Pin1 is a modular enzyme that accelerates the cis-trans isomerization of phosphorylated-Ser/Thr-Pro (pS/T-P) motifs found in numerous signaling proteins regulating cell growth and neuronal survival. We have used NMR to investigate the interaction of Pin1 with three related ligands that include a pS-P substrate peptide, and two pS-P substrate analogue inhibitors locked in the cis and trans conformations. Specifically, we compared the ligand binding modes and binding-induced changes in Pin1 side-chain flexibility. The cis and trans binding modes differ, and produce different mobility in Pin1. The cis-locked inhibitor and substrate produced a loss of side-chain flexibility along an internal conduit of conserved hydrophobic residues, connecting the domain interface with the isomerase active site. The trans-locked inhibitor produces a weaker conduit response. Thus, the conduit response is stereoselective. We further show interactions between the peptidyl-prolyl isomerase and Trp-Trp (WW) domains amplify the conduit response, and alter binding properties at the remote peptidyl-prolyl isomerase active site. These results suggest that specific input conformations can gate dynamic changes that support intraprotein communication. Such gating may help control the propagation of chemical signals by Pin1, and other modular signaling proteins.allostery | protein dynamics | ligand dynamics | protein evolution P hospho-serine/threonine-proline (pS/T-P) motifs are signaling motifs within intrinsically disordered loops of cell cycle proteins (1). The imide bond between the pS/T and P residues can adopt either the cis or trans conformation. These conformations differ in their susceptibility to kinases and phosphatases that propagate the chemical signals governing the cell cycle. Accordingly, the cell must regulate the cis/trans populations of these pS/T-P motifs to ensure proper signal routing.In this context, the peptidyl-prolyl isomerase Pin1 has emerged as a critical regulator (2, 3). Pin1 is a reversible enzyme that catalyzes the cis-trans isomerization of the pS/T-P imide linkages (2, 3) of other signaling proteins, such as CDC25C, p53, c-Myc, NF-kB, cyclin D1, and tau (3). Pin1 engages when external events, such as S/T (de)-phosphorylation, change the cis-trans equilibrium. Pin1 then catalyzes the cis-trans isomerization, thereby accelerating the approach to the new equilibrium (1).Pin1 is a modular protein of 163 residues consisting of a WW domain (1-39) and a larger peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) domain (50-163) (Fig. 1). A flexible linker connects the two domains. Both domains are specific for pS/T-P motifs (1). The WW domain serves as a docking module, whereas catalysis is the sole province of the PPIase domain. Earlier structural studies of Pin1 revealed conformational changes upon substrate interaction, thus motivating flexibility-function studies of Pin1 (4-6). Our previous NMR deuterium relaxation studies of Pin1 mapped the changes in flexibility of methyl-bearing side chains caused by interaction with an establi...

Summary Synaptic plasticity induced by cocaine and other drugs underlies addiction. Here we elucidate molecular events at synapses that cause this plasticity and the resulting behavioral response to cocaine in mice. In response to D1 dopamine receptor signaling that is induced by drug administration, the glutamate receptor protein mGluR5 is phosphorylated by MAP kinase, which we show potentiates Pin1-mediated prolyl isomerization of mGluR5 in instances where the product of an activity-dependent gene, Homer1a, is present to enable Pin1-mGluR5 interaction. These biochemical events potentiate NMDA receptor-mediated currents that underlie synaptic plasticity and cocaine-evoked motor sensitization as tested in mice with relevant mutations. The findings elucidate how a coincidence of signals from the nucleus and the synapse can render mGluR5 accessible to activation with consequences for drug-induced dopamine responses, and point to depotentiation at corticostriatal synapses as a possible therapeutic target for treating addiction.

The C-terminal domain (CTD) of eukaryotic RNA polymerase II is an essential regulator for RNA polymerase II-mediated transcription. It is composed of multiple repeats of a consensus sequence Tyr1Ser2Pro3Thr4Ser5Pro6Ser7. Ser2 and Ser5 are the major phosphorylation sites in vivo while Pro3 and Pro6 can adopt either cis or trans conformations. CTD regulation of transcription is mediated both by phosphorylation of the serines and prolyl isomerization of the two prolines. Interestingly, the phosphorylation sites are typically close to prolines, thus the conformation of the adjacent proline could impact the specificity of the corresponding kinases and phosphatases. Experimental evidence of cross-talk between these two regulatory mechanisms has been elusive. Pin1 is a highly conserved phosphorylation-specific peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) that recognizes the phospho-Ser/Thr (pSer/Thr)-Pro motif with CTD as one of its primary substrates in vivo. In the present study, we provide structural snapshots and kinetic evidence that support the concept of cross-talk between prolyl isomerization and phosphorylation. We determined the structures of Pin1 bound with two substrate isosteres that mimic peptides containing pSer/Thr-Pro motifs in cis or trans conformations. The results unequivocally demonstrate the utility of both cis- and trans-locked alkene isosteres as close geometric mimics of peptides bound to a protein target. Building on this result, we identified a specific case in which Pin1 differentially affects the rate of dephosphorylation catalyzed by two phosphatases (Scp1 and Ssu72) that target the same serine residue in the CTD heptad repeat but that have different preferences for the isomerization state of the adjacent proline residue. These data exemplify for the first time how modulation of proline isomerization can kinetically impact signal transduction in transcription regulation.

Stereoisomeric cis and trans substrate analogues for Pin1 were designed and synthesized. The central phosphoSer-Pro core of the Pin1 substrate was replaced by cis and trans amide isosteres in Ac-Phe-Phe-pSer-Psi[(Z and E)CH=C]-Pro-Arg-NH(2), 1 and 2, peptidomimetics. They were synthesized on solid phase in 17% yield for the cis analogue 1, and 16% yield for the trans analogue 2. A second trans amide isostere with a C-terminal N-methylamide 3 was synthesized in 7% yield. The protease-coupled Pin1 assay showed that all three compounds inhibited the Pin1 peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) enzymatic activity. The cis isostere 1 was 23 times more potent (K(i) = 1.74 +/- 0.08 muM) than its trans counterpart 2 (K(i) = 40 +/- 2 muM) in competitive inhibition of Pin1. These results suggest that the catalytic site of Pin1 binds cis substrates more tightly in aqueous solution. Antiproliferative activity toward the A2780 human ovarian cancer cell line by the cis and trans analogues correlates with Pin1 inhibition results.

An alkene isostere of Gly-trans-Pro was synthesized and incorporated into a host Ac-(Gly-Pro-Hyp)8-Gly-Gly-Tyr-NH2 peptide to investigate the effect of locking a proline amide bond. Proline amide bond isomerization is the slow step in collagen folding. By locking the amide, we hypothesized an increase in stability of the collagen triple helix. The substitution instead destabilized the collagen host peptide. The Tm value of the host control peptide was 50.0 degrees C, while the peptide containing the isostere, Ac-(Gly-Pro-Hyp)3-Gly-psi[(E)CH C]-Pro-Hyp-(Gly-Pro-Hyp)4-Gly-Gly-Tyr-NH2, had a Tm value of 28.3 degrees C. There are clearly factors that contribute to collagen stability and folding that we do not yet understand.