Project description:In many eukaryotes, kinesin-5 motors are essential for mitosis, and small molecules that inhibit human kinesin-5 disrupt cell division. To investigate whether fungal kinesin-5s could be targets for novel fungicides, we studied kinesin-5 from the pathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis. We used cryo-electron microscopy to determine the microtubule-bound structure of its motor domain with and without the N-terminal extension. The ATP-like conformations of the motor in the presence or absence of this N-terminus are very similar, suggesting this region is structurally disordered and does not directly influence the motor ATPase. The Ustilago maydis kinesin-5 motor domain adopts a canonical ATP-like conformation, thereby allowing the neck linker to bind along the motor domain towards the microtubule plus end. However, several insertions within this motor domain are structurally distinct. Loop2 forms a non-canonical interaction with α-tubulin, while loop8 may bridge between two adjacent protofilaments. Furthermore, loop5 - which in human kinesin-5 is involved in binding allosteric inhibitors - protrudes above the nucleotide binding site, revealing a distinct binding pocket for potential inhibitors. This work highlights fungal-specific elaborations of the kinesin-5 motor domain and provides the structural basis for future investigations of kinesins as targets for novel fungicides.
Project description:Plasmodium parasites cause malaria and are responsible annually for hundreds of thousands of deaths. Kinesins are a superfamily of microtubule-dependent ATPases that play important roles in the parasite replicative machinery, which is a potential target for antiparasite drugs. Kinesin-5, a molecular motor that cross-links microtubules, is an established antimitotic target in other disease contexts, but its mechanism in Plasmodium falciparum is unclear. Here, we characterized P. falciparum kinesin-5 (PfK5) using cryo-EM to determine the motor's nucleotide-dependent microtubule-bound structure and introduced 3D classification of individual motors into our microtubule image processing pipeline to maximize our structural insights. Despite sequence divergence in PfK5, the motor exhibits classical kinesin mechanochemistry, including ATP-induced subdomain rearrangement and cover neck bundle formation, consistent with its plus-ended directed motility. We also observed that an insertion in loop5 of the PfK5 motor domain creates a different environment in the well-characterized human kinesin-5 drug-binding site. Our data reveal the possibility for selective inhibition of PfK5 and can be used to inform future exploration of Plasmodium kinesins as antiparasite targets.
Project description:The PI3K-related kinase (PIKK) SMG1 monitors the progression of metazoan nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) by phosphorylating the RNA helicase UPF1. Previous work has shown that the activity of SMG1 is impaired by small molecule inhibitors, is reduced by the SMG1 interactors SMG8 and SMG9, and is downregulated by the so-called SMG1 insertion domain. However, the molecular basis for this complex regulatory network has remained elusive. Here, we present cryo-electron microscopy reconstructions of human SMG1-9 and SMG1-8-9 complexes bound to either a SMG1 inhibitor or a non-hydrolyzable ATP analog at overall resolutions ranging from 2.8 to 3.6 Å. These structures reveal the basis with which a small molecule inhibitor preferentially targets SMG1 over other PIKKs. By comparison with our previously reported substrate-bound structure (Langer et al.,2020), we show that the SMG1 insertion domain can exert an autoinhibitory function by directly blocking the substrate-binding path as well as overall access to the SMG1 kinase active site. Together with biochemical analysis, our data indicate that SMG1 autoinhibition is stabilized by the presence of SMG8. Our results explain the specific inhibition of SMG1 by an ATP-competitive small molecule, provide insights into regulation of its kinase activity within the NMD pathway, and expand the understanding of PIKK regulatory mechanisms in general.
