Substrate and Nucleotide
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ClpX interactions with ClpP, SspB, protein substrate and nucleotide by OF ECHNOLOGY Greg Louis Hersch FEB 0 1RIE2006 B.S. Biochemistry LIBRAR IES University of California at Davis, 2001 Submitted to the Department of Biology in partial fulfillment of the requirementsfor the degreeof Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry McM0.l at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology February 2006 © 2005 Greg L. Hersch. All rights reserved The authors herebygrants to MITpermission to reproduceand to distributepublicly Paper and electronic copies of the thesis document in whole or in part. Signature of Author: .1 - · -- - Department of Biology Certified by: I/ Robert T. Sauer Salvador E. Luria Professor of Biology Thesis Supervisor Accepted by: / - t R11 (_2~ ,tenhen P RPellI Professor of Biology Co-Chair, Biology Graduate Committee CIpX interactions with CIpP, SspB, protein substrate and nucleotide By Greg Louis Hersch Submitted to the Department of Biology on February 6th, 2006 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy in biochemistry ABSTRACT ClpXP and related ATP-dependent proteases are implements of cytosolic protein destruction. They couple chemical energy, derived from ATP hydrolysis, to the selection, unfolding, and degradation of protein substrates with the appropriate degradation signals. The ClpX component of ClpXP is a hexameric enzyme that recognizes protein substrates and unfolds them in an ATP-dependent reaction. Following unfolding, ClpX translocates the unfolded substrate into the ClpP peptidase for degradation. The best characterized degradation signal is the ssrA-degradation tag, which contains a binding site for ClpX and an adjacent binding site for the SspB adaptor protein. I show that the close proximity of these binding elements causes SspB binding to mask signals needed for ssrA-tag recognition by ClpX. The SspB dimer overcomes this signal masking by tethering itself and bound substrate to ClpX, via docking sites located in the dimeric N-terminal domain of ClpX. Because this N-domain dimer binds only a single SspB subunit, the ClpX hexamer can accommodate just one SspB dimer per hexamer. Other adaptor proteins that use these same tethering sites must compete with SspB for access to ClpXP. Substrates bearing ssrA tags with increased spacing between the SspB and ClpX binding elements are degraded more efficiently at low concentrations by ClpXP. This mechanism in which the adaptor first obstructs and then stimulates substrate recognition may have evolved to permit an additional level of regulation of substrate choice. SspB binding to ssrA-tagged substrate is a highly dynamic process, allowing rapid transfer of substrates from SspB to ClpX. Although the ClpX hexamer is composed of six identical polypeptides, individual subunits assume at least three distinct conformations. Using a hexamer that was engineered to prevent nucleotide hydrolysis, I show that some nucleotide-binding sites in ClpX release ATP rapidly, others release ATP slowly, and at least two sites remain nucleotide free. Occupancy of both the slow sites by ATP and the fast sites by either ATP or ADP is required to bind the degradation tags of protein substrates. The ability of ClpX to retain binding of substrate with ATP or ADP in the fast sites suggests that nucleotide hydrolysis in the fast sites, but not in the slow sites, will allow repeated unfolding attempts without substrate release over multiple ATPase cycles. My results rule out ATPase models including ClpX 6eATP 6 or ADP 6 and also suggest that the enzyme hydrolyzes only a fraction of bound ATP in a single turnover event. Short peptide motifs of ClpX, known as IGF loops, interact with ClpP and change conformation as a response to nucleotide binding by ClpX. As ClpX varies its nucleotide content during the ATP hydrolysis cycle, it also varies its affinity for ClpP. Processing of substrates is coupled to the ATP-hydrolysis cycle of ClpX and appears to modulate ClpX's affinity for ClpP by changing how long each ClpX subunit spends in each nucleotide state. Thesis Supervisor: Robert T. Sauer Title: Salvador Luria Professor of Biology 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract 2 Chapter One An introduction to ClpX, ClpP, SspB, and the AAA+ superfamily of ATPases 7 Part I: Introduction 8 Part II: Interactions between ClpX, ClpP, adaptors, and substrate 14 Part III: The AAA+ superfamily 19 Part IV: Nucleotide utilization by AAA+ and related proteins 24 Part V: Interpretations and Conclusions 39 Chapter Two SspB Delivery of Substrates for ClpXP Proteolysis Probed by the Design of Improved Degradation Tags 56 Introduction and Methods 58 Design of extended-spacing ssrA tags 63 Improved SspB delivery to ClpXP 65 Dynamic interactions between SspB and ssrA tags 69 Discussion 72 Chapter Three Characterization of contacts with the adaptor protein, SspB mediated by the N-Domain dimer of ClpX 84 Introduction 86 Interactions of SspB with the ClpX N Domain 87 Discussion 89 Where does the XB peptide bind on the N-Domain? 