Gβ5-RGS7 inhibits Gαq-mediated signaling via a direct protein-protein interaction

Abstract

A subfamily of regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins consisting of RGS6, -7, -9, and -11 is characterized by the presence of a unique Gγ-like domain through which they form obligatory dimers with the G protein subunit Gβ5 in vivo. In Caenorhabditis elegans, orthologs of Gβ5-RGS dimers are implicated in regulating both Gαi and Gαq signaling, and in cell-based assays these dimers regulate Gαi/o- and Gαq/11-mediated pathways. However, initial studies with purified Gβ5-RGS6 or Gβ5-RGS7 showed that they only serve as GTPase activating proteins for Gαo. Pull-down assays and co-immunoprecipitation with these dimers failed to detect their binding to either Gαo or Gαq, indicating that the interaction might require additional factors present in vivo. Here, we asked if the RGS7-Gβ5 complex binds to Gαq using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) in transiently transfected mammalian cells. RGS7, Gβ5, and Gα subunits were tagged with yellow variants of green fluorescent protein. First we confirmed the functional activity of the fusion proteins by co-immunoprecipitation and also their effect on signaling. Second, we again demonstrate the interaction between RGS7 and Gβ5 using FRET. Finally, using both FRET spectroscopy on cell suspensions and microscopy of individual cells, we showed FRET between the yellow fluorescence protein-tagged RGS7-Gβ5 complex and cyan fluorescence protein-tagged Gαq, indicating a direct interaction between these molecules.