F–actin-bundling sites are conserved in proteins with villin-type headpiece domains

Villin is a major actin-bundling protein that assembles the microvilli of intestinal and renal epithelial cells. Using the nuclear magnetic resonance structure of the isolated villin and advillin headpiece proteins and mutational analysis in full-length proteins, we identify the actin-bundling site in human villin and proteins with villin-type headpiece domain.

PINK1-dependent phosphorylation of Serine111 within the SF3 motif of Rab GTPases impairs effector interactions and LRRK2-mediated phosphorylation at Threonine72

Loss of function mutations in the PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) kinase are causal for autosomal recessive Parkinson's disease (PD) whilst gain of function mutations in the LRRK2 kinase cause autosomal dominant PD. PINK1 indirectly regulates the phosphorylation of a subset of Rab GTPases at a conserved Serine111 (Ser111) residue within the SF3 motif. Using genetic code expansion technologies, we have produced stoichiometric Ser111-phosphorylated Rab8A revealing impaired interactions with its cognate guanine nucleotide exchange factor and GTPase activating protein. In a screen for Rab8A kinases we identify TAK1 and MST3 kinases that can efficiently phosphorylate the Switch II residue Threonine72 (Thr72) in a similar manner as LRRK2 in vitro. Strikingly, we demonstrate that Ser111 phosphorylation negatively regulates the ability of LRRK2 but not MST3 or TAK1 to phosphorylate Thr72 of recombinant nucleotide-bound Rab8A in vitro and demonstrate an interplay of PINK1- and LRRK2-mediated phosphorylation of Rab8A in transfected HEK293 cells. Finally, we present the crystal structure of Ser111-phosphorylated Rab8A and nuclear magnetic resonance structure of Ser111-phosphorylated Rab1B. The structures reveal that the phosphorylated SF3 motif does not induce any major changes, but may interfere with effector-Switch II interactions through intramolecular H-bond formation and/or charge effects with Arg79. Overall, we demonstrate antagonistic regulation between PINK1-dependent Ser111 phosphorylation and LRRK2-mediated Thr72 phosphorylation of Rab8A indicating a potential cross-talk between PINK1-regulated mitochondrial homeostasis and LRRK2 signalling that requires further investigation in vivo.

Structural Characterization of the S-glycosylated Bacteriocin ASM1 from Lactobacillus plantarum

In order to protect their environmental niche, most bacteria secret antimicrobial substances designed to target specific bacterial strains that are often closely related to the producer strain. Bacteriocins, small, ribosomally synthesised antimicrobial peptides, comprise a class of such substances and can either inhibit (bacteriostatic) or kill (bactericidal) target cells. Glycocins are a class of bacteriocin that are post-translationally modified by one or more carbohydrate moieties that are either β-O-linked to either a serine or threonine and/or β-S-linked to a cysteine. The solution nuclear magnetic resonance structure (NMR) of the glycocin ASM1 (produced by Lactobacillus plantarum A-1), an orthologue of GccF, has been determined. In both structures, the disulfide bonds are essential for activity and restrict the mobility of the N-acetyl-glucosamine (GlcNAc) attached to Ser-18 (O-linked), compared to the much more flexible GlcNAc moiety on Cys-43 (S-linked). Interestingly, despite 88% sequence identity, the helical structure of ASM1 is less pronounced which appears to be consistent with the far ultra-violet circular dichroism (UV CD) spectra.

Proline residues in scavenger receptor-BI's C-terminal region support efficient cholesterol transport

High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) facilitate reverse cholesterol transport, a process in which HDL removes cholesterol from circulation and carries it to the liver for biliary excretion. Reverse cholesterol transport is also facilitated by HDL's high-affinity receptor, scavenger receptor-BI (SR-BI), by mechanisms that are not fully understood. To improve our understanding of SR-BI function, we previously solved the NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) structure of a peptide encompassing amino acids 405–475 of SR-BI. This segment of SR-BI, that includes the functionally critical C-terminal transmembrane domain and part of the extracellular domain, also contains four conserved proline (Pro) residues. We hypothesized that these proline residues support SR-BI in a conformation that allows for efficient cholesterol transport. To test this, we generated individual Pro-to-alanine mutations in full-length SR-BI and transiently expressed the mutant receptors in COS-7 cells to measure the effects on SR-BI-mediated cholesterol transport functions. Our findings reveal that HDL cell association and uptake of HDL-cholesteryl esters are impaired by mutation of Pro-412, Pro-438, or the transmembrane proline kink residue (Pro-459). In addition, SR-BI-mediated cholesterol efflux and membrane cholesterol distribution are impaired by mutation of Pro-412 or Pro-438, indicating that these residues are essential for a fully functional SR-BI receptor. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Pro-408 is necessary for proper SR-BI expression, but mutation of Pro-408 does not cause SR-BI to become misfolded or rapidly degraded by the proteasome or the lysosome. We conclude that key proline residues play an important role in SR-BI function by allowing for the efficient transport of cholesterol between cells and HDL.

Nonasaccharide Inhibits Intrinsic Factor Xase Complex by Binding to Factor IXa and Disrupting Factor IXa–Factor VIIIa Interactions

A nonasaccharide (FG9) derived from natural fucosylated glycosaminoglycan (FG) is identified as a selective intrinsic factor Xase complex (FIXa-FVIIIa-Ca2+-phospholipid, FXase) inhibitor that possesses potential inhibition of venous thrombus in rats and shows negligible bleeding risk. The mechanism and molecular target of the nonasaccharide for intrinsic FXase inhibition were systematically investigated and compared with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). Our results showed that FG9 dose-dependently inhibited FX activation by intrinsic FXase complex in a noncompetitive inhibition pattern, where the apparent affinity for FG9 was approximately 1.8-fold higher than that for LMWH. FG9 displayed no inhibitory effect on the activity of FIXa/phospholipid, and did not affect the decay rate of FVIIIa activity. FG9 reduced the apparent affinity of FIXa for FVIIIa in a dose-dependent manner, and accelerated the decay of intrinsic FXase complex activity. FG9 bound to FIXa with high affinity and the FIXa binding sites of FG9 were overlapped with that of LMWH, and the ability of FG-derived oligosaccharides to bind FIXa required the minimum 9 degrees of polymerization. FG9 derivatives were prepared and their structures were confirmed by one-dimensional/two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance. Structure–activity relationship studies showed that carboxy reduction significantly weakened its anti-FXase activity and binding affinity to FIXa, while the effects of carboxyl ethyl esterification and deacetylation were relatively weaker. Overall, our results suggest that the nonasaccharide FG9 strongly inhibits intrinsic FXase complex activity via binding to FIXa and disrupting FIXa–FVIIIa interactions, and the free carboxyl groups of FG9 are required for its potent anti-FXase activity.