title: Structurally adaptive hot spots at a protein interaction interface on TRAF3.
abstract: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling is controlled by receptors and intracellular signaling pathways that activate the NF-kappaB transcription factor. The resulting signals elicit immune responses and have important implications for disorders such as autoimmunity or allergic reactions. TNF-receptor-associated factors (TRAFs) bind to the cytoplasmic portion of TNFRs as well as downstream regulators and thus are co-inducers of the signal transduction. TRAF3 binds to diverse receptors and regulators by accomodating a conserved motif that is embedded in completely different structural frameworks. Thus, the protein-protein contact region on TRAF3 represents a binding interface that is structurally and functionally adaptive. In this report, three 'hot spots' at the TRAF3 protein-interaction interface are defined that provide the principal contact regions for different binding partners. The side-chains of residues at these 'hot spots' are flexible and undergo movements on binding the different partners. These side chain rearrangements provide a structural adaptability that promotes interaction with a variety of distinct proteins. It is proposed that similar adaptive 'hot spots' are also present on the binding surfaces of TRAF1, TRAF2 and TRAF5.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center, The Burnham Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ely@burnham.org
authors.forename: Kathryn R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Ely
authors.forename: Chenglong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D006801:Humans; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008958:Models, Molecular; D015394:Molecular Structure; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary; D021122:Protein Subunits; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D055672:Static Electricity; D048008:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 3
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D021122:Protein Subunits; D011506:Proteins; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D048008:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 3