A Structural Study of the Cytoplasmic Chaperone Effect of 14-3-3 Proteins on Ataxin-1

Expansion of the polyglutamine tract in the N terminus of Ataxin-1 is the main cause of the neurodegenerative disease, spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1). However, the C-terminal part of the protein - including its AXH domain and a phosphorylation on residue serine 776 - also plays a crucial role in disease development. This phosphorylation event is known to be crucial for the interaction of Ataxin-1 with the 14-3-3 adaptor proteins and has been shown to indirectly contribute to Ataxin-1 stability. Here we show that 14-3-3 also has a direct anti-aggregation or chaperone effect on Ataxin-1. Furthermore, we provide structural and biophysical information revealing how phosphorylated S776 in the intrinsically disordered C terminus of Ataxin-1 mediates the cytoplasmic interaction with 14-3-3 proteins. Based on these findings, we propose that 14-3-3 exerts the observed chaperone effect by interfering with Ataxin-1 dimerization through its AXH domain, reducing further self-association. The chaperone effect is particularly important in the context of SCA1, as it was previously shown that a soluble form of mutant Ataxin-1 is the major driver of pathology

Synergistic effects of functionally distinct substitutions in β-lactamase variants shed light on the evolution of bacterial drug resistance

The CTX-M β-lactamases have emerged as the most widespread extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) in Gram-negative bacteria. These enzymes rapidly hydrolyze cefotaxime, but not the related cephalosporin, ceftazidime. ESBL variants have evolved, however, that provide enhanced ceftazidime resistance. We show here that a natural variant at a nonactive site, i.e. second-shell residue N106S, enhances enzyme stability but reduces catalytic efficiency for cefotaxime and ceftazidime and decreases resistance levels. However, when the N106S variant was combined with an active-site variant, D240G, that enhances enzyme catalytic efficiency, but decreases stability, the resultant double mutant exhibited higher resistance levels than predicted on the basis of the phenotypes of each variant. We found that this epistasis is due to compensatory effects, whereby increased stability provided by N106S overrides its cost of decreased catalytic activity. X-ray structures of the variant enzymes in complex with cefotaxime revealed conformational changes in the active-site loop spanning residues 103-106 that were caused by the N106S substitution and relieve steric strain to stabilize the enzyme, but also alter contacts with cefotaxime and thereby reduce catalytic activity. We noted that the 103-106 loop conformation in the N106S-containing variants is different from that of WT CTX-M but nearly identical to that of the non-ESBL, TEM-1 β-lactamase, having a serine at the 106 position. Therefore, residue 106 may serve as a "switch" that toggles the conformations of the 103-106 loop. When it is serine, the loop is in the non-ESBL, TEM-like conformation, and when it is asparagine, the loop is in a CTX-M-like, cefotaximase-favorable conformation

Removal of the Side Chain at the Active-Site Serine by a Glycine Substitution Increases the Stability of a Wide Range of Serine β-Lactamases by Relieving Steric Strain

Serine β-lactamases are bacterial enzymes that hydrolyze β-lactam antibiotics. They utilize an active-site serine residue as a nucleophile, forming an acyl-enzyme intermediate during hydrolysis. In this study, thermal denaturation experiments as well as X-ray crystallography were performed to test the effect of substitution of the catalytic serine by glycine on protein stability in serine β-lactamases. Six different enzymes comprising representatives from each of the three classes of serine β-lactamases were examined including TEM-1, CTX-M-14, and KPC-2 of class A, P99 of class C, and OXA-48 and OXA-163 of class D. For each enzyme, the wild type and a serine-to-glycine mutant were evaluated for stability. The glycine mutants all exhibited enhanced thermostability compared to the wild type. In contrast, alanine substitutions of the catalytic serine in TEM-1, OXA-48 and OXA-163 did not alter stability, suggesting removal of the Cβ atom is key to the stability increase associated with the glycine mutants. The X-ray crystal structures of P99 S64G, OXA-48 S70G and S70A, and OXA-163 S70G suggest that removal of the side chain of the catalytic serine releases steric strain to improve enzyme stability. Additionally, analysis of the torsion angles at the nucleophile position indicates that the glycine mutants exhibit improved distance and angular parameters of the intra-helical hydrogen bond network compared to the wild-type enzymes, which is also consistent with increased stability. The increased stability of the mutants indicates that the enzyme pays a price in stability for the presence of a side chain at the catalytic serine position but that the cost is necessary in that removal of the serine drastically impairs function. These findings support the stability-function hypothesis, which states that active-site residues are optimized for substrate binding and catalysis but that the requirements for catalysis are often not consistent with the requirements for optimal stability

RBM17 Interacts with U2SURP and CHERP to Regulate Expression and Splicing of RNA-Processing Proteins

