Recruitment of the class II phosphoinositide 3-kinase C2β to the epidermal growth factor receptor:: Role of Grb2

Previously we demonstrated that the class II phosphoinositide 3-kinase C2 beta (PI3K-C2 beta) is rapidly recruited to a phosphotyrosine signaling complex containing the activated receptor for epidermal growth factor (EGF). Although this association was shown to be dependent upon specific phosphotyrosine residues present on the EGF receptor, the underlying mechanism remained unclear. In this study the interaction between PI3K-C2 beta and the EGF receptor is competitively attenuated by synthetic peptides derived from each of three proline-rich motifs present within the N-terminal region of the PI3K. Further, a series of N-terminal PI3K-C2 beta fragments, truncated prior to each proline-rich region, bound the receptor with decreased efficiency. A single proline-rich region was unable to mediate receptor association. Finally, an equivalent N-terminal fragment of PI3K-C2 alpha that lacks similar proline-rich motifs was unable to affinity purify the activated EGF receptor from cell lysates. Since these findings revealed that the interaction between the EGF receptor and PI3K-C2 beta is indirect, we sought to identify an adaptor molecule that could mediate their association. In addition to the EGF receptor, PI3K-C2 beta (2-298) also isolated both Shc and Grb2 from A431 cell lysates. Recombinant Grb2 directly bound PI3K-C2 beta in vitro, and this effect was reproduced using either SH3 domain expressed as a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion. Interaction with Grb2 dramatically increased the catalytic activity of this PI3K. The relevance of this association was confirmed when PI3K-C2 beta was isolated by coimmunoprecipitation with anti-Grb2 antibody from numerous cell lines. Using immobilized, phosphorylated EGF receptor, recombinant PI3K-C2 beta was only purified in the presence of Grb2. We conclude that proline-rich motifs within the N terminus of PI3K-C2 beta mediate the association of this enzyme with activated EGF receptor and that this interaction involves the Grb2 adaptor.