| 1. |
- A. Strumpfer, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Stretching of Twitchin Kinase
- 2012
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Ingår i: Biophysical Journal. - St. Louis, MO, United States : Cell Press. - 0006-3495 .- 1542-0086. ; 102:3 Supplement 1, s. 361a-362a
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The giant proteins from the titin family, that form cytoskeletal filaments, have emerged as key mechanotransducers in the sarcomere. These proteins contain a conserved kinase region, which is auto-inhibited by a C-terminal tail domain. The inhibitory tail domain occludes the active sites of the kinases, thus preventing ATP from binding. It was proposed that through application of a force, such as that arising during muscle contraction, the inhibitory tail becomes detached, lifting inhibition. The force-sensing ability of titin kinase was demonstrated in AFM experiments and simulations [Puchner, et al., 2008, PNAS:105, 13385], which showed indeed that mechanical forces can remove the autoinhibitory tail of titin kinase. We report here steered molecular dynamics simulations (SMD) of the very recently resolved crystal structure of twitchin kinase, containing the kinase region and flanking fibronectin and immuniglobulin domains, that show a variant mechanism. Despite the significant structural and sequence similarity to titin kinase, the autoinhibitory tail of twitchin kinase remains in place upon stretching, while the N-terminal lobe of the kinase unfolds. The SMD simulations also show that the detachment and stretching of the linker between fibronectin and kinase regions, and the partial extension of the autoinhibitory tail, are the primary force-response. We postulate that this stretched state, where all structural elements are still intact, may represent the physiologically active state.
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| 2. |
- Franke, Barbara, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular basis for the fold organization and sarcomeric targeting of the muscle atrogin MuRF1
- 2014
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Ingår i: Open Biology. - London, United Kingdom : The Royal Society Publishing. - 2046-2441. ; 4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- MuRF1 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase central to muscle catabolism. It belongs to the TRIM protein family characterized by a tripartite fold of RING, B-box and coiled-coil (CC) motifs, followed by variable C-terminal domains. The CC motif is hypothesized to be responsible for domain organization in the fold as well as for high-order assembly into functional entities. But data on CC from this family that can clarify the structural significance of this motif are scarce. We have characterized the helical region from MuRF1 and show that, contrary to expectations, its CC domain assembles unproductively, being the B2- and COS-boxes in the fold (respectively flanking the CC) that promote a native quaternary structure. In particular, the C-terminal COS-box seemingly forms an α-hairpin that packs against the CC, influencing its dimerization. This shows that a C-terminal variable domain can be tightly integrated within the conserved TRIM fold to modulate its structure and function. Furthermore, data from transfected muscle show that in MuRF1 the COS-box mediates the in vivo targeting of sarcoskeletal structures and points to the pharmacological relevance of the COS domain for treating MuRF1-mediated muscle atrophy.
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| 3. |
- von Castelmur, Eleonore, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of an N-terminal inhibitory extension as the primary mechanosensory regulator of twitchin kinase
- 2012
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - Washington, DC, United States : National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 109:34, s. 13608-13613
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Titin-like kinases are an important class of cytoskeletal kinases that intervene in the response of muscle to mechanical stimulation, being central to myofibril homeostasis and development. These kinases exist in autoinhibited states and, allegedly, become activated during muscle activity by the elastic unfolding of a C-terminal regulatory segment (CRD). However, this mechano-activation model remains controversial. Here we explore the structural, catalytic, and tensile properties of the multidomain kinase region of Caenorhabditis elegans twitchin (Fn(31)-Nlinker-kinase-CRD-Ig(26)) using X-ray crystallography, small angle X-ray scattering, molecular dynamics simulations, and catalytic assays. This work uncovers the existence of an inhibitory segment that flanks the kinase N-terminally (N-linker) and that acts synergistically with the canonical CRD tail to silence catalysis. The N-linker region has high mechanical lability and acts as the primary stretch-sensor in twitchin kinase, while the CRD is poorly responsive to pulling forces. This poor response suggests that the CRD is not a generic mechanosensor in this kinase family. Instead, the CRD is shown here to be permissive to catalysis and might protect the kinase active site against mechanical damage. Thus, we put forward a regulatory model where kinase inhibition results from the combined action of both N- and C-terminal tails, but only the N-terminal extension undergoes mechanical removal, thereby affording partial activation. Further, we compare invertebrate and vertebrate titin-like kinases and identify variations in the regulatory segments that suggest a mechanical speciation of these kinase classes.
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