Inhibition of p53 transcriptional activity by the S100B calcium-binding protein.

The levels of S100 Ca(2+)-binding proteins correlate with the progression of certain tumors, but their role, if any, in carcinogenesis is still poorly understood. S100B protein associates with both the p53 oligomerization domain (residues 325-355) and the extreme C terminus of the tumor suppressor p53 (residues 367-392). Consequently, S100B inhibits p53 tetramer formation and p53 phosphorylation mediated by protein kinase C, on p53 C-terminal end. In this report, we show that the S100B protein decreases p53 DNA binding and transcriptional activity. The effect of S100B is reflected in vivo by a reduced accumulation of p53, p21, and MDM2 protein levels in co-transfection assays and in response to bleomycin. The S100B can still interact with p53 in the absence of p53 extreme C-terminal end and reduce the expression of p53 downstream effector genes. These data indicate that S100B does not require p53 extreme C-terminal end to inhibit p53 activity. Collectively, these findings imply that elevated levels of S100B in tumors such as astrocytomas and gliomas could inhibit p53 functions and contribute to cancer progression.

Structure of the negative regulatory domain of p53 bound to S100B(betabeta).

A Ca2+ dependent conformational change in dimeric S100B(betabeta) is required for it to bind p53 and inhibit phosphorylation of this tumor suppressor in its C-terminal negative regulatory domain. A peptide derived from this region of p53 (residues 367-388) was found to have no regular structure in its native form by NMR spectroscopy, but becomes helical when bound to Ca2+ loaded S100B(betabeta). The three-dimensional structure of this complex reveals several favorable hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions between S100B(betabeta) and the p53 peptide in the binding pocket, where S100B(betabeta) sterically blocks sites of phosphorylation and acetylation on p53 that are important for transcription activation.

Structural changes in the C-terminus of Ca2+-bound rat S100B (beta beta) upon binding to a peptide derived from the C-terminal regulatory domain of p53.

S100B(beta beta) is a dimeric Ca2+-binding protein that interacts with p53, inhibits its phosphorylation by protein kinase C (PKC) and promotes disassembly of the p53 tetramer. Likewise, a 22 residue peptide derived from the C-terminal regulatory domain of p53 has been shown to interact with S100B(beta beta) in a Ca2+-dependent manner and inhibits its phosphorylation by PKC. Hence, structural studies of Ca2+-loaded S100B(beta beta) bound to the p53 peptide were initiated to characterize this interaction. Analysis of nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) correlations, amide proton exchange rates, 3J(NH-H alpha) coupling constants, and chemical shift index data show that, like apo- and Ca2+-bound S100B(beta beta), S100B remains a dimer in the p53 peptide complex, and each subunit has four helices (helix 1, Glu2-Arg20; helix 2, Lys29-Asn38; helix 3, Gln50-Asp61; helix 4, Phe70-Phe87), four loops (loop 1, Glu21-His25; loop 2, Glu39-Glu49; loop 3, Glu62-Gly66; loop 4, Phe88-Glu91), and two beta-strands (beta-strand 1, Lys26-Lys28; beta-strand 2, Glu67-Asp69), which forms a short antiparallel beta-sheet. However, in the presence of the p53 peptide helix 4 is longer by five residues than in apo- or Ca2+-bound S100B(beta beta). Furthermore, the amide proton exchange rates in helix 3 (K55, V56, E58, T59, L60, D61) are significantly slower than those of Ca2+-bound S100B(beta beta). Together, these observations plus intermolecular NOE correlations between the p53 peptide and S100B(beta beta) support the notion that the p53 peptide binds in a region of S100B(beta beta), which includes residues in helix 2, helix 3, loop 2, and the C-terminal loop, and that binding of the p53 peptide interacts with and induces the extension of helix 4.

Role of the C-terminal extension in the interaction of S100A1 with GFAP, tubulin, the S100A1- and S100B-inhibitory peptide, TRTK-12, and a peptide derived from p53, and the S100A1 inhibitory effect on GFAP polymerization.

