Katoh H, Yasui H, Yamaguchi Y, Aoki J, Fujita H, Mori K, Negishi M
Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
Mol Cell Biol. 2000 Oct;20(19):7378-87. doi: 10.1128/MCB.20.19.7378-7387.2000.
The Rho family of small GTPases has been implicated in cytoskeletal reorganization and subsequent morphological changes in various cell types. Among them, Rac and Cdc42 have been shown to be involved in neurite outgrowth in neuronal cells. In this study, we examined the role of RhoG, another member of Rho family GTPases, in nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells. Expression of wild-type RhoG in PC12 cells induced neurite outgrowth in the absence of NGF, and the morphology of wild-type RhoG-expressing cells was similar to that of NGF-differentiated cells. Constitutively active RhoG-transfected cells extended short neurites but developed large lamellipodial or filopodial structures at the tips of neurites. RhoG-induced neurite outgrowth was inhibited by coexpression with dominant-negative Rac1 or Cdc42. In addition, expression of constitutively active RhoG elevated endogenous Rac1 and Cdc42 activities. We also found that the NGF-induced neurite outgrowth was enhanced by expression of wild-type RhoG whereas expression of dominant-negative RhoG suppressed the neurite outgrowth. Furthermore, constitutively active Ras-induced neurite outgrowth was also suppressed by dominant-negative RhoG. Taken together, these results suggest that RhoG is a key regulator in NGF-induced neurite outgrowth, acting downstream of Ras and upstream of Rac1 and Cdc42 in PC12 cells.
小GTP酶的Rho家族与各种细胞类型中的细胞骨架重组及随后的形态变化有关。其中,Rac和Cdc42已被证明参与神经元细胞的神经突生长。在本研究中,我们检测了Rho家族GTP酶的另一个成员RhoG在神经生长因子(NGF)诱导的PC12细胞神经突生长中的作用。在没有NGF的情况下,PC12细胞中野生型RhoG的表达诱导了神经突生长,并且表达野生型RhoG的细胞形态与NGF分化的细胞相似。组成型活性RhoG转染的细胞伸出短神经突,但在神经突尖端形成大的片状伪足或丝状伪足结构。与显性负性Rac1或Cdc42共表达可抑制RhoG诱导的神经突生长。此外,组成型活性RhoG的表达提高了内源性Rac1和Cdc42的活性。我们还发现,野生型RhoG的表达增强了NGF诱导的神经突生长,而显性负性RhoG的表达则抑制了神经突生长。此外,显性负性RhoG也抑制了组成型活性Ras诱导的神经突生长。综上所述,这些结果表明,RhoG是NGF诱导的神经突生长中的关键调节因子,在PC12细胞中作用于Ras下游以及Rac1和Cdc42上游。