More than thirty small guanine nucleotide-binding proteins related to the ras-encoded oncoprotein, termed Ras or p21ras, are known. They regulate many fundamental processes in all eukaryotic cells, such as growth, vesicle traffic and cytoskeletal organization. GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) accelerate the intrinsic rate of GTP hydrolysis of Ras-related proteins, leading to down-regulation of the active GTP-bound form. For p21ras, two GAP proteins are known, rasGAP and the neurofibromatosis (NF1) gene product. There is evidence that rasGAP may also be a target protein for regulation by Ras and be involved in downstream signalling. We have purified a GAP protein for p21rho, which is involved in the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. Partial sequencing of rhoGAP reveals significant homology with the product of the bcr (breakpoint cluster region) gene, the translocation breakpoint in Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukaemias. We show here that the carboxy-terminal domains of the bcr-encoded protein (Bcr) and of a Bcr-related protein, n-chimaerin, are both GAP proteins for the Ras-related GTP-binding protein, p21rac. This result suggest that Bcr could be a target for regulation by Rac and has important new implications for the role of bcr translocations in leukaemia.

Cdc42Hs is involved in cytoskeletal reorganization and is required for neurite outgrowth in N1E-115 cells. To investigate the molecular mechanism by which Cdc42Hs regulates these processes, a search for novel Cdc42Hs protein partners was undertaken by yeast two-hybrid assay. Here, we identify the 58-kD substrate of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase (IRS-58) as a Cdc42Hs target. IRS-58 is a brain-enriched protein comprising at least four protein–protein interaction sites: a Cdc42Hs binding site, an Src homology (SH)3-binding site, an SH3 domain, and a tryptophan, tyrptophan (WW)-binding domain. Expression of IRS-58 in Swiss 3T3 cells leads to reorganization of the filamentous (F)-actin cytoskeleton, involving loss of stress fibers and formation of filopodia and clusters. In N1E-115 cells IRS-58 induces neurite outgrowth with high complexity. Expression of a deletion mutant of IRS-58, which lacks the SH3- and WW-binding domains, induced neurite extension without complexity in N1E-115 cells. In Swiss 3T3 cells and N1E-115 cells, IRS-58 colocalizes with F-actin in clusters and filopodia. An IRS-581267N mutant unable to bind Cdc42Hs failed to localize with F-actin to induce neurite outgrowth or significant cytoskeletal reorganization. These results suggest that Cdc42Hs facilitates cytoskeletal reorganization and neurite outgrowth by localizing protein complexes via adaptor proteins such as IRS-58 to F-actin.

Neurite outgrowth is influenced by positive and negative signals that include the semaphorins, an important family of axonal outgrowth inhibitors. Here we report that the Rac GTPase activating protein (GAP) ␣2-chimaerin is involved in Semaphorin 3A (Sema 3A) signaling. In dorsal root ganglion neurons, Sema 3A-induced growth cone collapse was inhibited by ␣2-chimaerin mutated to eliminate GAP activity or interaction with phosphotyrosine. Activation of ␣2-chimaerin by phorbol ester caused growth cone collapse. Active ␣2-chimaerin interacts with collapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP-2) and cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) 5/p35 kinase through its SH2 and GAP domains, respectively. Cdk5 phosphorylates CRMP-2 at serine 522, possibly facilitating phosphorylation of serine 518 and threonine 514 by glycogen synthase kinase 3␤ (GSK3␤), a kinase previously implicated in Sema 3A signaling. Phosphorylation of CRMP-2 serine 522 was essential for Sema 3A-induced growth cone collapse, which is dependent on Cdk5 but not Rho kinase activity. ␣2-chimaerin, like CRMP-2, can associate with the Sema 3A receptor. These results indicate that active ␣2-chimaerin Rac GAP, Cdk5/p35, and its substrate CRMP-2, are implicated in the dynamics of growth cone guidance initiated through Sema 3A signaling.

The human heat-shock protein multigene family comprises several highly conserved proteins with structural and functional properties in common, but which vary in the extent of their inducibility in response to metabolic stress. We have isolated and characterized a novel human HSP70 cDNA, HSP70B' cDNA, and its corresponding gene sequence. HSP70B' cDNA hybrid-selected an mRNA encoding a more basic 70 kDa heat-shock protein that both the major stress-inducible HSP70 and constitutively expressed HSC70 heat-shock proteins, which in common with other heat-shock 70 kDa proteins bound ATP. The complete HSP70B' gene was sequenced and, like the major inducible HSP70 gene, is devoid of introns. The HSP70B' gene has 77% sequence similarity to the HSP70 gene and 70% similarity to HSC70 cDNA, with greatest sequence divergence towards the 3'-terminus. The HSP70B' gene represents a functional gene, as indicated by Northern-blot analysis with specific oligonucleotides, hybrid-selected translation with a specific 3' cDNA sequence and S1 nuclease protection experiments. In contrast with HSP70 mRNA, which is present at low concentrations in HeLa cells and readily induced by heat or CdCl2 treatment in both fibroblasts and HeLa cells, HSP70B' mRNA was induced only at higher temperature and showed no basal expression. The differences in patterns of induction may be due to the special features of the promoter region of the HSP70B' gene.

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