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Soudah N, Baskin A, Smorodinsky-Atias K, Beenstock J, Ganon Y, Hayouka R, Aboraya M, Livnah O, Ilouz R, Engelberg D. A conserved arginine within the αC-helix of Erk1/2 is a latch of autoactivation and of oncogenic capabilities. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105072. [PMID: 37474104 PMCID: PMC10458722 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotic protein kinases (EPKs) adopt an active conformation following phosphorylation of a particular activation loop residue. Most EPKs spontaneously autophosphorylate this residue. While structure-function relationships of the active conformation are essentially understood, those of the "prone-to-autophosphorylate" conformation are unclear. Here, we propose that a site within the αC-helix of EPKs, occupied by Arg in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) Erk1/2 (Arg84/65), impacts spontaneous autophosphorylation. MAPKs lack spontaneous autoactivation, but we found that converting Arg84/65 of Erk1/2 to various residues enables spontaneous autophosphorylation. Furthermore, Erk1 molecules mutated in Arg84 are oncogenic. Arg84/65 thus obstructs the adoption of the "prone-to-autophosphorylate" conformation. All MAPKs harbor an Arg that is equivalent to Arg84/65 of Erks, whereas Arg is rarely found at the equivalent position in other EPKs. We observed that Arg84/65 of Erk1/2 interacts with the DFG motif, suggesting that autophosphorylation may be inhibited by the Arg84/65-DFG interactions. Erk1/2s mutated in Arg84/65 autophosphorylate not only the TEY motif, known as critical for catalysis, but also on Thr207/188. Our MS/MS analysis revealed that a large proportion of the Erk2R65H population is phosphorylated on Thr188 or on Tyr185 + Thr188, and a small fraction is phosphorylated on the TEY motif. No molecules phosphorylated on Thr183 + Thr188 were detected. Thus, phosphorylation of Thr183 and Thr188 is mutually exclusive suggesting that not only TEY-phosphorylated molecules are active but perhaps also those phosphorylated on Tyr185 + Thr188. The effect of mutating Arg84/65 may mimic a physiological scenario in which allosteric effectors cause Erk1/2 activation by autophosphorylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Soudah
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Institute of Life Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Alexey Baskin
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Institute of Life Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Karin Smorodinsky-Atias
- School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
| | - Jonah Beenstock
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Institute of Life Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yifat Ganon
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Institute of Life Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ruchama Hayouka
- The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Mohammed Aboraya
- The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Safed, Israel
| | - Oded Livnah
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Institute of Life Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel; The Wolfson Centre for Applied Structural Biology, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ronit Ilouz
- The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Safed, Israel
| | - David Engelberg
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Institute of Life Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel; Singapore-HUJ Alliance for Research and Enterprise, Mechanisms of Liver Inflammatory Diseases Program, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
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Solomon O, Alshanski I, Shitrit A, Chen YJ, Friedler A, Yitzchaik S. Using a Single Peptide to Electrochemically Sense Multiple Kinases. Biochemistry 2023; 62:351-357. [PMID: 36239671 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Kinases are responsible for regulating cellular and physiological processes, and abnormal kinase activity is associated with various diseases. Therefore, kinases are being used as biomarkers for disease and developing methods for their sensing is highly important. Usually more than one kinase is involved in phosphorylating a target protein. However, kinase detection methods usually detect the activity of only one specific kinase. Here we describe an electrochemical kinase sensing tool for the selective detection of two kinases using the same target peptide. We demonstrate the sensing of kinases ERK2 and PKCδ. This is based on a single sensing element, a peptide that contains two distinct phosphorylation sites of these two kinases. Reversibility experiments with alkaline phosphatase and reaction with the electrochemically active ferrocene-labeled ATP showed that the mechanism of sensing is by detecting the enzymatic phosphorylation. Our approach can be further utilized to develop devices for the detection of multiple kinases and can be expanded to other types of enzymes involved in disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ohad Solomon
- Institute of Chemistry and Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Israel Alshanski
- Institute of Chemistry and Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Ariel Shitrit
- Institute of Chemistry and Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Yu-Ju Chen
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, No. 128, Section 2, Academia Road, Taipei 115, Taiwan
| | - Assaf Friedler
- Institute of Chemistry and Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Shlomo Yitzchaik
- Institute of Chemistry and Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
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Solomon O, Shpilt Z, Sapir H, Marom S, Bibas S, Chen Y, Tshuva EY, Yitzchaik S, Friedler A. Peptide‐Based Inhibitors that Target the Docking Site of ERK2. Isr J Chem 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ijch.202200041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ohad Solomon
- Institute of Chemistry, T he Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
| | - Zohar Shpilt
- Institute of Chemistry, T he Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
| | - Hannah Sapir
- Institute of Chemistry, T he Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
| | - Shir Marom
- Institute of Chemistry, T he Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
| | - Shai Bibas
- Institute of Chemistry, T he Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
| | - Yu‐Ju Chen
- Institute of Chemistry Academia Sinica No. 128, Section2, Academia Road Taipei 115 Taiwan
| | - Edit Y. Tshuva
- Institute of Chemistry, T he Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
| | - Shlomo Yitzchaik
- Institute of Chemistry, T he Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
| | - Assaf Friedler
- Institute of Chemistry, T he Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
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Solomon O, Sapir H, Mervinetsky E, Chen Y, Friedler A, Yitzchaik S. Kinase Sensing Based on Protein Interactions at the Catalytic Site. Chemistry 2022; 28:e202104227. [DOI: 10.1002/chem.202104227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ohad Solomon
- Institute of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
| | - Hannah Sapir
- Institute of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
| | - Evgeniy Mervinetsky
- Institute of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
| | - Yu‐Ju Chen
- Institute of Chemistry Academia Sinica No. 128, Section2, Academia Road Taipei 115 Taiwan
| | - Assaf Friedler
- Institute of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
| | - Shlomo Yitzchaik
- Institute of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Safra Campus, Givat Ram Jerusalem 91904 Israel
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The MAP kinase AflSlt2 modulates aflatoxin biosynthesis and peanut infection in the fungus Aspergillus flavus. Int J Food Microbiol 2020; 322:108576. [PMID: 32240921 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2020.108576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2019] [Revised: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Aflatoxin contamination in food and feed products has been brought into sharp focus over the last few decades in the world. However, there is no effective strategy for solving the problem thus far. Therefore, basic research on the aflatoxin-producer Aspergillus flavus is an urgent need. The vital role of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in signal transduction has been documented in various pathogenic fungi, but their functions in A. flavus have rarely been investigated. Herein, we characterized the detailed function of one of these MAPKs, AflSlt2. Targeted deletion of AflSlt2 gene indicates that this kinase is required for vegetative growth, conidia generation, and sclerotium formation. The analysis of AflSlt2 deletion mutant revealed hypersensitivity to cell wall-damaging chemicals and resistance against hydrogen peroxide. Interestingly, the ability of the ΔAflSlt2 mutant to generate aflatoxins in medium was significantly increased compared to wild type. However, a pathogenicity assay indicated that the ΔAflSlt2 mutant was deficient in peanut infection. Site-directed mutation study uncovered that the function of AflSlt2 was dependent on the phosphorylated residues (Thr-186 and Tyr-188) within the activation loop and the phosphotransfer residue (Lys-52) within the subdomain II. Interestingly, an autophosphorylation mutant of AflSlt2 (AflSlt2R66S) displayed wild type-like phenotypes. Bringing these observations together, we propose that Slt2-MAPK pathway is involved in development, stress response, aflatoxin biosynthesis, and pathogenicity in A. flavus. This study may be useful to unveil the regulation mechanism of aflatoxin biosynthesis and provide strategy to control A. flavus contamination.
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Mutations That Confer Drug-Resistance, Oncogenicity and Intrinsic Activity on the ERK MAP Kinases-Current State of the Art. Cells 2020; 9:cells9010129. [PMID: 31935908 PMCID: PMC7016714 DOI: 10.3390/cells9010129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Revised: 12/31/2019] [Accepted: 01/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Unique characteristics distinguish extracellular signal-regulated kinases (Erks) from other eukaryotic protein kinases (ePKs). Unlike most ePKs, Erks do not autoactivate and they manifest no basal activity; they become catalysts only when dually phosphorylated on neighboring Thr and Tyr residues and they possess unique structural motifs. Erks function as the sole targets of the receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs)-Ras-Raf-MEK signaling cascade, which controls numerous physiological processes and is mutated in most cancers. Erks are therefore the executers of the pathway’s biology and pathology. As oncogenic mutations have not been identified in Erks themselves, combined with the tight regulation of their activity, Erks have been considered immune against mutations that would render them intrinsically active. Nevertheless, several such mutations have been generated on the basis of structure-function analysis, understanding of ePK evolution and, mostly, via genetic screens in lower eukaryotes. One of the mutations conferred oncogenic properties on Erk1. The number of interesting mutations in Erks has dramatically increased following the development of Erk-specific pharmacological inhibitors and identification of mutations that cause resistance to these compounds. Several mutations have been recently identified in cancer patients. Here we summarize the mutations identified in Erks so far, describe their properties and discuss their possible mechanism of action.
