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Weirich S, Ulu GT, Chandrasekaran TT, Kehl J, Schmid J, Dorscht F, Kublanovsky M, Levy D, Jeltsch A. Distinct specificities of the HEMK2 protein methyltransferase in methylation of glutamine and lysine residues. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e4897. [PMID: 38284488 PMCID: PMC10804810 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4897] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/31/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
The HEMK2 protein methyltransferase has been described as glutamine methyltransferase catalyzing ERF1-Q185me1 and lysine methyltransferase catalyzing H4K12me1. Methylation of two distinct target residues is unique for this class of enzymes. To understand the specific catalytic adaptations of HEMK2 allowing it to master this chemically challenging task, we conducted a detailed investigation of the substrate sequence specificities of HEMK2 for Q- and K-methylation. Our data show that HEMK2 prefers methylation of Q over K at peptide and protein level. Moreover, the ERF1 sequence is strongly preferred as substrate over the H4K12 sequence. With peptide SPOT array methylation experiments, we show that Q-methylation preferentially occurs in a G-Q-X3 -R context, while K-methylation prefers S/T at the first position of the motif. Based on this, we identified novel HEMK2 K-methylation peptide substrates with sequences taken from human proteins which are methylated with high activity. Since H4K12 methylation by HEMK2 was very low, other protein lysine methyltransferases were examined for their ability to methylate the H4K12 site. We show that SETD6 has a high H4K12me1 methylation activity (about 1000-times stronger than HEMK2) and this enzyme is mainly responsible for H4K12me1 in DU145 prostate cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Weirich
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, Department of BiochemistryUniversity of StuttgartStuttgartGermany
| | - Gizem T. Ulu
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, Department of BiochemistryUniversity of StuttgartStuttgartGermany
| | - Thyagarajan T. Chandrasekaran
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, Department of BiochemistryUniversity of StuttgartStuttgartGermany
| | - Jana Kehl
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, Department of BiochemistryUniversity of StuttgartStuttgartGermany
| | - Jasmin Schmid
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, Department of BiochemistryUniversity of StuttgartStuttgartGermany
| | - Franziska Dorscht
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, Department of BiochemistryUniversity of StuttgartStuttgartGermany
| | - Margarita Kublanovsky
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and GeneticsBen‐Gurion University of the NegevBe'er‐ShevaIsrael
- The National Institute for Biotechnology in the NegevBen‐Gurion University of the NegevBe'er‐ShevaIsrael
| | - Dan Levy
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and GeneticsBen‐Gurion University of the NegevBe'er‐ShevaIsrael
- The National Institute for Biotechnology in the NegevBen‐Gurion University of the NegevBe'er‐ShevaIsrael
| | - Albert Jeltsch
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, Department of BiochemistryUniversity of StuttgartStuttgartGermany
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Kublanovsky M, Ulu GT, Weirich S, Levy N, Feldman M, Jeltsch A, Levy D. Methylation of the transcription factor E2F1 by SETD6 regulates SETD6 expression via a positive feedback mechanism. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105236. [PMID: 37690684 PMCID: PMC10551896 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105236] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The protein lysine methyltransferase SET domain-containing protein 6 (SETD6) has been shown to influence different cellular activities and to be critically involved in the regulation of diverse developmental and pathological processes. However, the upstream signals that regulate the mRNA expression of SETD6 are not known. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that the SETD6 promoter has a binding site for the transcription factor E2F1. Using various experimental approaches, we show that E2F1 binds to the SETD6 promoter and regulates SETD6 mRNA expression. Our further observation that this phenomenon is SETD6 dependent suggested that SETD6 and E2F1 are linked. We next demonstrate that SETD6 monomethylates E2F1 specifically at K117 in vitro and in cells. Finally, we show that E2F1 methylation at K117 positively regulates the expression level of SETD6 mRNA. Depletion of SETD6 or overexpression of E2F1 K117R mutant, which cannot be methylated by SETD6, reverses the effect. Taken together, our data provide evidence for a positive feedback mechanism, which regulates the expression of SETD6 by E2F1 in a SETD6 methylation-dependent manner, and highlight the importance of protein lysine methyltransferases and lysine methylation signaling in the regulation of gene transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margarita Kublanovsky
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva, Israel; The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva, Israel
| | - Gizem T Ulu
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Sara Weirich
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Nurit Levy
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva, Israel; The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva, Israel
| | - Michal Feldman
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva, Israel; The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva, Israel
| | - Albert Jeltsch
- Institute of Biochemistry and Technical Biochemistry, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Dan Levy
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva, Israel; The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva, Israel.
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Vershinin Z, Feldman M, Werner T, Weil LE, Kublanovsky M, Abaev-Schneiderman E, Sklarz M, Lam EYN, Alasad K, Picaud S, Rotblat B, McAdam RA, Chalifa-Caspi V, Bantscheff M, Chapman T, Lewis HD, Filippakopoulos P, Dawson MA, Grandi P, Prinjha RK, Levy D. BRD4 methylation by the methyltransferase SETD6 regulates selective transcription to control mRNA translation. Sci Adv 2021; 7:7/22/eabf5374. [PMID: 34039605 PMCID: PMC8153730 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf5374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
The transcriptional coactivator BRD4 has a fundamental role in transcription regulation and thus became a promising epigenetic therapeutic candidate to target diverse pathologies. However, the regulation of BRD4 by posttranslational modifications has been largely unexplored. Here, we show that BRD4 is methylated on chromatin at lysine-99 by the protein lysine methyltransferase SETD6. BRD4 methylation negatively regulates the expression of genes that are involved in translation and inhibits total mRNA translation in cells. Mechanistically, we provide evidence that supports a model where BRD4 methylation by SETD6 does not have a direct role in the association with acetylated histone H4 at chromatin. However, this methylation specifically determines the recruitment of the transcription factor E2F1 to selected target genes that are involved in mRNA translation. Together, our findings reveal a previously unknown molecular mechanism for BRD4 methylation-dependent gene-specific targeting, which may serve as a new direction for the development of therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zlata Vershinin
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
- National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Michal Feldman
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
- National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Thilo Werner
- GSK Cellzome GmbH, Functional Genomics R&D, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Lital Estrella Weil
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
- National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Margarita Kublanovsky
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
- National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Elina Abaev-Schneiderman
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
- National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Menachem Sklarz
- National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Enid Y N Lam
- Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology and Centre for Cancer Research, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Khawla Alasad
- National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Sarah Picaud
- Structural Genomics Consortium, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Barak Rotblat
- National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Ruth A McAdam
- GSK, Medicines Research Centre, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 2NY, UK
| | - Vered Chalifa-Caspi
- National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Marcus Bantscheff
- GSK Cellzome GmbH, Functional Genomics R&D, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Trevor Chapman
- GSK, Medicines Research Centre, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 2NY, UK
| | - Huw D Lewis
- GSK, Medicines Research Centre, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 2NY, UK
| | - Panagis Filippakopoulos
- Structural Genomics Consortium, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Mark A Dawson
- Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology and Centre for Cancer Research, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Paola Grandi
- GSK Cellzome GmbH, Functional Genomics R&D, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rab K Prinjha
- GSK, Medicines Research Centre, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 2NY, UK
| | - Dan Levy
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel.
- National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
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Weil LE, Shmidov Y, Kublanovsky M, Morgenstern D, Feldman M, Bitton R, Levy D. Oligomerization and Auto-methylation of the Human Lysine Methyltransferase SETD6. J Mol Biol 2018; 430:4359-4368. [PMID: 30189201 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2018.08.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Revised: 07/31/2018] [Accepted: 08/23/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Signaling via lysine methylation by protein lysine methyltransferases (PKMTs), has been linked to diverse biological and disease processes. The mono-methyltransferase SETD6 (SET-domain-containing protein 6) is a member of the PKMT family and was previously shown to regulate essential cellular processes such as the NF-κB, WNT and the oxidative stress pathways. However, on the biochemical level, little is known about the enzymatic mode of action of SETD6. Here we provide evidence that SETD6 forms high-molecular-weight structures. Specifically, we demonstrate that SETD6 monomeric, dimeric and trimeric forms are stabilized by the methyl donor, S-adenosyl-l-methionine. We then show that SETD6 has auto-methylation activity at K39 and K179, which serves as the major auto-methylation sites with a moderate auto-methylation activity toward K372. A point mutation at K179 but not at K39 and K372, located at the SET domain of SETD6, impaired SETD6 ability to form a trimer, strongly implying a link between the auto-methylation and the oligomerization state. Finally, by radioactive in vitro methylation experiments and biochemical kinetics analysis, we show that the auto-methylation at K39 and K179 increases the catalytic rate of SETD6. Collectively, our data support a model by which SETD6 auto-methylation and self-interaction positively regulate its enzymatic activity in vitro and may suggest that other PKMTs are regulated in the same manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lital Estrella Weil
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel; The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Yulia Shmidov
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Margarita Kublanovsky
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel; The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - David Morgenstern
- The Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Michal Feldman
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel; The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Ronit Bitton
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel; Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Dan Levy
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel; The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Be'er-Sheva 84105, Israel.
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Kublanovsky M, Aharoni A, Levy D. Enhanced PKMT-substrate recognition through non active-site interactions. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2018; 501:1029-1033. [PMID: 29778536 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2018.05.103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Protein lysine methyltransferases (PKMTs) catalyze the methylation of lysine residues on many different cellular proteins. Despite extensive biochemical and structural studies, focusing on PKMT active site-peptide interactions, little is known regarding how PKMTs recognize globular substrates. To examine whether these enzymes recognize protein substrates through interactions that take place outside of the active site, we have measured SETD6 and SETD7 activity with both protein and peptide RelA substrate. We have utilized the MTase-Glo™ methyltransferase assay to measure the activity of SETD6 and SETD7 with the different RelA substrates and calculated the Michaelis-Menten (MM) parameters. We found an up to ∼12-fold increase in KM of the PKMTs activity with RelA peptide relative to the respective full-length protein, emphasizing the significantly higher PKMT-protein interaction affinity. Examination of SETD6 and SETD7 activity toward the same RelA substrates highlight the similarity in substrate recognition for both PKMTs. Our results show that the interaction affinity of SETD6 and SETD7 with RelA is enhanced through interactions that occur outside of the active site leading to higher catalytic efficiency and specificity. These interactions can significantly vary depending on the PKMT and the specific methylation site on RelA. Overall, our results underline that PKMTs can recognize their substrates through docking interactions that occur out of the active site-peptide region for enhancing their activity and specificity in the cellular environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margarita Kublanovsky
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva 84105, Israel; The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Amir Aharoni
- The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva 84105, Israel; Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva 84105, Israel.
| | - Dan Levy
- The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva 84105, Israel; The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva 84105, Israel.
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