title: Rac1, but not RhoA, signaling protects epithelial adherens junction assembly during ATP depletion.
abstract: Rho family GTPase signaling regulates actin cytoskeleton and junctional complex assembly. Our previous work showed that RhoA signaling protects tight junctions from damage during ATP depletion. Here, we examined whether RhoA GTPase signaling protects adherens junction assembly during ATP depletion. Despite specific RhoA signaling- and ATP depletion-induced effects on adherens junction assembly, RhoA signaling did not alter adherens junction disassembly rates during ATP depletion. This shows that RhoA signaling specifically protects tight junctions from damage during ATP depletion. Rac1 GTPase signaling also regulates adherens junction assembly and therefore may regulate adherens junction assembly during ATP depletion. Indeed, we found that Rac1 signaling protects adherens junctions from damage during ATP depletion. Adherens junctions are regulated by various GTPases, including RhoA and Rac1, but adherens junctions are specifically protected by Rac1 signaling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Indiana University Medical Center, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5116, USA.
authors.forename: Shobha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gopalakrishnan
authors.forename: Kenneth W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Marrs
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000172:deficiency*; D022005:Adherens Junctions / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051180:Desmoplakins; D004285:Dogs; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D015534:Trans-Activators; D051176:beta Catenin; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000502:physiology*; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D051180:Desmoplakins; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D051176:beta Catenin; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein