scholarly journals Regulation of Chk1 by Its C-terminal Domain

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 4546-4553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Kosoy ◽  
Matthew J. O'Connell

Chk1 is a protein kinase that is the effector molecule in the G2 DNA damage checkpoint. Chk1 homologues have an N-terminal kinase domain, and a C-terminal domain of ∼200 amino acids that contains activating phosphorylation sites for the ATM/R kinases, though the mechanism of activation remains unknown. Structural studies of the human Chk1 kinase domain show an open conformation; the activity of the kinase domain alone is substantially higher in vitro than full-length Chk1, and coimmunoprecipitation studies suggest the C-terminal domain may contain an autoinhibitory activity. However, we show that truncation of the C-terminal domain inactivates Chk1 in vivo. We identify additional mutations within the C-terminal domain that activate ectopically expressed Chk1 without the need for activating phosphorylation. When expressed from the endogenous locus, activated alleles show a temperature-sensitive loss of function, suggesting these mutations confer a semiactive state to the protein. Intragenic suppressors of these activated alleles cluster to regions in the catalytic domain on the face of the protein that interacts with substrate, suggesting these are the regions that interact with the C-terminal domain. Thus, rather than being an autoinhibitory domain, the C-terminus of Chk1 also contains domains critical for adopting an active configuration.

Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 142 (4) ◽  
pp. 1181-1198
Author(s):  
Pascal Thérond ◽  
Georges Alves ◽  
Bernadette Limbourg-Bouchon ◽  
Hervé Tricoire ◽  
Elizabeth Guillemet ◽  
...  

Abstract fused (fu) is a segment-polarity gene encoding a putative serine-threonine kinase. In a wild-type context, all fu mutations display the same set of phenotypes. Nevertheless, mutations of the Suppressor of fused [Su(fu)] gene define three classes of alleles (fu0, fuI, fuII). Here, we report the molecular analysis of known fu mutations and the generation of new alleles by in vitro mutagenesis. We show that the Fused (Fu) protein functions in vivo as a kinase. The N-terminal kinase and the extreme C-terminal domains are necessary for Fu+ activity while a central region appears to be dispensable. We observe a striking correlation between the molecular lesions of fu mutations and the phenotype displayed in their interaction with Su(fu). Indeed, fuI alleles which are suppressed by Su(fu) mutations are defined by inframe alterations of the N-terminal catalytic domain whereas the C-terminal domain is missing or altered in all fuII alleles. An unregulated FuII protein, which can be limited to the 80 N-terminal amino acids of the kinase domain, would be responsible for the neomorphic costal-2 phenotype displayed by the fuII-Su(fu) interaction. We propose that the Fu C-terminal domain can differentially regulate the Fu catalytic domain according to cell position in the parasegment.


Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
pp. 661-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodi L Vogel ◽  
Vincent Geuskens ◽  
Lucie Desmet ◽  
N Patrick Higgins ◽  
Ariane Toussaint

Abstract Mutations in an N-terminal 70-amino acid domain of bacteriophage Mu's repressor cause temperature-sensitive DNA-binding activity. Surprisingly, amber mutations can conditionally correct the heat-sensitive defect in three mutant forms of the repressor gene, cts25 (D43-G), cts62 (R47-Q and cts71 (M28-I), and in the appropriate bacterial host produce a heat-stable Sts phenotype (for survival of temperature shifts). Sts repressor mutants are heat sensitive when in supE or supF hosts and heat resistant when in Sup° hosts. Mutants with an Sts phenotype have amber mutations at one of three codons, Q179, Q187, or Q190. The Sts phenotype relates to the repressor size: in Sup° hosts sts repressors are shorter by seven, 10, or 18 amino acids compared to repressors in supE or supF hosts. The truncated form of the sts62-1 repressor, which lacks 18 residues (Q179–V196), binds Mu operator DNA more stably at 42° in vitro compared to its full-length counterpart (cts62 repressor). In addition to influencing temperature sensitivity, the C-terminus appears to control the susceptibility to in vivo Clp proteolysis by influencing the multimeric structure of repressor.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Encarnación Medina-Carmona ◽  
Rogelio J. Palomino-Morales ◽  
Julian E. Fuchs ◽  
Esperanza Padín-Gonzalez ◽  
Noel Mesa-Torres ◽  
...  

