Functional dissection of an intrinsically disordered protein: Understanding the roles of different domains of Knr4 protein in protein�Cprotein interactions

Knr4, recently characterized as an intrinsically disordered Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein, participates in cell wall formation and cell cycle regulation. It is constituted of a functional central globular core flanked by a poorly structured N‐terminal and large natively unfolded C‐terminal domains. Up to now, about 30 different proteins have been reported to physically interact with Knr4. Here, we used an in vivo two‐hybrid system approach and an in vitro surface plasmon resonance (BIAcore) technique to compare the interaction level of different Knr4 deletion variants with given protein partners. We demonstrate the indispensability of the N‐terminal domain of Knr4 for the interactions. On the other hand, presence of the unstructured C‐terminal domain has a negative effect on the interaction strength. In protein interactions networks, the most highly connected proteins or “hubs” are significantly enriched in unstructured regions, and among them the transient hub proteins contain the largest and most highly flexible regions. The results presented here of our analysis of Knr4 protein suggest that these large disordered regions are not always involved in promoting the protein–protein interactions of hub proteins, but in some cases, might rather inhibit them. We propose that this type of regions could prevent unspecific protein interactions, or ensure the correct timing of occurrence of transient interactions, which may be of crucial importance for different signaling and regulation processes.     

Multiple Interactions of the Intrinsically Disordered Region between the Helicase and Nuclease Domains of the Archaeal Hef Protein

Hef is an archaeal protein that probably functions mainly in stalled replication fork repair. The presence of an unstructured region was predicted between the two distinct domains of the Hef protein. We analyzed the interdomain region of Thermococcus kodakarensis Hef and demonstrated its disordered structure by CD, NMR, and high speed atomic force microscopy (AFM). To investigate the functions of this intrinsically disordered region (IDR), we screened for proteins interacting with the IDR of Hef by a yeast two-hybrid method, and 10 candidate proteins were obtained. We found that PCNA1 and a RecJ-like protein specifically bind to the IDR in vitro. These results suggested that the Hef protein interacts with several different proteins that work together in the pathways downstream from stalled replication fork repair by converting the IDR structure depending on the partner protein.     

Conformational Analysis of Isolated Domains of Helicobacter pylori CagA

The CagA protein of Helicobacter pylori is associated with increased virulence and gastric cancer risk. CagA is translocated into the host cell by a H. pylori type IV secretion system via mechanisms that are poorly understood. Translocated CagA interacts with numerous host factors, altering a variety of host signalling pathways. The recently determined crystal structure of C-terminally-truncated CagA indicated the presence of two domains: the smaller, flexible N-terminal domain and the larger, middle domain. In this study, we have investigated the conformation, oligomeric state and stability of the N-terminal, middle and glutamate-proline-isoleucine-tyrosine-alanine (EPIYA)-repeats domains. All three domains are monomeric, suggesting that the multimerisation of CagA observed in infected cells is likely to be mediated not by CagA itself but by its interacting partners. The middle and the C-terminal domains, but not the N-terminal domain, are capable of refolding spontaneously upon heat denaturation, lending support to the hypothesis that unfolded CagA is threaded C-terminus first through the type IV secretion channel with its N-terminal domain, which likely requires interactions with other domains to refold, being threaded last. Our findings also revealed that the C-terminal EPIYA-repeats domain of CagA exists in an intrinsically disordered premolten globule state with regions in PPII conformation - a feature that is shared by many scaffold proteins that bind multiple protein components of signalling pathways. Taken together, these results provide a deeper understanding of the physicochemical properties of CagA that underpin its complex cellular and oncogenic functions.     

Protein domain definition should allow for conditional disorder

Abstract: Proteins are often classified in a binary fashion as either structured or disordered. However this approach has several deficits. Firstly, protein folding is always conditional on the physiochemical environment. A protein which is structured in some circumstances will be disordered in others. Secondly, it hides a fundamental asymmetry in behavior. While all structured proteins can be unfolded through a change in environment, not all disordered proteins have the capacity for folding. Failure to accommodate these complexities confuses the definition of both protein structural domains and intrinsically disordered regions. We illustrate these points with an experimental study of a family of small binding domains, drawn from the RNA polymerase of mumps virus and its closest relatives. Assessed at face value the domains fall on a structural continuum, with folded, partially folded, and near unstructured members. Yet the disorder present in the family is conditional, and these closely related polypeptides can access the same folded state under appropriate conditions. Any heuristic definition of the protein domain emphasizing conformational stability divides this domain family in two, in a way that makes no biological sense. Structural domains would be better defined by their ability to adopt a specific tertiary structure: a structure that may or may not be realized, dependent on the circumstances. This explicitly allows for the conditional nature of protein folding, and more clearly demarcates structural domains from intrinsically disordered regions that may function without folding.     

