The degradation of cytoplasmic proteins is an ATP-dependent process. Substrates are targeted to a single soluble protease, the 26S proteasome, in eukaryotes and to a number of unrelated proteases in prokaryotes. A surprising link emerged with the discovery of the ATP-dependent protease HslVU (heat shock locus VU) in Escherichia coli. Its protease component HslV shares approximately 20% sequence similarity and a conserved fold with 20S proteasome beta-subunits. HslU is a member of the Hsp100 (Clp) family of ATPases. Here we report the crystal structures of free HslU and an 820,000 relative molecular mass complex of HslU and HslV-the first structure of a complete set of components of an ATP-dependent protease. HslV and HslU display sixfold symmetry, ruling out mechanisms of protease activation that require a symmetry mismatch between the two components. Instead, there is conformational flexibility and domain motion in HslU and a localized order-disorder transition in HslV. Individual subunits of HslU contain two globular domains in relative orientations that correlate with nucleotide bound and unbound states. They are surprisingly similar to their counterparts in N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein, the prototype of an AAA-ATPase. A third, mostly alpha-helical domain in HslU mediates the contact with HslV and may be the structural equivalent of the amino-terminal domains in proteasomal AAA-ATPases.

N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) is the most abundant internal modification in RNAs and plays regulatory roles in a variety of biological and physiological processes. Despite its important roles, the molecular mechanism underlying m 6 A-mediated gene regulation is poorly understood. Here, we show that m 6 A-containing RNAs are subject to endoribonucleolytic cleavage via YTHDF2 (m 6 A reader protein), HRSP12 (adaptor protein), and RNase P/MRP (endoribonucleases). We demonstrate that HRSP12 functions as an adaptor to bridge YTHDF2 and RNase P/MRP, eliciting rapid degradation of YTHDF2-bound RNAs. Transcriptome-wide analyses show that m 6 A RNAs that are preferentially targeted for endoribonucleolytic cleavage have an HRSP12-binding site and a RNase P/MRP-directed cleavage site upstream and downstream of the YTHDF2-binding site, respectively. We also find that a subset of m 6 A-containing circular RNAs associates with YTHDF2 in an HRSP12-dependent manner and is selectively downregulated by RNase P/MRP. Thus, our data expand the known functions of RNase P/MRP to endoribonucleolytic cleavage of m 6 A RNAs.

Clp-family proteins are prototypes for studying the mechanism of ATP-dependent proteases because the proteolytic activity of the ClpP core is tightly regulated by activating Clp-ATPases. Nonetheless, the proteolytic activation mechanism has remained elusive because of the lack of a complex structure. Acyldepsipeptides (ADEPs), a recently discovered class of antibiotics, activate and disregulate ClpP. Here we have elucidated the structural changes underlying the ClpP activation process by ADEPs. We present the structures of Bacillus subtilis ClpP alone and in complex with ADEP1 and ADEP2. The structures show the closed-to-open-gate transition of the ClpP N-terminal segments upon activation as well as conformational changes restricted to the upper portion of ClpP. The direction of the conformational movement and the hydrophobic clustering that stabilizes the closed structure are markedly different from those of other ATP-dependent proteases, providing unprecedented insights into the activation of ClpP.

SAP (SLAM-associated protein) is a small lymphocyte-specific signalling molecule that is defective or absent in patients with X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome (XLP). Consistent with its single src homology 2 (SH2) domain architecture and unusually high affinity for SLAM (also called CD150), SAP has been suggested to function by blocking binding of SHP-2 or other SH2-containing signalling proteins to SLAM receptors. Additionally, SAP has recently been shown to be required for recruitment and activation of the Src-family kinase FynT after SLAM ligation. This signalling 'adaptor' function has been difficult to conceptualize, because unlike typical SH2-adaptor proteins, SAP contains only a single SH2 domain and lacks other recognized protein interaction domains or motifs. Here, we show that the SAP SH2 domain binds to the SH3 domain of FynT and directly couples FynT to SLAM. The crystal structure of a ternary SLAM-SAP-Fyn-SH3 complex reveals that SAP binds the FynT SH3 domain through a surface-surface interaction that does not involve canonical SH3 or SH2 binding interactions. The observed mode of binding to the Fyn-SH3 domain is expected to preclude the auto-inhibited conformation of Fyn, thereby promoting activation of the kinase after recruitment. These findings broaden our understanding of the functional repertoire of SH3 and SH2 domains.

. PcL exhibits some structural features found in other lipases. The presence of the Ser-His-Asp catalytic triad, an oxyanion hole, and the opening of a helical lid suggest that this enzyme shares the same mechanisms of catalysis and interfacial activation as other lipases. The highly open conformation observed in this study is likely to reflect the activated form of the lipase at an oil-water interface. The structure suggests that the interfacial activation of bacterial lipases involves the reorganization of secondary structures and a large movement of the lid to expose the active site. This is similar to the mechanism described for other well characterized fungal and mammalian lipases.

DNA ligases catalyze the crucial step of joining the breaks in duplex DNA during DNA replication, repair and recombination, utilizing either ATP or NAD ⍣ as a cofactor. Despite the difference in cofactor specificity and limited overall sequence similarity, the two classes of DNA ligase share basically the same catalytic mechanism. In this study, the crystal structure of an NAD ⍣ -dependent DNA ligase from Thermus filiformis, a 667 residue multidomain protein, has been determined by the multiwavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) method. It reveals highly modular architecture and a unique circular arrangement of its four distinct domains. It also provides clues for protein flexibility and DNA-binding sites. A model for the multidomain ligase action involving large conformational changes is proposed.

No abstract

No abstract