Reassessment of the role of FKBP38 in the Rheb/mTORC1 pathway

AbstractThe small G-protein Rheb regulates cell growth via the mTORC1 complex by incompletely understood mechanisms. Recent studies document that Rheb activates mTORC1 via direct, GTP-dependent interaction with the peptidyl-prolyl-cis/trans-isomerase FKBP38, which is proposed to act as an inhibitor of mTORC1. We have conducted a comprehensive biochemical characterization of the Rheb/FKBP38 interaction. Using three different in vitro assays we did not detect an interaction between Rheb and FKBP38. Cell biological experiments illustrate that FKBP38 plays only a very minor, if any, role in mTORC1 activation. Our data document that FKBP38 is not the long-sought Rheb effector linking Rheb to mTORC1 activation.Structured summaryMINT-6946532: Ral (uniprotkb:P11233) binds (MI:0407) to Ha-Ras (uniprotkb:P01112) by pull down (MI:0096)MINT-6946500: RAF (uniprotkb:P04049) binds (MI:0407) to RHEB2 (uniprotkb:Q15382) by pull down (MI:0096)MINT-6946517: RAF (uniprotkb:P04049) binds (MI:0407) to Ha-Ras (uniprotkb:P01112) by pull down (MI:0096

Le Moustérien à outils bifaciaux du Massif Armoricain au Pléistocène récent dans son contexte européen (vers la définition d'un faciès régional)

Plusieurs gisements de plein air du Massif armoricain fournissent des industries moustériennes dans lesquelles l'application du traitement bifacial à une grande partie des supports est un caractère fondamental. Ils livrent d'abondants vestiges lithiques et sont toujours en étroite relation avec des gîtes de matières premières (grès éocène ou silex). L'analyse technologique de cinq industries montre que l'intégralité de la production prend place dans les sites. Elle reste identique quels que soient les matériaux utilisés. La présence de nombreux outils, notamment bifaciaux, abandonnés à différents stades techniques, indique que des activités de consommation de l'outillage ont eu lieu à proximité. Sur la base de comparaisons synchroniques, le Moustérien à outils bifaciaux peut être défini comme un faciès régional de la fin du Paléolithique moyen. Ces nouvelles données contribuent au vaste débat européen sur les origines et les filiations possibles des industries à composante bifaciale.RENNES1-BU Sciences Philo (352382102) / SudocSudocFranceF

A chemical compound inhibiting the Aha1–Hsp90 chaperone complex.

The eukaryotic Hsp90 chaperone machinery comprises many co-chaperones and regulates the conformation of hundreds of cytosolic client proteins. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Hsp90 machinery has become an attractive therapeutic target for diseases such as cancer. The compounds used so far to target this machinery affect the entire Hsp90 system. However, it would be desirable to achieve a more selective targeting of Hsp90 – co-chaperone complexes. To test this concept, in this-proof-of-principle study, we screened for modulators of the interaction between Hsp90 and its co-chaperone Aha1, which accelerates the ATPase activity of Hsp90. A FRET-based assay that monitored Aha1 binding to Hsp90 enabled identification of several chemical compounds modulating the effect of Aha1 on Hsp90 activity. We found that one of these inhibitors can abrogate the Aha1-induced ATPase stimulation of Hsp90 without significantly affecting Hsp90 ATPase activity in the absence of Aha1. NMR spectroscopy revealed that this inhibitory compound binds the N-terminal domain of Hsp90 close to its ATP-binding site and overlapping with a transient Aha1-interaction site. We also noted that this inhibitor does not dissociate the Aha1–Hsp90 complex but prevents the specific interaction with the N-terminal domain of Hsp90 required for catalysis. In consequence, the inhibitor affected the activation and processing of Hsp90 –Aha1-dependent client proteins in vivo. We conclude that it is possible to abrogate a specific co-chaperone function of Hsp90 without inhibiting the entire Hsp90 machinery. This concept may also hold true for other co-chaperones of Hsp90

Artificial accelerators of the molecular chaperone Hsp90 facilitate rate-limiting conformational transitions.

The molecular chaperone Hsp90 undergoes an ATP-driven cycle of conformational changes in which large structural rearrangements precede ATP hydrolysis. Wellestablished small-molecule inhibitors of Hsp90 compete with ATP-binding.We wondered whether compounds exist that can accelerate the conformational cycle. In a FRET-based screen reporting on conformational rearrangements in Hsp90 we identified compounds. We elucidated their mode of action and showed that they can overcome the intrinsic inhibition in Hsp90 which prevents these rearrangements. The mode of action is similar to that of the co-chaperone Aha1 which accelerates the Hsp90 ATPase. However, while the two identified compounds influence conformational changes, they target different aspects of the structural transitions. Also, the binding site determined by NMR spectroscopy is distinct. This study demonstrates that small molecules are capable of triggering specific rate-limiting transitions in Hsp90 by mechanisms similar to those in protein cofactors