The Cys-Pro motifs in the intrinsically disordered regions of the transcription factor BACH1 mediate distinct and overlapping functions upon heme binding.

The function of the transcription factor BACH1 is regulated by heme binding to multiple Cys-Pro (CP) motifs within its intrinsically disordered regions. Here, biochemical analyses were conducted to reveal the individual functional roles of the CP motifs. Our findings revealed that four CP motifs in BACH1 individually contributed to the regulation of BACH1 activity by accepting heme in a five- and six-coordination manner. The model structure around the bZip domain indicated that the CP motifs are in the N- and C-terminal heme-binding regions, which are approximately 9 nm apart, suggesting that spatial location is important for the individual function of the CP motifs. The presence of multiple CP motifs with distinct roles may ensure the multifaceted, strict regulation of BACH1 by heme.

Biophysical characterization of heme binding to the intrinsically disordered region of Bach1.

Transcriptional repressor Bach1 plays an important role in antioxidant response. Bach1 function is regulated by heme binding to the four cysteine-proline (CP) motifs in Bach1, which leads to inhibition of its activity. Three of these CP motifs are located N-terminal to the bZip (basic leucine zipper) domain that is responsible for DNA binding. Based on sequence analysis, the region surrounding these CP motifs was expected to be intrinsically disordered. Bach1 is one of few known intrinsically disordered proteins that accept multiple heme molecules for functional regulation, but the molecular mechanisms of heme binding and functional regulation remain unclear. Uncovering these mechanisms is important for understanding Bach1-mediated antioxidant response. Biophysical characterization revealed that 5-coordinated heme binding was unique to the CP motifs within the heme-binding region of Bach1, whereas 6-coordinated binding occurred nonspecifically. Comparison of the wild-type protein and a CP motif mutant indicated that the level of 6-coordinated heme binding was reduced in the absence of 5-coordinated heme binding. Analytical ultracentrifugation showed that the CP motif mutant protein had a more elongated conformation than the wild-type protein, suggesting that cysteines within the CP motifs contribute to intramolecular interactions in Bach1. Thus, heme binding at the CP motifs induces a global conformational change in the Bach1 heme-binding region, and this conformational change, in turn, regulates the biological activity of Bach1.

Functional Heme Binding to the Intrinsically Disordered C-Terminal Region of Bach1, a Transcriptional Repressor.

Heme is one of the key factors involved in the oxidative stress response of cells. The transcriptional repressor Bach1 plays an important role in this response through its heme-binding activity. Heme inhibits the transcriptional-repressor activity of Bach1, and can occur in two binding modes: 5- and 6-coordinated binding. The Cys-Pro (CP) motif has been determined to be the heme-binding motif of Bach family proteins. The sequence of Bach1 includes six CP motifs, and four CP motifs are functional. With the aim of elucidating the molecular mechanism of heme-Bach1 regulation, we conducted biophysical analyses focusing on the C-terminal region of mouse Bach1 (residues 631-739) which is located after the bZip domain and includes one functional CP motif. UV-Vis spectroscopy indicated that the CP motif binds heme via 5-coordinated bond. A mutant, which included a cysteine to alanine substitution at the CP motif, did not show 5-coordination, suggesting that this binding mode is specific to the CP motif. Surface plasmon resonance revealed that the binding affinity and stoichiometry of heme with the Bach1 C-terminal region were KD = 1.37 × 10-5 M and 2.3, respectively. The circular dichroism spectrum in the near-UV region exhibited peaks for heme binding to the CP motif. No significant spectral shifts were observed in the far-UV region when samples with and without heme were compared. Therefore, disordered-ordered transition such as "coupled folding and binding" is not involved in the Bach1-heme system. Consequently, the heme response of this C-terminal region is accomplished by disorder-disorder conformational alteration.

Role of p120-catenin in the morphological changes of endothelial cells exposed to fluid shear stress.

p120-Catenin is known to play important roles in cell-cell adhesion stability by binding to cadherin and morphological changes of cells by regulating small RhoGTPase activities. Although the expression and binding states of p120-catenin are thought to dynamically change due to morphological adaptation of endothelial cells (ECs) to fluid shear stress, these dynamics remain to be explored. In the present study, we examined the time course of changes in p120-catenin expression and its binding to vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin in ECs exposed to shear stress. Human umbilical vein ECs began to change their morphologies at 3-6h, and became elongated and oriented to the direction of flow at 24h after exposure to a shear stress of 1.5Pa. Binding and co-localization of p120-catenin with VE-cadherin at the foci of cell-cell adhesions were retained in ECs during exposure to shear stress, indicating that VE-cadherin was stabilized in the plasma membrane. In contrast, cytoplasmic p120-catenin that was dissociated from VE-cadherin was transiently increased at 3-6h after the flow onset. These results suggest that the transient increase of cytoplasmic p120-catenin may stimulate RhoGTPase activities and act as a switch for the morphological changes in ECs in response to shear stress.