Structural basis for the interaction of the adaptor protein grb14 with activated ras

PLoS One. 2013 Aug 13;8(8):e72473. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0072473. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Grb14, a member of the Grb7-10-14 family of cytoplasmic adaptor proteins, is a tissue-specific negative regulator of insulin signaling. Grb7-10-14 contain several signaling modules, including a Ras-associating (RA) domain, a pleckstrin-homology (PH) domain, a family-specific BPS (between PH and SH2) region, and a C-terminal Src-homology-2 (SH2) domain. We showed previously that the RA and PH domains, along with the BPS region and SH2 domain, are necessary for downregulation of insulin signaling. Here, we report the crystal structure at 2.4-Å resolution of the Grb14 RA and PH domains in complex with GTP-loaded H-Ras (G12V). The structure reveals that the Grb14 RA and PH domains form an integrated structural unit capable of binding simultaneously to small GTPases and phosphoinositide lipids. The overall mode of binding of the Grb14 RA domain to activated H-Ras is similar to that of the RA domains of RalGDS and Raf1 but with important distinctions. The integrated RA-PH structural unit in Grb7-10-14 is also found in a second adaptor family that includes Rap1-interacting adaptor molecule (RIAM) and lamellipodin, proteins involved in actin-cytoskeleton rearrangement. The structure of Grb14 RA-PH in complex with H-Ras represents the first detailed molecular characterization of tandem RA-PH domains bound to a small GTPase and provides insights into the molecular basis for specificity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / chemistry*
  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / metabolism
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Humans
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Conformation
  • Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) / chemistry*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) / metabolism
  • src Homology Domains

Substances

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing
  • GRB14 protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)