Structural basis for PAS domain heterodimerization in the basic helix-loop-helix-PAS transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor
Abstract
Biological responses to oxygen availability play important roles in development, physiological homeostasis, and many disease processes. In mammalian cells, this adaptation is mediated in part by a conserved pathway centered on the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). HIF is a heterodimeric protein complex composed of two members of the basic helix-loop-helix Per-ARNT-Sim (PAS) (ARNT, aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator) domain family of transcriptional activators, HIFα and ARNT. Although this complex involves protein-protein interactions mediated by basic helix-loop-helix and PAS domains in both proteins, the role played by the PAS domains is poorly understood. To address this issue, we have studied the structure and interactions of the C-terminal PAS domain of human HIF-2α by NMR spectroscopy. We demonstrate that HIF-2α PAS-B binds the analogous ARNT domain in vitro, showing that residues involved in this interaction are located on the solvent-exposed side of the HIF-2α central β-sheet. Mutating residues at this surface not only disrupts the interaction between isolated PAS domains in vitro but also interferes with the ability of full-length HIF to respond to hypoxia in living cells. Extending our findings to other PAS domains, we find that this β-sheet interface is widely used for both intra- and intermolecular interactions, suggesting a basis of specificity and regulation of many types of PAS-containing signaling proteins.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- December 2003
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.2533374100
- Bibcode:
- 2003PNAS..10015504E
- Keywords:
-
- BIOPHYSICS