Several G protein-coupled receptors are known to direct the tyrosine phosphorylation, and in some cases the activation, of diverse tyrosine kinases. Using a stable cell line approach, we characterize the activation of PYK2, a tyrosine kinase structurally related to focal adhesion kinase, by the G protein-coupled m1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor. We find that PYK2 tyrosine kinase activity is critical for the m1 receptor-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of PYK2. Furthermore, we identify two tyrosine residues that are subject to phosphorylation in response to muscarinic signaling and show that this phosphorylation induces two cytosolic proteins, c-Src and Grb2, to bind to PYK2. This is the first demonstration of the significance played by distinct PYK2 tyrosine residues in G protein-coupled signaling to this kinase. By comparison, though m1 receptors induce the tyrosine phosphorylation of the cytoskeletal protein paxillin, the association of paxillin with PYK2 is unaffected by muscarinic signaling. We also provide evidence that PYK2 specifically phosphorylates the carboxyl-terminal cytosolic portion of the potassium channel Kv1.2 in a manner regulated by the m1 receptor. These results delineate molecular events attending the m1 muscarinic receptor stimulation of this tyrosine kinase and establish PYK2 as an effector of the m1 muscarinic receptor in the regulation of multiple cell functions.

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Ewing family tumors result from the effects of chromosomal translocations that fuse the Ewing sarcoma (EWS) gene to various genes encoding transcription factors. The resulting chimeric EWS fusion proteins are transcriptional activators with transforming potential that have received much study. By contrast, the cellular function of somatic EWS remains obscure. EWS belongs to a family of RNA-binding proteins thought to play role in RNA synthesis or processing. Here, we show that EWS interacts with Pyk2, a protein tyrosine kinase implicated in a variety of signal transduction processes. G-protein-coupled receptor signaling and other stimuli of Pyk2 kinase activity significantly block the interaction between EWS and Pyk2. Furthermore, as assessed by sucrose gradient centrifugation, EWS partitions with dense ribosome-containing fractions in a manner that is enhanced by signaling from the G-protein-coupled m1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR). We conclude that extranuclear EWS is a previously unrecognized target of G-protein-coupled receptor regulation.

Screening assays using target-based affinity selection coupled with high-sensitivity detection technologies to identify smallmolecule hits from chemical libraries can provide a useful discovery approach that complements traditional assay systems. Affinity selection-mass spectrometry (AS-MS) is one such methodology that holds promise for providing selective and sensitive high-throughput screening platforms. Although AS-MS screening platforms have been used to discover smallmolecule ligands of proteins from many target families, they have not yet been used routinely to screen integral membrane proteins. The authors present a proof-of-concept study using size exclusion chromatography coupled to AS-MS to perform a primary screen for small-molecule ligands of the purified muscarinic M 2 acetylcholine receptor, a G-protein-coupled receptor. AS-MS is used to characterize the binding mechanisms of 2 newly discovered ligands. NGD-3350 is a novel M 2 -specific orthosteric antagonist of M 2 function. NGD-3366 is an allosteric ligand with binding properties similar to the allosteric antagonist W-84, which decreases the dissociation rate of N-methyl-scopolamine from the M 2 receptor. Binding properties of the ligands discerned from AS-MS assays agree with those from in vitro biochemical assays. The authors conclude that when used with appropriate small-molecule libraries, AS-MS may provide a useful high-throughput assay system for the discovery and characterization of all classes of integral membrane protein ligands, including allosteric modulators. (Journal of Biomolecular