Rab5 is a small GTPase that regulates early endocytic events and is activated by RabGEF1/Rabex-5. Rabaptin-5, a Rab5 interacting protein, was identified as a protein critical for potentiating RabGEF1/ Rabex-5's activation of Rab5. Using Rabaptin-5 shRNA knockdown, we show that Rabaptin-5 is dispensable for Rab5-dependent processes in intact mast cells,
IntroductionMast cells are best known for their critical roles in immunoglobulin E (IgE)-associated immediate hypersensitivity reactions and other allergic disorders. [1][2][3][4] IgE primes the mast cell to undergo Agdependent activation by binding to the high-affinity IgE receptor (Fc⑀RI), a member of the immune receptor superfamily, 1-4 and multivalent Ag initiates mast cell activation by cross-linking 2 or more Fc⑀RI-bound IgE molecules that bind to that Ag. Mast cell activation induces a variety of responses, including the release of preformed pro-inflammatory mediators (eg, histamine, -hexosaminidase) from the cytoplasmic granules, as well as the secretion of lipid mediators, cytokines, chemokines and growth factors. [1][2][3][4] Regulation of the expression of receptors and their downstream signaling pathways is critical for a cell to properly interpret and respond to the surrounding environment. Perturbations in these processes can have diverse and dramatic effects. 5 Receptor regulation is particularly important for mounting optimal responses to low concentrations of ligands, such as migration in response to chemotactic factors 6 or activation of secretion by Ags. 3,7 Mast cells in particular are well known for being able to respond to small amounts of Ags. [1][2][3][4] Although many proteins have been identified that modulate receptor traffic to and from the cell surface, members of the Rab family of small GTPases have emerged as major regulators of many of these membrane trafficking events. [8][9][10][11] Like all GTPases, Rabs cycle between GDP and GTP bound conformations, with the state of nucleotide binding dictating whether the Rab protein is active (GTP bound) or inactive (GDP bound). This nucleotide cycling is catalyzed by GEFs (guanine exchange factors; catalyze GTP binding) and GAPs (GTPase activating proteins; stimulate intrinsic GTPase activity of Rabs). Several of these Rab proteins have attracted much attention, including Rab5, the major regulator of early endocytic events, Rab4 and Rab11, regulators of recycling routes, and Rab7 and Rab9, regulators of the lysosomal pathway. 10 Despite intense studies of their biochemistry, the functions of these proteins in regulating the activation and signaling of intact cells have only recently been investigated. In mast cells, Rab27a and Rab27b and its effectors 12,13 regulate granule motility and degranulation, whereas the role of Rab3, initially reported to be important in regulating mast cell degranulaton, 14 remains to be fully clarified. 15 We have shown that RabGEF1/Rabex-5 (RabGEF1), a Rab5 GEF, is critical for regulating the activation of mouse bone marrow-derived cultured mast cells (BMCMCs)...