The Ras-related GTP-binding protein Cdc42 is implicated in a variety of biological activities including the establishment of cell polarity in yeast, the regulation of cell morphology, motility and cell-cycle progression in mammalian cells and the induction of malignant transformation. We identified a Cdc42 mutant (Cdc42F28L) which binds GTP in the absence of a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, but still hydrolyses GTP with a turnover number identical to that for wild-type Cdc42. Expression of this mutant in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts causes cellular transformation, mimicking many of the characteristics of cells transformed by the Dbl oncoprotein, a known guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Cdc42. Here we searched for new Cdc42 targets in an effort to understand how Cdc42 mediates cellular transformation. We identified the gamma-subunit of the coatomer complex (gammaCOP) as a specific binding partner for activated Cdc42. The binding of Cdc42 to gammaCOP is essential for a transforming signal distinct from those elicited by Ras.

Glutathione-dependent detoxification reactions are catalyzed by the enzyme glutathione S-transferase and are important in drug resistance in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. The yeast Issatchenkia orientalis expresses a glutathione S-transferase (GST) protein that is induced when the GST substrate o-dinitrobenzene (o-DNB) is added to the culture. In this study, we show that overproduction of the I. orientalis GST in Saccharomyces cerevisiae leads to an increase in o-dinitrobenzene resistance in S. cerevisiae cells. To recover genes that influence o-DNB resistance in S. cerevisiae, a high copy plasmid library was screened for loci that elevate o-DNB tolerance. One gene was recovered and designated ROD1 (resistance to o-dinitrobenzene). This locus was found to encode a novel protein with no significant sequence similarity with proteins of known function in the data base. An epitope-tagged version of Rod1p was produced in S. cerevisiae and shown to function properly. Subcellular fractionation experiments indicated that this factor was found in the particulate fraction by differential centrifugation. Overproduction of Rod1p leads to resistance to not only o-DNB but also zinc and calcium. Strains that lack the ROD1 gene are hypersensitive to these same compounds. Rod1p represents a new type of molecule influencing drug tolerance in eukaryotes.

Figure 1 Changes of faecal microbial communities in different stages (acute, convalescence, postconvalescence) of patients with COVID-19 (n=30), compared with uninfected controls (n=30). (A) α-Diversity, illustrated by microbiota richness (Chao 1 index), was reduced in COVID-19 (p<0.01, Wilcoxon rank-sum test). Boxes represent the 25th-75th percentile of the distribution; the median is shown as a thick line in the middle of the box; whiskers extend to values with 1.5 times the difference between the 25th and 75th percentiles. ***P<0.001. (B) Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) of Bray-Curtis distance analysis demonstrated that the overall microbial composition of patients with COVID-19 deviated from the uninfected controls (analysis of similarities, R = -0.201, p=0.001). (C) The same PCoA plot as (B), coloured by α-diversity measured by Chao 1 index.

Cdc42 is a Ras-related protein that has been implicated in the control of normal cell growth, and when improperly regulated, in cellular transformation and invasiveness. A variety of extracellular stimuli, including epidermal growth factor (EGF), activate Cdc42. Here, we show that activation of Cdc42 protects the EGF receptor from the negative regulatory activity of the c-Cbl ubiquitin ligase. Activated Cdc42 binds to p85Cool-1 (for cloned-out-of-library)/beta-Pix (for Pak-interactive exchange factor), a protein that directly associates with c-Cbl. This inhibits the binding of Cbl by the EGF receptor and thus prevents Cbl from catalyzing receptor ubiquitination. The role played by Cdc42 in regulating the timing of EGF receptor-Cbl interactions is underscored by the fact that constitutively active Cdc42(F28L), by persistently blocking the binding of Cbl to these receptors, leads to their aberrant accumulation and sustained EGF-stimulated ERK activation, thus resulting in cellular transformation.

No abstract