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Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California (U.C.), Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
Reprint requests to: James M. Berger, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; e-mail: jmberger{at}berkeley.edu; fax: (510) 643-9290.
(RECEIVED June 29, 2005; FINAL REVISION June 29, 2005; ACCEPTED July 5, 2005)
| Abstract |
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Keywords: RNaseIII; dsRNA; RNA processing; RNA interference; enzymes; proteinnucleic acid interactions; crystallography; genomicsstructural
Article published online ahead of print. Article and publication date are at http://www.proteinscience.org/cgi/doi/10.1110/ps.051665905.
| Introduction |
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Bacterial RNase III proteins are the simplest members of the RNase III family, comprising a single N-terminal nuclease domain fused to a C-terminal dsRNA binding domain (dsRBD). The functional unit of RNase III is a dimer, formed in the bacterial proteins as a homooligomer of equivalent subunits. Cleavage of dsRNA by RNase III is dependent on divalent cations. Metal binding is coordinated by four strictly conserved acidic residues: a glutamate and aspartate (E. coli residues Glu41Ec and Asp45Ec) from within the RNase III signature box (NERLEFLGDS), and two additionally conserved residues, Asp114Ec and Glu117Ec (Blaszczyk et al. 2001). Of these, Asp45Ec and Glu117Ec are essential for catalysis in vitro (Sun et al. 2004; Zhang et al. 2004).
Despite several existing structures, the mechanisms by which RNase III recognizes and cleaves dsRNA are not fully understood. To better understand its function, and as a part of the M. tuberculosis structural genomics initiative, we determined the crystal structure of the nuclease domain of RNase III from the bacterium M. tuberculosis (TB) to 2.1 Å. The TB RNase III structure reveals a previously unseen metal binding site adjacent to the known active site metal. Modeling of dsRNA onto this structure shows potential implications for the second metal and for additional conserved elements in the recognition of dsRNA substrate.
| Results and Discussion |
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-helical fold seen previously for the A. aeolicus (AA) RNase III and T. maritima (TM) RNase III (PDB entries 1JFZ
[PDB]
and 1O0W) nuclease domains (Blaszczyk et al. 2001, 2004; Fig. 1
2' and
5', as well as a second 310 helix, that are not observed in the AARNase III structure also are seen in the TM model. The overall dimer structure resembles a shallow oblong bowl with helices
2',
5', and
4 forming the rim and
3 forming the base (Fig. 1
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In the initial solution of the TB RNase III structure, only two of the four expected Selenium sites were found by SOLVE, both of which reside in the nuclease domain. No credible electron density was evident for the C-terminal dsRNA-binding domain in initial or refined maps, and the dsRBDs two resident Se sites were never located, even after refinement of the structure. SDS-PAGE showed that full-length RNase III is the only species present in the crystals (data not shown). As a consequence, the dsRNA binding domain appears to be highly mobile with respect to the nuclease domain. Since the dsRBD is ~40% of the protein mass in the crystal, this may explain why the Rwork and Rfree values are relatively high given the quality of the data.
The dimer interface is principally constructed from contacts between the
3 helices of each subunit. A total of 1188 Å2 is buried in each monomer. Over a third of this surface area is accounted for by just three residues: Arg42, Phe45, and Phe60. Residues Phe45 and Phe60 form "ball-and-socket" interactions across the dimer interface at either end of
3 (Fig. 2A
). The importance of Phe45 was demonstrated previously, as nonconservative mutations of this residue inactivate the nuclease (Blaszczyk et al. 2001). Arg42 bridges the dimer interface, making a number of contacts with backbone carbonyl oxygens while ordering the loop connecting helices
3 and
4 (Fig. 2B
). Additionally, Arg42 forms a large part of the socket that accommodates Phe60 of the adjacent subunit. Two additional nonhydrophobic dimer interactions are observed in the TB structure (Fig. 2A
). The first is near the active site, in which Glu68 bridges the dimer interface to coordinate the 2°-site ion in conjunction with residues from the neighboring protomer. The other interaction connects Tyr130 with Asp57' and Arg139' (where "'" signifies residues from the adjoining monomer).
