Publications (342) View all
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Article: BID-induced structural changes in BAK promote apoptosis.
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ABSTRACT: The BCL-2-family protein BAK is responsible for mitochondrial outer-membrane permeabilization (MOMP), which leads to apoptosis. The BCL-2 homology 3 (BH3)-only protein BID activates BAK to perform this function. We report the NMR solution structure of the human BID BH3-BAK complex, which identified the activation site at the canonical BH3-binding groove of BAK. Mutating the BAK BH1 in the groove prevented activation and MOMP but not the binding of BID. BAK BH3 mutations allowed BID binding and activation but blunted function by blocking BAK oligomerization. BAK activation follows a 'hit-and-run' mechanism whereby BID dissociates from the trigger site, which allows BAK oligomerization at an overlapping interface. In contrast, the BH3-only proteins NOXA and BAD are predicted to clash with the trigger site and are not activators of BAK. These findings provide insights into the early stages of BAK activation.Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 04/2013; · 12.71 Impact Factor -
Article: Receptor interacting protein kinase 2-mediated mitophagy regulates inflammasome activation during virus infection.
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ABSTRACT: NOD2 receptor and the cytosolic protein kinase RIPK2 regulate NF-κB and MAP kinase signaling during bacterial infections, but the role of this immune axis during viral infections has not been addressed. We demonstrate that Nod2(-/-) and Ripk2(-/-) mice are hypersusceptible to infection with influenza A virus. Ripk2(-/-) cells exhibited defective autophagy of mitochondria (mitophagy), leading to enhanced mitochondrial production of superoxide and accumulation of damaged mitochondria, which resulted in greater activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and production of IL-18. RIPK2 regulated mitophagy in a kinase-dependent manner by phosphorylating the mitophagy inducer ULK1. Accordingly, Ulk1(-/-) cells exhibited enhanced mitochondrial production of superoxide and activation of caspase-1. These results demonstrate a role for NOD2-RIPK2 signaling in protection against virally triggered immunopathology by negatively regulating activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and production of IL-18 via ULK1-dependent mitophagy.Nature Immunology 03/2013; · 26.01 Impact Factor -
Article: PUMA binding induces partial unfolding within BCL-xL to disrupt p53 binding and promote apoptosis.
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ABSTRACT: Following DNA damage, nuclear p53 induces the expression of PUMA, a BH3-only protein that binds and inhibits the antiapoptotic BCL-2 repertoire, including BCL-xL. PUMA, unique among BH3-only proteins, disrupts the interaction between cytosolic p53 and BCL-xL, allowing p53 to promote apoptosis via direct activation of the BCL-2 effector molecules BAX and BAK. Structural investigations using NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography revealed that PUMA binding induced partial unfolding of two α-helices within BCL-xL. Wild-type PUMA or a PUMA mutant incapable of causing binding-induced unfolding of BCL-xL equivalently inhibited the antiapoptotic BCL-2 repertoire to sensitize for death receptor-activated apoptosis, but only wild-type PUMA promoted p53-dependent, DNA damage-induced apoptosis. Our data suggest that PUMA-induced partial unfolding of BCL-xL disrupts interactions between cytosolic p53 and BCL-xL, releasing the bound p53 to initiate apoptosis. We propose that regulated unfolding of BCL-xL provides a mechanism to promote PUMA-dependent signaling within the apoptotic pathways.Nature Chemical Biology 01/2013; · 14.69 Impact Factor -
Article: Metabolic checkpoints in activated T cells.
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ABSTRACT: The immunological process of clonal selection requires a rapid burst in lymphocyte proliferation, and this involves a metabolic shift to provide energy and the building blocks of new cells. After activation, naive and memory T cells switch from the oxidation of free fatty acids to glycolysis and glutaminolysis to meet these demands. Beyond this, however, the availability of specific metabolites and the pathways that process them interconnect with signaling events in the cell to influence cell cycle, differentiation, cell death and immunological function. Here we define 'metabolic checkpoints' that represent such interconnections and provide examples of how these checkpoints sense metabolic status and transduce signals to affect T lymphocyte responses.Nature Immunology 09/2012; 13(10):907-15. · 26.01 Impact Factor -
Article: Metabolic reprogramming and metabolic dependency in T cells.
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ABSTRACT: Upon activation, quiescent naive T cells undergo a growth phase followed by massive clonal expansion and differentiation that are essential for appropriate immune defense and regulation. Accumulation of cell biomass during the initial growth and rapid proliferation during the expansion phase is associated with dramatically increased bioenergetic and biosynthetic demands. This not only requires a metabolic rewiring during the transition between resting and activation but also 'addicts' active T cells to certain metabolic pathways in ways that naive and memory T cells are not. We consider such addiction in terms of the biological effects of deprivation of metabolic substrates or inhibition of specific pathways in T cells. In this review, we illustrate the relevant metabolic pathways revealed by recent metabolic flux analysis and discuss the consequences of metabolic intervention on specific metabolic pathways in T lymphocytes.Immunological Reviews 09/2012; 249(1):14-26. · 11.15 Impact Factor
