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Webb JA, Farrow E, Cain B, Yuan Z, Yarawsky AE, Schoch E, Gagliani EK, Herr AB, Gebelein B, Kovall RA. Cooperative Gsx2-DNA Binding Requires DNA Bending and a Novel Gsx2 Homeodomain Interface. bioRxiv 2023:2023.12.08.570805. [PMID: 38106145 PMCID: PMC10723402 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.08.570805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
The conserved Gsx homeodomain (HD) transcription factors specify neural cell fates in animals from flies to mammals. Like many HD proteins, Gsx factors bind A/T-rich DNA sequences prompting the question - how do HD factors that bind similar DNA sequences in vitro regulate specific target genes in vivo? Prior studies revealed that Gsx factors bind DNA both as a monomer on individual A/T-rich sites and as a cooperative homodimer to two sites spaced precisely seven base pairs apart. However, the mechanistic basis for Gsx DNA binding and cooperativity are poorly understood. Here, we used biochemical, biophysical, structural, and modeling approaches to (1) show that Gsx factors are monomers in solution and require DNA for cooperative complex formation; (2) define the affinity and thermodynamic binding parameters of Gsx2/DNA interactions; (3) solve a high-resolution monomer/DNA structure that reveals Gsx2 induces a 20° bend in DNA; (4) identify a Gsx2 protein-protein interface required for cooperative DNA binding; and (5) determine that flexible spacer DNA sequences enhance Gsx2 cooperativity on dimer sites. Altogether, our results provide a mechanistic basis for understanding the protein and DNA structural determinants that underlie cooperative DNA binding by Gsx factors, thereby providing a deeper understanding of HD specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan A. Webb
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA
| | - Edward Farrow
- Graduate Program in Molecular and Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
- Medical-Scientist Training Program, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Brittany Cain
- Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, MLC 7007, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Zhenyu Yuan
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA
| | - Alexander E. Yarawsky
- Division of Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333, Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Emma Schoch
- Department of Medical Education, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Ellen K. Gagliani
- Department of Chemistry, Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH 45207, USA
| | - Andrew B. Herr
- Division of Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333, Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Brian Gebelein
- Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, MLC 7007, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
| | - Rhett A. Kovall
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA
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Gagliani EK, Gutzwiller LM, Kuang Y, Odaka Y, Hoffmeister P, Hauff S, Turkiewicz A, Harding-Theobald E, Dolph PJ, Borggrefe T, Oswald F, Gebelein B, Kovall RA. A Drosophila Su(H) model of Adams-Oliver Syndrome reveals cofactor titration as a mechanism underlying developmental defects. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010335. [PMID: 35951645 PMCID: PMC9398005 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Notch signaling is a conserved pathway that converts extracellular receptor-ligand interactions into changes in gene expression via a single transcription factor (CBF1/RBPJ in mammals; Su(H) in Drosophila). In humans, RBPJ variants have been linked to Adams-Oliver syndrome (AOS), a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by scalp, cranium, and limb defects. Here, we found that a previously described Drosophila Su(H) allele encodes a missense mutation that alters an analogous residue found in an AOS-associated RBPJ variant. Importantly, genetic studies support a model that heterozygous Drosophila with the AOS-like Su(H) allele behave in an opposing manner to heterozygous flies with a Su(H) null allele, due to a dominant activity of sequestering either the Notch co-activator or the antagonistic Hairless co-repressor. Consistent with this model, AOS-like Su(H) and Rbpj variants have decreased DNA binding activity compared to wild type proteins, but these variants do not significantly alter protein binding to the Notch co-activator or the fly and mammalian co-repressors, respectively. Taken together, these data suggest a cofactor sequestration mechanism underlies AOS phenotypes associated with RBPJ variants, whereby the AOS-associated RBPJ allele encodes a protein with compromised DNA binding activity that retains cofactor binding, resulting in Notch target gene dysregulation. Adams-Oliver Syndrome (AOS) is a rare disease defined by missing skin/skull tissue, limb malformations, and cardiovascular abnormalities. Human genetic studies have revealed that ~40% of AOS patients inherit dominant mutations within specific genes in the Notch signaling pathway. Notch signaling is a highly conserved cell-to-cell communication pathway found in all metazoans and plays crucial roles during embryogenesis and tissue homeostasis in organisms from Drosophila (fruit-flies) to mammals. The Notch receptor converts cell-to-cell interactions into a Notch signal that enters the nucleus and activates target genes by binding to a highly conserved transcription factor. Here, we took advantage of the unexpected finding that a previously described dominant allele in the Drosophila Notch pathway transcription factor contains a missense variant in an analogous residue found in a family with AOS. Using this novel animal model of AOS along with biochemical DNA binding, protein-protein interaction, and transcriptional reporter assays, we found that this transcription factor variant selectively compromises DNA binding but not binding to the Notch signal nor binding to other proteins in the Notch pathway. Taken together with prior human genetic studies, these data suggest AOS phenotypes associated with variants in the Notch pathway transcription factor are caused by a dominant mechanism that sequesters the Notch signal, leading to Notch target gene dysregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen K. Gagliani
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Lisa M. Gutzwiller
- Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Yi Kuang
- Graduate program in Molecular and Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Yoshinobu Odaka
- Biology Department, University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Phillipp Hoffmeister
- University Medical Center Ulm, Center for Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Ulm, Germany
| | - Stefanie Hauff
- University Medical Center Ulm, Center for Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Ulm, Germany
| | | | - Emily Harding-Theobald
- Department of Biology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Patrick J. Dolph
- Department of Biology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America
| | - Tilman Borggrefe
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Franz Oswald
- University Medical Center Ulm, Center for Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Ulm, Germany
| | - Brian Gebelein
- Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
- * E-mail: (BG); (RAK)
| | - Rhett A. Kovall
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
- * E-mail: (BG); (RAK)