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Kushnir T, Bar-Cohen S, Mooshayef N, Lange R, Bar-Sinai A, Rozen H, Salzberg A, Engelberg D, Paroush Z. An Activating Mutation in ERK Causes Hyperplastic Tumors in a scribble Mutant Tissue in Drosophila. Genetics 2020; 214:109-120. [PMID: 31740452 PMCID: PMC6944410 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.119.302794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Receptor tyrosine kinase signaling plays prominent roles in tumorigenesis, and activating oncogenic point mutations in the core pathway components Ras, Raf, or MEK are prevalent in many types of cancer. Intriguingly, however, analogous oncogenic mutations in the downstream effector kinase ERK have not been described or validated in vivo To determine if a point mutation could render ERK intrinsically active and oncogenic, we have assayed in Drosophila the effects of a mutation that confers constitutive activity upon a yeast ERK ortholog and has also been identified in a few human tumors. Our analyses indicate that a fly ERK ortholog harboring this mutation alone (RolledR80S), and more so in conjunction with the known sevenmaker mutation (RolledR80S+D334N), suppresses multiple phenotypes caused by loss of Ras-Raf-MEK pathway activity, consistent with an intrinsic activity that is independent of upstream signaling. Moreover, expression of RolledR80S and RolledR80S+D334N induces tissue overgrowth in an established Drosophila cancer model. Our findings thus demonstrate that activating mutations can bestow ERK with pro-proliferative, tumorigenic capabilities and suggest that Drosophila represents an effective experimental system for determining the oncogenicity of ERK mutants and their response to therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatyana Kushnir
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
| | - Shaked Bar-Cohen
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
| | - Navit Mooshayef
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
- Singapore-Hebrew University of Jerusalem Alliance for Research and Enterprise, Molecular Mechanisms of Inflammatory Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Group, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise, 138602, Singapore
| | - Rotem Lange
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
| | - Allan Bar-Sinai
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
| | - Helit Rozen
- Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Bar-Ilan University, Safed 1311502, Israel
| | - Adi Salzberg
- Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3109601, Israel
| | - David Engelberg
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
- Singapore-Hebrew University of Jerusalem Alliance for Research and Enterprise, Molecular Mechanisms of Inflammatory Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Group, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise, 138602, Singapore
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 117456, Singapore
| | - Ze'ev Paroush
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
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Yurko N, Liu X, Yamazaki T, Hoque M, Tian B, Manley JL. MPK1/SLT2 Links Multiple Stress Responses with Gene Expression in Budding Yeast by Phosphorylating Tyr1 of the RNAP II CTD. Mol Cell 2017; 68:913-925.e3. [PMID: 29220656 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2017.11.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2017] [Revised: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 11/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The RNA polymerase II largest subunit C-terminal domain consists of repeated YSPTSPS heptapeptides. The role of tyrosine-1 (Tyr1) remains incompletely understood, as, for example, mutating all Tyr1 residues to Phe (Y1F) is lethal in vertebrates but a related mutant has only a mild phenotype in S. pombe. Here we show that Y1F substitution in budding yeast resulted in a strong slow-growth phenotype. The Y1F strain was also hypersensitive to several different cellular stresses that involve MAP kinase signaling. These phenotypes were all linked to transcriptional changes, and we also identified genetic and biochemical interactions between Tyr1 and both transcription initiation and termination factors. Further studies uncovered defects related to MAP kinase I (Slt2) pathways, and we provide evidence that Slt2 phosphorylates Tyr1 in vitro and in vivo. Our study has thus identified Slt2 as a Tyr1 kinase, and in doing so provided links between stress response activation and Tyr1 phosphorylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Yurko
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Xiaochuan Liu
- Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Takashi Yamazaki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Mainul Hoque
- Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Bin Tian
- Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - James L Manley
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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