Summary: RNA splicing entails the coordinated interaction of more than 150 proteins in the spliceosome, one of the most complex of the cell’s molecular machines. We previously discovered that the RNA-binding motif protein 17 (RBM17), a component of the spliceosome, is essential for survival and cell maintenance. Here, we find that it interacts with the spliceosomal factors U2SURP and CHERP and that they reciprocally regulate each other’s stability, both in mouse and in human cells. Individual knockdown of each of the three proteins induces overlapping changes in splicing and gene expression of transcripts enriched for RNA-processing factors. Our results elucidate the function of RBM17, U2SURP, and CHERP and link the activity of the spliceosome to the regulation of downstream RNA-binding proteins. These data support the hypothesis that, beyond driving constitutive splicing, spliceosomal factors can regulate alternative splicing of specific targets. : De Maio et al. find that the splicing factor RBM17 establishes a physical and functional relation with U2SURP and CHERP. Knockdown of these U2 snRNP-associated spliceosomal components reveals their synergistic activity toward regulation of a given set of transcripts rather than a more predictable transcriptome-wide inhibition of splicing. Keywords: RBM17, U2SURP, CHERP, splicing, spliceosome, RNA homeostasis, cryptic splicin

A Structural Study of the Cytoplasmic Chaperone Effect of 14-3-3 Proteins on Ataxin-1

Expansion of the polyglutamine tract in the N terminus of Ataxin-1 is the main cause of the neurodegenerative disease, spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1). However, the C-terminal part of the protein – including its AXH domain and a phosphorylation on residue serine 776 – also plays a crucial role in disease development. This phosphorylation event is known to be crucial for the interaction of Ataxin-1 with the 14-3-3 adaptor proteins and has been shown to indirectly contribute to Ataxin-1 stability. Here we show that 14-3-3 also has a direct anti-aggregation or “chaperone” effect on Ataxin-1. Furthermore, we provide structural and biophysical information revealing how phosphorylated S776 in the intrinsically disordered C terminus of Ataxin-1 mediates the cytoplasmic interaction with 14-3-3 proteins. Based on these findings, we propose that 14-3-3 exerts the observed chaperone effect by interfering with Ataxin-1 dimerization through its AXH domain, reducing further self-association. The chaperone effect is particularly important in the context of SCA1, as it was previously shown that a soluble form of mutant Ataxin-1 is the major driver of pathology

Molecular Basis for the Catalytic Specificity of the CTX‑M Extended-Spectrum β‑Lactamases

Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) pose a threat to public health because of their ability to confer resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins such as cefotaxime. The CTX-M β-lactamases are the most widespread ESBL enzymes among antibiotic resistant bacteria. Many of the active site residues are conserved between the CTX-M family and non-ESBL β-lactamases such as TEM-1, but the residues Ser237 and Arg276 are specific to the CTX-M family, suggesting that they may help to define the increased specificity for cefotaxime hydrolysis. To test this hypothesis, site-directed mutagenesis of these positions was performed in the CTX-M-14 β-lactamase. Substitutions of Ser237 and Arg276 with their TEM-1 counterparts, Ala237 and Asn276, had a modest effect on cefotaxime hydrolysis, as did removal of the Arg276 side chain in an R276A mutant. The S237A:R276N and S237A:R276A double mutants, however, exhibited 29- and 14-fold losses in catalytic efficiency for cefotaxime hydrolysis, respectively, while the catalytic efficiency for benzylpenicillin hydrolysis was unchanged. Therefore, together, the Ser237 and Arg276 residues are important contributors to the cefotaximase substrate profile of the enzyme. High-resolution crystal structures of the CTX-M-14 S70G, S70G:S237A, and S70G:S237A:R276A variants alone and in complex with cefotaxime show that residues Ser237 and Arg276 in the wild-type enzyme promote the expansion of the active site to accommodate cefotaxime and favor a conformation of cefotaxime that allows optimal contacts between the enzyme and substrate. The conservation of these residues, linked to their effects on structure and catalysis, imply that their coevolution is an important specificity determinant in the CTX-M family

Prevalence of Pruritus in Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus: Brief Report of a Multicenter, Multinational Cross-Sectional Study

Pruritus is an important symptom frequently accompanying various inflammatory skin conditions. Some recent data have indicated that it may also be associated with autoimmune connective tissue diseases, including systemic sclerosis and dermatomyositis; however, studies on the prevalence and clinical characteristics of pruritus in CLE are limited. We have performed a multinational, prospective, cross-sectional study in order to assess the prevalence and intensity of pruritus in adult patients suffering from various subtypes of CLE. After developing a questionnaire assessing various aspects of pruritus, we have surveyed 567 patients with cutaneous involvement during the course of LE regarding the presence and intensity of pruritus. Pruritus was present in 425 of all patients (75.0%) and was most frequently reported by subjects with acute CLE (82.1%), followed by chronic CLE (78.8%), subacute CLE (65.9%), and intermittent CLE (55.6%) (p<0.001). Based on the Numerical Rating Scale, the severity of itch was mild, moderate, and severe in 264 (62.1%), 98 (23.1%), and 63 (14.8%) patients, respectively. The highest mean pruritus intensity was reported by subjects with hypertrophic LE (5.1±3.0 points) followed by generalized discoid LE (3.6±3.0 points), subacute CLE (3.0±3.0 points), chilblain LE (3.0±1.0 points), localized discoid LE (2.6±2.0 points), intermittent CLE (2.6±3.0 points), acute CLE (2.5±1.2 points), and lupus erythematosus profundus (1.9±2.7 points). In conclusion, pruritus is a frequent phenomenon in CLE; however, in most patients it is of mild severity. Further studies are needed to better characterize its clinical characteristics and influence on patients’ well-being