Regulation of β2-adrenergic receptor maturation and anterograde trafficking by an interaction with Rab geranylgeranyltransferase: Modulation of rab geranylgeranylation by the receptor

Abstract

Previous reports by us and others demonstrated that G protein-coupled receptors interact functionally with Rab GTPases. Here, we show that the β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR) interacts with the Rab geranylgeranyltransferase α-subunit (RGGTA). Confocal microscopy showed that β2AR co-localizes with RGGTA in intracellular compartments and at the plasma membrane. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed that RGGTA binds to the L339L340 motif in the β2AR C terminus known to be involved in the transport of the receptor from the endoplasmic reticulum to the cell surface. Modulation of the cellular levels of RGGTA protein by overexpression or siRNA-mediated knockdown of the endogenous protein demonstrated that RGGTA has a positive role in the maturation and anterograde trafficking of the β2AR, which requires the interaction of RGGTA with the β2AR L 339L340 motif. Furthermore, the β2AR modulates the geranylgeranylation of Rab6a, Rab8a, and Rab11a, but not of other Rab proteins tested in this study. Regulation of Rab geranylgeranylation by the β2AR was dependent on the RGGTA-interacting L 339L340 motif. Interestingly, a RGGTA-Y107F mutant was unable to regulate Rab geranylgeranylation but still promoted β2AR maturation, suggesting that RGGTA may have functions independent of Rab geranylgeranylation. We demonstrate for the first time an interaction between a transmembrane receptor and RGGTA which regulates the maturation and anterograde transport of the receptor, as well as geranylgeranylation of Rab GTPases. © 2011 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.