Ah Young Park

The Fas-FADD death domain complex structure reveals the basis of DISC assembly and disease mutations

The death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) formed by the death receptor Fas, the adaptor protein FADD and caspase-8 mediates the extrinsic apoptotic program. Mutations in Fas that disrupt the DISC cause autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS). Here we show that the Fas–FADD death domain (DD) complex forms an asymmetric oligomeric structure composed of 5–7 Fas DD and 5 FADD DD, whose interfaces harbor ALPS-associated mutations. Structure-based mutations disrupt the Fas–FADD interaction in vitro and in living cells; the severity of a mutation correlates with the number of occurrences of a particular interaction in the structure. The highly oligomeric structure explains the requirement for hexameric or membrane-bound FasL in Fas signaling. It also predicts strong dominant negative effects from Fas mutations, which are confirmed by signaling assays. The structure optimally positions the FADD death effector domain (DED) to interact with the caspase-8 DED for caspase recruitment and higher-order aggregation.

Integrating Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry with Molecular Modelling to Determine the Architecture of Multiprotein Complexes

Current challenges in the field of structural genomics point to the need for new tools and technologies for obtaining structures of macromolecular protein complexes. Here, we present an integrative computational method that uses molecular modelling, ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) and incomplete atomic structures, usually from X-ray crystallography, to generate models of the subunit architecture of protein complexes. We begin by analyzing protein complexes using IM-MS, and by taking measurements of both intact complexes and sub-complexes that are generated in solution. We then examine available high resolution structural data and use a suite of computational methods to account for missing residues at the subunit and/or domain level. High-order complexes and sub-complexes are then constructed that conform to distance and connectivity constraints imposed by IM-MS data. We illustrate our method by applying it to multimeric protein complexes within the Escherichia coli replisome: the sliding clamp, (β2), the γ complex (γ3δδ′), the DnaB helicase (DnaB6) and the Single-Stranded Binding Protein (SSB4).

Crystal structure of the open conformation of the mammalian chaperonin CCT in complex with tubulin

Protein folding is assisted by molecular chaperones. CCT (chaperonin containing TCP-1, or TRiC) is a 1-MDa oligomer that is built by two rings comprising eight different 60-kDa subunits. This chaperonin regulates the folding of important proteins including actin, α-tubulin and β-tubulin. We used an electron density map at 5.5 Å resolution to reconstruct CCT, which showed a substrate in the inner cavities of both rings. Here we present the crystal structure of the open conformation of this nanomachine in complex with tubulin, providing information about the mechanism by which it aids tubulin folding. The structure showed that the substrate interacts with loops in the apical and equatorial domains of CCT. The organization of the ATP-binding pockets suggests that the substrate is stretched inside the cavity. Our data provide the basis for understanding the function of this chaperonin.

Backbone assignment of fully protonated solid proteins by 1H detection and ultrafast magic-angle-spinning NMR spectroscopy

Narrow 1H NMR linewidths can be obtained for fully protonated protein samples in the solid state by using ultrafast magic-angle spinning (60 kHz). Medium-size microcrystalline and noncrystalline proteins can be analyzed without any need for deuteration of the protein sample. This approach provides assignments of the backbone 1H, 15N, 13C α, and 13CO resonances and yields information about 1H-1H proximities. Copyright

Multimeric assembly and biochemical characterization of the Trax-translin endonuclease complex.

Trax–translin heteromers, also known as C3PO, have been proposed to activate the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) by facilitating endonucleolytic cleavage of the siRNA passenger strand. We report on the crystal structure of hexameric Drosophila C3PO formed by truncated translin and Trax, along with electron microscopic and mass spectrometric studies on octameric C3PO formed by full-length translin and Trax. Our studies establish that Trax adopts the translin fold, possesses catalytic centers essential for C3POs endoRNase activity and interacts extensively with translin to form an octameric assembly. The catalytic pockets of Trax subunits are located within the interior chamber of the octameric scaffold. Truncated C3PO, like full-length C3PO, shows endoRNase activity that leaves 3′-hydroxyl–cleaved ends. We have measured the catalytic activity of C3PO and shown it to cleave almost stoichiometric amounts of substrate per second.

Structure of the theta subunit of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase III in complex with the epsilon subunit.

The catalytic core of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase III contains three tightly associated subunits, the alpha, epsilon, and theta subunits. The theta subunit is the smallest and least understood subunit. The three-dimensional structure of theta in a complex with the unlabeled N-terminal domain of the epsilon subunit, epsilon186, was determined by multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The structure was refined using pseudocontact shifts that resulted from inserting a lanthanide ion (Dy3+, Er3+, or Ho3+) at the active site of epsilon186. The structure determination revealed a three-helix bundle fold that is similar to the solution structures of theta in a methanol-water buffer and of the bacteriophage P1 homolog, HOT, in aqueous buffer. Conserved nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE) patterns obtained for free and complexed theta show that most of the structure changes little upon complex formation. Discrepancies with respect to a previously published structure of free theta (Keniry et al., Protein Sci. 9:721-733, 2000) were attributed to errors in the latter structure. The present structure satisfies the pseudocontact shifts better than either the structure of theta in methanol-water buffer or the structure of HOT. satisfies these shifts. The epitope of epsilon186 on theta was mapped by NOE difference spectroscopy and was found to involve helix 1 and the C-terminal part of helix 3. The pseudocontact shifts indicated that the helices of theta are located about 15 A or farther from the lanthanide ion in the active site of epsilon186, in agreement with the extensive biochemical data for the theta-epsilon system.

The proofreading exonuclease subunit ε of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase III is tethered to the polymerase subunit α via a flexible linker

Escherichia coli DNA polymerase III holoenzyme is composed of 10 different subunits linked by noncovalent interactions. The polymerase activity resides in the α-subunit. The ε-subunit, which contains the proofreading exonuclease site within its N-terminal 185 residues, binds to α via a segment of 57 additional C-terminal residues, and also to θ, whose function is less well defined. The present study shows that θ greatly enhances the solubility of ε during cell-free synthesis. In addition, synthesis of ε in the presence of θ and α resulted in a soluble ternary complex that could readily be purified and analyzed by NMR spectroscopy. Cell-free synthesis of ε from PCR-amplified DNA coupled with site-directed mutagenesis and selective 15N-labeling provided site-specific assignments of NMR resonances of ε that were confirmed by lanthanide-induced pseudocontact shifts. The data show that the proofreading domain of ε is connected to α via a flexible linker peptide comprising over 20 residues. This distinguishes the α : ε complex from other proofreading polymerases, which have a more rigid multidomain structure.

Protein-nucleic acid complexes and the role of mass spectrometry in their structure determination.

Mass spectrometry is now established as a powerful tool for the study of the stoichiometry, interactions, dynamics, and subunit architecture of large protein assemblies and their subcomplexes. Recent evidence has suggested that the 3D structure of protein complexes can be maintained intact in the gas phase, highlighting the potential of ion mobility to contribute to structural biology. A key challenge is to integrate the compositional and structural information from ion mobility mass spectrometry with molecular modelling approaches to produce 3D models of intact protein complexes. In this review, we focus on the mass spectrometry of protein-nucleic acid assemblies with particular attention to the application of ion mobility, an emerging technique in structural studies. We also discuss the challenges that lie ahead for the full integration of ion mobility mass spectrometry with structural biology.

Fast Assignments of 15N-HSQC Spectra of Proteins by Paramagnetic Labeling

Modern Magnetic Resonance provides a unique and comprehensive resource on up-to-date uses and applications of magnetic resonance techniques in the sciences, including chemistry, biological science, materials science, food science, medicine, pharmacueticals and marine science.