Modification of Ser59 in the unique N-terminal region of tyrosine kinase p56lck regulates specificity of its Src homology 2 domain

During T-cell activation, Ser59 in the unique N-terminal region of p56lck is phosphorylated. Mutation of Ser59 to Glu59 mimics Ser59 phosphorylation, and upon CD4 crosslinking, this mutant p56lck induces tyrosine phosphorylation of intracellular proteins distinct from those induced by wild-type p56lck. Mutant and wild-type p56lck have similar affinities for CD4 and similar kinase activities. In glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins, the p56lck Src homology 2 (SH2) domain with the SH3 domain and the unique N-terminal region (including Ser59) has a different binding specificity for phosphotyrosyl proteins than the SH2 domain alone. Either deletion of the unique N-terminal region or mutation of Ser59 to Glu59 in the fusion protein reverts the phosphotyrosyl protein binding specificity back to that of the SH2 domain alone. These results suggest that phosphorylation of Ser59 regulates the function of p56lck by controlling binding specificity of its SH2 domain.

The phosphopeptide-binding specificity of Src family SH2 domains

BACKGROUND

Src homology 2 (SH2) domains mediate protein/protein interactions by binding phosphotyrosyl proteins with high specificity. The protein Lck, a Src-like lymphocyte-specific tyrosine kinase which is important in signals involved in T-cell development, contains one such domain. The crystal structure of a complex of the Lck SH2 domain with a high-affinity ligand, pY324, is known. This ligand has the sequence EPQpYEEIPIYL.

RESULTS

We designed and synthesized a series of phosphopeptides with single amino-acid changes in the four residues C-terminal to the phosphotyrosine (pTyr) in pY324. Surprisingly, the Glu one residue C-terminal to the phosphotyrosine (at position pY + 1) is sensitive to substitution, whereas the Ile at position pY + 3 is much less sensitive, accommodating a Glu with only modest loss of binding affinity. Replacement of the Glu and Pro on either side of the Ile had little effect, as predicted. Truncated phosphopeptides that end at position pY + 5 and have only an acetyl group N-terminal to the pTyr bound with only slightly lower affinity than pY324. In addition, naturally occurring phosphopeptide sequences that span a 1,000-fold range in binding affinity for the Lck SH2 domain have been identified.

CONCLUSIONS

The Lck SH2 domain is highly selective for phosphotyrosyl-peptide binding; its specificity is dictated by the first and third residues C-terminal to the pTyr. The unexpected effects of some amino-acid substitutions indicate that the interactions seen between SH2 domains and ligand in the crystal structure may not be identical to those that occur in solution.

Cyclophilin residues that affect noncompetitive inhibition of the protein serine phosphatase activity of calcineurin by the cyclophilin.cyclosporin A complex

Mutation of three cationic surface residues of human cyclophilin A (hCyPA), R69, K125, and R148, to both anionic and neutral residues left its intrinsic peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) activity and cyclosporin A (CsA) binding unaffected, but altered its ability to inhibit the serine phosphatase activity of calcineurin (CN). R69E was 13-fold less effective (Ki = 3400 nM) than wild-type hCyPA (Ki = 270 nM) in presenting CsA for calcineurin phosphatase inhibition, while R148E was 17-fold more effective (Ki < or = 16 nM), and human CyPB was 13-fold better (Ki < or = 21 nM), establishing that a composite drug/protein surface is being recognized. The phosphoserine phosphatase reaction catalyzed by CN using unlabeled phosphoserine RII19 peptide was coupled to a continuous spectrophotometric assay to measure inorganic phosphate production using the enzyme purine ribonucleoside phosphorylase and the substrate N7-methyl-2-thioguanosine [Webb, M. R. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 4884-4887]. With this assay, we have determined that human cyclophilin A complexed with the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A is a noncompetitive inhibitor of calcineurin phosphatase activity. This mutational analysis identified hCyPA residues that interact with CN, and comparison to similar data on FKBP allowed us to begin to map out the CN recognition surface. The p-nitrophenylphosphatase activity of CN was stimulated ca. 3-fold by CyP.CsA, presumably reflecting altered active site geometry and selective access of this small substrate.

Active site mutants of human cyclophilin A separate peptidyl-prolyl isomerase activity from cyclosporin A binding and calcineurin inhibition

Based on recent X-ray structural information, six site-directed mutants of human cyclophilin A (hCyPA) involving residues in the putative active site--H54, R55, F60, Q111, F113, and H126--have been constructed, overexpressed, and purified from Escherichia coli to homogeneity. The proteins W121A (Liu, J., Chen, C.-M., & Walsh, C.T., 1991a, Biochemistry 30, 2306-2310), H54Q, R55A, F60A, Q111A, F113A, and H126Q were assayed for cis-trans peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) activity, their ability to bind the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A (CsA), and protein phosphatase 2B (calcineurin) inhibition in the presence of CsA. Results indicate that H54Q, Q111A, F113A, and W121A retain 3-15% of the catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) of wild-type recombinant hCyPA. The remaining three mutants (R55A, F60A, and H126Q) each retain less than 1% of the wild-type catalytic efficiency, indicating participation by these residues in PPIase catalysis. Each of the mutants bound to a CsA affinity matrix. The mutants R55A, F60A, F113A, and H126Q inhibited calcineurin in the presence of CsA, whereas W121A did not. Although CsA is a competitive inhibitor of PPIase activity, it can complex with enzymatically inactive cyclophilins and inhibit the phosphatase activity of calcineurin.