From the Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
J Biol Chem. 2010 Jul 2;285(27):20588-94. doi: 10.1074/jbc.C109.088070. Epub 2010 May 7.
Activator of G-protein signaling-4 (AGS4), via its three G-protein regulatory motifs, is well positioned to modulate G-protein signal processing by virtue of its ability to bind Galpha(i)-GDP subunits free of Gbetagamma. Apart from initial observations on the biochemical activity of the G-protein regulatory motifs of AGS4, very little is known about the nature of the AGS4-G-protein interaction, how this interaction is regulated, or where the interaction takes place. As an initial approach to these questions, we evaluated the interaction of AGS4 with Galpha(i1) in living cells using bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET). AGS4 and Galpha(i1) reciprocally tagged with either Renilla luciferase (RLuc) or yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) demonstrated saturable, specific BRET signals. BRET signals observed between AGS4-RLuc and Galpha(i1)-YFP were reduced by G-protein-coupled receptor activation, and this agonist-induced reduction in BRET was blocked by pertussis toxin. In addition, specific BRET signals were observed for AGS4-RLuc and alpha(2)-adrenergic receptor-Venus, which were Galpha(i)-dependent and reduced by agonist, indicating that AGS4-Galpha(i) complexes are receptor-proximal. These data suggest that AGS4-Galpha(i) complexes directly couple to a G-protein-coupled receptor and may serve as substrates for agonist-induced G-protein activation.
G 蛋白信号转导激活因子 4(AGS4)通过其三个 G 蛋白调节基序,能够结合无 Gβγ的 Galpha(i)-GDP 亚基,从而很好地调节 G 蛋白信号处理。除了对 AGS4 的 G 蛋白调节基序的生化活性的初步观察外,对于 AGS4-G 蛋白相互作用的性质、这种相互作用如何被调节以及相互作用发生的位置知之甚少。作为对这些问题的初步探讨,我们使用生物发光共振能量转移(BRET)评估了 AGS4 与活细胞中的 Galpha(i1)的相互作用。用 Renilla 荧光素酶(RLuc)或黄色荧光蛋白(YFP)分别标记的 AGS4 和 Galpha(i1)表现出可饱和的、特异的 BRET 信号。AGS4-RLuc 和 Galpha(i1)-YFP 之间观察到的 BRET 信号被 G 蛋白偶联受体激活所降低,而这种激动剂诱导的 BRET 降低被百日咳毒素所阻断。此外,AGS4-RLuc 和 alpha(2)-肾上腺素能受体-Venus 之间也观察到特异的 BRET 信号,这是 Galpha(i)-依赖性的,并且被激动剂降低,表明 AGS4-Galpha(i)复合物位于受体近端。这些数据表明,AGS4-Galpha(i)复合物直接与 G 蛋白偶联受体偶联,并且可能作为激动剂诱导的 G 蛋白激活的底物。