A LIM-9 (FHL)/SCPL-1 (SCP) complex interacts with the C-terminal protein kinase regions of UNC-89 (obscurin) in Caenorhabditis elegans muscle

J Mol Biol. 2009 Mar 6;386(4):976-88. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2009.01.016.

Abstract

The C. elegans gene unc-89 encodes a set of mostly giant polypeptides (up to 900 kDa) that contain multiple immunoglobulin (Ig) and fibronectin type 3 (Fn3), a triplet of SH3-DH-PH, and two protein kinase domains. The loss of function mutant phenotype and localization of antibodies to UNC-89 proteins indicate that the function of UNC-89 is to help organize sarcomeric A-bands, especially M-lines. Recently, we reported that each of the protein kinase domains interacts with SCPL-1, which contains a CTD-type protein phosphatase domain. Here, we report that SCPL-1 interacts with LIM-9 (FHL), a protein that we first discovered as an interactor of UNC-97 (PINCH) and UNC-96, components of an M-line costamere in nematode muscle. We show that LIM-9 can interact with UNC-89 through its first kinase domain and a portion of unique sequence lying between the two kinase domains. All the interactions were confirmed by biochemical methods. A yeast three-hybrid assay demonstrates a ternary complex between the two protein kinase regions and SCPL-1. Evidence that the UNC-89/SCPL-1 interaction occurs in vivo was provided by showing that over-expression of SCPL-1 results in disorganization of UNC-89 at M-lines. We suggest two structural models for the interactions of SCPL-1 and LIM-9 with UNC-89 at the M-line.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / enzymology*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / chemistry
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / metabolism*
  • Carrier Proteins / metabolism*
  • LIM Domain Proteins
  • Models, Biological
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Muscle Proteins / chemistry*
  • Muscle Proteins / metabolism*
  • Muscles / cytology
  • Muscles / enzymology*
  • Phosphoprotein Phosphatases / metabolism*
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Transport
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Two-Hybrid System Techniques

Substances

  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
  • Carrier Proteins
  • LIM Domain Proteins
  • Lim-9 protein, C elegans
  • Muscle Proteins
  • Unc-89 protein, C elegans
  • Phosphoprotein Phosphatases
  • SCPL-1 protein, C elegans