The Stability of the Small Nucleolar Ribonucleoprotein (snoRNP) Assembly Protein Pih1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Is Modulated by Its C Terminus

Pih1 is an unstable protein and a subunit of the R2TP complex that, in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also contains the helicases Rvb1, Rvb2, and the Hsp90 cofactor Tah1. Pih1 and the R2TP complex are required for the box C/D small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein (snoRNP) assembly and ribosomal RNA processing. Purified Pih1 tends to aggregate in vitro. Molecular chaperone Hsp90 and its cochaperone Tah1 are required for the stability of Pih1 in vivo. We had shown earlier that the C terminus of Pih1 destabilizes the protein and that the C terminus of Tah1 binds to the Pih1 C terminus to form a stable complex. Here, we analyzed the secondary structure of the Pih1 C terminus and identified two intrinsically disordered regions and five hydrophobic clusters. Site-directed mutagenesis indicated that one predicted intrinsically disordered region IDR2 is involved in Tah1 binding, and that the C terminus of Pih1 contains multiple destabilization or degron elements. Additionally, the Pih1 N-terminal domain, Pih1^1–230, was found to be able to complement the physiological role of full-length Pih1 at 37 °C. Pih1^1–230 as well as a shorter Pih1 N-terminal fragment Pih1^1–195 is able to bind Rvb1/Rvb2 heterocomplex. However, the sequence between the two disordered regions in Pih1 significantly enhances the Pih1 N-terminal domain binding to Rvb1/Rvb2. Based on these data, a model of protein-protein interactions within the R2TP complex is proposed.     

Modular Organization of Rabies Virus Phosphoprotein

A phosphoprotein (P) is found in all viruses of the Mononegavirales order. These proteins form homo-oligomers, fulfil similar roles in the replication cycles of the various viruses, but differ in their length and oligomerization state. Sequence alignments reveal no sequence similarity among proteins from viruses belonging to the same family. Sequence analysis and experimental data show that phosphoproteins from viruses of the Paramyxoviridae contain structured domains alternating with intrinsically disordered regions. Here, we used predictions of disorder of secondary structure, and an analysis of sequence conservation to predict the domain organization of the phosphoprotein from Sendai virus, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and rabies virus (RV P). We devised a new procedure for combining the results from multiple prediction methods and locating the boundaries between disordered regions and structured domains. To validate the proposed modular organization predicted for RV P and to confirm that the putative structured domains correspond to autonomous folding units, we used two-hybrid and biochemical approaches to characterize the properties of several fragments of RV P. We found that both central and C-terminal domains can fold in isolation, that the central domain is the oligomerization domain, and that the C-terminal domain binds to nucleocapsids. Our results suggest a conserved organization of P proteins in the Rhabdoviridae family in concatenated functional domains resembling that of the P proteins in the Paramyxoviridae family.     

A Proline-Tryptophan Turn in the Intrinsically Disordered Domain 2 of NS5A Protein Is Essential for Hepatitis C Virus RNA Replication

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) and its interaction with the human chaperone cyclophilin A are both targets for highly potent and promising antiviral drugs that are in the late stages of clinical development. Despite its high interest in regards to the development of drugs to counteract the worldwide HCV burden, NS5A is still an enigmatic multifunctional protein poorly characterized at the molecular level. NS5A is required for HCV RNA replication and is involved in viral particle formation and regulation of host pathways. Thus far, no enzymatic activity or precise molecular function has been ascribed to NS5A that is composed of a highly structured domain 1 (D1), as well as two intrinsically disordered domains 2 (D2) and 3 (D3), representing half of the protein. Here, we identify a short structural motif in the disordered NS5A-D2 and report its NMR structure. We show that this structural motif, a minimal Pro³¹⁴–Trp³¹⁶ turn, is essential for HCV RNA replication, and its disruption alters the subcellular distribution of NS5A. We demonstrate that this Pro-Trp turn is required for proper interaction with the host cyclophilin A and influences its peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase activity on residue Pro³¹⁴ of NS5A-D2. This work provides a molecular basis for further understanding of the function of the intrinsically disordered domain 2 of HCV NS5A protein. In addition, our work highlights how very small structural motifs present in intrinsically disordered proteins can exert a specific function.     

