RAS GTPases are important mediators of oncogenesis in humans. However, pharmacological inhibition of RAS has proved challenging. Here, we describe a functionally critical region of RAS located outside the effector lobe that can be targeted for inhibition. We developed a synthetic binding protein (monobody), termed NS1, that bound with high affinity to both GTP- and GDP-bound states of H- and K-RAS but not N-RAS. NS1 potently inhibited growth factor signaling and oncogenic H- and K-RAS-mediated signaling and transformation but did not block oncogenic N-RAS, BRAF or MEK1. NS1 bound the α4-β6-α5 region of RAS disrupting RAS dimerization/nanoclustering, which in turn blocked CRAF:BRAF heterodimerization and activation. These results establish the importance of the α4-β6-α5 interface in RAS-mediated signaling and define a previously unrecognized site in RAS for inhibiting RAS function.

In selecting a method to produce a recombinant protein, a researcher is faced with a bewildering array of choices as to where to start. To facilitate decision-making, we describe a consensus 'what to try first' strategy based on our collective analysis of the expression and purification of over 10,000 different proteins. This review presents methods that could be applied at the outset of any project, a prioritized list of alternate strategies and a list of pitfalls that trip many new investigators.

Voltage-gated Kv2.1 potassium channels are important in the brain for determining activity-dependent excitability. Small ubiquitin-like modifier proteins (SUMOs) regulate function through reversible, enzyme-mediated conjugation to target lysine(s). Here, sumoylation of Kv2.1 in hippocampal neurons is shown to regulate firing by shifting the half-maximal activation voltage (V1/2) of channels up to 35 mV. Native SUMO and Kv2.1 are shown to interact within and outside channel clusters at the neuronal surface. Studies of single, heterologously expressed Kv2.1 channels show that only K470 is sumoylated. The channels have four subunits, but no more than two non-adjacent subunits carry SUMO concurrently. SUMO on one site shifts V1/2 by 15 mV, whereas sumoylation of two sites produces a full response. Thus, the SUMO pathway regulates neuronal excitability via Kv2.1 in a direct and graded manner.

Small ubiquitin modifier 1 (SUMO1) is shown to regulate K2P1 background channels in the plasma membrane (PM) of live mammalian cells. Confocal microscopy reveals native SUMO1, SAE1, and Ubc9 (the enzymes that activate and conjugate SUMO1) at PM where SUMO1 and expressed human K2P1 are demonstrated to colocalize. Silent K2P1 channels in excised PM patches are activated by SUMO isopeptidase (SENP1) and resilenced by SUMO1. K2P1-Lys274 is crucial: when mutated to Gln, Arg, Glu, Asp, Cys, or Ala, the channels are constitutively active and insensitive to SUMO1 and SENP1. Tandem mass spectrometry confirms conjugation of SUMO1 to the ε-amino group of Lys274 in vitro. FRET microscopy shows that assembly of K2P1 and SUMO1 requires Lys274. Singleparticle TIRF microscopy shows that wild-type channels in PM have two K2P1 subunits and assemble with two SUMO1 monomers. Although channels engineered with one Lys274 site carry just one SUMO1 they are activated and silenced by SENP1 and SUMO1 like wild-type channels.T he activities of many cellular proteins are regulated by covalent conjugation of small ubiquitin modifier (SUMO) proteins on ε-amino groups of specific lysine residues. Such proteins are sumoylated and desumoylated via conserved enzymes that form or hydrolyze isopeptide bonds to these target lysines. This pathway is well-recognized to modulate nuclear import and export, DNA repair, and transcription factor activity (1). Unexpectedly, we found the SUMO pathway to regulate the activity of human K2P1 potassium channels expressed at the PM of Xenopus laevis oocytes and COS-7 African Green Monkey fibroblasts (2). At baseline, K2P1 channels in PM were electrically silent due to the indigenous SUMO machinery. Channel activation required exposure to an isopeptidase (SENP1) that removes SUMO or mutation of a specific lysine residue of K2P1, Lys274. Regulatory events were shown to be reversible by "cramming" of channels in PM patches into cells producing SENP1 or SUMO1. Mutation of Lys274 prevented SUMO conjugation producing active channels insensitive to suppression by SUMO1 or activation by SENP1.Many biochemical and structural studies have examined the interaction of SUMO with transcription factors. In contrast, the mechanisms underlying SUMO regulation at the PM of cells has been controversial in the literature. Even as additional PM substrates for sumoylation were reported [including, Kv2.1 and Kv1.5 voltage-gated potassium channels (3, 4), GluR6 receptors (5), and TRPM4 channels (6)], our description of SUMO action on K2P1 has been questioned (7,8). Here, we confirm the regulation of human K2P1 channels in PM by sumoylation and characterize the SUMO-channel interaction in detail using CHO cells.Results K2P channels are dedicated pathways for background flux of potassium ions that set cellular resting potentials and mediate electrical excitability subject to a broad array of regulatory influences (9). Identified by their unique primary structure of two poreforming domains in each subunit (10) and their operation as potas...

