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    J Cell Sci. 2005 May 1;118(Pt 9):1861-72. Epub 2005 Apr 12.

    PAK4 mediates morphological changes through the regulation of GEF-H1.

    Callow MG, Zozulya S, Gishizky ML, Jallal B, Smeal T.

    SUGEN Incorporated, 230 East Grand Avenue, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA.

    Precise spatial and temporal regulation of Rho GTPases is required in controlling F-actin-based changes in cell morphology. The molecular mechanisms through which microtubules (MTs) modulate the activity of RhoGTPases and regulate the actin cytoskeleton are unclear. Here we show that p21-activated-kinase 4 (PAK4) mediates morphological changes through its association with the Rho-family guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF), GEF-H1. We show that this association is dependent upon a novel GEF-H1 interaction domain (GID) within PAK4. Further, we show that PAK4-mediated phosphorylation of Ser810 acts as a switch to block GEF-H1-dependent stress fiber formation while promoting the formation of lamellipodia in NIH-3T3 cells. We found that the endogenous PAK4-GEF-H1 complex associates with MTs and that PAK4 phosphorylation of MT-bound GEF-H1 releases it into the cytoplasm of NIH-3T3 cells, which coincides with the dissolution of stress fibers. Our observations propose a novel role for PAK4 in GEF-H1-dependent crosstalk between MTs and the actin cytoskeleton.

    PMID: 15827085 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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