Structural states and dynamics of the D-loop in actin.

Conformational changes induced by ATP hydrolysis on actin are involved in the regulation of complex actin networks. Previous structural and biochemical data implicate the DNase I binding loop (D-loop) of actin in such nucleotide-dependent changes. Here, we investigated the structural and conformational states of the D-loop (in solution) using cysteine scanning mutagenesis and site-directed labeling. The reactivity of D-loop cysteine mutants toward acrylodan and the mobility of spin labels on these mutants do not show patterns of an α-helical structure in monomeric and filamentous actin, irrespective of the bound nucleotide. Upon transition from monomeric to filamentous actin, acrylodan emission spectra and electron paramagnetic resonance line shapes of labeled mutants are blue-shifted and more immobilized, respectively, with the central residues (residues 43-47) showing the most drastic changes. Moreover, complex electron paramagnetic resonance line shapes of spin-labeled mutants suggest several conformational states of the D-loop. Together with a new (to our knowledge) actin crystal structure that reveals the D-loop in a unique hairpin conformation, our data suggest that the D-loop equilibrates in F-actin among different conformational states irrespective of the nucleotide state of actin.

Connecting actin monomers by iso-peptide bond is a toxicity mechanism of the Vibrio cholerae MARTX toxin.

The Gram-negative bacterium Vibrio cholerae is the causative agent of a severe diarrheal disease that afflicts three to five million persons annually, causing up to 200,000 deaths. Nearly all V. cholerae strains produce a large multifunctional-autoprocessing RTX toxin (MARTX(Vc)), which contributes significantly to the pathogenesis of cholera in model systems. The actin cross-linking domain (ACD) of MARTX(Vc) directly catalyzes a covalent cross-linking of monomeric G-actin into oligomeric chains and causes cell rounding, but the nature of the cross-linked bond and the mechanism of the actin cytoskeleton disruption remained elusive. To elucidate the mechanism of ACD action and effect on actin, we identified the covalent cross-link bond between actin protomers using limited proteolysis, X-ray crystallography, and mass spectrometry. We report here that ACD catalyzes the formation of an intermolecular iso-peptide bond between residues E270 and K50 located in the hydrophobic and the DNaseI-binding loops of actin, respectively. Mutagenesis studies confirm that no other residues on actin can be cross-linked by ACD both in vitro and in vivo. This cross-linking locks actin protomers into an orientation different from that of F-actin, resulting in strong inhibition of actin polymerization. This report describes a microbial toxin mechanism acting via iso-peptide bond cross-linking between host proteins and is, to the best of our knowledge, the only known example of a peptide linkage between nonterminal glutamate and lysine side chains.

Cryo-EM reveals different coronin binding modes for ADP- and ADP-BeFx actin filaments.

Essential cellular processes involving the actin cytoskeleton are regulated by auxiliary proteins that can sense the nucleotide state of actin. Here we report cryo-EM structures for ADP-bound and ADP-beryllium fluoride (ADP-BeFx, an ADP-Pi mimic)-bound actin filaments in complex with the ß-propeller domain of yeast coronin 1 (crn1), at 8.6-Å resolution. Our structures reveal the main differences in the interaction of coronin with the two nucleotide states of F-actin. We derived pseudoatomic models by fitting the atomic structures of actin and coronin into the EM envelopes and confirmed the identified interfaces on actin by chemical cross-linking, fluorescence spectroscopy and actin mutagenesis. The models offer a structural explanation for the nucleotide-dependent effects of coronin on cofilin-assisted remodeling of F-actin.