Mutations in GJB6 cause hidrotic ectodermal dysplasia.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to G Waksman.
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Hidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (HED) or Clouston syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by nail dystrophy, alopecia and palmoplantar hyperkeratosis, which maps to chromosome 13q11-q12.1. We confirmed linkage of HED to this region in a large French family. To define the critical region for HED, detailed haplotypes were constructed with new pericentromeric polymorphic markers. A recombination event in the family indicates that the HED locus maps centromeric to D13S1832. Our French family does not share a common haplotype with other pedigrees previously published (particularly French-Canadian), indicating that the mutations in these families are likely to be of different origin.
Protein N-myristoylation is a covalent modification that occurs co-translationally in eukaryotes. Myristate, a rare 14 carbon saturated fatty acid (C14:0), is attached, via an amide linkage, to the N-terminal glycine of a subset of eukaryotic and viral proteins by myristoyl-CoA:protein N-myristoyltransferase (Nmt). Genetic and biochemical studies have established that Nmt is a target for development of a new class of fungicidal drugs. The enzyme is also a potential target for development of antiviral and antineoplastic agents. The structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Nmt1p has been determined recently with bound substrate analogs. The Nmt fold resembles the fold of members of the GCN5-related N-acetyltransferase superfamily. The structure reveals how Nmt's myristoyl-CoA and peptide substrates are recognized and bound, and what elements control the enzyme's ordered kinetic mechanism. Acyl transfer occurs through the nucleophilic addition-elimination reaction: an oxyanion hole formed by main chain atoms polarizes the thioester carbonyl and stabilizes the transition state while deprotonation of the ammonium of the Gly acceptor appears to be mediated by Nmt's C-terminal carboxylate. The use of main chain carboxylate atoms as general base catalyst is a novel feature.
The binding of tyrosine phosphorylated targets by SH2 domains is required for propagation of many cellular signals in higher eukaryotes; however, the determinants of phosphotyrosine (pTyr) recognition by SH2 domains are not well understood. In order to identify the attributes of pTyr required for high affinity interaction with SH2 domains, the binding of the SH2 domain of the Src kinase (Src SH2 domain) to a dephosphorylated peptide, a phosphoserine-containing peptide, and the amino acid pTyr was studied using titration calorimetry and compared with the binding of a high affinity tyrosyl phosphopeptide. The dephosphorylated peptide and the phosphoserine containing peptide both bind extremely weakly to the Src SH2 domain (DeltaGo (dephosphorylated)=-3.6 kcal/mol, DeltaGo (phosphoserine) >-3.7 kcal/mol); however, the DeltaGo value of pTyr binding is more favorable (-4.7 kcal/mol, or 50 % of the entire binding free energy of a high affinity tyrosyl phosphopeptide). These results indicate that both the phosphate and the tyrosine ring of the pTyr are critical determinants of high affinity binding. Alanine mutagenesis was also used to evaluate the energetic contribution to binding of ten residues located in the pTyr-binding site. Mutation of the strictly conserved Arg betaB5 resulted in a large increase in DeltaGo (DeltaDeltaGo=3.2 kcal/mol) while elimination of the other examined residues each resulted in a significantly smaller (DeltaDeltaGo<1.4 kcal/mol) reduction in affinity, indicating that Arg betaB5 is the single most important determinant of pTyr recognition. However, mutation of Cys betaC3, a residue unique to the Src SH2 domain, surprisingly increased affinity by eightfold (DeltaDeltaGo=-1.1 kcal/mol). Using a double mutant cycle analysis, it was revealed that residues of the pTyr-binding pocket are not coupled to the peptide residues C-terminal to the pTyr. In addition, comparison of each residue's DeltaDeltaGo value upon mutation with that residue's sequence conservation among SH2 domains revealed only a modest correlation between a residue's energetic contribution to pTyr recognition and its conservation throughout evolution. The results of this investigation highlight the importance of a single critical interaction, the buried ionic bond between the phosphate of the pTyr and Arg betaB5 of the SH2 domain, driving the binding of SH2 domains to tyrosine phosphorylated targets.
