Evolutionary conservation of the dystrophin central rod domain.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Sherratt TG
PROVIDER: S-EPMC1133072 | biostudies-other | 1992 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:BackgroundRecently, there has been much interest in relating domain-domain interactions (DDIs) to protein-protein interactions (PPIs) and vice versa, in an attempt to understand the molecular basis of PPIs.ResultsHere we map structurally derived DDIs onto the cellular PPI networks of different organisms and demonstrate that there is a catalog of domain pairs that is used to mediate various interactions in the cell. We show that these DDIs occur frequently in protein complexes and that homotypic interactions (of a domain with itself) are abundant. A comparison of the repertoires of DDIs in the networks of Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and Homo sapiens shows that many DDIs are evolutionarily conserved.ConclusionOur results indicate that different organisms use the same 'building blocks' for PPIs, suggesting that the functionality of many domain pairs in mediating protein interactions is maintained in evolution.
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Project description:Actin-myosin II filament-based contractile structures in striated muscle, smooth muscle, and nonmuscle cells contain the actin filament-cross-linking protein alpha-actinin. In striated muscle Z-disks, alpha-actinin interacts with N-terminal domains of titin to provide a structural linkage crucial for the integrity of the sarcomere. We previously discovered a long titin isoform, originally smitin, hereafter sm-titin, in smooth muscle and demonstrated that native sm-titin interacts with C-terminal EF hand region and central rod R2-R3 spectrin-like repeat region sites in alpha-actinin. Reverse transcription-PCR analysis of RNA from human adult smooth muscles and cultured rat smooth muscle cells and Western blot analysis with a domain-specific antibody presented here revealed that sm-titin contains the titin gene-encoded Zq domain that may bind to the alpha-actinin R2-R3 central rod domain as well as Z-repeat domains that bind to the EF hand region. We investigated whether the sm-titin Zq domain binds to alpha-actinin R2 and R3 spectrin repeat-like domain loops that lie in proximity with two-fold symmetry on the surface of the central rod. Mutations in alpha-actinin R2 and R3 domain loop residues decreased interaction with expressed sm-titin Zq domain in glutathione S-transferase pull-down and solid phase binding assays. Alanine mutation of a region of the Zq domain with high propensity for alpha-helix formation decreased apparent Zq domain dimer formation and decreased Zq interaction with the alpha-actinin R2-R3 region in surface plasmon resonance assays. We present a model in which two sm-titin Zq domains interact with each other and with the two R2-R3 sites in the alpha-actinin central rod.
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Project description:DivIB(FtsQ), FtsL, and DivIC(FtsB) are enigmatic membrane proteins that are central to the process of bacterial cell division. DivIB(FtsQ) is dispensable in specific conditions in some species, and appears to be absent in other bacterial species. The presence of FtsL and DivIC(FtsB) appears to be conserved despite very low sequence conservation. The three proteins form a complex at the division site, FtsL and DivIC(FtsB) being associated through their extracellular coiled-coil region. We report here structural investigations by NMR, small-angle neutron and x-ray scattering, and interaction studies by surface plasmon resonance, of the complex of DivIB, FtsL, and DivIC from Streptococcus pneumoniae, using soluble truncated forms of the proteins. We found that one side of the "bean"-shaped central beta-domain of DivIB interacts with the C-terminal regions of the dimer of FtsL and DivIC. This finding is corroborated by sequence comparisons across bacterial genomes. Indeed, DivIB is absent from species with shorter FtsL and DivIC proteins that have an extracellular domain consisting only of the coiled-coil segment without C-terminal conserved regions (Campylobacterales). We propose that the main role of the interaction of DivIB with FtsL and DivIC is to help the formation, or to stabilize, the coiled-coil of the latter proteins. The coiled-coil of FtsL and DivIC, itself or with transmembrane regions, could be free to interact with other partners.
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Project description:Lack of functional dystrophin causes severe Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The subsarcolemmal location of dystrophin, as well as its association with both cytoskeleton and membrane, suggests a role in the mechanical regulation of muscular membrane stress. In particular, phenotype rescue in a Duchenne muscular dystrophy mice model has shown that some parts of the central rod domain of dystrophin, constituted by 24 spectrin-like repeats, are essential. In this study, we made use of rare missense pathogenic mutations in the dystrophin gene and analyzed the biochemical properties of the isolated repeat 23 bearing single or double mutations E2910V and N2912D found in muscle dystrophy with severity grading. No dramatic effect on secondary and tertiary structure of the repeat was found in mutants compared with wild type as revealed by circular dichroism and NMR. Thermal and chemical unfolding data from circular dichroism and tryptophan fluorescence show significant decrease of stability for the mutants, and stopped-flow spectroscopy shows decreased refolding rates. The most deleterious single mutation is the N2912D replacement, although we observe additive effects of the two mutations on repeat stability. Based on three-dimensional structures built by homology molecular modeling, we discuss the modifications of the mutation-induced repeat stability. We conclude that the main forces involved in repeat stability are electrostatic inter-helix interactions that are disrupted following mutations. This study represents the first analysis at the protein level of the consequences of missense mutations in the human dystrophin rod domain. Our results suggest that it may participate in mechanical weakening of dystrophin-deficient muscle.