Project description:Imaging of rod photoreceptor outer-segment disc membranes by atomic force microscopy and cryo-electron tomography has revealed that the visual pigment rhodopsin, a prototypical class A G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), can organize as rows of dimers. GPCR dimerization and oligomerization offer possibilities for allosteric regulation of GPCR activity, but the detailed structures and mechanism remain elusive. In this investigation, we made use of the high rhodopsin density in the native disc membranes and of a bifunctional cross-linker that preserves the native rhodopsin arrangement by covalently tethering rhodopsins via Lys residue side chains. We purified cross-linked rhodopsin dimers and reconstituted them into nanodiscs for cryo-EM analysis. We present cryo-EM structures of the cross-linked rhodopsin dimer as well as a rhodopsin dimer reconstituted into nanodiscs from purified monomers. We demonstrate the presence of a preferential 2-fold symmetrical dimerization interface mediated by transmembrane helix 1 and the cytoplasmic helix 8 of rhodopsin. We confirmed this dimer interface by double electron-electron resonance measurements of spin-labeled rhodopsin. We propose that this interface and the arrangement of two protomers is a prerequisite for the formation of the observed rows of dimers. We anticipate that the approach outlined here could be extended to other GPCRs or membrane receptors to better understand specific receptor dimerization mechanisms.
Project description:The molecular motor kinesin moves along microtubules using energy from ATP hydrolysis in an initial step coupled with ADP release. In neurons, kinesin-1/KIF5C preferentially binds to the GTP-state microtubules over GDP-state microtubules to selectively enter an axon among many processes; however, because the atomic structure of nucleotide-free KIF5C is unavailable, its molecular mechanism remains unresolved. Here, the crystal structure of nucleotide-free KIF5C and the cryo-electron microscopic structure of nucleotide-free KIF5C complexed with the GTP-state microtubule are presented. The structures illustrate mutual conformational changes induced by interaction between the GTP-state microtubule and KIF5C. KIF5C acquires the 'rigor conformation', where mobile switches I and II are stabilized through L11 and the initial portion of the neck-linker, facilitating effective ADP release and the weak-to-strong transition of KIF5C microtubule affinity. Conformational changes to tubulin strengthen the longitudinal contacts of the GTP-state microtubule in a similar manner to GDP-taxol microtubules. These results and functional analyses provide the molecular mechanism of the preferential binding of KIF5C to GTP-state microtubules.
Project description:The enzyme telomerase adds telomeric repeats to chromosome ends to balance the loss of telomeres during genome replication. Telomerase regulation has been implicated in cancer, other human diseases, and ageing, but progress towards clinical manipulation of telomerase has been hampered by the lack of structural data. Here we present the cryo-electron microscopy structure of the substrate-bound human telomerase holoenzyme at subnanometre resolution, showing two flexibly RNA-tethered lobes: the catalytic core with telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and conserved motifs of telomerase RNA (hTR), and an H/ACA ribonucleoprotein (RNP). In the catalytic core, RNA encircles TERT, adopting a well-ordered tertiary structure with surprisingly limited protein-RNA interactions. The H/ACA RNP lobe comprises two sets of heterotetrameric H/ACA proteins and one Cajal body protein, TCAB1, representing a pioneering structure of a large eukaryotic family of ribosome and spliceosome biogenesis factors. Our findings provide a structural framework for understanding human telomerase disease mutations and represent an important step towards telomerase-related clinical therapeutics.
Project description:The dynamic tyrosination-detyrosination cycle of α-tubulin regulates microtubule functions. Perturbation of this cycle impairs mitosis, neural physiology, and cardiomyocyte contraction. The carboxypeptidases vasohibins 1 and 2 (VASH1 and VASH2), in complex with the small vasohibin-binding protein (SVBP), mediate α-tubulin detyrosination. These enzymes detyrosinate microtubules more efficiently than soluble αβ-tubulin heterodimers. The structural basis for this substrate preference is not understood. Using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), we have determined the structure of human VASH1-SVBP bound to microtubules. The acidic C-terminal tail of α-tubulin binds to a positively charged groove near the active site of VASH1. VASH1 forms multiple additional contacts with the globular domain of α-tubulin, including contacts with a second α-tubulin in an adjacent protofilament. Simultaneous engagement of two protofilaments by VASH1 can only occur within the microtubule lattice, but not with free αβ heterodimers. These lattice-specific interactions enable preferential detyrosination of microtubules by VASH1.