A prenylated p47phox-p67phox-Rac1 chimera is a quintessential NADPH oxidase activator: Membrane association and functional capacity

Abstract

The superoxide-generating NADPH oxidase complex of resting phagocytes includes cytochrome b559, a membrane-associated heterodimer composed of two subunits (Nox2 and p22phox), and four cytosolic proteins (p47phox, p67phox, Rac, and p40phox). Upon stimulation, the cytosolic components translocate to the membrane, as the result of a series of interactions among the cytosolic components and among the cytosolic components and cytochrome b559 and its phospholipid environment. Wedescribed the construction of a tripartite chimera (trimera) consisting of strategic domains of p47phox, p67phox, and Rac1, in which interactions among cytosolic components were replaced by fusion (Berdichevsky, Y., Mizrahi, A., Ugolev, Y., Molshanski-Mor, S., and Pick, E. (2007) J. Biol. Chem. 282, 22122-22139). We now fused green fluorescent protein (GFP) to the N terminus of the trimera and found the following. 1) The GFP-p47phox-p67phox-Rac1 trimera activates the oxidase in amphiphile-dependent and -independent (anionic phospholipid-enriched membrane) cell-free systems. 2) Geranylgeranylation of the GFP-trimera makes it a potent oxidase activator in unmodified (native) membranes and in the absence of amphiphile. 3) Prenylated GFP-trimera binds spontaneously to native membranes (as assessed by gel filtration and in-line fluorometry), forming a tight complex capable of NADPH-dependent, activator-independent superoxide production at rates similar to those measured in canonical cell-free systems. 4) Prenylation of the GFP-trimera supersedes completely the dependence of oxidase activation on the p47phox phox homology domain and, partially, on the Rac1 polybasic domain, but the requirement for Trp193 in p47 phox persists. Prenylated GFP-p47phox-p67 phox-Rac1 trimera acts as a quintessential single molecule oxidase activator of potential use in high throughput screening of inhibitors. © 2010 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.