Regulation through phosphorylation is a characteristic of signalling pathways and the lymphocyte kinase Lck (p56lck) both performs phosphorylation and is affected by it. Lck is a Src-family tyrosine kinase expressed in T lymphocytes, where it participates in the cellular immune response. Like all Src homologues, it comprises SH3, SH2 and kinase domains. Lck associates through its distinctive amino-terminal segment with the cytoplasmic tails of either T-cell co-receptor, CD4 or CD8-alpha. Activated Lck phosphorylates T-cell receptor zeta-chains, which then recruit the ZAP70 kinase to promote T-cell activation. Lck is activated by autophosphorylation at Tyr 394 in the activation loop and it is inactive when Tyr 505 near the carboxy terminus is phosphorylated and interacts with its own SH2 domain. Here we report the crystal structure of the Lck tyrosine kinase domain (LCKK) in its activated state at 1.7 A resolution. The structure reveals how a phosphoryl group at Tyr 394 generates a competent active site. Comparisons with other kinase structures indicate that tyrosine phophophorylation and ligand binding may in general elicit two distinct hinge-like movements between the kinase subdomains. From modelling studies, we suggest a basis for inhibition by phosphorylation at Tyr 505.

Baloxavir acid (BXA), derived from the prodrug baloxavir marboxil (BXM), potently and selectively inhibits the cap-dependent endonuclease within the polymerase PA subunit of influenza A and B viruses. In clinical trials, single doses of BXM profoundly decrease viral titers as well as alleviating influenza symptoms. Here, we characterize the impact on BXA susceptibility and replicative capacity of variant viruses detected in the post-treatment monitoring of the clinical studies. We find that the PA I38T substitution is a major pathway for reduced susceptibility to BXA, with 30- to 50-fold and 7-fold EC50 changes in A and B viruses, respectively. The viruses harboring the I38T substitution show severely impaired replicative fitness in cells, and correspondingly reduced endonuclease activity in vitro. Co-crystal structures of wild-type and I38T influenza A and B endonucleases bound to BXA show that the mutation reduces van der Waals contacts with the inhibitor. A reduced affinity to the I38T mutant is supported by the lower stability of the BXA-bound endonuclease. These mechanistic insights provide markers for future surveillance of treated populations.

Flap endonuclease-1 (FEN1) is a key enzyme for maintaining genomic stability and replication. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) binds FEN1 and stimulates its endonuclease activity. The structural basis of the FEN1-PCNA interaction was revealed by the crystal structure of the complex between human FEN1 and PCNA. The main interface involves the C-terminal tail of FEN1, which forms two b-strands connected by a short helix, the bA-aA-bB motif, participating in b-b and hydrophobic interactions with PCNA. These interactions are similar to those previously observed for the p21 CIP1/WAF1 peptide. However, this structure involving the full-length enzyme has revealed additional interfaces that are involved in the core domain. The interactions at the interfaces maintain the enzyme in an inactive 'locked-down' orientation and might be utilized in rapid DNA-tracking by preserving the central hole of PCNA for sliding along the DNA. A hinge region present between the core domain and the C-terminal tail of FEN1 would play a role in switching the FEN1 orientation from an inactive to an active orientation.

Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels modulate calcium levels in eukaryotic cells in response to external signals. A novel transient receptor potential channel has the ability to phosphorylate itself and other proteins on serine and threonine residues. The catalytic domain of this channel kinase has no detectable sequence similarity to classical eukaryotic protein kinases and is essential for channel function. The structure of the kinase domain, reported here, reveals unexpected similarity to eukaryotic protein kinases in the catalytic core as well as to metabolic enzymes with ATP-grasp domains. The inclusion of the channel kinase catalytic domain within the eukaryotic protein kinase superfamily indicates a significantly wider distribution for this group of signaling proteins than suggested previously by sequence comparisons alone.