Structures of N-terminally processed KRAS provide insight into the role of N-acetylation.

Publication Type:

Journal Article

Source:

Sci Rep, Volume 9, Issue 1, p.10512 (2019)

Abstract:

<p>Although post-translational modification of the C-terminus of RAS has been studied extensively, little is known about N-terminal processing. Mass spectrometric characterization of KRAS expressed in mammalian cells showed cleavage of the initiator methionine (iMet) and N-acetylation of the nascent N-terminus. Interestingly, structural studies on GDP- and GMPPNP-bound KRAS lacking the iMet and N-acetylation resulted in Mg-free structures of KRAS with flexible N-termini. In the Mg-free KRAS-GDP structure, the flexible N-terminus causes conformational changes in the interswitch region resulting in a fully open conformation of switch I. In the Mg-free KRAS-GMPPNP structure, the flexible N-terminus causes conformational changes around residue A59 resulting in the loss of Mg and switch I in the inactive state 1 conformation. Structural studies on N-acetylated KRAS-GDP lacking the iMet revealed the presence of Mg and a conformation of switch regions also observed in the structure of GDP-bound unprocessed KRAS with the iMet. In the absence of the iMet, the N-acetyl group interacts with the central beta-sheet and stabilizes the N-terminus and the switch regions. These results suggest there is crosstalk between the N-terminus and the Mg binding site, and that N-acetylation plays an important role by stabilizing the N-terminus of RAS upon excision of the iMet.</p>

PDB: 
6P0Z: Mg2+-bound N-acetylated KRAS (2–169)-GDP; 6M9W: Mg2+-free KRAS (2–169)-GDP; 6MBU: Mg2+-bound KRAS (1–169)-GDP (P3, crystal form I); 6MBT: Mg2+-bound KRAS (1–169)-GDP (C2, crystal form II); 6MBQ: Mg2+-free KRAS (2–166)-GMPPNP.
Detector: 
Q315
PILATUS
EIGER
Beamline: 
24-ID-C
24-ID-E