Abstract Protein dynamics is essential to understand protein function and stability, even though is rarely investigated as the origin of loss-of-function due to genetic variations. Here, we use biochemical, biophysical, cell and computational biology tools to study two loss-of-function and cancer-associated polymorphisms (p.R139W and p.P187S) in human NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), a FAD-dependent enzyme which activates cancer pro-drugs and stabilizes several oncosuppressors. We show that p.P187S strongly destabilizes the NQO1 dimer in vitro and increases the flexibility of the C-terminal domain, while a combination of FAD and the inhibitor dicoumarol overcome these alterations. Additionally, changes in global stability due to polymorphisms and ligand binding are linked to the dynamics of the dimer interface, whereas the low activity and affinity for FAD in p.P187S is caused by increased fluctuations at the FAD binding site. Importantly, NQO1 steady-state protein levels in cell cultures correlate primarily with the dynamics of the C-terminal domain, supporting a directional preference in NQO1 proteasomal degradation and the use of ligands binding to this domain to stabilize p.P187S in vivo. In conclusion, protein dynamics are fundamental to understanding loss-of-function in p.P187S and to develop new pharmacological therapies to rescue this function.


2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 2893-2903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Barker ◽  
Linda Lee ◽  
B. Daniel Pierce ◽  
Lymarie Maldonado-Báez ◽  
David G. Drubin ◽  
...  

The yeast endocytic scaffold Pan1 contains an uncharacterized proline-rich domain (PRD) at its carboxy (C)-terminus. We report that the pan1-20 temperature-sensitive allele has a disrupted PRD due to a frame-shift mutation in the open reading frame of the domain. To reveal redundantly masked functions of the PRD, synthetic genetic array screens with a pan1ΔPRD strain found genetic interactions with alleles of ACT1, LAS17 and a deletion of SLA1. Through a yeast two-hybrid screen, the Src homology 3 domains of the type I myosins, Myo3 and Myo5, were identified as binding partners for the C-terminus of Pan1. In vitro and in vivo assays validated this interaction. The relative timing of recruitment of Pan1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) and Myo3/5-red fluorescent protein (RFP) at nascent endocytic sites was revealed by two-color real-time fluorescence microscopy; the type I myosins join Pan1 at cortical patches at a late stage of internalization, preceding the inward movement of Pan1 and its disassembly. In cells lacking the Pan1 PRD, we observed an increased lifetime of Myo5-GFP at the cortex. Finally, Pan1 PRD enhanced the actin polymerization activity of Myo5–Vrp1 complexes in vitro. We propose that Pan1 and the type I myosins interactions promote an actin activity important at a late stage in endocytic internalization.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 7461-7472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeganeh Zebarjadian ◽  
Tom King ◽  
Maurille J. Fournier ◽  
Louise Clarke ◽  
John Carbon

ABSTRACT In budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), the majority of box H/ACA small nucleolar RNPs (snoRNPs) have been shown to direct site-specific pseudouridylation of rRNA. Among the known protein components of H/ACA snoRNPs, the essential nucleolar protein Cbf5p is the most likely pseudouridine (Ψ) synthase. Cbf5p has considerable sequence similarity to Escherichia coli TruBp, a known Ψ synthase, and shares the “KP” and “XLD” conserved sequence motifs found in the catalytic domains of three distinct families of known and putative Ψ synthases. To gain additional evidence on the role of Cbf5p in rRNA biosynthesis, we have used in vitro mutagenesis techniques to introduce various alanine substitutions into the putative Ψ synthase domain of Cbf5p. Yeast strains expressing these mutatedcbf5 genes in a cbf5Δ null background are viable at 25°C but display pronounced cold- and heat-sensitive growth phenotypes. Most of the mutants contain reduced levels of Ψ in rRNA at extreme temperatures. Substitution of alanine for an aspartic acid residue in the conserved XLD motif of Cbf5p (mutantcbf5D95A) abolishes in vivo pseudouridylation of rRNA. Some of the mutants are temperature sensitive both for growth and for formation of Ψ in the rRNA. In most cases, the impaired growth phenotypes are not relieved by transcription of the rRNA from a polymerase II-driven promoter, indicating the absence of polymerase I-related transcriptional defects. There is little or no abnormal accumulation of pre-rRNAs in these mutants, although preferential inhibition of 18S rRNA synthesis is seen in mutantcbf5D95A, which lacks Ψ in rRNA. A subset of mutations in the Ψ synthase domain impairs association of the altered Cbf5p proteins with selected box H/ACA snoRNAs, suggesting that the functional catalytic domain is essential for that interaction. Our results provide additional evidence that Cbf5p is the Ψ synthase component of box H/ACA snoRNPs and suggest that the pseudouridylation of rRNA, although not absolutely required for cell survival, is essential for the formation of fully functional ribosomes.


2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (22) ◽  
pp. 12406-12415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Moffat ◽  
Chengjun Mo ◽  
Jason J. Cheng ◽  
Marvin Sommer ◽  
Leigh Zerboni ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) glycoprotein E (gE) is essential for VZV replication. To further analyze the functions of gE in VZV replication, a full deletion and point mutations were made in the 62-amino-acid (aa) C-terminal domain. Targeted mutations were introduced in YAGL (aa 582 to 585), which mediates gE endocytosis, AYRV (aa 568 to 571), which targets gE to the trans-Golgi network (TGN), and SSTT, an “acid cluster” comprising a phosphorylation motif (aa 588 to 601). Substitutions Y582G in YAGL, Y569A in AYRV, and S593A, S595A, T596A, and T598A in SSTT were introduced into the viral genome by using VZV cosmids. These experiments demonstrated a hierarchy in the contributions of these C-terminal motifs to VZV replication and virulence. Deletion of the gE C terminus and mutation of YAGL were lethal for VZV replication in vitro. Mutations of AYRV and SSTT were compatible with recovery of VZV, but the AYRV mutation resulted in rapid virus spread in vitro and the SSTT mutation resulted in higher virus titers than were observed for the parental rOka strain. When the rOka-gE-AYRV and rOka-gE-SSTT mutants were evaluated in skin and T-cell xenografts in SCIDhu mice, interference with TGN targeting was associated with substantial attenuation, especially in skin, whereas the SSTT mutation did not alter VZV infectivity in vivo. These results provide the first information about how targeted mutations of this essential VZV glycoprotein affect viral replication in vitro and VZV virulence in dermal and epidermal cells and T cells within intact tissue microenvironments in vivo.


1999 ◽  
Vol 338 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric FERNANDEZ-BELLOT ◽  
Elisabeth GUILLEMET ◽  
Agnès BAUDIN-BAILLIEU ◽  
Sébastien GAUMER ◽  
Anton A. KOMAR ◽  
...  

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the non-Mendelian inherited genetic element [URE3] behaves as a prion. A hypothesis has been put forward which states that [URE3] arises spontaneously from its cellular isoform Ure2p (the product of the URE2 gene), and propagates through interactions of the N-terminal domain of the protein, thus leading to its aggregation and loss of function. In the present study, various N- and C-terminal deletion mutants of Ure2p were constructed and their cross-interactions were tested in vitro and in vivo using affinity binding and a two-hybrid analysis. We show that the self-interaction of the protein is mediated by at least two domains, corresponding to the first third of the protein (the so-called prion-forming domain) and the C-terminal catalytic domain.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1491-1508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Beaven ◽  
Nikola S. Dzhindzhev ◽  
Yue Qu ◽  
Ines Hahn ◽  
Federico Dajas-Bailador ◽  
...  

