Characterization of a brain-specific Rho GTPase-activating protein, p200RhoGAP

The Rho GTPase-activating proteins (RhoGAPs) are a family of multifunctional molecules that transduce diverse intracellular signals by regulating Rho GTPase activities. A novel RhoGAP family member, p200RhoGAP, is cloned in human and mouse. The murine p200RhoGAP shares 86% sequence identity with the human homolog. In addition to a conserved RhoGAP domain at the N terminus, multiple proline-rich motifs are found in the C-terminal region of the molecules. Northern blot analysis revealed a brain-specific expression pattern of p200RhoGAP. The RhoGAP domain of p200RhoGAP stimulated the GTPase activities of Rac1 and RhoA in vitro and in vivo, and the conserved catalytic arginine residue (Arg-58) contributed to the GAP activity. Expression of the RhoGAP domain of p200RhoGAP in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts inhibited actin stress fiber formation stimulated by lysophosphatidic acid and platelet-derived growth factor-induced membrane ruffling but not Bradykinin-induced filopodia formation. Endogenous p200RhoGAP was localized to cortical actin in naive N1E-115 neuroblastoma cells and to the edges of extended neurites of differentiated N1E-115 cells. Transient expression of the RhoGAP domain and the full-length molecule, but not the catalytic arginine mutants, readily induced a differentiation phenotype in N1E-115 cells. Finally, p200RhoGAP was capable of binding to the Src homology 3 domains of Src, Crk, and Phospholipase Cgamma in vitro and became tyrosine-phosphorylated upon association with activated Src in cells. These results suggest that p200RhoGAP is involved in the regulation of neurite outgrowth by exerting its RhoGAP activity and that its cellular activity may be regulated through interaction with Src-like tyrosine kinases.