GSK-3β phosphorylation inhibits p190A GAP activity. A, in
vitro assay of p190A GAP activity toward the Rho GTPase, demonstrating
that MAPK priming-dependent phosphorylation by GSK-3β reduced GAP
activity as reflected in an increase in the percentage of
[32P]GTP-loaded GTPase retained on filters. Error bars
reflect S.D. from four independent assays. B, in vitro
phosphorylation reactions using [32P]ATP, demonstrating the
kinetics of priming and subsequent phosphorylation of p190A by GSK-3β
following SDS-PAGE and autoradiography (lower panel). The upper
panel demonstrates equivalent levels of p190A as shown by Coomassie Blue
staining. Similar conditions (leading to maximal phosphorylation; 60 min
priming and 60 min GSK-3β phosphorylation) were used to prepare the
material for use in the assays presented in A. C, two distinct types
of morphologies are seen in COS-7 cells transiently transfected with
pEGFP-p190A-WT or the various indicated mutants. The left panel
exemplifies a cell demonstrating strong RhoGAP activity, as evidenced by the
rounded morphology and thin cellular processes. The fluorescent signal is
derived from the GFP portion of the p190A fusion protein. D, the
indicated p190A constructs were transiently transfected into COS-7 cells.
Immunoblots demonstrate the protein levels of p190A in transfected cells.
GSK-3β was immunoblotted as a loading control. E, quantification
of the percentage of transfected (GFP-positive) cells exhibiting the
morphology characteristic of strong RhoGAP activity for each of the various
p190A constructs. Error bars indicate S.D. (n = 200 for each
construct). F, COS-7 cells were transiently transfected with either
GFP or pEGFP-p190A-WT. At 40 h post-transfection, the cells were treated with
DMSO, GSK-3β inhibitor XII, SB203580, U0126, or roscovitine for 4 h as
indicated. The cells were then fixed and counted. The graph illustrates the
average percentage of transfected cells exhibiting the strong RhoGAP phenotype
(“GAP cells”) from three independent experiments, with the
error bars representing S.D.