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Implications for dsRNA interactions
The spacing between A-site ions across the dimer symmetry axis is ~21 Å. When considered in the context of a dsRNA duplex, this distance approaches the spacing between a pair of backbone phosphates that are positioned two base pairs (bp) apart across the minor groove of A-form dsRNA (17 Å) (Fig. 2C
, green spheres). RNase III enzymes leave a 2-bp overhang following cleavage, and simple modeling of a dsRNA, such that two scissile phosphates lie proximal to the A-site metals, orients the minor groove across the longest width of the bowl-shaped dimer. This model, first proposed by Zhang et al. (2004) for AA RNase III, is based on the observation that each active site is responsible for one strand cleavage reaction and that this orientation would lay the dsRNA along a broad stripe of negatively charged, conserved residues that form the metal binding sites (Fig. 2D,E
).
Although recognition of dsRNA by RNase III is generally sequence-independent, two regions have been identified in which specific base pair combinations inhibit dsRNA cleavage by the enzyme (Zhang and Nicholson 1997). These regions, termed "anti-determinants," consist of the proximal box, which lies at positions 4 to 6 in relation to the cut site, and the distal box, which covers positions 11 and 12. Modeling of dsRNA as outlined above places the distal box (Fig. 2C
, cyan bars) adjacent to helices
2' and
5' (Fig. 2C
, red). Mutation to alanine of the E. coli residue Glu100Ec, equivalent to Glu106 within helix
5', increases Km by about eightfold with a concomitant increase in Kcat of about fivefold (Sun et al. 2004). Since Glu100Ec is not near the active site, and because the rate-limiting step in catalysis appears to occur subsequent to hydrolysis (Campbell et al. 2002), these results can be rationalized by a model in which decreased affinity for dsRNA leads to a faster rate of product release. Our model suggests that this effect may be a result of Glu100Ec directly interacting with dsRNA, and that this interaction may occur within the distal box anti-determinant region.
Implications for the 2°-site ion
The role of the 2°-site metal is less clear. One possibility is that the 2°-site is equivalent to the B-site in a two-metal ion catalyzed reaction. Measurement of the Hill coefficient for RNase III, along with inhibitor studies using 2-hydroxy-4H-isoquinoline-1,3-dione, a compound specific for two-metal ion nucleases, implies that the hydrolysis reaction catalyzed by RNase III proceeds through a two-metal ion mechanism (Sun et al. 2005). However, in the absence of large distortion of the dsRNA helix, the spacing of the 2°-sites would seem to be too far for direct interaction with the scissile phosphates (Fig. 2C
). Additionally, at 5.4 Å, the distance between the A-site and the 2°-site is greater than the canonical spacing of ~3.9 Å between ions in a two-metal ion hydrolysis active site (Beese and Steitz 1991; Steitz and Steitz 1993). In general, the inner liganding shell of the B-site ion in a two-metal mechanism is directly filled by at least one acidic side chain. In contrast, the 2°-site ion coordination we observe is exclusively through outer-shell contacts. Taken together, the 2°-site is unlikely to correspond to the B-site used in two-metal phosphodiester hydrolysis reactions.
