CalDAG-GEFIII controls Ca2⁺ entry via Rap1 and H-Ras, triggering distinct signaling pathways

Objective: Small GTPase Rap1 plays key functions in endothelium, including controlling Ca2+-dependent endothelial function (NO release). Our recent study suggests the Rap1A isoform restricts Ca2+ entry, to control eNOS activity. The activity of Rap1, a GDP to GTP switch, is controlled by Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors (GEFs). However, how Rap1 is activated in the context of Ca2+ signaling and regulation of eNOS activity is unknown. A Ca2+ and diacylglycerol (DAG)-activated CalDAG-GEFIII can activate Ha-Ras, R-Ras, and Rap1, but its functions in endothelial cells (ECs), and the signaling specificity of CalDAG-GEFIII through Rap1 and Ras pathways are not well understood. Our study aims to elucidate the role of CalDAG-GEFIII in regulating Ca2+ signaling in ECs. Approach and Results: To determine relative expression of Rap1 GEFs in ECs in different tissues, we reanalyzed the single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) data from eleven publicly available scRNA-seq datasets. We found RasGRP3 (encoding CalDAG-GEFIII) was highly expressed compared to other Rap1-GEFs in endothelial cells from different organs. To examine the involvement of CalDAG-GEFIII Rap1 and Ras activation in heart ECs, we determined the effect of on Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)-induced Rap1-GTP and Ras-GTP loading using pull-down assay. Knockdown of RasGRP3 blocked Rap1 and Ras activation downstream from VEGFR2, suggesting CalDAG-GEFIII acts as a GEF (activator) of both Rap1 and Ras in endothelial cells. To examine the involvement of CalDAG-GEFIII and H-Ras in Ca2+ signaling in ECs, we measured VEGF-induced intracellular Ca2+ using Fura2 dye, an intracellular Ca2+ indicator, in siRasGRP3, siH-Ras (most highly expressed Ras isoform) and siControl HUVECs. We found that Ca2+ release unchanged, but Ca2+ entry was increased in siRasGRP3 and siRas ECs, similarly to what we had found in siRap1A ECs. This suggests that Ras, like Rap1, limits ATP and TG-induced Ca2+ entry in HUVECs and that CalDAG-GEFIII may act upstream from both Rap1 and Ras. The elevated Ca2+ entry in siRap1A, siRasGRP3 ECs was partially normalized by exogenous expression of constitutively activated Rap1A or activation of Rap1 A by cAMP-dependent GEF, Epac. This indicates that Rap1A controls Ca2+ entry both acutely via a signaling mechanism, and at the transcript level. To determine the involvement of CalDAG-GEFIII in signaling by Rap1 and Ras, we determined the impact of siRNA knockdown of siRap1, siRas and siRasGRP3 on Ser1177 eNOS phosphorylation and Thr202/Tyr204 ERK phosphorylation in response to VEGF stimulation. Knockdown of RasGRP3 or Rap1 attenuated VEGF-induced Ser-1177 eNOS phosphorylation, while knockdown of RasGRP3 or Ras, but not Rap1, inhibited ERK phosphorylation in response to VEGF. Conclusions: Rap1 and Ras, activated downstream from CalDAG-GEFIII in response to VEGF activation, limit agonist-induced Ca2+ entry in endothelial cells. CalDAG-GEFIII promotes eNOS phosphorylation through Rap1B and promotes ERK phosphorylation via Ras, independent of Rap1. This suggests that CalDAG-GEFIII acts in two separate pathways, that are Rap1 and Ras dependent. NIH NHLBI: R01HL111582. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.