CRL3IBTK Regulates the Tumor Suppressor Pdcd4 through Ubiquitylation Coupled to Proteasomal Degradation

The human inhibitor of Bruton''s tyrosine kinase isoform α (IBtkα) is a BTB protein encoded by the IBTK gene, which maps to chromosomal locus 6q14.1, a mutational hot spot in lymphoproliferative disorders. Here, we demonstrate that IBtkα forms a CRL3^IBTK complex promoting its self-ubiquitylation. We identified the tumor suppressor Pdcd4 as IBtkα interactor and ubiquitylation substrate of CRL3^IBTK for proteasomal degradation. Serum-induced degradation of Pdcd4 required both IBtkα and Cul3, indicating that CRL3^IBTK regulated the Pdcd4 stability in serum signaling. By promoting Pdcd4 degradation, IBtkα counteracted the suppressive effect of Pdcd4 on translation of reporter luciferase mRNAs with stem-loop structured or unstructured 5′-UTR. IBtkα depletion by RNAi caused Pdcd4 accumulation and decreased the translation of Bcl-xL mRNA, a well known target of Pdcd4 repression. By characterizing CRL3^IBTK as a novel ubiquitin ligase, this study provides new insights into regulatory mechanisms of cellular pathways, such as the Pdcd4-dependent translation of mRNAs.     

抑癌基因Pdcd4的表达调控及产物泛素化研究进展

程序性细胞死亡因子4(programmed cell death4,Pdcd4)基因是近年新发现的一种抑癌基因,它的表达产物通过抑制相关基因的转录和翻译抑制肿瘤生成.Pdcd4在多种人肿瘤组织细胞中表达缺失或低表达.有研究发现,5'CpG岛的甲基化可能是脑胶质瘤中Pdcd4基因沉默的主要原因之一.另外,在多种肿瘤细胞中发现microRNA-21的表达水平与Pdcd4蛋白的表达呈负相关性,microRNA-21在转录后水平调控Pdcd4,其作用位点位于Pdcd4mRNA的3′-UTR区.肿瘤细胞中Pdcd4的表达水平与细胞对抗肿瘤药物的敏感性有关,上调Pdcd4表达会增加细胞对某些抗肿瘤药物的敏感性,反之,下调Pdcd4表达则会引起某些药物细胞毒活性的减弱.有些药物本身也可以影响细胞中Pdcd4的表达水平.Pdcd4可以抑制p53的乙酰基化.Pdcd4蛋白能被蛋白激酶Akt/PKB磷酸化,引起Pdcd4的核易位,并减弱Pdcd4对转录激活因子AP-1的抑制作用.Pdcd4可以被蛋白激酶S6K1磷酸化并在泛素连接酶SCFβTRCP介导下经泛素化途径降解.     

Structure of the tandem MA-3 region of Pdcd4 protein and characterization of its interactions with eIF4A and eIF4G: molecular mechanisms of a tumor suppressor

One of the key regulatory points of translation initiation is recruitment of the 43S preinitation complex to the 5' mRNA cap by the eIF4F complex (eIF4A, eIF4E, and eIF4G). The tumor suppressor protein Pdcd4 has been shown to inhibit cap-dependent translation by interacting tightly with the RNA helicase eIF4A via its tandem MA-3 domains. The NMR studies reported here reveal a fairly extensive and well defined interface between the two MA-3 domains in solution, which appears to be stabilized by a network of interdomain salt bridges and hydrogen bonds, and reveals a unique orientation of the two domains. Characterization of the stoichiometry of the Pdcd4-eIF4A complex suggests that under physiological conditions Pdcd4 binds to a single molecule of eIF4A, which involves contacts with both Pdcd4 MA-3 domains. We also show that contacts mediated by a conserved acidic patch on the middle MA-3 domain of Pdcd4 are essential for forming a tight complex with eIF4A in vivo, whereas the equivalent region of the C-terminal MA-3 domain appears to have no role in complex formation in vivo. The formation of a 1:1 eIF4A-Pdcd4 complex in solution is consistent with the reported presence in vivo of only one molecule of eIF4A in the eIF4F complex. Pdcd4 has also been reported to interact directly with the middle region of eIF4G, however, we were unable to obtain any evidence for even a weak, transient direct interaction.     

