA in cells expressing wild type versus mutant Nox2 proteins at similar levels. As shown in Fig. 3, B–F, the mutations exhibited various levels of activity, ranging from about 100% of wild type Nox2 (N429A and N430A), to partial loss of activity (W424A and K426E), to almost total loss of activity (K421A/K421E, Y425A). Mutation to either an Ala or a Glu residue caused similar losses of activity, except for aa Lys-426, where mutation to Glu caused substantial loss of activity but mutation to Ala did not.
We noted that the mutations causing substantial loss of Nox2 activity were grouped within aa 421–426 (aa Lys-421, Trp-424, Tyr-425, and Lys-426). Significantly, these amino acids were not conserved in Nox4, and Nox5 had a 15-amino acid insertion just after Tyr-425 (Fig. 3A). A full-length Nox2 protein with the double K421A/Y425A mutation exhibited total loss of NADPH oxidase activity in response to stimulation with either PMA (Fig. 4A) or co-transfection with active RacQ61L (Fig. 4B). This was not because of differences in expression of the Nox2 mutant protein at the cell surface nor to changes in other NADPH oxidase regulatory components (supplemental Fig. S2). We attempted to evaluate the translocation of endogenous Rac1 versus p47phox and p67phox to the plasma membrane in PMA-stimulated COS-p22 cells expressing the Nox2 Rac-binding site mutations, but we were technically unable to observe quantitatively consistent translocation.
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337 nm in phosphate-buffered saline to
348 nm in the presence of 3 M guanidine hydrochloride (data not shown). These data indicate that both constructs contain a similar population of buried Trp residues that become solvent-exposed upon protein denaturation (44). Mutations in the Conserved Rac Binding Domain of Nox1 Cause Loss of Rac1-dependent Nox1 Activity–As noted above, the activity of Nox1–3 have all been shown to be regulated by Rac GTPase, whereas Nox4 and Nox5 are not. The conservation of the Rac binding domain we identified on Nox2 in the Nox1 and Nox3 family members suggests that Rac may also directly regulate the activity of these Nox enzymes. To test this, we mutated the conserved residues K421A/Y425A/K426A in Nox1, and we expressed the triple mutant protein in HEK293 cells to assess the ability of active Rac1 to stimulate Nox1-dependent ROS formation. As shown in Fig. 5A, in the presence of NoxO1 (or p41) and NoxA1 (or p51) regulatory components, active Rac1Q61L stimulated formation of superoxide anion. Nox1 activity was completely inhibited in the presence of 2–10 µM diphenyliodonium (not shown). In contrast, when the Nox1 triple mutant was substituted for the wild type protein and was expressed at similar levels, it did not support the generation of ROS. This was not because of effects on the expression levels of any of the regulatory components or Rac1Q61L itself (Fig. 5), nor was activity restored by increasing the expression of NoxO1, NoxA1, or Rac1Q61L (not shown).
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Because prior studies have established that at least part of the ability of Rac GTPase to regulate Nox1 activity is because of its interaction with the conserved tetratricopeptide domain of NoxA1, we examined the effect of a non-Rac1-binding NoxA1 on Nox1 activity stimulated by Rac1Q61L (Fig. 5C). The presence of a NoxA1 R103E mutation that prevents the interaction of NoxA1 with Rac GTPase (15) also dramatically decreased Nox1 activity. These results indicate that the ability of Rac GTPase to interact with Nox1 directly, as well as with the regulatory cofactor NoxA1 is required for full NADPH oxidase activity. Overall, our data are consistent with an NADPH oxidase regulatory mechanism involving the direct interaction of Rac GTPase with Nox subunits, as proposed previously (21, 22).
Peptides Derived from the Rac Binding Region Inhibit Intact Neutrophil NADPH Oxidase Activity—To test the requirement for the putative Nox2 Rac interaction site for ROS production in intact neutrophils, we generated a cell-permeant TAT peptide that encompassed the Rac binding domain, aa 419–430 (equivalent to Peptide 3 of Table 1). This peptide exhibited a concentration-dependent inhibition of ROS formation stimulated by the chemoattractant fMLP (Fig. 6A) or by the phorbol ester PMA (Fig. 6B). In contrast, a scrambled sequence Peptide 3 was inactive. Both fMLP and PMA are known to activate Nox2 through Rac2-dependent mechanisms in human neutrophils (34). These data demonstrate that the Rac interaction site we have identified on Nox2 is required for stimulated NADPH oxidase activity in intact leukocytes.
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| DISCUSSION |
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The Rac binding domain on Nox2 is flanked by two regions that have been hypothesized to participate in the binding of NADPH to the Nox proteins. Significantly, a peptide overlapping the Rac binding domain of Nox2 (aa 419–430), which inhibits both Rac2 binding and cell-free NADPH oxidase activity, does not affect the Km value for NADPH in the cell-free assay (Fig. 2B). It is unlikely that the Rac binding domain affects the binding of FAD either, as it is not near the putative FAD interaction site (45–47). Finally, the aa 419–430 peptide does not affect the specific interaction of the Nox2 cytoplasmic tail with either p47phox or p67phox in vitro (Fig. 2C).
Further supporting the relevance of the Rac-interaction domain for Nox2 activity, we showed that the peptide encompassing this region, aa 419–430, selectively inhibited cell-free NADPH oxidase activity, both determined with INT reduction (electron transfer from NADPH to FAD) and by cytochrome c reduction (Table 1 and Fig. 2A). The INT reduction assay has been shown to be dependent on the separate activities of both Rac2 and 67phox (22). Additionally, when point mutations were generated in the full-length Nox2 within conserved residues of the Rac binding domain, these mutations (K421A/K421E, Y425A, and K426E) dramatically reduced Rac GTPase-dependent NADPH oxidase activity in a COS-p22 cell system stimulated either with PMA or by expression of RacQ61L itself (Figs. 3 and 4). In contrast, mutation of nonconserved residues within this region did not affect NADPH oxidase activity (e.g. Fig. 3), suggesting that the structural integrity of this region was not particularly sensitive to mutations in this portion of the Nox2 protein. This is also supported by the lack of substantial secondary structure disruptions as the Nox2 cytoplasmic tail was sequentially truncated, as determined by CD and fluorescence analysis.
The Rac Regulatory Site Is Conserved on Nox1 and Nox3–The region involved in Rac GTPase binding to Nox2 is encompassed by at least aa residues 419–430. It is of interest that this region appears to be more highly conserved in Nox1, Nox2, and Nox3 than in other members of the Nox family (Fig. 3A) (4, 49). Nox1–3 contain identical or highly conserved amino acid residues from 419 to 427 (using the Nox2 numbering). In contrast, Nox4 contains only two conserved residues within this same 9-amino acid region. We note that Nox4 actually has a gap in the alignment from aa 422 to 425, whereas Nox5 contains a large 15-amino acid insertion in this region that is likely to disrupt Rac binding (50). Mutation of several of the highly conserved residues (Lys-421, Trp-424, Tyr-425, and Lys-426) found in Nox1–3 to either alanine or glutamic acid demonstrated that these residues were critical for Rac binding and Rac-dependent NADPH oxidase activity by both Nox2 (Figs. 3 and 4) and Nox1 (Fig. 5). We are aware that these residues, except for Trp-424, which is a Val in Duox1/2, are also conserved in both Duox1 and -2, suggesting the possibility that Duox1/2 might interact with Rac GTPases. However, there are other differences in the 419–427-aa region (three of nine residues are nonconserved in Duox1/2) that may preclude Duox regulation by Rac, as has been reported (29). This remains to be examined in greater detail. Overall, our data support the idea that a direct Rac GTPase regulatory site exists on certain members of the Nox family, and that the presence of this site contributes to their susceptibility to regulation by Rac GTPases. It is also intriguing that only Nox1–3 are known to be positively regulated by a NoxA1/p67phox-like regulatory protein, which may additionally contribute to the Rac-dependent regulatory mechanism (see below).
Regulation of Nox Function by Rac GTPase, Implications for the Two-step Mechanism—The basis for Nox regulation by Rac GTPase has been the subject of much debate. In the phagocyte NADPH oxidase, several groups have suggested that Rac GTPase does not interact directly with cytochrome b558, but rather it inserts into the plasma membrane via its prenylated and polybasic C terminus, where it aids in the positioning of p67phox on the cytochrome b558 to promote electron transfer (reviewed in Ref. 21). In contrast, we have previously provided evidence that Rac GTPase must interact functionally with cytochrome b558 to promote electron transfer and that this involves a direct binding of Rac to Nox2 (22). Furthermore, we have proposed that these data indicate a two-step mechanism through which electron transfer is regulated by the concerted actions of Rac GTPase and p67phox. The current identification of a Rac GTPase-binding site on Nox2 provides strong support for this model of NADPH oxidase regulation. The high degree of conservation of the Rac-binding site on Nox1 and Nox3, both known to be regulated by Rac GTPases, supports the relevance of this interaction domain to Nox function. Furthermore, the demonstration that both the Rac binding domain on Nox1 and the Rac-binding site on NoxA1 are necessary to support superoxide formation (Figs. 3, 4, 5) is consistent with the two-step regulatory mechanism for electron transfer that we originally proposed for Nox2 in human neutrophils (22). Our current results thus also indicate that this mechanism is likely to be operative with Nox1, Nox2, and Nox3. Indeed, the lack of this Rac regulatory site on the Nox4 and Nox5 members of the Nox family strongly suggests that the basic mechanism(s) underlying the regulation of their electron transfer activities may be dramatically different from the Rac-regulated NADPH oxidases.
The Nox2 Rac Binding Domain, a Role in CGD?—Intriguingly, several patients with CGD have been identified with mutations that lie within (or near) the Rac binding domain of Nox2 that we have identified (6). A patient identified with the X-linked form of the disease had a mutation at L420P and was unable to generate superoxide (51). Neutrophils from this patient, however, were shown to be lacking significant levels of Nox2 protein. A second patient was identified with a form of X-linked CGD associated with an S422P mutation (52). Nox2 protein levels were not assessed in this patient. Finally, nearby Pro-415 mutations have been identified in several variant X-linked CGD patients in which Nox2 heme spectrum was similar to controls, suggesting that expression of Nox2 protein was normal (6). It has been proposed that these patients may be impaired in their ability to interact with a cytosolic regulatory component. Based upon the results presented here, we suggest the possibility that this deficient regulatory interaction might involve Rac GTPase.
Conclusion—Overall, our data provide evidence for a direct Rac GTPase regulatory site on the Rac GTPase-regulated NADPH oxidases, Nox1, Nox2, and Nox3. We show that mutation of conserved residues in this site are sufficient to disrupt Nox1 and Nox2 activity, correlating with the loss of Rac GTPase binding, but not binding of p47phox or p67phox, to the Nox2 cytoplasmic tail. It is noteworthy that the Rac interaction domain lies immediately adjacent to two portions of the predicted NADPH-binding site of Nox2. In particular, it has been suggested that a region encompassing the Rac GTPase binding domain we have identified might act as a molecular "cap" to interfere with the binding of NADPH to Nox2 protein (53). It will be of interest in future studies to examine the mechanism by which Rac GTPase binding at this site modulates NADPH oxidase activity.
| FOOTNOTES |
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The on-line version of this article (available at http://www.jbc.org) contains supplemental Figs. S1–S3. ![]()
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 858-784-8217; Fax: 858-784-8218; E-mail: Bokoch{at}scripps.edu.
2 The abbreviations used are: ROS, reactive oxygen species; aa, amino acid; GST, glutathione S-transferase; PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; PMA, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate; HBSS, Hanks' balanced salt solution; INT, p-iodonitrotetrazolium; fMLP, fMet-Leu-Phe; GTP
S, guanosine 5'-3-O-(thio)triphosphate; CGD, chronic granulomatous disease; GppNHp, guanosine-5-(β-imino)triphosphate. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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