Dock7

Dock7 (Dedicator of cytokinesis 7), also known as Zir2, is a large (~240 kDa) protein involved in intracellular signalling networks.[5] It is a member of the DOCK-C subfamily of the DOCK family of guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) which function as activators of small G proteins. Dock7 activates isoforms of the small G protein Rac.

DOCK7
Identifiers
Aliases	DOCK7, EIEE23, ZIR2, Dock7, dedicator of cytokinesis 7
External IDs	OMIM: 615730 MGI: 1914549 HomoloGene: 23566 GeneCards: DOCK7
Gene location (Human) Chr. Chromosome 1 (human)[1] Band 1p31.3 Start 62,454,298 bp[1] End 62,688,386 bp[1]
Gene location (Mouse) Chr. Chromosome 4 (mouse)[2] Band 4 C6|4 45.6 cM Start 98,936,671 bp[2] End 99,120,915 bp[2]
Gene ontology Molecular function • Rac GTPase binding • guanyl-nucleotide exchange factor activity • GO:0001948 protein binding Cellular component • cell projection • focal adhesion • growth cone • basal part of cell • intracellular • axon • neuron projection • COP9 signalosome Biological process • cell differentiation • establishment of neuroblast polarity • axonogenesis • GO:0032861, GO:0032862, GO:0032856 activation of GTPase activity • small GTPase mediated signal transduction • interkinetic nuclear migration • nervous system development • positive regulation of peptidyl-serine phosphorylation • multicellular organism development • neuron projection development • regulation of neurogenesis • microtubule cytoskeleton organization • positive regulation of vascular associated smooth muscle cell migration • negative regulation of cold-induced thermogenesis Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
Species	Human	Mouse
Entrez	85440	67299
Ensembl	ENSG00000116641	ENSMUSG00000028556
UniProt	Q96N67	Q8R1A4
RefSeq (mRNA)	NM_001271999 NM_001272000 NM_001272001 NM_001272002 NM_033407 NM_001330614 NM_001367561	NM_001290636 NM_026082 NM_001369285 NM_001369286
RefSeq (protein)	NP_001258928 NP_001258929 NP_001258930 NP_001258931 NP_001317543 NP_212132 NP_001354490	n/a
Location (UCSC)	Chr 1: 62.45 – 62.69 Mb	Chr 4: 98.94 – 99.12 Mb
PubMed search	[3]	[4]
Wikidata
View/Edit Human View/Edit Mouse

Discovery

Dock7 was identified as one of a number of proteins which share high sequence similarity with the previously described protein Dock180, the archetypal member of the DOCK family.[6] Dock7 expression has been reported in neurons[7][8] and in the HEK 293 cell line.[9]

Structure and function

Dock7 is part of a large class of proteins (GEFs) which contribute to cellular signalling events by activating small G proteins. In their resting state G proteins are bound to Guanosine diphosphate (GDP) and their activation requires the dissociation of GDP and binding of guanosine triphosphate (GTP). GEFs activate G proteins by promoting this nucleotide exchange.

Dock7 and other DOCK family proteins differ from other GEFs in that they do not possess the canonical structure of tandem DH-PH domains known to elicit nucleotide exchange. Instead they possess a DHR2 domain which mediates G protein activation by stabilising it in its nucleotide free state.[10] They also contain a DHR1 domain which, in many DOCK family members, interacts with phospholipids.[11] Dock7 shares the highest level of sequence similarity with Dock6 and Dock8, the other members of the DOCK-C subfamily. However, the specificity of the Dock7 DHR2 domain appears to resemble that of DOCK-A/B subfamily proteins in that it binds Rac but not Cdc42.[7] Many DOCK family proteins contain important structural features at their N- and C-termini, however, these regions in Dock7 are poorly characterised thus far and no such features have been identified.

Regulation of Dock7 Activity

Many members of the DOCK family are regulated by protein-protein interactions mediated via domains at their N- and C-termini,[12] however, the mechanisms by which Dock7 is regulated are largely unknown. There is evidence that the production of PtdIns(3,4,5)P₃ by members of the Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) family is important for efficient recruitment of Dock7 since the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 was shown to block Dock7-dependent functions in neurons.[7] This observation is consistent with the role of the DHR1 domain in other DOCK family proteins. In neurons of the hippocampus Dock7 undergoes striking changes in subcellular localisation during the progressive stages of neuronal development, resulting in an abundance of this protein in a single neurite which goes on to form the axon of the polarised neuron.[7]

In Schwann cells (which generate an insulating layer, known as the myelin sheath, around axons of the peripheral nervous system) Dock7 appears to be activated downstream of the neuregulin receptor ErbB2, which receives signals from the axon that induce Schwann cell proliferation, migration and myelination. ErbB2 has been shown to tyrosine phosphorylate Dock7 and thus promote Schwann cell migration.[8]

