Global, site-resolved analysis of ubiquitylation occupancy and turnover rate reveals systems properties.

Ubiquitylation regulates most proteins and biological processes in a eukaryotic cell. However, the site-specific occupancy (stoichiometry) and turnover rate of ubiquitylation have not been quantified. Here we present an integrated picture of the global ubiquitylation site occupancy and half-life. Ubiquitylation site occupancy spans over four orders of magnitude, but the median ubiquitylation site occupancy is three orders of magnitude lower than that of phosphorylation. The occupancy, turnover rate, and regulation of sites by proteasome inhibitors are strongly interrelated, and these attributes distinguish sites involved in proteasomal degradation and cellular signaling. Sites in structured protein regions exhibit longer half-lives and stronger upregulation by proteasome inhibitors than sites in unstructured regions. Importantly, we discovered a surveillance mechanism that rapidly and site-indiscriminately deubiquitylates all ubiquitin-specific E1 and E2 enzymes, protecting them against accumulation of bystander ubiquitylation. The work provides a systems-scale, quantitative view of ubiquitylation properties and reveals general principles of ubiquitylation-dependent governance.

Time-Resolved Analysis Reveals Rapid Dynamics and Broad Scope of the CBP/p300 Acetylome.

The acetyltransferases CBP and p300 are multifunctional transcriptional co-activators. Here, we combined quantitative proteomics with CBP/p300-specific catalytic inhibitors, bromodomain inhibitor, and gene knockout to reveal a comprehensive map of regulated acetylation sites and their dynamic turnover rates. CBP/p300 acetylates thousands of sites, including signature histone sites and a multitude of sites on signaling effectors and enhancer-associated transcriptional regulators. Time-resolved acetylome analyses identified a subset of CBP/p300-regulated sites with very rapid (<30 min) acetylation turnover, revealing a dynamic balance between acetylation and deacetylation. Quantification of acetylation, mRNA, and protein abundance after CBP/p300 inhibition reveals a kinetically competent network of gene expression that strictly depends on CBP/p300-catalyzed rapid acetylation. Collectively, our in-depth acetylome analyses reveal systems attributes of CBP/p300 targets, and the resource dataset provides a framework for investigating CBP/p300 functions and for understanding the impact of small-molecule inhibitors targeting its catalytic and bromodomain activities.

Functions and mechanisms of non-histone protein acetylation.

Nε-lysine acetylation was discovered more than half a century ago as a post-translational modification of histones and has been extensively studied in the context of transcription regulation. In the past decade, proteomic analyses have revealed that non-histone proteins are frequently acetylated and constitute a major portion of the acetylome in mammalian cells. Indeed, non-histone protein acetylation is involved in key cellular processes relevant to physiology and disease, such as gene transcription, DNA damage repair, cell division, signal transduction, protein folding, autophagy and metabolism. Acetylation affects protein functions through diverse mechanisms, including by regulating protein stability, enzymatic activity, subcellular localization and crosstalk with other post-translational modifications and by controlling protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions. In this Review, we discuss recent progress in our understanding of the scope, functional diversity and mechanisms of non-histone protein acetylation.

Author Correction: Functions and mechanisms of non-histone protein acetylation.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The growing landscape of lysine acetylation links metabolism and cell signalling.

Lysine acetylation is a conserved protein post-translational modification that links acetyl-coenzyme A metabolism and cellular signalling. Recent advances in the identification and quantification of lysine acetylation by mass spectrometry have increased our understanding of lysine acetylation, implicating it in many biological processes through the regulation of protein interactions, activity and localization. In addition, proteins are frequently modified by other types of acylations, such as formylation, butyrylation, propionylation, succinylation, malonylation, myristoylation, glutarylation and crotonylation. The intricate link between lysine acylation and cellular metabolism has been clarified by the occurrence of several such metabolite-sensitive acylations and their selective removal by sirtuin deacylases. These emerging findings point to new functions for different lysine acylations and deacylating enzymes and also highlight the mechanisms by which acetylation regulates various cellular processes.

Author Correction: Discovery of a selective catalytic p300/CBP inhibitor that targets lineage-specific tumours.

