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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 282, Issue 1, 124-131, January 5, 2007
Identification of Ligand Binding Site of Phytosulfokine Receptor by On-column Photoaffinity Labeling*From the Graduate School of Bio-agricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
Received for publication, May 12, 2006 , and in revised form, November 8, 2006.
Phytosulfokine (PSK), an endogenous 5-amino-acid-secreted peptide in plants, affects cellular potential for growth via binding to PSKR1, a member of the leucine-rich repeat receptor kinase (LRR-RK) family. PSK interacts with PSKR1 in a highly specific manner with a nanomolar dissociation constant. However, it is not known which residues in the PSKR1 extracellular domain constitute the ligand binding pocket. Here, we have identified the PSK binding domain of carrot PSKR1 (DcPSKR1) by photoaffinity labeling. We cross-linked the photoactivatable PSK analog [125I]-[N -(4-azidosalicyl)Lys5]PSK with DcPSKR1 using UV irradiation and mapped the cross-linked region using chemical and enzymatic fragmentation. We also established a novel "on-column photoaffinity labeling" methodology that allows repeated incorporation of the photoaffinity label to increase the efficiency of the photoaffinity cross-linking reactions. We purified a labeled DcPSKR1 tryptic fragment using anti-PSK antibodies and identified a peptide fragment that corresponds to the 15-amino-acid Glu503-Lys517 region of DcPSKR1 by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Deletion of Glu503-Lys517 completely abolishes the ligand binding activity of DcPSKR1. This region is in the island domain flanked by extracellular LRRs, indicating that this domain forms a ligand binding pocket that directly interacts with PSK.
Cell-to-cell communication is essential for growth and development of multicellular organisms throughout their life. In plants, hormones, including small lipophilic compounds and secreted peptides, comprise a large group of signaling molecules that are central to intercellular communication. They elicit biological activity by binding to cell surface receptors that have kinase activity or by directly interacting with intracellular proteins.
Phytosulfokine (PSK)2 is a 5-amino-acid-secreted peptide that has been identified in the medium of plant cell cultures, based on the results of assays of the growth-promoting activity of cultured cells (1). The addition of chemically synthesized PSK to culture medium, even at nanomolar concentrations, significantly promotes the proliferation of callus and suspension cells. PSK also promotes tracheary element differentiation (2), somatic embryogenesis (3, 4), adventitious bud formation (5), adventitious root formation (6), and pollen germination in vitro (7). PSK is produced from
PSK binds the membrane-localized PSK receptor PSKR1, which is a leucine-rich repeat receptor kinase (LRR-RK) that has been purified from solubilized carrot microsomes by ligand-based affinity chromatography (hereafter referred to as DcPSKR1) (11). The extracellular domain of DcPSKR1 contains 21 tandem copies of LRR interrupted by a 36-amino-acid island domain rich in hydrophilic and charged amino acid residues. Disruption or overexpression of the Arabidopsis ortholog of PSKR1 (AtPSKR1) significantly alters cellular longevity and potential for growth without interfering with primary morphogenesis of plants (10). PSK appears to activate the basic potential for cellular growth rather than directly determining cell fate and thereby exerts a pleiotropic effect on individual cells in response to environmental hormonal conditions. Ligand binding generally causes a receptor protein to undergo a conformational change that directly activates the receptor so that it can interact with another cellular molecule and/or exert intrinsic enzyme activities such as kinase activity. PSK interacts with DcPSKR1 in a highly specific manner, with a high affinity dissociation constant of Kd = 4.2 nM (11). However, it is not known which amino acids in the DcPSKR1 extracellular domain constitute the ligand binding pocket. Photoaffinity labeling is one of the most useful methods for analyzing ligand-receptor interactions. Identification of the labeled amino acid residues can yield valuable information about the ligand binding domain of the receptor. However, it is often quite difficult to identify the cross-linked residues by MS analysis due to the low efficiency of cross-linking reactions. These difficulties are further compounded by low concentrations of binding proteins, especially in the case of transmembrane receptors and channels that cannot be functionally overexpressed in bacteria. In fact, most known cross-linked regions of membrane-localized proteins have been identified by analyzing chemical and enzymatic fragmentation patterns of labeled proteins using radioactive photoaffinity ligands rather than direct MS analysis of purified peptide fragments cross-linked with photoaffinity ligands (1214). In the present paper, we have reported identification of the PSK binding site of DcPSKR1 by SDS-PAGE mapping of the cross-linked fragments generated by chemical and enzymatic fragmentation of the photoaffinity-labeled ligand-receptor complex and by direct analysis of the purified cross-linked fragments by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). We have also reported the usefulness of a novel solid-phase photoaffinity labeling technology, "on-column photoaffinity labeling," which allows repeated incorporation of a photoaffinity label to increase the efficiency of the photoaffinity cross-linking reactions.