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Project description:Regulation of gene expression is highly conserved between vertebrates, yet the genomic binding patterns of transcription factors are poorly conserved, suggesting that other mechanisms may contribute. The spatial organization of chromosomes in the nucleus is known to affect gene activity, but it is unclear to what extent this organization is conserved in evolution. Genome-wide maps of nuclear lamina (NL) interactions show that human and mouse chromosomes have highly similar folding patterns inside the nucleus. Breaks in synteny are often located at transition points between NL interacting and intra-nuclear regions. Data were compared against data from Peric-Hupkes, Meuleman et al. (Molecular Cell, 2010). LaminB1-chromatin interactions were assayed in human ESCs and human HT1080 cells. LaminA-chromatin interactions were assayed in human HT1080 cells. For the all samples there were 2 biological replicates, that were hybridized in a dye-swap design.
2012-10-10 | E-GEOD-22428 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:E.O. Wilson proposed in Sociobiology that similarities between human and animal societies reflect common mechanistic and evolutionary roots. When introduced in 1975 this controversial hypothesis was beyond science’s ability to test and remains unproven. We used genomic analyses to determine whether superficial behavioral similarities in humans and the highly social honey bee reflect common molecular mechanisms. Here we report that gene expression signatures for individual bees unresponsive to various salient social stimuli are significantly enriched for autism spectrum disorder-related genes. These signatures occur in the mushroom bodies, a high-level integration center of the insect brain. Further, our finding of enrichment was unique to autism spectrum disorders; brain gene expression signatures from other honey bee behaviors do not show this enrichment, nor do data sets from other human behavioral and health conditions. These results demonstrate deep conservation for genes associated with a human social pathology and individual differences in insect social behavior, thus providing an example of how comparative genomics can be used to test sociobiological theory.
2017-06-21 | GSE87001 | GEO
Project description:Regulation of gene expression is highly conserved between vertebrates, yet the genomic binding patterns of transcription factors are poorly conserved, suggesting that other mechanisms may contribute. The spatial organization of chromosomes in the nucleus is known to affect gene activity, but it is unclear to what extent this organization is conserved in evolution. Genome-wide maps of nuclear lamina (NL) interactions show that human and mouse chromosomes have highly similar folding patterns inside the nucleus. Breaks in synteny are often located at transition points between NL interacting and intra-nuclear regions. Data were compared against data from Peric-Hupkes, Meuleman et al. (Molecular Cell, 2010). The procedure to arrive at the provided Hidden Markov Model (HMM) state calls is as follows: We fitted a two-state HMM whereby emissions are distributed as Student's t variables. Mean and variance of DamID signals differ between states, but the degree of freedom (nu) is the same. Gaps in the probe coverage were filled by evenly spaced null probe-values. The parameters were estimated by an adaptation of the ECME algorithm to the HMM framework, showing faster convergence than regular EM when nu is unknown (Filion et al., Cell, 2010). State calls were derived through the Viterbi algorithm. This process was repeated separately for each cell type, yielding per-probe calls. Probes in the ‘bound’ (1) state are indicated as LAD-probes, probes in the ‘unbound’ (0) state as inter-LAD-probes. All data are mapped to human reference genome assembly NCBI36 / hg18
2012-10-10 | GSE22428 | GEO
Project description:Mutations in the dystrophin gene without disruption of the reading frame often lead to Becker muscular dystrophy, but a genotype/phenotype correlation is difficult to establish. Amino acid substitutions may disrupt binding capacities of dystrophin and have a major impact on the functionality of this protein. We have identified two brothers (ages 8 and 10 years) with very mild proximal weakness, recurrent abdominal pain, and moderately elevated serum creatine kinase levels. Gene sequencing revealed a novel mutation in exon 11 of the dystrophin gene (c.1280T>C) leading to a L427P amino acid substitution in repeat 1 of the central rod domain. Immunostaining of skeletal muscle showed weak staining of the dystrophin region encoded by exons 7 and 8 corresponding to the end of the actin-binding domain 1 and the N-terminal part of hinge 1. Spectrofluorescence and circular dichroism analysis of the domain repeat 1-2 (R1-2) revealed partial misfolding of the L427P mutated protein as well as a reduced refolding rate after denaturation. Based on computational homology models of the wild-type and mutated R1-2, a molecular dynamics study showed an alteration in the flexibility of the structure, which also strongly affects the conformational space available in the N-terminal region of the fragment. Our results suggest that this missense mutation hinders the dynamic properties of the entire N-terminal region of dystrophin.
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