The mechanism of Raf activation through dimerization.

ABSTRACT: Raf, a threonine/serine kinase in the Raf/MEK/ERK pathway, regulates cell proliferation. Raf's full activation requires dimerization. Aberrant activation through dimerization is an important therapeutic target. Despite its clinical importance, fundamental questions, such as how the side-to-side dimerization promotes the OFF-to-ON transition of Raf's kinase domain and how the fully activated ON-state kinase domain is stabilized in the dimer for Raf signaling, remain unanswered. Herein, we decipher an atomic-level mechanism of Raf activation through dimerization, clarifying this enigma. The mechanism reveals that the replacement of intramolecular π-π stacking by intermolecular π-π stacking at the dimer interface releases the structural constraint of the αC-helix, promoting the OFF-to-ON tran

SUBMITTER: Zhang M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8654025 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature