The elementary steps of DNA polymerization catalyzed by T7 DNA polymerase have been resolved by transient-state analysis of single nucleotide incorporation, leading to the complete pathway: [formula: see text] where E, D, N, and P represent T7 DNA polymerase, DNA primer/template, deoxynucleoside triphosphate, and inorganic pyrophosphate, respectively. A DNA primer/template consisting of a synthetic 25/36-mer has been used as a substrate for correct nucleotide incorporation of dTTP in all the experiments. The rate constants and equilibrium constants of each step have been established by direct measurement of individual reactions and fit by computer simulation of the data to obtain a single set of rate constants accounting for all the data. Analysis of the single-turnover kinetics provided measurements of equilibrium dissociation constants for 25/36-mer, dTTP, and PPi equal to 18 nM (koff/kon), 18 microM (k-1/k1), and 2 mM (k5/k-5), respectively. The rate-limiting step during single-nucleotide incorporation has been identified as a conformational change, E.Dn.N----E'.Dn.N, which occurs at a rate of 300 s-1 (k2) upon binding of the correct dNTP. Accordingly, tighter binding of the transition states for the reaction resulting from the conformational change facilitates the phosphodiester bond formation. The chemical step itself was excluded as the rate-limiting step because of the small phosphothioate elemental effect. An observed rate constant of 70 s-1 for dTTP (alpha S) incorporation suggest that the chemical step (k3) occurs at a fast rate, greater than or equal to 9000 s-1. Following chemistry, the resulting ternary complex, E'.Dn+1.P, undergoes a second conformational change at a rate of 1200 s-1 (k4), leading to release of PPi and translocation of the DNA to continue subsequent cycles of polymerization. The rate constants of the reverse steps, 100 s-1 (k-2), greater than or equal to 18,000 s-1 (k-3) and 18 s-1 (k-4), were derived as fits to the data based upon simulation of single-turnover kinetics of pyrophosphorolysis including measurements of pyrophosphate exchange and the overall equilibrium constant of 1.0 x 10(4) for elongation of E.25/36-mer and analysis of the kinetics of the pulse-chase experiment. These studies provide the first complete and self-consistent thermodynamic descriptions of DNA polymerase and establish the basis for quantitative assessment of the reactions contributing to its extraordinary fidelity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

␣-Synuclein (␣-syn), particularly in its aggregated forms, is implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease and other related neurological disorders. However, the normal biology of ␣-syn and how it relates to the aggregation of the protein are not clearly understood. Because of the lack of the signal sequence and its predominant localization in the cytosol, ␣-syn is generally considered exclusively an intracellular protein. Contrary to this assumption, here, we show that a small percentage of newly synthesized ␣-syn is rapidly secreted from cells via unconventional, endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi-independent exocytosis. Consistent with this finding, we also demonstrate that a portion of cellular ␣-syn is present in the lumen of vesicles. Importantly, the intravesicular ␣-syn is more prone to aggregation than the cytosolic protein, and aggregated forms of ␣-syn are also secreted from cells. Furthermore, secretion of both monomeric and aggregated ␣-syn is elevated in response to proteasomal and mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular defects that are associated with Parkinson's pathogenesis. Thus, intravesicular localization and secretion are part of normal life cycle of ␣-syn and might also contribute to pathological function of this protein.

Prions are proteins that adopt alternative conformations that become self-propagating; the PrPSc prion causes the rare human disorder Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD). We report here that multiple system atrophy (MSA) is caused by a different human prion composed of the α-synuclein protein. MSA is a slowly evolving disorder characterized by progressive loss of autonomic nervous system function and often signs of parkinsonism; the neuropathological hallmark of MSA is glial cytoplasmic inclusions consisting of filaments of α-synuclein. To determine whether human α-synuclein forms prions, we examined 14 human brain homogenates for transmission to cultured human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells expressing full-length, mutant human α-synuclein fused to yellow fluorescent protein (α-syn140*A53T–YFP) and TgM83+/− mice expressing α-synuclein (A53T). The TgM83+/− mice that were hemizygous for the mutant transgene did not develop spontaneous illness; in contrast, the TgM83+/+ mice that were homozygous developed neurological dysfunction. Brain extracts from 14 MSA cases all transmitted neurodegeneration to TgM83+/− mice after incubation periods of ∼120 d, which was accompanied by deposition of α-synuclein within neuronal cell bodies and axons. All of the MSA extracts also induced aggregation of α-syn*A53T–YFP in cultured cells, whereas none of six Parkinson’s disease (PD) extracts or a control sample did so. Our findings argue that MSA is caused by a unique strain of α-synuclein prions, which is different from the putative prions causing PD and from those causing spontaneous neurodegeneration in TgM83+/+ mice. Remarkably, α-synuclein is the first new human prion to be identified, to our knowledge, since the discovery a half century ago that CJD was transmissible.

