RhoC GTPase Activation Assay

Summary

This protocol utilizes a pull down assay to determine the levels of active RhoC GTPase within cells.

Abstract

RhoC GTPase has 91% homology to RhoA GTPase. Because of its prevalence in cells, many reagents and techniques for RhoA GTPase have been developed. However, RhoC GTPase is expressed in metastatic cancer cells at relatively low levels. Therefore, few RhoC-specific reagents have been developed. We have adapted a Rho activation assay to detect RhoC GTPase. This technique utilizes a GST-Rho binding domain fusion protein to pull out active RhoC GTPase. In addition, we can harvest total protein at the beginning of the assay to determine levels of total (GTP and GDP bound) RhoC GTPase. This allows for the determination of active versus total RhoC GTPase in the cell. Several commercial versions of this procedure have been developed however, the commercial kits are optimized for RhoA GTPase and typically do not work well for RhoC GTPase. Parts of the assay have been modified as well as development of a RhoC-specific antibody.

Protocol

1. Prepare GST-fusion Protein

1. Glycerol stocks of JM109 competent bacteria containing the first N-terminal 90 amino acids of the rhotekin Rho binding domain (RBD) subcloned into the BamH1/EcoR1 pGEX3x vector are made.
   
   To ensure High efficiency the following steps MUST be performed for each experiment. In our experience, freshly prepared GST-RBD is key to a robust and accurate GTPase activation assay.
2. Add 50 μL (approximate, do not thaw) of glycerol stock to 50 mL of LB amp and grow 37°C overnight with shaking.
3. Dilute 1:10 in 500 mL LB-amp and grow for 1 h.
4. Induce GST-protein production with 0.1 m....

Discussion

The most critical step of the procedure is the generation of fresh GST-RBD. Failure to pay close attention to this step is main reason for failure. All the steps, from generation of the GST-RBD (1.2) to the overnight incubation with the cell lysate (2.5), should be done in a single day. Another crucial step is to make certain that there are enough cells to produce the cell lysates. This is of particular importance when looking at RhoC GTPase, which tends to be present in low levels in the cell.

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Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Gluthione-sepharose 4B beads	GE Healthcare	17-0756-01
Criterion 4-20% Tris-HCl gels	Bio-Rad	345-0032