Detecting protein-DNA interactions using a modified yeast one-hybrid system.

The yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) system has been among the methods of choice to detect protein-DNA interactions. However, conventional Y1H systems with a single auxotrophic reporter gene often suffer from high incidence of false positives to demonstrate a limited power in large-scale screenings. Here we describe a refined Y1H system that uses two independent bait sequences, each controlling a distinct reporter gene integrated in the host genome. With these modifications and a method of targeted DNA methylation, we succeeded in efficient isolation of clones for methylated DNA-binding proteins from mammalian cDNA libraries.

A yeast one-hybrid system to screen for methylated DNA-binding proteins.

We had previously exploited a method for targeted DNA methylation in budding yeast to succeed in one-hybrid detection of methylation-dependent DNA-protein interactions. Based on this finding, we developed a yeast one-hybrid system to screen cDNA libraries for clones encoding methylated DNA-binding proteins. Concurrent use of two independent bait sequences in the same cell, or dual-bait system, effectively reduced false positive clones, which were derived from methylation-insensitive sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins. We applied the dual-bait system to screen cDNA libraries and demonstrated efficient isolation of clones for methylated DNA-binding proteins. This system would serve as a unique research tool for epigenetics.

Remodeling of the SCF complex-mediated ubiquitination system by compositional alteration of incorporated F-box proteins.

Ubiquitination regulates not only the stability but the localization and activity of substrate proteins involved in a plethora of cellular processes. The Skp1-Cullin-F-box protein (SCF) complexes constitute a major family of ubiquitin protein ligases, in each member of which an F-box protein serves as the variable component responsible for substrate recognition, thereby defining the function of each complex. Here we studied whether the composition of F-box proteins in the SCF complexes is remodeled under different conditions. We exploited stable isotope labeling and MS for relative quantification of F-box proteins in the SCF complexes affinity-purified en masse from budding yeast cells at log and post-diauxic phases, and revealed an increment of Saf1, an F-box protein involved in entry into quiescence, during the diauxic shift. Similarly, we found that Met4 overexpression induces a specific increment of Met30, the F-box protein responsible for ubiquitination of Met4. These results illustrate a cellular response to environmental and genetic perturbations through remodeling of the SCF complex-mediated ubiquitination system. Compositional alteration of incorporated F-box proteins may redirect the activity of this system toward appropriate substrates to be ubiquitinated under individual conditions for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis.

Circular permutation of ligand-binding module improves dynamic range of genetically encoded FRET-based nanosensor.

Quantitative measurement of small molecules with high spatiotemporal resolution provides a solid basis for correct understanding and accurate modeling of metabolic regulation. A promising approach toward this goal is the FLIP (fluorescent indicator protein) nanosensor based on bacterial periplasmic binding proteins (PBPs) and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the yellow and cyan variants of green fluorescent protein (GFP). Each FLIP has a PBP module that specifically binds its ligand to induce a conformation change, leading to a change in FRET between the two GFP variant modules attached to the N- and C-termini of the PBP. The larger is the dynamic range the more reliable is the measurement. Thus, we attempted to expand the dynamic range of FLIP by introducing a circular permutation with a hinge loop deletion to the PBP module. All the six circularly permutated PBPs tested, including structurally distinct Type I and Type II PBPs, showed larger dynamic ranges than their respective native forms when used for FLIP. Notably, the circular permutation made three PBPs, which totally failed to show FRET change when used as their native forms, fully capable of functioning as a ligand binding module of FLIP. These FLIPs were successfully used for the determination of amino acid concentration in complex solutions as well as real-time measurement of amino acid influx in living yeast cells. Thus, the circular permutation strategy would not only improve the performance of each nanosensor but also expand the repertoire of metabolites that can be measured by the FLIP nanosensor technology.

A proteomic screen reveals the mitochondrial outer membrane protein Mdm34p as an essential target of the F-box protein Mdm30p.

