DNA-damage signaling utilizes a multitude of posttranslational modifiers as molecular switches to regulate cell-cycle checkpoints, DNA repair, cellular senescence, and apoptosis. Here we show that RNF8, a FHA/RING domain-containing protein, plays a critical role in the early DNA-damage response. We have solved the X-ray crystal structure of the FHA domain structure at 1.35 A. We have shown that RNF8 facilitates the accumulation of checkpoint mediator proteins BRCA1 and 53BP1 to the damaged chromatin, on one hand through the phospho-dependent FHA domain-mediated binding of RNF8 to MDC1, on the other hand via its role in ubiquitylating H2AX and possibly other substrates at damage sites. Moreover, RNF8-depleted cells displayed a defective G2/M checkpoint and increased IR sensitivity. Together, our study implicates RNF8 as a novel DNA-damage-responsive protein that integrates protein phosphorylation and ubiquitylation signaling and plays a critical role in the cellular response to genotoxic stress.

The crystal structure of Dps, a DNA-binding protein from starved E. coli that protects DNA from oxidative damage, has been solved at 1.6 A resolution. The Dps monomer has essentially the same fold as ferritin, which forms a 24-mer with 432 symmetry, a hollow core and pores at the three-fold axes. Dps forms a dodecamer with 23 (tetrahedral) point group symmetry which also has a hollow core and pores at the three-folds. The structure suggests a novel DNA-binding motif and a mechanism for DNA protection based on the sequestration of Fe ions.

Cys2His2 zinc finger proteins offer a stable and versatile framework for the design of proteins that recognize desired target sites on double-stranded DNA. Individual fingers from these proteins have a simple beta beta alpha structure that folds around a central zinc ion, and tandem sets of fingers can contact neighboring subsites of 3-4 base pairs along the major groove of the DNA. Although there is no simple, general code for zinc finger-DNA recognition, selection strategies have been developed that allow these proteins to be targeted to almost any desired site on double-stranded DNA. The affinity and specificity of these new proteins can also be improved by linking more fingers together or by designing proteins that bind as dimers and thus recognize an extended site. These new proteins can then be modified by adding other domains--for activation or repression of transcription, for DNA cleavage, or for other activities. Such designer transcription factors and other new proteins will have important applications in biomedical research and in gene therapy.

Machines of protein destruction-including energy-dependent proteases and disassembly chaperones of the AAA(+) ATPase family-function in all kingdoms of life to sculpt the cellular proteome, ensuring that unnecessary and dangerous proteins are eliminated and biological responses to environmental change are rapidly and properly regulated. Exciting progress has been made in understanding how AAA(+) machines recognize specific proteins as targets and then carry out ATP-dependent dismantling of the tertiary and/or quaternary structure of these molecules during the processes of protein degradation and the disassembly of macromolecular complexes.

Interactions among Bcl-2 family proteins are important for regulating apoptosis. Pro-survival members of the family interact with pro-apoptotic BH3-only members, inhibiting execution of cell death through the mitochondrial pathway. Structurally, this interaction is mediated by binding of the alpha-helical BH3 region of the pro-apoptotic proteins to a conserved hydrophobic groove on the pro-survival proteins. Native BH3-only proteins exhibit selectivity in binding pro-survival members, as do small molecules that block these interactions. Understanding the sequence and structural basis of interaction specificity in this family is important, as it may allow the prediction of new Bcl-2 family associations and/or the design of new classes of selective inhibitors to serve as reagents or therapeutics. In this work we used two complementary techniques, yeast surface display screening from combinatorial peptide libraries and SPOT peptide array analysis, to elucidate specificity determinants for binding to Bcl-x L vs. Mcl-1, two prominent pro-survival proteins. We screened a randomized library and identified BH3 peptides that bound to either Mcl-1 or Bcl-x L selectively, or to both with high affinity. The peptides competed with native ligands for binding into the conserved hydrophobic groove, as illustrated in detail by a crystal structure of a specific peptide bound to Mcl-1. Mcl-1 selective peptides from the screen were highly specific for binding Mcl-1 in preference to Bclx L , Bcl-2, Bcl-w and Bfl-1, whereas Bcl-x L selective peptides showed some cross-interaction with related proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-w. Mutational analyses using SPOT arrays revealed the effects of 170 point mutations made in the background of a peptide derived from the BH3 region of Bim, and a simple predictive model constructed using these data explained much of the specificity observed in our Mcl-1 vs. Bcl-x L binders.

