Chemical genetic identification of GAK substrates reveals its role in regulating Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase

Cyclin G–associated kinase (GAK) is a ubiquitous serine/threonine kinase that facilitates clathrin uncoating during vesicle trafficking. GAK phosphorylates a coat adaptor component, AP2M1, to help achieve this function. GAK is also implicated in Parkinson's disease through genome-wide association studies. However, GAK's role in mammalian neurons remains unclear, and insight may come from identification of further substrates. Employing a chemical genetics method, we show here that the sodium potassium pump (Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase) α-subunit Atp1a3 is a GAK target and that GAK regulates Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase trafficking to the plasma membrane. Whole-cell patch clamp recordings from CA1 pyramidal neurons in GAK conditional knockout mice show a larger change in resting membrane potential when exposed to the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase blocker ouabain, indicating compromised Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase function in GAK knockouts. Our results suggest a modulatory role for GAK via phosphoregulation of substrates such as Atp1a3 during cargo trafficking.