Structural transitions of the RING1B C-terminal region upon binding the polycomb cbox domain

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are required for maintaining cell identity and stem cell self-renewal. RING1B and Polycomb (Pc) are two components of a multiprotein complex called polycomb repression complex 1 (PRC1) that is essential for establishing and maintaining long-term repressed gene states. Here we characterize the interaction between the C-terminal region of RING1B (C-RING1B) and the Pc cbox domain. The C-RING1B-cbox interaction displays a 1:1 stoichiometry with dissociation constants ranging from 9.2 to 180 nM for the different Pc orthologues. NMR analysis of C-RING1B alone reveals line broadening. However, when it is in complex with the cbox domain, there is a striking change to the NMR spectrum indicative of conformational tightening. This conformational change may arise from the organization of the C-RING1B subdomains. The C-terminal regions of all PcG RING1 proteins are composed of two stretches of conserved sequences separated by a variable linker sequence. While the entire C-RING1B region is required for cbox binding, the N- and C-terminal halves of C-RING1B can be separated and are able to interact, suggesting the presence of an intramolecular interaction within C-RING1B. The flexibility within the C-RING1B structure allowing transitions between the intramolecular bound and unbound states may cause the broadened peaks of the C-RING1B NMR spectrum. Binding the cbox domain stabilizes C-RING1B, whereby broadening is eliminated. The presence of flexible regions could allow C-RING1B to bind a variety of different factors, ultimately recruiting RING1B and its associated PcG proteins to different genomic loci.     

The growth-suppressive function of the polycomb group protein polyhomeotic is mediated by polymerization of its sterile alpha motif (SAM) domain

Polyhomeotic (Ph), a member of the Polycomb Group (PcG), is a gene silencer critical for proper development. We present a previously unrecognized way of controlling Ph function through modulation of its sterile alpha motif (SAM) polymerization leading to the identification of a novel target for tuning the activities of proteins. SAM domain containing proteins have been shown to require SAM polymerization for proper function. However, the role of the Ph SAM polymer in PcG-mediated gene silencing was uncertain. Here, we first show that Ph SAM polymerization is indeed required for its gene silencing function. Interestingly, the unstructured linker sequence N-terminal to Ph SAM can shorten the length of polymers compared with when Ph SAM is individually isolated. Substituting the native linker with a random, unstructured sequence (RLink) can still limit polymerization, but not as well as the native linker. Consequently, the increased polymeric Ph RLink exhibits better gene silencing ability. In the Drosophila wing disc, Ph RLink expression suppresses growth compared with no effect for wild-type Ph, and opposite to the overgrowth phenotype observed for polymer-deficient Ph mutants. These data provide the first demonstration that the inherent activity of a protein containing a polymeric SAM can be enhanced by increasing SAM polymerization. Because the SAM linker had not been previously considered important for the function of SAM-containing proteins, our finding opens numerous opportunities to manipulate linker sequences of hundreds of polymeric SAM proteins to regulate a diverse array of intracellular functions.     

Human Polyhomeotic Homolog 3 (PHC3) Sterile Alpha Motif (SAM) Linker Allows Open-Ended Polymerization of PHC3 SAM

Sterile alpha motifs (SAMs) are frequently found in eukaryotic genomes. An intriguing property of many SAMs is their ability to self-associate, forming an open-ended polymer structure whose formation has been shown to be essential for the function of the protein. What remains largely unresolved is how polymerization is controlled. Previously, we had determined that the stretch of unstructured residues N-terminal to the SAM of a Drosophila protein called polyhomeotic (Ph), a member of the polycomb group (PcG) of gene silencers, plays a key role in controlling Ph SAM polymerization. Ph SAM with its native linker created shorter polymers compared to Ph SAM attached to either a random linker or no linker. Here, we show that the SAM linker for the human Ph ortholog, polyhomeotic homolog 3 (PHC3), also controls PHC3 SAM polymerization but does so in the opposite fashion. PHC3 SAM with its native linker allows longer polymers to form compared to when attached to a random linker. Attaching the PHC3 SAM linker to Ph SAM also resulted in extending Ph SAM polymerization. Moreover, in the context of full-length Ph protein, replacing the SAM linker with PHC3 SAM linker, intended to create longer polymers, resulted in greater repressive ability for the chimera compared to wild-type Ph. These findings show that polymeric SAM linkers evolved to modulate a wide dynamic range of SAM polymerization abilities and suggest that rationally manipulating the function of SAM containing proteins through controlling their SAM polymerization may be possible.     

SAM domains: uniform structure, diversity of function

Sterile alpha motif (SAM) domains are known to exhibit diverse protein-protein interaction modes. They can form multiple self-association architectures and also bind to various non-SAM domain-containing proteins. Surprising new work adds a completely unanticipated function for some SAM domains - the ability to bind RNA. Such functional diversity within a homologous protein family presents a significant challenge for bioinformatic function assignment.     

Oligomerization-dependent association of the SAM domains from Schizosaccharomyces pombe Byr2 and Ste4

SAM (sterile alpha motif) domains are protein-protein interaction modules found in a large number of regulatory proteins. Byr2 and Ste4 are two SAM domain-containing proteins in the mating pheromone response pathway of the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Byr2 is a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase that is regulated by Ste4. Tu et al. (Tu, H., Barr, M., Dong, D. L., and Wigler, M. (1997) Mol. Cell. Biol. 17, 5876-5887) showed that the isolated SAM domain of Byr2 binds a fragment of Ste4 that contains both a leucine zipper (Ste4-LZ) domain as well as a SAM domain, suggesting that Byr2-SAM and Ste4-SAM may form a hetero-oligomer. Here, we show that the individual SAM domains of Ste4 and Byr2 are monomeric at low concentrations and bind to each other in a 1:1 stoichiometry with a relatively weak dissociation constant of 56 +/- 3 microm. Inclusion of the Ste4-LZ domain, which determines the oligomeric state of Ste4, has a dramatic effect on binding affinity, however. We find that the Ste4-LZ domain is trimeric and, when included with the Ste4-SAM domain, yields a 3:1 Ste4-LZ-SAM:Byr2-SAM complex with a tight dissociation constant of 19 +/- 4 nm. These results suggest that the Ste4-LZ-SAM protein may recognize multiple binding sites on Byr2-SAM, indicating a new mode of oligomeric organization for SAM domains. The fact that high affinity binding occurs only with the addition of an oligomerization domain suggests that it may be necessary to include ancillary oligomerization modules when searching for binding partners of SAM domains.     

Structural organization of a Sex-comb-on-midleg/polyhomeotic copolymer

The polycomb group proteins are required for the stable maintenance of gene repression patterns established during development. They function as part of large multiprotein complexes created via a multitude of protein-protein interaction domains. Here we examine the interaction between the SAM domains of the polycomb group proteins polyhomeotic (Ph) and Sex-comb-on-midleg (Scm). Previously we showed that Ph-SAM polymerizes as a helical structure. We find that Scm-SAM also polymerizes, and a crystal structure reveals an architecture similar to the Ph-SAM polymer. These results suggest that Ph-SAM and Scm-SAM form a copolymer. Binding affinity measurements between Scm-SAM and Ph-SAM subunits in different orientations indicate a preference for the formation of a single junction copolymer. To provide a model of the copolymer, we determined the structure of the Ph-SAM/Scm-SAM junction. Similar binding modes are observed in both homo- and heterocomplex formation with minimal change in helix axis direction at the polymer joint. The copolymer model suggests that polymeric Scm complexes could extend beyond the local domains of polymeric Ph complexes on chromatin, possibly playing a role in long range repression.