The Na + /H + exchanger regulatory factor 2 (NHERF-2) is a scaffold protein that regulates cellular signaling by forming protein complexes. Several proteins known to interact with NHERF-2 are abundantly expressed in the central nervous system, but little is known about NHERF-2 localization in the brain. By using immunohistochemistry combined with light and electron microscopy, we found that many populations of astrocytes, as well as some populations of neurons, were immunopositive for NHERF-2 throughout the mouse brain. Quantitative analysis of the subcellular distribution of NHERF-2 immunostaining in four brain structures, cerebral cortex, hippocampus, striatum, and cerebellar cortex, showed that NHERF-2 was expressed mainly in astrocytic processes but was also sometimes observed in both pre-and postsynaptic neuronal elements. NHERF-2 immunostaining was associated mainly with the plasma membrane of neurons and astrocytes. However, NHERF-2 immunoreactivity was also observed in association with synaptic vesicles in putative glutamatergic axon terminals. The subcellular localization of NHERF-2 in brain is consistent with a role for NHERF-2 in forming complexes between cell surface and cytosolic proteins, and the preferential expression of NHERF-2 in astrocytes suggests that this scaffold protein may play an important role in astrocytic physiology.
Indexing termsPDZ; E3KARP; NHERF2; scaffolding; receptor; signaling Scaffold proteins play an important role in regulating cellular signaling by physically tethering together key molecular components of signaling pathways. Many scaffold proteins consist of a series of modular domains that bind to specific motifs on target proteins. For example, NHERF-2 (also known as E3KARP, SIP-1, and TKA-1) is a scaffold protein that contains two PDZ domains and one ERM-binding domain (Yun et al., 1997). PDZ domains are named for the first three proteins in which they were described (postsynaptic density-95, discs large, zona occludens-1) and mediate protein-protein interactions by binding to the last few carboxyl- terminal residues of their target proteins (Hung and Sheng, 2002). ERM (ezrin, ra-dixin, moesin)-binding domains link NHERF-2 and the related scaffold NHERF-1 to the actin cytoskeleton by interacting with the ERM family of actin-binding proteins (Nguyen et al, 2001). Thus, via these multiple domains, NHERF-2 can link its interacting partners to each other and to the actin cytoskeleton.The PDZ domains of NHERF-2 are known to interact with a handful of specific G proteincoupled receptors (GPCRs), growth factor receptors, ion channels, transporters, and cellular signaling effectors (Shenolikar et al., 2004). By recruiting protein targets and forming protein complexes, NHERF-2 can regulate the targeting and/or trafficking of its binding partners as well as their physiological functions. For example, the simultaneous interaction of NHERF-2 with phospholipase Cβ (PLCβ) and either the purinergic P2Y 1 receptor or lysophosphatidic acid LPA 2 receptor results in enhanced rece...