Binding the Atypical RA Domain of Ste50p to the Unfolded Opy2p Cytoplasmic Tail Is Essential for the High-Osmolarity Glycerol Pathway

Activation of the high-osmolarity glycerol (HOG) pathway for osmoregulation in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae involves interaction of the adaptor Ste50p with the cytoplasmic tail of single-transmembrane protein Opy2p. We have determined the solution structure of the Ste50p-RA (Ras association) domain, and it shows an atypical RA fold lacking the β1 and β2 strands of the canonical motif. Although the core of the RA domain is fully functional in the pheromone response, an additional region is required for the HOG pathway activation. Two peptide motifs within the intrinsically disordered cytoplasmic tail of Opy2p defined by NMR spectroscopy physically interact with the Step50p-RA domain. These Opy2p-derived peptides bind overlapping regions of the Step50p-RA domain with similarly weak affinities, suggesting a multivalent interaction of these proteins as a crucial point of control of the HOG pathway. As well, overall selection of signaling pathways depends on functionally distinct regions of the Ste50p-RA domain, implicating this element in the control of global regulatory decisions.     

Identifying and Quantifying Orphan Protein Sequences in Fungi

For large regions of many proteins, and even entire proteins, no homology to known domains or proteins can be detected. These sequences are often referred to as orphans. Surprisingly, it has been reported that the large number of orphans is sustained in spite of a rapid increase of available genomic sequences. However, it is believed that de novo creation of coding sequences is rare in comparison to mechanisms such as domain shuffling and gene duplication; hence, most sequences should have homologs in other genomes.To investigate this, the sequences of 19 complete fungi genomes were compared. By using the phylogenetic relationship between these genomes, we could identify potentially de novo created orphans in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We found that only a small fraction, < 2%, of the S. cerevisiae proteome is orphan, which confirms that de novo creation of coding sequences is indeed rare. Furthermore, we found it necessary to compare the most closely related species to distinguish between de novo created sequences and rapidly evolving sequences where homologs are present but cannot be detected.Next, the orphan proteins (OPs) and orphan domains (ODs) were characterized. First, it was observed that both OPs and ODs are short. In addition, at least some of the OPs have been shown to be functional in experimental assays, showing that they are not pseudogenes. Furthermore, in contrast to what has been reported before and what is seen for older orphans, S. cerevisiae specific ODs and proteins are not more disordered than other proteins. This might indicate that many of the older, and earlier classified, orphans indeed are fast-evolving sequences. Finally, > 90% of the detected ODs are located at the protein termini, which suggests that these orphans could have been created by mutations that have affected the start or stop codons.     

Structural Disorder within Henipavirus Nucleoprotein and Phosphoprotein: From Predictions to Experimental Assessment

Henipaviruses are newly emerged viruses within the Paramyxoviridae family. Their negative-strand RNA genome is packaged by the nucleoprotein (N) within α-helical nucleocapsid that recruits the polymerase complex made of the L protein and the phosphoprotein (P). To date structural data on Henipaviruses are scarce, and their N and P proteins have never been characterized so far. Using both computational and experimental approaches we herein show that Henipaviruses N and P proteins possess large intrinsically disordered regions. By combining several disorder prediction methods, we show that the N-terminal domain of P (PNT) and the C-terminal domain of N (N_TAIL) are both mostly disordered, although they contain short order-prone segments. We then report the cloning, the bacterial expression, purification and characterization of Henipavirus PNT and N_TAIL domains. By combining gel filtration, dynamic light scattering, circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance, we show that both N_TAIL and PNT belong to the premolten globule sub-family within the class of intrinsically disordered proteins. This study is the first reported experimental characterization of Henipavirus P and N proteins. The evidence that their respective N-terminal and C-terminal domains are highly disordered under native conditions is expected to be invaluable for future structural studies by helping to delineate N and P protein domains amenable to crystallization. In addition, following previous hints establishing a relationship between structural disorder and protein interactivity, the present results suggest that Henipavirus PNT and N_TAIL domains could be involved in manifold protein-protein interactions.     

Close encounters of the third kind: disordered domains and the interactions of proteins

Protein–protein interactions are thought to be mediated by domains, which are autonomous folding units of proteins. Recently, a second type of interaction has been suggested, mediated by short segments termed linear motifs, which are related to recognition elements of intrinsically disordered regions. Here, we propose a third kind of protein–protein recognition mechanism, mediated by disordered regions longer than 20–30 residues. Bioinformatics predictions and well‐characterized examples, such as the kinase‐inhibitory domain of Cdk inhibitors and the Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP)‐homology domain 2 of actin‐binding proteins, show that these disordered regions conform to the definition of domains rather than motifs, i.e., they represent functional, evolutionary, and structural units. Their functions are distinct from those of short motifs and ordered domains, and establish a third kind of interaction principle. With these points, we argue that these long disordered regions should be recognized as a distinct class of biologically functional protein domains.     