Vector Construction and Transformation of Tobacco BY-2 CellsFor construction of plasmids pBI121-DcPSKR1-His6 and pBI121-DcPSKR1- KD-His6, PCR was performed using primers PSKR-5f (5'-GCtctagaATTTGCCTTGTTTTGTTGAGC-3') and PSKR-3r (5'-CTAGTGGTGGTGGTGGTGGTGACTACTGACATCAATGTTTTCGAGCC-3') for DcPSKR1-His6, using primers PSKR-5f and PSKR-3t (5'-CTAGTGGTGGTGGTGGTGGTGACTGCTAGTGGATTTCAAAATGTC-3') for DcPSKR1- KD-His6 (His6 coding regions are underlined; restriction sites are in lowercase), and using DcPSKR1 cDNA as a template. The amplified fragments were digested with XbaI and inserted into the binary vector pBI121, which had been digested with XbaI and SacI (blunted). For the construction of plasmid pBI121-DcPSKR1- ID[Glu503-Lys517], the PCR-ligation-PCR method was used (15). Two independent PCRs were performed 1) using primers PSKR-5f and DcR1ID-3e (5'-GGAGACAAGGCTCTGTAAACTGG-3') and 2) using primers DcR1ID-5e (5'-AAAAACACAAATGCCGGAGG-3') and PSKR-3p (5'-AATGACAGGACAATGCTAACTACTGACATC-3'). The two PCR products were then phosphorylated and blunt-ligated. A second series of PCRs were performed to amplify the ligated DcPSKR1- ID[Glu503-Lys517] using primers PSKR-5f and PSKR-3p. Finally, the product was purified, digested with XbaI, and inserted into the binary vector pBI121, which had been digested with XbaI and SacI (blunted). For construction of pBI121-DcPSKR1- ID[Lys518-Ile538], two independent PCRs were performed 1) using primers PSKR-5f and DcR1ID-3d (5'-TTTTTTCTTGAAAAATGGAAAATCTGG-3') and 2) using primers DcR1ID-5d (5'-ATAGACCTTAGTTATAATTCCCTCAATGG-3') and PSKR-3p. The PCR products were phosphorylated, blunt-ligated, and subjected to a second PCR using primers PSKR-5f and PSKR-3p. The products were purified, digested with XbaI, and inserted into the binary vector pBI121. The resultant recombinant plasmids were used to transform Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58C1 (pMP90) using electroporation. Tobacco BY-2 cells were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium for 2 days, and the resultant transformed BY-2 cells were selected on modified MS agar medium containing 200 mg/liter kanamycin and 500 mg/liter carbenicillin for 34 weeks until transformed cells were formed (16). Selected cell lines were transferred into MS liquid medium containing 100 mg/liter kanamycin to initiate suspension culture and were used for subsequent analysis. Transgenic BY-2 cells were maintained in both liquid and solid culture by subculturing once a week. Ligand Binding AssayThe ligand binding assay of plant microsomal fractions and affinity-purified DcPSKR1 was performed using [3H]PSK and following a protocol described previously (11, 17).
