Phosphorylation of gephyrin in hippocampal neurons by cyclin-dependent kinase CDK5 at Ser-270 is dependent on collybistin

J Biol Chem. 2012 Sep 7;287(37):30952-66. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M112.349597. Epub 2012 Jul 9.

Abstract

Gephyrin is a scaffold protein essential for the postsynaptic clustering of inhibitory glycine and different subtypes of GABA(A) receptors. The cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in gephyrin-mediated receptor clustering are still not well understood. Here we provide evidence that the gephyrin-binding protein collybistin is involved in regulating the phosphorylation of gephyrin. We demonstrate that the widely used monoclonal antibody mAb7a is a phospho-specific antibody that allows the cellular and biochemical analysis of gephyrin phosphorylation at Ser-270. In addition, another neighbored epitope determinant was identified at position Thr-276. Analysis of the double mutant gephyrin(T276A,S277A) revealed significant reduction in gephyrin cluster formation and altered oligomerization behavior of gephyrin. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinases in hippocampal neurons reduced postsynaptic gephyrin mAb7a immunoreactivities. In vitro phosphorylation assays and phosphopeptide competition experiments revealed a phosphorylation at Ser-270 depending on enzyme activities of cyclin-dependent kinases CDK1, -2, or -5. These data indicate that collybistin and cyclin-dependent kinases are involved in regulating the phosphorylation of gephyrin at postsynaptic membrane specializations.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Substitution
  • Animals
  • CDC2 Protein Kinase / genetics
  • CDC2 Protein Kinase / metabolism
  • Carrier Proteins / genetics
  • Carrier Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 / genetics
  • Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 / metabolism
  • Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 / genetics
  • Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 / metabolism*
  • Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / genetics
  • Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / metabolism*
  • Hippocampus / cytology
  • Hippocampus / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism*
  • Mutation, Missense
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / genetics
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism*
  • Neurons / cytology
  • Neurons / metabolism*
  • Phosphorylation / physiology
  • Rats
  • Rho Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors
  • Synaptic Membranes / genetics
  • Synaptic Membranes / metabolism

Substances

  • ARHGEF9 protein, human
  • Arhgef9 protein, rat
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Rho Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors
  • gephyrin
  • Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5
  • CDC2 Protein Kinase
  • CDK2 protein, human
  • CDK5 protein, human
  • Cdk2 protein, rat
  • Cdk5 protein, rat
  • Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2