Whereas native and recombinant S100A1 inhibited GFAP assembly, a truncated S100A1 lacking the last six C-terminal residues (Phe88-Ser93) (S100A1Delta88-93) proved unable to do so. The inhibitory effects of native and recombinant S100A1 on GFAP assembly were blocked by both TRTK-12, a synthetic peptide derived from the alpha-subunit of the actin capping protein, CapZ, and a synthetic peptide derived from the tumor-suppressor protein, p53, in a dose-dependent manner. By fluorescent spectroscopy, TRTK-12 and the p53 peptide, like GFAP and tubulin, caused a dose- and Ca2+-dependent blue-shift of the fluorescence maximum of acrylodan-S100A1. In contrast, GFAP, tubulin, TRTK-12, or the p53 peptide caused no significant changes in the fluorescence spectrum of acrylodan-S100A1Delta88-93. By chemical crosslinking, both TRTK-12 and the p53 peptide strongly reduced or blocked the formation of GFAP-S100A1 or tubulin-S100A1 complexes, respectively, and S100A1Delta88-93 was unable to complex with tubulin, whereas a remarkably reduced complexation of GFAP with the truncated protein was observed. All the above observations show that the C-terminal extension of S100A1 is an essential part of the S100A1 site implicated in the recognition of GFAP, tubulin, p53, and the alpha-subunit of CapZ.

S100A1 utilizes different mechanisms for interacting with calcium-dependent and calcium-independent target proteins.

While previous studies have identified target proteins that interact with S100A1 in a calcium-dependent manner as well as target proteins that interact in a calcium-independent manner, the molecular mechanisms of S100A1-target protein interaction have not been elucidated. In this study, point and deletion mutants of S100A1 were used to investigate the contribution of carboxyl terminal amino acids to S100A1 interaction with calcium-dependent and calcium-independent target proteins. First, a recombinant rat S100A1 protein (recS100A1) expressed in bacteria exhibited physical and chemical properties indistinguishable from native S100A1. Next, proteins lacking the carboxyl-terminal nine residues of recS100A1 (Delta85-93), or containing alanine substitutions at Phe 88 (F88A), Phe 89 (F89A), or Trp 90 (W90A), both Phe 88 and Phe 89 (F88/89A), or all three aromatic residues (F88/89A-W90A) were recombinantly expressed. Like recS100A1, F88A, F89A, and W90A proteins interacted with phenyl-Sepharose in a calcium-dependent manner. However, the Delta85-93 protein did not interact with phenyl-Sepharose, indicating that a phenyl-Sepharose-binding region (PSBR) of recS100A1 had been disrupted. The F88/89A and F88/89A-W90A proteins exhibited reduced calcium-dependent interaction with phenyl-Sepharose when compared with recS100A1, demonstrating that the carboxyl-terminal aromatic residues Phe 88, Phe 89, and Trp 90 comprise the PSBR of S100A1. Fluorescence studies showed that the Delta85-93 protein exhibited reduced calcium-dependent interaction with the dodecyl CapZ peptide, TRTK, while W90A bound TRTK with a Kd of 5.55 microM. These results demonstrate that the calcium-dependent target protein-binding site and the PSBR are indistinguishable. In contrast to the calcium-dependent target TRTK, activation of the calcium-independent target protein aldolase A by the point and deletion mutant S100A1s was indistinguishable from native S100A1. These results demonstrate that carboxyl-terminal residues are not required for S100A1 modulation of calcium-independent target protein aldolase A. Alltogether, these results indicate that S100A1 utilizes distinct mechanisms for interaction with calcium-independent and calcium-dependent target proteins.

Solution structure of calcium-bound rat S100B(betabeta) as determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy,.

