Polycomb-group proteins are transcriptional repressors with essential roles in embryonic development. Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) contains the methyltransferase activity for Lys27. However, the role of other histone modifications in regulating PRC2 activity is just beginning to be understood. Here we show that direct recognition of methylated histone H3 Lys36 (H3K36me), a mark associated with activation, by the PRC2 subunit Phf19 is required for the full enzymatic activity of the PRC2 complex. Using NMR spectroscopy, we provide structural evidence for this interaction. Furthermore, we show that Phf19 binds to a subset of PRC2 targets in mouse embryonic stem cells and that this is required for their repression and for H3K27me3 deposition. These findings show that the interaction of Phf19 with H3K36me2 and H3K36me3 is essential for PRC2 complex activity and for proper regulation of gene repression in embryonic stem cells.

In cancer, the programmed death-1 (PD-1) pathway suppresses T cell stimulation and mediates immune escape. Upon stimulation, PD-1 becomes phosphorylated at its immune receptor tyrosine–based inhibitory motif (ITIM) and immune receptor tyrosine–based switch motif (ITSM), which then bind the Src homology 2 (SH2) domains of SH2-containing phosphatase 2 (SHP2), initiating T cell inactivation. The SHP2–PD-1 complex structure and the exact functions of the two SH2 domains and phosphorylated motifs remain unknown. Here, we explain the structural basis and provide functional evidence for the mechanism of PD-1-mediated SHP2 activation. We demonstrate that full activation is obtained only upon phosphorylation of both ITIM and ITSM: ITSM binds C-SH2 with strong affinity, recruiting SHP2 to PD-1, while ITIM binds N-SH2, displacing it from the catalytic pocket and activating SHP2. This binding event requires the formation of a new inter-domain interface, offering opportunities for the development of novel immunotherapeutic approaches.

Tubulins belong to the most abundant proteins in eukaryotes providing the backbone for many cellular substructures like the mitotic and meiotic spindles, the intracellular cytoskeletal network, and the axonemes of cilia and flagella. Homologs have even been reported for archaea and bacteria. However, a taxonomically broad and whole-genome-based analysis of the tubulin protein family has never been performed, and thus, the number of subfamilies, their taxonomic distribution, and the exact grouping of the supposed archaeal and bacterial homologs are unknown. Here, we present the analysis of 3,524 tubulins from 504 species. The tubulins formed six major subfamilies, α to ζ. Species of all major kingdoms of the eukaryotes encode members of these subfamilies implying that they must have already been present in the last common eukaryotic ancestor. The proposed archaeal homologs grouped together with the bacterial TubZ proteins as sister clade to the FtsZ proteins indicating that tubulins are unique to eukaryotes. Most species contained α- and/or β-tubulin gene duplicates resulting from recent branch- and species-specific duplication events. This shows that tubulins cannot be used for constructing species phylogenies without resolving their ortholog–paralog relationships. The many gene duplicates and also the independent loss of the δ-, ε-, or ζ-tubulins, which have been shown to be part of the triplet microtubules in basal bodies, suggest that tubulins can functionally substitute each other.

Although highly homologous, the spliceosomal hPrp31 and the nucleolar Nop56 and Nop58 (Nop56/58) proteins recognize different ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particles. hPrp31 interacts with complexes containing the 15.5K protein and U4 or U4atac small nuclear RNA (snRNA), whereas Nop56/58 associate with 15.5K-box C/D small nucleolar RNA complexes. We present structural and biochemical analyses of hPrp31-15.5K-U4 snRNA complexes that show how the conserved Nop domain in hPrp31 maintains high RNP binding selectivity despite relaxed RNA sequence requirements. The Nop domain is a genuine RNP binding module, exhibiting RNA and protein binding surfaces. Yeast two-hybrid analyses suggest a link between retinitis pigmentosa and an aberrant hPrp31-hPrp6 interaction that blocks U4/U6-U5 tri-snRNP formation.

Post-transcriptional modifications are essential to the cell life cycle, as they affect both pre-ribosomal RNA processing and ribosome assembly. The box C/D ribonucleoprotein enzyme that methylates ribosomal RNA at the 2'-O-ribose uses a multitude of guide RNAs as templates for the recognition of rRNA target sites. Two methylation guide sequences are combined on each guide RNA, the significance of which has remained unclear. Here we use a powerful combination of NMR spectroscopy and small-angle neutron scattering to solve the structure of the 390 kDa archaeal RNP enzyme bound to substrate RNA. We show that the two methylation guide sequences are located in different environments in the complex and that the methylation of physiological substrates targeted by the same guide RNA occurs sequentially. This structure provides a means for differential control of methylation levels at the two sites and at the same time offers an unexpected regulatory mechanism for rRNA folding.

Knowledge of the RNA three-dimensional structure, either in isolation or as part of RNP complexes, is fundamental to understand the mechanism of numerous cellular processes. Because of its flexibility, RNA represents a challenge for crystallization, while the large size of cellular complexes brings solution-state NMR to its limits. Here, we demonstrate an alternative approach on the basis of solid-state NMR spectroscopy. We develop a suite of experiments and RNA labeling schemes and demonstrate for the first time that ssNMR can yield a RNA structure at high-resolution. This methodology allows structural analysis of segmentally labelled RNA stretches in high-molecular weight cellular machines—independent of their ability to crystallize— and opens the way to mechanistic studies of currently difficult-to-access RNA-protein assemblies.

The presence of slow motions with large amplitudes, as detected by measurements based on residual dipolar couplings [Peti, W., Meiler, J., Brueschweiler, R. and Griesinger, C. (2002) J. Am. Chem. Soc., 124, 5822-5833], has stirred up much discussion in recent years. Based on ubiquitin NH residual dipolar couplings (rdcs) measured in 31 different alignment conditions, a model-free analysis of structure and dynamics [Meiler, J., Peti, W., Prompers, J., Griesinger, C. and Brueschweiler, R. (2001) J. Am. Chem. Soc., 123, 6098-6107] is presented. Starting from this broad experimental basis, rdc-based order parameters with so far unattained accuracy were determined. These rdc-based order parameters underpin the presence of new modes of motion slower than the inverse overall tumbling correlation time. Amplitudes and anisotropies of the motion were derived. The effect of structural noise on the results was proven to be negligible.

A reduction in the cellular levels of the cyclin kinase inhibitor p27(kip1) is frequently found in many human cancers and correlates directly with patient prognosis. In this work, we identify argyrin A, a cyclical peptide derived from the myxobacterium Archangium gephyra, as a potent antitumoral drug. All antitumoral activities of argyrin A depend on the prevention of p27(kip1) destruction, as loss of p27(kip1) expression confers resistance to this compound. We find that argyrin A exerts its effects through a potent inhibition of the proteasome. By comparing the cellular responses exerted by argyrin A with siRNA-mediated knockdown of proteasomal subunits, we find that the biological effects of proteasome inhibition per se depend on the expression of p27(kip1).