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The heterotrimeric G protein Gαq is a key regulator of blood pressure, and excess Gαq signaling leads to hypertension. A specific inhibitor of Gαq is the GTPase activating protein (GAP) known as regulator of G protein signaling 2 (RGS2). The molecular basis for how Gαq/11 subunits serve as substrates for RGS proteins and how RGS2 mandates its selectivity for Gαq is poorly understood. In crystal structures of the RGS2-Gαq complex, RGS2 docks to Gαq in a different orientation from that observed in RGS-Gαi/o complexes. Despite its unique pose, RGS2 maintains canonical interactions with the switch regions of Gαq in part because its α6 helix adopts a distinct conformation. We show that RGS2 forms extensive interactions with the α-helical domain of Gαq that contribute to binding affinity and GAP potency. RGS subfamilies that do not serve as GAPs for Gαq are unlikely to form analogous stabilizing interactions.

Cocaine is considered to be the most addictive of all substances of abuse and mediates its effects by inhibiting monoamine transporters, primarily the dopamine transporters. There are currently no small molecules that can be used to combat its toxic and addictive properties, in part because of the difficulty of developing compounds that inhibit cocaine binding without having intrinsic effects on dopamine transport. Most of the effective cocaine inhibitors also display addictive properties. We have recently reported the use of cocaine esterase (CocE) to accelerate the removal of systemic cocaine and to prevent cocaine-induced lethality. However, wild-type CocE is relatively unstable at physiological temperatures ({tau}{sub 1/2} {approx} 13 min at 37 C), presenting challenges for its development as a viable therapeutic agent. We applied computational approaches to predict mutations to stabilize CocE and showed that several of these have increased stability both in vitro and in vivo, with the most efficacious mutant (T172R/G173Q) extending half-life up to 370 min. Here we present novel X-ray crystallographic data on these mutants that provide a plausible model for the observed enhanced stability. We also more extensively characterize the previously reported variants and report on a new stabilizing mutant, L169K. The improved stability of thesemore » engineered CocE enzymes will have a profound influence on the use of this protein to combat cocaine-induced toxicity and addiction in humans.« less

Rhodococcal cocaine esterase (CocE) is an attractive potential treatment for both cocaine overdose and cocaine addiction. CocE directly degrades cocaine into inactive products, whereas traditional small-molecule approaches require blockade of the inhibitory action of cocaine on a diverse array of monoamine transporters and ion channels. The usefulness of wild-type (wt) cocaine esterase is hampered by its inactivation at 37 degrees C. Herein, we characterize the most thermostable form of this enzyme to date, CocE-L169K/G173Q. In vitro kinetic analyses reveal that CocE-L169K/G173Q displays a half-life of 2.9 days at 37 degrees C, which represents a 340-fold improvement over wt and is 15-fold greater than previously reported mutants. Crystallographic analyses of CocE-L169K/G173Q, determined at 1.6-A resolution, suggest that stabilization involves enhanced domain-domain interactions involving van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonding. In vivo rodent studies reveal that intravenous pretreatment with CocE-L169K/G173Q in mice provides protection from cocaine-induced lethality for longer time periods before cocaine administration than wt CocE. Furthermore, intravenous administration (pretreatment) of CocE-L169K/G173Q prevents self-administration of cocaine in a time-dependent manner. Termination of the in vivo effects of CoCE seems to be dependent on, but not proportional to, its clearance from plasma as its half-life is approximately 2.3 h and similar to that of wt CocE (2.2 h). Taken together these data suggest that CocE-L169K/G173Q possesses many of the properties of a biological therapeutic for treating cocaine abuse but requires additional development to improve its serum half-life.

Ezrin/radixin/moesin (ERM) family members provide a regulated link between the cortical actin cytoskeleton and the plasma membrane to govern membrane structure and organization. Here, we report the crystal structure of intact insect moesin, revealing that its essential yet previously uncharacterized alpha-helical domain forms extensive interactions with conserved surfaces of the band four-point-one/ezrin/radixin/moesin (FERM) domain. These interdomain contacts provide a functional explanation for how PIP(2) binding and tyrosine phosphorylation of ezrin lead to activation, and provide an understanding of previously enigmatic loss-of-function missense mutations in the tumor suppressor merlin. Sequence conservation and biochemical results indicate that this structure represents a complete model for the closed state of all ERM-merlin proteins, wherein the central alpha-helical domain is an active participant in an extensive set of inhibitory interactions that can be unmasked, in a rheostat-like manner, by coincident regulatory factors that help determine cell polarity and membrane structure.

