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The small GTPase Rac3 interacts with the integrin-binding protein CIB and promotes integrin
Leena Haataja1, Vesa Kaartinen, John Groffen
1Division of Hematology/Oncology, Section of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Research Institute and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90027, USA.
Abstract:
There are only three human isoforms of the small GTPase Rac, which together regulate a variety of cellular processes, including those related to actin cytoskeletal reorganization. A role for Rac3 in integrin-mediated adhesion and spreading has not been defined. We here report that CIB, a protein that binds to the alpha(IIb)beta(3) fibrinogen receptor, interacts exclusively with activated (V12) Rac3 but not Rac1 or Rac2. Binding of V12Rac3 to CIB was mediated by the C-terminal end of Rac3 and by Rac3 membrane localization. Adhesion of cells on fibrinogen was accompanied by a specific increase in the levels of Rac3 but not Rac1 or Rac2 in the Triton-insoluble fraction of the cell. Also, CIB co-localized with active Rac3 to the periphery of cells adhering to fibrinogen. Expression of V12Rac3 and CIB stimulated alpha(IIb)beta(3)-mediated adhesion and spreading on fibrinogen. Moreover, adhesion through alpha(IIb)beta(3) caused a marked increase in the levels of endogenous GTP-bound Rac3 but not Rac1. These combined results strongly implicate Rac3 and CIB in integrin-associated cytoskeletal reorganization during alpha(IIb)beta(3)-mediated adhesion.