We report the first identified mutation in the gene encoding human cytochrome c (CYCS). Glycine 41, invariant throughout eukaryotes, is substituted by serine in a family with autosomal dominant thrombocytopenia caused by dysregulated platelet formation. The mutation yields a cytochrome c variant with enhanced apoptotic activity in vitro. Notably, the family has no other phenotypic indication of abnormal apoptosis, implying that cytochrome c activity is not a critical regulator of most physiological apoptosis.

RIG-I and MDA5 sense cytoplasmic viral RNA and set-off a signal transduction cascade, leading to antiviral innate immune response. The third RIG-I-like receptor, LGP2, differentially regulates RIG-I- and MDA5-dependent RNA sensing in an unknown manner. All three receptors possess a C-terminal regulatory domain (RD), which in the case of RIG-I senses the viral pattern 5′-triphosphate RNA and activates ATP-dependent signaling by RIG-I. Here we report the 2.6 Å crystal structure of LGP2 RD along with in vitro and in vivo functional analyses and a homology model of MDA5 RD. Although LGP2 RD is structurally related to RIG-I RD, we find it rather binds double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and this binding is independent of 5′-triphosphates. We identify conserved and receptor-specific parts of the RNA binding site. Latter are required for specific dsRNA binding by LGP2 RD and could confer pattern selectivity between RIG-I-like receptors. Our data furthermore suggest that LGP2 RD modulates RIG-I-dependent signaling via competition for dsRNA, another pattern sensed by RIG-I, while a fully functional LGP2 is required to augment MDA5-dependent signaling.

Single-molecule force spectroscopy enables mechanical testing of individual proteins, however low experimental throughput limits the ability to screen constructs in parallel. We describe a microfluidic platform for on-chip protein expression and measurement of single-molecule mechanical properties. We constructed microarrays of proteins covalently attached to a chip surface, and found that a single cohesin-modified cantilever that bound to the terminal dockerin-tag of each protein remained stable over thousands of pulling cycles. The ability to synthesize and mechanically probe protein libraries presents new opportunities for high-throughput mechanical phenotyping.

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a key signaling molecule regulating cell adhesion, migration, and survival. FAK localizes into focal adhesion complexes formed at the cytoplasmic side of cell attachment to the ECM and is activated after force generation via actomyosin fibers attached to this complex. The mechanism of translating mechanical force into a biochemical signal is not understood, and it is not clear whether FAK is activated directly by force or downstream to the force signal. We use experimental and computational single-molecule force spectroscopy to probe the mechanical properties of FAK and examine whether force can trigger activation by inducing conformational changes in FAK. By comparison with an open and active mutant of FAK, we are able to assign mechanoactivation to an initial rupture event in the lowforce range. This activation event occurs before FAK unfolding at forces within the native range in focal adhesions. We are also able to assign all subsequent peaks in the force landscape to partial unfolding of FAK modules. We show that binding of ATP stabilizes the kinase domain, thereby altering the unfolding hierarchy. Using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we identify intermediates along the unfolding pathway, which provide buffering to allow extension of FAK in focal adhesions without compromising functionality. Our findings strongly support that forces in focal adhesions applied to FAK via known interactions can induce conformational changes, which in turn, trigger focal adhesion signaling.atomic force microscopy | mechanobiology | focal adhesion signaling | protein kinase regulation | single-molecule force spectroscopy