No abstract

Chemokine-induced directional cell migration is a universal cellular mechanism and plays crucial roles in numerous biological processes, including embryonic development, immune system function, and tissue remodeling and regeneration. During the migration of a stationary cell, the cell polarizes, forms lamellipodia at the leading edge (LE), and triggers the concurrent retraction of the trailing edge (TE). During cell migration governed by inhibitory G protein (G)-coupled receptors (GPCRs), G protein βγ (Gβγ) subunits control the LE signaling. Interestingly, TE retraction has been linked to the activation of the small GTPase Ras homolog family member A (RhoA) by the Gα pathway. However, it is not clear how the activation of G-coupled GPCRs at the LE orchestrates the TE retraction in RAW264.7 macrophages. Here, using an optogenetic approach involving an opsin to activate the G pathway in defined subcellular regions of RAW cells, we show that in addition to their LE activities, free Gβγ subunits also govern TE retraction by operating two independent, yet synchronized, pathways. The first pathway involves RhoA activation, which prevents dephosphorylation of the myosin light chain, allowing actomyosin contractility to proceed. The second pathway activates phospholipase Cβ and induces myosin light chain phosphorylation to enhance actomyosin contractility through increasing cytosolic calcium. We further show that both of these pathways are essential, and inhibition of either one is sufficient to abolish the G-coupled GPCR-governed TE retraction and subsequent migration of RAW cells.

Current assays to measure the activation of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and G proteins are time-consuming, indirect, and expensive. Therefore, an efficient method which directly measures the ability of a ligand to govern GPCR-G protein interactions can help to understand the molecular underpinnings of the associated signaling. A live cell imaging-based approach is presented here to directly measure ligand-induced GPCR and G protein activity in real time. The number of active GPCRs governs G protein heterotrimer (αβγ) dissociation, thereby controlling the concentration of free βγ subunits. The described γ9 assay measures the GPCR activation-induced extent of the reversible βγ9 subunit exchange between the plasma membrane (PM) and internal membranes (IMs). Confocal microscopy-based γ9 assay quantitatively determines the concentration dependency of ligands on GPCR activation. Demonstrating the high-throughput screening (HTS) adaptability, the γ9 assay performed using an imaging plate reader measures the ligand-induced GPCR activation. This suggests that the γ9 assay can be employed to screen libraries of compounds for their ability to activate GPCRs. Together with subcellular optogenetics, the spatiotemporal sensitivity of the γ9 assay permits experimental determination of the limits of spatially restricted activation of GPCRs and G proteins in subcellular regions of single cells. This assay works effectively for GPCRs coupled to αi/o and αs heterotrimers, including light-sensitive GPCRs. In addition, computational modeling of experimental data from the assay is used to decipher intricate molecular details of the GPCR-G protein activation process. Overall, the γ9 assay provides a robust strategy for quantitative as well as qualitative determination of GPCR and G protein function on a single-cell, multicell, and subcellular level. This assay not only provides information about the inner workings of the signaling pathway, but it also strengthens GPCR deorphanization as well as drug discovery efforts.

No abstract