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Utsugi Y, Nishimura K, Yamanaka S, Nishino K, Kosako H, Sawasaki T, Shigemori H, Wandless TJ, Miyamae Y. Ubiquitin-Derived Fragment as a Peptide Linker for the Efficient Cleavage of a Target Protein from a Degron. ACS Chem Biol 2024; 19:497-505. [PMID: 38270585 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.3c00670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
The chemogenetic control of cellular protein stability using degron tags is a powerful experimental strategy in biomedical research. However, this technique requires permanent fusion of the degron to a target protein, which may interfere with the proper function of the protein. Here, we report a peptide fragment from the carboxyl terminus of ubiquitin as a cleavable linker that exhibits the slow but efficient cleavage of a degron tag via cellular deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs). We designed a fusion protein consisting of a cleavable linker and a destabilizing domain (DD), which conditionally controls the expression and release of a target protein in a ligand-induced state, allowing the free unmodified protein to perform its function. Insertion of an AGIA epitope at the carboxyl terminus of the linker made space for the DUBs to access the site to assist the cleavage reaction when the amino terminus of the target protein caused steric hindrance. The developed system, termed a cleavable degron using ubiquitin-derived linkers (c-DUB), provides robust and tunable regulation of target proteins in their native forms. The c-DUB system is a useful tool for the regulation of proteins that have terminal sites that are essential for the proper localization and function. In addition, a mechanistic investigation using proximity labeling showed that DUBs associate with the refolded DD to reverse ubiquitination, suggesting a cellular surveillance system for distinguishing the refolded DD from misfolded proteins. The c-DUB method may benefit from this machinery so that DUBs subsequently cleave the neighboring linker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Utsugi
- Doctoral Program in Life Science Innovation, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Ken Nishimura
- Laboratory of Gene Regulation, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan
| | - Satoshi Yamanaka
- Division of Proteo-Interactome, Proteo-Science Center, Ehime University, 3 Bunkyocho, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8577, Japan
| | - Kohei Nishino
- Division of Cell Signaling, Fujii Memorial Institute of Medical Sciences, Institute of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tokushima University, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan
| | - Hidetaka Kosako
- Division of Cell Signaling, Fujii Memorial Institute of Medical Sciences, Institute of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tokushima University, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan
| | - Tatsuya Sawasaki
- Division of Cell-Free Life Science, Proteo-Science Center, Ehime University, 3 Bunkyocho, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8577, Japan
| | - Hideyuki Shigemori
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
- Microbiology Research Center for Sustainability, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Thomas J Wandless
- Department of Chemical & Systems Biology, Stanford University, 269 Campus Drive, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Yusaku Miyamae
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
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Lang A, Fernández A, Diaz-Lobo M, Vilanova M, Cárdenas F, Gairí M, Pons M. Modulation of Functional Phosphorylation Sites by Basic Residues in the Unique Domain of c-Src. Molecules 2023; 28:4686. [PMID: 37375241 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28124686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In contrast to the well-studied canonical regulatory mechanisms, the way by which the recently discovered Src N-terminal regulatory element (SNRE) modulates Src activity is not yet well understood. Phosphorylation of serine and threonine residues modulates the charge distribution along the disordered region of the SNRE and may affect a fuzzy complex with the SH3 domain that is believed to act as an information transduction element. The pre-existing positively charged sites can interact with the newly introduced phosphate groups by modulating their acidity, introducing local conformational restrictions, or by coupling various phosphosites into a functional unit. In this paper, we use pH-dependent NMR measurements combined with single point mutations to identify the interactions of basic residues with physiologically important phosphorylated residues and to characterize the effect of these interactions in neighbor residues, thus providing insight into the electrostatic network in the isolated disordered regions and in the entire SNRE. From a methodological point of view, the linear relationships observed between the mutation-induced pKa changes of the phosphate groups of phosphoserine and phosphothreonine and the pH-induced chemical shifts of the NH groups of these residues provide a very convenient alternative to identify interacting phosphate groups without the need to introduce point mutations on specific basic residues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andras Lang
- BioNMR Laboratory, Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Baldiri Reixac 10-12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alejandro Fernández
- BioNMR Laboratory, Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Baldiri Reixac 10-12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mireia Diaz-Lobo
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mar Vilanova
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Baldiri Reixac 10, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francisco Cárdenas
- Centres Científics i Tecnològics de la Universitat de Barcelona (CCiTUB), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Baldiri Reixac 10-12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Margarida Gairí
- Centres Científics i Tecnològics de la Universitat de Barcelona (CCiTUB), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Baldiri Reixac 10-12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Miquel Pons
- BioNMR Laboratory, Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Baldiri Reixac 10-12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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Oncogenic Signalling of PEAK2 Pseudokinase in Colon Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14122981. [PMID: 35740644 PMCID: PMC9221080 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14122981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 06/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Catalytically inactive kinases, also named pseudokinases, play important roles in the regulation of cell growth and adhesion. While frequently deregulated in human cancer, their role in tumour development is partially elucidated. Here, we report an important tumour function for the pseudokinase PEAK2 in colorectal cancer (CRC) and propose that PEAK2 upregulation can affect cancer cell adhesive properties through an ABL-dependent mechanism to enable cancer progression. Therefore, targeting PEAK2 oncogenic activity with small tyrosine kinases (TK) inhibitors may be of therapeutic interest in colorectal cancer (CRC). Abstract The PEAK family pseudokinases are essential components of tyrosine kinase (TK) pathways that regulate cell growth and adhesion; however, their role in human cancer remains unclear. Here, we report an oncogenic activity of the pseudokinase PEAK2 in colorectal cancer (CRC). Notably, high PRAG1 expression, which encodes PEAK2, was associated with a bad prognosis in CRC patients. Functionally, PEAK2 depletion reduced CRC cell growth and invasion in vitro, while its overexpression increased these transforming effects. PEAK2 depletion also reduced CRC development in nude mice. Mechanistically, PEAK2 expression induced cellular protein tyrosine phosphorylation, despite its catalytic inactivity. Phosphoproteomic analysis identified regulators of cell adhesion and F-actin dynamics as PEAK2 targets. Additionally, PEAK2 was identified as a novel ABL TK activator. In line with this, PEAK2 expression localized at focal adhesions of CRC cells and induced ABL-dependent formation of actin-rich plasma membrane protrusions filopodia that function to drive cell invasion. Interestingly, all these PEAK2 transforming activities were regulated by its main phosphorylation site, Tyr413, which implicates the SRC oncogene. Thus, our results uncover a protumoural function of PEAK2 in CRC and suggest that its deregulation affects adhesive properties of CRC cells to enable cancer progression.
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