Biophysical and functional characterization of N-terminal domain of Human Interferon Regulatory Factor 6

Interferon regulatory factor 6 (IRF6) has a key function in palate fusion during palatogenesis during embryonic development, and mutations in IRF6 cause orofacial clefting disorders.

The in silico analysis of IRF6 is done to obtain leads for the domain boundaries and subsequently the sub-cloning of the N-terminal domain of IRF6 into the pGEX-2TK expression vector and successfully optimized the overexpression and purification of recombinant glutathione S-transferase-fused NTD-IRF6 protein under native conditions. After cleavage of the GST tag, NTD-IRF6 was subjected to protein folding studies employing Circular Dichroism and Intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy at variable pH, temperature, and denaturant. CD studies showed predominantly alpha-helical content and the highest stability of NTD-IRF6 at pH 9.0. A comparison of native and renatured protein depicts loss in the secondary structural content. Intrinsic fluorescence and quenching studies have identified that tryptophan residues are majorly present in the buried areas of the protein and a small fraction was on or near the protein surface. Upon the protein unfolding with a higher concentration of denaturant urea, the peak of fluorescence intensity decreased and red shifted, confirming that tryptophan residues are majorly present in a more polar environment. While regulating IFN_β gene expression during viral infection, the N-terminal domain binds to the promoter region of Virus Response Element-Interferon beta (VRE-IFN_β). Along with the protein folding analysis, this study also aimed to identify the DNA-binding activity and determine the binding affinities of NTD-IRF6 with the VRE-IFN_β promoter region. The protein-DNA interaction is specific as demonstrated by gel retardation assay and the kinetics of molecular interactions as quantified by Biolayer Interferometry showed a strong affinity with an affinity constant (K_D) value of 7.96 × 10^-10 M.

NTD-IRF6 consists of a mix of α-helix and β-sheets that show temperature-dependent cooperative unfolding between 40 °C and 55 °C. Urea-induced unfolding shows moderate tolerance to urea as the mid-transition concentration of urea (Cm) is 3.2 M. The tryptophan residues are majorly buried as depicted by fluorescence quenching studies. NTD-IRF6 has a specific and high affinity toward the promoter region of VRE-IFN_β.