Ubiquitination plays various critical roles in eukaryotic cellular regulation and is mediated by a cascade of enzymes including ubiquitin protein ligase (E3). The Skp1-Cullin-F-box protein complex comprises the largest E3 family, in each member of which a unique F-box protein binds its targets to define substrate specificity. Although genome sequencing uncovers a growing number of F-box proteins, most of them have remained as "orphans" because of the difficulties in identification of their substrates. To address this issue, we tested a quantitative proteomic approach by combining the stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC), parallel affinity purification (PAP) that we had developed for efficient enrichment of ubiquitinated proteins, and mass spectrometry (MS). We applied this SILAC-PAP-MS approach to compare ubiquitinated proteins between yeast cells with and without over-expressed Mdm30p, an F-box protein implicated in mitochondrial morphology. Consequently, we identified the mitochondrial outer membrane protein Mdm34p as a target of Mdm30p. Furthermore, we found that mitochondrial defects induced by deletion of MDM30 are not only recapitulated by a mutant Mdm34p defective in interaction with Mdm30p but alleviated by ubiquitination-mimicking forms of Mdm34p. These results indicate that Mdm34p is a physiologically important target of Mdm30p.

A parallel affinity purification method for selective isolation of polyubiquitinated proteins.

We developed a parallel affinity purification (PAP) procedure, in which ubiquitinated proteins are purified from the cells that coexpress two affinity-tagged ubiquitins by sequential use of affinity chromatography specific to each tag. In contrast with previous procedures using a single affinity-tagged ubiquitin, the PAP eliminates highly abundant ubiquitin monomers and monoubiquitinated proteins to selectively enrich proteins bearing both affinity-tags, or poly- and multiubiquitinated proteins. Accordingly, it would serve as a powerful method to facilitate mass-spectrometric identification of ubiquitinated proteins.

A synthetic protein approach toward accurate mass spectrometric quantification of component stoichiometry of multiprotein complexes.

Quantitative description of protein interactions is crucial to understand and model molecular systems regulating various cellular activities. Here, we developed a novel peptide-concatenated standard (PCS) strategy for accurate mass spectrometric quantification of component stoichiometry of multiprotein complexes. In this strategy, tryptic peptides suitable for quantification are selected with their natural flanking sequences from each component of multiprotein complex and concatenated into a single synthetic protein called PCS. The concatenation guarantees equimolarity among the peptides added to the sample to obviate the need for preparation of accurately known amounts of individual peptides. The flanking sequences would equalize the excision efficiency of each peptide between the PCS and the target protein to improve the accuracy of quantification. To validate this strategy, we quantified the budding yeast eIF2Bgamma, the gamma subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2B, using a PCS composed of tryptic peptides from eIF2Bgamma with their flanking sequences. An identical sample-to-standard signal ratio was obtained within 5% measured error for these peptides, including the one prone to incomplete digestion, thereby proving the principle of PCS strategy. We applied the strategy to reveal the stoichiometry of the eIF2B-eIF2 complex using a PCS covering the 5 eIF2B and 3 eIF2 components. While the complex contained equimolar amounts of the eIF2B subunits, the ratio of each eIF2 subunit to eIF2B was 30-40%. The PCS strategy would provide a versatile method to quantitatively analyze compositional alteration of multiprotein complexes or dynamics of protein-protein interactions in response to various stimuli.

A novel Cdc42-interacting domain of the yeast polarity establishment protein Bem1. Implications for modulation of mating pheromone signaling.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Rho-type small GTPase Cdc42 is activated by its guanine-nucleotide exchange factor Cdc24 to polarize the cell for budding and mating. A multidomain protein Bem1 interacts not only with Cdc42 but also with Cdc24 and the effectors of Cdc42, including the p21-activated kinase Ste20, to function as a scaffold for cell polarity establishment. Although Bem1 interacts with Cdc24 and Ste20 via its PB1 and the second SH3 domains (SH3b), respectively, it is unclear how Bem1 binds Cdc42. Here we show that a region comprising the SH3b and its C-terminal flanking segment termed CI (SH3b-CI) directly interacts with Cdc42. A dual-bait reverse two-hybrid approach revealed that the CI is critical to the interaction: N253D substitution in the CI abolishes the binding of the SH3b-CI to Cdc42 but not to the proline-rich region of Ste20, whereas W192K substitution in the SH3b has the opposite effect. Nevertheless, the SH3b-CI interacts with Ste20 proline-rich region and Cdc42 in a mutually exclusive manner. The N253D substitution renders cellular growth temperature-sensitive and suppresses mating. The W192K-induced mating defect is exacerbated by the N253D substitution and suppressed by increasing the dosage of Ste20 provided that the CI is intact. Intriguingly, Cdc42 can mediate an indirect interaction of the SH3b-CI to the CRIB domain of Ste20. These results suggest that the SH3b and the CI collaborate in tethering of Ste20 to Bem1 to ensure efficient mating pheromone signaling.