92 Is SspB a ClpX specific adaptor protein? 94 Chapter Four Asymmetric interactions of ATP with the AAA+ ClpX6 unfoldase: allosteric control of a protein machine 99 An ATP-hydrolysis defective ClpX variant 102 Strength and stoichiometry of ATP binding 104 Cooperative interactions in wild-type ClpX 107 Multiple classes of ATP sites 108 Linkage between ClpX binding to the ssrA tag and to Mg++/ATP 109 ATP binding and structural changes in the ClpX pore 110 ADP substitutes for ATP in "fast" nucleotide binding sites 112 Discussion 114 Appendix One Communication between ClpX and ClpP during substrate processing and degradation 133 ClpP interaction requires more than two IGF loops 138 Substrate processing strengthens ClpX-ClpP affinity 141 Active-site communication between ClpP and ClpX 143 Discussion 149 3 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Chapter One: The ATP-dependent protease, ClpXP and nucleotide utilization by AAA+ ATPases Figure 1 Architecture of the compartmentalized protease, ClpXP and a mechanical model for protein unfolding 10 Figure 2 Asymmetric docking of ClpX's six "IGF" loops with ClpP* 15 Figure 3 A general model for adaptor proteins 16 Figure 4 Architecture of a AAA+ active site 20 Figure 5 Three potential mechanisms of ATP hydrolysis by AAA+ hexamers 25 Figure 6 A postulated mechanism for ATP synthesis by F 1F ATP synthase 30 Table I Referenced crystal structures of AAA+ and related proteins 43 Chapter Two: SspB Delivery of Substrates for ClpXP Proteolysis Probed by the Design of Improved Degradation Tags Figure 1 - SspB delivery of ssrA-tagged substrates to ClpXP 59 Table I - Constants for ClpXP degradation and SspB binding to ssrA-tagged molecules 64 Figure 2 - ClpXP degradation of ssrA-tagged GFP variants in the presence of SspB 65 Figure 3 - ClpXP degrades the extended-tag substrates significantly faster than GFP-ssrA in the presence of the substrate-binding domain of SspB 68 Figure 4 - Equilibrium binding of SspB to GFP-ssrA 69 Figure 5 - Kinetics of dissociation and association of ssrA-tagged molecules with SspB 70 4 Chapter Three: Characterization of contacts with the adaptor protein, SspB mediated by the N-Domain dimer of ClpX Figure 1- Binding of the N Domain of ClpX and XB modules of SspB 88 Figure 2 - Binding stoichiometry of the N Domain of ClpX to XB modules of SspB 89 Figure 3 - Cartoon representation of SspB / ClpX interaction 90 Figure 4 - Perpendicular views of the N-domain dimer of ClpX 94 Chapter Four: Asymmetric interactions of ATP with the AAA+ C1pX6 unfoldase: allosteric control of a protein machine Figure 1 - A ClpX variant defective in ATP-hydrolysis 103 Figure 2 - ATP binding by various methods 105 Figure 3 - Dissociation kinetics reveals two classes of sites 109 Figure 4- Nucleotide dependence of ClpX substrate binding and conformation 111 Figure 5- ADP and substrate binding 113 Figure 6 - Models for ClpX binding to ATP and the ssrA tag of substrates 117 5 Appendix: Communication between CIpX and CIpP during substrate processing and degradation Figure 1- Symmetry mismatch between ClpX and ClpP* 137 Figure 2 - Properties of ClpX loopless 139 Figure 3 - An assay for ClpX-ClpP interaction in solution* 141 Figure 4 - ClpX-ClpP affinity changes in an ATPase-dependent fashion during substrate denaturation and translocation* 143 Figure 5 - Modification of the ClpP active sites strengthens ClpX binding* 144 Figure 6- ClpP rescues the unfolding defects of ClpX mutants* 146 Figure 7- The "ATP" state of ClpX is required for strong ClpP interactions* 147 Figure 8 - Model for the interaction of ClpX and ClpP 151 * work of Shilpa A. Joshi 6 CHAPTER ONE An introduction to ClpX, ClpP, SspB, and the AAA+ superfamily of ATPases 7 Part I: Introduction The roles of energy dependent proteolysis Many cytosolic proteins ultimately meet their fate at the hands of ATP-dependent proteases. This destruction is required to remove and recycle proteins that have become damaged by oxidation, heat unfolding and aggregation, or were simply translated from damaged mRNA (Gottesman, 1996). Energy-dependent proteases also destroy folded, native proteins as a signaling event. Examples of this occur as a response to DNA damage. environmental cues, and during the cell cycle (Jenal and Stephens, 2002; Gottesman, 2003; Jenal and Hengge-Aronis, 2003). Some of these same proteases function in quality assurance for the cell. Without quality control, translation of aberrant mRNA messages could result in partial protein products that aggregate or even actively interfere with vital cell processes. Instead, these proteins are recognized and removed by ATP-dependent proteases. Thus, energy dependent proteolysis allows the cell to dynamically control its proteome and respond rapidly to environmental cues. Energy- dependent proteases are all closely related, and belong to a much larger class of proteins called the AAA+ (ATPases associated with a variety of cellular activities) superfamily whose members all function in macromolecular disassembly (Neuwald et al., 1999; Vale, 2000; Glover and Tkach, 2001; Sauer et al., 2004).