Stimulation of Gαq Promotes Stress Granule Formation
ABSTRACTDuring adverse conditions, mammalian cells regulate protein production by carefully sequestering the translation machinery in membraneless organelles referred to as stress granules. Here, we show that activation of Gαq promotes the formation of particles that contain stress granule proteins through a mechanism linked to the presence of phospholipase Cβ1 (PLCβ1). In cells, PLCβ1, the most prominent isoform of PLCβ in neuronal cells, localizes to both the cytoplasm and plasma membrane. We show that a major population of cytosolic PLCβ1 binds to stress granule proteins, such as PABPC1, eIF5A and Ago2. PLCβ1 is activated by Gαq in response to hormones and neurotransmitters and we find that activation of Gαq shifts the cytosolic population of PLCβ1 to the plasma membrane, reducing its association to stress granule proteins. The loss of cytosolic PLCβ1 is accompanied by an increase in the size and number of particles containing PABPC1, G3BP1 or Ago2, and a shift of cytosolic RNAs to larger sizes consistent with cessation of translation. Particles containing stress granule proteins are seen when the cytosolic level of PLCβ1 is lowered by siRNA or by osmotic stress but not cold, heat, oxidative or arsenite stress suggesting that their composition is distinct from those formed from other stresses. Our results fit a simple thermodynamic model in which cytosolic PLCβ1 solubilizes stress granule proteins and its movement to Gαq upon stimulation releases these particles to allow the formation of stress granules. Taken together, our studies show a link between Gαq-coupled signals and translation through stress granule formation.