Molecular cloning of the human rad gene: gene structure and complete nucleotide sequence

Into the spotlight: RGK proteins in skeletal muscle

The RGK (Rad, Rem, Rem2 and Gem/Kir) family of small GTPases are potent endogenous inhibitors of voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels (VGCCs). While the impact of RGK proteins on cardiac physiology has been investigated extensively, much less is known regarding their influence on skeletal muscle biology. Thus, the purpose of this article is to establish a basis for future investigation into the role of RGK proteins in regulating the skeletal muscle excitation-contraction (EC) coupling complex via modulation of the L-type Ca_V1.1 VGCC. The pathological consequences of elevated muscle RGK protein expression in Type II Diabetes, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy and traumatic nerve injury are also discussed.

Potent inhibition of L-type Ca2+ currents by a Rad variant associated with congestive heart failure

Ca(2+) influx via L-type voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels supports the plateau phase of ventricular action potentials and is the trigger for excitation-contraction (EC) coupling in the myocardium. Rad, a member of the RGK (Rem, Rem2, Rad, Gem/Kir) family of monomeric G proteins, regulates ventricular action potential duration and EC coupling gain through its ability to inhibit cardiac L-type channel activity. In this study, we have investigated the potential dysfunction of a naturally occurring Rad variant (Q66P) that has been associated with congestive heart failure in humans. Specifically, we have tested whether Rad Q66P limits, or even eliminates, the inhibitory actions of Rad on CaV1.2 and CaV1.3, the two L-type channel isoforms known to be expressed in the heart. We have found that mouse Rad Q65P (the murine equivalent of human Rad Q66P) inhibits L-type currents conducted by CaV1.2 or CaV1.3 channels as potently as wild-type Rad (>95% inhibition of both channels). In addition, Rad Q65P attenuates the gating movement of both channels as effectively as wild-type Rad, indicating that the Q65P substitution does not differentially impair any of the three described modes of L-type channel inhibition by RGK proteins. Thus, we conclude that if Rad Q66P contributes to cardiomyopathy, it does so via a mechanism that is not related to its ability to inhibit L-type channel-dependent processes per se. However, our results do not rule out the possibility that decreased expression, mistargeting or altered regulation of Rad Q66P may reduce the RGK protein's efficacy in vivo.

Platelet-derived growth factor induces Rad expression through Egr-1 in vascular smooth muscle cells

BACKGROUND

Ras associated with diabetes (Rad) inhibits vascular lesion formation by reducing the attachment and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). However, the transcriptional regulation of Rad in VSMCs is unclear.

METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

We found that Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF)induced Rad expression in a time- and dose-dependent manner in rat aortic smooth muscle cells (RASMCs) using quantitative real-time PCR. By serial deletion analysis of the Rad promoter, we identified that two GC-rich early growth response-1 (Egr-1) binding sites are essential for PDGF-induced Rad promoter activation. Overexpression of Egr-1 in RASMCs strongly stimulated Rad expression while the Egr-1 corepressor, NGFI-A binding protein 2 (NAB2), repressed PDGF-induced Rad up-regulation in a dose-dependent manner. Direct binding of Egr-1 to the Rad promoter region was further confirmed by chromatin immunoprecipitation assays.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results demonstrate that Rad is regulated by PDGF through the transcriptional factor Egr-1 in RASMCs.

The ras-related protein rad associates with the cytoskeleton in a non-lipid-dependent manner

Rad is the prototypic member of a new family of Ras-related proteins (Rad, Gem, and Kir) which lack typical C-terminal amino acid motifs for isoprenylation. In mouse C2C12 muscle cell lines about 50% of Rad protein resides in the cytosol and behaves as a hydrophilic protein partitioning away from TX-114. The remainder of Rad is associated with plasma and internal membranes. The association of Rad with the membrane does not occur through the lipid bilayer, but instead depends on the interaction of Rad with the cytoskeleton or membrane skeleton. In contrast to Ras, biosynthetic labeling of cellular proteins in C2Cl2 cells with [3H]palmitic acid demonstrates that Rad is not modified with this fatty acid, and inhibition of isoprenylation with lovastatin treatment has no effect on Rad subcellular distribution. Furthermore, removal of the C-terminal 11 amino acids that are precisely conserved in all three Rad family members has no effect on Rad subcellular distribution. Addition of the 9 amino acids from the C-terminus of H-Ras to the truncated Rad protein results in a redistribution of Rad from the cytosol to the membrane skeleton without the presence of any detectable lipid modification of the chimeric protein. These data suggest that Rad possesses unique cellular localization signals which, in contrast to other Ras-related family members, do not depend on the lipid modification of the C-terminus.