title: Phosphorylation of the DNA-binding domain of nonhistone high-mobility group I protein by cdc2 kinase: reduction of binding affinity.
abstract: Mammalian high-mobility group I nonhistone protein (HMG-I) is a DNA-binding chromatin protein that has been demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo to be localized to the A + T-rich sequences of DNA. Recently an unusual binding domain peptide, "the A.T-hook" motif, that mediates specific interaction of HMG-I with the minor groove of DNA in vitro has been described. Inspection of the A.T-hook region of the binding domain showed that it matches the consensus sequence for phosphorylation by cdc2 kinase. Here we demonstrate that HMG-I is a substrate for phosphorylation by purified mammalian cdc2 kinase in vitro. The site of phosphorylation by this enzyme is a threonine residue at the amino-terminal end of the principal binding-domain region of the protein. Labeling of mitotically blocked mouse cells with [32P]phosphate demonstrates that this same threonine residue in HMG-I is also preferentially phosphorylated in vivo. Competition binding studies show that cdc2 phosphorylation of a synthetic binding-domain peptide significantly weakens its interaction with A + T-rich DNA in vitro, and a similar weakening of DNA binding has been observed for intact murine HMG-I protein phosphorylated by the kinase in vitro. These findings indicate that cdc2 phosphorylation may significantly alter the DNA-binding properties of the HMG-I proteins. Because many cdc2 substrates are DNA-binding proteins, these results further suggest that alteration of the DNA-binding affinity of a variety of proteins is an important general component of the mechanism by which cdc2 kinase regulates cell cycle progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry/Biophysics, Washington State University, Pullman 99164.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reeves
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Langan
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Nissen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D016203:CDC2 Protein Kinase / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D006609:High Mobility Group Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010766:Phosphorylation
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D006609:High Mobility Group Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D016203:CDC2 Protein Kinase