Palmitoylation and palmitoyl-transferases in Plasmodium parasites

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Hodson ◽  
Brandon Invergo ◽  
Julian C. Rayner ◽  
Jyoti S. Choudhary

Protein post-translational modifications (PTM) are commonly used to regulate biological processes. Protein S-acylation is an enzymatically regulated reversible modification that has been shown to modulate protein localization, activity and membrane binding. Proteome-scale discovery on Plasmodium falciparum schizonts has revealed a complement of more than 400 palmitoylated proteins, including those essential for host invasion and drug resistance. The wide regulatory affect on this species is endorsed by the presence of 12 proteins containing the conserved DHHC–CRD (DHHC motif within a cysteine-rich domain) that is associated with palmitoyl-transferase activity. Genetic interrogation of these enzymes in Apicomplexa has revealed essentiality and distinct localization at cellular compartments; these features are species specific and are not observed in yeast. It is clear that palmitoylation has an elaborate role in Plasmodium biology and opens intriguing questions on the functional consequence of this group of acylation modifications and how the protein S-acyl transferases (PATs) orchestrate molecular events.

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurine E. Linder ◽  
Benjamin C. Jennings

Protein S-palmitoylation is a reversible post-translational modification of proteins with fatty acids. In the last 5 years, improved proteomic methods have increased the number of proteins identified as substrates for palmitoylation from tens to hundreds. Palmitoylation regulates protein membrane interactions, activity, trafficking and stability and can be constitutive or regulated by signalling inputs. A family of PATs (protein acyltransferases) is responsible for modifying proteins with palmitate or other long-chain fatty acids on the cytoplasmic face of cellular membranes. PATs share a signature DHHC (Asp-His-His-Cys) cysteine-rich domain that is the catalytic centre of the enzyme. The biomedical importance of members of this family is underscored by their association with intellectual disability, Huntington's disease and cancer in humans, and raises the possibility of DHHC PATs as targets for therapeutic intervention. In the present paper, we discuss recent progress in understanding enzyme mechanism, regulation and substrate specificity.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas V. L. Yap ◽  
Fiona J. Whelan ◽  
Dawn M. E. Bowdish ◽  
G. Brian Golding

Mobile DNA ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Guérineau ◽  
Luiza Bessa ◽  
Séverine Moriau ◽  
Ewen Lescop ◽  
François Bontems ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Transposons are mobile genetic elements that colonize genomes and drive their plasticity in all organisms. DNA transposon-encoded transposases bind to the ends of their cognate transposons and catalyze their movement. In some cases, exaptation of transposon genes has allowed novel cellular functions to emerge. The PiggyMac (Pgm) endonuclease of the ciliate Paramecium tetraurelia is a domesticated transposase from the PiggyBac family. It carries a core catalytic domain typical of PiggyBac-related transposases and a short cysteine-rich domain (CRD), flanked by N- and C-terminal extensions. During sexual processes Pgm catalyzes programmed genome rearrangements (PGR) that eliminate ~ 30% of germline DNA from the somatic genome at each generation. How Pgm recognizes its DNA cleavage sites in chromatin is unclear and the structure-function relationships of its different domains have remained elusive. Results We provide insight into Pgm structure by determining the fold adopted by its CRD, an essential domain required for PGR. Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, we show that the Pgm CRD binds two Zn2+ ions and forms an unusual binuclear cross-brace zinc finger, with a circularly permutated treble-clef fold flanked by two flexible arms. The Pgm CRD structure clearly differs from that of several other PiggyBac-related transposases, among which is the well-studied PB transposase from Trichoplusia ni. Instead, the arrangement of cysteines and histidines in the primary sequence of the Pgm CRD resembles that of active transposases from piggyBac-like elements found in other species and of human PiggyBac-derived domesticated transposases. We show that, unlike the PB CRD, the Pgm CRD does not bind DNA. Instead, it interacts weakly with the N-terminus of histone H3, whatever its lysine methylation state. Conclusions The present study points to the structural diversity of the CRD among transposases from the PiggyBac family and their domesticated derivatives, and highlights the diverse interactions this domain may establish with chromatin, from sequence-specific DNA binding to contacts with histone tails. Our data suggest that the Pgm CRD fold, whose unusual arrangement of cysteines and histidines is found in all PiggyBac-related domesticated transposases from Paramecium and Tetrahymena, was already present in the ancestral active transposase that gave rise to ciliate domesticated proteins.


2000 ◽  
Vol 275 (29) ◽  
pp. 22172-22179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason G. Williams ◽  
Jonelle K. Drugan ◽  
Gwan-Su Yi ◽  
Geoffrey J. Clark ◽  
Channing J. Der ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 280 (16) ◽  
pp. 16019-16029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Archana Jalota ◽  
Kamini Singh ◽  
Lakshminarasimhan Pavithra ◽  
Ruchika Kaul-Ghanekar ◽  
Shahid Jameel ◽  
...  

Various stresses and DNA-damaging agents trigger transcriptional activity of p53 by post-translational modifications, making it a global regulatory switch that controls cell proliferation and apoptosis. Earlier we have shown that the novel MAR-associated protein SMAR1 interacts with p53. Here we delineate the minimal domain of SMAR1 (the arginine-serine-rich domain) that is phosphorylated by protein kinase C family proteins and is responsible for p53 interaction, activation, and stabilization within the nucleus. SMAR1-mediated stabilization of p53 is brought about by inhibiting Mdm2-mediated degradation of p53. We also demonstrate that this arginine-serine (RS)-rich domain triggers the various cell cycle modulating proteins that decide cell fate. Furthermore, phenotypic knock-down experiments using small interfering RNA showed that SMAR1 is required for activation and nuclear retention of p53. The level of phosphorylated p53 was significantly increased in the thymus of SMAR1 transgenic mice, showingin vivosignificance of SMAR1 expression. This is the first report that demonstrates the mechanism of action of the MAR-binding protein SMAR1 in modulating the activity of p53, often referred to as the “guardian of the genome.”


Vaccine ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (48) ◽  
pp. 6739-6747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venkatesh Prasanna Kashi ◽  
Rajesh Abraham Jacob ◽  
Siddhartha Paul ◽  
Kaustuv Nayak ◽  
Bhuthiah Satish ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 468 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Y. Marcus ◽  
Roland A. Marcus ◽  
Bela Z. Schmidt ◽  
David B. Haslam

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