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Desmosomal mutations result in potentially deadly cardiocutaneous disease caused by electrical conduction defects and disruption of gap junctions. Kam et al. demonstrate a mechanism whereby loss of the intermediate filament anchoring protein desmoplakin stimulates Cx43 turnover by increasing K-Ras expression, marking Cx43 for lysosomal degradation through ERK1/2 phosphorylation., Desmoplakin (DP) is an obligate component of desmosomes, intercellular adhesive junctions that maintain the integrity of the epidermis and myocardium. Mutations in DP can cause cardiac and cutaneous disease, including arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), an inherited disorder that frequently results in deadly arrhythmias. Conduction defects in ACM are linked to the remodeling and functional interference with Cx43-based gap junctions that electrically and chemically couple cells. How DP loss impairs gap junctions is poorly understood. We show that DP prevents lysosomal-mediated degradation of Cx43. DP loss triggered robust activation of ERK1/2–MAPK and increased phosphorylation of S279/282 of Cx43, which signals clathrin-mediated internalization and subsequent lysosomal degradation of Cx43. RNA sequencing revealed Ras-GTPases as candidates for the aberrant activation of ERK1/2 upon loss of DP. Using a novel Ras inhibitor, Ras/Rap1-specific peptidase (RRSP), or K-Ras knockdown, we demonstrate restoration of Cx43 in DP-deficient cardiomyocytes. Collectively, our results reveal a novel mechanism for the regulation of the Cx43 life cycle by DP in cardiocutaneous models.

Genetic disorders of the Ras/MAPK pathway, termed RASopathies, produce numerous abnormalities, including cutaneous keratodermas. The desmosomal cadherin, desmoglein-1 (DSG1), promotes keratinocyte differentiation by attenuating MAPK/ERK signaling and is linked to striate palmoplantar keratoderma (SPPK). This raises the possibility that cutaneous defects associated with SPPK and RASopathies share certain molecular faults. To identify intermediates responsible for executing the inhibition of ERK by DSG1, we conducted a yeast 2-hybrid screen. The screen revealed that Erbin (also known as ERBB2IP), a known ERK regulator, binds DSG1. Erbin silencing disrupted keratinocyte differentiation in culture, mimicking aspects of DSG1 deficiency. Furthermore, ERK inhibition and the induction of differentiation markers by DSG1 required both Erbin and DSG1 domains that participate in binding Erbin. Erbin blocks ERK signaling by interacting with and disrupting Ras-Raf scaffolds mediated by SHOC2, a protein genetically linked to the RASopathy, Noonan-like syndrome with loose anagen hair (NS/LAH). DSG1 overexpression enhanced this inhibitory function, increasing Erbin-SHOC2 interactions and decreasing Ras-SHOC2 interactions. Conversely, analysis of epidermis from DSG1-deficient patients with SPPK demonstrated increased Ras-SHOC2 colocalization and decreased Erbin-SHOC2 colocalization, offering a possible explanation for the observed epidermal defects. These findings suggest a mechanism by which DSG1 and Erbin cooperate to repress MAPK signaling and promote keratinocyte differentiation.

We previously showed that the cell–cell junction protein plakoglobin (PG) not only suppresses motility of keratinocytes in contact with each other, but also, unexpectedly, of single cells. Here we show that PG deficiency results in extracellular matrix (ECM)-dependent disruption of mature focal adhesions and cortical actin organization. Plating PG−/− cells onto ECM deposited by PG+/− cells partially restored normal cell morphology and inhibited PG−/− cell motility. In over 70 adhesion molecules whose expression we previously showed to be altered in PG−/− cells, a substantial decrease in fibronectin (FN) in PG−/− cells stood out. Re-introduction of PG into PG−/− cells restored FN expression, and keratinocyte motility was reversed by plating PG−/− cells onto FN. Somewhat surprisingly, based on previously reported roles for PG in regulating gene transcription, PG-null cells exhibited an increase, not a decrease, in FN promoter activity. Instead, PG was required for maintenance of FN mRNA stability. PG−/− cells exhibited an increase in activated Src, one of the kinases controlled by FN, a phenotype reversed by plating PG−/− cells on ECM deposited by PG+/− keratinocytes. PG−/− cells also exhibited Src-independent activation of the small GTPases Rac1 and RhoA. Both Src and RhoA inhibition attenuated PG−/− keratinocyte motility. We propose a novel role for PG in regulating cell motility through distinct ECM–Src and RhoGTPase-dependent pathways, influenced in part by PG-dependent regulation of FN mRNA stability.

Adhesion of cells to extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin initiates signaling cascades that affect cell morphology, migration and survival. Some of these signaling pathways involve the Rho family of GTPases, such as Cdc42, Rac1 and RhoA, which play a key role in regulating the organization of the cytoskeleton. Although significant advances have been made in understanding how Rho proteins control cytoskeletal architecture, less is known about the signals controlling activation of the GTPases themselves. The focus of this study was to determine which guanine nucleotide exchange factor(s) are responsible for activation of RhoA downstream of adhesion to fibronectin. Using an affinity pulldown assay for activated exchange factors, we show that the RhoA-specific exchange factors Lsc/p115 RhoGEF and LARG are activated when cells are plated onto fibronectin, but not other exchange factors such as Ect2 or Dbl. Knockdown of Lsc and LARG together significantly decreases RhoA activation and formation of stress fibers and focal adhesions downstream of fibronectin adhesion. Similarly, overexpression of a catalytically inactive mutant of Lsc/p115 RhoGEF inhibits RhoA activity and formation of stress fibers and focal adhesions on fibronectin. These data establish a previously uncharacterized role for the exchange factors Lsc/p115 RhoGEF and LARG in linking fibronectin signals to downstream RhoA activation.