Substrate recognition and specificity are essential for the reliability and fidelity of protein kinase function. GSK-3 has a unique substrate specificity that requires prior phosphorylation of its substrates. However, how the enzyme selects its phosphorylated substrates is unknown. Here, we combined in silico modeling with mutagenesis and biological studies to identify GSK-3-substrate interaction sites located within its binding cleft. Protein-protein docking of GSK-3 and the phosphorylated cAMP responsive element binding protein (pCREB) (using the available experimentally determined structures), identified Phe 67 , Gln 89 , and Asn 95 of GSK-3 as putative binding sites interacting with the CREB phosphorylation motif. Mutations of these residues to alanine impaired GSK-3 phosphorylation of several substrates, without abrogating its autocatalytic activity. Subsequently, expression of the GSK-3 mutants in cells resulted in decreased phosphorylation of substrates CREB, IRS-1, and -catenin, and prevented their suppression of glycogen synthase activity as compared with cells expressing the wildtype GSK-3. Our studies provide important additional understanding of how GSK-3 recognizes its substrates: In addition to prior phosphorylation typically required in GSK-3 substrates, substrate recognition involves interactions with GSK-3 residues: Phe 67 , Gln 89 , and Asn 95 , which confer a common basis for substrate binding and selectivity, yet allow for substrate diversity.
Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3)4 is a ubiquitous serine/ threonine kinase expressed as two isoforms (␣ and ) (1), and has been implicated in many biological processes, including glucose metabolism, cell apoptosis, and embryonic development (reviewed in Refs. 2-4). The cellular activity of GSK-3 is stringently controlled in response to growth factors and hormones. However, unlike most protein kinases, GSK-3 is constitutively active in resting cells and becomes inhibited upon stimulation of the cells. This inhibition is achieved through direct phosphorylation of N-terminal serine residues (Ser 21 or Ser 9 in ␣, , respectively) by several protein kinases, such as PKB, p90RSK, PKA, and PKC (2-4). GSK-3 also may be phosphorylated on Tyr 216 located in the activation loop (5). This phosphorylation is an autophosphorylation event as demonstrated by in vitro and in vivo cell systems (5-7).Elevated activity of GSK-3 is associated with several diseases, including type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and affective disorders (8 -10). Hence, selective inhibitors of GSK-3 may be of therapeutic value and are currently under extensive development (11)(12)(13)(14). Thus, understanding of how GSK-3 interacts with its substrates may pave the way for design and development of new specific substrate competitive GSK-3 inhibitors.Substrate specificity of protein kinases is a fundamental determinant for the integrity and fidelity of signaling pathways. Previous studies formulated consensus sequences for optimal phosphorylation motifs of protein kinases usi...