Identification of an inhibitory domain in GTPase-activating protein p190RhoGAP responsible for masking its functional GAP domain

The GTPase-activating protein (GAP) p190RhoGAP (p190A) is encoded by ARHGAP35 which is found mutated in cancers. p190A is a negative regulator of the GTPase RhoA in cells and must be targeted to RhoA-dependent actin-based structures to fulfill its roles. We previously identified a functional region of p190A called the PLS (protrusion localization sequence) required for localization of p190A to lamellipodia but also for regulating the GAP activity of p190A. Additional effects of the PLS region on p190A localization and activity need further characterization. Here, we demonstrated that the PLS is required to target p190A to invadosomes. Cellular expression of a p190A construct devoid of the PLS (p190AΔPLS) favored RhoA inactivation in a stronger manner than WT p190A, suggesting that the PLS is an autoinhibitory domain of p190A GAP activity. To decipher this mechanism, we searched for PLS-interacting proteins using a two-hybrid screen. We found that the PLS can interact with p190A itself. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that the PLS interacts with a region in close proximity to the GAP domain. Furthermore, we demonstrated that this interaction is abolished if the PLS harbors cancer-associated mutations: the S866F point mutation and the Δ865–870 deletion. Our results are in favor of defining PLS as an inhibitory domain responsible for masking the p190A functional GAP domain. Thus, p190A could exist in cells under two forms: an inactive closed conformation with a masked GAP domain and an open conformation allowing p190A GAP function. Altogether, our data unveil a new mechanism of p190A regulation.