Structural basis for ubiquitin-mediated dimerization and activation of the ubiquitin protein ligase Cbl-b.

Cbl proteins are E3 ubiquitin ligases that are negative regulators of many receptor tyrosine kinases. Cbl-b and c-Cbl contain a ubiquitin-associated (UBA) domain, which is present in a variety of proteins involved in ubiquitin-mediated processes. Despite high sequence identity, Cbl UBA domains display remarkably different ubiquitin-binding properties. Here, we report ...
the crystal structure of the UBA domain of Cbl-b in complex with ubiquitin at 1.9 A resolution. The structure reveals an atypical mechanism of ubiquitin recognition by the first helix of the UBA. Helices 2 and 3 of the UBA domain form a second binding surface, which mediates UBA dimerization in the crystal and in solution. Site-directed mutagenesis demonstrates that Cbl-b dimerization is regulated by ubiquitin binding and required for tyrosine phosphorylation of Cbl-b and ubiquitination of Cbl-b substrates. These studies demonstrate a role for ubiquitin in regulating biological activity by promoting protein dimerization.
Mesh Terms:
Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing, Amino Acid Sequence, Binding Sites, Cell Line, Crystallization, Dimerization, Enzyme Activation, Hela Cells, Humans, Immunoblotting, Immunoprecipitation, Kidney, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutagenesis, Site-Directed, Protein Conformation, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-cbl, Sequence Homology, Amino Acid, Transfection, Ubiquitin
Mol. Cell
Date: Aug. 03, 2007
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