Enteropeptidase is a membrane-bound serine protease that initiates the activation of pancreatic hydrolases by cleaving and activating trypsinogen. The enzyme is remarkably specific and cleaves after lysine residues of peptidyl substrates that resemble trypsinogen activation peptides such as Val-(Asp)4-Lys. To characterize the determinants of substrate specificity, we solved the crystal structure of the bovine enteropeptidase catalytic domain to 2.3 A resolution in complex with the inhibitor Val-(Asp)4-Lys-chloromethane. The catalytic mechanism and contacts with lysine at substrate position P1 are conserved with other trypsin-like serine proteases. However, the aspartyl residues at positions P2-P4 of the inhibitor interact with the enzyme surface mainly through salt bridges with the Nzeta atom of Lys99. Mutation of Lys99 to Ala, or acetylation with acetic anhydride, specifically prevented the cleavage of trypsinogen or Gly-(Asp)4-Lys-beta-naphthylamide and reduced the rate of inhibition by Val-(Asp)4-Lys-chloromethane 22 to 90-fold. For these reactions, Lys99 was calculated to account for 1.8 to 2.5 kcal mol(-1) of the free energy of transition state binding. Thus, a unique basic exosite on the enteropeptidase surface has evolved to facilitate the cleavage of its physiological substrate, trypsinogen.
The Taq DNA polymerase is the most commonly used enzyme in DNA sequencing. However, all versions of Taq polymerase are deficient in two respects: (i) these enzymes incorporate each of the four dideoxynucleoside 5' triphosphates (ddNTPs) at widely different rates during sequencing (ddGTP, for example, is incorporated 10 times faster than the other three ddNTPs), and (ii) these enzymes show uneven band-intensity or peak-height patterns in radio-labeled or dye-labeled DNA sequence profiles, respectively. We have determined the crystal structures of all four ddNTP-trapped closed ternary complexes of the large fragment of the Taq DNA polymerase (Klentaq1). The ddGTP-trapped complex structure differs from the other three ternary complex structures by a large shift in the position of the side chain of residue 660 in the O helix, resulting in additional hydrogen bonds being formed between the guanidinium group of this residue and the base of ddGTP. When Arg-660 is mutated to Asp, Ser, Phe, Tyr, or Leu, the enzyme has a marked and selective reduction in ddGTP incorporation rate. As a result, the G track generated during DNA sequencing by these Taq polymerase variants does not terminate prematurely, and higher molecular-mass G bands are detected. Another property of these Taq polymerase variants is that the sequencing patterns produced by these enzymes are remarkably even in band-intensity and peak-height distribution, thus resulting in a significant improvement in the accuracy of DNA sequencing.
Many Gram-negative pathogens assemble architecturally and functionally diverse adhesive pili on their surfaces by the chaperone-usher pathway. Immunoglobulin-like periplasmic chaperones escort pilus subunits to the usher, a large protein complex that facilitates the translocation and assembly of subunits across the outer membrane. The crystal structure of the PapD-PapK chaperone-subunit complex, determined at 2.4 angstrom resolution, reveals that the chaperone functions by donating its G(1) beta strand to complete the immunoglobulin-like fold of the subunit via a mechanism termed donor strand complementation. The structure of the PapD-PapK complex also suggests that during pilus biogenesis, every subunit completes the immunoglobulin-like fold of its neighboring subunit via a mechanism termed donor strand exchange.
