Although the functional interaction between ubiquitin conjugating enzymes (E2s) and ubiquitin ligases (E3s) is essential in ubiquitin (Ub) signaling, the criteria that define an active E2–E3 pair are not well-established. The human E2 UbcH7 (Ube2L3) shows broad specificity for HECT-type E3s1, but often fails to function with RING E3s in vitro despite forming specific complexes2–4. Structural comparisons of inactive UbcH7/RING complexes with active UbcH5/RING complexes reveal no defining differences3,4, highlighting a gap in our understanding of Ub transfer. We show that, unlike many E2s that transfer Ub with RINGs, UbcH7 lacks intrinsic, E3-independent reactivity with lysine, explaining its preference for HECTs. Despite lacking lysine reactivity, UbcH7 exhibits activity with the RING-In Between-RING (RBR) family of E3s that includes Parkin and human homologue of ariadne (HHARI)5,6. Found in all eukaryotes7, RBRs regulate processes such as translation8 and immune signaling9. RBRs contain a canonical C3HC4-type RING, followed by two conserved Cys/His-rich Zn2+-binding domains, In-Between-RING (IBR) and RING2 domains, which together define this E3 family7. Here we show that RBRs function like RING/HECT hybrids: they bind E2s via a RING domain, but transfer Ub through an obligate thioester-linked Ub (denoted ‘~Ub’), requiring a conserved cysteine residue in RING2. Our results define the functional cadre of E3s for UbcH7, an E2 involved in cell proliferation10 and immune function11, and suggest a novel mechanism for an entire class of E3s.

Recessive loss-of-function mutations of ADA2, a growth factor that is the major extracellular adenosine deaminase, can cause polyarteritis nodosa vasculopathy with highly varied clinical expression. (Funded by the Shaare Zedek Medical Center and others.).

PhoQ is a membrane bound sensor kinase important for the pathogenesis of a number of Gram-negative bacterial species. PhoQ and its cognate response regulator PhoP constitute a signal-transduction cascade that controls inducible resistance to host antimicrobial peptides. We show that enzymatic activity of Salmonella typhimurium PhoQ is directly activated by antimicrobial peptides. A highly acidic surface of the PhoQ sensor domain participates in both divalent-cation and antimicrobial-peptide binding as a first step in signal transduction across the bacterial membrane. Identification of PhoQ signaling mutants, binding studies with the PhoQ sensor domain, and structural analysis of this domain can be incorporated into a model in which antimicrobial peptides displace divalent cations from PhoQ metal binding sites to initiate signal transduction. Our findings reveal a molecular mechanism by which bacteria sense small innate immune molecules to initiate a transcriptional program that promotes bacterial virulence.

Summary Vaccines prevent infectious disease largely by inducing protective neutralizing antibodies against vulnerable epitopes. Multiple major pathogens have resisted traditional vaccine development, although vulnerable epitopes targeted by neutralizing antibodies have been identified for several such cases. Hence, new vaccine design methods to induce epitope-specific neutralizing antibodies are needed. Here we show, with a neutralization epitope from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that computational protein design can generate small, thermally and conformationally stable protein scaffolds that accurately mimic the viral epitope structure and induce potent neutralizing antibodies. These scaffolds represent promising leads for research and development of a human RSV vaccine needed to protect infants, young children and the elderly. More generally, the results provide proof of principle for epitope-focused and scaffold-based vaccine design, and encourage the evaluation and further development of these strategies for a variety of other vaccine targets including antigenically highly variable pathogens such as HIV and influenza.