Differences in Binding Affinity Among Cell-cycle CDK and Cyclin Pairs
Sivasankar Putta1, Carina A Villegas1, Seth M Rubin1
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, United States.
Abstract:
The mammalian cell cycle is coordinated by primarily four cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), which are activated by a family of cyclin proteins to phosphorylate diverse protein effectors of cell growth and division. A wealth of qualitative protein interaction studies have supported a model in which different CDKs have specific cognate cyclin partners. However, there have been few quantitative measurements of binding kinetics and affinity to support our understanding of CDK-cyclin preferences and the structural origins of those preferences. We used a biolayer interferometry (BLI) assay to quantify association and dissociation rates and to determine binding constants for all pairings of the cell-cycle CDKs and cyclins. We found that the highest affinity interactions, including CDK1 for CycB, CDK2 for CycA and CycE, and CDK4 for CycD, involve complexes that are considered canonical and have most often been reported. Structural modeling and mutagenesis experiments demonstrate that specific sequence differences can explain preferential interactions in the case of CDK2 binding to CycA compared to CycD. Finally, we show that all the cell-cycle CDK-cyclin complexes are competent to catalyze ATP phophotransfer with only a few outliers demonstrating relatively high or low catalytic efficiency. The implications of these observations for the potential activation of noncanonical CDK-cyclin pairs in cancer cell proliferation are discussed.
Insights
This study quantifies cell-cycle cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) and cyclin interactions, revealing canonical pairs exhibit highest affinity. Findings provide insights into noncanonical pair activation in cancer.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Mammalian cell cycle control relies on cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) activated by cyclins.
- Previous studies qualitatively suggested specific CDK-cyclin pairings, but quantitative data on binding kinetics and affinity were lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantitatively measure binding kinetics and affinity for all cell-cycle CDK-cyclin pairings.
- To explore the structural basis for CDK-cyclin interaction preferences.
- To assess the catalytic activity of CDK-cyclin complexes.
Main Methods:
- Biolayer interferometry (BLI) assay to quantify association/dissociation rates and binding constants.
- Structural modeling and mutagenesis to investigate sequence-specific interactions.
- Assay of ATP phosphotransfer activity for CDK-cyclin complexes.
Main Results:
- Highest affinity interactions confirmed for canonical CDK-cyclin pairs (e.g., CDK1/CycB, CDK2/CycA, CDK2/CycE, CDK4/CycD).
- Specific sequence differences identified as key determinants for preferential binding, exemplified by CDK2/CycA versus CDK2/CycD.
- Most CDK-cyclin complexes demonstrated competence in ATP phosphotransfer, with variations in catalytic efficiency observed.
Conclusions:
- Quantitative binding data validates canonical CDK-cyclin interactions.
- Structural insights explain specific binding preferences.
- The catalytic competence of various complexes suggests potential roles for noncanonical pairings in cell proliferation, particularly in cancer.
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