title: Activation of the small GTPases, rac and cdc42, after ligation of the platelet PAR-1 receptor.
abstract: Stimulation of platelet PAR-1 receptors results in the rapid (10 to 30 seconds) and extensive (30% to 40% of total) guanosine triphosphate (GTP) charging of endogenous platelet rac, previously identified as a possible key intermediate in the signal pathway between PAR-1 and actin filament barbed-end uncapping, leading to actin assembly. During PAR-1-mediated platelet activation, rac distributes from the cell interior to the cell periphery, and this reorganization is resistant to the inhibition of PI-3-kinase activity. Rac, in resting or activated platelets, is Triton X-100 soluble, suggesting that it does not form tight complexes with actin cytoskeletal proteins, though its retention in octyl-glucoside-treated platelets and ultrastructural observations of activated platelets implies that rac binds to plasma membranes, where it can interact with phosphoinositide kinases implicated in actin assembly reactions. PAR-1 stimulation also rapidly and extensively activates cdc42, though, in contrast to rac, some cdc42 associates with the actin cytoskeleton in resting platelets, and the bound fraction increases during stimulation. The differences in subcellular distribution and previous evidence showing quantitatively divergent effects of rac and cdc42 on actin nucleation in permeabilized platelets indicate different signaling roles for these GTPases.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Azim
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Barkalow
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Hartwig
mesh_terms: D000494:Allosteric Regulation; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D003902:Detergents / Q000494:pharmacology; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D016244:Guanosine 5'-O-(3-Thiotriphosphate) / Q000494:pharmacology; D006153:Guanosine Diphosphate / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017830:Octoxynol / Q000494:pharmacology; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000494:pharmacology; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000502:physiology; D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011506:Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D044463:Receptor, PAR-1; D018179:Receptors, Thrombin / Q000378:metabolism*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012995:Solubility; D013873:Thionucleotides / Q000494:pharmacology; D013917:Thrombin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D054462:p21-Activated Kinases; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D003902:Detergents; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D016244:Guanosine 5'-O-(3-Thiotriphosphate); D006153:Guanosine Diphosphate; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate; D017830:Octoxynol; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011506:Proteins; D044463:Receptor, PAR-1; D018179:Receptors, Thrombin; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D013873:Thionucleotides; D013917:Thrombin; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein; D054462:p21-Activated Kinases; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein; C072032:thrombin receptor peptide (42-55); C023427:guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate); C515903:PAK1 protein, human