Rabex-5 is a Rab22 effector and mediates a Rab22-Rab5 signaling cascade in endocytosis

Rabex-5 targets to early endosomes and functions as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Rab5. Membrane targeting is critical for Rabex-5 to activate Rab5 on early endosomes in the cell. Here, we report the identification of Rab22 as a binding site on early endosomes for direct recruitment of Rabex-5 and activation of Rab5, establishing a Rab22-Rab5 signaling relay to promote early endosome fusion. Rab22 in guanosine 5'-O-(3-thio)triphosphate-loaded form, but not guanosine diphosphate-loaded form, binds to the early endosomal targeting domain (residues 81-230) of Rabex-5 in pull-down assays. Rabex-5 targets to Rab22-containing early endosomes, and Rab22 knockdown by short hairpin RNA abrogates the membrane targeting of Rabex-5 in the cell. In addition, coexpression of Rab22 and Rab5 shows synergistic enlargement of early endosomes, and this synergy is dependent on Rabex-5, providing further support for the collaboration of the two Rab GTPases in regulation of endosome dynamics. This novel Rab22-Rabex-5-Rab5 cascade is functionally important for the endocytosis and degradation of epidermal growth factor.