Membrane trafficking processes regulate the G protein-coupled receptor activity. The muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) are highly pursued drug targets for neurological diseases, but the cellular machineries that control the trafficking of these receptors remain largely elusive. Here, we revealed the role of the small GTPase Rab10 as a negative regulator for the post-activation trafficking of M4 mAChR and the underlying mechanism. We show that constitutively active Rab10 arrests the receptor within Rab5-positive early endosomes and significantly hinders the resensitization of M4-mediated Ca 2+ signaling. Mechanistically, M4 binds to Rab10-GTP, which requires the motif 386 RKKRQMAA 393 (R 386 -A 393 ) within the third intracellular loop. Moreover, Rab10-GTP inactivates Arf6 by recruiting the Arf6 GTPase-activating protein, ACAP1. Strikingly, deletion of the motif R 386 -A 393 causes M4 to bypass the control by Rab10 and switch to the Rab4-facilitated fast recycling pathway, thus reusing the receptor. Therefore, Rab10 couples the cargo sorting and membrane trafficking regulation through cycle between GTP-bound and GDP-bound state. Our findings suggest a model that Rab10 binds to the M4 like a molecular brake and controls the receptor’s transport through endosomes, thus modulating the signaling, and this regulation is specific among the mAChR subtypes.
The pathogenesis of acute kidney injury (AKI) is not fully understood. To date, the exact role and regulatory mechanism of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)136131 in AKI remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that lncRNA136131 in BUMPT cells is induced by antimycin A. Furthermore, after incubating BUMPT cells in antimycin for two hours, lncRNA136131 prevented BUMPT cell apoptosis and cleaved caspase-3 expression. Mechanistically, lncRNA136131 sponged miR-378a-3p and then increased the expression of Rab10 to suppress apoptosis. Finally, I/R-induced decline of renal function, tubular damage, renal tubular cells apoptosis, and the upregulation of cleaved caspase-3 were aggravated by lncRNA136131 siRNA. In contrast, this effect was attenuated by the overexpression of lncRNA136131. In conclusion, lncRNA136131 protected against I/R-induced AKI progression by targeting miR-378a-3p/Rab10 and may be utilized as a novel target for AKI therapeutics.