The three-dimensional structure of Ca2+-bound rat S100B(betabeta) has been determined using data from a series of two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional (3D), and four-dimensional (4D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. Each S100beta subunit (91 residues) contains four helixes (helix 1, E2-R20; helix 2, K29-N38; helix 3, Q50-D61; and helix 4, F70-A83) and one antiparallel beta-sheet (strand 1, K26-K28; and strand 2, E67-D69) which brings the normal and pseudo EF-hands together. As found previously for rat apo-S100B(betabeta) [Drohat, A. C., et al. (1996) Biochemistry 35, 11577-11588], helixes 1, 1', 4, and 4' associate to form an X-type four-helix bundle at the symmetric dimer interface. Additionally, Ca2+ binding does not significantly change the interhelical angle of helixes 1 and 2 in the pseudo EF-hand (apo, Omega1-2 = 132 +/- 4 degrees; and Ca2+-bound, Omega1-2 = 137 +/- 5 degrees). However, the interhelical angle of helixes 3 and 4 in the normal EF-hand (Omega3-4 = 106 +/- 4 degrees) changed significantly upon the addition of Ca2+ (DeltaOmega3-4 = 112 +/- 5 degrees) and is similar to that of the Ca2+-bound EF-hands in calbindin D9K, calmodulin, and troponin (84 degrees

S100B(betabeta) inhibits the protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation of a peptide derived from p53 in a Ca2+-dependent manner.

S100B(betabeta) is a dimeric Ca2+-binding protein that is known to inhibit the protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent phosphorylation of several proteins. To further characterize this inhibition, we synthesized peptides based on the PKC phosphorylation domains of p53 (residues 367-388), neuromodulin (residues 37-53), and the regulatory domain of PKC (residues 19-31), and tested them as substrates for PKC. All three peptides were shown to be good substrates for the catalytic domain of PKC. As for full-length p53 (Baudier J, Delphin C, Grunwald D, Khochbin S, Lawrence JJ. 1992. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89:11627-11631), S100B(betabeta) binds the p53 peptide and inhibits its PKC-dependent phosphorylation (IC50 = 10 +/- 7 microM) in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Similarly, phosphorylation of the neuromodulin peptide and the PKC regulatory domain peptide were inhibited by S100B(betabeta) in the presence of Ca2+ (IC50 = 17 +/- 5 microM; IC50 = 1 +/- 0.5 microM, respectively). At a minimum, the C-terminal EF-hand Ca2+-binding domain (residues 61-72) of each S100beta subunit must be saturated to inhibit phosphorylation of the p53 peptide as determined by comparing the Ca2+ dependence of inhibition ([Ca]IC50 = 29.3 +/- 17.6 microM) to the dissociation of Ca2+ from the C-terminal EF-hand Ca2+-binding domain of S100B(betabeta).

The Ca(2+)-dependent interaction of S100B(beta beta) with a peptide derived from p53.

S100B(beta beta) was found to interact with the tumor suppressor protein, p53, and inhibit its PKC-dependent phosphorylation and tetramer formation [Baudier, J., Delphin, C., Grunwald, D., Khochbin, S., and Lawrence, J. J. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89, 11627-11631]. Since PKC-dependent phosphorylation at the C-terminus of p53 is known to effect transcription and p53 tetramer formation [Sakaguchi, K., Sakamoto, H., Lewis, M. S., Anderson, C. W., Erickson, J. W., Appella, E., and Xie, D. (1997) Biochemistry 36, 10117-10124], we examined the interaction of S100B(beta beta) with a peptide derived from the C-terminal regulatory domain of p53 (residues 367-388). In this paper, we report that S100B(beta beta) binds to the p53 peptide (CaK3 < or = 23.5 +/- 6.6 microM) in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner, and that the presence of the p53 peptide was found to increase the binding affinity of Ca2+ to S100B(beta beta) by 3-fold using EPR and PRR methods, whereas the peptide had no effect on Zn2+ binding to S100B(beta beta). Fluorescence and NMR spectroscopy experiments show that the p53 peptide binds to a region of S100B(beta beta) that probably includes residues in the "hinge" (S41, L44, E45, E46, I47), C-terminal loop (A83, C84, H85, E86, F87, F88), and helix 3 (V52, V53, V56, T59). Together these data support the notion that S100B(beta beta) inhibits PKC-dependent phosphorylation by binding directly to the C-terminus of p53.

