title: Stimulation of eukaryotic flap endonuclease-1 activities by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is independent of its in vitro interaction via a consensus PCNA binding region.
abstract: Interaction between human flap endonuclease-1 (hFEN-1) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) represents a good model for interactions between multiple functional proteins involved in DNA metabolic pathways. A region of 9 conserved amino acid residues (residues Gln-337 through Lys-345) in the C terminus of human FEN-1 (hFEN-1) was shown to be responsible for the interaction with PCNA. Our current study indicates that 4 amino acid residues in hFEN-1 (Leu-340, Asp-341, Phe-343, and Phe-344) are critical for human PCNA (hPCNA) interaction. A conserved PCNA interaction motif in various proteins from assorted species has been defined as Q(1)X(2)X(3)(L/I)(4)X(5)X(6)F(7)(F/Y)(8), although our results fail to implicate Q(1) (Gln-337 in hFEN-1) as a crucial residue. Surprisingly, all hFEN-1 mutants, including L340A, D341A, F343A, and F344A, retained hPCNA-mediated stimulation of both exo- and flap endonuclease activities. Furthermore, our in vitro assay showed that hPCNA failed to bind to the scRad27 (yeast homolog of FEN-1) nuclease. However, its nuclease activities were significantly enhanced in the presence of hPCNA. Four additional Saccharomyces cerevisiae scRad27 mutants, including multiple alanine mutants and a deletion mutant of the entire PCNA binding region, were constructed to confirm this result. All of these mutants retained PCNA-driven nuclease activity stimulation. We therefore conclude that stimulation of eukaryotic hFEN-1 nuclease activities by PCNA is independent of its in vitro interaction via the PCNA binding region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Tumor Biology, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D004706:Endodeoxyribonucleases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D045585:Flap Endonucleases; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009154:Mutation; D010449:Peptide Mapping; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; D004247:DNA; D004706:Endodeoxyribonucleases; D045585:Flap Endonucleases; C468317:FEN1 protein, human