NMR Assignment of the mTOR Domain Responsible for Rapamycin Binding

A fully automated, NOE-based NMR structure determination of a uniformly ¹³C,¹⁵N-labeled protein was achieved in crude cell-extract, without purification of the overexpressed protein. Essentially complete sequence-specific assignments were obtained using triple resonance experiments, based on the high intensity of the resonances from the overexpressed protein relative to those of the background. For the collection of NOE distance constraints, efficient discrimination between NOE cross peaks from the target protein and background signals was achieved using the programs ATNOS and CANDID. In the iterative ATNOS/CANDID procedure, the identification of the desired protein NOEs is initially guided by the self-consistency of the protein NOE-network. Although the intensities of the signals in this network vary over a wide range, and are in many instances comparable to or smaller than those of the background, the first cycle of calculations resulted in the correct global polypeptide fold, and the structure was then refined in six subsequent cycles using the intermediate NMR structures for additional guidance. The experience gained with this work demonstrates that the ATNOS/CANDID procedure for automatic protein structure determination is highly robust and reliable in the presence of intense background signals, and might thus also represent a platform for future protein structure determinations in physiological fluids.     

蛋白质溶液NMR结构测定的一些新进展

新的标记技术的进展和采用稀释的液晶作为溶剂以提供额外的结构信息,提高了核磁共振技术测定蛋白质溶液三维结构的精度,扩大了分子质量测定范围.目前已经利用多维 ¹⁵N,¹³C,²H标记NMR测定了许多分子质量为30 ku左右的蛋白质溶液结构,这一上限可能还会被进一步提高.     

NMR Structure of the N-Terminal Domain of Capsid Protein from the Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus

The high-resolution structure of the N-terminal domain (NTD) of the retroviral capsid protein (CA) of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV), a member of the betaretrovirus family, has been determined by NMR. The M-PMV NTD CA structure is similar to the other retroviral capsid structures and is characterized by a six α-helix bundle and an N-terminal β-hairpin, stabilized by an interaction of highly conserved residues, Pro1 and Asp57. Since the role of the β-hairpin has been shown to be critical for formation of infectious viral core, we also investigated the functional role of M-PMV β-hairpin in two mutants (i.e., ΔP1NTDCA and D57ANTDCA) where the salt bridge stabilizing the wild-type structure was disrupted. NMR data obtained for these mutants were compared with those obtained for the wild type. The main structural changes were observed within the β-hairpin structure; within helices 2, 3, and 5; and in the loop connecting helices 2 and 3. This observation is supported by biochemical data showing different cleavage patterns of the wild-type and the mutated capsid-nucleocapsid fusion protein (CANC) by M-PMV protease. Despite these structural changes, the mutants with disrupted salt bridge are still able to assemble into immature, spherical particles. This confirms that the mutual interaction and topology within the β-hairpin and helix 3 might correlate with the changes in interaction between immature and mature lattices.     

Solution NMR Structure of the C-terminal DNA Binding Domain of Mcm10 Reveals a Conserved MCM Motif

The eukaryotic DNA replication protein Mcm10 associates with chromatin in early S-phase and is required for assembly and function of the replication fork protein machinery. Xenopus laevis (X) Mcm10 binds DNA via a highly conserved internal domain (ID) and a C-terminal domain (CTD) that is unique to higher eukaryotes. Although the structural basis of the interactions of the ID with DNA and polymerase α is known, little information is available for the CTD. We have identified the minimal DNA binding region of the XMcm10-CTD and determined its three-dimensional structure by solution NMR. The CTD contains a globular domain composed of two zinc binding motifs. NMR chemical shift perturbation and mutational analysis show that ssDNA binds only to the N-terminal (CCCH-type) zinc motif, whose structure is unique to Mcm10. The second (CCCC-type) zinc motif is not involved in DNA binding. However, it is structurally similar to the CCCC zinc ribbon in the N-terminal oligomerization domain of eukaryotic and archaeal MCM helicases. NMR analysis of a construct spanning both the ID and CTD reveals that the two DNA binding domains are structurally independent in solution, supporting a modular architecture for vertebrate Mcm10. Our results provide insight in the action of Mcm10 in the replisome and support a model in which it serves as a central scaffold through coupling of interactions with partner proteins and the DNA.     