Interplay between Chaperones and Protein Disorder Promotes the Evolution of Protein Networks

Evolution is driven by mutations, which lead to new protein functions but come at a cost to protein stability. Non-conservative substitutions are of interest in this regard because they may most profoundly affect both function and stability. Accordingly, organisms must balance the benefit of accepting advantageous substitutions with the possible cost of deleterious effects on protein folding and stability. We here examine factors that systematically promote non-conservative mutations at the proteome level. Intrinsically disordered regions in proteins play pivotal roles in protein interactions, but many questions regarding their evolution remain unanswered. Similarly, whether and how molecular chaperones, which have been shown to buffer destabilizing mutations in individual proteins, generally provide robustness during proteome evolution remains unclear. To this end, we introduce an evolutionary parameter λ that directly estimates the rate of non-conservative substitutions. Our analysis of λ in Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Homo sapiens sequences reveals how co- and post-translationally acting chaperones differentially promote non-conservative substitutions in their substrates, likely through buffering of their destabilizing effects. We further find that λ serves well to quantify the evolution of intrinsically disordered proteins even though the unstructured, thus generally variable regions in proteins are often flanked by very conserved sequences. Crucially, we show that both intrinsically disordered proteins and highly re-wired proteins in protein interaction networks, which have evolved new interactions and functions, exhibit a higher λ at the expense of enhanced chaperone assistance. Our findings thus highlight an intricate interplay of molecular chaperones and protein disorder in the evolvability of protein networks. Our results illuminate the role of chaperones in enabling protein evolution, and underline the importance of the cellular context and integrated approaches for understanding proteome evolution. We feel that the development of λ may be a valuable addition to the toolbox applied to understand the molecular basis of evolution.     

Molecular interactions of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Atg1 complex provide insights into assembly and regulatory mechanisms

The Atg1 complex, which contains 5 major subunits: Atg1, Atg13, Atg17, Atg29, and Atg31, regulates the induction of autophagy and autophagosome formation. To gain a better understanding of the overall architecture and assembly mechanism of this essential autophagy regulatory complex, we have reconstituted a core assembly of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Atg1 complex composed of full-length Atg17, Atg29, and Atg31, along with the C-terminal domains of Atg1 (Atg1[CTD]) and Atg13 (Atg13[CTD]). Using chemical-crosslinking coupled with mass spectrometry (CXMS) analysis we systematically mapped the intersubunit interaction interfaces within this complex. Our data revealed that the intrinsically unstructured C-terminal domain of Atg29 interacts directly with Atg17, whereas Atg17 interacts with Atg13 in 2 distinct intrinsically unstructured regions, including a previously unknown motif that encompasses several putative phosphorylation sites. The Atg1[CTD] crosslinks exclusively to the Atg13[CTD] and does not appear to make direct contact with the Atg17-Atg31-Atg29 scaffold. Finally, single-particle electron microscopy analysis revealed that both the Atg13[CTD] and Atg1[CTD] localize to the tip regions of Atg17-Atg31-Atg29 and do not alter the distinct curvature of this scaffolding subcomplex. This work provides a comprehensive understanding of the subunit interactions in the fully assembled Atg1 core complex, and uncovers the potential role of intrinsically disordered regions in regulating complex integrity.     

Comparative genomics and disorder prediction identify biologically relevant SH3 protein interactions

Protein interaction networks are an important part of the post-genomic effort to integrate a part-list view of the cell into system-level understanding. Using a set of 11 yeast genomes we show that combining comparative genomics and secondary structure information greatly increases consensus-based prediction of SH3 targets. Benchmarking of our method against positive and negative standards gave 83% accuracy with 26% coverage. The concept of an optimal divergence time for effective comparative genomics studies was analyzed, demonstrating that genomes of species that diverged very recently from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. mikatae, S. bayanus, and S. paradoxus), or a long time ago (Neurospora crassa and Schizosaccharomyces pombe), contain less information for accurate prediction of SH3 targets than species within the optimal divergence time proposed. We also show here that intrinsically disordered SH3 domain targets are more probable sites of interaction than equivalent sites within ordered regions. Our findings highlight several novel S. cerevisiae SH3 protein interactions, the value of selection of optimal divergence times in comparative genomics studies, and the importance of intrinsic disorder for protein interactions. Based on our results we propose novel roles for the S. cerevisiae proteins Abp1p in endocytosis and Hse1p in endosome protein sorting.     

