The response of titin to mechanical forces is a major determinant of the function of the heart. When placed under a pulling force, the unstructured regions of titin uncoil while its immunoglobulin (Ig) domains unfold and extend. Using single-molecule atomic force microscopy, we show that disulfide isomerization reactions within Ig domains enable a third mechanism of titin elasticity. Oxidation of Ig domains leads to non-canonical disulfide bonds that stiffen titin while enabling force-triggered isomerization reactions to more extended states of the domains. Using sequence and structural analyses, we show that 21% of titin’s I-band Ig domains contain a conserved cysteine triad that can engage in disulfide isomerization reactions. We propose that imbalance of the redox status of myocytes can have immediate consequences for the mechanical properties of the sarcomere via alterations of the oxidation state of titin domains.

Highlights d Premature translational termination manifests position effects in yeast mRNAs d Termination increases and readthrough decreases as stop codons approach the ORF 3 0 end d Stop codon proximity to 3 0 poly(A)-binding protein regulates termination efficiency d Positional variation and termination dependence on Pab1 support an NMD faux-UTR model

Activation of the RAS/ERK and its downstream signaling components is essential for growth factor-induced cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation. The Src homology-2 domain containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP2), encoded by protein tyrosine phosphatase, non-receptor type 11 ( Ptpn11), is a positive mediator required for most, if not all, receptor tyrosine kinase-evoked RAS/ERK activation, but differentially regulates the PI3K/AKT signaling cascade in various cellular contexts. The precise mechanisms underlying the differential effects of SHP2 deficiency on the PI3K pathway remain unclear. We found that mice with myelomonocytic cell-specific [ Tg(LysM-Cre); Ptpn11 mice] Ptpn11 deficiency exhibit mild osteopetrosis. SHP2-deficient bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) showed decreased proliferation in response to M-CSF and decreased osteoclast generation. M-CSF-evoked ERK1/2 activation was decreased, whereas AKT activation was enhanced in SHP2-deficient BMMs. ERK1/2, via its downstream target RSK2, mediates this negative feedback by negatively regulating phosphorylation of M-CSF receptor at Tyr721 and, consequently, its binding to p85 subunit of PI3K and PI3K activation. Pharmacologic inhibition of RSK or ERK phenotypically mimics the signaling defects observed in SHP2-deficient BMMs. Furthermore, this increase in PI3K/AKT activation enables BMM survival in the setting of SHP2 deficiency.-Wang, L., Iorio, C., Yan, K., Yang, H., Takeshita, S., Kang, S., Neel, B.G., Yang, W. An ERK/RSK-mediated negative feedback loop regulates M-CSF-evoked PI3K/AKT activation in macrophages.

The identification of G-quadruplex (G4) binding proteins and insights into their mechanism of action are important for understanding the regulatory functions of G4 structures. Here, we performed an unbiased affinity-purification assay coupled with mass spectrometry and identified 30 putative G4 binding proteins from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Gene ontology analysis of the molecular functions enriched in this pull-down assay included mRNA binding, RNA helicase activity, and translation regulator activity. We focused this study on three of the identified proteins that possessed putative arginine-glycine-glycine (RGG) domains, namely the Stm1 homolog Oga1 and the DEAD box RNA helicases Dbp2 and Ded1. We found that Oga1, Dbp2, and Ded1 bound to both DNA and RNA G4s in vitro. Both Dbp2 and Ded1 bound to G4 structures through the RGG domain located in the C-terminal region of the helicases, and point mutations in this domain weakened the G4 binding properties of the helicases. Dbp2 and Ded1 destabilized less thermostable G4 RNA and DNA structures, and this ability was independent of ATP but dependent on the RGG domain. Our study provides the first evidence that the RGG motifs in DEAD box helicases are necessary for both G4 binding and G4 destabilization.