Affinity Purification of DcPSKR1-
PNGase F Treatment of Purified DcPSKR1-
Preparation of Photoactivatable Analog of PSKPreparation of the photoactivatable PSK analog [N
In-solution Photoaffinity LabelingAliquots of purified DcPSKR1-
Chemical Cleavage and Protease Digestion[125I]ASA-PSK-labeled DcPSKR1-
On-column Photoaffinity Labeling and Trypsin DigestionAffinity-purified DcPSKR1-
Gel Filtration of the Labeled Tryptic PeptidesGel filtration analysis was performed using Sephadex G-25 Superfine (1.5 cm inner diameter x 35 cm; Amersham Biosciences) at a flow rate of 0.2 ml/min. Column equilibration and chromatography were performed using buffer containing 20 mM HEPES-KOH (pH 7.0) and 150 mM NaCl. On-column tryptic digests of [125I]ASA-PSK-labeled DcPSKR1-
Immunoaffinity Purification of the Labeled Tryptic PeptidesFor the purification of the anti-PSK antibodies, anti-PSK antiserum (5 ml) (19) was loaded onto a [Lys5]PSK-Sepharose column (1.0-ml column). After the antiserum was recycled three times, the column was washed with phosphate-buffered saline, and the bound antibodies were then eluted with 0.1% formic acid (pH 2.6) and immediately neutralized with NaHCO3. Purified antibodies were coupled with HiTrap NHS-activated HP-Sepharose (Amersham Biosciences) for 16 h at 4 °C. The immobilized anti-PSK antibodies were stored in phosphate-buffered saline until use. On-column tryptic digests of ASA-PSK-labeled DcPSKR1-
MALDI-TOF MS AnalysisThe eluate from the immunoaffinity column was concentrated by evaporation, desalted using Zip Tip C18TM pipette tips (Millipore), and mass-profiled with a 4700 proteomics analyzer (Applied Biosystems) using
Overexpression of DcPSKR1 in Tobacco BY-2 CellsTo obtain the relatively large amount of DcPSKR1 protein required for the direct identification of the PSK binding domain by photoaffinity labeling, we first overexpressed DcPSKR1 in BY-2 suspension cells, which grow rapidly and can be harvested weekly. For DcPSKR1 expression, BY-2 cells were transformed using two constructs, 35S::DcPSKR1-His6, as a positive control for functional expression of full-length DcPSKR1 in heterologous cells, and the 35S::DcPSKR1- KD-His6 construct, in which the coding region for the kinase domain of DcPSKR1 had been removed (Fig. 1A). The latter construct was used to test whether the extracellular domain of DcPSKR1 is sufficient for interaction with PSK. The His6 tag was introduced to immobilize these proteins on the nickel column to perform on-column photoaffinity labeling (described below).
Northern blot and immunoblot analysis of the membrane fractions of each transformed BY-2 cell clone revealed that both DcPSKR1-His6 and DcPSKR1-
The ligand binding assay using [3H]PSK confirmed a significant increase in PSK binding activity in the membrane fractions derived from both transformants, compared with fractions derived from untransformed BY-2 cells (Fig. 1C). These results indicate that DcPSKR1 is functionally expressed in BY-2 cells and that the intracellular kinase domain of DcPSKR1 is not essential for PSK binding. Scatchard analysis of the binding of [3H]PSK to membranes expressing DcPSKR1-
Purification and Photoaffinity Labeling of DcPSKR1- KD-His6We purified DcPSKR1- KD-His6 protein from solubilized microsomal fractions derived from transgenic BY-2 cells using [Lys5]PSK-Sepharose and hydroxyapatite column chromatography. The relative expression level of DcPSKR1- KD-His6 protein was estimated to be 190 fmol/mg microsomal proteins based on Scatchard analysis. SDS-PAGE analysis of the purified fractions confirmed that DcPSKR1- KD-His6 protein had been recovered at relatively high purity (Fig. 1E, left panel). After the PNGase F treatment, the apparent molecular mass of DcPSKR1- KD-His6 changed from 120 to 110 kDa, indicating that at least 10 kDa of the presumed 40-kDa post-translationally added moiety is composed of N-linked glycans (Fig. 1E, right panel). It has been reported that 1,3-fucosylated glycans, which are often found in N-linked glycans in plants, are resistant to PNGase F treatment (20). Incubation of the purified DcPSKR1- KD-His6 with 10 nM [125I]ASA-PSK (photoaffinity ligand) (Fig. 2A), followed by cross-linking by UV irradiation, resulted in specific labeling of the 120-kDa band that corresponds to DcPSKR1- KD-His6. The incorporation of [125I]ASA-PSK into the 120-kDa band was completely abolished by the presence of excess unlabeled PSK, indicating specific cross-linking between [125I]ASA-PSK and DcPSKR1- KD-His6 (Fig. 2B).
