Focal adhesions are sites of tight adhesion to the underlying extracellular matrix developed by cells in culture. They provided a structural link between the actin cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix and are regions of signal transduction that relate to growth control. The assembly of focal adhesions is regulated by the GTP-binding protein Rho. Rho stimulates contractility which, in cells that are tightly adherent to the substrate, generates isometric tension. In turn, this leads to the bundling of actin filaments and the aggregation of integrins (extracellular matrix receptors) in the plane of the membrane. The aggregation of integrins activates the focal adhesion kinase and leads to the assembly of a multicomponent signaling complex.
Abstract. Activated rhoA, a ras-related GTP-binding protein, stimulates the appearance of stress fibers, focal adhesions, and tyrosine phosphorylation in quiescent cells (Ridley, A.J., and A. Hall, 1992. Cell. 70:389-399). The pathway by which rho triggers these events has not been elucidated. Many of the agents that activate rho (e.g., vasopressin, endothelin, lysophosphatidic acid) stimulate the contractility of smooth muscle and other cells. We have investigated whether rho's induction of stress fibers, focal adhesions, and tyrosine phosphorylation is the result of its stimulation of contractility. We demonstrate that stimulation of fibroblasts with lysophosphatidic acid, which activates rho, induces myosin light chain phosphorylation. This precedes the formation of stress fibers and focal adhesions and is accompanied by increased contractility. Inhibition of contractility by several different mechanisms leads to inhibition of rho-induced stress fibers, focal adhesions, and tyrosine phosphorylation. In addition, when contractility is inhibited, integrins disperse from focal adhesions as stress fibers and focal adhesions disassemble. Conversely, upon stimulation of contractility, diffusely distributed integrins are aggregated into focal adhesions. These results suggest that activated rho stimulates contractility, driving the formation of stress fibers and focal adhesions and elevating tyrosine phosphorylation. A model is proposed to account for how contractility could promote these events.
Many factors influence the assembly of fibronectin into an insoluble fibrillar extracellular matrix. Previous work demonstrated that one component in serum that promotes the assembly of fibronectin is lysophosphatidic acid (Zhang, Q., W.J. Checovich, D.M. Peters, R.M. Albrecht, and D.F. Mosher. 1994. J. Cell Biol. 127:1447–1459). Here we show that C3 transferase, an inhibitor of the low molecular weight GTP-binding protein Rho, blocks the binding of fibronectin and the 70-kD NH2-terminal fibronectin fragment to cells and blocks the assembly of fibronectin into matrix induced by serum or lysophosphatidic acid. Microinjection of recombinant, constitutively active Rho into quiescent Swiss 3T3 cells promotes fibronectin matrix assembly by the injected cells. Investigating the mechanism by which Rho promotes fibronectin polymerization, we have used C3 to determine whether integrin activation is involved. Under conditions where C3 decreases fibronectin assembly we have only detected small changes in the state of integrin activation. However, several inhibitors of cellular contractility, that differ in their mode of action, inhibit cell binding of fibronectin and the 70-kD NH2-terminal fibronectin fragment, decrease fibronectin incorporation into the deoxycholate insoluble matrix, and prevent fibronectin's assembly into fibrils on the cell surface. Because Rho stimulates contractility, these results suggest that Rho-mediated contractility promotes assembly of fibronectin into a fibrillar matrix. One mechanism by which contractility could enhance fibronectin assembly is by tension exposing cryptic self-assembly sites within fibronectin that is being stretched. Exploring this possibility, we have found a monoclonal antibody, L8, that stains fibronectin matrices differentially depending on the state of cell contractility. L8 was previously shown to inhibit fibronectin matrix assembly (Chernousov, M.A., A.I. Faerman, M.G. Frid, O.Y. Printseva, and V.E. Koteliansky. 1987. FEBS (Fed. Eur. Biochem. Soc.) Lett. 217:124–128). When it is used to stain normal cultures that are developing tension, it reveals a matrix indistinguishable from that revealed by polyclonal anti-fibronectin antibodies. However, the staining of fibronectin matrices by L8 is reduced relative to the polyclonal antibody when the contractility of cells is inhibited by C3. We have investigated the consequences of mechanically stretching fibronectin in the absence of cells. Applying a 30–35% stretch to immobilized fibronectin induced binding of soluble fibronectin, 70-kD fibronectin fragment, and L8 monoclonal antibody. Together, these results provide evidence that self-assembly sites within fibronectin are exposed by tension.
Substantial evidence supports a critical role for the activation of the Raf-1/MEK/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in oncogenic Ras-mediated transformation. For example, dominant negative mutants of Raf-1, MEK, and mitogen-activated protein kinase all inhibit Ras transformation. Furthermore, the observation that plasma membrane-localized Raf-1 exhibits the same transforming potency as oncogenic Ras suggests that Raf-1 activation alone is sufficient to mediate full Ras transforming activity. However, the recent identification of other candidate Ras effectors (e.g., RalGDS and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase) suggests that activation of other downstream effector-mediated signaling pathways may also mediate Ras transforming activity. In support of this, two H-Ras effector domain mutants, H-Ras(12V, 37G) and H-Ras(12V, 40C), which are defective for Raf binding and activation, induced potent tumorigenic transformation of some strains of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. These Raf-binding defective mutants of H-Ras induced a transformed morphology that was indistinguishable from that induced by activated members of Rho family proteins. Furthermore, the transforming activities of both of these mutants were synergistically enhanced by activated Raf-1 and inhibited by the dominant negative RhoA (19N) mutant, indicating that Ras may cause transformation that occurs via coordinate activation of Raf-dependent and -independent pathways that involves Rho family proteins. Finally, cotransfection of H-Ras(12V, 37G) and H-Ras(12V, 40C) resulted in synergistic cooperation of their focus-forming activities, indicating that Ras activates at least two Raf-independent, Ras effector-mediated signaling events.Ras proteins act as molecular switches that cycle between active GTP-and inactive GDP-bound forms (reviewed in references 6 and 9) and function as essential components of signal transduction pathways that regulate cell growth and differentiation (reviewed in references 21, 36, and 51). Upon activation by ligand-stimulated receptors, activated Ras proteins transmit their signals to a cascade of serine/threonine kinases (reviewed in references 59, 64, 68, and 86). Activated Ras complexes with and promotes activation of the Raf-1 serine/threonine kinase (50,76,78,79,87). Raf-1 in turn activates mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinases (MEK1 and MEK2), which in turn activate p42 and p44 MAPKs/extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) (16,34,41,42,61,88). Activated MAPKs then translocate into the nucleus, where they phosphorylate and activate nuclear transcription factors such as Elk-1 (30
Rap1b, an abundant small GTPase in platelets, becomes rapidly activated upon stimulation with agonists. Though it has been implicated to act downstream from G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and upstream of integrin α IIb β 3 , the precise role of Rap1b in platelet function has been elusive. Here we report the generation of a murine rap1b knockout and show that Rap1b deficiency results in a bleeding defect due to defective platelet function. Aggregation of Rap1b-null platelets is reduced in response to stimulation with both GPCR-linked and GPCR-independent agonists. Underlying the defective Rap1b-null platelet function is decreased activation of integrin α IIb β 3 in response to stimulation with agonists and signaling downstream from the integrin α IIb β 3 . In vivo, Rap1b-null mice are protected from arterial thrombosis. These data provide genetic evidence that Rap1b is involved in a common pathway of integrin activation, is required for normal hemostasis in vivo, and may be a clinically relevant antithrombotic therapy target.
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