Activation of transducin guanosine triphosphatase by two proteins of the RGS family.

RGS proteins (regulators of G protein signaling) constitute a newly appreciated group of negative regulators of G protein signaling. Several members of this group stimulate the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) activity of various G protein alpha-subunits, including the photoreceptor G protein, transducin. In photoreceptor cells transducin GTPase is known to be substantially accelerated by the coordinated action of the gamma-subunit of its effector enzyme, cGMP phosphodiesterase (PDE gamma), and another yet unidentified membrane-associated protein factor. Here we test the possibility that this factor belongs to the RGS family of GTPase stimulators. We report a detailed kinetic analysis of transducin GTPase activation by two members of the RGS family, RGS4 and G alpha interacting protein (GAIP). RGS4, being at least 5-fold more potent than GAIP, stimulates the rate of transducin GTPase by 2 orders of magnitude. Neither RGS4 nor GAIP requires PDE gamma for activating transducin. Rather, PDE gamma causes a partial reversal of transducin GTPase activation by RGS proteins. The effect of PDE gamma is based on a decreased apparent affinity of RGS for the alpha-subunit of transducin. Our observations indicate that GTPase activity of transducin can be activated by at least two distinct mechanisms, one based on the action of RGS proteins alone and another involving the cooperative action of the effector enzyme and another protein.

Photoinduced spin-polarized radical pair formation in a DNA photolyase.substrate complex at low temperature.

Electron spin polarization is a phenomenon characterized by anomalous line intensities (emission or enhanced absorption) in the EPR spectrum. It is highly diagnostic of radical pairs, such as those formed in photoinduced electron transfer reactions. Electron spin polarization behavior (E/A pattern) is observed in light-modulated EPR spectra obtained at 4 K with fully reduced DNA photolyase.substrate complexes. Similar results are obtained with complexes formed with native enzyme or reconstituted enzyme containing fully reduced flavin as its only chromophore. No signal is observed for fully reduced enzyme or substrate alone. The results suggest that the electron spin polarization signal is due to photoinduced formation of a flavin/substrate radical pair (FADH./T < > T.-); splitting of T < > T.- does not occur at 4 K, and the radical pair can only undergo back-electron-transfer reactions. The data are consistent with the proposal that electron transfer initiates DNA repair in the photolyase reaction.

Direct assignment of vitamin K1 as the secondary acceptor A1 in photosystem I.

The characteristic electron spin polarized electron paramagnetic resonance (ESP EPR) signal observed in photosystem I (PSI) has been previously assigned to a radical pair composed of the oxidized primary donor and a reduced vitamin K1. Under conditions in which Bottin, H. & Setif, P. [(1991), Biochim. Biophys. Acta 105, 331-336] proposed that A1 is doubly reduced, the ESP EPR signal was not observed. Therefore, the ESP EPR signal can be directly attributed to A-1, and vitamin K1 can be assigned as this PSI acceptor. The ESP EPR signal was partially restored by removal of the chemical reductants.

Contribution of vitamin K1 to the electron spin polarization in spinach photosystem I.

The electron spin polarized (ESP) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal observed in spinach photosystem I (PSI) particles was examined in preparations depleted of vitamin K1 by solvent extraction and following biological reconstitution by the quinone. The ESP EPR signal was not detected in the solvent-extracted PSI sample but was restored upon reconstitution with either protonated or deuterated vitamin K1 under conditions that also restored electron transfer to the terminal PSI acceptors. Reconstitution using deuterated vitamin K1 resulted in a line narrowing of the ESP EPR signal, supporting the conclusion that the ESP EPR signals in the reconstituted samples arise from a radical pair consisting of the oxidized PSI primary donor, P700+, and reduced vitamin K1.