Axons act like cables, electrically wiring the nervous system. Polar bundles of microtubules (MTs) form their backbones and drive their growth. Plus end–tracking proteins (+TIPs) regulate MT growth dynamics and directionality at their plus ends. However, current knowledge about +TIP functions, mostly derived from work in vitro and in nonneuronal cells, may not necessarily apply to the very different context of axonal MTs. For example, the CLIP family of +TIPs are known MT polymerization promoters in nonneuronal cells. However, we show here that neither Drosophila CLIP-190 nor mammalian CLIP-170 is a prominent MT plus end tracker in neurons, which we propose is due to low plus end affinity of the CAP-Gly domain–containing N-terminus and intramolecular inhibition through the C-terminus. Instead, both CLIP-190 and CLIP-170 form F-actin–dependent patches in growth cones, mediated by binding of the coiled-coil domain to myosin-VI. Because our loss-of-function analyses in vivo and in culture failed to reveal axonal roles for CLIP-190, even in double-mutant combinations with four other +TIPs, we propose that CLIP-190 and -170 are not essential axon extension regulators. Our findings demonstrate that +TIP functions known from nonneuronal cells do not necessarily apply to the regulation of the very distinct MT networks in axons.


2009 ◽  
Vol 418 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia S. López ◽  
R. Sean Peacock ◽  
Jorge H. Crosa ◽  
Hans J. Vogel

In the fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum the TonB2 protein is essential for the uptake of the indigenous siderophore anguibactin. Here we describe deletion mutants and alanine replacements affecting the final six amino acids of TonB2. Deletions of more than two amino acids of the TonB2 C-terminus abolished ferric-anguibactin transport, whereas replacement of the last three residues resulted in a protein with wild-type transport properties. We have solved the high-resolution solution structure of the TonB2 C-terminal domain by NMR spectroscopy. The core of this domain (residues 121–206) has an αββαβ structure, whereas residues 76–120 are flexible and extended. This overall folding topology is similar to the Escherichia coli TonB C-terminal domain, albeit with two differences: the β4 strand found at the C-terminus of TonB is absent in TonB2, and loop 3 is extended by 9 Å (0.9 nm) in TonB2. By examining several mutants, we determined that a complete loop 3 is not essential for TonB2 activity. Our results indicate that the β4 strand of E. coli TonB is not required for activity of the TonB system across Gram-negative bacterial species. We have also determined, through NMR chemical-shift-perturbation experiments, that the E. coli TonB binds in vitro to the TonB box from the TonB2-dependent outer membrane transporter FatA; moreover, it can substitute in vivo for TonB2 during ferric-anguibactin transport in V. anguillarum. Unexpectedly, TonB2 did not bind in vitro to the FatA TonB-box region, suggesting that additional factors may be required to promote this interaction. Overall our results indicate that TonB2 is a representative of a different class of TonB proteins.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Mann ◽  
Sai K. Balchand ◽  
Patricia Wadsworth

Mitotic motor proteins generate force to establish and maintain spindle bipolarity, but how they are temporally and spatially regulated in vivo is unclear. Prior work demonstrated that a microtubule-associated protein, TPX2, targets kinesin-5 and kinesin-12 motors to spindle microtubules. The C-terminal domain of TPX2 contributes to the localization and motility of the kinesin-5, Eg5, but it is not known whether this domain regulates kinesin-12, Kif15. We found that the C-terminal domain of TPX2 contributes to the localization of Kif15 to spindle microtubules in cells and suppresses motor walking in vitro. Kif15 and Eg5 are partially redundant motors, and overexpressed Kif15 can drive spindle formation in the absence of Eg5 activity. Kif15-dependent bipolar spindle formation in vivo requires the C-terminal domain of TPX2. In the spindle, fluorescent puncta of GFP-Kif15 move toward the equatorial region at a rate equivalent to microtubule growth. Reduction of microtubule growth with paclitaxel suppresses GFP-Kif15 motility, demonstrating that dynamic microtubules contribute to Kif15 behavior. Our results show that the C-terminal region of TPX2 regulates Kif15 in vitro, contributes to motor localization in cells, and is required for Kif15 force generation in vivo and further reveal that dynamic microtubules contribute to Kif15 behavior in vivo.


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