The Eukaryotic Linear Motif Resource (ELM): Regulatory Sites in Proteins

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Putting into Practice Domain-Linear Motif Interaction Predictions for Exploration of Protein Networks

PDZ domains recognise short sequence motifs at the extreme C-termini of proteins. A model based on microarray data has been recently published for predicting the binding preferences of PDZ domains to five residue long C-terminal sequences. Here we investigated the potential of this predictor for discovering novel protein interactions that involve PDZ domains. When tested on real negative data assembled from published literature, the predictor displayed a high false positive rate (FPR). We predicted and experimentally validated interactions between four PDZ domains derived from the human proteins MAGI1 and SCRIB and 19 peptides derived from human and viral C-termini of proteins. Measured binding intensities did not correlate with prediction scores, and the high FPR of the predictor was confirmed. Results indicate that limitations of the predictor may arise from an incomplete model definition and improper training of the model. Taking into account these limitations, we identified several novel putative interactions between PDZ domains of MAGI1 and SCRIB and the C-termini of the proteins FZD4, ARHGAP6, NET1, TANC1, GLUT7, MARCH3, MAS, ABC1, DLL1, TMEM215 and CYSLTR2. These proteins are localised to the membrane or suggested to act close to it and are often involved in G protein signalling. Furthermore, we showed that, while extension of minimal interacting domains or peptides toward tandem constructs or longer peptides never suppressed their ability to interact, the measured affinities and inferred specificity patterns often changed significantly. This suggests that if protein fragments interact, the full length proteins are also likely to interact, albeit possibly with altered affinities and specificities. Therefore, predictors dealing with protein fragments are promising tools for discovering protein interaction networks but their application to predict binding preferences within networks may be limited

Asymmetry in inward- and outward-affinity constant of transport explain unidirectional lysine flux in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Contains fulltext : 171926.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)The import of basic amino acids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been reported to be unidirectional, which is not typical of how secondary transporters work. Since studies of energy coupling and transport kinetics are complicated in vivo, we purified the major lysine transporter (Lyp1) of yeast and reconstituted the protein into lipid vesicles. We show that the Michaelis constant (KM) of transport from out-to-in is well in the millimolar range and at least 3 to 4-orders of magnitude higher than that of transport in the opposite direction, disfavoring the efflux of solute via Lyp1. We also find that at low values of the proton motive force, the transport by Lyp1 is comparatively slow. We benchmarked the properties of eukaryotic Lyp1 to that of the prokaryotic homologue LysP and find that LysP has a similar KM for transport from in-to-out and out-to-in, consistent with rapid influx and efflux. We thus explain the previously described unidirectional nature of lysine transport in S. cerevisiae by the extraordinary kinetics of Lyp1 and provide a mechanism and rationale for previous observations. The high asymmetry in transport together with secondary storage in the vacuole allow the cell to accumulate basic amino acids to very high levels

PARP1 proximity proteomics reveals interaction partners at stressed replication forks

PARP1 mediates poly-ADP-ribosylation of proteins on chromatin in response to different types of DNA lesions. PARP inhibitors are used for the treatment of BRCA1/2-deficient breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer. Loss of DNA replication fork protection is proposed as one mechanism that contributes to the vulnerability of BRCA1/2-deficient cells to PARP inhibitors. However, the mechanisms that regulate PARP1 activity at stressed replication forks remain poorly understood. Here, we performed proximity proteomics of PARP1 and isolation of proteins on stressed replication forks to map putative PARP1 regulators. We identified TPX2 as a direct PARP1-binding protein that regulates the auto-ADP-ribosylation activity of PARP1. TPX2 interacts with DNA damage response proteins and promotes homology-directed repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Moreover, TPX2 mRNA levels are increased in BRCA1/2-mutated breast and prostate cancers, and high TPX2 expression levels correlate with the sensitivity of cancer cells to PARP-trapping inhibitors. We propose that TPX2 confers a mitosis-independent function in the cellular response to replication stress by interacting with PARP1

ELM—the database of eukaryotic linear motifs

Linear motifs are short, evolutionarily plastic components of regulatory proteins and provide low-affinity interaction interfaces. These compact modules play central roles in mediating every aspect of the regulatory functionality of the cell. They are particularly prominent in mediating cell signaling, controlling protein turnover and directing protein localization. Given their importance, our understanding of motifs is surprisingly limited, largely as a result of the difficulty of discovery, both experimentally and computationally. The Eukaryotic Linear Motif (ELM) resource at http://elm.eu.org provides the biological community with a comprehensive database of known experimentally validated motifs, and an exploratory tool to discover putative linear motifs in user-submitted protein sequences. The current update of the ELM database comprises 1800 annotated motif instances representing 170 distinct functional classes, including approximately 500 novel instances and 24 novel classes. Several older motif class entries have been also revisited, improving annotation and adding novel instances. Furthermore, addition of full-text search capabilities, an enhanced interface and simplified batch download has improved the overall accessibility of the ELM data. The motif discovery portion of the ELM resource has added conservation, and structural attributes have been incorporated to aid users to discriminate biologically relevant motifs from stochastically occurring non-functional instance

A reference map of the human binary protein interactome.

