Regulated association of microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) with Src and Grb2: evidence for MAP2 as a scaffolding protein.

Microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) and tau, which is involved in Alzheimer's disease, are major cytoskeletal proteins in neurons. These proteins are involved in microtubule assembly and stability. To further characterize MAP2, we took a strategy of identifying potential MAP2 binding partners. The low molecular weight MAP2c protein has 11 PXXP motifs that are conserved across species, and these PXXP motifs could be potential ligands for Src homology 3 (SH3) domains. We tested for MAP2 interaction with SH3 domain-containing proteins. All neuronal MAP2 isoforms bound specifically to the SH3 domains of c-Src and Grb2 in an in vitro glutathione S-transferase-SH3 pull-down assay. Interactions between endogenous proteins were confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation using brain lysate. All three proteins were also found co-expressed in neuronal cell bodies and dendrites. Surprisingly, the SH3 domain-binding site was mapped to the microtubule-binding domain that contains no PXXP motif. Src bound primarily the soluble, non-microtubule-associated MAP2c in vitro. This specific MAP2/SH3 domain interaction was inhibited by phosphorylation of MAP2c by the mitogen-activated protein kinase extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2 but not by protein kinase A. This phosphorylation-regulated association of MAP2 with proteins of intracellular signal transduction pathways suggests a possible link between cellular signaling and neuronal cytoskeleton, with MAP2 perhaps acting as a molecular scaffold upon which cytoskeleton-modifying proteins assemble and dissociate in response to neuronal activity.