Tyrosine Phosphorylation of SGEF Regulates RhoG Activity and Cell Migration

PLoS One. 2016 Jul 20;11(7):e0159617. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159617. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

SGEF and Ephexin4 are members of the Ephexin subfamily of RhoGEFs that specifically activate the small GTPase RhoG. It is reported that Ephexin1 and Ephexin5, two well-characterized Ephexin subfamily RhoGEFs, are tyrosine-phosphorylated by Src, and that their phosphorylation affect their activities and functions. In this study, we show that SGEF, but not Ephexin4, is tyrosine-phosphorylated by Src. Tyrosine phosphorylation of SGEF suppresses its interaction with RhoG, the elevation of RhoG activity, and SGEF-mediated promotion of cell migration. We identified tyrosine 530 (Y530), which is located within the Dbl homology domain, as a major phosphorylation site of SGEF by Src, and Y530F mutation blocked the inhibitory effect of Src on SGEF. Taken together, these results suggest that the activity of SGEF is negatively regulated by tyrosine phosphorylation of the DH domain.

MeSH terms

  • Cell Movement / genetics*
  • Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / genetics*
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Phosphorylation
  • Protein Binding
  • Tyrosine / genetics
  • rho GTP-Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • src Homology Domains / genetics
  • src-Family Kinases / genetics*

Substances

  • ARHGEF16 protein, human
  • ARHGEF26 protein, human
  • Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors
  • RHOG protein, human
  • Tyrosine
  • src-Family Kinases
  • rho GTP-Binding Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was supported in part by Grants-in-aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan (15K07928 and 15K07043) and by a grant from Takeda Science Foundation.