SH2 domains are protein modules which interact with specific tyrosine phosphorylated sequences in target proteins. The SH2 domain of the Src kinase binds with high affinity to a tyrosine phosphorylated peptide containing the amino acids Glu, Glu, and Ile (EEI) at the positions +1, +2, and +3 C-terminal to the phosphotyrosine, respectively. To investigate the degree of selectivity of the Src SH2 domain for each amino acid of the EEI motif, the binding thermodynamics of a panel of substitutions at the +1 (Gln, Asp, Ala, Gly), +2 (Gln, Asp, Ala, Gly), and +3 (Leu, Val, Ala, Gly) positions were examined using titration microcalorimetry. It was revealed that the Src SH2 domain is insensitive (DeltaDeltaG degrees </= 0.6 kcal/mol) to conservative substitutions at all three peptide positions. However, mutation to Ala resulted in moderate reductions in DeltaG degrees, with the substitution at the +3 position showing the largest loss in affinity (DeltaDeltaG degrees = 1.4 kcal/mol), followed by the +2 (DeltaDeltaG degrees = 1.0 kcal/mol) and +1 (DeltaDeltaG degrees = 0.5 kcal/mol) positions. This hierarchy of binding was not reflected in the values of the heat capacity change, since only the peptide substituted to Ala at the +3 position showed a DeltaCp degrees that was reduced in magnitude compared to wild-type. To assess the degree of cooperation upon binding (or coupling) between the amino acids of the EEI sequence, the binding of a series of singly, doubly, and triply Ala substituted phosphopeptides was examined and analyzed using double mutant cycles. It was revealed that the effects of the Ala substitutions on DeltaG degrees were additive. However, nonadditive binding enthalpies were observed between the +1 Glu and +3 Ile, as well as the +2 Glu and +3 Ile, suggesting that communication occurs between residues of the EEI motif upon binding.
The cytosolic tyrosine kinase Syk is recruited to immune cell receptors via interactions of its tandem-SH2 domain with tyrosine-phosphorylated sequences called immune receptor tyrosine activation motifs (ITAMs). We have characterized the binding of the tandem-SH2 domain of Syk (Syk-tSH2) to a dually phosphorylated peptide derived from the ITAM of the T cell receptor CD3-epsilon subunit. The CD3-epsilon peptide binds with an affinity of 18-81 nM at 150 mM NaCl over the 4.5-30 degrees C temperature range that was studied. The enthalpy of binding, DeltaH degrees obs, shows an unusual nonlinear dependence on temperature, suggesting the possibility of a temperature-dependent conformational equilibrium coupled to binding. This hypothesis was tested and confirmed by examining the temperature dependence of (1) the on-rate constant for binding and (2) the fluorescence of Syk-tSH2 and its CD3-epsilon peptide complex. The DeltaH degrees obs, Kobs, fluorescence, and kinetic data are all well described by a model incorporating the hypothesized conformational equilibrium. Circular dichroism spectra at various temperatures indicate that the conformational change is not due to a partial unfolding of the protein. We suggest that the conformational equilibrium enables Syk-tSH2 to exhibit flexibility in its binding modality, which may be necessitated by Syk's involvement in a wide variety of signal tranduction pathways.
Residue 225 in serine proteases of the chymotrypsin family is Pro or Tyr in more than 95% of nearly 300 available sequences. Proteases with Y225 (like some blood coagulation and complement factors) are almost exclusively found in vertebrates, whereas proteases with P225 (like degradative enzymes) are present from bacteria to human. Saturation mutagenesis of Y225 in thrombin shows that residue 225 affects ligand recognition up to 60,000-fold. With the exception of Tyr and Phe, all residues are associated with comparable or greatly reduced catalytic activity relative to Pro. The crystal structures of three mutants that differ widely in catalytic activity (Y225F, Y225P, and Y225I) show that although residue 225 makes no contact with substrate, it drastically influences the shape of the water channel around the primary specificity site. The activity profiles obtained for thrombin also suggest that the conversion of Pro to Tyr or Phe documented in the vertebrates occurred through Ser and was driven by a significant gain (up to 50-fold) in catalytic activity. In fact, Ser and Phe are documented in 4% of serine proteases, which together with Pro and Tyr account for almost the entire distribution of residues at position 225. The unexpected crucial role of residue 225 in serine proteases explains the evolutionary selection of residues at this position and shows that the structural determinants of protease activity and specificity are more complex than currently believed. These findings have broad implications in the rational design of enzymes with enhanced catalytic properties.