Chemical Fragmentation and Enzymatic Digestion of [125I]ASA-PSK-labeled DcPSKR1-
Treatment of labeled DcPSKR1-
Digestion of labeled DcPSKR1-
On-column Photoaffinity Labeling of DcPSKR1- KD-His6To confirm the location of the cross-linking site of ASA-PSK by mass spectrometry, we performed large scale photoaffinity labeling followed by trypsin digestion. The main difficulty in identifying photoaffinity-labeled peptide fragments contained in the complex enzymatic digests of the labeled protein is that the relative abundance of the labeled fragment is extremely low due to the low efficiency of the photoaffinity cross-linking reaction. To overcome this limitation, we established a novel oncolumn photoaffinity labeling methodology that allows repeated incorporation of the photoaffinity label. We immobilized DcPSKR1- KD-His6 on nickel-chelating HiTrapTM HP-Sepharose beads using a His6 tag and performed solid-phase photoaffinity labeling in a transparent narrow column by directly irradiating the column with UV light (365 nm). The crucial advantage of the on-column photoaffinity labeling is that the cross-linking reaction can be repeated after washing out the uncross-linked ligands that act as potential competitors of the newly added ligands in the next round of photoaffinity reaction. In addition, this system allows direct buffer exchange without dialysis upon enzymatic digestion.
We repeated sequential on-column photoaffinity labeling three times and confirmed the significant increase in cross-linking of [125I]ASA-PSK to immobilized DcPSKR1-
To gain more information about the molecular size of the labeled tryptic fragment, we chromatographed the tryptic digest of labeled DcPSKR1-
Immunoprecipitation and MALDI-TOF MS Analysis of the Labeled PeptideTo directly detect the peptide fragment cross-linked with ASA-PSK using MALDI-TOF MS, we purified the labeled fragment by immunoprecipitation using anti-PSK antibodies. We performed large scale on-column photoaffinity labeling of
Of the two above-described molecular ion peaks, the peak at m/z 1752.83 perfectly matched the calculated mass value for the free form of the tryptic peptide fragment (Glu503-Lys517) of DcPSKR1- KD-His6 (calculated exact mass of ENAVEEPSPDFPFFK (in protonated form), 1752.80) (Fig. 4B). This domain corresponds to the N-terminal side of the 36-amino-acid island domain of DcPSKR1. Similarly, the peak at m/z 1880.87 matched the miscleaved tryptic peptide fragment (Glu503-Lys518) derived from the same region of DcPSKR1- KD-His6 (calculated exact mass of ENAVEEPSPDFPFFKK (in protonated form), 1880.89) (Fig. 4B). Because the synthetic peptide ENAVEEPSPDFPFFK alone exhibited no interaction with the immunoaffinity column (data not shown), it is likely that these fragments were immunoprecipitated with the cross-linked ASA-PSK and were generated by the cleavage of cross-linked sites presumably due to the high energy from the laser beam during MALDI-TOF MS analysis. This possibility is supported by the following three observations. (i) Negative mode MALDI-TOF MS of the same sample detected an ion peak at m/z 900.36, which corresponds to the [M-HSO3] ion of the cleaved ligand (Fig. 4A). (ii) The appearance of the peak at m/z 1880.87, which corresponds to the miscleaved tryptic peptide fragment (Glu503-Lys518), is consistent with Lys517 being a cross-linking site that is resistant to trypsin digestion due to modification of its side chain. (iii) The calculated mass of the adduct form (2741.10) is within the estimated range of the molecular size obtained from gel filtration experiments. Because negatively charged peptides, such as phosphorylated and sulfated peptides, are often resistant to ionization in positive mode MALDI-TOF MS analysis, it is possible that the level of ionization of the adduct form was below the limit of detection.
Deletion of Glu503-Lys517 of DcPSKR1 Abolishes Ligand Binding ActivityTo confirm that the 15-amino-acid Glu503-Lys517 region within the island domain of DcPSKR1 is involved in ligand binding, we generated a deletion mutant of DcPSKR1 that lacks Glu503-Lys517 (DcPSKR1- We determined that the ligand contact domain of DcPSKR1 is located within the 15-amino-acid Glu503-Lys517 region of the island domain and that Glu503-Lys517 and several adjacent residues together form a functional ligand binding pocket.
