Recognition of the iso-ADP-ribose moiety in poly(ADP-ribose) by WWE domains suggests a general mechanism for poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation-dependent ubiquitination

Genes Dev. 2012 Feb 1;26(3):235-40. doi: 10.1101/gad.182618.111. Epub 2012 Jan 19.

Abstract

Protein poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation and ubiquitination are two key post-translational modifications regulating many biological processes. Through crystallographic and biochemical analysis, we show that the RNF146 WWE domain recognizes poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) by interacting with iso-ADP-ribose (iso-ADPR), the smallest internal PAR structural unit containing the characteristic ribose-ribose glycosidic bond formed during poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation. The key iso-ADPR-binding residues we identified are highly conserved among WWE domains. Binding assays further demonstrate that PAR binding is a common function for the WWE domain family. Since many WWE domain-containing proteins are known E3 ubiquitin ligases, our results suggest that protein poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation may be a general mechanism to target proteins for ubiquitination.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose / chemistry
  • Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose / metabolism*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Models, Molecular*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutagenesis
  • Poly Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose / metabolism*
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / chemistry*
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / genetics
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / metabolism*
  • Ubiquitination

Substances

  • Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose
  • Poly Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose
  • RNF146 protein, human
  • Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases