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Title: Structural Basis of Diverse Homophilic Recognition by Clustered α- and β-Protocadherins

Journal Article · · Neuron

Clustered protocadherin proteins (α-, β-, and γ-Pcdhs) provide a high level of cell-surface diversity to individual vertebrate neurons, engaging in highly specific homophilic interactions to mediate important roles in mammalian neural circuit development. How Pcdhs bind homophilically through their extracellular cadherin (EC) domains among dozens of highly similar isoforms has not been determined. Here, we report crystal structures for extracellular regions from four mouse Pcdh isoforms (α4, α7, β6, and β8), revealing a canonical head-to-tail interaction mode for homophilic trans dimers comprising primary intermolecular EC1:EC4 and EC2:EC3 interactions. A subset of trans interface residues exhibit isoform-specific conservation, suggesting roles in recognition specificity. Mutation of these residues, along with trans-interacting partner residues, altered the specificities of Pcdh interactions. Altogether, these data show how sequence variation among Pcdh isoforms encodes their diverse strict homophilic recognition specificities, which are required for their key roles in neural circuit assembly.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
P41 GM103403; MCB-1412472; R01GM062270; R01GM107571
OSTI ID:
1255307
Journal Information:
Neuron, Vol. 90, Issue 4; ISSN 0896-6273
Publisher:
Cell Press - ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 57 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (18)

Identification of an adhesive interface for the non-clustered δ1 protocadherin-1 involved in respiratory diseases journal September 2019
Homophilic and Heterophilic Interactions of Type II Cadherins Identify Specificity Groups Underlying Cell-Adhesive Behavior journal May 2018
Clustered Protocadherins Are Required for Building Functional Neural Circuits journal April 2017
γ-Protocadherin structural diversity and functional implications journal October 2016
Dendritic Self-Avoidance and Morphological Development of Cerebellar Purkinje Cells journal October 2018
Antiparallel protocadherin homodimers use distinct affinity- and specificity-mediating regions in cadherin repeats 1-4 journal July 2016
Distinct and Cooperative Functions for the Protocadherin-α, -β and -γ Clusters in Neuronal Survival and Axon Targeting journal December 2016
Protocadherin cis -dimer architecture and recognition unit diversity journal October 2017
CRISPR/Cas9 interrogation of the mouse Pcdhg gene cluster reveals a crucial isoform-specific role for Pcdhgc4 journal December 2019
Affinity capture of polyribosomes followed by RNAseq (ACAPseq), a discovery platform for protein-protein interactions journal October 2018
Expression of protocadherin‐γC4 protein in the rat brain journal November 2019
Structural determinants of adhesion by Protocadherin-19 and implications for its role in epilepsy journal October 2016
Regulation of neural circuit formation by protocadherins journal June 2017
Snf2h Drives Chromatin Remodeling to Prime Upper Layer Cortical Neuron Development journal October 2019
Family-wide Structural and Biophysical Analysis of Binding Interactions among Non-clustered δ-Protocadherins journal February 2020
A chelicerate-specific burst of nonclassical Dscam diversity journal January 2018
Interaction specificity of clustered protocadherins inferred from sequence covariation and structural analysis journal August 2019
PCDHGA9 represses epithelial-mesenchymal transition and metastatic potential in gastric cancer cells by reducing β-catenin transcriptional activity journal March 2020

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