Download MendeleyA Structural Ensemble of a Tau-Microtubule Complex Reveals Regulatory Tau Phosphorylation and Acetylation Mechanisms.
Brotzakis, Z.F., Lindstedt, P.R., Taylor, R.J., Rinauro, D.J., Gallagher, N.C.T., Bernardes, G.J.L., Vendruscolo, M.(2021) ACS Cent Sci 7: 1986-1995
- PubMed: 34963892
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acscentsci.1c00585
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
7PQC, 7PQP - PubMed Abstract:
Tau is a microtubule-associated protein that regulates the stability of microtubules. We use metainference cryoelectron microscopy, an integrative structural biology approach, to determine an ensemble of conformations representing the structure and dynamics of a tau-microtubule complex comprising the entire microtubule-binding region of tau (residues 202-395). We thus identify the ground state of the complex and a series of excited states of lower populations. A comparison of the interactions in these different states reveals positions along the tau sequence that are important to determine the overall stability of the tau-microtubule complex. This analysis leads to the identification of positions where phosphorylation and acetylation events have destabilizing effects, which we validate by using site-specific post-translationally modified tau variants obtained by chemical mutagenesis. Taken together, these results illustrate how the simultaneous determination of ground and excited states of macromolecular complexes reveals functional and regulatory mechanisms.
- Centre for Misfolding Diseases, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, U.K.
Organizational Affiliation:
