Xiao Z, Guo L, Zhang Y, Cui L, Dai Y, Lan Z, Zhang Q, Wang S, Liu W. Structural analysis of missense mutations occurring in the DNA-binding domain of HSF4 associated with congenital cataracts.
J Struct Biol X 2020;
4:100015. [PMID:
32647819 DOI:
10.1016/j.yjsbx.2019.100015]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2019] [Revised: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
High-resolution structures of wild-type and K23N mutant DBD in HSF4 were determined.
Cataract-related mutations in HSF4 were structurally analyzed through MD simulation.
Mutations Q61R, K64E, R73H, R116H and R119C likely perturb DNA-binding activity.
Mutations K23N, P60H and L114P probably affect trimer formation or folding dynamics.
Mutations A19D, H35Y and I86V may be false positives leading to trivial impacts.
Congenital cataract (CC) is the major cause of childish blindness, and nearly 50% of CCs are hereditary disorders. HSF4, a member of the heat shock transcription factor family, acts as a key regulator of cell growth and differentiation during the development of sensory organs. Missense mutations in the HSF4-encoding gene have been reported to cause CC formation; in particular, those occurring within the DNA-binding domain (DBD) are usually autosomal dominant mutations. To address how the identified mutations lead to HSF4 malfunction by placing adverse impacts on protein structure and DNA-binding specificity and affinity, we determined two high-resolution structures of the wild-type DBD and the K23N mutant of human HSF4, built DNA-binding models, conducted in silico mutations and molecular dynamics simulations. Our analysis suggests four possible structural mechanisms underlining the missense mutations in HSF4-DBD and cataractogenesis: (i), disruption of HSE recognition; (ii), perturbation of protein-DNA interactions; (iii), alteration of protein folding; (iv), other impacts, e.g. inhibition of protein oligomerization.
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