Phosphorylation is often used to promote protein ubiquitylation, yet we rarely understand quantitatively how ligase activation and ubiquitin (UB) chain assembly are integrated with phospho-regulation. Here we employ quantitative proteomics and live-cell imaging to dissect individual steps in the PINK1 kinase-PARKIN UB ligase mitochondrial control pathway disrupted in Parkinson’s Disease. PINK1 plays a dual role by phosphorylating PARKIN on its UB-like domain and poly-UB chains on mitochondria. PARKIN activation by PINK1 produces canonical and non-canonical UB chains on mitochondria, and PARKIN-dependent chain assembly is required for accumulation of poly-phospho-UB (poly-p-UB) on mitochondria. In vitro, PINK1 directly activates PARKIN’s ability to assemble canonical and non-canonical UB chains, and promotes association of PARKIN with both p-UB and poly-p-UB. Our data reveal a feed-forward mechanism that explains how PINK1 phosphorylation of both PARKIN and poly-UB chains synthesized by PARKIN drives a program of PARKIN recruitment and mitochondrial ubiquitylation in response to mitochondrial damage.

SUMMARY Cullin-RING Ligases (CRLs) comprise the largest ubiquitin E3 subclass, in which a central cullin subunit links a substrate-binding adaptor with an E2-binding RING. Covalent attachment of the ubiquitin-like protein NEDD8 to a conserved C-terminal domain (ctd) lysine stimulates CRL ubiquitination activity and prevents binding of the inhibitor CAND1. Here we report striking conformational rearrangements in the crystal structure of NEDD8~Cul5ctd-Rbx1 and SAXS analysis of NEDD8~Cul1ctd-Rbx1 relative to their unmodified counterparts. In NEDD8ylated CRL structures, the cullin WHB and Rbx1 RING subdomains are dramatically reoriented, eliminating a CAND1-binding site and imparting multiple potential catalytic geometries to an associated E2. Biochemical analyses indicate that the structural malleability is important for both CRL NEDD8ylation and subsequent ubiquitination activities. Thus, our results point to a conformational control of CRL activity, with ligation of NEDD8 shifting equilibria to disfavor inactive CAND1-bound closed architectures, and favor dynamic, open forms that promote polyubiquitination.

SUMMARY In the largest E3 ligase subfamily, Cul3 binds a BTB domain, and an associated protein-interaction domain such as MATH recruits substrates for ubiquitination. Here we present biochemical and structural analyses of the MATH-BTB protein, SPOP. We define a SPOP-binding consensus (SBC), and determine structures revealing recognition of SBCs from the phosphatase Puc, the transcriptional regulator Ci, and the chromatin component MacroH2A. We identify a dimeric SPOP-Cul3 assembly involving a conserved helical structure C-terminal of BTB domains, which we call “3-box” due to its facilitating Cul3-binding and its resemblance to F-/SOCS-boxes in other cullin-based E3s. Structural flexibility between the substrate-binding MATH and Cul3-binding BTB/3-box domains potentially allows a SPOP dimer to engage multiple SBCs found within a single substrate, such as Puc. These studies provide a molecular understanding of how MATH-BTB proteins recruit substrates to Cul3, and how their dimerization and conformational variability may facilitate avid interactions with diverse substrates.

Summary In E1-E2-E3 ubiquitin (Ub) conjugation cascades, the E2 first forms a transient E2~Ub covalent complex, and then interacts with an E3 for Ub transfer. For cascades involving E3s in the HECT class, Ub is transferred from an associated E2 to the acceptor Cys in the HECT domain C-lobe. To gain insights into this process, we determined the crystal structure of a complex between the HECT domain of NEDD4L and the E2 UbcH5B bearing a covalently-linked Ub at its active site (UbcH5B~Ub). Noncovalent interactions between UbcH5B and the HECT N-lobe and between Ub and the HECT domain C-lobe lead to an overall compact structure, with the Ub C-terminus sandwiched between UbcH5B and HECT domain active sites. The structure suggests a model for E2-to-HECT Ub transfer, in which interactions between a donor Ub and an acceptor domain constrain upstream and downstream enzymes for conjugation.

Summary Ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like proteins (UBLs) are directed to targets by cascades of E1, E2, and E3 enzymes. The largest ubiquitin E3 subclass consists of cullin-RING ligases (CRLs), which contain one each of several cullins (CUL1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) and RING proteins (RBX1 or 2). CRLs are activated by ligation of the UBL NEDD8 to a conserved cullin Lys. How is cullin NEDD8ylation specificity established? Here we report that like UBE2M (aka UBC12), the previously uncharacterized E2 UBE2F is a NEDD8 conjugating enzyme in vitro and in vivo. Biochemical and structural analyses indicate how plasticity of hydrophobic E1–E2 interactions and E1 conformational flexibility allow one E1 to charge multiple E2s. The E2s have distinct functions, with UBE2M/RBX1 and UBE2F/RBX2 displaying different target cullin specificities. Together, these studies reveal the molecular basis for and functional importance of hierarchical expansion of the NEDD8 conjugation system in establishing selective CRL activation.