Global insights into cellular organization and genome function require comprehensive understanding of the interactome networks that mediate genotype-phenotype relationships(1,2). Here we present a human 'all-by-all' reference interactome map of human binary protein interactions, or 'HuRI'. With approximately 53,000 protein-protein interactions, HuRI has approximately four times as many such interactions as there are high-quality curated interactions from small-scale studies. The integration of HuRI with genome(3), transcriptome(4) and proteome(5) data enables cellular function to be studied within most physiological or pathological cellular contexts. We demonstrate the utility of HuRI in identifying the specific subcellular roles of protein-protein interactions. Inferred tissue-specific networks reveal general principles for the formation of cellular context-specific functions and elucidate potential molecular mechanisms that might underlie tissue-specific phenotypes of Mendelian diseases. HuRI is a systematic proteome-wide reference that links genomic variation to phenotypic outcomes

Author Correction:Study of 300,486 individuals identifies 148 independent genetic loci influencing general cognitive function

Christina M. Lill, who contributed to analysis of data, was inadvertently omitted from the author list in the originally published version of this article. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the article

Vers une meilleure connaissance de la spécificité des interactions protéiques dans la signalisation cellulaire - les domaines PDZ au centre des approches informatiques et expérimentales

PDZ domains recognize C-terminal PDZ-binding motifs (PBMs) thereby mediating protein interactions that are often involved in cell polarity regulation. In this thesis, we studied under various aspects the specificity of PDZ-PBM interactions. We identified weak performances of two published predictors for interactions between core PDZ domains and short PBMs. Next, we developed protocols based on BIAcore and HoldUp to experimentally validate on a large scale predicted PDZ-PBM interactions and to study the influence of sequence context (e.g. flanking regions or neighbouring domains) of PDZs and PBMs on their interaction affinity and specificity. We identified new potential interactions involving the human PDZ proteins MAGI1 and SCRIB underpinning their implication in G protein signalling pathways. A literature survey combined with our own findings reveal structural mechanisms, by which sequence context influences PDZ interaction affinities and specificities. We have discussed those in a published review. Insights gained from this thesis may positively impact future studies on PDZ-PBM interactions in particular and on domain-linear motif interactions in general.Les domaines PDZ reconnaissent des motifs C-terminaux (PBMs), à l'origine de nombreuses interactions qui sont souvent impliquées dans la régulation de la polarité cellulaire. Dans cette thèse, nous avons étudié divers aspects de la spécificité des interactions PDZ-PBM. Nous avons mis en évidence les faibles performances de deux prédicteurs d'interaction entre PDZs et PBMs, considérés sous leurs formes les plus courtes. Ensuite, nous avons développé des protocoles basés sur les méthodes BIAcore et HoldUp pour valider expérimentalement et à grande échelle des prédicteurs d'interaction PDZ-PBM et pour étudier l'influence du contexte de séquence (comme les séquences flanquantes ou les domaines voisins) des PDZs et des PBMs sur l’affinité et la spécificité de leurs interactions. Nous avons identifié des interactions potentielles impliquant les protéines humaines à PDZ MAGI1 et SCRIB soulignant leur implication dans les réseaux de signalisation des protéines G. Une revue de la littérature, combinée avec nos propres résultats, a révélé des mécanismes par lesquels le contexte de séquence influence les affinités et spécificités des interactions impliquant les PDZs. Nous avons discuté ces mécanismes dans une revue publiée. Les connaissances obtenues à partir de cette thèse pourront influencer positivement de futures études sur les interactions PDZ-PBM, en particulier, et sur les interactions domaine-motif linéaire en général

Towards a better understanding of protein interaction specificities in cell signalling - PDZ domains in the spotlight of computational and experimental approaches

Les domaines PDZ reconnaissent des motifs C-terminaux (PBMs), à l'origine de nombreuses interactions qui sont souvent impliquées dans la régulation de la polarité cellulaire. Dans cette thèse, nous avons étudié divers aspects de la spécificité des interactions PDZ-PBM. Nous avons mis en évidence les faibles performances de deux prédicteurs d'interaction entre PDZs et PBMs, considérés sous leurs formes les plus courtes. Ensuite, nous avons développé des protocoles basés sur les méthodes BIAcore et HoldUp pour valider expérimentalement et à grande échelle des prédicteurs d'interaction PDZ-PBM et pour étudier l'influence du contexte de séquence (comme les séquences flanquantes ou les domaines voisins) des PDZs et des PBMs sur l’affinité et la spécificité de leurs interactions. Nous avons identifié des interactions potentielles impliquant les protéines humaines à PDZ MAGI1 et SCRIB soulignant leur implication dans les réseaux de signalisation des protéines G. Une revue de la littérature, combinée avec nos propres résultats, a révélé des mécanismes par lesquels le contexte de séquence influence les affinités et spécificités des interactions impliquant les PDZs. Nous avons discuté ces mécanismes dans une revue publiée. Les connaissances obtenues à partir de cette thèse pourront influencer positivement de futures études sur les interactions PDZ-PBM, en particulier, et sur les interactions domaine-motif linéaire en général.PDZ domains recognize C-terminal PDZ-binding motifs (PBMs) thereby mediating protein interactions that are often involved in cell polarity regulation. In this thesis, we studied under various aspects the specificity of PDZ-PBM interactions. We identified weak performances of two published predictors for interactions between core PDZ domains and short PBMs. Next, we developed protocols based on BIAcore and HoldUp to experimentally validate on a large scale predicted PDZ-PBM interactions and to study the influence of sequence context (e.g. flanking regions or neighbouring domains) of PDZs and PBMs on their interaction affinity and specificity. We identified new potential interactions involving the human PDZ proteins MAGI1 and SCRIB underpinning their implication in G protein signalling pathways. A literature survey combined with our own findings reveal structural mechanisms, by which sequence context influences PDZ interaction affinities and specificities. We have discussed those in a published review. Insights gained from this thesis may positively impact future studies on PDZ-PBM interactions in particular and on domain-linear motif interactions in general