Hotspot mutations in KIT receptor differentially modulate its allosterically coupled conformational dynamics: impact on activation and drug sensitivity

PLoS Comput Biol. 2014 Jul 31;10(7):e1003749. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003749. eCollection 2014 Jul.

Abstract

Receptor tyrosine kinase KIT controls many signal transduction pathways and represents a typical allosterically regulated protein. The mutation-induced deregulation of KIT activity impairs cellular physiological functions and causes serious human diseases. The impact of hotspots mutations (D816H/Y/N/V and V560G/D) localized in crucial regulatory segments, the juxtamembrane region (JMR) and the activation (A-) loop, on KIT internal dynamics was systematically studied by molecular dynamics simulations. The mutational outcomes predicted in silico were correlated with in vitro and in vivo activation rates and drug sensitivities of KIT mutants. The allosteric regulation of KIT in the native and mutated forms is described in terms of communication between the two remote segments, JMR and A-loop. A strong correlation between the communication profile and the structural and dynamical features of KIT in the native and mutated forms was established. Our results provide new insight on the determinants of receptor KIT constitutive activation by mutations and resistance of KIT mutants to inhibitors. Depiction of an intra-molecular component of the communication network constitutes a first step towards an integrated description of vast communication pathways established by KIT in physiopathological contexts.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Allosteric Regulation / genetics
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology
  • Cytoplasm / chemistry
  • Cytoplasm / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Mutation / genetics*
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / chemistry*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / drug effects
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) de Cachan, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), OSEO ­ the French State Agency for Innovation, Institut Farman (ENS de Cachan), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (Inserm) and La Ligue Nationale contre le cancer (PD, Equipe labellisée). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to published, or preparation of the manuscript.