The yeast eIF4E-associated protein Eap1p attenuates GCN4 translation upon TOR-inactivation.

Amino acid-starved yeast activates the eIF2alpha kinase Gcn2p to suppress general translation and to selectively derepress the transcription factor Gcn4p, which induces various biosynthetic genes to elicit general amino acid control (GAAC). Well-fed yeast activates the target of rapamycin (TOR) to stimulate translation via the eIF4F complex. A crosstalk was demonstrated between the pathways for GAAC and TOR signaling: the TOR-specific inhibitor rapamycin activates Gcn2p. Here we demonstrate that, upon TOR-inactivation, the putative TOR-regulated eIF4E-associated protein Eap1p likely functions downstream of Gcn2p to attenuate GCN4 translation via a mechanism independent of eIF4E-binding, thereby constituting another interface between the two pathways.

Analysis of gene network regulating yeast multidrug resistance by artificial activation of transcription factors: involvement of Pdr3 in salt tolerance.

We established a strategy to constitutively activate Zn(2)Cys(6)-type protein by fusing its DNA-binding domain with the VP16 trans-activation domain. To explore gene network regulating yeast multidrug resistance, the strategy was applied to Pdr1, Pdr3 and Yrr1, known to regulate multidrug resistance, as well as three uncharacterized Yrr1-related transcription factors. DNA microarray analysis revealed that all of the six mutants induce typical drug transporter genes including SNQ2 and YOR1, suggesting redundancy in regulation. On the other hand, each displays a unique spectrum of targets, which is coincident with the phylogenetic tree of the transcription factors and presumably reflects their functional specification. Indeed, careful analysis of target genes specific to each transcription factor led us to reveal an unexpected role for Pdr3 in salt tolerance. The strategy would thus contribute not only to identify target genes but to reveal redundancy and specificity in complex gene regulatory networks.

A yeast one-hybrid system to detect methylation-dependent DNA-protein interactions.

We developed a method for site-selective CpG methylation of the budding yeast genome. The method recruits LexA-fused M.SssI DNA methyltransferase to LexA operator sequences integrated adjacent to the target site. Microarray analysis of methylated DNAs indicated that the tethered enzyme selectively methylates the region around the target site. Exploiting this method to methylate bait DNA in the one-hybrid system, we demonstrated methylation-dependent DNA binding of methyl-CpG binding proteins, MBD1 and Kaiso, in vivo. This methylation-dependent one-hybrid system would provide a versatile tool for the search and analysis of proteins that recognize methylated DNA to participate in epigenetic regulation.

Molecular recognition in dimerization between PB1 domains.

The PB1 (Phox and Bem 1) domain is a recently identified module that mediates formation of a heterodimeric complex with other PB1 domain, e.g. the complexes between the phagocyte oxidase activators p67phox and p40phox and between the yeast polarity proteins Bem1p and Cdc24p. These PB1 domains harbor either a conserved lysine residue on one side or an acidic OPCA (OPR/PC/AID) motif around the other side; the lysine of p67phox or Bem1p likely binds to the OPCA of p40phox or Cdc24p, respectively, via electrostatic interactions. To further understand molecular recognition by PB1 domains, here we investigate the interactions mediated by proteins presenting both the lysine and OPCA on a single PB1 domain, namely Par6, atypical protein kinase C (aPKC), and ZIP. Par6 and aPKC form a complex via the interaction of the Par6 lysine with aPKC-OPCA but not via that between the aPKC lysine and Par6-OPCA, thereby localizing to the tight junction of epithelial cells. aPKC also uses its OPCA to interact with ZIP, another protein that has a PB1 domain presenting both the lysine and OPCA, whereas aPKC binds via the conserved lysine to MEK5 in the same manner as ZIP interacts with MEK5. In addition, ZIP can form a homotypic complex via the conserved electrostatic interactions. Thus the PB1 domain appears to be a protein module that fully exploits its two mutually interacting elements in molecular recognition to expand its repertoire of protein-protein interactions.