Helicases are motor proteins that couple the hydrolysis of nucleoside triphosphate (NTPase) to nucleic acid unwinding. The hexameric helicases have a characteristic ring-shaped structure, and all, except the eukaryotic minichromosomal maintenance (MCM) helicase, are homohexamers. Most of the 12 known hexameric helicases play a role in DNA replication, recombination, and transcription. A human genetic disorder, Bloom's syndrome, is associated with a defect in one member of the class of hexameric helicases. Significant progress has been made in understanding the biochemical properties, structures, and interactions of these helicases with DNA and nucleotides. Cooperativity in nucleotide binding was observed in many, and sequential NTPase catalysis has been observed in two proteins, gp4 of bacteriophage T7 and rho of Escherichia coli. The crystal structures of the oligomeric T7 gp4 helicase and the hexamer of RepA helicase show structural features that substantiate the observed cooperativity, and both are consistent with nucleotide binding at the subunit interface. Models are presented that show how sequential NTP hydrolysis can lead to unidirectional and processive translocation. Possible unwinding mechanisms based on the DNA exclusion model are proposed here, termed the wedge, torsional, and helix-destabilizing models.

An exonuclease-deficient mutant of T7 DNA polymerase was constructed and utilized in a series of kinetic studies on misincorporation and next correct dNTP incorporation. By using a synthetic oligonucleotide template-primer system for which the kinetic pathway for correct incorporation has been solved [Patel, S.S., Wong, I., & Johnson, K. A. (1991) Biochemistry (first of three papers in this issue)], the kinetic parameters for the incorporation of the incorrect triphosphates dATP, dCTP, and dGTP were determined, giving, respectively, kcat/Km values of 91, 23, and 4.3 M-1 s-1 and a discrimination in the polymerization step of 10(5)-10(6). The rates of misincorporation in all cases were linearly dependent on substrate concentration up to 4 mM, beyond which severe inhibition was observed. Competition of correct incorporation versus dCTP revealed an estimated Ki of approximately 6-8 mM, suggesting a corresponding kcat of 0.14s-1. Moderate elemental effects of 19-, 17-, and 34-fold reduction in rates were measured by substituting the alpha-thiotriphosphate analogues for dATP, dCTP, and dGTP, respectively, indicating that the chemistry step is partially rate-limiting. The absence of a burst of incorporation during the first turnover places the rate-limiting step at a triphosphate binding induced conformational change before chemistry. In contrast, the incorporation of the next correct triphosphate, dCTP, on a mismatched DNA substrate was saturable with a Km of 87 microM for dCTP, 4-fold higher than the Kd for the correct incorporation on duplex DNA, and a kcat of 0.025 s-1. A larger elemental effect of 60, however, suggests a rate-limiting chemistry step. The rate of pyrophosphorolysis on a mismatched 3'-end is undetectable, indicating that pyrophosphorolysis does not play a proofreading role in replication. These results show convincingly that the T7 DNA polymerase discriminates against the incorrect triphosphate by an induced-fit conformational change and that, following misincorporation, the enzyme then selects against the resultant mismatched DNA by a slow, rate-limiting chemistry step, thereby allowing sufficient time for the release of the mismatched DNA from the polymerase active site to be followed by exonucleolytic error correction.

RIG-I (Retinoic acid Inducible Gene - I) is a cytoplasmic pathogen recognition receptor that recognizes pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) motifs to differentiate between viral and cellular RNAs. RIG-I is activated by blunt-ended double-stranded (ds) RNA with or without a 5′-triphosphate (ppp), single-stranded (ss) RNA marked by 5′-ppp1 and poly-uridine sequence2,3. Upon binding to such PAMP motifs, RIG-I initiates a signaling cascade that induces innate immune defenses and inflammatory cytokines to establish an antiviral state. The RIG-I pathway is highly regulated and aberrant signaling leads to apoptosis, altered cell differentiation, inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and cancer4,5. The helicase and repressor domain (RD) of RIG-I recognize dsRNA and 5′-ppp RNA to activate the amino-terminal two CAspase Recruitment Domains (CARDs) for signaling. To understand the synergy between helicase and RD for RNA binding and the contribution of ATP hydrolysis to RIG-I activation, we determined the structure of human RIG-I helicase-RD in complex with dsRNA and an ATP-analog. The helicase-RD organizes into a ring around dsRNA, capping one end, while contacting both strands utilizing previously uncharacterized motifs to recognize dsRNA. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), limited proteolysis, and differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) suggest that RIG-I is in an extended and flexible conformation that compacts upon binding RNA. These results provide a detailed view of the helicase role in dsRNA recognition, the synergy between RD and the helicase for RNA binding, organization of full-length RIG-I bound to dsRNA, and evidence of a conformational change upon RNA binding. The RIG-I helicase-RD structure is consistent with dsRNA translocation without unwinding and cooperative binding to RNA. The structure yields unprecedented insight into innate immunity and has broader impact into other areas of biology, including RNA interference and DNA repair, which utilize homologous helicase domains within Dicer and FANCM.