What purpose then might Glu41, Glu68, and the 2°-site ion serve? It is worth noting that Glu41 and Glu68 are highly conserved, although not as strictly as the four catalytic residues, and that mutation of the equivalent residues in E. coli RNase III results in an increase of fivefold and threefold, respectively, in the Km for dsRNA, implicating these residues in dsRNA contacts (Zhang et al. 2004). Since the active site of RNase III has a highly conserved and negatively charged surface (Fig. 2D,E
) it has been proposed that dsRNA contacts may be mediated through ionic interactions. In support of this hypothesis, a model in which dsRNA interacts with RNase III across the width of the dimer would position the 2°-site proximal to the dsRNA backbone (Fig. 2C
). We note that the association of the 2°-site ion with Glu41 and Glu68 is likely a direct result of the high metal ion concentration used in the crystallization conditions for these studies. Given the high Ca2+ concentration and the high B-factor (80 Å2) for metal modeled at the 2°-site, this locus appears to interact only weakly with divalent cations in the absence of dsRNA substrate. As nucleic acids often have a shell of metal ions associated with their phosphodiester backbone, it is possible that the 2°-site might serve as a repository for cations brought in with dsRNA upon binding.
The model proposed here for dsRNA binding to RNase III agrees well with that suggested by Zhang et al. (2004). By taking advantage of the symmetry of both RNase III and dsRNA, as well as the spacing of the likely A-site metal ions, the scissile phosphates of a dsRNA can be readily positioned near the active sites in a manner that would be expected to produce the appropriate two-base overhang products. This arrangement is supported by the conservation of residues along the dsRNA binding region, and suggests that helices
2' and
5' may contact the distal box anti-determinant region of dsRNA. The model also provides a role for the conserved but noncatalytic, residues Glu41 and Glu68 in dsRNA recognition. More extensive definition of the mechanisms by which RNase III recognizes and cleaves RNA awaits future co-crystal studies.
| Materials and methods |
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His-tagged RNase IIII was expressed at OD600 of 0.40.6 in E. coli BL21(DE3)pLysS at 37°C and induced with 1 mM IPTG for 35 h. Harvested cells were resuspended and frozen at 80°C in lysis buffer (50 mM Tris [pH 7.5], 300 mM NaCl, 10% glycerol) with protease inhibitors PMSF and pepstatin A. Expression of selenomethionyl (Se-Met) protein was performed using the protocol of Van Duyne et al. (1993).
For purification, thawed cells were sonicated and centrifuged, and soluble His-tagged RNase III was purified by nickel affinity chromatography. Fractions containing RNase III were pooled and subjected to cleavage of the His-tag by tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease, followed by a second nickel affinity step. Protein eluting in the flow-through was concentrated and run over a gel-filtration column. TB RNase III eluted as a dimer in solution from this step. Protein purity was assessed by SDS-PAGE, and identity was confirmed by ESI mass spectroscopy.
Crystallization
Protein was dialyzed against 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 50 mM NaCl, and 1 mM DTT. Initial crystals were identified with the use of microfluidic protein crystallization chips (Hansen et al. 2002) set with a protein concentration of 8.5 mg/mL. Crystals were observed in conditions containing 20% PEG 8000, 100 mM MES (pH 6.5), and 200 mM Ca-acetate. Crystals, of the space group P43212 with a = b = 72.6 Å and c = 90.1 Å, were grown at 18°C in 15%20% PEG 3000 with 100 mM Ca-acetate and 100 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), and transferred to an equivalent solution containing 12%18% xylitol in steps of 2% xylitol before freezing. Crystal trays were moved to 4° before transfer to cryoprotectant and freezing.
Data collection and structure solution
X-ray diffraction data were collected at beamline 8.3.1 at the Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Data were processed using Denzo and Scalepack (Otwinowski and Minor 1997). Collection and processing statistics are given in Table 1
. SOLVE and RESOLVE (Terwilliger and Berendzen 1999; Terwilliger 2000) were used to find the Selenium sites, calculate experimental phases, and generate and refine initial electron density maps. Model building was carried out with O, using the A. aeolicus RNase III structure (Blaszczyk et al. 2001) as a starting model. Upon availability of a higher-resolution (2.1 Å) native data set, phases were extended from 2.5 Å using DM (Collaborative Computational Project No. 4 1994). Refinement was carried out using CNS (Brunger et al. 1998).
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| Acknowledgments |
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