Intrinsic Disorder in the Protein Data Bank

Abstract

The Protein Data Bank (PDB) is the preeminent source of protein structural information. PDB contains over 32,500 experimentally determined 3-D structures solved using X-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Intrinsically disordered regions fail to form a fixed 3-D structure under physiological conditions. In this study, we compare the amino-acid sequences of proteins whose structures are determined by X-ray crystallography with the corresponding sequences from the Swiss-Prot database. The analyzed dataset includes 16,370 structures, which represent 18,101 PDB chains and 5,434 different proteins from 910 different organisms (2,793 eukaryotic, 2,109 bacterial, 288 viral, and 244 archaeal). In this dataset, on average, each Swiss-Prot protein is represented by 7 PDB chains with 76% of the crystallized regions being represented by more than one structure. Intriguingly, the complete sequences of only ~7% of proteins are observed in the corresponding PDB structures, and only ~25% of the total dataset have >95% of their lengths observed in the corresponding PDB structures. This suggests that the vast majority of PDB proteins is shorter than their corresponding Swiss-Prot sequences and/or contain numerous residues, which are not observed in maps of electron density. To determine the prevalence of disordered regions in PDB, the residues in the Swiss-Prot sequences were grouped into four general categories, “Observed” (which correspond to structured regions), “Not observed” (regions with missing electron density, potentially disordered), “Uncharacterized,” and “Ambiguous,” depending on their appearance in the corresponding PDB entries. This non-redundant set of residues can be viewed as a ‘fragment’ or empirical domain database that contains a set of experimentally determined structured regions or domains and a set of experimentally verified disordered regions or domains. We studied the propensities and properties of residues in these four categories and analyzed their relations to the predictions of disorder using several algorithms. “Non-observed,” “Ambiguous,” and “Uncharacterized” regions were shown to possess the amino acid compositional biases typical of intrinsically disordered proteins. The application of four different disorder predictors (PONDR® VL-XT, VL3-BA, VSL1P, and IUPred) revealed that the vast majority of residues in the “Observed” dataset are ordered, and that the “Not observed” regions are mostly disordered. The “Uncharacterized” regions possess some tendency toward order, whereas the predictions for the short “Ambiguous” regions are really ambiguous. Long “Ambiguous” regions (>70 amino acid residues) are mostly predicted to be ordered, suggesting that they are likely to be “wobbly” domains.

Overall, we showed that completely ordered proteins are not highly abundant in PDB and many PDB sequences have disordered regions. In fact, in the analyzed dataset ~10% of the PDB proteins contain regions of consecutive missing or ambiguous residues longer than 30 amino-acids and ~40% of the proteins possess short regions (≥10 and <30 amino-acid long) of missing and ambiguous residues.     

Crystal Structure of the Pml1p Subunit of the Yeast Precursor mRNA Retention and Splicing Complex

The precursor mRNA retention and splicing (RES) complex mediates nuclear retention and enhances splicing of precursor mRNAs. The RES complex from yeast comprises three proteins, Snu17p, Bud13p and Pml1p. Snu17p acts as a central platform that concomitantly binds the Bud13p and Pml1p subunits via short peptide epitopes. As a step to decipher the molecular architecture of the RES complex, we have determined crystal structures of full-length Pml1p and N-terminally truncated Pml1p. The first 50 residues of full-length Pml1p, encompassing the Snu17p-binding region, are disordered, showing that Pml1p binds to Snu17p via an intrinsically unstructured region. The remainder of Pml1p folds as a forkhead-associated (FHA) domain, which is expanded by a number of noncanonical elements compared with known FHA domains from other proteins. An atypical N-terminal appendix runs across one β-sheet and thereby stabilizes the domain as shown by deletion experiments. FHA domains are thought to constitute phosphopeptide-binding elements. Consistently, a sulfate ion was found at the putative phosphopeptide-binding loops of full-length Pml1p. The N-terminally truncated version of the protein lacked a similar phosphopeptide mimic but retained an almost identical structure. A long loop neighboring the putative phosphopeptide-binding site was disordered in both structures. Comparison with other FHA domain proteins suggests that this loop adopts a defined conformation upon ligand binding and thereby confers ligand specificity. Our results show that in the RES complex, an FHA domain of Pml1p is flexibly tethered via an unstructured N-terminal region to Snu17p.