Based on the present results of on-column photoaffinity labeling, MALDI-TOF MS analysis, and fragmentation of labeled DcPSKR1- KD-His6 by CNBr and endoproteinase Asp-N, we conclude that the 15-amino-acid Glu503-Lys517 region located on the N-terminal side of the 36-amino-acid island domain is the ligand contact domain of DcPSKR1. This region is also highly conserved in Arabidopsis PSK receptor AtPSKR1 (10). On-column photoaffinity labeling allows repeated cross-linking, thus increasing labeling efficiency without interference by uncross-linked photolyzed ligands, which act as potential competitors of the newly added photoaffinity ligands in the next round of the photoaffinity reaction. This system is also compatible with enzymatic digestion after changing to the appropriate buffer and enables us to use MALDI-TOF MS to directly analyze labeled fragments derived from small quantities of natural receptor preparations.
It has been reported that the brassinosteroid (BR) receptor BRI1, which also belongs to the LRR-RK family, directly interacts with photoactivatable BRs and that the 90-amino-acid region containing the island domain and an adjacent single LRR can recognize BRs even when they are bacterially expressed as a glutathione S-transferase fusion (25). These findings indicate that this region can, on its own, form a functional binding pocket for recognition of BRs. However, in the present study, recombinant glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins containing the island domain of DcPSKR1 and several adjacent LRRs did not bind to PSK (data not shown), suggesting that this domain is not sufficient for the formation of a stable ligand binding pocket. The 70-amino-acid island domain of BRI1 contains two cysteine residues, which may form a disulfide bond that stabilizes the ligand binding pocket. In contrast, there are no cysteine residues within the 36-amino-acid island domain of DcPSKR1 or the several LRRs adjacent to it. Although further experiments are required to demonstrate how extracellular 21 tandem LRRs of DcPSKR1 contribute to the formation of a stable ligand binding pocket, we speculate that the global ternary structure of the DcPSKR1 extracellular domain, rather than a local sequence motif within the island domain, defines the specific conformation of the island domain by which DcPSKR1 recognizes PSK with high affinity and specificity.
The theoretical structural model of Cf-9, a membrane-localized LRR-receptor-like protein of tomato cells (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium) involved in the resistance response to the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum, shows that its 38-amino-acid island domain forms a unique "loop-out" structure that is isolated from the adjacent LRR loops (26). Secondary structure prediction of DcPSKR1 using the multivariate linear regression combination software (27) suggests that its 36-amino-acid island domain has no characteristic structural motif, such as There are also many LRR-RKs and receptor-like proteins that have no island domain, such as FLS2 (34), Xa21 (35), and TMM (36). In a recent report, photoaffinity labeling indicates that flagellin, an elicitor-active structural component of bacterial flagella, directly binds and cross-links to FLS2 (37). Although the ligand binding site of FLS2 has not been identified, two lines of evidence suggest that a LRR domain is involved in its ligand binding. First, the Arabidopsis mutant fls224, which carries a point mutation in one of its 28 LRRs, completely lacks flagellin binding activity (37). Second, studies indicate that in mammals, flagellin binds in a highly specific manner to the extracellular LRR domain of TLR5 (38, 39). The existence of two distinct ligand perception systems among plant LRR-RKs may reflect plant strategies for adaptation to dynamic environmental conditions using limited molecular components. Indeed, the tomato LRR-RK tBRI1/SR160 recognizes both BRs and systemin, and the lack of competition between these two ligands suggests the presence of two distinct binding sites in tBRI1/SR160 (29).
A fundamental question in the study of transmembrane surface receptors is how ligand binding switches the receptor signaling state between active and inactive states. Identification of the ligand binding site of DcPSKR1 is an important step toward clarifying the regulatory mechanisms of receptor-mediated signal transduction. The biochemically detectable interaction between PSK and DcPSKR1 can serve as a model system for studying the molecular basis of interaction between yet-uncharacterized ligands and putative receptors.
* This work was supported by the 21st Century Center of Excellence Program Grant 14COEA02) and by Grants-in-aid for Scientific Research for Priority Areas (14036214) and Young Scientists (18687003). The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. 1 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan. Tel.: 81-52-789-4117; Fax: 81-52-789-4118; E-mail: matsu{at}agr.nagoya-u.ac.jp.
2 The abbreviations used are: PSK, phytosulfokine; LRR, leucine-rich repeat; RK, receptor kinase; DcPSKR1, Daucus carota phytosulfokine receptor 1; MALDI-TOF MS, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry; KD, kinase domain; ID, island domain; ASA-PSK, [N
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