title: Computational docking and solution x-ray scattering predict a membrane-interacting role for the histone domain of the Ras activator son of sevenless.
abstract: The Ras-specific nucleotide exchange factor son of sevenless (SOS) is a large, multidomain protein with complex regulation, including a Ras-dependent allosteric mechanism. The N-terminal segment of SOS, the histone domain, contains two histone folds, which is highly unusual for a cytoplasmic protein. Using a combination of computational docking, small-angle x-ray scattering, mutagenesis, and calorimetry, we show that the histone domain folds into the rest of SOS and docks onto a helical linker that connects the pleckstrin-homology (PH) and Dbl-homology (DH) domains of SOS to the catalytic domain. In this model, a positively charged surface region on the histone domain is positioned so as to provide a fourth potential anchorage site on the membrane for SOS in addition to the PH domain, the allosteric Ras molecule, and the C-terminal adapter-binding site. The histone domain in SOS interacts with the helical linker, using a region of the surface that in nucleosomes is involved in histone tetramerization. Adjacent surface elements on the histone domain that correspond to the DNA-binding surface of nucleosomes form the predicted interaction site with the membrane. The orientation and position of the histone domain in the SOS model implicates it as a potential mediator of membrane-dependent activation signals.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sondermann
authors.forename: Bhushan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nagar
authors.forename: Dafna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bar-Sagi
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kuriyan
mesh_terms: D000494:Allosteric Regulation; D002151:Calorimetry; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism*; D017354:Point Mutation; D011485:Protein Binding; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D020664:Son of Sevenless Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014965:X-Rays
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D020664:Son of Sevenless Proteins