Mutational analysis of the TRE2 oncogene encoding an inactive RabGAP

The TRE2 oncoprotein is structurally related to the RabGAP (GTPase-activating protein) family. However, TRE2 seems enzymatically inactive. Two regions are important for its lack of GAP activity. First, the TBC domain, forming the catalytically active domain of RabGAPs, is non-functional in the oncoprotein. Also involved in TRE2 inactivity is the 93-aa region flanking the TBC domain on the C-terminal side. In order to identify the residues responsible for non-functionality, we performed hydrophobic cluster analysis of the oncoprotein sequence, combined with secondary structure prediction, receptor-binding domain analysis, and a tilted peptide calculation. These analyses were complemented with site-directed and random mutagenesis experiments. On the basis of our data, we hypothesize that the lack of secondary structure of the region flanking the TBC domain in TRE2 may explain why this region plays a role in the lack of GAP activity, even when a potentially functional TBC domain is present.