In the originally published version of this Letter, the authors Arthur F. Kluge, Michael A. Patane and Ce Wang were inadvertently omitted from the author list. Their affiliations are: I-to-D, Inc., PO Box 6177, Lincoln, Massachusetts 01773, USA (A.F.K.); Mitobridge, Inc. 1030 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA (M.A.P.); and China Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, No. 4218 Jinke Road, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Pudong District, Shanghai 201203, China (C.W.). These authors contributed to the interpretation of results and design of compounds. In addition, author 'Edward A. Kesicki' was misspelled as 'Ed Kesicki'. These errors have been corrected online.

A PTIP-PA1 subcomplex promotes transcription for IgH class switching independently from the associated MLL3/MLL4 methyltransferase complex.

Class switch recombination (CSR) diversifies antibodies for productive immune responses while maintaining stability of the B-cell genome. Transcription at the immunoglobulin heavy chain (Igh) locus targets CSR-associated DNA damage and is promoted by the BRCT domain-containing PTIP (Pax transactivation domain-interacting protein). Although PTIP is a unique component of the mixed-lineage leukemia 3 (MLL3)/MLL4 chromatin-modifying complex, the mechanisms for how PTIP promotes transcription remain unclear. Here we dissected the minimal structural requirements of PTIP and its different protein complexes using quantitative proteomics in primary lymphocytes. We found that PTIP functions in transcription and CSR separately from its association with the MLL3/MLL4 complex and from its localization to sites of DNA damage. We identified a tandem BRCT domain of PTIP that is sufficient for CSR and identified PA1 as its main functional protein partner. Collectively, we provide genetic and biochemical evidence that a PTIP-PA1 subcomplex functions independently from the MLL3/MLL4 complex to mediate transcription during CSR. These results further our understanding of how multifunctional chromatin-modifying complexes are organized by subcomplexes that harbor unique and distinct activities.

Analysis and Interpretation of Protein Post-Translational Modification Site Stoichiometry.

Proteins are decorated with a diverse array of post-translational modifications (PTMs) that regulate their spatial and temporal functions. Recent mass spectrometry (MS)-based studies have identified hundreds of thousands of PTM sites in mammalian proteomes. However, the signaling cues and enzymes regulating individual sites are often not known and their functional roles remain uncharacterized. Quantification of PTM site stoichiometry can help in prioritizing sites for functional analyses and is important for constructing mechanistic models of PTM-dependent protein regulation. Here, we review the concept of PTM site stoichiometry, critically evaluate the merits and drawbacks of different MS-based methods used for quantifying PTM site stoichiometry, and discuss the usefulness and limitations of stoichiometry in informing on the biological function of modified sites.

Discovery of a selective catalytic p300/CBP inhibitor that targets lineage-specific tumours.

The dynamic and reversible acetylation of proteins, catalysed by histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs), is a major epigenetic regulatory mechanism of gene transcription and is associated with multiple diseases. Histone deacetylase inhibitors are currently approved to treat certain cancers, but progress on the development of drug-like histone actyltransferase inhibitors has lagged behind. The histone acetyltransferase paralogues p300 and CREB-binding protein (CBP) are key transcriptional co-activators that are essential for a multitude of cellular processes, and have also been implicated in human pathological conditions (including cancer). Current inhibitors of the p300 and CBP histone acetyltransferase domains, including natural products, bi-substrate analogues and the widely used small molecule C646, lack potency or selectivity. Here, we describe A-485, a potent, selective and drug-like catalytic inhibitor of p300 and CBP. We present a high resolution (1.95 Å) co-crystal structure of a small molecule bound to the catalytic active site of p300 and demonstrate that A-485 competes with acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA). A-485 selectively inhibited proliferation in lineage-specific tumour types, including several haematological malignancies and androgen receptor-positive prostate cancer. A-485 inhibited the androgen receptor transcriptional program in both androgen-sensitive and castration-resistant prostate cancer and inhibited tumour growth in a castration-resistant xenograft model. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using small molecule inhibitors to selectively target the catalytic activity of histone acetyltransferases, which may provide effective treatments for transcriptional activator-driven malignancies and diseases.

Ubiquitin-SUMO circuitry controls activated fanconi anemia ID complex dosage in response to DNA damage.