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The crystal structures of two ternary complexes of the large fragment of Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase I (Klentaq1) with a primer/template DNA and dideoxycytidine triphosphate, and that of a binary complex of the same enzyme with a primer/template DNA, were determined to a resolution of 2.3, 2.3 and 2.5 A, respectively. One ternary complex structure differs markedly from the two other structures by a large reorientation of the tip of the fingers domain. This structure, designated 'closed', represents the ternary polymerase complex caught in the act of incorporating a nucleotide. In the two other structures, the tip of the fingers domain is rotated outward by 46 degrees ('open') in an orientation similar to that of the apo form of Klentaq1. These structures provide the first direct evidence in DNA polymerase I enzymes of a large conformational change responsible for assembling an active ternary complex.
The binding of Src homology 2 (SH2) domains to tyrosyl phosphopeptides depends on electrostatic interactions between the phosphotyrosine and its binding site. To probe the role of these interactions, we have used isothermal titration calorimetry to study the pH dependence of the binding of the SH2 domain of the Src kinase to a high-affinity tyrosyl phosphopeptide. Two independent approaches were employed. In a first series of experiments that focused on determining the peptide's association constant between pH 5.0 and 9.0, two ionizable groups were characterized. One group, with free and bound pKas of 6.2 and 4.4, respectively, could be identified as the phosphate in the phosphotyrosine while the other group, with free and bound pKas of 8.2 and 8.5, respectively, could be only tentatively assigned to a cysteine in the phosphotyrosine binding pocket. Further information on the linkage between peptide binding and protonation of the phosphotyrosine was obtained from a second series of experiments, which focused on determining the peptide binding enthalpy at low values of pH in several buffers with different ionization enthalpies. These data provided free and bound pKa values for the phosphotyrosine identical to those derived from the first series of experiments, and hence demonstrated for the first time that the two approaches provide identical information regarding proton linkage. In addition, the second series of experiments also determined the intrinsic enthalpy of binding of both the protonated and deprotonated phosphate forms of the peptide. These two sets of experiments provided a complete energetic profile of the linkage between phosphate ionization and peptide binding. From this profile, it was determined that the PO32- form of the peptide binds 2.3 kcal mol-1 more favorably than the PO3H1- form due entirely to a more favorable entropy of binding.
BACKGROUND: SH2 domains have a fundamental role in signal transduction. These domains interact with proteins containing phosphorylated tyrosine residues and, in doing so, mediate the interactions of proteins involved in tyrosine kinase signalling. The issue of specificity in SH2 domain interactions is therefore of great interest in terms of understanding tyrosine kinase signal-transduction pathways and in the discovery of drugs to inhibit them. Water molecules are found at the interfaces of many complexes, however, to date little attention has been paid to their role in dictating specificity. RESULTS: Here we use a combination of nanoflow electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), isothermal titration calorimetry and structural data to investigate the effect of water molecules in complexes formed between the SH2 domain of tyrosine kinase Src and tyrosyl phosphopeptides. Binding studies have been performed using a series of different peptides that were selected to allow changes in the water content at the complex interface and demonstrate changes in specificity. ESI-MS enables quantification of the number of water molecules that interact with a higher affinity than those generally found solvating the biomolecular complex. CONCLUSIONS: Comparing the interactions of different peptides, we show that an intricate network of water molecules have a key role in dictating specificity. The use of mass spectrometry to quantify tightly bound water molecules may prove of general use in structural biology, where an independent determination of the water molecules associated with a structure would be advantageous. Furthermore, the ability to assess whether given water molecules are important in high-affinity binding could make this method a precious tool in drug design.
