Abstract
Adaptor protein Grb2 binds phosphotyrosines in the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) and thereby links receptor activation to intracellular signaling cascades. Here, we investigated how recruitment of Grb2 to EGFR is affected by the spatial organization and quaternary state of activated EGFR. We used the techniques of image correlation spectroscopy (ICS) and lifetime-detected Förster resonance energy transfer (also known as FLIM-based FRET or FLIM-FRET) to measure ligand-induced receptor clustering and Grb2 binding to activated EGFR in BaF/3 cells. BaF/3 cells were stably transfected with fluorescently labeled forms of Grb2 (Grb2-mRFP) and EGFR (EGFR-eGFP). Following stimulation of the cells with EGF, we detected nanometer-scale association of Grb2-mRFP with EGFR-eGFP clusters, which contained, on average, 4 ± 1 copies of EGFR-eGFP per cluster. In contrast, the pool of EGFR-eGFP without Grb2-mRFP had an average cluster size of 1 ± 0.3 EGFR molecules per punctum. In the absence of EGF, there was no association between EGFR-eGFP and Grb2-mRFP. To interpret these data, we extended our recently developed model for EGFR activation, which considers EGFR oligomerization up to tetramers, to include recruitment of Grb2 to phosphorylated EGFR. The extended model, with adjustment of one new parameter (the ratio of the Grb2 and EGFR copy numbers), is consistent with a cluster size distribution where 2% of EGFR monomers, 5% of EGFR dimers, < 1% of EGFR trimers, and 94% of EGFR tetramers are associated with Grb2. Together, our experimental and modeling results further implicate tetrameric EGFR as the key signaling unit and call into question the widely held view that dimeric EGFR is the predominant signaling unit.
Recommended Citation
N. Kozer et al., "Recruitment of the Adaptor Protein Grb2 to EGFR Tetramers," Biochemistry, vol. 53, no. 16, pp. 2594 - 2604, American Chemical Society (ACS), Apr 2014.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1021/bi500182x
Department(s)
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Keywords and Phrases
Energy Transfer; Proteins, Cluster-Size Distribution; Epidermal Growth Factors; Image Correlation Spectroscopy; Intracellular Signaling; Nano-Meter-Scale; Receptor Activation; Resonance Energy Transfer; Spatial Organization, Dimers, Dimer; Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor; Growth Factor Receptor Bound Protein 2; Monomer; Tetramer, Animal Cell; Article; Cell Stimulation; Controlled Study; Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; Genetic Transfection; Image Correlation Spectroscopy; Nonhuman; Oligomerization; Priority Journal; Protein Binding; Protein Phosphorylation; Signal Transduction; Spectroscopy, Animals; Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; GRB2 Adaptor Protein; Green Fluorescent Proteins; Humans; Mice; Models, Molecular; Models, Theoretical; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor; Recombinant Proteins
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0006-2960
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2014 American Chemical Society (ACS), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Apr 2014
PubMed ID
24697349
Comments
ACS AuthorChoice -- This is an open access article published under an ACS AuthorChoice License, which permits copying and redistribution of the article or any adaptations for non-commercial purposes.