title: Fgd1, the Cdc42 GEF responsible for Faciogenital Dysplasia, directly interacts with cortactin and mAbp1 to modulate cell shape.
abstract: FGD1 mutations result in Faciogenital Dysplasia (FGDY), an X-linked human disease that affects skeletal formation and embryonic morphogenesis. FGD1 and Fgd1, the mouse FGD1 ortholog, encode guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEF) that specifically activate Cdc42, a Rho GTPase that controls the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. To further understand FGD1/Fgd1 signaling and begin to elucidate the molecular pathophysiology of FGDY, we demonstrate that Fgd1 directly interacts with cortactin and mouse actin-binding protein 1 (mAbp1), actin-binding proteins that regulate actin polymerization through the Arp2/3 complex. In yeast two-hybrid studies, cortactin and mAbp1 Src homology 3 (SH3) domains interact with a single Fgd1 SH3-binding domain (SH3-BD), and biochemical studies show that the Fgd1 SH3-BD directly binds to cortactin and mAbp1 in vitro. Immunoprecipitation studies show that Fgd1 interacts with cortactin and mAbp1 in vivo and that Fgd1 SH3-BD mutations disrupt binding. Immunocytochemical studies show that Fgd1 colocalizes with cortactin and mAbp1 in lamellipodia and membrane ruffles, and that Fgd1 subcellular targeting is dynamic. By using truncated cortactin proteins, immunocytochemical studies show that the cortactin SH3 domain targets Fgd1 to the subcortical actin cytoskeleton, and that abnormal Fgd1 localization results in actin cytoskeletal abnormalities and significant changes in cell shape and viability. Thus, this study provides novel in vitro and in vivo evidence that Fgd1 specifically and directly interacts with cortactin and mAbp1, and that these interactions play an important role in regulating the actin cytoskeleton and, subsequently, cell shape.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Estrada
authors.forename: Andrew W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Kinley
authors.forename: J Thomas
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Parsons
authors.forename: Anne B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Vojtek
authors.forename: Jerome L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gorski
mesh_terms: D008841:Actin Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D051377:Actin-Related Protein 2; D051378:Actin-Related Protein 3; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D048429:Cell Size; D051356:Cortactin; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005147:Facial Bones / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000196:embryology*; D005359:Fibrous Dysplasia, Polyostotic / Q000235:genetics*; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013577:Syndrome; D014564:Urogenital Abnormalities / Q000235:genetics*; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics; D018909:src Homology Domains
chemical_list: D051377:Actin-Related Protein 2; D051378:Actin-Related Protein 3; C495927:Actr2 protein, mouse; C495929:Actr3 protein, mouse; D051356:Cortactin; C495869:Cttn protein, mouse; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; C490796:FGD1 protein, human; C097489:Fgd1 protein, mouse; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein