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Split intein enabled protein trans-splicing (PTS) is a powerful method for the ligation of two protein fragments, thereby paving the way for various protein modification or protein function control applications. PTS activity is strongly influenced by the amino acids directly flanking the splice junctions. However, to date no reliable prediction can be made whether or not a split intein is active in a particular foreign extein context. Here we describe SPLICEFINDER, a PCR-based method, allowing fast and easy screening for active split intein insertions in any target protein. Furthermore we demonstrate the applicability of SPLICEFINDER for segmental isotopic labeling as well as for the generation of multi-domain and enzymatically active proteins.
Ubiquitin fold modifier 1 (UFM1) is a member of the ubiquitin-like protein family. UFM1 undergoes a cascade of enzymatic reactions including activation by UBA5 (E1), transfer to UFC1 (E2) and selective conjugation to a number of target proteins via UFL1 (E3) enzymes. Despite the importance of ufmylation in a variety of cellular processes and its role in the pathogenicity of many human diseases, the molecular mechanisms of the ufmylation cascade remains unclear. In this study we focused on the biophysical and biochemical characterization of the interaction between UBA5 and UFC1. We explored the hypothesis that the unstructured C-terminal region of UBA5 serves as a regulatory region, controlling cellular localization of the elements of the ufmylation cascade and effective interaction between them. We found that the last 20 residues in UBA5 are pivotal for binding to UFC1 and can accelerate the transfer of UFM1 to UFC1. We solved the structure of a complex of UFC1 and a peptide spanning the last 20 residues of UBA5 by NMR spectroscopy. This structure in combination with additional NMR titration and isothermal titration calorimetry experiments revealed the mechanism of interaction and confirmed the importance of the C-terminal unstructured region in UBA5 for the ufmylation cascade.
The ubiquitin (Ub) code denotes the complex Ub architectures, including Ub chains of different length, linkage-type and linkage combinations, which enable ubiquitination to control a wide range of protein fates. Although many linkage-specific interactors have been described, how interactors are able to decode more complex architectures is not fully understood. We conducted a Ub interactor screen, in humans and yeast, using Ub chains of varying length, as well as, homotypic and heterotypic branched chains of the two most abundant linkage types – K48- and K63-linked Ub. We identified some of the first K48/K63 branch-specific Ub interactors, including histone ADP-ribosyltransferase PARP10/ARTD10, E3 ligase UBR4 and huntingtin-interacting protein HIP1. Furthermore, we revealed the importance of chain length by identifying interactors with a preference for Ub3 over Ub2 chains, including Ub-directed endoprotease DDI2, autophagy receptor CCDC50 and p97-adaptor FAF1. Crucially, we compared datasets collected using two common DUB inhibitors – Chloroacetamide and N-ethylmaleimide. This revealed inhibitor-dependent interactors, highlighting the importance of inhibitor consideration during pulldown studies. This dataset is a key resource for understanding how the Ub code is read.
Background: Simple peak-picking algorithms, such as those based on lineshape fitting, perform well when peaks are completely resolved in multidimensional NMR spectra, but often produce wrong intensities and frequencies for overlapping peak clusters. For example, NOESY-type spectra have considerable overlaps leading to significant peak-picking intensity errors, which can result in erroneous structural restraints. Precise frequencies are critical for unambiguous resonance assignments.
Results: To alleviate this problem, a more sophisticated peaks decomposition algorithm, based on non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), was developed. We produce peak shapes from Fourier-transformed NMR spectra. Apart from its main goal of deriving components from spectra and producing peak lists automatically, the NMF approach can also be applied if the positions of some peaks are known a priori, e.g. from consistently referenced spectral dimensions of other experiments.
Conclusions: Application of the NMF algorithm to a three-dimensional peak list of the 23 kDa bi-domain section of the RcsD protein (RcsD-ABL-HPt, residues 688-890) as well as to synthetic HSQC data shows that peaks can be picked accurately also in spectral regions with strong overlap.
The function of the p53 transcription factor family is dependent on several folded domains. In addition to a DNA-binding domain, members of this family contain an oligomerization domain. p63 and p73 also contain a C-terminal Sterile α-motif domain. Inhibition of most transcription factors is difficult as most of them lack deep pockets that can be targeted by small organic molecules. Genetic knock-out procedures are powerful in identifying the overall function of a protein, but they do not easily allow one to investigate roles of individual domains. Here we describe the characterization of Designed Ankyrin Repeat Proteins (DARPins) that were selected as tight binders against all folded domains of p63. We determine binding affinities as well as specificities within the p53 protein family and show that DARPins can be used as intracellular inhibitors for the modulation of transcriptional activity. By selectively inhibiting DNA binding of the ΔNp63α isoform that competes with p53 for the same promoter sites, we show that p53 can be reactivated. We further show that inhibiting the DNA binding activity stabilizes p63, thus providing evidence for a transcriptionally regulated negative feedback loop. Furthermore, the ability of DARPins to bind to the DNA-binding domain and the Sterile α-motif domain within the dimeric-only and DNA-binding incompetent conformation of TAp63α suggests a high structural plasticity within this special conformation. In addition, the developed DARPins can also be used to specifically detect p63 in cell culture and in primary tissue and thus constitute a very versatile research tool for studying the function of p63.
