Characterization of the C‐terminal domain of ras‐GTPase‐activating protein (ras‐GAP) as substrate for epidermal growth factor receptor and p60c‐src kinase

We describe in vitro tyrosine phosphorylation of the C-terminal 334 amino acids of ras-GTPase-activating protein (ras-GAP)1 that contains the activity domain for ras interaction. To date, there have been no other phosphorylation sites determined than the reported in N-terminal domain of ras-GAP Tyr-460, which is considered to be the major phosphorylation site of ras-GAP. In our assays some differences of the kinetic parameters were observed when the reaction was catalyzed by EGF-R compared to p60c-src. Enzyme specific regulation of activity is associated with autophosphorylation which leads to reduced (in case of EGF-R) or increased (in case of p60c-src) phosphorylation of the C-terminal 334 amino acids of ras-GAP (GAP334). Because of the characteristics of these investigated reactions the phosphorylation of GAP334 seems to be - independent from the presence of SH2 or SH3 domains - triggered off by complex mechanisms different from those regulating the phosphorylation at Tyr-460.