The Syk family of kinases, consisting of ZAP-70 and Syk, play essential roles in a variety of immune and non-immune cells. This family of kinases is characterized by the presence of two adjacent SH2 domains which mediate their localization to the membrane through receptor encoded tyrosine phosphorylated motifs. While these two kinases share many structural and functional features, the more ubiquitous nature of Syk has suggested that this kinase may accommodate a greater variety of motifs to mediate its function. We present the crystal structure of the tandem SH2 domain of Syk complexed with a dually phosphorylated ITAM peptide. The structure was solved by multiple isomorphous replacement at 3.0 A resolution. The asymmetric unit comprises six copies of the liganded protein, revealing a surprising flexibility in the relative orientation of the two SH2 domains. The C-terminal phosphotyrosine-binding site is very different from the equivalent region of ZAP-70, suggesting that in contrast to ZAP-70, the two SH2 domains of Syk can function as independent units. The conformational flexibility and structural independence of the SH2 modules of Syk likely provides the molecular basis for the more ubiquitous involvement of Syk in a variety of signal transduction pathways.
Src homology 2 (SH2) domains are protein modules that specifically bind to tyrosyl phosphorylated peptides on signaling proteins. X-ray crystallographic studies of the SH2 domain of the Src kinase have probed the mechanism of binding, leading to the "two-pronged plug two-holed socket" mechanism whereby binding is hypothesized to resemble a two-pronged plug (the peptide) inserting into a two-holed socket (the SH2 domain). This binding model predicts (1) a hydrophobic basis for high-affinity binding largely determined by the level of insertion of the third residue C-terminal to the phosphotyrosine in the peptide into a primarily hydrophobic pocket (the +3 binding pocket) of the SH2 domain, and (2) a binding mechanism involving no significant conformational changes in the SH2 domain. In this study, we have probed these predictions by using isothermal titration calorimetry to extract complete thermodynamic profiles (Delta G degrees, Delta H degrees, Delta S degrees, Delta Cp degrees) for the binding of the Src SH2 domain to two series of tyrosyl phosphopeptides. One series consisted of peptides that have been determined by X-ray crystallography to have different levels of insertion of the peptide's +3 position into the +3 binding pocket. The other series consisted of peptides with progressively smaller hydrophobic side chains (I, L, V, and A) at the +3 position. Consistent with a binding mechanism that does not involve substantial conformational changes, the Delta Cp degrees values for all peptides were small and, at least for the high-affinity interactions, similar to the Delta Cp degrees values predicted from surface area calculations. However, unexpectedly, this study reveals that high-affinity binding was only partially determined by the interactions between the +3 residue in the peptide and the +3 binding pocket. Furthermore, the Delta Cp degrees values for all peptides studied were similar, implying similar degrees of desolvation of the +3 binding pocket upon binding. These results indicate that the "two-pronged plug two-holed socket" model is an oversimplification of the Src SH2 domain binding mechanism.
Human tyrosine hydroxylase exists as four isoforms (hTH1-4), generated by alternative splicing of pre-mRNA, with tissue-specific distribution. Unphosphorylated hTH3 and hTH1 were produced in large amounts in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. The phosphorylation sites were determined after labeling with [32P]phosphate in the presence of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM-PKII). Ser40 was phosphorylated by PKA, and both Ser19 and Ser40 were phosphorylated by CaM-PKII. The enzyme kinetics of hTH3 were determined in the presence of various concentrations of the natural co-substrate (6R)-tetrahydrobiopterin and compared with those of recombinant hTH1 (similar to rat TH). We show that, under initial velocity conditions, excess (6R)-tetrahydrobiopterin inhibits hTH3 and hTH1. The TH catalytic constants (kcat) were determined for each of the two isoenzymes: hTH3 is about five times more active than hTH1. Phosphorylation by CaM-PKII did not affect the kinetic parameters of hTH3. The classical activation of TH by PKA phosphorylation, demonstrated for hTH1, was not observed with hTH3. Furthermore, hTH3 escapes activity regulation by phosphorylation and is always more active than phosphorylated hTH1. The properties of the hTH3 enzyme may be relevant to diseases affecting dopaminergic cells.