A novel function of the MA-3 domains in transformation and translation suppressor Pdcd4 is essential for its binding to eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4A

An alpha-helical MA-3 domain appears in several translation initiation factors, including human eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4G (eIF4G) and DAP-5/NAT1/p97, as well as in the tumor suppressor Pdcd4. The function of the MA-3 domain is, however, unknown. C-terminal eIF4G (eIG4Gc) contains an MA-3 domain that is located within the eIF4A-binding region, suggesting a role for eIF4A binding. Interestingly, C-terminal DAP-5/NAT1/p97 contains an MA-3 domain, but it does not bind to eIF4A. Mutation of amino acid residues conserved between Pdcd4 and eIF4Gc but not in DAP-5/NAT1/p97 to the amino acid residues found in the DAP-5/NAT1/p97 indicates that some of these amino acid residues within the MA-3 domain are critical for eIF4A-binding activity. Six Pdcd4 mutants (Pdcd4(E249K), Pdcd4(D253A), Pdcd4(D414K), Pdcd4(D418A), Pdcd4(E249K,D414K), and Pdcd4(D253A,D418A)) lost >90% eIF4A-binding activity. Mutation of the corresponding amino acid residues in the eIF4Gc also produced similar results, as seen for Pdcd4. These results demonstrate that the MA-3 domain is important for eIF4A binding and explain the ability of Pdcd4 or eIF4Gc but not DAP-5/NAT1/p97 to bind to eIF4A. Competition experiments indicate that Pdcd4 prevents ca. 60 to 70% of eIF4A binding to eIF4Gc at a Pdcd4/eIF4A ratio of 1:1, but mutants Pdcd4(D253A) and Pdcd4(D253A,D418A) do not. Translation of stem-loop structured mRNA is susceptible to inhibition by wild-type Pdcd4 but not by Pdcd4(D253A), Pdcd4(D418A), or Pdcd4(D235A,D418A). Together, these results indicate that not only binding to eIF4A but also prevention of eIF4A binding to the MA-3 domain of eIF4Gc contributes to the mechanism by which Pdcd4 inhibits translation.     

NMR Determines Transient Structure and Dynamics in the Disordered C-Terminal Domain of WASp Interacting Protein

WASp-interacting protein (WIP) is a 503-residue proline-rich polypeptide expressed in human T cells. The WIP C-terminal domain binds to Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASp) and regulates its activation and degradation, and the WIP-WASp interaction has been shown to be critical for actin polymerization and implicated in the onset of WAS and X-linked thrombocytopenia. WIP is predicted to be an intrinsically disordered protein, a class of polypeptides that are of great interest because they violate the traditional structure-function paradigm. In this first (to our knowledge) study of WIP in its unbound state, we used NMR to investigate the biophysical behavior of WIP^C, a C-terminal domain fragment of WIP that includes residues 407–503 and contains the WASp-binding site. In light of the poor spectral dispersion exhibited by WIP^C and the high occurrence (25%) of proline residues, we employed 5D-NMR¹³C-detected NMR experiments with nonuniform sampling to accomplish full resonance assignment. Secondary chemical-shift analysis, ¹⁵N relaxation rates, and protection from solvent exchange all concurred in detecting transient structure located in motifs that span the WASp-binding site. Residues 446–456 exhibited a propensity for helical conformation, and an extended conformation followed by a short, capped helix was observed for residues 468–478. The ¹³C-detected approach allows chemical-shift assignment in the WIP^C polyproline stretches and thus sheds light on their conformation and dynamics. The effects of temperature on chemical shifts referenced to a denatured sample of the polypeptide demonstrate that heating reduces the structural character of WIP^C. Thus, we conclude that the disordered WIP^C fragment is comprised of regions with latent structure connected by flexible loops, an architecture with implications for binding affinity and function.     

Secondary structure and NMR resonance assignments of the C-terminal DNA-binding domain of Uup protein

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) systems belong to a large superfamily of proteins that couple the energy released from ATP hydrolysis to a wide variety of cellular processes, including not only transport of various molecules, but also gene regulation, and DNA repair. Mutations in the bacterial uup gene, which encodes a cytosolic ABC ATPase, lead to an increase in the frequency of precise excision of transposons Tn10 and Tn5, suggesting a role of the Uup protein in DNA metabolism. Uup is a 72?kDa polypeptide which comprises two ABC domains, separated by a 75-residue linker, and a C-terminal domain (CTD) of unknown function. The Uup protein from Escherichia coli has been shown to bind DNA in vitro, and the CTD domain contributes to the DNA-binding affinity. We have produced and purified uniformly labeled ¹⁵N- and ¹⁵N/¹³C Uup CTD domain (region 528?C635), and assigned backbone and side-chains resonances using heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy. Secondary structure evaluation based on backbone chemical shifts is consistent with the presence of three ??-helices, including two long ones (residues 564?C590 and 601?C632), suggesting that Uup CTD may fold as an intramolecular coiled coil motif. This work provides the starting point towards determining the first atomic structure of a non-ATPase domain within the vast REG subfamily of ABC soluble ATPases.