G protein βγ complex translocation from plasma membrane to Golgi complex is influenced by receptor γ subunit interaction

On activation of a receptor the G protein βγ complex translocates away from the receptor on the plasma membrane to the Golgi complex. The rate of translocation is influenced by the type of γ subunit associated with the G protein. Complementary approaches - imaging living cells expressing fluorescent protein tagged G proteins and assaying reconstituted receptors and G proteins in vitro - were used to identify mechanisms at the basis of the translocation process. Translocation of Gβγ containing mutant γ subunits with altered prenyl moieties showed that the differences in the prenyl moieties were not sufficient to explain the differential effects of geranylgeranylated γ5 and farnesylated γ11 on the translocation process. The translocation properties of Gβγ were altered dramatically by mutating the C terminal tail region of the γ subunit. The translocation characteristics of these mutants suggest that after receptor activation, Gβγ retains contact with a receptor through the γ subunit C terminal domain and that differential interaction of the activated receptor with this domain controls Gβγ translocation from the plasma membrane.