G protein-coupled receptor kinase 1 (GRK1 or rhodopsin kinase) phosphorylates activated rhodopsin and initiates a cascade of events that results in the termination of phototransduction by the receptor. Although GRK1 seems to be a monomer in solution, seven prior crystal structures of GRK1 revealed a similar domain-swapped dimer interface involving the C-terminus of the enzyme. The influence of this interface on the overall conformation of GRK1 is not known. To address this question, the crystalline dimer interface was disrupted with a L166K mutation and the structure of GRK1-L166K was determined in complex with Mg(2+) · ATP to 2.5 Å resolution. GRK1-L166K crystallized in a novel space group as a monomer and exhibited little overall conformational difference from prior structures of GRK1, although the C-terminal domain-swapped region had reorganized owing to loss of the dimer interface.

No small-molecule therapeutic is available to treat cocaine addiction, but enzyme-based therapy to accelerate cocaine hydrolysis in serum has gained momentum. Bacterial cocaine esterase (CocE) is the fastest known native enzyme that hydrolyzes cocaine. However, its lability at 37°C has limited its therapeutic potential. Cross-linking subunits through disulfide bridging is commonly used to stabilize multimeric enzymes. Herein we use structural methods to guide the introduction of two cysteine residues within dimer interface of CocE to facilitate intermolecular disulfide bond formation. The disulfide-crosslinked enzyme displays improved thermostability, particularly when combined with previously described mutations that enhance stability (T172R-G173Q). The newly modified enzyme yielded an extremely stable form of CocE (CCRQ-CocE) that retained greater than 90% of its activity after 41 days at 37°C, representing an improvement of more than 4700-fold over the wild-type enzyme. CCRQ-CocE could also be modified by polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymers, which improved its in vivo residence time from 24 to 72 h, as measured by a cocaine lethality assay, by self-administration in rodents, and by measurement of inhibition of cocaine-induced cardiovascular effects in rhesus monkeys. PEG-CCRQ elicited negligible immune response in rodents. Subunit stabilization and PEGylation has thus produced a potential protein therapeutic with markedly higher stability both in vitro and in vivo.

The guanine nucleotide exchange factor p63RhoGEF is an effector of the heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide–binding protein (G protein) Gα q and thereby links Gα q -coupled receptors (GPCRs) to the activation of the small-molecular-weight G protein RhoA. We determined the crystal structure of the Gα q -p63RhoGEF-RhoA complex, detailing the interactions of Gα q with the Dbl and pleckstrin homology (DH and PH) domains of p63RhoGEF. These interactions involve the effector-binding site and the C-terminal region of Gα q and appear to relieve autoinhibition of the catalytic DH domain by the PH domain. Trio, Duet, and p63RhoGEF are shown to constitute a family of Gα q effectors that appear to activate RhoA both in vitro and in intact cells. We propose that this structure represents the crux of an ancient signal transduction pathway that is expected to be important in an array of physiological processes.

The oncogenic G(12/13) subfamily of heterotrimeric G proteins transduces extracellular signals that regulate the actin cytoskeleton, cell cycle progression, and gene transcription. Previously, structural analyses of fully functional G alpha(12/13) subunits have been hindered by insufficient amounts of homogeneous, functional protein. Herein, we report that substitution of the N-terminal helix of G alpha(i1) for the corresponding region of G alpha12 or G alpha13 generated soluble chimeric subunits (G alpha(i/12) and G alpha(i/13)) that could be purified in sufficient amounts for crystallographic studies. Each chimera bound guanine nucleotides, G betagamma subunits, and effector proteins and exhibited GAP responses to p115RhoGEF and leukemia-associated RhoGEF. Like their wild-type counterparts, G alpha(i/13), but not G alpha(i/12), stimulated the activity of p115RhoGEF. Crystal structures of the G alpha(i/12) x GDP x AlF4(-) and G alpha(i/13) x GDP complexes were determined using diffraction data extending to 2.9 and 2.0 A, respectively. These structures reveal not only the native structural features of G alpha12 and G alpha13 subunits, which are expected to be important for their interactions with GPCRs and effectors such as G alpha-regulated RhoGEFs, but also novel conformational changes that are likely coupled to GTP hydrolysis in the G alpha(12/13) class of heterotrimeric G proteins.