The PTEN-induced putative kinase protein 1 (PINK1) and ubiquitin (UB) ligase PARKIN direct damaged mitochondria for mitophagy. PINK1 promotes PARKIN recruitment to the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) for ubiquitylation of MOM proteins with canonical and noncanonical UB chains. PINK1 phosphorylates both Ser65 (S65) in the UB-like domain of PARKIN and the conserved Ser in UB itself, but the temporal sequence and relative importance of these events during PARKIN activation and mitochondria quality control remain poorly understood. Using "UB S65A-replacement," we find that PARKIN phosphorylation and activation, and ubiquitylation of Lys residues on a cohort of MOM proteins, occur similarly irrespective of the ability of the UB-replacement to be phosphorylated on S65. In contrast, polyubiquitin (poly-UB) chain synthesis, PARKIN retention on the MOM, and mitophagy are reduced in UB S65A -replacement cells. Analogous experiments examining roles of individual UB chain linkage types revealed the importance of K6 and K63 chain linkages in mitophagy, but phosphorylation of K63 chains by PINK1 did not enhance binding to candidate mitophagy receptors optineurin (OPTN), sequestosome-1 (p62), and nuclear dot protein 52 (NDP52) in vitro. Parallel reaction monitoring proteomics of total mitochondria revealed the absence of p-S65-UB when PARKIN cannot build UB chains, and <0.16% of the monomeric UB pool underwent S65 phosphorylation upon mitochondrial damage. Combining p-S65-UB and p-S65-PARKIN in vitro showed accelerated transfer of nonphosphorylated UB to PARKIN itself, its substrate mitochondrial Rho GTPase (MIRO), and UB. Our data further define a feed-forward mitochondrial ubiquitylation pathway involving PARKIN activation upon phosphorylation, UB chain synthesis on the MOM, UB chain phosphorylation, and further PARKIN recruitment and enzymatic amplification via binding to phosphorylated UB chains.he RING-Between-RING ubiquitin (UB) ligase PARKIN and the PTEN-induced putative kinase protein 1 (PINK1), both of which are mutated in Parkinson's disease, promote ubiquitylation of numerous outer membrane proteins on damaged mitochondria, which facilitates mitophagy (1). When mitochondria are healthy, cytoplasmic PARKIN is thought to be in an unphosphorylated and auto-inhibited state (2-6). Upon mitochondrial damage, PINK1 is stabilized on the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) and promotes phosphorylation of both Ser65 (S65) on PARKIN's UB-like (UBL) domain and the conserved S65 residue in UB itself, which is 62% similar to PARKIN's UBL (1,(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). PARKIN is also retained on the mitochondrial surface and ubiquitylates numerous MOM proteins through the formation of both canonical and noncanonical UB chains. The order of events, as well as the precise roles of UB and PARKIN phosphorylation, is poorly defined, and multiple models have been proposed. All models agree that PARKIN activation reverses auto-inhibition but differ in the mechanism and role of p-S65-UB (8,(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)). In one model, binding...

SUMMARY Hundreds of human cullin-RING E3 ligases (CRLs) modify thousands of proteins with ubiquitin (UB) to achieve vast regulation. Current dogma posits that CRLs first catalyze UB transfer from an E2 to their client substrates and subsequent polyubiquitylation from various linkage-specific E2s. We report an alternative E3-E3 tagging cascade: many cellular NEDD8-modified CRLs associate with a mechanistically distinct thioester-forming RBR-type E3, ARIH1, and rely on ARIH1 to directly add the first UB and, in some cases, multiple additional individual monoubiquitin modifications onto CRL client substrates. Our data define ARIH1 as a component of the human CRL system, demonstrate that ARIH1 can efficiently and specifically mediate monoubiquitylation of several CRL substrates, and establish principles for how two distinctive E3s can reciprocally control each other for simultaneous and joint regulation of substrate ubiquitylation. These studies have broad implications for CRL-dependent proteostasis and mechanisms of E3-mediated UB ligation.

A distinctive mechanism for ubiquitin (Ub) ligation has recently been proposed for the RING1-IBR-RING2 (RBR) family of E3s: an N-terminal RING1 domain recruits a thioester-linked intermediate complex between Ub and the E2 UbcH7, and a structurally unique C-terminal RING2 domain displays a catalytic cysteine required for Ub ligation. To obtain insights into RBR E3s, we determined the crystal structure of the Human Homolog of Ariadne (HHARI), which reveals the individual RING1, IBR, and RING2 domains embedded in superdomains involving sequences specific to the Ariadne RBR subfamily. The central IBR is flanked on one side by RING1, which is exposed and binds UbcH7. On the other side, a C-terminal autoinhibitory “Ariadne domain” masks the RING2 active site. Insights into RBR E3 mechanisms are provided by structure-based mutations that indicate distinct steps of relief from autoinhibition, Ub transfer from E2 to HHARI, and ligation from the HHARI cysteine to a terminal acceptor.