trans-interactions of nectins induce formation of filopodia and lamellipodia through the respective activation of Cdc42 and Rac small G proteins

Nectins and afadin constitute a novel cell-cell adhesion system that plays a cooperative role with cadherins in the organization of adherens junctions (AJs). Nectins are Ca²⁺-independent immunoglobulin-like cell-cell adhesion molecules, and afadin is a nectin- and actin filament-binding protein that connects nectins to the actin cytoskeleton. Rac and Cdc42 small G proteins have been implicated in the organization of AJs, but their modes of action remain unknown. The trans-interaction of E-cadherin has recently been shown to induce the activation of Rac, but not that of Cdc42. We show here that the trans-interactions of nectins induce the formation of filopodia and lamellipodia through the respective activation of Cdc42 and Rac. The Cdc42 activation is necessary, but not sufficient, for the Rac-induced formation of lamellipodia, whereas the Rac activation is not necessary for the Cdc42-induced formation of filopodia. These effects of nectins require their cytoplasmic tail but not their association with afadin. We propose here the functional relationship between nectins and the small G proteins in the organization of AJs.