Postnatal induction and localization of R7BP, a membrane-anchoring protein for regulator of G protein signaling 7 family-Gβ5 complexes in brain

Members of the regulator of G protein signaling 7 (RGS7) (R7) family and Gβ5 form obligate heterodimers that are expressed predominantly in the nervous system. R7-Gβ5 heterodimers are GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) specific for Gi/o-class Gα subunits, which mediate phototransduction in retina and the action of many modulatory G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in brain. Here we have focused on the R7-family binding protein (R7BP), a recently identified palmitoylated protein that can bind R7-Gβ5 complexes and is hypothesized to control the intracellular localization and function of the resultant heterotrimeric complexes. We show that: 1) R7-Gβ5 complexes are obligate binding partners for R7BP in brain because they co-immunoprecipitate and exhibit similar expression patterns. Furthermore, R7BP and R7 protein accumulation in vivo requires Gβ5. 2) Expression of R7BP in Neuro2A cells at levels approximating those in brain recruits endogenous RGS7-Gβ5 complexes to the plasma membrane. 3) R7BP immunoreactivity in brain concentrates in neuronal soma, dendrites, spines or unmyelinated axons, and is absent or low in glia, myelinated axons, or axon terminals. 4) RGS7-Gβ5-R7BP complexes in brain extracts associate inefficiently with detergent-resistant lipid raft fractions with or without G protein activation. 5) R7BP and Gβ5 protein levels are upregulated strikingly during the first 2–3 weeks of postnatal brain development. Accordingly, we suggest that R7-Gβ5-R7BP complexes in the mouse or rat could regulate signaling by modulatory Gi/o-coupled GPCRs in the developing and adult nervous systems.