Rapamycin-induced translational derepression of GCN4 mRNA involves a novel mechanism for activation of the eIF2 alpha kinase GCN2.

When starved for amino acids, Saccharomyces cerevisiae accumulates uncharged tRNAs to activate its sole eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 2alpha kinase GCN2. Subsequent phosphorylation of eIF2alpha impedes general translation, but translationally derepresses the transcription factor GCN4, which induces expression of various biosynthetic genes to elicit general amino acid control response. By contrast, when supplied with enough nutrients, the yeast activates the target of rapamycin signaling pathway to stimulate translation initiation by facilitating the assembly of eIF4F. A cross-talk was suggested between the two pathways by rapamycin-induced translation of GCN4 mRNA. Here we show that rapamycin causes an increase in phosphorylated eIF2alpha to translationally derepress GCN4. This increment is not observed in the cells expressing mammalian non-GCN2 eIF2alpha kinases in place of GCN2. It is thus suggested that rapamycin does not inhibit dephosphorylation of eIF2alpha but rather activates the kinase GCN2. This activation seems to require an interaction between the kinase and uncharged tRNAs, because rapamycin, similar to amino acid starvation, fails to induce eIF2alpha phosphorylation in the cells with GCN2 defective in tRNA binding. However, in contrast with amino acid starvation, rapamycin activates GCN2 without increasing the amount of uncharged tRNAs, but presumably by modifying the tRNA binding affinity of GCN2.

A functional single-nucleotide polymorphism in the human cytidine deaminase gene contributing to ara-C sensitivity.

To test the hypothesis that analyses of drug targets for polymorphism will help to establish gene-based information for the treatment of cancer patients, we investigated the functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the human cytidine deaminase (HDCA) gene. The cDNAs from 52 leukaemia/lymphoma samples and 169 control blood samples were direct-sequenced and analysed for the polymorphisms. Three different polymorphisms (A79C, G208A and T435C) were identified in the coding region of the HDCA gene and displayed allelic frequencies of 20.1%, 4.3% and 70.1%, respectively. No association with susceptibility to disease was observed. A novel polymorphism, G208A produced an alanine to threonine substitution (A70T) within the conserved catalytic domain. By introduction of the polymorphic HCDA genes into the yeast CDA-null mutants, the HCDA-70T showed 40% and 32% activity of prototype for cytidine and ara-C substrates, respectively (P < 0.01). The ara-C IC50 value of the yeast transformants carrying HCDA-70T was 757 +/- 33 micromol and was significantly lower (P < 0.01) than that of prototype (941 +/- 58 micromol). This study demonstrated a population characterized with 208A genotype for, which potentially leads one more sensitive to ara-C treatment than prototype. Accumulation of polymorphisms in the genes responsible for drug metabolism and determination of polymorphism-induced biological variations could provide the additional therapeutic strategies in risk-stratified protocols for the treatment of childhood malignancies.

Roles for the two-hybrid system in exploration of the yeast protein interactome.

Comprehensive analysis of protein-protein interactions is a challenging endeavor of functional proteomics and has been best explored in the budding yeast. The yeast protein interactome analysis was achieved first by using the yeast two-hybrid system in a proteome-wide scale and next by large-scale mass spectrometric analysis of affinity-purified protein complexes. While these interaction data have led to a number of novel findings and the emergence of a single huge network containing thousands of proteins, they suffer many false signals and fall short of grasping the entire interactome. Thus, continuous efforts are necessary in both bioinformatics and experimentation to fully exploit these data and to proceed another step forward to the goal. Computational tools to integrate existing biological knowledge buried in literature and various functional genomic data with the interactome data are required for biological interpretation of the huge protein interaction network. Novel experimental methods have to be developed to detect weak, transient interactions involving low abundance proteins as well as to obtain clues to the biological role for each interaction. Since the yeast two-hybrid system can be used for the mapping of the interaction domains and the isolation of interaction-defective mutants, it would serve as a technical basis for the latter purpose, thereby playing another important role in the next phase of protein interactome research.