The 14-3-3 family of proteins includes seven isotypes in mammalian cells that play numerous diverse roles in intracellular signaling. Most 14-3-3 proteins form homodimers and mixed heterodimers between different isotypes, with overlapping roles in ligand binding. In contrast, one mammalian isoform, 14-3-3, expressed primarily in epithelial cells, appears to play a unique role in the cellular response to DNA damage and in human oncogenesis. The biological and structural basis for these 14-3-3-specific functions is unknown. We demonstrate that endogenous 14-3-3 preferentially forms homodimers in cells. We have solved the x-ray crystal structure of 14-3-3 bound to an optimal phosphopeptide ligand at 2.4 Å resolution. The structure reveals the presence of stabilizing ring-ring and salt bridge interactions unique to the 14-3-3 homodimer structure and potentially destabilizing electrostatic interactions between subunits in 14-3-3-containing heterodimers, rationalizing preferential homodimerization of 14-3-3 in vivo. The interaction of the phosphopeptide with 14-3-3 reveals a conserved mechanism for phospho-dependent ligand binding, implying that the phosphopeptide binding cleft is not the critical determinant of the unique biological properties of 14-3-3. Instead, the structure suggests a second ligand binding site involved in 14-3-3-specific ligand discrimination. We have confirmed this by site-directed mutagenesis of three -specific residues that uniquely define this site. Mutation of these residues to the alternative sequence that is absolutely conserved in all other 14-

The versatile coiled-coil protein motif is widely used to induce and control macromolecular interactions in biology and materials science. Yet the types of interaction patterns that can be constructed using known coiled coils are limited. Here we greatly expand the coiled-coil toolkit by measuring the complete pair-wise interactions of 48 synthetic coiled coils and 7 human bZIP coiled coils using peptide microarrays. The resulting 55-member protein ‘interactome’ includes 27 pairs of interacting peptides that preferentially hetero-associate. The 27 pairs can be used in combinations to assemble sets of 3 to 6 proteins that compose networks of varying topologies. Of special interest are heterospecific peptide pairs that participate in mutually orthogonal interactions. Such pairs provide the opportunity to dimerize two separate molecular systems without undesired crosstalk. Solution and structural characterization of two such sets of orthogonal heterodimers provide details of their interaction geometries. The orthogonal pair, along with the many other network motifs discovered in our screen, provide new capabilities for synthetic biology and other applications.

Regulated intramembrane proteolysis is a method for transducing signals between cellular compartments. When protein folding is compromised in the periplasm of E. coli, the C termini of outer-membrane proteins (OMPs) bind to the PDZ domains of the trimeric DegS protease and activate cleavage of RseA, a transmembrane transcriptional regulator. We show here that DegS is an allosteric enzyme. OMP binding shifts the equilibrium from a nonfunctional state, in which the active sites are unreactive, to the functional proteolytic conformation. Crystallographic, biochemical, and mutagenic experiments show that the unliganded PDZ domains are inhibitory and suggest that OMP binding per se is sufficient to stabilize the relaxed conformation and activate DegS. OMP-induced activation and RseA binding are both positively cooperative, allowing switch-like behavior of the OMP-DegS-RseA system. Residues involved in the DegS allosteric switch are conserved in the DegP/HtrA and HtrA2/Omi families, suggesting that many PDZ proteases use a common mechanism of allosteric activation.