We show that central components of the Fanconi anemia (FA) DNA repair pathway, the tumor suppressor proteins FANCI and FANCD2 (the ID complex), are SUMOylated in response to replication fork stalling. The ID complex is SUMOylated in a manner that depends on the ATR kinase, the FA ubiquitin ligase core complex, and the SUMO E3 ligases PIAS1/PIAS4 and is antagonized by the SUMO protease SENP6. SUMOylation of the ID complex drives substrate selectivity by triggering its polyubiquitylation by the SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligase RNF4 to promote its removal from sites of DNA damage via the DVC1-p97 ubiquitin segregase complex. Deregulation of ID complex SUMOylation compromises cell survival following replication stress. Our results uncover a regulatory role for SUMOylation in the FA pathway, and we propose that ubiquitin-SUMO signaling circuitry is a mechanism that contributes to the balance of activated ID complex dosage at sites of DNA damage.

Acetylation of intrinsically disordered regions regulates phase separation.

Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of proteins containing intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) has been proposed as a mechanism underlying the formation of membrane-less organelles. Tight regulation of IDR behavior is essential to ensure that LLPS only takes place when necessary. Here, we report that IDR acetylation/deacetylation regulates LLPS and assembly of stress granules (SGs), membrane-less organelles forming in response to stress. Acetylome analysis revealed that the RNA helicase DDX3X, an important component of SGs, is a novel substrate of the deacetylase HDAC6. The N-terminal IDR of DDX3X (IDR1) can undergo LLPS in vitro, and its acetylation at multiple lysine residues impairs the formation of liquid droplets. We also demonstrated that enhanced LLPS propensity through deacetylation of DDX3X-IDR1 by HDAC6 is necessary for SG maturation, but not initiation. Our analysis provides a mechanistic framework to understand how acetylation and deacetylation of IDRs regulate LLPS spatiotemporally, and impact membrane-less organelle formation in vivo.

Acetyl-phosphate is a critical determinant of lysine acetylation in E. coli.

Lysine acetylation is a frequently occurring posttranslational modification in bacteria; however, little is known about its origin and regulation. Using the model bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli), we found that most acetylation occurred at a low level and accumulated in growth-arrested cells in a manner that depended on the formation of acetyl-phosphate (AcP) through glycolysis. Mutant cells unable to produce AcP had significantly reduced acetylation levels, while mutant cells unable to convert AcP to acetate had significantly elevated acetylation levels. We showed that AcP can chemically acetylate lysine residues in vitro and that AcP levels are correlated with acetylation levels in vivo, suggesting that AcP may acetylate proteins nonenzymatically in cells. These results uncover a critical role for AcP in bacterial acetylation and indicate that most acetylation in E. coli occurs at a low level and is dynamically affected by metabolism and cell proliferation in a global, uniform manner.

Proteomic investigations reveal a role for RNA processing factor THRAP3 in the DNA damage response.

The regulatory networks of the DNA damage response (DDR) encompass many proteins and posttranslational modifications. Here, we use mass spectrometry-based proteomics to analyze the systems-wide response to DNA damage by parallel quantification of the DDR-regulated phosphoproteome, acetylome, and proteome. We show that phosphorylation-dependent signaling networks are regulated more strongly compared to acetylation. Among the phosphorylated proteins identified are many putative substrates of DNA-PK, ATM, and ATR kinases, but a majority of phosphorylated proteins do not share the ATM/ATR/DNA-PK target consensus motif, suggesting an important role of downstream kinases in amplifying DDR signals. We show that the splicing-regulator phosphatase PPM1G is recruited to sites of DNA damage, while the splicing-associated protein THRAP3 is excluded from these regions. Moreover, THRAP3 depletion causes cellular hypersensitivity to DNA-damaging agents. Collectively, these data broaden our knowledge of DNA damage signaling networks and highlight an important link between RNA metabolism and DNA repair.

Analysis of acetylation stoichiometry suggests that SIRT3 repairs nonenzymatic acetylation lesions.