Glutaminases belong to the large superfamily of serine-dependent beta-lactamases and penicillin-binding proteins, and they catalyze the hydrolytic deamidation of L-glutamine to L-glutamate. In this work, we purified and biochemically characterized four predicted glutaminases from Escherichia coli (YbaS and YneH) and Bacillus subtilis (YlaM and YbgJ). The proteins demonstrated strict specificity to L-glutamine and did not hydrolyze D-glutamine or L-asparagine. In each organism, one glutaminase showed higher affinity to glutamine ( E. coli YbaS and B. subtilis YlaM; K m 7.3 and 7.6 mM, respectively) than the second glutaminase ( E. coli YneH and B. subtilis YbgJ; K m 27.6 and 30.6 mM, respectively). The crystal structures of the E. coli YbaS and the B. subtilis YbgJ revealed the presence of a classical beta-lactamase-like fold and conservation of several key catalytic residues of beta-lactamases (Ser74, Lys77, Asn126, Lys268, and Ser269 in YbgJ). Alanine replacement mutagenesis demonstrated that most of the conserved residues located in the putative glutaminase catalytic site are essential for activity. The crystal structure of the YbgJ complex with the glutaminase inhibitor 6-diazo-5-oxo- l-norleucine revealed the presence of a covalent bond between the inhibitor and the hydroxyl oxygen of Ser74, providing evidence that Ser74 is the primary catalytic nucleophile and that the glutaminase reaction proceeds through formation of an enzyme-glutamyl intermediate. Growth experiments with the E. coli glutaminase deletion strains revealed that YneH is involved in the assimilation of l-glutamine as a sole source of carbon and nitrogen and suggested that both glutaminases (YbaS and YneH) also contribute to acid resistance in E. coli.

We report the X-ray crystal structure of human potassium channel tetramerization domain-containing protein 5 (KCTD5), the first member of the family to be so characterized. Four findings were unexpected. First, the structure reveals assemblies of five subunits while tetramers were anticipated; pentameric stoichiometry is observed also in solution by scanning transmission electron microscopy mass analysis and analytical ultracentrifugation. Second, the same Bric-a-brac, Tramtrack, Broad Complex (BTB) domain surface mediates assembly of five KCTD5 and four voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channel subunits; four amino acid differences appear crucial. Third, KCTD5 complexes have well-defined N- and C-terminal modules separated by a flexible linker that swivels ~30°; the C-module shows a new fold and is required to bind Golgi re-assembling stacking protein 55 with ~1 μM affinity as judged by surface plasmon resonance and ultracentrifugation. Fourth, despite the homology reflected in its name, KCTD5 does not impact operation of Kv4.2, Kv3.4, Kv2.1 or Kv1.2 channels.

No abstract

A critical issue in structural genomics, and in structural biology in general, is the availability of highquality samples. The additional challenge in structural genomics is the need to produce high numbers of proteins with low sequence similarities and poorly characterized or unknown properties. 'Structural-biology-grade' proteins must be generated in a quantity and quality suitable for structure determination experiments using X-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The choice of protein purification and handling procedures plays a critical role in obtaining high-quality protein samples. The purification procedure must yield a homogeneous protein and must be highly reproducible in order to supply milligram quantities of protein and/or its derivative containing marker atom(s). At the Midwest Center for Structural Genomics we have developed protocols for highthroughput protein purification. These protocols have been implemented on AKTA EXPLORER 3D and AKTA FPLC 3D workstations capable of performing multidimensional chromatography. The automated chromatography has been successfully applied to many soluble proteins of microbial origin. Various MCSG purification strategies, their implementation, and their success rates are discussed in this paper.