title: Focal adhesion kinase regulation of N-WASP subcellular localization and function.
abstract: N-WASP is a member of the WASP family of proteins that regulate actin cytoskeleton remodeling. FAK is a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase implicated in integrin signaling during cell migration. Here we identify a direct interaction between N-WASP and FAK and show that N-WASP is phosphorylated by FAK at a conserved tyrosine residue, Tyr(256). We found that phosphorylation of Tyr(256) affected N-WASP nuclear localization, suggesting that phosphorylation of N-WASP by FAK may regulate its activity in vivo by altering its subcellular localization. We also showed that the nuclear localization of N-WASP is dependent on its being in the open conformation either after its activation by Cdc42 or the truncation of the C-terminal VCA domain. Phosphorylation of Tyr(256) of N-WASP could reduce its interaction with nuclear importin NPI-1, which might be responsible for its decreased nuclear localization. Lastly, we show that phosphorylation of Tyr(256) plays an important role in promoting cell migration. Together, these results suggest a novel regulatory mechanism of N-WASP by tyrosine phosphorylation and subcellular localization and its potential role in the regulation of cell migration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaoyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suetsugu
authors.forename: Lee Ann
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Tadaomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takenawa
authors.forename: Jun-Lin
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Guan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D051417:Focal Adhesion Kinase 1; D051416:Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D028884:Karyopherins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011485:Protein Binding; D021381:Protein Transport; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014443:Tyrosine; D051317:Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Protein, Neuronal; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D028884:Karyopherins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C495772:Wasl protein, mouse; D051317:Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Protein, Neuronal; D014443:Tyrosine; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D051417:Focal Adhesion Kinase 1; D051416:Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; C496051:Ptk2 protein, mouse; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein