Phosphorylation cycling of Annexin A2 Tyr23 is critical for calcium-regulated exocytosis in neuroendocrine cells

Annexin A2 (AnxA2) is a calcium and lipid binding protein involved in neuroendocrine secretion. We have previously demonstrated that AnxA2 participates in the formation and/or stabilization of lipid microdomains required for structural and spatial organization of the exocytotic machinery in chromaffin cells. However, the regulation of AnxA2 is not fully understood. Numerous phosphorylation sites have been identified in the amino terminal domain of AnxA2. Phosphorylation of Ser25 and Tyr23 are well established and confirmed to be functionally significant. In particular, phosphorylation of Tyr23 by the tyrosine kinase pp60Src reduces the binding of AnxA2 to both actin filaments and the plasma membrane, two major actors of exocytosis, thus, we examined whether AnxA2 was phosphorylated on Tyr23 during exocytosis. Using immunolabelling and a biochemical approach, we found that nicotine stimulation triggered the phosphorylation of Anx A2 on Tyr23. The expression of two AnxA2 mutants carrying phosphorylation deficient (Y23A) or phosphomimetic (Y23E) mutations reduced the number exocytotic sites. Furthermore, expression of AnxA2-Y23A inhibited the formation of lipid microdomains, whereas the expression of AnxA2-Y23E altered actin filaments associated with docked granules. These results suggest that phosphorylation/dephosphorylation switch at Tyr23 in AnxA2 is critical for calcium-regulated exocytosis in neuroendocrine cells. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: ECS Meeting edited by Claus Heizmann, Joachim Krebs and Jacques Haiech.