Eight stranded jellyroll b-sandwich, flanked by helices at the N- and C-termini as well as a small intervening helix situated between strands b6 and b7 (Fig. 1A, 1B) [1,2]. Recent methods aimed at comparing patterns of amino acid conservations in sequence [1] and in space [2] have identified four Verubecestat conserved structural elements that are universally present in eukaryotic CBDs: the N-terminal helical bundle, the bb3 loop, the phosphate binding cassette (PBC) and the hinge helix [2]. Previous investigations on the CBD of EPAC1, have established the former three structural elements as crucial determinants underlying auto-inhibition [10,21,27]. However, the role of the hinge helix as an auto-inhibitory determinant of the EPAC CBD is currently not fully understood. The last two turns of the EPAC hinge helix (called a6, Fig. 1A) partially unfold as a6 rotates towards the a5 helix of the PBC upon cAMP binding (Fig. 1B) [21,28,33]. This hinge rotation has been rationalized as a consequence of the cAMP-induced repositioning of the PBC L273 residue, which contacts with F300 in the hinge helix. The repositioning of the conserved L273, and consequently F300, retracts the hinge helix toward the PBC helix upon activation (Fig. 1B) [23,25,27,31]. Recent studies mapping the EPAC allosteric network through chemical shift covariance analysis (CHESCA) have revealed that L273 and F300 are part of a larger cluster of allosteric residues, which includes also a hydrophobic spine at the interface between the a4 and a6 helices (Fig. 1D) [26]. Such spine spans 4-IBP site residues in the C-terminal end of the hinge helix that unwinds upon cAMP binding (i.e. 305?10, Fig. 1D). Based on these observations, here we hypothesize that the Cterminal residues of the hinge helix (i.e. residues 305?10) are key determinants of EPAC auto-inhibition and that perturbations thatAuto-Inhibitory Hinge HelixFigure 1. The CBD of EPAC and the domain organization. a) The regulatory region consists of the DEP (disheveled Egl-10 pleckstrin) domain and the cAMP binding domain (CBD), colored grey. The catalytic region includes the CDC25 homology domain (CDC25HD), the Ras exchange motif (REM), and Ras association (RA) domain. The dashed red lines illustrate an expanded view of the sequence alignment of CBDs for the regions spanning the PBC a5 helix to the Hinge Helix. The corresponding secondary structure is shown above the sequence. The asterisks mark the site of termination in the deletion mutants. b) The structure of the CBD of apo-EPAC is shown in grey, whereas the major changes caused by cAMP (black spheres) binding are shown in orange. The curved black arrow illustrates the transition of the hinge helix from the apo form (grey; PDB ID: 2BYV) to the holo form (orange; PDB ID:3CF6). c)The thermodynamic cycle of cAMP dependent EPAC activation. Dashed lines encircle the equlibrium between the apo/inactive and apo/active states, i.e. the auto-inhibitory equilibrium. d) The hydrophobic “spine”, a network of residues involving the hydrophobic contacts between the hinge helix and adjacent helices (a4 and a5). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048707.gdestabilize the helix or induce unwinding shift the apo/inactive vs. apo/active pre-equilibrium toward the latter state, i.e. an active state without cAMP (Fig. 1C). To test this hypothesis, we designed three successive deletion mutations of the 149?18 EPAC1 construct [10,21], which spans the CBD and which from here on forth will be referred to as the Wt-EPAC. Spe.Eight stranded jellyroll b-sandwich, flanked by helices at the N- and C-termini as well as a small intervening helix situated between strands b6 and b7 (Fig. 1A, 1B) [1,2]. Recent methods aimed at comparing patterns of amino acid conservations in sequence [1] and in space [2] have identified four conserved structural elements that are universally present in eukaryotic CBDs: the N-terminal helical bundle, the bb3 loop, the phosphate binding cassette (PBC) and the hinge helix [2]. Previous investigations on the CBD of EPAC1, have established the former three structural elements as crucial determinants underlying auto-inhibition [10,21,27]. However, the role of the hinge helix as an auto-inhibitory determinant of the EPAC CBD is currently not fully understood. The last two turns of the EPAC hinge helix (called a6, Fig. 1A) partially unfold as a6 rotates towards the a5 helix of the PBC upon cAMP binding (Fig. 1B) [21,28,33]. This hinge rotation has been rationalized as a consequence of the cAMP-induced repositioning of the PBC L273 residue, which contacts with F300 in the hinge helix. The repositioning of the conserved L273, and consequently F300, retracts the hinge helix toward the PBC helix upon activation (Fig. 1B) [23,25,27,31]. Recent studies mapping the EPAC allosteric network through chemical shift covariance analysis (CHESCA) have revealed that L273 and F300 are part of a larger cluster of allosteric residues, which includes also a hydrophobic spine at the interface between the a4 and a6 helices (Fig. 1D) [26]. Such spine spans residues in the C-terminal end of the hinge helix that unwinds upon cAMP binding (i.e. 305?10, Fig. 1D). Based on these observations, here we hypothesize that the Cterminal residues of the hinge helix (i.e. residues 305?10) are key determinants of EPAC auto-inhibition and that perturbations thatAuto-Inhibitory Hinge HelixFigure 1. The CBD of EPAC and the domain organization. a) The regulatory region consists of the DEP (disheveled Egl-10 pleckstrin) domain and the cAMP binding domain (CBD), colored grey. The catalytic region includes the CDC25 homology domain (CDC25HD), the Ras exchange motif (REM), and Ras association (RA) domain. The dashed red lines illustrate an expanded view of the sequence alignment of CBDs for the regions spanning the PBC a5 helix to the Hinge Helix. The corresponding secondary structure is shown above the sequence. The asterisks mark the site of termination in the deletion mutants. b) The structure of the CBD of apo-EPAC is shown in grey, whereas the major changes caused by cAMP (black spheres) binding are shown in orange. The curved black arrow illustrates the transition of the hinge helix from the apo form (grey; PDB ID: 2BYV) to the holo form (orange; PDB ID:3CF6). c)The thermodynamic cycle of cAMP dependent EPAC activation. Dashed lines encircle the equlibrium between the apo/inactive and apo/active states, i.e. the auto-inhibitory equilibrium. d) The hydrophobic “spine”, a network of residues involving the hydrophobic contacts between the hinge helix and adjacent helices (a4 and a5). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048707.gdestabilize the helix or induce unwinding shift the apo/inactive vs. apo/active pre-equilibrium toward the latter state, i.e. an active state without cAMP (Fig. 1C). To test this hypothesis, we designed three successive deletion mutations of the 149?18 EPAC1 construct [10,21], which spans the CBD and which from here on forth will be referred to as the Wt-EPAC. Spe.
