Solution structure analysis of the HPV16 E6 oncoprotein reveals a self-association mechanism required for E6-mediated degradation of p53.

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Date publication

avril 2012

Auteurs

Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Dr KIEFFER Bruno, Dr TRAVE Gilles


Tous les auteurs :
Zanier K, ould M'hamed ould Sidi A, Boulade-Ladame C, Rybin V, Chappelle A, Atkinson A, Kieffer B, Trave G

Résumé

The viral oncoprotein E6 is an essential factor for cervical cancers induced by "high-risk" mucosal HPV. Among other oncogenic activities, E6 recruits the ubiquitin ligase E6AP to promote the ubiquitination and subsequent proteasomal degradation of p53. E6 is prone to self-association, which long precluded its structural analysis. Here we found that E6 specifically dimerizes through its N-terminal domain and that disruption of the dimer interface strongly increases E6 solubility. This allowed us to raise structural data covering the entire HPV16 E6 protein, including the high-resolution NMR structures of the two zinc-binding domains of E6 and a robust data-driven model structure of the N-terminal domain homodimer. Interestingly, homodimer interface mutations that disrupt E6 self-association also inactivate E6-mediated p53 degradation. These data suggest that E6 needs to self-associate via its N-terminal domain to promote the polyubiquitination of p53 by E6AP.

Référence

Structure. 2012 Apr 4;20(4):604-17