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Title: Structure and Function of the Su(H)-Hairless Repressor Complex, the Major Antagonist of Notch Signaling in Drosophila melanogaster

Journal Article · · PLoS Biology (Online)
 [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [1];  [3];  [2];  [2];  [1];  [4]
  1. Univ. of Cincinnati College of Medicine, OH (United States)
  2. Univ. Hohenheim, Stuttgart (Germany)
  3. Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom)
  4. Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX (United States)

Notch is a conserved signaling pathway that specifies cell fates in metazoans. Receptor-ligand interactions induce changes in gene expression, which is regulated by the transcription factor CBF1/Su(H)/Lag-1 (CSL). CSL interacts with coregulators to repress and activate transcription from Notch target genes. While the molecular details of the activator complex are relatively well understood, the structure-function of CSL-mediated repressor complexes is poorly defined. In Drosophila, the antagonist Hairless directly binds Su(H) (the fly CSL ortholog) to repress transcription from Notch targets. Here, we determine the X-ray structure of the Su(H)-Hairless complex bound to DNA. Hairless binding produces a large conformational change in Su(H) by interacting with residues in the hydrophobic core of Su(H), illustrating the structural plasticity of CSL molecules to interact with different binding partners. Based on the structure, we designed mutants in Hairless and Su(H) that affect binding, but do not affect formation of the activator complex. These mutants were validated in vitro by isothermal titration calorimetry and yeast two- and three-hybrid assays. Moreover, these mutants allowed us to solely characterize the repressor function of Su(H) in vivo.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Inst. of Health; RAK; German Research Foundation (DFG)
Grant/Contract Number:
NCI CA178974; MA 1328/10-1
OSTI ID:
1267457
Journal Information:
PLoS Biology (Online), Vol. 14, Issue 7; ISSN 1545-7885
Publisher:
Public Library of ScienceCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 42 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (17)

Introduction to Molecular Mechanisms in Notch Signal Transduction and Disease Pathogenesis book July 2018
CSL-Associated Corepressor and Coactivator Complexes book January 2018
The Notch repressor complex in Drosophila: in vivo analysis of Hairless mutants using overexpression experiments journal January 2019
In vivo analysis of internal ribosome entry at the Hairless locus by genome engineering in Drosophila journal October 2016
Structural and functional studies of the RBPJ-SHARP complex reveal conserved corepressor binding site posted_content May 2018
Hairless as a novel component of the Notch signaling pathway journal April 2019
Maternal almondex , a neurogenic gene, is required for proper subcellular Notch distribution in early Drosophila embryogenesis journal November 2019
Decoding the Notch signal journal December 2019
Notch Signaling in Development, Tissue Homeostasis, and Disease journal October 2017
Structurally conserved binding motifs of transcriptional regulators to notch nuclear effector CSL journal September 2019
The evolution of transcriptional repressors in the Notch signaling pathway: a computational analysis journal January 2019
Notch signaling governs the expression of glypican Dally to define the stem cell niche journal December 2019
Complex genetic interactions of novel Suppressor of Hairless alleles deficient in co-repressor binding journal March 2018
A Multivariate Genome-Wide Association Study of Wing Shape in Drosophila melanogaster journal February 2019
Evolutionary emergence of Hairless as a novel component of the Notch signaling pathway journal September 2019
Decoding the Notch signal. text January 2020
Structural and Functional Studies of the RBPJ-SHARP Complex Reveal Conserved Corepressor Binding Site journal January 2018