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Kuang Y, Pyo A, Eafergan N, Cain B, Gutzwiller LM, Axelrod O, Gagliani EK, Weirauch MT, Kopan R, Kovall RA, Sprinzak D, Gebelein B. Enhancers with cooperative Notch binding sites are more resistant to regulation by the Hairless co-repressor. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009039. [PMID: 34559800 PMCID: PMC8494340 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Notch signaling controls many developmental processes by regulating gene expression. Notch-dependent enhancers recruit activation complexes consisting of the Notch intracellular domain, the Cbf/Su(H)/Lag1 (CSL) transcription factor (TF), and the Mastermind co-factor via two types of DNA sites: monomeric CSL sites and cooperative dimer sites called Su(H) paired sites (SPS). Intriguingly, the CSL TF can also bind co-repressors to negatively regulate transcription via these same sites. Here, we tested how synthetic enhancers with monomeric CSL sites versus dimeric SPSs bind Drosophila Su(H) complexes in vitro and mediate transcriptional outcomes in vivo. Our findings reveal that while the Su(H)/Hairless co-repressor complex similarly binds SPS and CSL sites in an additive manner, the Notch activation complex binds SPSs, but not CSL sites, in a cooperative manner. Moreover, transgenic reporters with SPSs mediate stronger, more consistent transcription and are more resistant to increased Hairless co-repressor expression compared to reporters with the same number of CSL sites. These findings support a model in which SPS containing enhancers preferentially recruit cooperative Notch activation complexes over Hairless repression complexes to ensure consistent target gene activation. Cell signaling provides a basic means of communication during development. Many signaling pathways, including the Notch pathway, convert extracellular signals into changes in gene expression via transcription factors that bind specific DNA sequences. Importantly, the Notch pathway transcription factor can either form activating complexes upon Notch activation to stimulate gene expression or repression complexes with co-repressors to inhibit gene expression. Prior studies showed that the Notch activation complex binds DNA as either an independent complex on monomer binding sites or as two cooperative complexes (dimer) on paired binding sites. In this study, we used synthetic biology to examine how these two types of DNA sites impact the binding of Notch activation versus repression complexes and the output of Notch target gene expression. Our studies reveal that unlike the Notch activation complex, the repression complex does not cooperatively bind dimer sites. Moreover, our findings support the model that the enhanced stability of the Notch activation complex on dimer sites makes target genes with dimer sites less sensitive to the repression complex than target genes with only monomer sites. Thus, our studies reveal how target genes with different binding sites differ in sensitivity to the ratio of Notch activation to repression complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Kuang
- Graduate Program in Molecular and Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Anna Pyo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Natanel Eafergan
- School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Brittany Cain
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Lisa M. Gutzwiller
- Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Ofri Axelrod
- School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ellen K. Gagliani
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Matthew T. Weirauch
- Divisions of Biomedical Informatics and Developmental Biology, Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE), Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Raphael Kopan
- Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Rhett A. Kovall
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
| | - David Sprinzak
- School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Brian Gebelein
- Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Landor SKJ, Santio NM, Eccleshall WB, Paramonov VM, Gagliani EK, Hall D, Jin SB, Dahlström KM, Salminen TA, Rivero-Müller A, Lendahl U, Kovall RA, Koskinen PJ, Sahlgren C. PIM-induced phosphorylation of Notch3 promotes breast cancer tumorigenicity in a CSL-independent fashion. J Biol Chem 2021; 296:100593. [PMID: 33775697 PMCID: PMC8100066 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Revised: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysregulation of the developmentally important Notch signaling pathway is implicated in several types of cancer, including breast cancer. However, the specific roles and regulation of the four different Notch receptors have remained elusive. We have previously reported that the oncogenic PIM kinases phosphorylate Notch1 and Notch3. Phosphorylation of Notch1 within the second nuclear localization sequence of its intracellular domain (ICD) enhances its transcriptional activity and tumorigenicity. In this study, we analyzed Notch3 phosphorylation and its functional impact. Unexpectedly, we observed that the PIM target sites are not conserved between Notch1 and Notch3. Notch3 ICD (N3ICD) is phosphorylated within a domain, which is essential for formation of a transcriptionally active complex with the DNA-binding protein CSL. Through molecular modeling, X-ray crystallography, and isothermal titration calorimetry, we demonstrate that phosphorylation of N3ICD sterically hinders its interaction with CSL and thereby inhibits its CSL-dependent transcriptional activity. Surprisingly however, phosphorylated N3ICD still maintains tumorigenic potential in breast cancer cells under estrogenic conditions, which support PIM expression. Taken together, our data indicate that PIM kinases modulate the signaling output of different Notch paralogs by targeting distinct protein domains and thereby promote breast cancer tumorigenesis via both CSL-dependent and CSL-independent mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian K J Landor
- Faculty of Science and Engineering/Cell Biology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland; Turku Bioscience, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
| | - Niina M Santio
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - William B Eccleshall
- Faculty of Science and Engineering/Cell Biology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland; Turku Bioscience, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland; Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Valeriy M Paramonov
- Faculty of Science and Engineering/Cell Biology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland; Turku Bioscience, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland; Institute of Biomedicine, Research Centre for Integrative Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Ellen K Gagliani
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Daniel Hall
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Shao-Bo Jin
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Käthe M Dahlström
- Structural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi, Turku, Finland
| | - Tiina A Salminen
- Structural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi, Turku, Finland
| | - Adolfo Rivero-Müller
- Faculty of Science and Engineering/Cell Biology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland; Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Urban Lendahl
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Rhett A Kovall
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | | | - Cecilia Sahlgren
- Faculty of Science and Engineering/Cell Biology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland; Turku Bioscience, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
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