The transcription factor p63 is expressed as at least six different isoforms, of which two have been assigned critical biological roles within ectodermal development and skin stem cell biology on the one hand and supervision of the genetic stability of oocytes on the other hand. These two isoforms contain a C-terminal inhibitory domain that negatively regulates their transcriptional activity. This inhibitory domain contains two individual components: one that uses an internal binding mechanism to interact with and mask the transactivation domain and one that is based on sumoylation. We have carried out an extensive alanine scanning study to identify critical regions within the inhibitory domain. These experiments show that a stretch of ~13 amino acids is crucial for the binding function. Further, investigation of transcriptional activity and the intracellular level of mutants that cannot be sumoylated suggests that sumoylation reduces the concentration of p63. We therefore propose that the inhibitory function of the C-terminal domain is in part due to direct inhibition of the transcriptional activity of the protein and in part due to indirect inhibition by controlling the concentration of p63. Keywords: p63, transcriptional regulation, auto-inhibition, sumoylation
Protein aggregation of the p63 transcription factor underlies severe skin fragility in AEC syndrome
(2018)
The p63 gene encodes a master regulator of epidermal commitment, development, and differentiation. Heterozygous mutations in the C-terminal domain of the p63 gene can cause ankyloblepharon-ectodermal defects-cleft lip/palate (AEC) syndrome, a life-threatening disorder characterized by skin fragility and severe, long-lasting skin erosions. Despite deep knowledge of p63 functions, little is known about mechanisms underlying disease pathology and possible treatments. Here, we show that multiple AEC-associated p63 mutations, but not those causative of other diseases, lead to thermodynamic protein destabilization, misfolding, and aggregation, similar to the known p53 gain-of-function mutants found in cancer. AEC mutant proteins exhibit impaired DNA binding and transcriptional activity, leading to dominant negative effects due to coaggregation with wild-type p63 and p73. Importantly, p63 aggregation occurs also in a conditional knock-in mouse model for the disorder, in which the misfolded p63 mutant protein leads to severe epidermal defects. Variants of p63 that abolish aggregation of the mutant proteins are able to rescue p63’s transcriptional function in reporter assays as well as in a human fibroblast-to-keratinocyte conversion assay. Our studies reveal that AEC syndrome is a protein aggregation disorder and opens avenues for therapeutic intervention.
The mitophagy receptor Nix interacts with LC3/GABARAP proteins, targeting mitochondria into autophagosomes for degradation. Here we present evidence for phosphorylation-driven regulation of the Nix:LC3B interaction. Isothermal titration calorimetry and NMR indicate a ~100 fold enhanced affinity of the serine 34/35-phosphorylated Nix LC3-interacting region (LIR) to LC3B and formation of a very rigid complex compared to the non-phosphorylated sequence. Moreover, the crystal structure of LC3B in complex with the Nix LIR peptide containing glutamic acids as phosphomimetic residues and NMR experiments revealed that LIR phosphorylation stabilizes the Nix:LC3B complex via formation of two additional hydrogen bonds between phosphorylated serines of Nix LIR and Arg11, Lys49 and Lys51 in LC3B. Substitution of Lys51 to Ala in LC3B abrogates binding of a phosphomimetic Nix mutant. Functionally, serine 34/35 phosphorylation enhances autophagosome recruitment to mitochondria in HeLa cells. Together, this study provides cellular, biochemical and biophysical evidence that phosphorylation of the LIR domain of Nix enhances mitophagy receptor engagement.
RcsF, a proposed auxiliary regulator of the regulation of capsule synthesis (rcs) phosphorelay system, is a key element for understanding the RcsC-D-A/B signaling cascade, which is responsible for the regulation of more than 100 genes and is involved in cell division, motility, biofilm formation, and virulence. The RcsC-D-A/B system is one of the most complex bacterial signal transduction pathways, consisting of several membrane-bound and soluble proteins. RcsF is a lipoprotein attached to the outer membrane and plays an important role in activating the RcsC-d-A/B pathway. The exact mechanism of activation of the rcs phosphorelay by RcsF, however, remains unknown. We have analyzed the sequence of RcsF and identified three structural elements: 1) an N-terminal membrane-anchored helix (residues 3-13), 2) a loop (residues 14-48), and 3) a C-terminal folded domain (residues 49-134). We have determined the structure of this C-terminal domain and started to investigate its interaction with potential partners. Important features of its structure are two disulfide bridges between Cys-74 and Cys-118 and between Cys-109 and Cys-124. To evaluate the importance of this RcsF disulfide bridge network in vivo, we have examined the ability of the full-length protein and of specific Cys mutants to initiate the rcs signaling cascade. The results indicate that the Cys-74/Cys-118 and the Cys-109/Cys-124 residues correlate pairwise with the activity of RcsF. Interaction studies showed a weak interaction with an RNA hairpin. However, no interaction could be detected with reagents that are believed to activate the rcs phosphorelay, such as lysozyme, glucose, or Zn(2+) ions.
Structural and functional dissection of the DH and PH domains of oncogenic Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase
(2017)
The two isoforms of the Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase, p210 and p190, are associated with different leukemias and have a dramatically different signaling network, despite similar kinase activity. To provide a molecular rationale for these observations, we study the Dbl-homology (DH) and Pleckstrin-homology (PH) domains of Bcr-Abl p210, which constitute the only structural differences to p190. Here we report high-resolution structures of the DH and PH domains and characterize conformations of the DH–PH unit in solution. Our structural and functional analyses show no evidence that the DH domain acts as a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, whereas the PH domain binds to various phosphatidylinositol-phosphates. PH-domain mutants alter subcellular localization and result in decreased interactions with p210-selective interaction partners. Hence, the PH domain, but not the DH domain, plays an important role in the formation of the differential p210 and p190 Bcr-Abl signaling networks.