Rho GTPases regulate a multitude of cellular processes from cytoskeletal reorganization to gene transcription and are negatively regulated by GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs). Cdc42 GTPase-activating protein (CdGAP) is a ubiquitously expressed GAP for Rac1 and Cdc42. In this study, we set out to identify CdGAP-binding partners and, using a yeast two-hybrid approach, glycogen synthase kinase 3alpha (GSK-3alpha) was identified as a partner for CdGAP. GSK-3 exists in two isoforms, alpha and beta, and is involved in regulating many cellular functions from insulin response to tumorigenesis. We show that GSK-3alpha and -beta interact with CdGAP in mammalian cells. We also demonstrate that GSK-3 phosphorylates CdGAP both in vitro and in vivo on Thr-776, which we have previously shown to be an ERK 1/2 phosphorylation site involved in CdGAP regulation. We report that the mRNA and protein levels of CdGAP are increased upon serum stimulation and that GSK-3 activity is necessary for the up-regulation of the protein levels of CdGAP but not for the increase in mRNA. We conclude that GSK-3 is an important regulator of CdGAP and that regulation of CdGAP protein levels by serum presents a novel mechanism for cells to control Cdc42/Rac1 GTPase signaling pathways.

Deficiency of the interferon consensus sequence-binding protein (ICSBP) is associated with increased myeloid cell proliferation in response to hematopoietic cytokines. However, previously identified ICSBP target genes do not indicate a mechanism for this \"cytokine hypersensitivity.\" In these studies, we identify the gene encoding neurofibromin 1 (Nf1) as an ICSBP target gene, by chromatin immunoprecipitation. Additionally, we find decreased Nf1 expression in bone marrow-derived myeloid cells from ICSBP-/- mice. Since Nf1 deficiency is also associated with cytokine hypersensitivity, our results suggested that NF1 is a functionally significant ICSBP target gene. Consistent with this, we find that the hypersensitivity of ICSBP-/- myeloid cells to granulocyte monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is reversed by expression of the Nf1 GAP-related domain. We also find that treatment of ICSBP-deficient myeloid cells with monocyte colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) results in sustained Ras activation, ERK phosphorylation, and proliferation associated with impaired Nf1 expression. These M-CSF effects are reversed by ICSBP expression in ICSBP-/- cells. Consistent with this, we find that ICSBP activates the NF1 promoter in myeloid cell line transfectants and identify an ICSBP-binding NF1 cis element. Therefore, the absence of ICSBP leads to Nf1 deficiency, impairing down-regulation of Ras activation by GM-CSF or M-CSF. These results suggest that one mechanism of increased myeloid proliferation, in ICSBP-deficient cells, is decreased NF1 gene transcription. This novel ICSBP function provides insight into regulation of myelopoiesis under normal conditions and in myeloproliferative disorders.

Synthetic peptides have been used to define the consensus amino acid sequence for substrate recognition by the meiosis-activated myelin basic protein (MBP) kinase (p44mpk), which was purified from maturing sea star oocytes. This protein kinase shares many properties with the mitogen-activated microtubule-associated protein-2 kinase (p42mapk) in vertebrates. Recently, Thr-97 in the tryptic fragment KNIVTPRTPPPSQGK of bovine MBP was identified as the major site of phosphorylation by p44mpk (Sanghera, J. S., Aebersold, R., Morrison, H. D., Bures, E. J., and Pelech, S. L. (1990) FEBS Lett. 273, 223-226). Synthetic peptides modeled after this sequence revealed that the presence of a proline residue C-terminal (+1 position) to the phosphorylatable threonine (or serine) residue was critical for recognition by p44mpk. Although not essential, a proline residue located at the -2 position enhanced the Vmax of peptide phosphorylation. Basic, acidic, and non-polar residues were equally tolerated at the -1 position. The presence of an amino acid residue at position -3 also increased peptide phosphorylation. Thus, the optimum consensus sequence for phosphorylation by p44mpk was defined as Pro-X-(Ser/Thr)-Pro, where X is a variable amino acid residue, but ideally not a Pro. Peptides that included this sequence were phosphorylated by p44mpk with Vmax values approaching 1 mumol.min-1.mg-1 and with apparent Km values of approximately 1 mM). Pseudosubstrate peptides in which the phosphorylatable residue was replaced by valine or alanine were weak inhibitors of p44mpk (apparent Ki values of approximately 3 mM). Over 40 distinct protein kinases contain Pro-X-(Ser/Thr)-Pro sequences including the human receptors for insulin and epidermal growth factor, and kinases encoded by the human proto-oncogenes abl, neu, and raf-1, and Schizosaccharomyces pombe cell cycle control genes ran-1 and wee-1. Multiple putative sites were also identified in rat microtubule-associated protein-2, human retinoblastoma protein, human tau protein, and Drosophila myb protein and RNA polymerase II.