No abstract

SUMMARY The activity of RING finger ubiquitin ligases (E3) is dependent on their ability to facilitate transfer of ubiquitin from ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (E2) to substrates. The G2BR domain within the E3 gp78 binds selectively and with high affinity to the E2 Ube2g2. Through structural and functional analyses, we determine that this occurs on a region of Ube2g2 distinct from binding sites for ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1) and RING fingers. Binding to the G2BR results in conformational changes in Ube2g2 that affect ubiquitin loading. The Ube2g2:G2BR interaction also causes an ~ 50-fold increase in affinity between the E2 and RING finger. This results in markedly increased ubiquitylation by Ube2g2 and the gp78 RING finger. The significance of this G2BR effect is underscored by enhanced ubiquitylation observed when Ube2g2 is paired with other RING finger E3s. These findings uncover a mechanism whereby allosteric effects on an E2 enhance E2-RING finger interactions and consequently ubiquitylation.

A nonanucleotide, d(G1G2T3C4[BaP]A5C6G7A8G9), in which (+)-(7R,8S,9S,10R)-7,8-dihydroxy-9,10-epoxy-7,8,9,10- tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (7-hydroxyl group and epoxide oxygen are trans) is covalently bonded to the exocyclic N6-amino group of deoxyadenosine (dA5) through trans addition at C10 of the epoxide (to give a 10S adduct) has been synthesized. The solution structure of the duplex, d(G1G2T3C4[BaP]A5C6G7A8G9).d(C10T11C12G13G14G15A16C17C18+ ++), containing a dG mismatch opposite the modified dA (designated 10S-[BaP]dA.dG 9-mer duplex) has been investigated using a combination of 1D and 2D (including COSY, PECOSY, TOCSY, NOESY, and indirect detection of 1H-31P HETCOR) NMR spectroscopies. The NMR results together with restrained molecular dynamics/energy minimization calculations show that the modified dA5 adopts a syn glycosidic torsion angle whereas all other nucleotide residues adopt anti glycosidic torsion angles. The sugar ring of dA5 is in the C3'-endo conformation, and the sugar rings of the other residues are in the C2'-endo conformation. The hydrocarbon attached at dA5 orients toward the 3' end of the modified strand (i.e., dC6 direction) and intercalates between and parallel to bases of dG13 and dG14 of the complementary strand directly opposite dC6 and dA5, respectively. The edge of the hydrocarbon bearing H11 and H12 is positioned between the imino protons of dG13 and dG14 in the interior of the duplex, whereas H4 and H5 at the opposite edge are positioned near the sugar H1' and H2" protons of dG13 and facing the exterior of the duplex. The mismatched AG base pair is stabilized by dAsyn-dGanti base pairing in which the imino proton and the O6 of dG14 are hydrogen bonded to N7- and the single N6-amino proton, respectively, of the modified dA5. The modified DNA duplex remains in a right-handed helix, which bends at the site of intercalation about 20 to 30 degrees away from the helical axis and toward the direction of the modified strand.

We demonstrate improved accuracy in protein structure determination for large (>/=30 kDa), deuterated proteins (e.g. STAT4(NT)) via the combination of pseudocontact shifts for amide and methyl protons with the available NOEs in methyl-protonated proteins. The improved accuracy is cross validated by Q-factors determined from residual dipolar couplings measured as a result of magnetic susceptibility alignment. The paramagnet is introduced via binding to thiol-reactive EDTA, and multiple sites can be serially engineered to obtain data from alternative orientations of the paramagnetic anisotropic susceptibility tensor. The technique is advantageous for systems where the target protein has strong interactions with known alignment media.