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Molecular and Cellular Biology, January 2000, p. 158-172, Vol. 20, No. 1
Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of
Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, United Kingdom,1
and Glaxo-IMCB Group, Institute of Molecular and Cell
Biology, Singapore 0511, Singapore2
Received 9 December 1998/Returned for modification 25 January
1999/Accepted 29 September 1999
Ras and Rho family GTPases have been ascribed important roles in
signalling pathways determining cellular morphology and growth. Here we
investigated the roles of the GTPases Ras, Cdc42, Rac1, and Rho and
that of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) in the pathway
leading from serum starvation to neurite outgrowth in N1E-115
neuroblastoma cells. Serum-starved cells grown on a laminin matrix
exhibited integrin-dependent neurite outgrowth. Expression of dominant
negative mutants of Ras, PI 3-kinase, Cdc42, or Rac1 all blocked this
neurite outgrowth, while constitutively activated mutants of Ras, PI
3-kinase, or Cdc42 were each sufficient to promote outgrowth even in
the presence of serum. A RasH40C;G12V double mutant which
binds preferentially to PI 3-kinase also promoted neurite formation.
Activated RasG12V-induced outgrowth required PI 3-kinase
activity, but activated PI 3-kinase-induced outgrowth did not require
Ras activity. Although activated Rac1 by itself did not induce
neurites, neurite outgrowth induced by activated Cdc42G12V
was Rac1 dependent. Cdc42G12V-induced neurites appeared to
lose their normal polarization, almost doubling the average number of
neurites produced by a single cell. Outgrowth induced by activated Ras
or PI 3-kinase required both Cdc42 and Rac1 activity, but
Cdc42G12V-induced outgrowth did not need Ras or PI 3-kinase
activity. Active RhoG14V reduced outgrowth promoted by
RasG12V. Finally, expression of dominant negative Jun
N-terminal kinase or extracellular signal-regulated kinase did not
inhibit outgrowth, suggesting these pathways are not essential for this
process. Our results suggest a hierarchy of signalling where Ras
signals through PI 3-kinase to Cdc42 and Rac1 activation (and Rho
inactivation), culminating in neurite outgrowth. Thus, in the absence
of serum factors, Ras may initiate cell cycle arrest and terminal
differentiation in N1E-115 neuroblastoma cells.
0270-7306/0/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase, Cdc42, and Rac1 Act
Downstream of Ras in Integrin-Dependent Neurite Outgrowth in
N1E-115 Neuroblastoma Cells
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Neurochemistry, Institute of Neurology, UCL, 1 Wakefield St., London WC1N 1PJ, United Kingdom. Phone: 0171-278 1552. Fax: 0171-278 7045. E-mail: r.kozma{at}ion.ucl.ac.uk.
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