Acetylation is frequently detected on mitochondrial enzymes, and the sirtuin deacetylase SIRT3 is thought to regulate metabolism by deacetylating mitochondrial proteins. However, the stoichiometry of acetylation has not been studied and is important for understanding whether SIRT3 regulates or suppresses acetylation. Using quantitative mass spectrometry, we measured acetylation stoichiometry in mouse liver tissue and found that SIRT3 suppressed acetylation to a very low stoichiometry at its target sites. By examining acetylation changes in the liver, heart, brain, and brown adipose tissue of fasted mice, we found that SIRT3-targeted sites were mostly unaffected by fasting, a dietary manipulation that is thought to regulate metabolism through SIRT3-dependent deacetylation. Globally increased mitochondrial acetylation in fasted liver tissue, higher stoichiometry at mitochondrial acetylation sites, and greater sensitivity of SIRT3-targeted sites to chemical acetylation in vitro and fasting-induced acetylation in vivo, suggest a nonenzymatic mechanism of acetylation. Our data indicate that most mitochondrial acetylation occurs as a low-level nonenzymatic protein lesion and that SIRT3 functions as a protein repair factor that removes acetylation lesions from lysine residues.

Convergence of ubiquitylation and phosphorylation signaling in rapamycin-treated yeast cells.

The target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase senses the availability of nutrients and coordinates cellular growth and proliferation with nutrient abundance. Inhibition of TOR mimics nutrient starvation and leads to the reorganization of many cellular processes, including autophagy, protein translation, and vesicle trafficking. TOR regulates cellular physiology by modulating phosphorylation and ubiquitylation signaling networks; however, the global scope of such regulation is not fully known. Here, we used a mass-spectrometry-based proteomics approach for the parallel quantification of ubiquitylation, phosphorylation, and proteome changes in rapamycin-treated yeast cells. Our data constitute a detailed proteomic analysis of rapamycin-treated yeast with 3590 proteins, 8961 phosphorylation sites, and 2299 di-Gly modified lysines (putative ubiquitylation sites) quantified. The phosphoproteome was extensively modulated by rapamycin treatment, with more than 900 up-regulated sites one hour after rapamycin treatment. Dynamically regulated phosphoproteins were involved in diverse cellular processes, prominently including transcription, membrane organization, vesicle-mediated transport, and autophagy. Several hundred ubiquitylation sites were increased after rapamycin treatment, and about half as many decreased in abundance. We found that proteome, phosphorylation, and ubiquitylation changes converged on the Rsp5-ubiquitin ligase, Rsp5 adaptor proteins, and Rsp5 targets. Putative Rsp5 targets were biased for increased ubiquitylation, suggesting activation of Rsp5 by rapamycin. Rsp5 adaptor proteins, which recruit target proteins for Rsp5-dependent ubiquitylation, were biased for increased phosphorylation. Furthermore, we found that permeases and transporters, which are often ubiquitylated by Rsp5, were biased for reduced ubiquitylation and reduced protein abundance. The convergence of multiple proteome-level changes on the Rsp5 system indicates a key role of this pathway in the response to rapamycin treatment. Collectively, these data reveal new insights into the global proteome dynamics in response to rapamycin treatment and provide a first detailed view of the co-regulation of phosphorylation- and ubiquitylation-dependent signaling networks by this compound.

Acetylation dynamics and stoichiometry in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Lysine acetylation is a frequently occurring posttranslational modification; however, little is known about the origin and regulation of most sites. Here we used quantitative mass spectrometry to analyze acetylation dynamics and stoichiometry in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We found that acetylation accumulated in growth-arrested cells in a manner that depended on acetyl-CoA generation in distinct subcellular compartments. Mitochondrial acetylation levels correlated with acetyl-CoA concentration in vivo and acetyl-CoA acetylated lysine residues nonenzymatically in vitro. We developed a method to estimate acetylation stoichiometry and found that the vast majority of mitochondrial and cytoplasmic acetylation had a very low stoichiometry. However, mitochondrial acetylation occurred at a significantly higher basal level than cytoplasmic acetylation, consistent with the distinct acetylation dynamics and higher acetyl-CoA concentration in mitochondria. High stoichiometry acetylation occurred mostly on histones, proteins present in histone acetyltransferase and deacetylase complexes, and on transcription factors. These data show that a majority of acetylation occurs at very low levels in exponentially growing yeast and is uniformly affected by exposure to acetyl-CoA.

