Toll-like receptors (TLRs) bind pathogen-specific ligands early in infection, initiating signaling pathways that lead to expression of multiple protective cellular genes. Many viruses have evolved strategies that block the effector mechanisms induced through these signaling pathways, but viral interference with critical proximal receptor interactions has not been described. We show here that the NS3͞4A serine protease of hepatitis C virus (HCV), a virus notorious for its ability to establish persistent intrahepatic infection, causes specific proteolysis of Toll-IL-1 receptor domaincontaining adaptor inducing IFN-␤ (TRIF or TICAM-1), an adaptor protein linking TLR3 to kinases responsible for activating IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3) and NF-B, transcription factors controlling a multiplicity of antiviral defenses. NS3͞4A-mediated cleavage of TRIF reduces its abundance and inhibits polyI:C-activated signaling through the TLR3 pathway before its bifurcation to IRF-3 and NF-B. This uniquely broad mechanism of immune evasion potentially limits expression of multiple host defense genes, thereby promoting persistent infections with this medically important virus.innate immunity ͉ IFN ͉ IFN regulatory factor 3 ͉ NF-B ͉ protease inhibitor

We studied the coupled binding and folding of ␣-synuclein, an intrinsically disordered protein linked with Parkinson's disease. Using single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer and correlation methods, we directly probed protein membrane association, structural distributions, and dynamics. Results revealed an intricate energy landscape on which binding of ␣-synuclein to amphiphilic small molecules or membrane-like partners modulates conformational transitions between a natively unfolded state and multiple ␣-helical structures. ␣-Synuclein conformation is not continuously tunable, but instead partitions into 2 main classes of folding landscape structural minima. The switch between a broken and an extended helical structure can be triggered by changing the concentration of binding partners or by varying the curvature of the binding surfaces presented by micelles or bilayers composed of the lipid-mimetic SDS. Single-molecule experiments with lipid vesicles of various composition showed that a low fraction of negatively charged lipids, similar to that found in biological membranes, was sufficient to drive ␣-synuclein binding and folding, resulting here in the induction of an extended helical structure. Overall, our results imply that the 2 folded structures are preencoded by the ␣-synuclein amino acid sequence, and are tunable by small-molecule supramolecular states and differing membrane properties, suggesting novel control elements for biological and amyloid regulation of ␣-synuclein.A lpha-synuclein, a highly acidic 140-residue protein expressed at high levels in the human brain and enriched in presynaptic nerve termini, is a member of the growing class of intrinsically disordered proteins that adopt ordered structure upon interaction with cellular partners (1-5). This natively unfolded protein plays crucial roles in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease (6-9). Although several physiological functions have been proposed for the protein, including roles in the regulation of distinct pools of presynaptic vesicles (10, 11), maintenance of SNARE protein complexes (12), modulation of neural plasticity (13), control of dopamine neurotransmission (14), and ER-Golgi trafficking (15), its precise biological role remains unclear. Nevertheless, membrane interaction is generally believed to be a key modulator of ␣-synuclein function (16,17).Sequence analysis predicts ␣-synuclein interaction with lipid membranes through amphipathic ␣-helices encoded by 7 imperfect 11-residue repeats, approximately 4 of which are located in the highly basic N-terminal region of the protein, and 3 in the highly acidic and hydrophobic NAC region (non-A␤ component of Alzheimer's disease amyloid) (13, 18). Not surprisingly, the protein undergoes structural transitions upon binding to either brain-derived or synthetic acidic phospholipid vesicles, adopting ␣-helical conformations in the membrane-bound form (17)(18)(19). Similarly, ␣-synuclein assumes helical structu...

Allostery is an intrinsic property of many globular proteins and enzymes that is indispensable for cellular regulatory and feedback mechanisms. Recent theoretical1 and empirical2 observations indicate that allostery is also manifest in intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), which account for a significant proportion of the proteome3,4. Many IDPs are promiscuous binders that interact with multiple partners and frequently function as molecular hubs in protein interaction networks. The adenovirus early region 1A (E1A) oncoprotein is a prime example of a molecular hub IDP5. E1A can induce drastic epigenetic reprogramming of the cell within hours after infection, through interactions with a diverse set of partners that include key host regulators like the general transcriptional coactivator CREB binding protein (CBP), its paralog p300, and the retinoblastoma protein (pRb)6,7. Little is known about the allosteric effects at play in E1A-CBP-pRb interactions, or more generally in hub IDP interaction networks. Here, we utilized single-molecule Förster/fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) to study coupled binding and folding processes in the ternary E1A system. The low concentrations used in these high-sensitivity experiments proved essential for these studies, which are challenging due to a combination of E1A aggregation propensity and high-affinity binding interactions. Our data revealed that E1A-CBP-pRb interactions display either positive or negative cooperativity, depending on the available E1A interaction sites. This striking cooperativity switch enables fine-tuning of the thermodynamic accessibility of the ternary vs. binary E1A complexes, and may permit a context-specific tuning of associated downstream signaling outputs. Such a modulation of allosteric interactions is likely a common mechanism in molecular hub IDP function.

The transcriptional activity of p53 is regulated by a cascade of posttranslational modifications. Although acetylation of p53 by CREB-binding protein (CBP)/p300 is known to be indispensable for p53 activation, the role of phosphorylation, and in particular multisite phosphorylation, in activation of CBP/p300-dependent p53 transcriptional pathways remains unclear. We investigated the role of single site and multiple site phosphorylation of the p53 transactivation domain in mediating its interaction with CBP and with the ubiquitin ligase HDM2. Phosphorylation at Thr18 functions as an on/off switch to regulate binding to the N-terminal domain of HDM2. In contrast, binding to CBP is modulated by the extent of p53 phosphorylation; addition of successive phosphoryl groups enhances the affinity for the TAZ1, TAZ2, and KIX domains of CBP in an additive manner. Activation of p53-dependent transcriptional pathways requires that p53 compete with numerous cellular transcription factors for binding to limiting amounts of CBP/p300. Multisite phosphorylation represents a mechanism for a graded p53 response, with each successive phosphorylation event resulting in increasingly efficient recruitment of CBP/p300 to p53-regulated transcriptional programs, in the face of competition from cellular transcription factors. Multisite phosphorylation thus acts as a rheostat to enhance binding to CBP/p300 and provides a plausible mechanistic explanation for the gradually increasing p53 response observed following prolonged or severe genotoxic stress.competitive binding | protein-protein interaction | transcriptional coactivator | tumor suppressor