Site-to-site interdomain communication may mediate different loss-of-function mechanisms in a cancer-associated NQO1 polymorphism

Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 14:7:44532. doi: 10.1038/srep44532.

Abstract

Disease associated genetic variations often cause intracellular enzyme inactivation, dysregulation and instability. However, allosteric communication of mutational effects to distant functional sites leading to loss-of-function remains poorly understood. We characterize here interdomain site-to-site communication by which a common cancer-associated single nucleotide polymorphism (c.C609T/p.P187S) reduces the activity and stability in vivo of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1). NQO1 is a FAD-dependent, two-domain multifunctional stress protein acting as a Phase II enzyme, activating cancer pro-drugs and stabilizing p53 and p73α oncosuppressors. We show that p.P187S causes structural and dynamic changes communicated to functional sites far from the mutated site, affecting the FAD binding site located at the N-terminal domain (NTD) and accelerating proteasomal degradation through dynamic effects on the C-terminal domain (CTD). Structural protein:protein interaction studies reveal that the cancer-associated polymorphism does not abolish the interaction with p73α, indicating that oncosuppressor destabilization largely mirrors the low intracellular stability of p.P187S. In conclusion, we show how a single disease associated amino acid change may allosterically perturb several functional sites in an oligomeric and multidomain protein. These results have important implications for the understanding of loss-of-function genetic diseases and the identification of novel structural hot spots as targets for pharmacological intervention.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Allosteric Regulation / genetics
  • Flavin-Adenine Dinucleotide / chemistry
  • Flavin-Adenine Dinucleotide / genetics
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • Humans
  • Mutation
  • NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone) / chemistry
  • NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone) / genetics*
  • Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Neoplasms / pathology
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
  • Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex / chemistry
  • Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex / genetics
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Conformation*
  • Protein Domains / genetics
  • Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs / genetics
  • Tumor Protein p73 / chemistry
  • Tumor Protein p73 / genetics*
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / chemistry
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / genetics

Substances

  • Tumor Protein p73
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
  • Flavin-Adenine Dinucleotide
  • NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone)
  • NQO1 protein, human
  • Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex