Amino acid substitutions in human growth hormone affect secondary structure and receptor binding.

The interaction between human Growth Hormone (hGH) and hGH Receptor (hGHR) has basic relevance to cancer and growth disorders, and hGH is the scaffold for Pegvisomant, an anti-acromegaly therapeutic. For the latter reason, hGH has been extensively engineered by early workers to improve binding and other properties. We are particularly interested in E174 which belongs to the hGH zinc-binding triad; the substitution E174A is known to significantly increase binding, but to now no explanation has been offered. We generated this and several computationally-selected single-residue substitutions at the hGHR-binding site of hGH. We find that, while many successfully slow down dissociation of the hGH-hGHR complex once bound, they also slow down the association of hGH to hGHR. The E174A substitution induces a change in the Circular Dichroism spectrum that suggests the appearance of coiled-coiling. Here we show that E174A increases affinity of hGH against hGHR because the off-rate is slowed down more than the on-rate. For E174Y (and certain mutations at other sites) the slowdown in on-rate was greater than that of the off-rate, leading to decreased affinity. The results point to a link between structure, zinc binding, and hGHR-binding affinity in hGH.

A protein interaction node at the neurotransmitter release site: domains of Aczonin/Piccolo, Bassoon, CAST, and rim converge on the N-terminal domain of Munc13-1.

Multidomain scaffolding proteins organize the molecular machinery of neurotransmitter vesicle dynamics during synaptogenesis and synaptic activity. We find that domains of five active zone proteins converge on an interaction node that centers on the N-terminal region of Munc13-1 and includes the zinc-finger domain of Rim1, the C-terminal region of Bassoon, a segment of CAST1/ELKS2, and the third coiled-coil domain (CC3) of either Aczonin/Piccolo or Bassoon. This multidomain complex may constitute a center for the physical and functional integration of the protein machinery at the active zone. An additional connection between Aczonin and Bassoon is mediated by the second coiled-coil domain of Aczonin. Recombinant Aczonin-CC3, expressed in cultured neurons as a green fluorescent protein fusion protein, is targeted to synapses and suppresses vesicle turnover, suggesting involvements in synaptic assembly as well as activity. Our findings show that Aczonin, Bassoon, CAST1, Munc13, and Rim are closely and multiply interconnected, they indicate that Aczonin-CC3 can actively participate in neurotransmitter vesicle dynamics, and they highlight the N-terminal region of Munc13-1 as a hub of protein interactions by adding three new binding partners to its mechanistic potential in the control of synaptic vesicle priming.