Phosphorylation of amphiphysin I by minibrain kinase/dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase, a kinase implicated in Down syndrome.

Minibrain kinase/dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase (Mnb/Dyrk1A) is a proline-directed serine/threonine kinase encoded in the Down syndrome critical region of human chromosome 21. This kinase has been shown to phosphorylate dynamin 1 and synaptojanin 1. Here we report that amphiphysin I (Amph I) is also a Mnb/Dyrk1A substrate. This kinase phosphorylated native Amph I in rodent brains and recombinant human Amph I expressed in Escherichia coli. Serine 293 (Ser-293) was identified as the major site, whereas serine 295 and threonine 310 were found as minor kinase sites. In cultured cells, recombinant Amph I was phosphorylated at Ser-293 by endogenous kinase(s). Because mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) has been suggested to phosphorylate Amph I at Ser-293, our efforts addressed whether Ser-293 is phosphorylated in vivo by MAPK/ERK or by Mnb/Dyrk1A. Overnight serum-withdrawal inactivated MAPK/ERK; nonetheless, Ser-293 was phosphorylated in Chinese hamster ovary and SY5Y cells. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate, a potent Mnb/Dyrk1A inhibitor in vitro, apparently reduced the phosphorylation at Ser-293, whereas PD98059, a potent MAPK/ERK inhibitor, did not. High frequency stimulation of mouse hippocampal slices reduced the phosphorylation at Ser-293, albeit in the midst of MAPK/ERK activation. The endophilin binding in vitro was inhibited by phosphorylating Amph I with Mnb/Dyrk1A. However, phosphorylation at Ser-293 did not appear to alter cellular distribution patterns of the protein. Our results suggest that Mnb/Dyrk1A, not MAPK/ERK, is responsible for in vivo phosphorylation of Amph I at Ser-293 and that phosphorylation changes the recruitment of endophilin at the endocytic sites.

Structure of the light chain-binding domain of myosin V.

Myosin V is a double-headed molecular motor involved in organelle transport. Two distinctive features of this motor, processivity and the ability to take extended linear steps of approximately 36 nm along the actin helical track, depend on its unusually long light chain-binding domain (LCBD). The LCBD of myosin V consists of six tandem IQ motifs, which constitute the binding sites for calmodulin (CaM) and CaM-like light chains. Here, we report the 2-A resolution crystal structure of myosin light chain 1 (Mlc1p) bound to the IQ2-IQ3 fragment of Myo2p, a myosin V from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This structure, combined with FRET distance measurements between probes in various CaM-IQ complexes, comparative sequence analysis, and the previously determined structures of Mlc1p-IQ2 and Mlc1p-IQ4, allowed building a model of the LCBD of myosin V. The IQs of myosin V are distributed into three pairs. There appear to be specific cooperative interactions between light chains within each IQ pair, but little or no interaction between pairs, providing flexibility at their junctions. The second and third IQ pairs each present a light chain, whether CaM or a CaM-related molecule, bound in a noncanonical extended conformation in which the N-lobe does not interact with the IQ motif. The resulting free N-lobes may engage in protein-protein interactions. The extended conformation is characteristic of the single IQ of myosin VI and is common throughout the myosin superfamily. The model points to a prominent role of the LCBD in the function, regulation, and molecular interactions of myosin V.

Myosin V attachment to cargo requires the tight association of two functional subdomains.

The myosin V carboxyl-terminal globular tail domain is essential for the attachment of myosin V to all known cargoes. Previously, the globular tail was viewed as a single, functional entity. Here, we show that the globular tail of the yeast myosin Va homologue, Myo2p, contains two structural subdomains that have distinct functions, namely, vacuole-specific and secretory vesicle-specific movement. Biochemical and genetic analyses demonstrate that subdomain I tightly associates with subdomain II, and that the interaction does not require additional proteins. Importantly, although neither subdomain alone is functional, simultaneous expression of the separate subdomains produces a functional complex in vivo. Our results suggest a model whereby intramolecular interactions between the globular tail subdomains help to coordinate the transport of multiple distinct cargoes by myosin V.

Two distinct myosin light chain structures are induced by specific variations within the bound IQ motifs-functional implications.

IQ motifs are widespread in nature. Mlc1p is a calmodulin-like myosin light chain that binds to IQ motifs of a class V myosin, Myo2p, and an IQGAP-related protein, Iqg1p, playing a role in polarized growth and cytokinesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The crystal structures of Mlc1p bound to IQ2 and IQ4 of Myo2p differ dramatically. When bound to IQ2, Mlc1p adopts a compact conformation in which both the N- and C-lobes interact with the IQ motif. However, in the complex with IQ4, the N-lobe no longer interacts with the IQ motif, resulting in an extended conformation of Mlc1p. The two light chain structures relate to two distinct subfamilies of IQ motifs, one of which does not interact with the N-lobes of calmodulin-like light chains. The correlation between light chain structure and IQ sequence is demonstrated further by sedimentation velocity analysis of complexes of Mlc1p with IQ motifs from Myo2p and Iqg1p. The resulting 'free' N-lobes of myosin light chains in the extended conformation could mediate the formation of ternary complexes during protein localization and/or partner recruitment.

Crystallization, X-ray characterization and selenomethionine phasing of Mlc1p bound to IQ motifs from myosin V.

Mlc1p is a calmodulin-like protein from the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, where it has been identified as a subunit of a class V myosin, Myo2p, and a binding partner of an IQGAP-like protein, Iqg1p. Through its interactions with these two proteins, Mlc1p plays a role in polarized growth and cytokinesis. Mlc1p has been crystallized in complexes with four different IQ target motifs from the neck region of Myo2p: IQ2, IQ3, IQ4 and IQ2-IQ3 (referred to as IQ2,3). Electron-density maps for two of the complexes (Mlc1p-IQ4 and Mlc1p-IQ2,3) were obtained from multiple anomalous dispersion (MAD) experiments based on selenomethionine derivatives. The other two structures (Mlc1p-IQ2 and Mlc1p-IQ3) were determined by molecular replacement using the partially refined structure of Mlc1p-IQ2,3 as a search model.