Ligand-dependent activation of transcription by nuclear receptors (NRs) is mediated by interactions with coactivators. Receptor agonists promote coactivator binding, and antagonists block coactivator binding. Here we report the crystal structure of the human estrogen receptor alpha (hER alpha) ligand-binding domain (LBD) bound to both the agonist diethylstilbestrol (DES) and a peptide derived from the NR box II region of the coactivator GRIP1 and the crystal structure of the hER alpha LBD bound to the selective antagonist 4-hydroxytamoxifen (OHT). In the DES-LBD-peptide complex, the peptide binds as a short alpha helix to a hydrophobic groove on the surface of the LBD. In the OHT-LBD complex, helix 12 occludes the coactivator recognition groove by mimicking the interactions of the NR box peptide with the LBD. These structures reveal the two distinct mechanisms by which structural features of OHT promote this "autoinhibitory" helix 12 conformation.

Centrioles are ancient organelles that build centrosomes, the major microtubule-organizing centers of animal cells. Extra centrosomes are a common feature of cancer cells. To investigate the importance of centrosomes in the proliferation of normal and cancer cells, we developed centrinone, a reversible inhibitor of Polo-like kinase 4 (Plk4), a serine-threonine protein kinase that initiates centriole assembly. Centrinone treatment caused centrosome depletion in human and other vertebrate cells. Centrosome loss irreversibly arrested normal cells in a senescence-like G1 state by a p53-dependent mechanism that was independent of DNA damage, stress, Hippo signaling, extended mitotic duration, or segregation errors. In contrast, cancer cell lines with normal or amplified centrosome numbers could proliferate indefinitely after centrosome loss. Upon centrinone washout, each cancer cell line returned to an intrinsic centrosome number “set point.” Thus, cells with cancer-associated mutations fundamentally differ from normal cells in their response to centrosome loss.

In eukaryotes, the ubiquitous and abundant members of the 90 kilodalton heat-shock protein (hsp90) chaperone family facilitate the folding and conformational changes of a broad array of proteins important in cell signaling, proliferation, and survival. Here we describe the effects of nucleotides on the structure of full-length HtpG, the Escherichia coli hsp90 ortholog. By electron microscopy, the nucleotide-free, AMPPNP bound, and ADP bound states of HtpG adopt completely distinct conformations. Structural characterization of nucleotide-free and ADP bound HtpG was extended to higher resolution by X-ray crystallography. In the absence of nucleotide, HtpG exhibits an "open" conformation in which the three domains of each monomer present hydrophobic elements into the large cleft formed by the dimer. By contrast, ADP binding drives dramatic conformational changes that allow these hydrophobic elements to converge and shield each other from solvent, suggesting a mechanism by which nucleotides could control client protein binding and release.

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