title: Mammalian protein arginine methyltransferase 7 (PRMT7) specifically targets RXR sites in lysine- and arginine-rich regions.
abstract: The mammalian protein arginine methyltransferase 7 (PRMT7) has been implicated in roles of transcriptional regulation, DNA damage repair, RNA splicing, cell differentiation, and metastasis. However, the type of reaction that it catalyzes and its substrate specificity remain controversial. In this study, we purified a recombinant mouse PRMT7 expressed in insect cells that demonstrates a robust methyltransferase activity. Using a variety of substrates, we demonstrate that the enzyme only catalyzes the formation of ω-monomethylarginine residues, and we confirm its activity as the prototype type III protein arginine methyltransferase. This enzyme is active on all recombinant human core histones, but histone H2B is a highly preferred substrate. Analysis of the specific methylation sites within intact histone H2B and within H2B and H4 peptides revealed novel post-translational modification sites and a unique specificity of PRMT7 for methylating arginine residues in lysine- and arginine-rich regions. We demonstrate that a prominent substrate recognition motif consists of a pair of arginine residues separated by one residue (RXR motif). These findings will significantly accelerate substrate profile analysis, biological function study, and inhibitor discovery for PRMT7.
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and.
authors.forename: You
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Ranjan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maity
authors.forename: Julian P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Whitelegge
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hadjikyriacou
authors.forename: Ziwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zurita-Lopez
authors.forename: Qais
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Al-Hadid
authors.forename: Amander T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Mark T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Bedford
authors.forename: Jean-Yves
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Masson
authors.forename: Steven G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Clarke
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000818:Animals; D001120:Arginine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006657:Histones / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008239:Lysine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008745:Methylation; D051379:Mice; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational / Q000502:physiology*; D011484:Protein-Arginine N-Methyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D061987:Sf9 Cells; D018411:Spodoptera; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D001120:Arginine; C570798:PRMT7 protein, mouse; D011484:Protein-Arginine N-Methyltransferases; D008239:Lysine
keywords: Histone Methylation; Mass Spectrometry (MS); Methyltransferases; Post-translational Modification; Protein Methylation; Protein-arginine Methyltransferases (PRMT); S-Adenosylmethionine (AdoMet)