Signalling downstream of Dock7

DOCK proteins are known activators of small G proteins of the Rho family. A study of Dock7 in HEK 293 cells and hippocampal neurons has shown that it can bind and promote nucleotide exchange on the Rac subfamily isoforms Rac1 and Rac3.[7] This work suggests that Dock7 is a key mediator of the process that specifies which of the many neurites will become the axon. Indeed, overexpression of Dock7 induced the formation of multiple axons and RNA interference knock-down of Dock7 prevented axon formation. In Schwann cells Dock7 was shown to regulate the activation of Cdc42 as well as Rac1 however no direct interaction between Dock7 and Cdc42 has been demonstrated.[8] Dock7 has also been reported to interact with the TSC1-TSC2 (also known as hamartin-tuberin) complex, the normal function of which is disrupted in sufferers of Tuberous sclerosis.[9][13] It was subsequently suggested that Dock7 may function as a GEF for Rheb, a small G protein that functions downstream of the TSC1-TSC2 complex. Although DOCK family proteins are generally considered as GEFs specific for Rho family G proteins Dock4 has been shown to bind and activate Rap1,[14] which is not a member of the Rho family. This apparent promiscuity among DOCK proteins and their targets, coupled with the fact that Rheb is highly expressed in the brain means that Dock7 GEF activity towards Rheb, although not yet demonstrated, would not be surprising.

References

1. GRCh38: Ensembl release 89: ENSG00000116641 - Ensembl, May 2017
2. GRCm38: Ensembl release 89: ENSMUSG00000028556 - Ensembl, May 2017
3. "Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
4. "Mouse PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
5. "Entrez Gene: DOCK7 dedicator of cytokinesis 7".
6. Côté JF, Vuori K (December 2002). "Identification of an evolutionarily conserved superfamily of DOCK180-related proteins with guanine nucleotide exchange activity". J. Cell Sci. 115 (Pt 24): 4901–13. doi:10.1242/jcs.00219. PMID 12432077.
7. Watabe-Uchida M, John KA, Janas JA, et al. (September 2006). "The Rac activator DOCK7 regulates neuronal polarity through local phosphorylation of stathmin/Op18". Neuron. 51 (6): 727–39. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2006.07.020. PMID 16982419.
8. Yamauchi J, Miyamoto Y, Chan JR, Tanoue A (April 2008). "ErbB2 directly activates the exchange factor Dock7 to promote Schwann cell migration". J. Cell Biol. 181 (2): 351–65. doi:10.1083/jcb.200709033. PMC 2315680. PMID 18426980.
9. Nellist M, Burgers PC, van den Ouweland AM, et al. (August 2005). "Phosphorylation and binding partner analysis of the TSC1-TSC2 complex". Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 333 (3): 818–26. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2005.05.175. PMID 15963462.
10. Côté JF, Vuori K (2006). "In vitro guanine nucleotide exchange activity of DHR-2/DOCKER/CZH2 domains". Methods Enzymol. 406: 41–57. doi:10.1016/S0076-6879(06)06004-6. PMID 16472648.
11. Côté JF, Motoyama AB, Bush JA, Vuori K (2005). "A novel and evolutionarily conserved PtdIns(3,4,5)P3-binding domain is necessary for DOCK180 signalling". Nat. Cell Biol. 7 (8): 797–807. doi:10.1038/ncb1280. PMC 1352170. PMID 16025104.
12. Meller N, Merlot S, Guda C (November 2005). "CZH proteins: a new family of Rho-GEFs". J. Cell Sci. 118 (Pt 21): 4937–46. doi:10.1242/jcs.02671. PMID 16254241.
13. Rosner M, Hanneder M, Siegel N, et al. (March 2008). "The tuberous sclerosis gene products hamartin and tuberin are multifunctional proteins with a wide spectrum of interacting partners". Mutation Research. 658 (3): 234–46. doi:10.1016/j.mrrev.2008.01.001. PMID 18291711.
14. Yajnik V, Paulding C, Sordella R, et al. (March 2003). "DOCK4, a GTPase activator, is disrupted during tumorigenesis". Cell. 112 (5): 673–84. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(03)00155-7. PMID 12628187.

Further reading

• Pinheiro EM, Gertler FB (2006). "Nervous Rac: DOCK7 regulation of axon formation". Neuron. 51 (6): 674–76. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2006.08.020. hdl:1721.1/83491. PMID 16982410.
• Côté JF, Vuori K (2007). "GEF what? Dock180 and related proteins help Rac to polarize cells in new ways". Trends Cell Biol. 17 (8): 383–93. doi:10.1016/j.tcb.2007.05.001. PMC 2887429. PMID 17765544.