title: Lasp-1 binds to non-muscle F-actin in vitro and is localized within multiple sites of dynamic actin assembly in vivo.
abstract: Lasp-1 has been identified as a signaling molecule that is phosphorylated upon elevation of [cAMP]i in pancreas, intestine and gastric mucosa and is selectively expressed in cells within epithelial tissues. In the gastric parietal cell, cAMP-dependent phosphorylation induces the partial translocation of lasp-1 to the apically directed F-actin-rich canalicular membrane, which is the site of active HCl secretion. Lasp-1 is an unusual modular protein that contains an N-terminal LIM domain, a C-terminal SH3 domain and two internal nebulin repeats. Domain-based analyses have recently categorized this protein as an epithelial representative of the nebulin family, which also includes the actin binding, muscle-specific proteins, nebulin, nebulette and N-RAP. In this study, we show that lasp-1 binds to non-muscle filamentous (F) actin in vitro in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. In addition, we provide evidence that lasp-1 is concentrated within focal complexes as well as in the leading edges of lamellipodia and the tips of filopodia in non-transformed gastric fibroblasts. In actin pull-down assays, the apparent K(d) of bacterially expressed his-tagged lasp-1 binding to F-actin was 2 micro M with a saturation stoichiometry of approximately 1:7. Phosphorylation of recombinant lasp-1 with recombinant PKA increased the K(d) and decreased the B(max) for lasp-1 binding to F-actin. Microsequencing and site-directed mutagenesis localized the major in vivo and in vitro PKA-dependent phosphorylation sites in rabbit lasp-1 to S(99) and S(146). BLAST searches confirmed that both sites are conserved in human and chicken homologues. Transfection of lasp-1 cDNA encoding for alanine substitutions at S(99) and S(146), into parietal cells appeared to suppress the cAMP-dependent translocation of lasp-1 to the intracellular canalicular region. In gastric fibroblasts, exposure to the protein kinase C activator, PMA, was correlated with the translocation of lasp-1 into newly formed F-actin-rich lamellipodial extensions and nascent focal complexes. Since lasp-1 does not appear to be phosphorylated by PKC, these data suggest that other mechanisms in addition to cAMP-dependent phosphorylation can mediate the translocation of lasp-1 to regions of dynamic actin turnover. The localization of lasp-1 to these subcellular regions under a range of experimental conditions and the phosphorylation-dependent regulation of this protein in F-actin rich epithelial cells suggests an integral and possibly cell-specific role in modulating cytoskeletal/membrane-based cellular activities.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912-3175, USA. cchew@immagene.mcg.edu
authors.forename: Catherine S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chew
authors.forename: Xunsheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Parente
authors.forename: Shannan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tarrer
authors.forename: Curtis
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Hai-Yen
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Qin
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D017931:DNA Primers; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011485:Protein Binding; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D017931:DNA Primers; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D000242:Cyclic AMP