Insight into Functional Membrane Proteins by Solution NMR: The Human Bcl-2 Protein-A Promising Cancer Drug Target.

Evasion from programmed cell death (apoptosis) is the main hallmark of cancer and a major cause of resistance to therapy. Many tumors simply ensure survival by over-expressing the cell-protecting (anti-apoptotic) Bcl-2 membrane protein involved in apoptotic regulation. However, the molecular mechanism by which Bcl-2 protein in its mitochondrial outer membrane location protects cells remains elusive due to the absence of structural insight; and current strategies to therapeutically interfere with these Bcl-2 sensitive cancers are limited. Here, we present an NMR-based approach to enable structural insight into Bcl-2 function; an approach also ideal as a fragment-based drug discovery platform for further identification and development of promising molecular Bcl-2 inhibitors. By using solution NMR spectroscopy on fully functional intact human Bcl-2 protein in a membrane-mimicking micellar environment, and constructs with specific functions remaining, we present a strategy for structure determination and specific drug screening of functional subunits of the Bcl-2 protein as targets. Using 19F NMR and a specific fragment library (Bionet) with fluorinated compounds we can successfully identify various binders and validate our strategy in the hunt for novel Bcl-2 selective cancer drug strategies to treat currently incurable Bcl-2 sensitive tumors.

Structural basis of the heterodimerization of the MST and RASSF SARAH domains in the Hippo signalling pathway.

Despite recent progress in research on the Hippo signalling pathway, the structural information available in this area is extremely limited. Intriguingly, the homodimeric and heterodimeric interactions of mammalian sterile 20-like (MST) kinases through the so-called `SARAH' (SAV/RASSF/HPO) domains play a critical role in cellular homeostasis, dictating the fate of the cell regarding cell proliferation or apoptosis. To understand the mechanism of the heterodimerization of SARAH domains, the three-dimensional structures of an MST1-RASSF5 SARAH heterodimer and an MST2 SARAH homodimer were determined by X-ray crystallography and were analysed together with that previously determined for the MST1 SARAH homodimer. While the structure of the MST2 homodimer resembled that of the MST1 homodimer, the MST1-RASSF5 heterodimer showed distinct structural features. Firstly, the six N-terminal residues (Asp432-Lys437), which correspond to the short N-terminal 310-helix h1 kinked from the h2 helix in the MST1 homodimer, were disordered. Furthermore, the MST1 SARAH domain in the MST1-RASSF5 complex showed a longer helical structure (Ser438-Lys480) than that in the MST1 homodimer (Val441-Lys480). Moreover, extensive polar and nonpolar contacts in the MST1-RASSF5 SARAH domain were identified which strengthen the interactions in the heterodimer in comparison to the interactions in the homodimer. Denaturation experiments performed using urea also indicated that the MST-RASSF heterodimers are substantially more stable than the MST homodimers. These findings provide structural insights into the role of the MST1-RASSF5 SARAH domain in apoptosis signalling.

Characterization of the interaction between lysyl-tRNA synthetase and laminin receptor by NMR.

Lysyl-tRNA synthetase (KRS) interacts with the laminin receptor (LR/RPSA) and enhances laminin-induced cell migration in cancer metastasis. In this nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based study, we show that the anticodon-binding domain of KRS binds directly to the C-terminal region of 37LRP, and the previously found inhibitors BC-K-01 and BC-K-YH16899 interfere with KRS-37LRP binding. In addition, the anticodon-binding domain of KRS binds to laminin, observed by NMR and SPR. These results provide crucial insights into the structural characteristics of the KRS-LR interaction on the cell surface.