Proteome-wide analysis of lysine acetylation suggests its broad regulatory scope in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Post-translational modification of proteins by lysine acetylation plays important regulatory roles in living cells. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a widely used unicellular eukaryotic model organism in biomedical research. S. cerevisiae contains several evolutionary conserved lysine acetyltransferases and deacetylases. However, only a few dozen acetylation sites in S. cerevisiae are known, presenting a major obstacle for further understanding the regulatory roles of acetylation in this organism. Here we use high resolution mass spectrometry to identify about 4000 lysine acetylation sites in S. cerevisiae. Acetylated proteins are implicated in the regulation of diverse cytoplasmic and nuclear processes including chromatin organization, mitochondrial metabolism, and protein synthesis. Bioinformatic analysis of yeast acetylation sites shows that acetylated lysines are significantly more conserved compared with nonacetylated lysines. A large fraction of the conserved acetylation sites are present on proteins involved in cellular metabolism, protein synthesis, and protein folding. Furthermore, quantification of the Rpd3-regulated acetylation sites identified several previously known, as well as new putative substrates of this deacetylase. Rpd3 deficiency increased acetylation of the SAGA (Spt-Ada-Gcn5-Acetyltransferase) complex subunit Sgf73 on K33. This acetylation site is located within a critical regulatory domain in Sgf73 that interacts with Ubp8 and is involved in the activation of the Ubp8-containing histone H2B deubiquitylase complex. Our data provides the first global survey of acetylation in budding yeast, and suggests a wide-ranging regulatory scope of this modification. The provided dataset may serve as an important resource for the functional analysis of lysine acetylation in eukaryotes.

Proteomic analyses reveal divergent ubiquitylation site patterns in murine tissues.

Posttranslational modifications of proteins increase the complexity of the cellular proteome and enable rapid regulation of protein functions in response to environmental changes. Protein ubiquitylation is a central regulatory posttranslational modification that controls numerous biological processes including proteasomal degradation of proteins, DNA damage repair and innate immune responses. Here we combine high-resolution mass spectrometry with single-step immunoenrichment of di-glycine modified peptides for mapping of endogenous putative ubiquitylation sites in murine tissues. We identify more than 20,000 unique ubiquitylation sites on proteins involved in diverse biological processes. Our data reveals that ubiquitylation regulates core signaling pathways common for each of the studied tissues. In addition, we discover that ubiquitylation regulates tissue-specific signaling networks. Many tissue-specific ubiquitylation sites were obtained from brain highlighting the complexity and unique physiology of this organ. We further demonstrate that different di-glycine-lysine-specific monoclonal antibodies exhibit sequence preferences, and that their complementary use increases the depth of ubiquitylation site analysis, thereby providing a more unbiased view of protein ubiquitylation.

A proteome-wide, quantitative survey of in vivo ubiquitylation sites reveals widespread regulatory roles.

Post-translational modification of proteins by ubiquitin is a fundamentally important regulatory mechanism. However, proteome-wide analysis of endogenous ubiquitylation remains a challenging task, and almost always has relied on cells expressing affinity tagged ubiquitin. Here we combine single-step immunoenrichment of ubiquitylated peptides with peptide fractionation and high-resolution mass spectrometry to investigate endogenous ubiquitylation sites. We precisely map 11,054 endogenous putative ubiquitylation sites (diglycine-modified lysines) on 4,273 human proteins. The presented data set covers 67% of the known ubiquitylation sites and contains 10,254 novel sites on proteins with diverse cellular functions including cell signaling, receptor endocytosis, DNA replication, DNA damage repair, and cell cycle progression. Our method enables site-specific quantification of ubiquitylation in response to cellular perturbations and is applicable to any cell type or tissue. Global quantification of ubiquitylation in cells treated with the proteasome inhibitor MG-132 discovers sites that are involved in proteasomal degradation, and suggests a nonproteasomal function for almost half of all sites. Surprisingly, ubiquitylation of about 15% of sites decreased more than twofold within four hours of MG-132 treatment, showing that inhibition of proteasomal function can dramatically reduce ubiquitylation on many sites with non-proteasomal functions. Comparison of ubiquitylation sites with acetylation sites reveals an extensive overlap between the lysine residues targeted by these two modifications. However, the crosstalk between these two post-translational modifications is significantly less frequent on sites that show increased ubiquitylation upon proteasome inhibition. Taken together, we report the largest site-specific ubiquitylation dataset in human cells, and for the first time demonstrate proteome-wide, site-specific quantification of endogenous putative ubiquitylation sites.