Functional specialization of β-arrestin interactions revealed by proteomic analysis

Abstract

β-arrestins are cytosolic proteins that form complexes with seven-transmembrane receptors after agonist stimulation and phosphorylation by the G protein-coupled receptor kinases. They play an essential role in receptor desensitization and endocytosis, and they also serve as receptor-regulated signaling scaffolds and adaptors. Moreover, in the past decade, a growing list of protein–protein interactions of β-arrestins pertinent to these functions has been documented. The discovery of several novel functions of β-arrestins stimulated us to perform a global proteomics analysis of β-arrestin-interacting proteins (interactome) as modulated by a model seven-transmembrane receptor, the angiotensin II type 1a receptor, in an attempt to assess the full range of functions of these versatile molecules. As determined by LC tandem MS, 71 proteins interacted with β-arrestin 1, 164 interacted with β-arrestin 2, and 102 interacted with both β-arrestins. Some proteins bound only after agonist stimulation, whereas others dissociated. Bioinformatics analysis of the data indicates that proteins involved in cellular signaling, organization, and nucleic acid binding are the most highly represented in the β-arrestin interactome. Surprisingly, both S-arrestin (visual arrestin) and X-arrestin (cone arrestin) were also found in heteromeric complex with β-arrestins. The β-arrestin interactors distribute not only in the cytoplasm, but also in the nucleus as well as other subcellular compartments. The binding of 16 randomly selected newly identified β-arrestin partners was validated by coimmunoprecipitation assays in HEK293 cells. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of proteins that bind β-arrestin isoforms and underscores their potentially broad regulatory roles in mammalian cellular physiology.