RESUMO
Selective therapeutics for nuclear receptors would revolutionize treatment for endocrine disease. Specific control of nuclear receptor activity is challenging because the internal cavities that bind hormones can be virtually identical. Only one highly selective hormone analog is known for the thyroid receptor, GC-24, an agonist for human thyroid hormone receptor beta. The compound differs from natural hormone in benzyl, substituting for an iodine atom in the 3' position. The benzyl is too large to fit into the enclosed pocket of the receptor. The crystal structure of human thyroid hormone receptor beta at 2.8-A resolution with GC-24 bound explains its agonist activity and unique isoform specificity. The benzyl of GC-24 is accommodated through shifts of 3-4 A in two helices. These helices are required for binding hormone and positioning the critical helix 12 at the C terminus. Despite these changes, the complex associates with coactivator as tightly as human thyroid hormone receptor bound to thyroid hormone and is fully active. Our data suggest that increased specificity of ligand recognition derives from creating a new hydrophobic cluster with ligand and protein components.
Assuntos
Acetatos/química , Compostos Benzidrílicos/química , Receptores dos Hormônios Tireóideos/química , Receptores dos Hormônios Tireóideos/metabolismo , Acetatos/metabolismo , Compostos Benzidrílicos/metabolismo , Sítios de Ligação , Cristalografia por Raios X , Humanos , Ligantes , Modelos Moleculares , Conformação Proteica , Estrutura Secundária de Proteína , Relação Estrutura-Atividade , Receptores beta dos Hormônios TireóideosRESUMO
Crystal structures of the molecular motor kinesin show conformational variability in a structural element called the neck linker. Conformational change in the neck linker, initiated by ATP exchange, is thought to drive the movement of kinesin along the microtubule track. We use site-specific EPR measurements to show that when microtubules are absent, the neck linker exists in equilibrium between two structural states (disordered and 'docked'). The active site nucleotide does not control the position taken by the neck linker. However, we find that sulfate can specifically bind near the nucleotide site and stabilize the docked neck linker conformation, which we confirmed by solving a new crystal structure. Comparing the crystal structures of our construct with the docked or undocked neck linker reveals how microtubule binding may activate the nucleotide-sensing mechanism of kinesin, allowing neck linker transitions to power motility.