RNAs with 5′-triphosphate (ppp) are detected in the cytoplasm principally by the innate immune receptor Retinoic Acid Inducible Gene-I (RIG-I), whose activation triggers a Type I IFN response. It is thought that self RNAs like mRNAs are not recognized by RIG-I because 5′ppp is capped by the addition of a 7-methyl guanosine (m7G) (Cap-0) and a 2′-O-methyl (2′-OMe) group to the 5′-end nucleotide ribose (Cap-1). Here we provide structural and mechanistic basis for exact roles of capping and 2′-O-methylation in evading RIG-I recognition. Surprisingly, Cap-0 and 5′ppp doublestranded (ds) RNAs bind to RIG-I with nearly identical K d values and activate RIG-I's ATPase and cellular signaling response to similar extents. On the other hand, Cap-0 and 5′ppp single-stranded RNAs did not bind RIG-I and are signaling inactive. Three crystal structures of RIG-I complexes with dsRNAs bearing 5′OH, 5′ppp, and Cap-0 show that RIG-I can accommodate the m7G cap in a cavity created through conformational changes in the helicase-motif IVa without perturbing the ppp interactions. In contrast, Cap-1 modifications abrogate RIG-I signaling through a mechanism involving the H830 residue, which we show is crucial for discriminating between Cap-0 and Cap-1 RNAs. Furthermore, m7G capping works synergistically with 2′-O-methylation to weaken RNA affinity by 200-fold and lower ATPase activity. Interestingly, a single H830A mutation restores both high-affinity binding and signaling activity with 2′-Omethylated dsRNAs. Our work provides new structural insights into the mechanisms of host and viral immune evasion from RIG-I, explaining the complexity of cap structures over evolution.etinoic Acid Inducible Gene-I (RIG-I) is a cytosolic innate immune receptor with the remarkable ability of distinguishing cellular self RNAs from pathogenic nonself RNAs (1, 2). RIG-I belongs to the DExH/D-box family of RNA helicases and has a multidomain architecture with three helicase domains (Hel1, Hel2, and Hel2i) located centrally, flanked by a C-terminal repressor domain (RD) and two N-terminal Caspase Activation and Recruitment Domains (CARDs) (3-7). The helicase and RD are involved in RNA recognition and binding whereas the N-terminal CARDs relay the signal to downstream factors. RIG-I is present in an inactive autoinhibited state in the absence of pathogen associated molecular pattern (PAMP) RNA ligand, but upon PAMP RNA binding, RIG-I gets activated to initiate a cell signaling response ultimately leading to Type I IFN production.RNAs carrying a 5′-triphosphate (5′ppp) moiety and bluntended double-stranded (ds)RNAs are the best characterized PAMP ligands of RIG-I, showing high-affinity binding and robust stimulation of the ATP hydrolysis activity (8-10). Although RIG-I is surrounded by cellular RNAs, they do not activate RIG-I due to posttranscriptional modification of the RNA 5′ ends. The 5′ end of many cellular RNAs like mRNAs is modified with the addition of a 7-methyl guanosine (m7G) connected by a 5′-to-5′ triphosphate bridge to the first nucleotide (C...

Defining the protein factors that directly recognize post-translational, covalent histone modifications is essential toward understanding the impact of these chromatin "marks" on gene regulation. In the current study, we identify human CHD1, an ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling protein, as a factor that directly and selectively recognizes histone H3 methylated on lysine 4. In vitro binding studies identified that CHD1 recognizes di-and trimethyl H3K4 with a dissociation constant (K d ) of ϳ5 M, whereas monomethyl H3K4 binds CHD1 with a 3-fold lower affinity. Surprisingly, human CHD1 binds to methylated H3K4 in a manner that requires both of its tandem chromodomains. In vitro analyses demonstrate that unlike human CHD1, yeast Chd1 does not bind methylated H3K4. Our findings indicate that yeast and human CHD1 have diverged in their ability to discriminate covalently modified histones and link histone modification-recognition and non-covalent chromatin remodeling activities within a single human protein.